Chapter 128 – Renting a Spiritual Field
"This Tier-3 Windriding Art costs 300,000 spirit stones? That's insanely expensive." Gu Mo picked up a jade slip, clicking his tongue in surprise.
After understanding the current situation of the Qinglu Sect, Gu Mo was left with only one choice—keep a low profile and secretly increase his strength.
After all, the local Nascent Soul-level sects had all gone silent. As a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, how could Gu Mo possibly challenge a major sect backed by two Nascent Soul cultivators head-on?
If the local Nascent Soul sects were to make a move against Fenghua Sect, Gu Mo might be able to stir up some trouble from the shadows. But for now, the smart move was to hide and gradually build his power.
Once he reached the Nascent Soul stage and cultivated a batch of Tier-4 spiritual plants, he would personally crush the Fenghua Sect.
To increase his strength, Gu Mo naturally prioritized improving his False Core Incarnation. This avatar was his core method of protection. After his battle with the Fenghua Sect's False Core cultivator, Gu Mo realized many shortcomings in his avatar—chief among them, its poor escape technique. Whether pursuing enemies or fleeing, a subpar movement technique could spell disaster.
So, Gu Mo made his way to the Cloudsky Immortal City's Technique Pavilion. Typically, sects tightly guarded their cultivation methods and secret techniques, never letting them leak. But Cloudsky Immortal City openly sold theirs.
While top-tier techniques and secrets were still restricted, many ordinary methods and spells were available. The city also purchased cultivation techniques from others—if the city didn't already have it, they would pay generously.
All items were appraised by Cloudsky's powerhouses before being put on sale, so buying from them came with a guarantee—but a pricey one.
Take this Tier-3 Windriding Art Gu Mo was eyeing. It was a relatively standard technique, not even a secret or forbidden art, yet it cost 300,000 spirit stones.
Even though it was a Tier-3, Golden Core-level technique, 300,000 spirit stones was a significant expense even for a Golden Core cultivator. Spirit stones were needed for many things, and not every cultivator would be willing to drop that much on a single, ordinary spell.
After all, any Golden Core cultivator could join a sect as a guest elder and receive plenty of resources—including techniques and secret arts.
There was no need to spend a fortune here—unless one was a rogue cultivator unwilling to join a sect.
But even rogue cultivators would likely find better ways to spend that money, such as on critical cultivation resources. If they really needed a technique, they could try buying from another cultivator—though there'd be no guarantee, the price would be far lower.
However, for Gu Mo, that guarantee mattered. While he had a False Core avatar, his current knowledge wasn't enough to spot flaws in Tier-3 techniques. If he learned a faulty technique and it failed him in battle, the consequences could be fatal.
Gu Mo's wealth made paying 300,000 spirit stones easy, but he had more important things to buy—so he wanted to save as much as possible.
What he needed more than anything was a spiritual field. This was critical to him. In his Black Mist Space, the Tier-2 supreme-grade Sunflower was already halfway to leveling up. But without a spiritual field, he couldn't plant it to gather solar essence, so the upgrade had stalled.
That made renting a spiritual field an urgent matter—ideally, a Tier-3 field. Then once the Tier-2 Sunflower finished evolving, he could immediately start harvesting Tier-3 solar essence.
Gu Mo didn't know the going rate for Tier-3 fields, so he needed to conserve funds as best he could.
Just like with techniques and secrets, Cloudsky Immortal City also sold spiritual fields and spiritual veins. This was a highly commercialized cultivation city. Many things considered sacred and untouchable in traditional sects were up for sale here.
"Let's deal with the spiritual field first."
Gu Mo set down the jade slip and left the Technique Pavilion. The field was the priority—techniques could wait. As long as he stayed inside the city, it was unlikely he'd encounter combat.
Safety was a key feature of an Immortal City, more important even than foot traffic. A city without safety couldn't attract residents or visitors.
Thus, combat was strictly forbidden in the city. For blood feuds that couldn't be resolved peacefully, the city offered dueling platforms—for a fee, of course.
Outside of those platforms, anyone who started a fight would be dealt with harshly. Threatening the city's safety was akin to undermining its foundation—something the city would never tolerate.
"This should be the place."
Pulling out a map he had purchased earlier, Gu Mo located a site marked as a "City Asset Office"—the department in charge of managing, selling, and leasing all city-owned properties.
