The next day at dawn.
The turbulent emotions in Shen Ping's heart slowly subsided.
He glanced at his wives, who were still fast asleep, and opened the virtual panel.
[Talisman Master: Rank One Mid-Grade (13036/10000) Ready to breakthrough]
……
[Metal Spiritual Root: Mid-Grade (1820/10000)]
[Wood Spiritual Root: Mid-Grade (1714/10000)]
His Talisman Dao experience had been ready for a breakthrough long ago, but restricted by his cultivation level, he wouldn't have been able to make talismans even if he broke through, so he had been holding it back.
Now that he had officially broken through to the 4th Layer of Qi Refining, he no longer needed to suppress it.
He got out of bed on tiptoe.
Then he went to the partition room.
After sitting cross-legged and clearing his mind, he silently chanted in his heart, "Breakthrough!"
Boom.
The virtual frame shook slightly.
In the ethereal realm, a massive amount of information regarding Talisman Dao experience and comprehension poured into Shen Ping's sea of consciousness. This time, he seemed to see a figure continuously accumulating experience and improving their Talisman Dao through years and months of crafting talismans.
Dozens of breaths later.
He opened his eyes, a glint of joy flashing within his pupils.
Starting today.
He was a High-Grade Talisman Master.
He stood up.
Shen Ping went to the kitchen.
Washed the rice.
Sliced the meat.
Cooked the meal.
By the time his wives woke up, the aroma of spiritual rice mixed with meat wafted through the house.
"Husband, you... you seem to have broken through?"
Yesterday, Bai Yuying hadn't had the chance to sense it before ending up in bed, but today as soon as she got up and saw Shen Ping, she felt something was different.
Shen Ping smiled and said, "That's right, your husband is already a 4th Layer of Qi Refining cultivator!"
Wang Yun immediately grew excited. "Congratulations, husband! Congratulations, husband!"
Her clothes weren't even fully on, her chest heaving with excitement.
Bai Yuying quickly offered her congratulations as well.
However, compared to Wang Yun, she wasn't quite as excited.
After all, the 4th Layer of Qi Refining still belonged to the bottom tier.
After finishing the meal.
The wives went outside to spread the quilted blankets on ropes rigged between the jujube trees in the courtyard, while sweeping up and disposing of household waste.
Meanwhile, looking at the cramped house, Shen Ping pondered inwardly.
Now that the poison in his body had been purged, although he no longer needed to accumulate spiritual stones to purchase the Detoxification Pill, once his cultivation advanced to the mid-stage, he had to buy a set of mid-grade Dharma Artifacts, and items of this caliber were not cheap.
Offense and defense—especially defense—were areas where he absolutely could not skimp.
This concerned his safety.
Previously, he lacked both money and cultivation, so he simply had to make do.
But now he had to arrange for it.
Furthermore, there was his living environment.
Red Willow Alley was unsafe. He went out rarely enough already, but there were times when he had to go out. To avoid danger, moving to the Cultivation Market was the only way.
It was just that every alley in the Cultivation Market was long since fully occupied.
So he could only wait.
Cultivators fought heaven and earth for survival, living hand to mouth; who knew, perhaps an empty house would open up in the market before long.
If there truly were none available, then he would have to consider the shared small courtyard Manager Chen had mentioned.
"Expenses are only going to grow in the future... My foundation is still far too thin!"
"First, I'll exhaust the mid-grade talisman materials on hand, and then I'll have to start trying to craft high-grade talismans!"
Shen Ping hadn't purchased high-grade talisman materials last time. For one, he lacked sufficient spiritual stones, and for another, he worried that his Talisman Dao experience was too low, leading to a low success rate and wasted materials.
With his plan formulated.
He busied himself once again.
Through so many years of the cultivation life, he had long since cultivated the habit of keeping busy. Even having just broken through, he had no desire to idle about and enjoy a moment of leisure.
***
Early August.
Temperatures gradually rose.
In the scorching sun of Red Willow Alley, an unpleasant odor permeated everywhere. The proliferation of mosquitoes and bugs in the streets and alleys made low-grade talismans like Cleansing Talismans and Insect-Repelling Talismans bestsellers.
In the past, every time this season rolled around, it was a time for Shen Ping to build up his savings, but this year he didn't join in the bustle.
This day.
The large flying boat of the Jinyang Sect once again landed at the edge of the Cultivation Market.
