Chapter 23: Choosing a Cave Abode, Preparing to Move Out

Choosing a dwelling?

A free house?

Is there really such a good deal?

Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

In his past life, he’d never managed to buy a house of his own. He hadn’t expected to be given one for free less than a month after transmigrating.

Jiang Xu studied the map in front of him. It depicted the Outer Sect area, with the locations of several hundred dwellings clearly marked.

It seemed he could choose any one of them freely.

Choosing a dwelling was different from choosing a house in his past life. When choosing a house, you had to consider the floor plan, size, location, surrounding infrastructure, whether there were hospitals and schools nearby, the level of security, and so on.

But for a dwelling, he only needed to look at the surrounding environment. After all, everything else was more or less the same.

Since the strength of Jiang Xu’s Magic was abnormal, and he needed to practice it constantly, he had to choose a very secluded residence with few neighbors to prevent his secret from being exposed.

With this principle in mind, Jiang Xu searched the map for a suitable location.

’This one’s not bad, nestled by a mountain and near the water, but there are way too many fellow Daoists around. No, that won’t work!’

’This area has fewer people, but that’s because it’s on the very edge of the Spirit Vein. The Spiritual Qi is much thinner than at other dwellings. Can’t choose this one either.’

"Huh? This place..."

Jiang Xu’s eyes were involuntarily drawn to one particular spot.

The place he focused on was a dwelling somewhat detached from the main cluster, but not excessively remote.

The Spiritual Qi was slightly above average compared to the other dwellings. Most importantly, it was located within a bamboo forest with few neighbors. At a glance, Jiang Xu found it to be perfectly serene and secluded.

"This is the one!"

Jiang Xu pointed, indicating his desired location.

The Steward glanced at the spot Jiang Xu pointed to, looking startled for a moment. Then, he made a note on it with a pen before rolling up the map.

"Alright. Junior Brother, you can go back, pack your belongings, and move to your new dwelling. Also... don’t forget to complete a Sect mission within three months."

Jiang Xu should have left after hearing this, but he felt the Steward’s gaze was strangely profound as he spoke, and something seemed off.

He was about to ask for clarification, but the man was already calling over the next Outer Disciple, showing no intention of speaking to him again. Seeing this, Jiang Xu could only let it go for now.

Jiang Xu left the line, put all his things into his Storage Bag, and activated the Light Body Spell to head back to his home in the servant area.

"Time to go home and pack!"

「...」

To be honest, Jiang Xu didn’t have much to pack.

He had very few Cultivation-related items at home.

As for other things like clothes, bedding, pots and pans, or oil and salt.

Jiang Xu simply picked out a few of the smaller items and placed them in his Storage Bag.

’Thank goodness I bought a Storage Bag. Otherwise, a dignified Immortal Cultivator would have to move house carrying several large sacks. I can’t even imagine such a sight.’

After packing everything, Jiang Xu held the Spiritual Hoe, feeling a bit troubled.

’The Sect said this thing was rented to us... but no one told me who I’m supposed to return it to?’

’Whatever! If nobody wants it back, it’s mine!’

Tossing the Spiritual Hoe into his Storage Bag, Jiang Xu finished packing. All the valuable items were stored away; he didn’t bother with the worthless ones.

He could have headed to his new dwelling then, but there was one more thing he needed to do.

「...」

"You’ve reached the Qi Cultivation Third Layer too?"

Jiang Xu was very surprised.

He hadn’t expected Shen Ji to have successfully advanced as well, and she had even gone to the General Affairs Hall to be promoted to the Outer Sect a step ahead of him.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, it’s all thanks to you! I had a great harvest this time!"

At the mention of this, Shen Ji stopped tidying her Ancient Texts, her expression full of excitement.

You see, her harvest this year was two hundred catties more than previous years, which was equivalent to twenty-one Spirit Stones. For a servant like her, this was undoubtedly a huge windfall, far more than the bit of Spirit Rice she had given Jiang Xu!

"Even though my Spirit Root is poor, these extra Spirit Stones were enough for me to buy an Elixir and advance."

After saying this, Shen Ji compared dwelling locations with Jiang Xu and found that they weren’t close, which made her feel a little disappointed.

Realizing her mood was a bit off, Shen Ji quickly changed the subject:

"I haven’t asked you yet, Fellow Daoist Jiang. Which of the Sect’s ’Hundred Arts Pavilion’ divisions are you aiming for? It’s the Spirit Plant Pavilion, right?"

The Spirit Plant Pavilion?

Jiang Xu shook his head.

"I haven’t decided yet, but it will most likely be the Talisman Pavilion."

"The Talisman Pavilion?" Shen Ji didn’t understand.

"Your Spirit Rain Technique is so powerful, why not go to the Spirit Plant Pavilion?"

"If you become an Outer Disciple of the Spirit Plant Pavilion, not only can you manage more Spirit Fields, but the tax collected by the Sect will also be lower."

"Plus, you’d be able to grow crops other than Spirit Rice. With your skills, you’d be in high demand."

Jiang Xu shook his head.

"You think I’m suited for the Spirit Plant Pavilion because you’ve seen my Spirit Rain Technique and assume I have a great talent for being a Spirit Plant Cultivator."

"But if you were to witness my talent for Talisman Making, you would definitely change your mind."

Of course, Jiang Xu had no desire to continue being a Spirit Plant Cultivator.

Although farming could actually earn a decent amount of Spirit Stones, the time between harvests was too long, making it impossible to steadily increase his strength.

The most crucial point was that he couldn’t take the Spirit Fields with him.

For other professions like Talisman Making, Alchemy, or Arrays, you could pack all your tools of the trade into a Storage Bag.

But a Spirit Plant Cultivator was tied to their land.

If Jiang Xu ever had to flee the Profound Origin Sect one day, the things in his fields certainly wouldn’t run with him.

Therefore, Jiang Xu would definitely not be joining the Spirit Plant Pavilion.

Shen Ji blinked, truly stunned by Jiang Xu’s words.

’Is this narcissism? It doesn’t seem like it.’

’Could it be that woman’s departure unlocked this man’s potential?’

’Or was it that love had actually been suppressing his Cultivation talent all along?’

’Why do I feel like this guy has been getting stronger faster and faster ever since his heartbreak?’

Jiang Xu, of course, was oblivious to the wild thoughts running through Shen Ji’s mind. He asked:

"What’s your goal?"

"The Scripture Pavilion!" Shen Ji replied without a second’s hesitation.

Jiang Xu looked at the Ancient Texts Shen Ji had collected and thought, ’As expected.’

"I’ve been interested in ancient history since I was a child, but unfortunately, the town I lived in had no books about it. It wasn’t until I came to the Sect that my thirst for knowledge was finally satisfied. I’ve spent more than half of my leftover Spirit Stones on this!"

Jiang Xu’s mouth twitched as he looked at the Ancient Texts that filled Shen Ji’s room.

’As servants, we worked hard to earn Spirit Stones. To not use them to raise one’s own Realm, but instead on other miscellaneous things... I guess that’s just the two of us.’

However, the mention of ancient times piqued Jiang Xu’s curiosity as well.

"How are ancient times different from the present? And the history you’ve learned about, is it the history of mortals, or does it include the Cultivation Realm?"