178: Chapter 177 Qingyao City

When Yun Ming opened his eyes, he thought he was still dreaming.

Before his eyes were green bricks and tiled roofs, with upturned eaves and bracket sets.

The streets were wide enough for eight carriages to travel side by side, paved with smooth bluestone slabs carved with anti-slip patterns, and rainwater flowed into underground channels along both sides, leaving no puddles at all.

Shops lined the streets, with wine banners waving and tea flags fluttering.

Merchants selling silk, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, and antiques were packed side by side, each storefront more imposing than the last.

Pedestrians jostled shoulder to shoulder, and carriages and horses arrived in an endless stream.

There were Young Masters in brocade robes riding tall horses, Young Misses riding in sedan chairs, peddlers carrying shoulder poles, and laborers pushing wheelbarrows.

Storytellers clapped their gavels in teahouses, and singers plucked pipa strings in restaurants.

The sounds of hawking, bargaining, laughter, and arguing blended together, creating an unimaginably lively scene.

Yun Ming stood by the side of the street, stunned for a long while.

He looked down at himself—wearing a moon-white robe, clean and tidy, without bloodstains or tears.

His moonlight flowing frost robe was also there, looking as good as new.

He touched his face; his nose and eyes were all there.

He had come back to life again.

This time, when he was resurrected, he wasn't drifting at sea or stranded on a deserted island; he had landed directly in this unimaginably prosperous city.

Before he could even sigh with emotion, several Cultivators wearing uniform armor surrounded him.

The leader was a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator with a cold, stern expression, wearing a bronze plaque at his waist engraved with the words "Qingyao City Patrol Battalion".

"Fellow Daoist," the leader said, cupping his hands in a salute, his tone neither warm nor cold, "Your Excellency suddenly appeared in the core area of Qingyao City, violating the city's no-fly order. Please accompany me to the Patrol Battalion to explain the situation."

Yun Ming opened his mouth, wanting to say he was innocent, but seeing their expressionless faces, he swallowed his words.

He had seen this kind of situation before and knew that saying more would be useless.

He nodded and followed them.

The Patrol Battalion's office was in the north of the city; it wasn't large, but it was fully equipped.

He was taken into a small room where an Early Golden Core Stage Cultivator was sitting; judging by his attire, he seemed to be the manager here.

That person looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the moon-white robe, before he began to ask questions.

Yun Ming had already prepared his excuse.

He said he was a Loose Cultivator from the East Xuan Region who, having been pursued by enemies, had no choice but to use a fourth-tier random teleportation Spirit Talisman to escape.

The Spirit Talisman had sent him here, and he himself didn't know where this was.

As for why he appeared above the city, that was a deviation in the Spirit Talisman's landing point, not an intentional violation of the no-fly order.

After hearing this, the Golden Core Cultivator was silent for a moment before nodding.

Although random teleportation Spirit Talismans were rare, they did exist.

Furthermore, this person showed no malice and no signs of having committed any crime.

Most importantly, he was also a Golden Core Cultivator who was willing to cooperate with the investigation and had a sincere attitude.

Thus, the Golden Core Cultivator waved his hand and had someone take Yun Ming to register his identity.

The Zifu Immortal Dynasty had a rule: any Cultivator staying within the dynasty's territory for a long period must register their identity and obtain a token.

Those without a token would be treated as roving bandits.

Yun Ming did not want to be a roving bandit, so he obediently went to handle it.

The place for identity registration was in the east of the city, a three-story pavilion with a plaque hanging at the entrance that read "Immortal Registry Department".

There was a long line inside, all Cultivators there to register or update their identities.

Yun Ming waited in line for half an hour before it was his turn.

Sitting behind the counter was a female Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, with delicate features and a cold attitude.

"Name." "Yun Ming." "Cultivation level." "Golden Core Middle Stage." "Origin." "Loose Cultivator, from the East Xuan Region." "What are you doing in the Zifu Immortal Dynasty?" "Settling down."

The female Cultivator looked up at him, then lowered her head again to record the information on a Jade Slip.

Then she stated a number: "Registration fee, one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones."

