Although cultivators at the early Qi Condensation stage still made up the majority, the average cultivation level here was much higher than in the cheap zone.
First of all, mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, whom one could not spot a single one of in half a day within the cheap zone, were quite common here.
Even late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators had been encountered as many as eight times along the way.
And that was just what he had sensed.
Those he hadn't sensed were estimated to be no fewer than eight.
Seeing that the tour was about done, Manager Zhang led Chen An to look at the houses.
After inspecting more than ten houses in a row, Chen An finally chose one that was in a relatively remote location but occupied a much larger area.
It had three bedrooms, a living room, two courtyards, and a fully equipped kitchen and outhouse.
"Alchemist Chen, are you sure you want to choose this house?"
Manager Zhang advised, "Although this house is relatively large, it is quite far from the market area. I wouldn't really recommend choosing this one."
*Big is good; it means more people can live here in the future...*
Chen An smiled and said, "Personally, I rather fancy this house. Let's go with this one."
Seeing that he insisted on renting this place, Manager Zhang stopped trying to persuade him otherwise and began handling the check-in procedures for him.
It took nearly half an hour to complete all the paperwork.
Manager Zhang handed the house keys to Chen An, and suddenly remembering something, he reminded him:
"Right, Alchemist Chen, the person living next door to you is a female cultivator who is a bit difficult to get along with. You don't need to go out of your way to get on her good side—just treat her like she doesn't exist."
"Is that so? Thank you for the reminder, Manager Zhang."
With that, Chen An added, "Manager Zhang, there is a small matter I might need to trouble you with."
"Please speak freely, Alchemist Chen."
"It's like this: I plan to move here with my wives and concubines tomorrow after lunch, and I would like to ask Manager Zhang to come and escort us along the way."
As he spoke, Chen An tactfully took out ten low-grade spirit stones and handed them to Manager Zhang, smiling as he said, "Just a little trouble fee, I hope Manager Zhang won't disdain it."
"Escorting you is merely a trivial matter requiring no more than a flick of the wrist; there's no need to give me as many as ten spirit stones. Just give me one."
Manager Zhang took just one of the low-grade spirit stones just to go through the motions, his intention to befriend Chen An quite obvious.
Chen An was also happy to make the acquaintance of a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator, so he didn't stand on ceremony with him.
After a few casual chats, Manager Zhang mentioned he had some business to take care of right around here, bade farewell to Chen An, and left.Chen An had nothing left to do here, so he decided to head back to the budget district to help his wives pack their luggage for tomorrow's departure.
Just as he turned to leave, he saw an attractive woman walking toward him.
She looked to be in her early thirties, with a dignified and elegant appearance and a curvaceous, alluring figure like a ripe peach. Her entire being exuded the charming and captivating air of a mature woman.
Noticing Chen An sizing her up, the woman glared at him and snapped, "What are you looking at? Stare again and I'll dig your eyes out!"
With that, she brushed past Chen An, hurried into the adjacent house, and slammed the door shut with a loud *bang*.
Is this that difficult-to-get-along-with neighbor of mine?
Isn't that figure a bit unfair?
And isn't that face a bit too pretty?
Recalling the graceful and charming look of the woman as she passed by him just now, Chen An figured that someone as amiable as himself could surely get along well with all sorts of people.
Even the most difficult female neighbor could be won over.
Chapter 20: Attacked on the Way
Leaving the core area, Chen An returned to the budget district.
Instead of rushing straight home, he went to the market and bought a horse and a carriage.
The move was over twenty miles away, and his seven-month pregnant young wife couldn't possibly walk that far; they had to travel by carriage.
When Chen An drove the carriage back home, his two wives were sitting by the doorway chatting, just like yesterday.
The moment they saw their husband return, they both stood up and hurried over.
"Husband, why did you suddenly buy a carriage?" Song Huaying asked, both puzzled and curious.
Chen An flicked her forehead and chuckled, "Silly Ying'er, if your husband didn't buy a carriage, were we supposed to make you walk and move while heavily pregnant tomorrow?"
"Husband, I'm not silly at all, I'm just a little clumsy," Song Huaying pouted her rosy lips and acted spoiled.
Chen An smiled and stroked her head. "Yes, yes, yes, my Ying'er isn't silly, just clumsy."
"That's right! I'm well-versed in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, how could I possibly be silly?"
Song Huaying thoroughly enjoyed having her husband pet her head. It felt warm, comfortable, and deeply pampering.[You gently stroke your wife Song Huaying, warming her heart with sweetness. Spousal affection +1.]
