258: Classic library

Eastern Region, Grace City.

"Boss Mo, the usual."

An old man wearing a suit made of special material walked into Mo Ran's small shop and sat down.

Mo Ran deftly served two specially made sticky rice dumplings in front of him.

"Coming right up, Uncle Chu. The savory and sweet zongzi you asked for."

Looking at the two zongzi—one sweet and one savory—in front of him, Chu Tianci rubbed his hands together happily, mashed them up, mixed them together, drizzled them with spicy sauce, and ate them in one bite.

"Mmm~, I've been craving this bite."

Chu Tianci pulled out a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth, took a sip of water, and then took out a document and placed it on the table.

He then picked up his chopsticks and began sending food into his mouth, bite after bite.

"This is the permit you asked for earlier."

"You've lived here for several months now. Since you have fixed real estate and enough savings, plus you've behaved well since opening the shop, I applied for the procedures for you in advance."

"Go to the Religious Bureau this afternoon to register, fill in the information for that Great Immortal of yours, and you'll be able to establish a church."

"Thank you, Uncle Chu, I've really troubled you."

Chu Tianci waved his hand while swallowing the food in his mouth.

"No trouble, no trouble, it's a small matter."

"We Outworlders living in the Eastern Region should always look out for one another."

"Niche shops specializing in curses like yours are rare to begin with; you must persevere."

Because he had been waiting for Chu Tianci all day, Mo Ran hadn't opened for business, and there were no other customers in the shop. Calculating that it was still early before the afternoon, he sat down to chat with Chu Tianci.

"Uncle Chu, it's strange. I've been here for a while now, but why do I rarely see shops opened by Cultivators?"

Chu Tianci's movements paused for a moment, but only for an instant, before he continued eating.

"It's normal."

"This side belongs to the Truth Cult's sphere of influence. You know, their organization is loose and quite chaotic."

"Foreign Cultivators generally prefer to live in the territories of the Joyous Union Sect or the Lianxing Pavilion. The entertainment and tourism industries there are developed, and it's indeed suitable for living."

"Over here, technology is more highly regarded; after all, most factions of the Truth Cult worship it."

"As for..."

Chu Tianci pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth clean and gently pushed the empty plate forward.

"As for the issue of Cultivators rarely opening shops."

"Generally, only Cultivators from out of town will open shops here. Most local Cultivators don't open shops; they usually go to run companies, so you don't see them."

"Once they enter a company, they naturally look down on these small-time shops."

"Sigh, let's not talk about that. I have things to do this afternoon, I have to go first."

"Don't forget to go and register."

Chu Tianci packed up his things, stood up, and walked out of the small shop.

"Alright, Uncle Chu, take care."

Mo Ran also saw him to the door until Chu Tianci left in a hovercar.

Mo Ran looked toward the distant steel forest filled with a sense of future technology.

High-rise buildings stood tall in the city center, with holographic projections flickering, appearing dreamlike and distant.

The consumption there was too high, and it wasn't very friendly to him. Except for the first day when he went to register his residence, he had never gone back, but he had to go again this afternoon.

"It's really strange. There are clearly many Cultivators in this city, and they are quite respected. Why do they all just stay in companies instead of opening a small shop themselves?"

Mo Ran thought about his own monthly income and then remembered a figure Chu Tianci had accidentally revealed once. He felt that earning money in a company wasn't much more than what he made, and it was tiring and lacked freedom. Why bother?

He really couldn't understand what the people of the Eastern Region were thinking.

Mo Ran shook his head, returned to the shop, and gestured to close the door.

A line of holographic text also appeared on the door: "Closed Today."

After doing this, he mounted his Magic Treasure and flew toward the city center.

Compared to those various-shaped aircraft, he still preferred using his own Magic Treasure, even though getting the permits and various procedures was indeed a hassle.

Qingxu Grotto-Heaven.

"Look! Isn't that the Saint?"

"Where? Where? Holy crap, it really is!"

