The King of Black Fog

The clerk lost his smile, and his face showed restrained anger and impatient calm.

He stared at the young girl for a while, then sighed heavily, "Alright! Five Spirit Stones, you can take both the cultivation technique and spell!"

"No, no, no, I really only want the cultivation technique. I'll come back to buy spells from you once I master it!"

The clerk fell silent again.

"How about... four Spirit Stones?" the girl tentatively asked.

The clerk grabbed the Spiritual Contract and slapped it on the table, "Sign it! You can only pay with Spirit Stones!"

The girl signed her name with delight, paid four Spirit Stones, and hid the "Cloud Rain Green Wood Skill" in her bosom.

The clerk was so angry that he didn't even look at the contract, casually tossing it into the store's storage room, missing the girl's notorious name—Xian'er.

Even when he was doing favors in business, the price had never been this low.

It was just because the cultivation technique could be sold multiple times. For any other cultivation item, he would never accept such a price.

Actually, the girl didn't have to buy the cultivation technique.

Li Changzhou had simplified his breathing method so much that even Xian'er could achieve something with it.

But he didn't do it, keeping in mind the Winds of the Fourth World's reminder: societal principles.

He was continually pondering this matter.

After leaving the Purple Bamboo Mountain Cultivation Technique Store, the girl, guided by Li Changzhou, arrived at the Favorable Weather Land Contract Pavilion.

After a tortuous and fierce bargaining and considering the recent abundance of vacant houses, she finally bought a courtyard for one Spirit Stone.

"Besides the money for buying the house, the homeowner must give one Spirit Stone to the Green Moon Sect every year," said the seller.

"Why?" the girl asked, puzzled.

The man smiled: "You live on Green Moon Sect's land, breathe their Spiritual Energy, of course, you have to pay taxes.

"There are ways not to pay, just don't register. Green Moon Sect won't inspect if someone lives in a property, but once the courtyard is sold a second time, Green Moon Sect won't care, and they'll make you pay all the past breathing taxes and do labor services."

The girl obediently registered, and in doing so, every year a Green Moon Sect disciple would come to collect taxes according to the registered list.

"Xian'er?" Finally, someone noticed the girl's name.

The girl's face turned scarlet, and she quickly slipped away with her blood-dripped Jade Token.

This is like naming oneself "Emperor," "Your Majesty," "Empress," "Crown Prince." How could someone not be embarrassed when teachers, classmates, friends, and coworkers call out such a name?

With the last Spirit Stone, the girl bought a bag of the lowest-grade ninth-rank Spiritual Rice Seeds, a bag of ninth-rank Spiritual Vegetable Seeds, and some daily necessities.

She also wanted to save a few Spirit Crystals for emergencies, but Li Changzhou insisted she spend them all to buy a heap of miscellaneous books.

[Money, if not used to enhance strength and spent on oneself, will eventually belong to someone else.]

"But," the girl tightened the big sack on her shoulders, "what if there's no money when you need it?"

[Then go kill and seize treasures. Those who don't spend money on cultivation are inevitably relatively weaker.]

The purchasing power of Spirit Stones is mighty, so Li Changzhou guessed that not everyone who dies becomes a ghost; otherwise, how could a hanged ghost be worth four Spirit Stones?

Before long, the girl was too exhausted to speak.

After much hardship, she finally reached her courtyard following the map.

The courtyard was at the foot of the mountain, not large, with just a room and a small yard.

There was a green plum tree in the yard, with no Spiritual Energy, just an ordinary green plum, and a well.

In the distance were several mountains, one of which was covered with terraced fields, all Spiritual Fields.

Among these terraces, a small plot of Spiritual Field belonged solely to this courtyard. After Xian'er had introduced Energy into her body, she could cultivate it, which was a benefit only after registering.

The harvested Spiritual Rice and Spiritual Vegetables, half would go to Green Moon Sect.

Spiritual Rice and Vegetables also needed to breathe Spiritual Energy, naturally requiring a breathing tax.

Xian'er took out her Jade Token, and the courtyard wall without a door seemed like a pair of giant hands opening up, revealing a stone path.

"Amazing!" Xian'er finally relaxed here.

Once inside the yard, she touched everything here and there, even climbed up the green plum tree like a monkey to look out into the distance.

Courtyards of others were shrouded in layers of mist, which was a Formation. Others saw her courtyard the same way.

As long as she didn't look at the courtyard, other places were unaffected by the mist. It was bright, the sky blue, Flying Dragon pulling carts, Giant Python meandering along, Talisman Swords darting, and Immortal Cranes flying about.

The girl stood on a branch, made a trumpet shape with her hands, and suddenly shouted:

"Ah!!!"

A passing Talisman Sword instantaneously accelerated.

She was full of excitement.

Once she was tired, she returned to the house.

The room was empty; the so-called bed was just a stone platform, so she laid out the bedding she bought and then stuck a branch in the bundle vertically at the bedside like a potted plant.

Afterward, she took out a piece of bread, nibbling on it while researching the Jade Scroll.

The usage of a low-level Jade Scroll was straightforward; with a sweep of the Divine Sense, one could read it. Ordinary people without Divine Sense merely needed to press it to their forehead, concentrate, and they could read the text.

For those whose minds were unstable, reading a Jade Scroll was a hurdle.

Xian'er was resolute, facing a hanged ghost without being panic-stricken, already commendable for her bravery.

She closed her eyes, but it wasn't the familiar darkness; a small translucent figure appeared before her.

The little figure formed a Meditation Seal, chest rising and falling, exhaling and inhaling in a specific breathing pattern. Once a strand of Spiritual Energy entered the body, the handprint began to change.

Almost every meridian required a handprint.

This handprint seemed like reins, tightly controlling the breath, making it follow a specific path.