Ji Yuan had never seen, nor even heard of, anything like Tri-colored Spirit Eggs.

But it made sense—Level 3 buildings could only be owned by cultivators at least at the Foundation Establishment Stage. It was normal that a mere mid-stage Qi Cultivator like himself hadn't heard of them.

The only thing was, he didn't know how valuable they were... or what they did.

Just by the name, Tri-colored Spirit Eggs definitely sounded way better than ordinary Spirit Eggs, and with only one produced per day, the effects must be amazing.

Also, one of the upgrade conditions was to use Rotten Firefly Shade Locust Wood to construct the chicken cage. Ji Yuan had no clue what that even was.

And honestly, just hearing the name, there was a whiff of something sinister about it.

Ji Yuan was still pondering when he suddenly noticed a small patch of soil in the corner of his Level 2 chicken cage beginning to shimmer with strands of spiritual qi.

Looking closer, he saw it even seemed to flicker with tiny points of white light.

This is... Spiritual Soil!

Ji Yuan immediately used his Artifact Manipulation Technique to collect this coin-sized portion of Spiritual Soil.

If he took this to Zengtou City, he could easily sell it for five Spirit Stones.

Spiritual Soil itself wasn't valuable, but the Spirit Plants you could grow in it were worth money.

And unlike things like Water Dew and Blood Essence, which were single-use consumables, this item could be reused over and over.

Ji Yuan planned to someday craft a plot of Pure Spiritual Soil as his own Spirit Field, so he wasn't planning to sell the Spiritual Soil the chicken cage produced.

After finishing up the upgrade for the chicken cage, Ji Yuan returned to his own Talisman Room to practice talisman painting and cultivate.

But before it even got dark, he suddenly heard someone knock on his courtyard gate.

Someone's here?

Now that he was at Qi Cultivation level five, Ji Yuan no longer needed a Thunder Strike Talisman to bolster his courage. He came to the front yard, and before even opening the door, he could more or less guess who it was from their aura.

It was his next door neighbor, Wen Linger's father—Wen Lin.

Ji Yuan had interacted with him a few times and had developed quite a good impression: a well-mannered man who'd clearly had some schooling, and who also knew when to advance or retreat.

He sometimes went out on his boat to fish, but apparently, he was also an Alchemist.

So he lived in Zengtou City without much pressure.

Ji Yuan opened the gate, and sure enough, it was him.

Wen Lin, dressed in a padded robe, grinned and cupped his hands in greeting. "Sorry to disturb Brother Ji's cultivation. My apologies."

"You're too polite, Daoist Wen."

Ji Yuan smiled, waiting for him to continue.

Wen Lin paused for a second, then said, "It's like this. I've prepared a small meal at my house tonight, and I'd like to invite Brother Ji to join us."

He wants to invite me to dinner… Ji Yuan's first instinct was to refuse; he never went to such things.

But before he could answer, Wen Lin quickly added, "Don't worry, there's nothing else going on. It's just that we've lived here so long without once inviting our fellow neighbors for a meal, so I wanted to extend the invitation. Daoist Lin from next door has already agreed."

With the conversation at this point—and since Ji Yuan's neighbors seemed like upright folk, at least not scoundrels like Old Man Huang or Deng Yunliang—he nodded and agreed.

After a while, Ji Yuan set out for Wen's house, carrying five Spirit Eggs as a gift.

For an invitation like this, Ji Yuan naturally couldn't neglect etiquette, especially since these were his closest neighbors.

As for five Spirit Eggs—honestly, it was nothing to Ji Yuan. The Blue-Yellow Chicken laid thirty Spirit Eggs a day.

Ji Yuan had even started experimenting with steaming or frying Spirit Eggs lately.

"Brother Ji, wait up, haha!"

Lin Hu, hearing Ji Yuan leave his house, quickly brought Wu Qin over, too.

Compared to three months ago, Lin Hu was now visibly tanner, and that childishness on his face had faded, replaced with a… somewhat somber look.

Only when he was with Ji Yuan did he occasionally blurt out a few innocent lines that hinted at his real age.