The city's properties weren't limited to the main city and its four satellite cities. Any spiritual veins, fields, or resource sites within its territory were considered part of its real estate.
The spiritual field Gu Mo sought would most likely be outside the city. Though the five cities were massive, land within them was incredibly expensive. No one would waste that space on farming fields—building residences or cultivating abodes was far more profitable.
Only the vast, sparsely populated outer areas could afford to convert spiritual veins into fields.
Whether or not Tier-3 fields were available remained to be seen. With cautious optimism, Gu Mo stepped into the grand hall before him. It was spacious and nearly empty.
At the center stood a massive rack adorned with numerous wooden placards, each listing rentals or sales for various spiritual veins, fields, and shops.
Seeing this, Gu Mo strode forward and swept his divine sense over them. He quickly reviewed the information and frowned slightly.
There were no Tier-3 fields listed. Given that Tier-3 fields were a rare resource, it was unlikely they'd be so casually put on display.
So, Gu Mo decided to ask directly.
His gaze shifted to a counter along one side of the hall, where he quickly locked onto a middle-aged cultivator. "Greetings, senior." As Gu Mo approached, he sensed the man's False Core aura—this was a False Core cultivator.
Currently, Gu Mo was in his Foundation Establishment true body, so when facing a False Core cultivator, he acted accordingly. If he had come in his False Core avatar, he could have addressed the man as a peer.
"Property transactions and rentals are over there." The man pointed toward a few nearby counters, each staffed by a young, attractive female Qi Refinement cultivator.
"I wish to rent a Tier-3 spiritual field," Gu Mo stated his purpose.
"A Tier-3 residence?"
The man straightened up and gave Gu Mo a thorough look. A Foundation Establishment cultivator wanting to rent a Tier-3 residence wasn't unheard of. Talented, wealthy cultivators often did just that. For example, some would rent a Tier-2 residence during the Qi Refinement stage to speed up cultivation.
This wasn't frivolous spending—it was because their cultivation progressed so quickly that lower-tier abodes couldn't meet their needs, forcing them to use higher-tier ones.
"Wait, no—he said a Tier-3 spiritual field."
Suddenly, the man realized his mistake. A spiritual field's spiritual energy was bound to the land and couldn't be used for cultivation.
So, someone looking to rent a field was either a spiritual plant cultivator or part of a cultivation family seeking land for long-term development.
But the man couldn't discern what kind of person Gu Mo was. Of course he couldn't—Gu Mo's aura was masked by a perfected Aura Concealment Technique. Even his appearance was fake. That's how he could inquire about a Tier-3 field without raising alarm.
Gu Mo wasn't worried about being targeted for his wealth. He could easily change his appearance and aura to vanish without a trace. Besides, a city of this scale wouldn't bother harassing someone over a mere Tier-3 field. If word got out that the city preyed on guests, the backlash would cost more than any number of fields.
This wasn't like the Yuqian Marketplace, which tried to rob Gu Mo over a supposedly valuable demon core.
There aren't any third-tier spirit fields for rent here. You'll need to keep an eye on the grand auctions held in the Immortal City—only then do third-tier spirit fields become available," the middle-aged cultivator said with a shake of his head.
"Thank you for the clarification, Senior!"
While it was disappointing to hear that there were no third-tier spirit fields available, Gu Mo had expected as much. He had already mentally prepared himself for the fact that acquiring one wouldn't be easy.
The grand auction in the Immortal City wasn't held annually, but once every five years. Smaller auctions did take place every year, but the chances of a third-tier spirit field appearing in those were exceedingly slim.
Regardless of whether it was a first-, second-, or third-tier spirit field, each was a top-grade asset within its tier. Even renting one was highly valuable. After all, a well-managed third-tier spirit field could continuously produce third-tier spirit herbs.
It was essentially a chicken that laid golden eggs—and only a place like Cloudsky Immortal City had the luxury of putting such things up for sale or rent. Other sects or factions wouldn't even consider doing so.
Returning to the display racks, Gu Mo accepted that there were no third-tier spirit fields and decided he would have to settle for a second-tier one for now. He couldn't afford to just sit around for years waiting.
"A top-grade second-tier spirit field!"
