The sun fully rises, and I accept the new check-in notification, receiving five more upgrade cards.
“I’ll play with you more later.” I whisper while opening the bronze door in my mind and slipping the little white fox back inside without any resistance.
I want to try cultivating with rock bee honey, and giving Meimei a taste too, but not without clear energy control booklets on how to control the elements of my four other spirit roots.
Feeling this bottleneck loosen near my fire root is my first concrete lead on how to progress my qi training further, and I’m going to follow it.
I stretch and get out of bed, despite not sleeping a wink, and make my way out of my private quarters.
Many of the Martial Warrior Mortal servants bow in passing as my loud echoing footsteps sound through the halls. Natural sunlight pours in through every window, and the rays grow even brighter once I walk into a large open center hall.
The floor is smooth white marble, and the qi in the air is just as dense as where I slept.
The arched ceiling is high in the air, hand-painted with naturally glowing designs of spiritual beasts and landscapes, and there is a raised stage in the back of the room.
Only one man stands atop it as I enter, and he quickly walks down the steps to greet me.
It is Wang Ruze, the 10th level qi refiner.
“Senior Li, you’re awake, how was your rest above our Tier 2 Vein?”
The older man bows.
“It was very insightful, thank you. But please, if we’re outside in company, please only refer to me as Li Hao, or Fellow Cultivator.”
“Understood…” he bows a few more times before raising his head.
“Where are the others? I wish to go down to the city for a while.”
“My Patriarch has retreated to his chambers with his spirit moose to recover, while the Mu Patriarch has left to the Azure Cloud Sect Law Enforcement Hall to hand over the Blood Sword Sect’s plans, then to sell off all of the tier two items you provided other than the shield.”
He looks past me toward one of the exit halls, to the far side of the Wang Family Mansion furthest from where I stayed.
“The newest young Patriarchs of the WangMu branch, they have not exited their chamber. I presume they will not for quite a while.”
Wang Ruze looks to the back of the wall where the only door to the outside is. “Mu Zhiheng is still getting used to his new cultivation. He is down in the city, presenting the verdant tower shield to the public for bids, and spreading the news of it being lent out as proof of its ability to block foundational attacks, even wielded by a 3rd level qi refiner like yourself. He’s awaiting your return with Lan Xin to hand over the spirit mines you requested. It is only one street away from your store. I’ve had a team working through the night to get it cleaned out and renovated. It should be completed by the end of the day, but if you’d like to see it now, I can bring you.”
I smile. “Yes, I would like to see it.”
–
The kind old 10th level qi refiner pulls out a flying vessel and brings me down the mountain.
We fly over the city, which looks far more vibrant and lively than usual.
The Jiang Family Pavilion in the center of town is covered in arrays, being renovated, and there is a big crowd surrounding the Mu Clan’s Pavilion where they are showing off the Verdant Tower Shield to all passersby.
When we touch down a street over, on a long walkway named Jade Market Alley, I vaguely remember passing it by once.
It was when I was here with Lan Xin, but I wanted to leave this city as fast as possible. It was because I felt the Blood Demon’s aura coming from the main square, it spooked me from exploring further, and I’m glad I followed my gut back then.
We passed by this alley while she mentioned a high-grade talisman shop owned by the Meng Clan, but I ignored her. This is one opportunity I could have jumped on earlier in hindsight.
Wang Ruze stows away his vessel, and we make our way down the alley.
After passing a few storefronts, a bright glowing blue and white Meng Family sign hangs above a very high-quality shop.
It looks very professional, and there is a strong cloud of qi coming out of its entrance. When I peer inside, there is only a young man standing behind the counter.
It’s Meng Ruo’s brother, the mid-stage talisman master. His eyes don’t seem too intelligent, and his average 7th grade spirit roots with mid-stage qi refining cultivation in his forties does not shout foundation establishment potential.
I turn to Wang Ruze, “Is the heiress of the Meng Clan ever in the city?”
He turns to the same shop I peer into and nods, “She lets her brother run it in the mornings, but often takes over the shift at midday and overnight. I could privately contact her if you needed-”
I shake my head, “That won’t be necessary. I’ll come by later. Please, show me my shop.”
We continue on further down Jade Market Alley.
These shops are far more spaced out, to give more open air and room for statues, fountains, and even some mid-stage spiritual trees to lighten the atmosphere for a better shopping experience.
The street itself is paved with polished stones, making beautiful patterns, changing colors to match the ambiance of whatever shop we pass by.
Many shops on this street are owned by late-stage qi refining families, and two we pass by are owned by the Lin and Wei Clans.
We don’t walk inside, but I peek in their display cases to see the same mid to high-grade tier 1 weapons and pills being sold. There is not a capable buying market for anything more in this city, it seems.
Three shops are completely covered by shielding arrays on this street. Two of them are being renovated into additional Mu and Wang Clan shops, as the lingering presence of the Fu and Tang Clans are being erased from this city.
The third shop, is being worked on by many initial-stage qi refiners. We walk straight inside.
“Here is where the Li General Store will be!”
The entrance of the shop has three brand new light green jade steps, and the whole outside has been turned into crystal-clear glass windows and white marble that gives off refreshing wisps of qi.
Inside, past the two heavy doors, the floor is smooth and colored the same as the steps.
There is a large empty display case in its center, and the walls are all lined with empty crystal-clear casing too.
At the back, there’s a marble counter still being placed, and a door behind it not yet put in.
I can see right through to the next room. We walk through, and a full second wide-open area is still being built. It is almost identical in size to the entrance, but there are no windows, and far more sturdy materials are being used, not entirely dependent on aesthetics. Its only two points of entry are from the front room, and a single door in the back that leads to the open-air courtyard behind the shop.
It’s entirely empty, with only plain dirt and grassy ground; all of the old belongings that were here have been cleared out.
A market quality Perfect Grade Tier 1 concealment and gathering array has been newly placed down, protecting me from anyone in the qi refining realm from peeking with their spiritual senses.
I accept all of the control disks from Wang Ruze, and he allows me to inspect it all at my own pace.
Eventually, once we circle back to leave, he stops at the door.
“I will stay to watch over the rest of the renovations. Once it’s ready, I’d even be honored to serve as the temporary shop manager. We can sell Wang Family products here and only charge you their crafting price, leaving you with the profit to do as you wish.”
“I accept your offer. Having you manage the shop while I’m away at the sect would be perfect. Though, I do not care to make much profit. I’m more interested in just having a small shop to come to as my own in the market, and maybe testing out selling a few unique products of my own. Make sure to close off the back two rooms and the courtyard. Only the front entrance display cases need to be filled.”
Wang Ruze agrees with a beaming smile, and I head off down the street with other things on my mind. The meager profits a shop can make compared to my spirit vein farm don’t interest me at all.