Ironically, the two big dogs had grown stronger from sneaking around and eating Spirit Rice. Their barks had grown louder and louder, and Manager Zhang wasn't bothering about them anymore. How unfortunate for him.
Having exchanged some jokes with Old Huang, Lin Yi arrived at the front of his house, sparing a glance at his neighbor with the corner of his eye, put on a smile, and pushed open his door.
In the past month, he often fed the two ferocious dogs when his neighbor wasn't watching. Initially, they resisted, but soon after, they succumbed to the allure of the Monster beast meat and gorged themselves.
Very subtly, Lin Yi became the true master of the two dogs, frequently directing them to steal Spirit Rice.
Moreover, he realized that after successfully feeding stray animals, the experience of [Junior Dung Cleaner] could increase. So during his spare time, he would secretly feed the twenty or thirty dogs managed by the Hundred Households of Spiritual Farmers in the Bing section.
Moreover, he went to the edge of the deep forest to quietly feed some common wildlife. The experience points for Dung Cleaner increased to over 60. Unfortunately, none of the animals managed to awaken their Ancestral bloodlines.
In the edge of the deep forest, he took a risk and saved a martial artist whose skill reached the innate stage named Xu Zhi Wu. He was simple and honest but couldn't find a job in Qing Yun City. Instead, he ventured into the deep forest to hunt Monster Beasts. His body was full of severe injuries when a Monster Beast Hog chased him.
Lin Yi released several Smoke Talismans and Raging Fire Talismans along with the threat from his Geng metal fingers to drive away the Monster Hog successfully.
Latter, they became friends and Xu Zhi Wu offered to help sell his talisman templates at the market to return the favor.
Lin Yi didn't refuse and made dozens of talisman templates for him to sell at the Qing Yun City market. This way, he could earn more Spirit Stones.
Many Cultivators in Qing Yun City would hire martial artists to help them sell cultivator-related items on the market. A little Spirit Pearl reward made them very grateful. With this approach, they could earn more Spirit Stones.
In the afternoon, Lin Yi went to Qing Yun City to rent a Cave Mansion for a day or two of cultivation. On account of the [Little Farmer] title, his Spirit Rice was resistant to insects and pests.
Lately, he had been careful to take care of his rice, which wouldn't be affected even if he neglected it for a day or two. Now that he had Spirit Stones, he had to refine his Qi to the middle stage as soon as possible.
Before setting off, he went to the hidden room underneath his house and took out a parcel. When he opened it, he found dozens of sparkling Lower-grade Spirit Stones. A look of realization crossed his face as he thought, "farming can keep you poor throughout your life, but making talisman templates can make three generations wealthy."
He brought more than thirty Spirit Stones with him, hid the rest under the hidden room, and then left home.
After coming to Qing Yun City, Lin Yi went straight to the Xun Fang Pavilion to rent a Cave Mansion for cultivation. Even though the spiritual Energy density was fixed, it was limitless.
You could absorb as much as you could handle. The faster your cultivation speed, the more Spiritual Energy you could absorb.
However, due to their Spiritual Roots, many cultivators couldn't efficiently absorb and refine their Spiritual Energy. Most of them only slightly surpassed the renting cost.
He was different; with the effect of [Color is Void], Lin Yi could achieve a faster cultivation speed and gain enlightenment in the process. In other words, Spirit Stones and beautiful ladies were the two life treasures essential for his Cultivation.
In the Xun Fang Pavilion, Lin Yi looked for Yu Niang and straightforwardly said, "Yu Niang, I want to bring Xiao He with me for a day or two." He didn't pose it as a question but asserted it.
"Master Lin, that's wonderful. Xiao He is usually quite miserable as she hardly gets to go out. But the price doubles when my girls leave the Pavilion—it's thirty Spiritual Pearls for each day. But since you are our honored guest, we'll give you a discount and only charge twenty-five Spiritual Pearls," Yu Niang said, leaning against Lin Yi with a seductive smile and holding up two fingers.
Lin Yi did not haggle. He agreed. Then, he took out fifty Spiritual Pearls. Unexpectedly, the very next moment, Yu Niang started touching his arm and said, "Master, if you want to take Xiao He, you must deposit an additional ten Spirit Stones as collateral. Cultivators like you all have powerful methods and I'm afraid Xiao He might be abducted. Please forgive any offense."
After hearing Yu Niang's words, Lin Yi laughed lightly. The management of the Xun Fang Pavilion was quite strict indeed. He had heard Old Huang talk about these kinds of things. So Lin Yi took out five Spirit Stones and offered, "Here are five Spirit Stones. Let's draw up a contract."
"Thank you, Master. Hustle up; Master Lin wants to take Xiao He out to play." Yu Niang then called a servant to bring Xiao He down while she went to prepare the contract.
When Yu Niang had bought Xiao He, she had spent quite a lot of money. Five Spirit Stones would be more than enough for collateral.
When Xiao He saw Lin Yi arrive, her innocent face broke into a sweet smile. She bounded over to Lin Yi's side, paid her respects, and then clung onto Lin Yi's arm.
The other girls, endowed with impressive credentials, showed envious and jealous expressions—no other guest had ever taken them out before.
"Master Lin, Xiao He, have fun. Don't rush back." Yu Niang bid them goodbye, smiling and waving them off. She hoped Lin Yi could play for a few more days.
After Lin Yi and Xiao He wandered around the market for a while, they bought some jewelry. In the mortal world, gold and silver are prized possessions, but to Cultivators, they were worth nothing.
When they neared the place they could rent the Cave Mansion, they both separated, acting as if they didn't know each other.
Lin Yi felt it was too conspicuous to march around with a girl in tow and it was against his discreet style, so they decided to enter separately.
Xiao He didn't have any Spiritual Roots. Thus, as an ordinary girl, she couldn't cultivate nor sense any Spiritual Energy and could easily enter the mansion on the pretext of finding someone in exchange for a few Spirit Stones.
Lin Yi rented a Cave Mansion suitable for mid-level Qi refining practitioners. Since it was facilitated by Liu Yun Sect, he then rented one for otherwise. Hence, Outer Sect Disciples could have a discount of fifteen Spirit Stones per day.
He thought, after refining, he needed to absorb Spiritual Energy to secure his cultivation levels. So he paid thirty Spirit Stones directly thereby renting one for two days.
The Cave Mansion Manager gave him a token that indicated the location of the Cave Mansion, told him to activate it with his Spiritual Power to enter, then waved him off for the next person in line.
Right then, Xiao He walked up to the manager and said in a charming voice, "Sir, I am an ordinary girl and wish to enter to find someone. Please allow me to go in." She handed over a Spirit Stone and revealed a cute smile.
The cultivators waiting in line were astonished at this scene.
An ordinary girl had entered a Cave Mansion, what she would do, everyone had a guess. "Who the hell would invite a girl into the Cave Mansion? Isn't this a waste of Spirit Stones?"
"If you want to dual cultivate with a girl, wouldn't it be much better at your home? There's no need to come to a Cave Mansion, right? You're spending dozens of Spirit Stones a day!"
"This is my first time seeing someone take a girl to a Cave Mansion. I've seen it all"
"I wouldn't dare to cultivate on the same ground where others had fought a dual-cultivation battle. It is beneath me and disgraceful"