"Husband, have some water."
Gu Xinyue emerged from the house with a cup of water, her voice carrying its customary coolness yet tinged with gentleness.
Chen An smiled, took the cup, and drank it down in one gulp.
Ah, freshly drawn well water—refreshing and crisp.
"Yue'er is so sensible."
After finishing, Chen An handed the cup back and gently stroked Gu Xinyue's head with a tender look.
Gu Xinyue wore a look of quiet enjoyment.
[You gently stroke your wife Gu Xinyue, making her feel exceptionally pampered. Spousal affection +1.]
After a simple dinner, the three of them began under Chen An's direction to tidy up the house and pack their belongings for tomorrow's move.
The heavy lifting fell to Chen An and Gu Xinyue.
Song Huaying, being pregnant, only handled minor items or occasionally poured tea and water for the other two.
Over an hour later, the entire house was spotless.
"It's getting late. Let's all take a bath and turn in early—we have an early start tomorrow," Chen An said, dusting off his hands.
Hearing her husband, the two women obediently went to the kitchen to heat up water.
Once the water was ready, Chen An fetched a ladle and a cotton cloth to carefully wash Song Huaying in a shower-like manner.
After all, his little wife was over seven months pregnant, making it unsuitable for her to soak in a wooden tub.
[You gently clean your wife Song Huaying's body, filling her with deep affection. Spousal affection +1.]
Having finished washing his young wife, Chen An walked her to her bedroom to rest.
He then returned to the bathroom, where he and Gu Xinyue shared a tacit understanding, stepping together into the wooden tub filled with warm water to enjoy a long-awaited mandarin duck bath.
An incense stick's time later:
[You engage in a profound exchange with your wife Gu Xinyue. Divine sense strength +1.]
"Yue'er, the carriage I bought today is very luxurious and comfortable inside. Would you like to go in and take a look?" Chen An asked, stroking Gu Xinyue's hair.
Gu Xinyue nodded. "I'd like to see it."
She never said no to anything her husband wanted to do.
Before long, the two dressed, stepped out of the bathroom, and entered the carriage parked in the courtyard.
The innocent Gu Xinyue genuinely thought they were just looking at the carriage, only to discover once inside that she had been completely tricked by her husband.
[Divine sense strength +1]
[Divine sense strength +1]
[...]
[Divine sense strength +1]
Time flew by. With the blink of an eye, before dawn, some neighbor's rooster started acting up outside, stretching its neck and crowing loudly.
Chen An was woken up.
Glancing at the sky outside the carriage, the sun had barely crested the horizon, leaving quite a while before daybreak.
With nothing better to do, he nudged Gu Xinyue awake, hoping to further boost his divine sense strength, Golden Finger strength, and mutual affection.
[Divine sense strength +1]
[Divine sense strength +1]
[...]
[Golden Finger proficiency +1]
[...]
[Affection +1]
[Affection +1]
[...]
As day broke, a light drizzle began to fall outside.
The couple emerged from the carriage and began loading the packed luggage onto it.
Soon after, Song Huaying woke up.
Gu Xinyue joined her in the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Chen An went to the bathroom for a cotton cloth to wipe up the water splashed all over the carriage interior, then sat down and mentally summoned his data panel.
[Name: Chen An]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation 4th Layer]
[Alchemy: Rank 1 Intermediate (457/500)]
[Divine Sense: Rank 1 Intermediate (110/500)]
[Golden Finger: Proficient (133/500)]
[Spouses: Song Huaying, Gu Xinyue]
[Offspring: Gestating (7 months)]
[...]
[Name: Song Huaying]
[Trait: Repaying a drop of water with a spring]
[Affection: 2 Stars (389/500)]
[Alchemy Experience Provided: 437]
[Golden Finger Proficiency Provided: 77]
[...]
[Name: Gu Xinyue]
[Trait: Pure and untainted, unswerving loyalty]
[Affection: 1 Star (58/100)]
[Divine Sense Strength Provided: 110]
[Golden Finger Proficiency Provided: 45]
[...]
After finishing breakfast, the three of them checked around to ensure nothing had been left behind.
A thorough check confirmed that nothing had been forgotten.They found a random spot to sit down, chatting and laughing all the way.
Soon, it was noon.
After finishing lunch and resting for a little while, the three of them deemed it time to board the carriage and head toward Manager Zhang's office.
Successfully rendezvousing with Manager Zhang, the group of four drove the carriage toward the central district.
Chen An and Manager Zhang sat at the front of the carriage to handle the horses.
