133: Chapter 133 Finding a Place to Live

After staying at Old Man Chen's house for a day, Lin Xuan decided to stay on Chenjiao Island for a while.

It was not that he did not want to leave, but that he had nowhere to go for the time being.

Bibo City was too far, the Mist Sea was too dangerous, and that sea area to the southeast where lightning appeared was even more eerie and unpredictable.

Rather than bumping around like a headless fly, it was better to find a stable place to settle down, thoroughly digest the medicinal power of the sea spirit ginseng, and then make further plans.

Early the next morning, Lin Xuan got up very early.

The sea breeze still carried a chill, which felt comfortable when it blew on his face.

The horizon was just beginning to turn fish-belly white, and people were already moving about in the marketplace—a few Qi Refining second or third stage Loose Cultivators were carrying fishing rods toward the sea, probably to try their luck at catching spiritual fish;

a burly bald man with a face full of flesh was squatting by the roadside gnawing on a spiritual fruit, casually throwing the core on the ground, where it was snatched away by a seabird.

Lin Xuan did not rush to attend to his business, but first took a walk around the marketplace.

The marketplace in the early morning was quieter than in the evening; there were not many people setting up stalls, and the items sold were mostly ordinary goods—a few Spiritual Plants of average quality, a few Talismans with crude craftsmanship, and a few Low Grade Magical Artifacts that were heavily worn.

Lin Xuan glanced at them a few times and lost interest.

He went straight to the Administrative Office.

The Administrative Office was at the innermost part of the marketplace, a stone house larger than an ordinary shop. A faded wooden plaque hung at the entrance, with the three characters for "Administrative Office" carved on it; the strokes were crooked, as if written by a child.

Lin Xuan pushed the door open and entered.

The light in the room was dim, and a musty smell assailed his nostrils.

A few chairs were placed against the wall, covered in a layer of dust; it looked like no one had sat there for a long time.

Behind the counter sat a Cultivator in his fifties, as thin as a bamboo pole, wearing a washed-out gray robe, and was dozing off with his eyes narrowed.

Lin Xuan tapped on the counter.

"Hmm?" The thin bamboo pole opened his eyes, looked at him groggily, and asked, "What is it?"

"Renting a house," Lin Xuan said.

"Renting a house..." The thin bamboo pole yawned, rummaged through a drawer to find a yellowed booklet, and slowly flipped through a few pages. "There is one in the west, three miles from the marketplace, with a private gate and courtyard, three stone rooms plus a small yard, monthly rent is fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones. There is also one in the north, close to the marketplace, but the yard is small, with only two rooms, monthly rent is twenty. Both have a First-Order Medium Grade defensive Formation and an early warning Formation, and an annual Formation maintenance fee must be paid."

After finishing, he yawned again, squinting at Lin Xuan with an expression that said, "Rent it or not, I don't care."

Lin Xuan thought for a moment and chose the one in the west.

Three miles was not far; if he used a Magical Artifact to fly, he could arrive in the blink of an eye.

The important thing was that it was remote and quiet, and no one would disturb him.

What he needed most right now was quiet—to Cultivate quietly, to make Talismans quietly, and to thoroughly refine the medicinal power of the sea spirit ginseng quietly.

"The one in the west, rent it for three months first." Lin Xuan counted out forty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch, added twenty as a deposit, and placed them on the counter.

The thin bamboo pole counted the Spirit Stones, fished out a key and a Formation plaque from the drawer, and pushed them in front of Lin Xuan.

"Don't lose the key; replacing it costs five Spirit Stones. The Formation plaque is for controlling the defensive Formation; just inject Spiritual Qi to use it. The Formation maintenance fee is ten Spirit Stones a year, collected at the end of the year; if you don't rent for a full year, it will be refunded proportionally."

Lin Xuan took the key and the Formation plaque and turned to leave.

"Hey, wait." The thin bamboo pole called out to him and pointed outside the door. "On that road to the west, be careful when you reach the low woods. Recently, a First-Order Medium Grade Iron-beaked Stork has been nesting there; it has a bad temper and pecked someone passing by a few days ago."

Lin Xuan nodded: "Thank you for the reminder."

After coming out of the Administrative Office, Lin Xuan did not go directly to the western courtyard but first strolled around the marketplace to buy some daily necessities—an iron pot, bowls and dishes, bedding, and a bag of First-Order spiritual rice.