"Saint, I'm your fan!"

"Big brother, you're killing me!"

"Is the Saint male or female?"

"Is there something wrong with your brain? Why do you think he isn't the Saintess?"

"Maybe because of differing stances?"

"Are you serious, bro?"

"Can't a bro be a Saintess? If he weren't a bro, then he should be the Saintess, right?"

Zhou Yan waved his hand toward the crowd, and the male and female Cultivators cheered one after another.

By this time, he had changed back into those blue and white robes with gold trim. They were low-key yet elegant, maximizing the effect of his title.

After bidding everyone farewell, he walked into the Library under the gaze of many eyes.

After handing his token to the deacon at the door for verification, his feet moved like the wind as he quickly went upstairs.

"Oh, crap, scared me to death."

Zhou Yan ran up to the third floor in one breath, found an empty reading room to hide in, closed the door, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The construction of the main peak was completed faster than he had expected.

In fact, when he started, the Materials he had on hand were only enough to pile up a small hill a few dozen meters high.

But to make the peak appear more majestic, Zhou Yan decided to reserve space inside. This would both expand the visual effect of the mountain and allow him to use the internal structure to build other structures.

But once he started building, he couldn't stop.

He had originally only planned to build it to a hundred or two hundred meters, but while digging, he found the internal space wasn't large enough, so he dug deeper. As a result, he accidentally dug out a huge underground pit.

So, he simply used the excavated Materials to increase the height of the main peak.

The main peak grew higher and higher, not stopping until it reached several hundred meters. The internal space was also incredibly large because of this.

So when his cheap master came to see him, he had actually finished the main peak long ago and had just been perfecting the interior.

That time, his master left some portable Formations, which increased the internal construction speed by three or four times, and everything was finished very quickly.

After settling down, Zhou Yan had nothing to do, so he began to try to Cultivate.

This attempt really did reveal a problem.

During this past year, the number of times he had seriously Cultivated could be counted on one hand. He was either consolidating his foundation or stabilizing his Realm; the time spent purely on increasing his cultivation through Cultivation was pitifully small.

To the point where he suddenly had a somewhat 'humblebrag' realization.

He was already at the Nascent Soul Stage, yet he had almost no experience in Cultivating.

More troublesome was that due to his lack of experience, he couldn't understand much of the content in the subsequent Cultivation Techniques.

He could understand the earlier parts, but the later parts were just a blur.

And subsequent Cultivation wasn't just about piling up resources. Having no choice, he had to come to the Library to see if there were any books that could solve his current predicament.

Zhou Yan just hadn't expected that his current status combined with this face would have such lethal power; he was practically attracting everyone, even a few Yao Race and foreign Cultivators crowded around to watch.

Wherever he went, a crowd would always gather.

And as a newbie who had just mastered the Law of the Heart, his control wasn't strong yet. Those surging emotions feeding back to him... if one didn't know better, they'd think they had entered some strange adult anime world.

It seemed his level of mastery over the Law was also an issue; he had to see if there was a way to solve it.

Oh right, and his Physique.

He had wanted to check it before but never had the chance. Now that he was at the Library, he might as well check it too.

Cultivation issues, Law mastery issues, Physique issues... it felt like he had a long way to go.

After confirming once more on the mini-map that the crowd had dispersed, Zhou Yan carefully walked out of the reading room and began searching for the scriptures he needed.

"Oh, that's right!"

Zhou Yan suddenly remembered that a Library was a classic scene in a Xuanhuan world; he could consider this a successful check-in.

He casually used the small camera he had repaired earlier to record the scene before him.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to see how the filming effect of this repaired Heavenly Eye Type II was, he suddenly saw a ghostly shadow in the footage.

At the same time, he felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if something was breathing behind him.

Zhou Yan's face turned pale instantly, and he shouted, "Ghost!"

Then he turned and threw a punch. His fist, carrying true damage, knocked the ghostly shadow behind him to the ground in one blow.