Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 4 Humanity and Sophistication
Fang Jingxuan's water-breathing turtle was a pack animal he bought from the Ning family using the inheritance of his late master.

The Ning family is a family that specializes in selling spiritual beasts. In the territory of Dandingmen, it is also the most powerful vassal family.

Originally, this money was intended for Fang Jingxuan to marry a Taoist partner.

It’s a pity that the market is changing too fast nowadays. The money is still the same, but it can’t satisfy the requirements of those fairies.

It cost three hundred low-grade spirit stones to purchase Tuoyuan, and another three spirit stones were spent on purchasing ferry route permits from Qinghefang and Hongyefang, and some connections were made during the process. In total, nearly five hundred low-grade spirit stones were gone.

According to the calculation that one low-grade spirit stone can buy one dou of the cheapest spirit rice, which is 12.5 kilograms of spirit rice, these 500 low-grade spirit stones can buy more than 6,000 kilograms of spirit rice.

A Qi-refining cultivator needs to consume forty to fifty kilograms of spiritual rice a month. Those with high cultivation levels consume more energy and eat more.

Of course, high-level cultivators naturally have high-level spiritual rice to eat, as well as other spiritual materials for elixirs, seasonal vegetables and fruits, and the flesh and blood of various spiritual beasts and monsters as supplements. Spiritual rice is just a complement.

But after all, the poor and the lower class are the mainstream, and this is true in every world.

Take the casual cultivators who can only live in shanty towns and are reluctant to pay even five spirit stones in rent. Their monthly fixed expenses are nearly ten low-grade spirit stones.

The biggest expense is buying spiritual rice to nourish the body.

Although there is plenty of ordinary food, it is useless to monks, just like worldly gold and silver, which are just dirt to monks.

Fang Jingxuan pawned the magic weapon left by his master to get the money. He has only been running this route for three months and does not have much money. He is still a long way from redeeming his master's magic weapon.

When Tuoyuan first came into Fang Jingxuan's hands, its cultivation level was only equivalent to the second level of Qi Refining, and it was very thin at that time.

However, with the help of Fang Jingxuan's secret rice balls over the past three months, Tuoyuan successfully advanced to the third level of Qi Refining and his body size also grew rapidly.

And now Tuoyuan is only in his adolescence, and there is still a long way to go before he becomes an adult and becomes a giant beast with a body length of four or five meters.

After Fang Jingxuan fed Tuoyuan the secret meatballs in his hand, he took advantage of the remaining time to clean the animal pen and Tuoyuan's body.

Fortunately, Tuoyuan has become smarter than a Border Collie. He knows that he has to go to a specific place to poop, which saves Fang Jingxuan the work of cleaning up the poop. He is so well-behaved that it is touching.

After finishing all this, Fang Jingxuan locked the door and hurried to the tavern to reserve a table. He would be entertaining Wei Tong later, so he couldn't deal with it casually.

Speaking of which, Fang Jingxuan still needs to curry favor with Wei Tong more. Not to mention that Wei Tong is a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining and is almost able to be promoted to the late stage of Qi Refining.

This is Wei Tong’s current position. Although he is a guard hired by the Chu family and cannot enter the core circle of the Chu family, among so many independent cultivators who rely on the Chu family for their livelihood, Wei Tong is also a very important figure.

So many people wanted to curry favor with him, but Wei Tong thought it was too much trouble.

When he arrived at the tavern, Fang Jingxuan ordered a meal worth three low-grade spirit stones. This meal included seasonal spiritual vegetables and processed monster flesh and blood. Although it was not the best, it was still presentable.

Currently, Fang Jingxuan can earn fifty to sixty low-grade spirit stones a month, which seems very comfortable. However, the rent, route fees, and food expenses for pack animals will have to be cut in half first.

And the rest of the money that can be obtained has to be used to manage relationships. For example, now, inviting Wei Tong to the banquet is a fixed expenditure. Otherwise, if they say that the line operating rights will not be renewed for you next year, what can you do?
Without a route, Fang Jingxuan still wanted to solicit passengers for ferrying, which was an illegal act. Not only would other ferry monks unite to encircle and suppress him, but without their protection, any monk with a little courage would dare to rob him.

Unlike now, with Hongyefang guarding him, if others want to touch Fang Jingxuan, they must first consider how to deal with the law enforcement monks of Hongyefang.

Fang Jingxuan naturally knew this truth, so he was definitely not stingy when it came to spending money.

He had seen too many examples in his previous life where people suffered greater losses in order to save a little money. Such counterexamples were almost becoming a law.

When it gradually got dark, Fang Jingxuan went outside to wait. Calculating the time, it was time for Wei Tong to get off work.

A moment later, Fang Jingxuan saw Wei Tong's figure. Beside him was a young cultivator. The two of them were walking towards this side together.

Fang Jingxuan hurriedly went up to him and called out:
"Brother Wei, please come in, come in! We've got all the good food and wine ready. We're just waiting for you two. Who is this?"

Wei Tong laughed and introduced to Fang Jingxuan:

"Let me introduce you. This is Huo Cang. He's not from here, but he traveled here and we hit it off right away."

Huo Cang looked to be no more than twenty years old. He was not handsome, but he had a wild and oppressive aura. His body had smooth lines, which was quite different from traditional practitioners.

Although Fang Jingxuan could not sense the other party's true cultivation level, he could get a glimpse of it from Wei Tong's attitude towards Huo Cang.

