After much deliberation, Lin Xiao finally decided to rent a place.
He chose a cave dwelling with an inner and outer room. Although it wasn't very large, it was sufficient for the three of them to manage.
The cost was twenty spirit stones per night, which meant five spirit stones per person, and Yuan Qing had his own funds.
Since there were still about ten days left before the Fu Master Conference officially began, Lin Xiao rented the place for fifteen days, paying three hundred spirit stones in total.
After entering the cave dwelling they had rented, Lin Xiao set up a restriction at the entrance before turning to Yuan Qing and saying:
"Fellow Daoist Yuan, for the next few days, you can stay in the outer room while Fuzi and I will take the inner room. How does that sound?"
Yuan Qing was touched, thinking that they wanted him to stay with them to avoid the danger of being alone. As for staying in the inner or outer room, such a minor detail was of no consequence, and he certainly wouldn't refuse.
Over the past few days, Yuan Qing's condition had improved significantly. Although he was still somewhat weak, he could now go out normally and use some spiritual power, allowing him to begin cultivating again.
Lin Xiao estimated that Yuan Qing would likely want to visit some of his close sect members soon. After some thought, Lin Xiao took something out of his private collection and handed it to him, saying:
"I noticed your clothes are a bit plain these days. Take this waist ornament and use it for now."
The clothes Yuan Qing had originally worn were no longer wearable, let alone any accessories, all of which had been lost during his escape. When he was ambushed, he had no time to prepare such items in his storage pouch, so Lin Xiao and the others had bought him new clothes.
Yuan Qing accepted the leaf-shaped waist ornament that Lin Xiao handed over. Seeing that it was just an ordinary accessory, not a valuable item, he thought Lin Xiao was simply trying to prevent him from looking too shabby when going out. With a smile, he gratefully accepted it.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lin."
Jiang Youfu, noticing the peach-leaf pendant in Yuan Qing's hand, instinctively touched his own.
He glanced at Yuan Qing, who seemed unaware of the true purpose of the peach-leaf pendant, and then, worried, he spoke up:
"Fellow Daoist Yuan, you must take good care of this peach-leaf pendant and make sure not to lose it. It really suits your outfit, and if you lose it, there won't be another one."
It was unclear if Yuan Qing picked up on the underlying meaning of Jiang Youfu's words, but he simply smiled back at him.
"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Jiang. I will definitely take good care of this peach-leaf pendant."
With that, he carefully fastened the peach-leaf pendant to his waist.
After tidying up the cave dwelling a bit, Lin Xiao stood up and addressed Yuan Qing:
"Fellow Daoist Yuan, we're planning to head outside the city for a bit. What about you?"
Lin Xiao had been thinking about the advertisements he'd seen on Seven Star Street in Yuanling City that offered to buy demonic beasts. Now that they had arrived safely in Banshang City and had some time before the Fu Master Conference, he thought it was a good opportunity to go out and hunt some beasts.
However, Yuan Qing's physical condition wasn't suited for such an outing, so Lin Xiao didn't include him in the plans.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Qing nodded and replied:
"Thank you for your concern. Don't worry about me. I'll just stroll around nearby and won't go far."
"Good. We'll be here for a while, so take your time. Don't rush."
With that, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu headed to the door. "We're heading out now. If you go out, be sure to stay safe."
After seeing them off, Yuan Qing wandered around the cave for a bit, then tried to meditate, but felt his meridians were too blocked. Losing the motivation to continue, he eventually decided to leave the cave as well.
Among the Qi Refining stage cultivators the sect had sent to work in Banshang City was Xu Juan. Yuan Qing figured that Xu Juan had likely already arrived and decided to go out and gather some information about the current situation in the city.
Meanwhile, after leaving the city, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu joined a group of people heading out to hunt demonic beasts in areas where low-level beasts were commonly found.
At this moment, Lin Xiao suddenly heard the long-lost system notification sound in his mind:
[Ding—Congratulations to the host for unlocking the sect construction mission: Livestock Breeding (1): An excellent sect naturally cannot lack a place for breeding. Please build a breeding ground to develop the sect's livestock industry.]
[Ding—Congratulations to the host for unlocking the sect construction mission: Livestock Breeding (2): An excellent sect naturally cannot lack a breeding ground, and such a place must have various demonic beasts for taming and breeding. Please capture at least five different demonic beasts, with a minimum of five of each, and begin taming and breeding them (Friendly reminder: The living storage area in your private storage has been unlocked, allowing the host to store demonic beasts deemed tamable by the system, with no limit on their level).]
It seemed that the system, having been dormant for a while, suddenly threw out two missions at once.
Lin Xiao, who hadn't done a mission in a long time, felt a strange sense of familiarity.
However, building a breeding ground…
He was currently in the cultivation world, so constructing something like that was out of the question.
But he could try to complete the second mission.
After all, while live beasts fetched higher prices, they were harder to transport. He had originally thought that if he encountered too many beasts at once, he would have to kill most of them. But now, the system had thoughtfully removed the previous restriction on the living storage area, which only allowed for non-sentient creatures.
This meant he could capture as many as he wanted and store them freely…
Lin Xiao could practically see a mountain of spirit stones waving at him!
Outside Banshang City, many cultivators with nothing better to do were teaming up to hunt demonic beasts, spreading out in all directions into the vast wilderness.
Before long, Jiang Youfu noticed that Lin Xiao, suddenly full of energy, dragged him away from the main group.
The farther they went, the more people left the main group, so no one noticed their departure.
As they moved farther from Banshang City, the vegetation around them grew denser.
The air became quieter, with only the occasional sound of insects or the rustle of the wind breaking the silence.
In the deep mountains and forests outside, demonic beasts were abundant.
These creatures typically avoided human cultivators' cities, so Lin Xiao had only encountered them in places like secret realms, apart from that one Silver Frost Python in Xiushui Village.
This was his first time hunting demonic beasts in such a wild, remote place.
Lin Xiao checked the basic information he had gathered in Yuanling City about areas near Banshang City where demonic beasts frequently appeared. He carefully compared directions as they moved forward.
Jiang Youfu followed closely, munching on roasted beans and occasionally tossing a handful into Lin Xiao's mouth.
Before they began cultivating, they often went up North Mountain to catch wild game, and their routine was the same: Jiang Youfu would eat the roasted beans while handing some to everyone else.