Before long, Gu Mo spotted a listing for a top-grade second-tier spirit field. If a third-tier wasn't available, a top-grade second-tier one was the next best thing. In fact, with enough resources, there was even a chance to upgrade it to third-tier.
However, renting this particular second-tier field came with conditions. The first was that the renter had to be a second-tier spirit cultivator. The second was that the field must be used to grow a specific kind of spirit herb. The third required offering protection to the cultivator family that owned the field.
These were strict terms. For instance, the second condition—specifying what kind of spirit herb had to be grown—was already a dealbreaker for many spirit cultivators, as each had their own specialties.
But in exchange for those conditions, the rental fee was… nothing.
That's right—if you met the requirements, the top-grade second-tier spirit field could be rented for free. And as it happened, Gu Mo seemed to qualify for all of them. He had already mastered some second-tier spirit cultivation techniques during his Qi Refining stage, and now that he was officially a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it followed naturally that he'd be recognized as a second-tier spirit cultivator.
As for growing the required spirit herb—thanks to his training in the Qingmu Sutra Manual, Gu Mo could cultivate almost all common spirit plants. Only those requiring extremely rare conditions would pose a challenge, and this didn't seem to be one of them.
The third requirement—providing protection for the original owners—was trickier. It all depended on whether that family had provoked any powerful enemies. If they'd gotten on the wrong side of a Core Formation cultivator, Gu Mo would have no choice but to walk away.
But that seemed unlikely. If the family had no Core Formation-level cultivators of their own, it was hard to imagine they could even provoke one. At most, they might have angered someone at the Pseudo-Core or External Core stage. And even that would be a stretch. You needed sufficient strength to even be qualified to offend someone that powerful.
Taking the wooden token from the shelf, Gu Mo walked to the counter where a beautiful Qi Refining-stage female cultivator sat. He began the registration process, and the Immortal City's asset management office would then notify the owner of the spirit field to come and finalize the contract with him.
About an hour later, a graceful woman arrived in the reception room. Her hair was pinned up to reveal a slender white neck, and a custom-tailored robe hugged her curvaceous figure, exuding a mature charm. Her appearance instinctively drew Gu Mo's gaze.
Of course, beyond being momentarily struck by her beauty and poise, Gu Mo also took note of her cultivation level—mid Foundation Establishment.
"Early Foundation Establishment?"
Fang Jiaoyan was momentarily surprised when she saw the one looking to rent her family's spirit field. She had expected at least a late-stage Foundation Establishment spirit cultivator. It wasn't that she looked down on his cultivation level; her concern was whether his skills as a spirit cultivator were sufficient. After all, two of the three conditions she had listed were directly tied to that expertise.
Still, Fang Jiaoyan quickly set aside her surprise. She stepped forward and offered a graceful salute. "This humble woman is Fang Jiaoyan. Greetings, fellow Daoist." Even though her cultivation was higher, she kept her tone respectful. After all, this man could very well be her family's savior.
"No need for formalities, Fellow Daoist Fang."
Gu Mo was momentarily taken aback by her polite demeanor but quickly stood up and returned the courtesy.
After brief introductions, they moved on to discussing the contract. Primarily, this was to verify whether Gu Mo truly met the listed requirements.
Gu Mo promptly brought out a spirit plant and activated the Qingmu Sutra Manual. The plant in his hand began to grow rapidly. To a mortal's eyes, it would've seemed like a miracle.
Even Fang Jiaoyan's eyes sparkled with admiration. That one simple display was enough to demonstrate Gu Mo's skill in the art of spirit cultivation.
"Fellow Daoist Hu, your talent in the field of spirit cultivation is truly impressive." Fang Jiaoyan's lingering doubts were finally dispelled.
She referred to him as "Fellow Daoist Hu," of course, because Gu Mo had used the alias Hu Shuo. He had no intention of revealing his real name.
"Then, Fellow Daoist Fang, would you mind telling me more about your situation?"
Now that he had proven his ability, it was time for Gu Mo to assess whether this was a trap in disguise. He needed to be sure there weren't any hidden dangers waiting to swallow him whole.
After all, the conditions she'd listed were already rather unusual—if there was a hidden pitfall, Gu Mo would have to turn her down.
(Show your support and read more chapters on my Patreon: [email protected]/psychopet. Thank you for your support!)