The two wives lay inside the carriage to sleep and rest.
The journey was peaceful and quiet all the way.
Until the carriage passed through a grove, and an unexpected event occurred.
"Swish... swish... swish!"
With the sound of several branches and leaves brushing against one another, a number of masked men wielding large broadswords suddenly burst out from the previously silent and deserted woods.
At a single glance, Chen An recognized those iconic broadswords—they belonged to Black Iron Manor!
As a member of the Bamboo Leaf Gang, Manager Zhang likewise recognized the broadswords of Black Iron Manor.
The moment the adversaries appeared, he instantly drew the sword at his waist and leaped down from the carriage.
"Speak! How on earth did you people from Black Iron Manor sneak in here?!"
Manager Zhang's voice boomed like thunder, his Qi Condensation 7th Layer cultivation erupting without reservation in an attempt to intimidate the enemy.
However, the expressions on the faces of the opposing group remained entirely undisturbed; in fact, they looked almost amused.
The male cultivator leading them stepped forward, a mocking smile on his face. "So what if you're at the 7th Layer of Qi Condensation? Did you think I wasn't?"
With those words, a sudden surge of Qi erupted from him, his cultivation realm actually a fraction stronger than Manager Zhang's.
Manager Zhang's eyes widened instantly, disbelief plastered across his face. He had never imagined that this opponent was also a Qi Condensation 7th Layer cultivator, and even slightly stronger than himself!
What on earth was going on here?
Why would a Qi Condensation 7th Layer cultivator lead a team to ambush and kill him?
Had he somehow offended some high and mighty figure?
Manager Zhang racked his brain, but could not make sense of it in the short time available. He could only soften his tone significantly as he looked at the other man and asked, "Fellow Daoist, might there be some misunderstanding here?"
Ignoring him entirely, the man turned to his accomplices behind him and commanded, "I'll handle this 7th-layer sword-wielding wretch. The rest of you, make it quick—take down that alchemist and drag him back to Black Iron Manor to let that good-for-nothing trash dispose of him."
"Understood!"
The masked men acknowledged the order and immediately strode toward Chen An with their broadswords, not wasting a single breath on idle talk.
Only at this moment did Manager Zhang realize that these people from Black Iron Manor were actually after Chen An, and that he himself was merely being caught in the crossfire. An urge to retreat instantly blossomed in his heart.
He wanted to build a connection with Chen An, but he certainly had no intention of throwing his life away for him.
On the other side, watching the group of men in black closing in on him, Chen An instantly recalled the bearded cultivator he had severely disciplined at the market yesterday.
Judging by what the Qi Condensation 7th Layer masked leader had just said, he roughly understood that this was retaliation from the bearded cultivator, and that he had underestimated the status of the fellow's father within Black Iron Manor.
"Husband, what's going on?"
Song Huaying had been lying down inside the carriage, fast asleep. Awakened by the commotion outside and realizing the carriage had stopped, she sleepily lifted the curtain and poked her head out with a puzzled expression.
One of the masked men caught sight of Song Huaying's distinct baby bump, and his eyes lit up instantly, filled with an extremely perverted gaze as he said,
"Be careful not to cause a miscarriage for that pregnant woman; I'm taking her back to Black Iron Manor to properly enjo—"
"...Splack!"
Before the masked man could finish his sentence, a bright red bloody hole suddenly appeared right between his eyebrows.
...
PS: Bowing my head, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!
Chapter 21: The Snipe and the Clam Grapple
"Thud!"
The masked man with the bloody hole between his eyebrows collapsed, crashing heavily onto the ground with a dull thud, instantly devoid of any breath of life.
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
What just happened?
Why did someone suddenly drop dead?
Among them, Manager Zhang stared with wide, uncomprehending eyes.
He had just caught sight of the flash of golden light that shot from Chen An's finger, recognizing it as the second realm of the Golden Finger—Golden Light Externalization!
But how could this be possible!
The spell known as Golden Finger was notoriously difficult to master.
To successfully cultivate the second realm of Golden Light Externalization, a cultivator with ordinary talent would have to spend at least a few decades.
The effort and the reward were completely disproportionate, offering extremely poor value.
No one would ever bother practicing it.
Besides, no matter what kind of spell it was, why else would it sell for such a cheap price of only 100 low-grade spirit stones?
Which brought up the question: as a mere Qi Condensation 4th Layer cultivator, how on earth did Chen An manage to cultivate the Golden Finger to the second realm in such a short amount of time?
It was truly ghostly!
