After saying farewell to Han Jing, Lin Jing walked for over an hour before finally arriving at Nanshan Market.
The market was vast, almost equivalent in size to a city, and not only were there cultivators, but also many ordinary people.
As he walked down the bustling streets, the cacophony of hawkers' calls was incessant, and the shops lined up along the streets dazzled the eyes.
His main priority now was to find a place to live, so Lin Jing did not wander about.
He made his way through the bustling streets to the administration office of the market.
"Steward, I wish to reside in the market for an extended period. May I ask if there are any houses to rent or for sale?"
Inside the administration office, an elderly man with white hair was playing with a jade pendant in his hand. At the sound of Lin Jing's voice, he glanced up and said:
"Do you have a certificate?"
"Certificate?" Lin Jing asked in confusion.
"To rent a house within the market, you need a certificate. If you don't have one, go find a place outside around the market to live."
Having said that, the steward returned his attention to the jade pendant in his hand, ignoring Lin Jing.
Lin Jing bowed and said, "Steward, my senior once mentioned that living in the market does not require a certificate. I am not sure when the rules changed; I would appreciate it if you could inform me."
Seeing Lin Jing's courteous attitude, the steward put away his jade pendant and looked up at him.
"Recently, there have been outbreaks of Demonic Beasts, often appearing to launch attacks on people. Many want to move into the market for shelter."
"The market has limited space; it can't accommodate that many people."
"Therefore, the market has set conditions."
"Only those with certificates issued by the market administration can rent a house inside."
"And to get a certificate, one either needs a recommendation or must have made contributions to the market."
"Do you understand now?"
"I see, I thank the steward for the information."
Lin Jing expressed his gratitude with a bow.
"You have arrived relatively early. If it were a few days later, even the places on the outskirts of the market would be fully occupied. While there is still not so much tension around the outskirts of the market, rent a place quickly."
"Otherwise, in a few days, there won't be anything left to rent."
The steward spoke up.
Perhaps because he found Lin Jing somewhat pleasing, he also reminded him before he left.
"Remember to rent a house as close to the center of the market as possible when you do so. The closer to the edge of the market, the less safe it is."
"Many thanks for the reminder, steward. I take my leave."
After leaving the market administration office, Lin Jing headed straight for the outskirts.
After making several inquiries, Lin Jing wandered about for quite some time before finally reaching the outskirts administration office.
After stating his purpose, one of the stewards immediately led him to inspect a house.
The dwellings in the outskirts were cramped and the alleys were narrow. After following this steward through a maze of turns, they arrived in front of a small courtyard.
"Here we are... this little courtyard fits your requirements and it's not expensive—just five Lower Grade Spirit Stones per year."
Lin Jing frowned, not expecting the rent in the outskirts of the market to be so high.
After all, when he was growing Spirit Rice at Qingyuan Sword Sect, he only earned two Lower Grade Spirit Stones per year.
Lin Jing pondered for a moment.
"Are you going to rent or not? If not, you can go towards the fringe areas near the Night Mist Mountain Range."
"It's less there, only one Spirit Stone per year."
"But I can't assure you about the safety."
Seeing Lin Jing's troubled expression, the steward thought Lin Jing didn't have enough Spirit Stones, his face falling and even his tone of voice was not as polite as before.
"I'll rent it."
Having said that, Lin Jing took out five Lower Grade Spirit Stones from his bosom and handed them to the steward.
Upon receiving the Spirit Stones, the steward immediately became all smiles.
"That's more like it."
"Rest assured, this place is much safer than those on the outer fringes. You'll soon realize that these five Spirit Stones are definitely worth it."
"Alright, this is your house from now on. If you need to pay your rent in the future or there's anything else, I'll come to inform you."
After speaking, the steward bid farewell to Lin Jing and left directly.
Lin Jing opened the courtyard door to find a small tree in the middle of the yard, a round stone table beneath it, and a house built with green bricks and tiles, with a cooking space besides it.
Perhaps because no one had lived here, the yard looked somewhat cluttered, with dead leaves and branches everywhere, even a layer on the stone table.
"Creak..."
Lin Jing pushed open the house door, and a smell of rot hit him, mingled with visible dust.
"Cough... cough cough..."
Lin Jing stepped back two steps, fanning the air with his hand.
"The previous owner of this house must have been so sloppy,"
Lin Jing remarked.
However, seeing that the sun was about to set and it was getting dark, if he didn't start cleaning up, he would only be able to lie down in the courtyard.
Lin Jing sighed and then began to clean up.
This busyness lasted till late at night.
After cleaning, the house was basically empty, and now it truly was unsuitable for living.
Wanting to get the essentials for living would have to wait until tomorrow.
"Enter the System Space."
As Lin Jing's words fell, darkness abruptly dissipated, the sunlight blared, and it was so intense that Lin Jing couldn't even open his eyes.
"It would be nice if the weather and time of day could be adjusted,"
Lin Jing mused to himself, then walked forward.
In front of him was the Spirit Field that he had planted, which upon checking, would mature in one day, whereas yesterday there were still three days to go.
In the System Space, the flow of time was twice as fast as the outside world.
From yesterday until now was precisely one day, it seemed that by tomorrow noon, he could start the harvest.
"It's just right that Senior Han gave me a Storage Bag. Once the Spirit Rice matures, I can directly pack it into the Storage Bag for selling, which makes things much more convenient."
"First, let's see how large the storage space of that Storage Bag is, to make preparations in advance."
Lin Jing took out the Storage Bag, infused it with Spiritual Power, opened the bag, and then sent his Divine Sense into it.
Immediately afterward, Lin Jing was stunned.
Five hundred.
There were five hundred Spirit Stones.
"I didn't expect Senior Han to give so much."
Looking at the pile of Spirit Stones, Lin Jing's breathing became a bit rapid; he had never seen so many Spirit Stones before.
And that wasn't all; next to the Spirit Stones was a stack of Talismans.
Lin Jing let his Divine Sense probe further.
Fireball Talisman, Cleansing Talisman, Godspeed Talisman, Invisibility Talisman...
Several types of Talismans, a total of more than twenty.
And the last two dark red Talismans were inscribed with the words 'Five Thunder Talisman.'
The Five Thunder Technique was a spell that only Foundation Establishment Cultivators could cultivate.
And these Five Thunder Talismans were equivalent to the full force of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's attack.
This was something that could save a life at a critical moment.
Lin Jing felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude; he hadn't expected such valuable things to be given to him by Senior Han.
He made a note of Senior Han's kindness in his heart.
Furthermore, after investigating, Lin Jing found that the Storage Bag was not small either, a full ten cubic meters, enough to fit all of his ten acres of Spirit Rice.
Lin Jing estimated that just this Storage Bag was worth quite a lot.
After feeling moved, Lin Jing composed himself and prepared to start cultivating.
The Spiritual Energy in the System Space was dense, Lin Jing sat down cross-legged, and soon entered a state of cultivation...
......
The next day, Lin Jing left early to purchase some necessities for living. After returning, he also took the opportunity to clean the courtyard again.
By the time he finished, it was already afternoon.
Looking at the completely renewed courtyard, Lin Jing smiled contentedly; now it really felt like a home.
After tidying up the house, Lin Jing had another task to do: the Spirit Rice in the System Space had matured and could be harvested.
Next, he would walk around to find a suitable business to sell the Spirit Rice.