Chapter 70: Moving In

Floating Tower City is slightly smaller than Panxing City, and it gets its name from a high tower that hovers half‑in the air within the city.

Before entering the city, one can already see the floating tower in the sky from afar, hear the bell chimes at its eaves, and feel a sense of tranquil years that washes away worries.

After entering, it is evident that the locals here are more relaxed and leisurely than those of Panxing City.

Jiang Yu, upon first arriving, naturally bought a map and scouted a few spots.

That day in Panxing City, she had also asked the inn staff about guarantors.

They said that any member of a family that has existed for a hundred years in the city, whether immortal or mortal, qualifies. This condition applies to any immortal city.

After all, there are countless wandering cultivators, and letting them move in generates revenue for the immortal city; overly strict rules would not work.

Having walked the mortal district several times and formed a notion, Jiang Yu then went to look for a bookstore on the street.

She firmly believed that the shopkeepers and clerks in each store know the surroundings well, and the ones she can most easily deal with are the bookstore and apothecary.

Sure enough, the shopkeeper, upon seeing she was a cultivator, became even more eager to help, saying, "My old man's nephew has a room in a side alley; I wonder if an immortal master would be interested.

Oh, my nephew's family also has cultivators and lives in the house next door."

Jiang Yu, curious, noted that she was wearing mortal clothes and shoes today and had no storage bag at her waist, and asked, "How did you tell I'm a cultivator?"

The shopkeeper smiled, "My old man has lived in Floating Tower all his life, and our family has relatives who practice cultivation, so we can sense a bit."

"I see," Jiang Yu replied, having thought the shop might have something that measures spiritual pressure, since most cultivators traveling outside do not deliberately suppress their aura.

The shopkeeper instructed his clerk to watch the shop, and soon led her to a small alley she had passed before—secluded, quiet, with old houses.

When they reached the innermost residence, before the door was even knocked, a female cultivator opened it and said, "Uncle, why do you have time to come?"

The shopkeeper stated his purpose directly, "I'm introducing a tenant to you; this immortal master wishes to rent for a year and needs a guarantor to process a permanent residence token."

Jiang Yu instantly recognized the female cultivator as one of the three she had helped on Snow Mountain.

The female cultivator also noticed her and, with a hint of doubt, said, "Fellow cultivator, you seem familiar."

"Snow Mountain," Jiang Yu thought, stating her background, hoping the matter would go more smoothly.

"So you are a fellow cultivator, please come in quickly; I am called Wen Qian.

Uncle, you've been a great help; this is my lifesaver." Wen Qian hurriedly ushered the two into the courtyard.

The shopkeeper waved his hand, saying he was busy, and stepped aside to whisper a few words before departing.

"Fellow cultivator, have a seat; after you view the house, I'll go to the Steward Hall to vouch for you. Each year the fee is only one hundred spirit stones, or you can pay for five or ten years at once.

Also, the house is free to live in." That day, had the other party not intervened, Wen Qian knew her elder brother and junior brother could not defeat the Ice Wolf; with her own cultivation only at the eighth layer of Qi refinement, she would certainly not escape disaster.

"No, no, no, one thing for another; that day I already received the goods." Jiang Yu didn't linger in pleasantries; after a few words, she went next door to view the house.

The main house has all the side rooms, the courtyard comes with a simple defensive seal, compact and clean, suitable for solitary living, though the spiritual aura is thin.

However, she does not plan to live here permanently, only to temporarily register with a blocking house, and two hundred spirit stones a year is truly

So after securing the permanent residence token, they immediately separated from Wen Qian, saying, "I want to wander around on my own."

Thus, after processing the permanent residence token, she immediately partied with Wen Qian, saying, "I'd like to wander around on my own."

"This is for Fellow Jiang to use; it's a guide to the city's reputable shops.

It also includes a classification of items in the wandering cultivator trading area." As a cultivator, Wen Qian knew some prefer solitude.

Jiang Yu thanked her, took it, and within moments blended into the crowd, disappearing from her sight.

Only then did Wen Qian send a message to her elder brother and immediately received a reply: "We'll treat you later to thank Fellow Jiang.