Manager Zhang was utterly baffled, his worldview shaken to the core.
"Hum!"
The sound of a blade slicing through the air rang out.
Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was distracted, the masked man from Black Iron Manor—whose cultivation was as high as the Qi Condensation 7th Layer—abandoned all martial honor and launched a sneak attack, viciously hacking down toward Manager Zhang's head.
Fortunately, Manager Zhang possessed exceptional reflexes and managed to dodge the fatal blow by sidestepping.
Yet he didn't escape completely; his right shoulder was sliced open, blood instantly seeping through and soaking a large area of his clothes.
Having failed to land the surprise attack, the Qi Condensation 7th Layer masked man immediately widened the distance between himself and Manager Zhang, acting extremely cautious and wary of giving the other man a chance to counterattack.
Then, at the top of his lungs, he roared toward his lower-cultivation accomplices near the carriage:
"What are you standing there staring for? Make it quick and finish them off!!!"
Startled by the sudden roar, the masked men who had been momentarily intimidated by Chen An's display of Golden Light Externalization immediately assumed ferocious expressions and charged at Chen An with their blades.
Yet before they had even taken a few steps, they suddenly felt their entire bodies go weak and limp, looking as though they were about to collapse at any moment.
An experienced masked man instantly realized that he had been poisoned!
"Quick, take the antidote..."
"...Splack!"
The masked man tried to warn his comrades, but halfway through his sentence, a blazing streak of golden light pierced straight through his head, and he crashed to the ground with a thud.
"Splack... splack... splack!"
A succession of dull thuds echoed through the air.
Every single one of the poisoned masked men was precisely pierced through the head by a streak of golden light, perishing instantly on the spot.
None of these masked men who died from headshots possessed high cultivation.
Aside from one who was at the Qi Condensation 5th Layer, the rest were all bottom-tier cultivators at the 3rd and 4th Layers of Qi Condensation.
Afflicted by the Bone-Softening Powder, they had zero ability to fight back against Chen An's Golden Light Externalization attacks and could only meet their demise in helpless resignation.
"Manager Zhang, I'll help you!"
Chen An shouted, but instead of stepping forward to join the melee, he chose to stay put and provide ranged support, using Golden Light Externalization to assist Manager Zhang in taking down the enemy.
Manager Zhang had previously been losing ground and stuck in a passive defense.
With Chen An's support, the tide turned in an instant, shifting the disadvantage into an advantage.
Thus, he went on the offensive, employing an intensely aggressive fighting style.
Knowing the general situation was lost and that defeat was inevitable, the sole surviving masked man refused to tangle any longer with the two of them, fighting and retreating all the way with the intention of making his escape.
How could Chen An allow him to have his way?
To release a tiger back to the mountains meant he would never sleep peacefully at night.
Without hesitation, he leaped down from the carriage to risk pursuing the retreating masked man, determined to cut him down right here.
Manager Zhang shared the exact same thought, maintaining a relentless pursuit and furiously beating a drowning dog.
Chen An provided ranged backup while Manager Zhang handled close-quarters combat; coordinating seamlessly, the two of them beat the Qi Condensation 7th Layer masked man into a miserable, battered state.
Yet no matter how battered he became, the masked man showed no intention of fighting back.
He maintained a purely defensive posture, continuously retreating.
Until the very next second, when a streak of golden light shot away his mask, revealing his true visage—at which point he suddenly stopped running.
Chen An cast a glance at him: a middle-aged man in his forties whom he did not recognize.
"Manager Ouyang, why is it you?!"
Upon seeing the masked man's true face, Manager Zhang ahead of him was struck with utter shock.
The masked man he had all along assumed to be a cultivator from Black Iron Manor turned out to be a member of the Bamboo Leaf Gang!
Furthermore, he was none other than a fellow manager of another cheap district—effectively a colleague of his!
Was this fellow trying to commit a vile deed and splash dirty water onto the cultivators of Black Iron Manor, or was he an undercover agent planted by Black Iron Manor all along?
A thousand thoughts raced through Manager Zhang's mind, yet unable to make sense of it, he simply demanded bluntly, "Manager Ouyang, what on earth is going on here?"
That Manager Ouyang ignored him, silently retrieving a blood-red pill from his tunic and tossing it into his mouth.
It was a Blood-Crimson Pill!
A wicked drug capable of briefly boosting one's cultivation realm, at the cost of damaging one's foundational roots afterward!
Recognizing the vicious drug, Manager Zhang immediately swung his sword and slashed toward Manager Ouyang.