Wu Qin, who followed at his side, was pretty much the same. Her gaze toward Ji Yuan now carried none of the old ambiguity—she looked up to Ji Yuan as if he were her big brother from the neighborhood, just like Lin Hu did.

After both of them advanced to Qi Cultivation level three, the couple had always sailed together, never mind not having a Dharma Ship or venturing into the deep water zones.

But life just kept getting better.

At least they no longer had to worry about the three-Spirit Stone monthly Immortal Residence fee.

In fact, even coming to dinner at the Wen's tonight, Lin Hu brought a half-Spirit Fish as a gift… which was a little too valuable for him, but he certainly had hopes of building connections.

Zhao Yuechan's cooking was absolutely superb, and with dishes made from Spirit Pig and half-Spirit Fish of such quality...

So Ji Yuan actually had a truly satisfying meal for once.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group sat in the house to rest as Zhao Yuechan brought in seeds and nuts.

As they chatted idly, Wen Lin also—perhaps unintentionally—let slip a detail about his background.

"Brother Wen, you're from Black Water City?" Ji Yuan asked in surprise.

Unlike Taian, Jing'an, and Jingde, which were all neighboring markets to Zengtou City, Black Water City was a lot farther away.

Basically, it was directly across Cloud Rain Marsh from Zengtou City, on the other side completely.

"That's right."

Wen Lin's expression froze slightly, but in the end he still nodded.

Ji Yuan guessed that they'd probably run into some trouble in Black Water City and escaped to Zengtou City, so he didn't pry. He just pondered for a moment, then changed the subject:

"Brother Wen, have you ever heard of something called Rotten Bone Flower?"

When it came to Cold Iron Sand, Ji Yuan knew where to find it—he'd even bought some already.

But for Rotten Bone Flower—needed to upgrade the Pigsty—he couldn't find any info anywhere. Now, with a fellow Daoist from afar, he figured he'd ask just in case.

"Rotten Bone Flower?"

Wen Lin frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head.

"Can't say I've ever heard of it."

Just when Ji Yuan thought there was no news again, Wen Lin continued, "But I can point Brother Ji to a lead."

"I'm all ears," Ji Yuan said, perking up at once.

"Every month on the third, Shop Number 18J in Zengtou City opens for business. Their people travel among all the markets of Cloud Rain Marsh. You can ask around there—if even they don't have it, then Rotten Bone Flower doesn't exist anywhere in Cloud Rain Marsh."

"Number 18J."

Ji Yuan quietly made a note of the place, then stood up and bowed to Wen Lin. "Thank you, Brother Wen."

"Don't mention it, but just be ready for higher prices there, Brother Ji."

"..."

Getting this lead from a single dinner was definitely an unexpected gain for Ji Yuan.

As for Wen Lin's family's secrets, Ji Yuan honestly had no interest. The more secrets you learned, the deeper you got pulled in; by the time you tried to react, you'd probably be in way over your head.

Right now, it was the nineteenth day of the eleventh month. He could only wait until the third of the next month.

Ji Yuan spent a little more time cultivating at home, saved up some Spirit Stones, then used them to purchase a basic Magical Artifact.

The artifact was called "Dragon Armor Shield"—it sounded incredibly imposing, and cost Ji Yuan a full twenty-five Spirit Stones.

In reality, it was just an entry-level artifact made from a first-rank Spirit Turtle Shell from Cloud Rain Marsh. Nothing dazzling, but nice and practical.

With this, including his Dharma Ship, Ji Yuan now owned four magical artifacts in total.

White Boat for escaping, Black Gold Saber for frontal assault, Deadly Needle for assassinations and sneak attacks, and now the Dragon Armor Shield for protection.

Ji Yuan felt like he could barely be considered an all-rounded fighter now.

The weather just kept getting colder and harsher—so cold that even Lin Hu didn't dare take his boat out to Cloud Rain Marsh. And it was in this chilly season that Ji Yuan arrived at Wen Lin's recommended Shop Number 18J.

——

(A new week! I'd love to move up in the new books ranking, so please, everyone, toss me some monthly tickets and recommendations. Rewards are even more welcome!)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.