Chapter 131 - Jingli Immortal City

“I’m a bit nervous,” Tianren said.

“I’m excited,” Tianyi said, clenching her fists and looking carefully toward the horizon, waiting for Jingli Immortal City to come into view.

“You could do with a bit more excitement,” Shu Yang said, patting his son on the shoulder. “You’re far too stiff. This is the beginning of a whole new chapter for our family.”

“Exactly, exactly,” Tianyi said, jumping to her brother and patting him on his other shoulder.

“You could also do with some nervousness,” Shu Yang said, turning to his daughter. “Remember, this place is filled to the brim with powerful cultivators. If you offend someone, it can spell our doom.”

“Oh,” Tianyi said, trying her best to change her expression to one of worry. But the glint in her eyes couldn’t be concealed.

‘Whatever, it’s good that she’s looking forward to it.’

Shu Yang had already warned everyone several times during their journey. He doubted anyone would stir up trouble for no reason.

“Is that it? That has to be it!” Tianyi suddenly called out, pointing toward the horizon.

“I can’t see anything. Are you sure you’re not mistaken again?” Tianren asked.

“I am absolutely certain. Dad, don’t you think so?” Tianyi asked.

Shu Yang nodded slowly. “That should be it.”

They had been flying over Zhixian Immortal Land for the past day or two, and there had been a couple of places along the way that looked quite grand from a distance, and Tianyi, who was the most excited and had the best eyesight, had called out many false alarms.

But the place in front of them now couldn’t be mistaken for something else. He had to turn his head, even from this vast distance, to see the entirety of the Immortal City.

‘It’s almost like I can feel the aura of the Golden Core cultivators there. But surely that must be my imagination?’

Shu Yang left his children and walked over to Bian Fenglin.

“Looks like we’re here,” Shu Yang said.

“Took us long enough,” Bian Fenglin said, stretching. “I’m really looking forward to coming home again, but I guess that’s still a few days away.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be alright. Thank you again for coming with us,” Shu Yang said.

“It’s fine. What’s a day or two more?” Bian Fenglin said, waving the matter off.

At first, Bian Fenglin would only drop them off, and then turn back to the Sword Sect right away. But Shu Yang figured it was a bit risky to step into this new strange land without him.

If something went wrong, the consequences would be disastrous. He wasn’t alone this time, after all, he had his entire extended family with him.

So, despite feeling a bit embarrassed to ask for yet another favor, Shu Yang had asked Bian Fenglin to stick around until they had settled into their new home.

He did have a good excuse, which was that Xiaoshi and Tianhu would be traveling with their children and see them off at the Sword Sect. But after that, they would need to return to Jingli Immortal City. How would they find them in this place if they left before they found a place to stay?

Bian Fenglin also saw the logic, and didn’t make a fuss about it. So now, Shu Yang was a bit more at ease. If something went wrong, he could return to the flying ship and ask Bian Fenglin for help.

“Do you know where to go already? I thought you had never been here?” Shu Yang asked when he noticed Bian Fenglin turning the flying ship to the south.

“I haven’t been, but I’ve been to similar cities,” Bian Fenglin said, “You can’t just approach the formation from any direction you want and wait for someone to come and let you in. We have specific routes for these things. One route is to the north of the city, and one is to the south. South is closer, so we’re heading there.

“That also happens to be the territory of the city directly under the control of the Sword Sect, so getting in and out should be easier. Not to mention that I imagine you’d prefer a courtyard in that area anyway.”

“I thought the whole city was under the Sword Sect?” Shu Yang asked.

“This whole province is under our control, if you really want to get into it,” Bian Fenglin answered, “But reality is a bit more complicated of course. We can’t have more than a single Golden Core cultivator stationed here, so we have to give some benefits to the Golden Clans living here. Not to mention that families like these are the backbone of the Sword Sect. Several Elders and countless disciples currently in the Sect share the surname Zhi, Duo, or Hong. The Clans here and the Sword Sect aren't two entirely separate entities.”

‘I guess that makes sense.’

Shu Yang doubted that many, if any, of the cultivators in the Sword Sect came from some ordinary family in the mortal world. They just didn’t have the bloodline needed.

“Looks like a shipment from the Beast Taming Sect,” Bian Fenglin commented as their flying ship lined up to the south of the city.

In the distance, Shu Yang could make out a flying ship with an insignia that he guessed represented the Beast Taming Sect.

“There should be quite a lot of beast tamers in the city,” Bian Fenglin continued. “If you have the money, and the opportunity, you should try to see if anyone in your family has an affinity towards it. Since you have such a good relationship with Xiaorong, it’s very possible you carry some kind of trait that would make beast taming easier.”

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“Maybe,” Shu Yang said. He didn’t really have anything against his family becoming beast tamers, he just didn’t want Xiaorong to be subjected to it.

‘I guess it’s worth a try.’

He knew no one had a trait like that, but it might still be possible for someone to progress on that path if they worked hard enough for it.

There were a few guards in front of the formation, but with a single glance at the token Bian Fenglin threw them, they were let inside. No one even stepped aboard to look through the ship.

‘How convenient.’

“Do you know where to go now?” Shu Yang asked as they kept flying forward.

“This is just the outer area of the city. We should at least go to the inner city before we get out,” Bian Fenglin said.

And so they continued forward, flying over the immense city.

