Chapter 390: New Residence

Hearing Han Li's words, Lu Er paused, his eyes involuntarily glancing at their hands.

Only when he saw the red ring did he suddenly understand and say:

"So the Immortal Master plans to settle in this city! That's easy—both of you saw the houses built on the Sacred Mountain? Just rent any dwelling on the mountain to cultivate. Other Immortal Masters say the entire mountain is a natural spiritual vein. The higher up the house, the richer the spiritual energy, though of course the price rises accordingly."

"If you prefer to cultivate alone without renting a house, you can lease an existing cave dwelling with your own private area, but I hear the cost is far higher than a house! And whether house or cave, payment is calculated by the century—every hundred years you must pay again. If you can't pay the next fee, the Star Palace's Immortal Masters will reclaim it."

Lu Er explained all this to Han Li with remarkable efficiency.

"Oh, so if you have enough spirit stones, you can rent a place on the top levels too?" Han Li's expression turned distinctly interested.

"Immortal Master, you're joking—that's impossible," Lu Er shook his head like a rattle.

"The Sacred Mountain is divided into eighty-one tiers, each full circle upward forming one level. The first fifty tiers are open to outside Immortal Masters—if you have spirit stones, you can rent a place to cultivate. The last thirty tiers are reserved solely for the Star Palace's senior masters. The very top tier is the Sacred Palace itself—the residence of the Two Sacred Masters. No one is permitted to enter." Lu Er spoke with a slightly embarrassed tone.

After a moment's thought, Han Li declared decisively:

"Fine, show me the way. Let's find a residence first."

"Yes, I'll lead you. Fly toward the Sacred Mountain—there's a pavilion at its base dedicated to handling such matters."

No sooner had he finished than the Divine Wind Boat became a streak of white light, shooting toward the distant giant mountain.

Though the mountain appeared close, Han Li flew for a full quarter-hour before finally reaching its foot.

Under Lu Er's guidance, the Divine Wind Boat landed before a grand, imposing pavilion.

Besides Han Li, many cultivators came and went here, with occasional flashes of light ascending or descending.

Han Li glanced around briefly, then entered the pavilion with Qu Hun and Lu Er, climbing its tall stone steps.

Inside, he saw over a dozen cultivators standing before five or six solitary stone tables, speaking with individual white-robed Immortal Masters.

Some were ecstatic, others gloomy; two even pleaded desperately to the white-robed masters—each wore a different expression.

Han Li watched silently, observing for a while.

"Immortal Master, that stone table is now empty—shall we go over?" After a moment, Lu Er ventured cautiously.

Han Li had indeed noticed the vacant table and nodded.

But this time, Qu Hun led the way forward, with Han Li following behind.

This shift left Lu Er, who had assumed Han Li was the one in charge, momentarily stunned; he followed, slightly bewildered.

"Senior, are you looking to rent a residence on the Sacred Mountain? What level do you intend?" The Star Palace cultivator's gaze swept over Qu Hun, then immediately showed respect.

It seemed Core Formation cultivators commanded awe everywhere—this was precisely why Han Li had let Qu Hun speak.

"I want a cave dwelling. Are there any available? The higher the level, the better!" Qu Hun said expressionlessly.

"Cave dwelling? Wait a moment, let me check!" Hearing Qu Hun's tone, the white-robed cultivator perked up, hastily pulling out a jade slip to search.

"Found it! Three on the thirty-first tier, four on the thirty-ninth, two on the forty-seventh. Here are the prices, layouts, and functions." The white-robed cultivator laid several jade slips on the stone table.

Qu Hun, without ceremony, picked them up one by one and examined them with his spiritual sense.

Han Li had always believed he was never short of spirit stones, and even among Core Formation cultivators, he considered himself a minor wealthy man.

But after seeing the rental fees for these cave dwellings, he was still shocked.

Leaving aside the forty-seventh tier for now, even the dozens-tier caves made Han Li's heart ache—just a hundred-year lease cost two to three thousand spirit stones, absurdly expensive!