These items were all available in Shopkeeper Qian's shop. Shopkeeper Qian was indeed fair in business; Lin Xuan picked out a few items, and he threw in a small bag of spiritual tea.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, are you planning to stay on the island for a long time?" Shopkeeper Qian asked casually while packing the items.

"Stay for a while." Lin Xuan nodded. "It's not peaceful outside, so I'll stay on the island for a while and wait until things calm down before making other plans."

"Wise." Shopkeeper Qian gave a thumbs up. "This sea area is indeed not peaceful lately. A few days ago, there was news again that the lightning in the sea area to the southeast is appearing more frequently. Some people saw from afar at night that there was a large patch of purple light on the sea surface, as if something was rushing out from the seabed. However, the truth of the news is hard to distinguish; it's just something to listen to."

Lin Xuan took the items, thanked him, and left the shop.

He walked west along the gravel path. When passing through a low forest, he indeed saw an Iron-beaked Stork standing on top of a low tree.

The bird was half a person tall, its long beak was as black as iron, and its pair of small eyes stared at him vigilantly.

The Iron-beaked Stork was not of high value, so Lin Xuan ignored it and quickened his pace to walk past. The bird only let out a few "quack, quack" sounds and did not chase after him.

After crossing a gentle slope, he arrived at the courtyard.

The courtyard wall was built with bluestone, which could be seen everywhere on the island; it was about one person high, and the corners of the wall were covered with moss and unknown vines.

The courtyard gate had two wooden doors; the boards were already somewhat rotten, and the door knocker was covered in rust.

Lin Xuan pushed the courtyard gate open and walked in.

In the courtyard, there was a crooked-neck tree; the trunk was thick, but the canopy leaned to one side, as if blown crooked by the sea breeze.

Under the tree, there was a stone table and two stone stools; the stone table was covered with leaves and bird droppings.

The three stone rooms were not large. The main room was the bedroom, the room on the left could be used as a Quiet Room, and the room on the right was piled with some sundries—a few broken tables, a few chairs with broken legs, and a jar with a missing corner; they were all useless things.

Lin Xuan first cleaned out the storage room and piled all the useless things in the courtyard, planning to use them as firewood later.

Then he took out the Formation plaque, injected Spiritual Qi, and activated the defensive Formation in the courtyard.

A layer of faint halo rose from the four corners of the courtyard wall, like an inverted bowl, covering the entire courtyard inside.

The halo lasted for three breaths, then slowly dissipated and disappeared into the air.

The Formation was running.

Lin Xuan took out a few more Low-Grade Spirit Stones, buried them at the four corners of the courtyard wall, and set up a simple early warning Formation.

This Formation was something he learned from "Illustrated Guide to Basic Formations." It was not very sophisticated, but it could serve as a warning—if someone entered, he would immediately notice.

With two warning Formations superimposed, he felt a bit more secure.

After finishing all this, it was almost noon. Lin Xuan took out the spiritual rice from his Storage Pouch and cooked a pot of porridge in the kitchen.

The stove was ready-made, the iron pot was newly bought, and the firewood came from the sundries in the courtyard; he used the Fireball Technique to light the firewood.

When the porridge was ready, a fragrance of rice filled the entire courtyard.

Lin Xuan scooped a bowl and sat on the stone stool in the courtyard, drinking it slowly.

The porridge was very hot, the rice grains were soft and glutinous, and it carried a faint Spiritual Qi.

Although there were no side dishes, it was fresh. He had not eaten a meal so quietly for a long time.

When he was in the Sect, he was either rushing to make Talismans in the Hundred Talisman Hall or desperately doing Body Refining in the Gravity Valley.

Most of the time, he relied on Bigu Pills to get by, and occasionally went to eat a meal, but it was always in a hurry.

Now, it was good; after being teleported to this ghost place, he actually had time to slow down and drink a bowl of porridge.

Lin Xuan gave a wry smile and finished the last mouthful of porridge in the bowl.

In the evening, Old Man Chen came.

He did not come alone; behind him were Chen Xiaohu and Chen Xiaoyan. Chen Xiaohu was carrying a basket in his hand, which contained a few sea fish, a bag of clams, and a bundle of kelp; all were ingredients containing Spiritual Qi, and the sea fish were even graded spiritual fish, although they were only First-Order Low Grade.

Chen Xiaoyan was holding a jar of wine in her arms; looking at the mud seal on the jar, it should be the kind of fruit wine that Old Man Chen brewed himself.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, congratulations on your move!" Old Man Chen shouted as soon as he entered the courtyard; his voice was loud enough to deafen ears. "We don't have anything good, so please accept these seafood items as a congratulatory gift."