“Even if you had a hundred years, no, a thousand years, you wouldn’t be able to see all of it,” Xinchu commented from a bit away.

Every single one of his family was now up on deck, curiously looking out at the landscape.

After about half an hour, they reached a new formation. This time, Bian Fenglin had to step forward and talk to the guards for a minute or two before they were let through. But still, no one went to check their cargo or anything like that. Shu Yang didn’t even see Bian Fenglin pay anything to enter.

Not long after they crossed the second formation, Bian Fenglin controlled the flying ship to dock at a large pagoda close by.

“This is as far as we get,” Bian Fenglin said, clapping his hands. “If we want to enter the core of the city, it would be quite troublesome. Besides, I don’t think you could afford a courtyard there, right?”

“This is plenty,” Shu Yang said. The inner city had spiritual veins ranging from low-grade to high-grade 2nd-tier. He definitely wouldn’t need anything more than that.

“Do you know where we should go to buy a courtyard?” Shu Yang asked, “Or who to ask?”

Bian Fenglin looked around with a small frown. “It should be close by. These pagodas all belong to our Sword Sect, surely one of them handles these types of affairs.” He then turned to Shu Yang. “I guess we’ll go check. I suggest your family stays behind for now. It would be a bit tricky to move around with everyone.”

“Agreed,” Shu Yang said.

He went to explain the situation to his family, and then left the flying ship with Bian Fenglin.

With Bian Fenglin leading the charge, it didn't take long at all until they reached the right building.

“Bi-...Bian?” The middle-aged man in the robes of the Sword Sect stuttered as he took a look at the token Bian Fenglin handed over.

“That’s correct. True disciple, and all that. Anyway, we just want to know if there are any courtyards, suitable for a Family Clan, that are available?” Bian Fenglin asked.

“It’s an honor to serve. Of course, Right away. Follow me,” The man said, waving his hand to follow before rushing down a corridor. A few second later, they could hear him shouting, “Get the Gengleng Tea!”

Shu Yang turned to look at Bian Fenglin.

‘True disciple, huh. And that last name seems quite impressive.’

Bian Fenglin shook his head. “No composure at all. What kind of swordsman is that? No wonder he was placed here.”

Shu Yang had to agree. He really didn't have the aura he imagined a proud disciple of the Sword Sect would have.

The two of them followed the eager man and were seated in some kind of lounge area.

“There we go. Please enjoy, and tell me if there is anything else I can do for you,” The middle-aged man said as a servant placed two cups of tea in front of them.

Shu Yang took a sip, curious, and was shocked by the amount of spiritual qi inside. He hurriedly placed the tea back on the table and focused on refining it.

“Nothing but a list of the courtyards you have available,” Bian Fenglin said.

“Of course, of course,” The man said. “Oh. My name is Duo Wengze, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” Shu Yang answered. He didn’t have the capital to dismiss anyone from the Sword Sect. “My name is Shu Yang, and I’m the one looking for a place to settle my family. Do you have anything with access to a low-grade 2nd tier spiritual vein?”

“Of course,” Duo Wengze answered. He pulled out a jade slip and handed it over. “These are all the places we have available at the moment.”

Shu Yang took the jade slip and looked through it. But couldn’t help but frown slightly. “These are all rented? Is there nothing you can buy?”

“Er, well. That’s not usually how we do things,” Duo Wengze answered, looking hesitantly toward Bian Fenglin. “But perhaps an exception could be possible. But I must warn you that it will be a lot more expensive. The Sword Sect has held these lands for well over a thousand years. To make up for the lost rent with that timespan in mind…”

He didn’t need to finish, Shu Yang understood.

‘Paying a price that would make up for a thousand years of rent? That’s idiotic. What use will this small place be for me by then? My family will have long moved on.’

“Rent,” Shu Yang said, “Rent is fine.”

It actually wasn’t terribly expensive. Most courtyards had a rent of between 80-240 middle-grade spirit stones a year.

‘Or maybe it is very expensive, just that I was lucky enough to strike rich with the inheritance. It will probably take my family a long time before we can earn enough to pay that kind of price.’

Luckily, Shu Yang had quite a bit of money. He only had 220 middle-grade spirit stones left. But the inheritance also contained 7 high-grade spirit stones.

It didn't sound like much, and Shu Yang hadn’t thought so either at first. But after talking with Bian Fenglin about it, he realized how rare spirit stones of that grade were. On paper, the price was set to 1 high-grade spirit stone for 1,000 middle-grade spirit stones. But if you took your time to find someone in great need of them, you could get a lot more.

‘Even if I just exchange them for 1000 middle-grade spirit stones each, it’s enough for decades of rent.’

He would of course need money for a lot of things in the future, and couldn’t spend it all on rent, but he felt that shouldn’t be an issue.

“I’ll take this one,” Shu Yang finally said, deciding on a fairly expensive cluster of courtyards for 220 middle-grade spirit stones.

It was a bit expensive, but that would give the family plenty of space. They couldn’t be living in too cramped an area if he wanted to entice cultivators to marry into his family.

‘Getting the chance to live in a place with a 2nd tier spiritual vein should make my grandchildren a bit more desirable as marriage partners, right?’

“Certainly,” Duo Wengze said, rising to his feet and running off to settle the details.

“Do you need high-grade spirit stones?” Shu Yang turned to Bian Fenglin and asked.

“Why?” Bian Fenglin asked.

“I have too many,” Shu Yang answered with a grin.