Another batch of cultivators had arrived.
Housing prices in Red Willow Alley remained unchanged, but prices across all alleys in the Cultivation Market surged. Even so, there were no vacant houses to rent.
With the place packed to capacity, the Jinyang Sect announced it would expand the market, carving out an area on the east side to construct mid-sized small courtyards.
As soon as this news broke.
Many cultivators swarmed to the market's Outer Sect Affairs Hall to inquire about the specifics.
Returning from the Cultivation Market, Yu Yan saw Shen Ping outside his door and sighed repeatedly, "We can't afford to rent them, we simply can't afford them!"
Shen Ping's expression stirred, and he asked, "Did Fellow Daoist Yu go to the Affairs Hall?"
Yu Yan nodded. "This time the Jinyang Sect is going to build three hundred mid-sized small courtyards on the east side. Each courtyard has six rooms, divided into upper and lower floors, available for individual lease or shared rent."
Shen Ping's mouth twitched; this Jinyang Sect really was getting better at doing business by the day.
However, there were indeed far too many cultivators in the market right now. It was said that a portion of the cultivators had already moved away from the market to another cultivation market right on the edge of Yunshan Marsh. That market had been established last year by a cultivation family under the jurisdiction of the Jinyang Sect, and it fell far short of Yunshan Bazaar in terms of both strength and safety.
"What about the price?"
"Fifteen Medium-Grade Spiritual Stones!"
Shen Ping smiled. "That price isn't too bad, if it's shared..."
Before he could finish, Yu Yan interrupted, "What are you thinking? That's fifteen Medium-Grade Spiritual Stones to rent just a single room within the courtyard!"
Hearing this, Shen Ping blurted out, "What? A single room?"
"That's way too expensive!"
The rental price for a detached small courtyard lived in by 8th Layer late-stage Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Cultivators was only twenty spiritual stones a year, yet a single room in these mid-sized courtyards cost fifteen!
It was practically no different from robbery.
You had to know.
His own net profit for a whole year was only around forty Medium-Grade Spiritual Stones.
And that was only because his talisman-crafting success rate was very high and market conditions were good. Rogue cultivators at the 5th Layer of Qi Refining like Yu Yan could earn at most twenty Medium-Grade Spiritual Stones a year relying solely on income from hunting demonic beast materials. Of course, if they acted as bandit cultivators, their income would be higher, but it was equally perilous.
"There are benefits that justify the high price!"
"That Affairs Hall deacon said that the mid-sized small courtyards built this time will have a large Spirit-Gathering Array and will be connected to the Jinyang Sect's spiritual veins. Not only that, the area of each individual room is quite large, equipped with small partition rooms such as a quiet chamber and a material processing room."
Hearing this, Shen Ping fell silent.
Just the connection to the Jinyang Sect's spiritual veins alone was enough to make countless cultivators' hearts flutter.
The pioneering branch sect of the Jinyang Sect was situated right atop the spiritual veins of Yunshan Marsh, where spiritual energy was abundant—something the Cultivation Market simply couldn't compare to.
And spiritual veins were crucial to cultivators.
The higher a cultivator's level, the more they needed an environment with spiritual veins.
"Alas, what a pity. Not only can we not afford to rent one, but once they're built, it won't be our turn anyway!"
Yu Yan shook her head and sighed. "Right now, many high-grade cultivators are eyeing them; how could mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators like us possibly compete with them?"
With that, she turned and walked back into her room.
A few days ago, she had learned about Shen Ping's breakthrough, and had offered her congratulations then.
"Manager Chen, about those mid-sized small courtyards..."
As soon as Shen Ping returned to his house, he sent a transmission message to Manager Chen.
Not long after, Manager Chen replied, "Fellow Daoist Shen, it's probably looking grim. I didn't expect the Jinyang Sect to connect these mid-sized small courtyards to the spiritual veins. Already one hundred of the three hundred courtyards have been reserved, and the rest will be supplied primarily to late-stage Qi Refining cultivators!"
"However, it will take at least half a year to complete construction, so Fellow Daoist Shen might still have a chance."
Shen Ping's heart sank. He had thought they were too expensive before, but as it turned out, he couldn't even rent one.
"Manager Chen, I beg you to keep an eye on this for me. If any houses become vacant, please notify me immediately."
"No problem!"