vstars Chapter 129 Planning
Chapter 129 Planning
"Welcome, fellow Daoists, to Xinghai Residence!" the steward said with a cupped hands and a smile.
"My surname is Zhao, and I am the manager here. Are you here to rent a cave dwelling, fellow Daoist?"
"What are your needs? Our Xinghai Residence has an excellent reputation in the east of the city, and we are sure to satisfy you."
Chen Xu's gaze swept calmly over the floating island of light and shadow hanging in the hall.
The labels indicate the location, size, and spiritual energy rating of each floating island.
He had no requirements for the spiritual energy of his cave dwelling, since no matter how abundant the spiritual energy was, it couldn't compare to the 500% increase in cultivation speed from the [Luxury Cave Dwelling].
After some searching, his gaze fell upon a large, illusory floating island.
Its location is ideal, and its spiritual energy rating is "medium grade," but its size is several times larger than other floating islands.
Manager Zhao, observing Chen Xu's gaze, smiled even more broadly: "Fellow Daoist has excellent eyesight!"
"This No. 17 floating island of the character '丙' has a vast area. Although its spiritual energy is only of medium grade, it has a small-scale spirit-gathering array inside, which can increase the cultivation speed by nearly 30%."
"It also comes with a spring of cold jade, with clear and cool water, which is very beneficial for cultivating water-based techniques or nurturing spiritual plants."
"The courtyard is spacious and protected by the Purple Gang Guardian Array, which is difficult for even ordinary Core Formation cultivators to break through easily, making it extremely safe."
Seeing that the steward was getting more and more excited, Chen Xu couldn't help but interrupt:
"Just tell me the price."
The steward observed Chen Xu's expression and tentatively quoted the price: "A cave dwelling of this quality naturally commands a high rental price."
"As is customary, the lease term must be at least five years, and the rent is 30,000 low-grade spirit stones."
Thirty thousand spirit stones! Nan Longyue clicked her tongue in amazement.
This amount is a considerable expense even for the Nan family, and it would be difficult for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators to afford.
After all, in other places, the annual rent for a cave dwelling is only around two thousand spirit stones.
The price in Meteor City is so much higher!?
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu remained completely unmoved.
Although 30,000 spirit stones is a lot, it is well within an acceptable range compared to the daily profits of the Spirit Cuisine Restaurant in Misty Pool City.
He quickly calculated in his mind:
"A five-year rental of 30,000 spirit stones... Based on the rental-to-sale ratio of about 20 in the cultivation world, buying this floating island outright would cost approximately 120,000 low-grade spirit stones."
However, I can't afford that much money all at once right now, so I'll just rent it for five years first.
We'll see if we can capture a larger cave then.
However, the prices of these floating islands are not transparent, and there should be room for negotiation on the price quoted by the person in charge.
"Manager Zhao," Chen Xu said, his voice carrying a scrutinizing tone.
"The spiritual energy rating of this island is only mid-grade. Even with the support of the Lesser Yi Spirit Gathering Array, the increased cultivation speed is only at the level of a second-grade low-level array."
"I also have some knowledge of formations. Setting up such a formation is not difficult for me."
"A floating island with moderate spiritual energy, with a low-grade spirit-gathering array added, costs 30,000 in rent?"
The manager's smile froze slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
He originally thought the other party was a cultivator who had just arrived in Meteor City, but he never expected that he was a knowledgeable array master!
"Fellow Daoist is actually a formation master? My apologies! My apologies!" The steward quickly cupped his hands and said:
"The island's advantages lie in its vast area and comprehensive defenses; this price is reasonable for the eastern part of the city..."
"In that case, considering your sincerity, I'll make the decision: twenty-five thousand spirit stones! What do you say?"
Chen Xu's eyes remained unmoved as he shook his head slightly: "Twenty thousand spirit stones. If that's acceptable, we'll finalize the contract today."
Upon hearing this, the manager frowned slightly.
Although 20,000 is a bit low, this No. 17 floating island (C-class) is not easy to rent because of its low spiritual energy rating.
A bitter smile appeared on his face, as if he had made a tremendous decision:
"Fellow Daoist, this price... sigh, never mind, let's consider it a good deed! Twenty thousand it is! Five-year lease, would you like to proceed immediately?"
"Okay." Chen Xu nodded, agreeing succinctly.
The exchange of spirit stones, signing of the contract, and receipt of the token to unlock the cave's restrictions were all completed in one smooth process.
Chen Xu put the token into his storage bag, turned around and walked out of Xinghai Residence, with Nan Longyue following closely behind.
"Thank you for your trouble this time." Chen Xu stopped and said to Nan Longyue.
"I have important matters to attend to; you may leave on your own."
At this moment, Nan Longyue suddenly bowed deeply, her voice trembling noticeably, and respectfully said:
"Senior! Longyue... Longyue dares to offer her services, willing to serve you at your beck and call. Please grant my request!"
Seeing her nervous and uneasy appearance, Chen Xu knew perfectly well that it was at the behest of the South China Sea.
His expression was calm, and with a slight flick of his sleeves, an invisible force lifted Nan Longyue up.
"Let's not bring this up again. My deal with the Nan family is settled, there's no need for that."
Upon being directly rejected, Nan Longyue froze, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something more, but in the end, she only uttered a soft whisper: "Yes... Longyue obeys."
At this moment, Chen Xu suddenly remembered the information provided by the [One-Time Anomaly Detector] and said:
"By the way, how much do you know about this special physique?"
Nan Longyue was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Chen Xu to suddenly ask this question.
She composed herself and replied respectfully:
"Replying to Senior, Longyue has only heard of some legendary cultivators with extraordinary talents and special physiques."
Not only is his cultivation progressing rapidly, but his combat strength also far surpasses that of others of the same level.
However, such figures are extremely rare, and Long Yue has never seen them in person, so her knowledge of them is very limited.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu nodded slightly and said calmly, "Alright, you may leave now."
Nan Longyue bowed respectfully again, then turned and hurriedly left.
Chen Xu watched her departing figure, his thoughts swirling: "An extremely rare Sea Spirit Body, I wonder what kind of wonders it possesses..."
"Once I spend 100,000 contribution points in the Dark Domain to unlock the Dark Domain Market, I'll see if I can inquire about it."
He withdrew his gaze, stepped onto a flying sword, and headed towards Floating Island No. 17 (Type C).
The No. 17 floating island, designated as "Bing", is suspended on the easternmost side of Meteor City, far away from the hustle and bustle of the main urban area below.
The island has a large area, enough for Chen Xu to open up a large fishpond and raise some food.
As for the medicinal fields, the abundance of spiritual elixir is limited.
The medicinal fields in Fog Pool City are currently sufficient.
With the plan set, he no longer hesitated and began to develop the fishponds.
"We also need to set up several small spirit-gathering formations to prevent the spiritual energy from dissipating and to accelerate the growth of the fish fry."
Chen Xu secretly planned the next steps: "I'll go to the city market tomorrow and buy some spirit fish fry."
The gray-haired clone has now successfully settled down in Meteor City.
In his own storage bag, he also had a Changqing Token, which allowed him to skip the assessment and directly join the Changqing Sect.
Once Yunzhou sends an avatar to join the Changqing Sect, they can begin a stable and developing life.
Chen Xu has indeed experienced a great deal during this period and hasn't enjoyed a period of quiet meditation in a long time...