Seeing Qu Hun's expression change slightly and remain silent, the cultivator opposite seemed to guess his thoughts and smiled as he explained:

"Senior, while our Sacred Mountain's spiritual vein isn't the absolute best in the Chaos Star Sea, it's unquestionably among the top five. Even cultivating at its base is far faster than the best spots on ordinary veins. Beyond the thirtieth tier, cultivation speed increases by over a quarter. That's why the fees are so high—but it's absolutely worth it!"

Hearing this, Han Li frowned.

At that moment, Qu Hun had finished examining all the jade slips.

"This one," Qu Hun said, following Han Li's instruction, picked up one jade slip and handed it over—it was a fully equipped cave dwelling on the thirty-ninth tier.

"Fine! Two thousand seven hundred spirit stones!" The white-robed cultivator, thrilled that Qu Hun was actually renting such an expensive cave, spoke quickly and efficiently.

This time, Han Li did not let Qu Hun act—he reached into his storage bag himself, pulled out over twenty mid-grade spirit stones, and handed them over.

"Here is the cave's control token. With it, you may enter and exit freely. But after a hundred years, the token will be reclaimed. Please keep it safe." The cultivator, having received the spirit stones, beamed and handed Qu Hun a yellow plaque.

Qu Hun tucked the token away without a word and turned to leave.

Han Li and Lu Er, who had dared not interject, followed closely behind as they exited the pavilion.

"Incredibly expensive! Just to rent a place to cultivate costs so many spirit stones." Once outside, Han Li exhaled heavily, muttering in frustration.

This alone had slashed his wealth considerably.

"May I ask, Immortal Masters, where else do you plan to go?" Lu Er glanced sidelong at Han Li and asked softly.

He had been stunned by Han Li's lavish spending of spirit stones.

Though he had once guided other cultivators, their spending rarely exceeded ten or a few dozen spirit stones.

Spending two or three thousand at once—he'd only heard of such things before; this was his first time witnessing it.

Instantly, Lu Er grew even more respectful toward Han Li, and his confidence in receiving his promised reward soared.

After all, someone who spent so freely would surely not cheat him out of his small share.

"Take me to the city's marketplace and introduce me to the larger shops," Han Li said casually, glancing at Lu Er.

Then, with Qu Hun and Lu Er, he boarded the Divine Wind Boat once more and soared into the sky.

…

Many hours later, Han Li lay on a large wooden bed, hands clasped behind his head, lost in thought.

Not long ago, under Lu Er's guidance, he had toured all key locations in Feng Tianxing City, then paid him the agreed fee and parted ways.

Only after watching Lu Er depart happily did he come alone to this thirty-ninth-tier cave dwelling, rented at a staggering price.

The cave dwelling matched the jade slip's description: secluded and quiet, with a sizable herb garden.

But what pleased Han Li most was the extraordinary abundance of spiritual energy—far beyond any ordinary vein.

Compared to his old cave dwelling in Tiannan, the difference was not slight—it was immense.

This made Han Li feel the cost was truly worth it.

The accompanying array and seals were also remarkably powerful—nearly equal to his simplified version of the "Inverted Five Elements Array."

Still, Han Li did not trust his safety to the cave's existing array alone. He planned to rest briefly, then tomorrow install his own several major arrays outside it.

Only then would he truly feel secure—and only then could he properly reorganize his cultivation plan.

As he thought, Han Li drifted into sweet sleep.

These past months, he had been constantly jostling on his flying treasure—truly exhausted.

Early the next morning, Han Li woke and immediately began working nonstop.

He swiftly set up three major arrays outside the cave, then planted various medicinal herbs and spirit plants in the empty garden, to cultivate later.

Finally, he bought a large quantity of high-grade jade in the marketplace, returned to the cave, and inlaid every inch of a ten-zhang chamber with it.

Once the chamber walls became solid jade, Han Li carefully released the Gold-Biting Worms inside.

He held high expectations for these top-tier rare insects, planning to train them well so they might aid him in the future.

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