If Wei Tong's attitude towards him was just some appreciation, then his attitude towards Huo Cang was admiration and respect.

Being able to make Wei Tong, who is at the sixth level of Qi Refining and only one step away from the late stage of Qi Refining, do this means that Huo Cang's real cultivation level is at least the middle stage of Qi Refining, or even the late stage.

The key point is that Huo Cang didn't look much older than himself. Thinking of this, Fang Jingxuan was convinced that Huo Cang must be someone of great importance. "I greet Fellow Daoist Huo. Please come in!"

Fang Jingxuan welcomed the two into the tavern. After the three of them sat down, they first drank a few bowls of Qinghe Ling wine before starting to chat.

Of course, the main narrator is Wei Tong, while Fang Jingxuan and Huo Cang are currently just listening.

"Do you know who was responsible for the tragic massacre of the Wang family some time ago?"

Wei Tong brought up this topic somewhat mysteriously, Fang Jingxuan naturally didn't know, and Huo Cang just smiled and said nothing.

Wei Tong didn't care about this. He just wanted to show off his well-informedness.

"It's 'Scorpion Tail' Liu San. He's in the late stage of Qi Refining and has a scorpion spirit beast in the late stage of Qi Refining. Combined with the two, anyone who isn't a Foundation Establishment cultivator can't catch him.

In his early years, he liked to do some unprofitable business and was always cautious. He only dealt with some powerless independent cultivators, so he never had any powerful enemies to offer a reward for him.

I never thought that they could gather together twenty or thirty Tribulation Cultivators and break the Wang family's formation all at once. This is truly remarkable."

While drinking, Wei Tong began to tell the story, how the bandits attacked the Wang family, how they broke the enemy's formation, and how they looted the house. He described it so vividly that it seemed as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

Fang Jingxuan listened carefully. This kind of information was very valuable. It was probably first-hand information. Others probably couldn't hear it even if they wanted to.

We all make a living in this area. Only by understanding more about the changes in the outside world can we better avoid danger. The Wang family is only a few hundred miles away from Hongyefang and can be reached in one or two hours.

Therefore, Fang Jingxuan actively supported Wei Tong from time to time, which made Wei Tong feel more comfortable and spoke more enthusiastically.

"Humph, the Wang family's mountain protection formation is of the second-order low grade, which can even withstand a Foundation Establishment cultivator for several days. But it was broken in just a few moments that day. It's obvious that there's a traitor in the Wang family.

These days, no matter how much you try to guard against a thief, it's hard to prevent one from being a thief within your own family. It's a pity that the Wang family's 200-year foundation has been destroyed in an instant. It's truly a pity."

After Wei Tong sighed a few times, Fang Jingxuan continued:

"Since Liu San committed such a heinous crime this time, the Chu and He families should have put a bounty on his head, or even personally sent Foundation Establishment cultivators to hunt him down. This is also reasonable."

"That's hard to say. The Wang family's sacred land is located between these two families. They used to be able to please both sides and get benefits from both. Now that they have suffered such a disaster, who do you think will stand up for them?

This matter still needs to wait until Dandingmen receives the news, completes the procedures, and sends out an inspection team to handle it."

Hearing this, Fang Jingxuan was speechless. Such bureaucratic style was exactly the same.

"But our Hongyefang is safe and sound. No matter how vicious Liu San is, he can't do anything. But you have to be more careful when traveling back and forth between the two places."

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Wei. I just want to help someone earn some money. Liu San is a big thief and a bandit. How could he be interested in me?

As for ordinary Tribulation Cultivators, you also know that once my Spirit Turtle enters the water, it is impossible for anyone other than a cultivator in the late Qi Refining stage to deal with it."

Fang Jingxuan's words made Wei Tong laugh. Just as Fang Jingxuan said, those with higher cultivation levels look down on him, and those with lower cultivation levels can't catch up with him. He has accurately found his own ecological niche and lives a comfortable life.

In fact, those who can work in the ferry business and are always traveling around basically have their own unique skills, otherwise they would have been eliminated by the market long ago.

Fang Jingxuan's [sudden inspiration], coupled with Tuyuan's rapid growth, sharp characteristics in water combat, and cautious character, are the reasons why he was able to make a living.

Otherwise, five hundred low-grade spirit stones would not be considered an exorbitant price, and those casual cultivators could scrape together the money by gritting their teeth, so why not do it?
Don't you like it? Or don't you want to earn this kind of money?

Neither, the main reason is that I’m afraid of death.

"Come on, come on, drink."

Following Wei Tong's invitation, the three of them drank heavily again. After putting down their bowls, Huo Cang, who had been silent all this time, spoke:

"Brother Fang, I heard from Brother Wei that you seem to be particularly good at raising spirit turtles. Your water-breathing spirit turtle has grown remarkably in the past few months. I wonder if you could take me to see it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Jingxuan paused, and the main part of the play was about to begin.

I was wondering why Wei Tong brought a strange monk to the banquet. It seems he was waiting here.

It seems that Tuyuan grew too fast in the past three months and attracted the attention of some interested people. As expected, there is really no way out for low-level cultivators. If there is anything unusual, they will be dissected and analyzed.

However, Fang Jingxuan had already prepared for this possible situation, and he readily agreed:
"Since Brother Huo wants to see it, then I can't hide it. After we finish eating, I will take Brother Huo to see it."

(End of this chapter)