Yun Ming's hand trembled slightly.

One hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones, which was one million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

He had ransacked several treasure vaults in the Great Demon Lord's Chaoju City, so his net worth was considered quite substantial.

He took one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones from the map of mountains and rivers and placed them on the counter.

The female Cultivator collected the Spirit Stones and handed him a pale gold token.

The token was engraved with his name, cultivation level, registration date, and a serial number.

"There is also a Mortal," Yun Ming said, "my mother. She needs to be registered too."

"Registration fee for a Mortal is one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Yun Ming breathed a sigh of relief, took out one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and obtained a token for Qin Wan as well.

Qin Wan's token was made of wood and was gray in color; when placed next to Yun Ming's pale gold token, one looked like gold, and the other like a clod of dirt.

Yun Ming put away both tokens, left the Immortal Registry Department, stood on the street, and let out a long sigh of relief.

He was now a legal resident of the Zifu Immortal Dynasty.

Regardless of what he had done before or where he had come from, it didn't matter anymore.

What was important was that he still needed to find a place to live.

The housing prices in the Zifu Immortal Dynasty were even more outrageous than he had imagined.

He looked at several houses in the east of the city; the cheapest one, with only two rooms and a small courtyard, was priced at two hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.

He almost thought he had misheard.

Two hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones was two billion Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

He had ransacked those treasure vaults in the Wanze True Mansion, and adding his savings over the years, his entire net worth totaled less than two million High-Grade Spirit Stones.

After buying the identity tokens, he had less than 1.9 million left.

He could afford to buy a dilapidated house for two hundred thousand.

But that house was too dilapidated; the wall plaster was peeling off, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and the window paper was torn.

Moreover, the Spiritual Qi was very chaotic, which was not good for either Cultivators or Mortals. Although it could be sorted out, it would take decades to properly fix, and since Qin Wan's Lifespan was nearing its end, he didn't want her living in that kind of place.

He looked at several more places, and they only got more expensive the more he looked.

Houses in the city center easily cost over a million High-Grade Spirit Stones.

The ones in the west of the city were cheaper, but that was the slum area, inhabited by Qi Refining Stage Loose Cultivators and Mortals, and the security was relatively worse.

Finally, he found a small building on the edge of the south of the city.

It was three stories high with a courtyard; the courtyard wasn't large, but it was kept clean.

The building was made of green bricks, the roof was covered with dark tiles, the windows were carved wooden windows, and there were two small stone lions at the entrance.

The owner was an elderly man at the Early Golden Core Stage who demanded one million High-Grade Spirit Stones and would not negotiate the price.

"One million?" Yun Ming frowned. "Couldn't you buy a place in the city center for this price?"

The old man shook his head and pointed to the open space behind the small building: "Fellow Daoist, you don't know this, but although this plot of land is remote, it is right next to a branch of Qingyao City's Spiritual Vein. The Spiritual Qi is thirty percent denser than in other parts of the south of the city. This price is already very fair."

Yun Ming extended his Divine Sense to feel it.

Sure enough, the Spiritual Qi here was significantly denser than elsewhere.

He gritted his teeth, took out one million High-Grade Spirit Stones, and bought the small building.

The handover procedures were handled quickly; the owner gave him the land deed and house deed, and took him to the Immortal Registry Department to register the property rights.

After everything was done, Yun Ming stood in front of the small building, looking at the two stone lions at the entrance, feeling an indescribable emotion in his heart.

One million High-Grade Spirit Stones—he had almost exhausted his entire fortune.

But it was safe here.

The Zifu Immortal Dynasty had a Void Refinement Divine Lord in charge, ironclad laws and strict regulations, no Demonic Cultivators, no Sea Demons, and no endless wars.

He could live here quietly and peacefully.

It was worth it.

He invited Qin Wan out of the map of mountains and rivers.

Qin Wan stood in the courtyard, looking at the small building with green bricks and dark tiles, stunned for a long while.

She turned her head and asked Yun Ming: "Where is this?"

"Zifu Immortal Dynasty, Fengyin Province, Qingyao City," Yun Ming said. "Our new home."