"You are too polite." Lin Xuan took the basket. "Come in and sit."

Chen Xiaohu put the basket on the stone table in the courtyard and looked around curiously: "Big Brother Lin, this courtyard is nice; it's much more spacious than my house."

"It is spacious, but it's a bit remote." Chen Xiaoyan put the wine jar on the table and patted the dust off her hands. "Big Brother Lin, you live alone; is it convenient to cook? How about I come to cook for you every day from now on?"

"No, no." Lin Xuan waved his hands quickly. "I can manage it myself."

"Xiaoyan, don't worry about useless things." Old Man Chen glared at Chen Xiaoyan. "Fellow Daoist Lin is a Cultivator, not a three-year-old child; could he starve himself?"

Chen Xiaoyan stuck out her tongue and didn't say anything more.

Lin Xuan went to the kitchen to boil a pot of water and brewed a pot of tea.

The tea leaves were the kind Shopkeeper Qian gave him; it was nothing good, and the Spiritual Qi content was low, but it had a faint fragrance when brewed, and it was quite smooth to drink.

The four of them sat around the stone table, drinking tea and chatting.

Old Man Chen told Lin Xuan a lot about the rules and social customs on the island.

Who could be befriended, who should be guarded against, which area had Yao Beasts, which sea area had rich resources—he told everything in detail, like a bamboo tube pouring out beans.

"The 'Jubao Pavilion' on the east side of the marketplace, the boss's surname is Hu; he is a smiling tiger." Old Man Chen lowered his voice. "The things there look cheap, but they are actually substandard. If you go to buy, you must look carefully; don't be fooled by him."

"The 'Baicao Hall' on the west side, the proprietress's surname is Liu; she is a nice person and honest in business. But her things are expensive, about ten percent more expensive than Shopkeeper Qian's side. However, some things that Shopkeeper Qian doesn't have, she has, so sometimes you still have to go."

"In the area of the southern beach, recently a group of First-Order Low Grade venomous sting jellyfish has appeared; don't go there. If you get stung, it will hurt for several days."

Lin Xuan kept them all in mind.

Chen Xiaoyan went to the kitchen to get busy. She was agile, and in less than half an hour, she had prepared a table of dishes—steamed sea fish, spicy stir-fried clams, shredded kelp salad, a bowl of kelp soup, and steamed a pot of spiritual rice.

When the dishes were served on the table, Old Man Chen poured a bowl of wine for everyone.

"Come, Fellow Daoist Lin, a toast to you!" Old Man Chen raised his bowl. "I wish you a comfortable stay on this island and smooth Cultivation!"

"Thank you." Lin Xuan raised his bowl, clinked it with his, and drank it all in one gulp.

The fruit wine was not strong; it was sweet and carried a faint fruity fragrance.

Late at night, Old Man Chen's family said goodbye and left.

Chen Xiaohu was so drunk that he was swaying while walking, and was supported by Chen Xiaoyan.

Old Man Chen could still walk in a straight line, but he kept muttering, "Fellow Daoist Lin, you live well, if you have anything, just speak up," and his voice could still be heard even when he had walked far away.

Lin Xuan closed the courtyard gate, checked the early warning Formation, confirmed there was no problem, and then returned to the main room.

He did not rush to sleep but sat cross-legged on the bed and began to Cultivate.

The Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art operated, and the Thunder Spiritual Energy slowly circulated in his Meridians.

The efficiency of Cultivation was still not high. The Spiritual Qi concentration here was lower than in the Sect, and the Thunder Spiritual Energy was even thinner; Cultivating for one hour was only equivalent to more than half an hour before.

But he was not in a hurry.

Accumulating over time, there would always be progress.

After Cultivating for two hours, Lin Xuan opened his eyes, took out the large sea spirit ginseng from his Storage Pouch, and held it in his palm to look at it.

The golden ginseng body glowed with a soft halo under the dim light, and the pale purple tender bud at the top had grown a bit longer than before, and fine thunder patterns could be faintly seen.

It was not yet time to take it.

His Body Refining cultivation had just broken through to the fifth level Middle Stage, and he needed time to adapt and stabilize.

After he had completely stabilized, taking this large one would have a better effect.

He put the sea spirit ginseng back into the jade box and stored it back into the Storage Pouch.