I want to take on the Min family's task in Panxing City; little sister, what do you think?"

"No, it's not feasible; risking one's life can only earn a few spirit stones, still not enough to buy pills."

The Min family's reward is a low‑grade Foundation‑Establishment Pill; you and your junior brother must establish a foundation within five years, or you'll miss the great opportunities that follow.

"It's decided; my junior brother and I will go participate, we can receive two pills, and you'll each get one."

"It's decided; my junior brother and I will join, and we can receive two pills, one each for you."

"You should rent a cave dwelling to close‑up and refine Qi to the ninth layer; after achieving that, you can spend another two years refining to establish a foundation."

Jiang Yu was unaware of the siblings' message; had she known, she would surely have cursed Min as deceitful, since a low‑grade Foundation‑Establishment Pill sells for eighty thousand spirit stones each in Panxing City.

Yet the original contract paid her only eight thousand spirit stones and a few pills, totaling no more than ten thousand.

At this moment, after buying a good amount of food, she turned back to the Steward Hall to inquire about renting a cave dwelling for seclusion.

The steward unfolded a terrain map for her, pointing out each location in turn: "Cave dwellings are graded A through D; tier C, which is shaped like the character for 'heaven', is ideal for establishing a foundation in seclusion."

It costs five thousand low‑grade spirit stones per year, with short‑term rent at five hundred spirit stones per month.

I see your aura hasn't reached the proper stage yet; perhaps when you near the foundation‑establishment threshold, you could lease a heaven‑shaped cave for six months and use a yellow‑shaped cave for cultivation the rest of the time.

If the yellow‑shaped dwelling isn't fully occupied, you can sell the remaining lease to us for a discount of one hundred spirit stones.

Generally, compressing internal spiritual energy into liquid requires three to five months.

A genius who establishes a foundation within one or two days is not the norm.

Jiang Yu paid two thousand low‑grade spirit stones on the spot to rent a yellow‑shaped cave for one year, and he left with a good impression of the steward surnamed Qu who handled the lease.

After she took the cave key and left, a foundation‑establishing cultivator who was on duty couldn't help but laugh, "Old Qu, which time this month is it?

There's no one else who persuades people to rent cheap caves like you."

"Young people have it hard; consider it a good deed for the day." Old Qu, who has been stuck in foundation‑completion for several years, feels that the longer it lasts, the more cultivation is not just about power, but also about cultivating a simple Daoist heart.

He also adheres to his original heart, cultivating his own Daoist heart in hopes it becomes complete and harmonious, granting him a chance to form a core.

And Jiang Yu, who set the formation in the cave, cared not who the neighbor was; from today she would close up again.

In the later stage of Qi refinement, one can sit in meditation for consecutive days; with pills nearby, whenever she feels a slight lack of spiritual power, her protector Jiang Tu will feed her a pill.

Jiang Yu rests one day every ten‑plus days, either practicing swordsmanship, drawing talismans, or preparing a big meal for her little companions.

She also spends more time refining the un‑hilted spirit sword, using several new magical implements for repeated honing.

Thus month after month, when the fruit‑snatching competition ended, the neighboring Wen Qian received her elder brother and junior brother, who returned with severe injuries and the foundation‑establishment pills; Jiang Yu was still cultivating.

After five months, she felt she was gradually entering a good state, so she intensified her cultivation and did not emerge from seclusion.

Time slowly arrived at the late autumn and early winter of the following year; one day, when Jiang Yu pushed open the door, she had already reached the Great Completion of Qi Refining cultivation, while Ao Ze was still asleep.

She stretched a big yawn: "Go, Jiang Tu, we need to make up the rent again, then have a big meal in order to go to Heaven-character-sized big-and-small closed-door cultivation."

Effective cultivation truly makes one addicted.

"Your closed-door cultivation this time lasted over a year, and the effect is pretty good."

"But I have some bad news to say." Jiang Tu explained his situation like this, and Jiang Yu furrowed her brow several times in the middle.

"So we have to go to the old site of the Cloud Mist Immortal Sect for closed-door cultivation?"