The Misty Cloud Main Hall was situated in the most spiritually rich central area at the foot of the Misty Cloud Mountains.
It covered a vast area, with tall and luxurious halls.
Designated cultivation areas, set up with Spirit Gathering Arrays, were provided for the guards of the Misty Cloud Mountains to use during their rest periods.
A few years ago, the spiritual land in the Misty Cloud Mountains was in high demand, and getting a good spot required connections.
A significant reason for this was the powerful patrol guards and the excellent security; no petty thieves dared to cause trouble here.
Even now, the patrol guards of the Misty Cloud Mountains still held a certain deterrent effect.
The relative scarcity of demonic insects in the area compared to other places was also due to the guards constantly suppressing them.
Therefore, for Qi Ping to rent a suitable location in the B-Zone now was arguably the best opportunity in years. Before the rogue cultivator and demonic insect troubles, it would have been truly impossible for someone like him to secure a good spot in the B-Zone.
Now, wearing his familiar straw hat, Qi Ping entered the Misty Cloud Main Hall and quickly found Manager Zhu, who was busy working there.
“Manager Zhu.”
Walking up to Manager Zhu, Qi Ping simply cupped his hands in a slight salute.
“Oh? Little Qi? What brings you here?” Manager Zhu looked at Qi Ping with some surprise. Last time, Lady Qingshu had even summoned him to Peak No. 7 and asked him many questions.
When he saw that long-deserted courtyard, he had thought both Old Man Zhou and Qi Ping had met with misfortune.
“Ah…” Qi Ping first let out a sigh, then said with a hint of fear: “Last time, a blue-robed lord from the Green Origin Sect said there might be a very powerful rogue cultivator there. He said if I could help find any trace of him, I’d get a handsome reward.”
“But I haven’t discovered anything all this time. Instead, the more I thought about it, the more scared I became. Spirit stones are tempting, but you need to be alive to spend them. So, after thinking it over, I decided to move to a safer place!”
Qi Ping delivered his prepared explanation, even letting a trace of fear show in his eyes.
This was also a good opportunity for him to explain his reason for moving.
“I see… What about Old Man Zhou?”
“With all the demonic insects and rogue cultivators lately, the old man went back to the mortal world.”
“Back to the mortal world? Well, that’s good too! At his age, he wasn’t going to achieve much more in cultivation. Retiring to the mortal world to enjoy his remaining years isn’t bad! Where do you want to move to? I’ll handle it for you.”
Manager Zhu held a bit of goodwill towards Qi Ping, whom he considered the successor of his old acquaintance. He was willing to help with such a small matter.
But Qi Ping’s next words nearly made his jaw drop.
“I want to move to the B-Zone!”
“The B-Zone?” Manager Zhu looked at Qi Ping with disbelief. The B-Zone wasn’t a big deal to him, but ordinary rogue cultivators rarely dared to take on such expensive rentals.
“Yes, the B-Zone. I’ve heard it’s much safer there…” Qi Ping confirmed, also giving his reason.
“The patrols and clearing operations by the guards nearby do make it much safer, but the rent isn’t low. The financial risk is quite high!” Manager Zhu reminded him kindly.
“Safety is the most important thing. And I’ve thought it through, I’ve been wanting to take a chance for a while now. I already have a plan to earn back the spirit stones!”
As he spoke, Qi Ping displayed the characteristic high spirits and determination of youth.
“Well, I won’t try to dissuade you then. But because the Green Origin Sect has mandated a thirty percent rent increase, I can’t help you with that. However, the spiritual land in the B-Zone has a price range. I’ll try to get you the lower end of it!”
“Thank you, Manager Zhu!”
“It’s a small matter. Let me tell you about the currently available spots in the B-Zone.”
Manager Zhu did this partly out of lingering sentiment for Old Man Zhou, and partly for his own reasons.
Due to the forced rent hike and the demonic insect troubles, a large number of tenants had left, causing a sharp drop in rental business in the Misty Cloud Mountains.
The Zhu family’s share of the profits had decreased accordingly, and his own income had fallen significantly. So, renting out a B-Zone plot was a good thing for him.
“So, how does it look? Need a recommendation? Over fifty percent of the B-Zone land is vacant now. Some of the good spots that would never be free normally are available.” After a while, Manager Zhu inquired.
“Thank you for the advice, Manager Zhu, but I already have a rough idea! It’s these two plots…”
Qi Ping said, pointing his finger at spiritual land numbers twenty-eight and twenty-nine.
“These two? They are indeed quite good. Although the spiritual energy on the medium-grade plots is somewhat less than other places, the total area is two to three times larger than other B-Zone plots. It would be very suitable for beekeeping…”
Among the currently vacant B-Zone lands, these two plots weren’t the absolute best, but they offered the highest value for money and were one of the more popular choices in the B-Zone.
Under normal circumstances, Qi Ping wouldn’t have had a chance to rent them.
“I’d like to go see the actual sites first, and come back to find you later, Manager Zhu.”
“Alright, go take a look yourself! I’ll be here waiting for you.”
After bidding farewell to Manager Zhu, Qi Ping immediately headed for the B-Zone mountains.
On the way, he could hardly contain his pleasant surprise. Plots twenty-eight and twenty-nine were excellent locations!
Although the spiritual energy density on the medium-grade land was inferior to others, there was more low-grade land, and the overall area was two to three times larger than other B-Zone plots.
Compared to Peak No. 7 in the D-Zone, it was at least four or five times larger!
And most importantly, these two plots were located deep within the Misty Cloud Mountains, sparsely populated, with non-spiritual land adjacent to them, offering excellent privacy.
It was perfect for discreet farming. In case of danger, Qi Ping could easily transform into a bee and escape into the complex terrain of the deep mountains. The large area also allowed for planting vast quantities of Hundred Spirit Grass as resource fodder for his bee army expansion. It was simply the most ideal place for Qi Ping’s development!
Soon after, Qi Ping ascended peaks twenty-eight and twenty-nine in the B-Zone. After some investigation, he immediately decided this was the place.
Large area, great privacy, rich spiritual energy!
“This place is really great!” Qi Ping couldn’t help but marvel.
The only drawback was the slightly insufficient spiritual energy density on the medium-grade land.
But Qi Ping had the four Spirit Origin Stone Pillars, rich with spiritual energy, so growing high-grade spiritual herbs didn’t rely on these medium-grade plots.
“It’s a shame I don’t have enough spirit stones right now to rent both plots.”
This was a pity for Qi Ping because plots twenty-eight and twenty-nine were adjacent. If he could secure both, this area would truly become his private garden!
With the enhancement from the Spirit Origin Stone Pillars, this place would be sufficient for Qi Ping’s development for a very, very long time!
Especially if he could obtain something even better than the Spirit Origin Stone Pillars in the future for cultivating high-grade spiritual herbs—like a high-grade Spirit Gathering Array—then he could probably develop here without any issues all the way to the Golden Core stage.
“Let’s wait for that black-robed Talisman Master’s storage bag. No matter what, a late Qi Refining Talisman Master’s assets should definitely amount to several hundred spirit stones.”
“Once I secure these two plots of land, this will become the most suitable place for my development!”
