Mysterious mirror hanging high

A few people first bought a map of Xiaoyao Fairy City from a stall near the pier, hired a mortal guide waiting at the pier, and found an inn nearby to settle down.

There was only a mortal waiter in the inn, leaning against the table and staring out the door bored, and a short, fat, middle-aged female cultivator at the third level of Qi training, sitting at the counter and snoring.

"Boss, guests are coming!" The waiter was cheered up when he saw several people entering the inn, and hurriedly called out to the proprietress.

"Hmm?" The middle-aged female cultivator opened her sleepy eyes and looked Jing Yu and the others up and down. She looked at Jing Yu and Zhao Yuanxi several times and asked proudly, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Wushan Market, Boss. How much is one room here? We'd like two."

"Each room costs three spirit coins per night." Excluding the mortal guide, Jing Yu's group still had three people, yet they only requested two rooms. The middle-aged female cultivator immediately understood the quality of these people and said with a lack of interest, "Two rooms means six spirit coins per night. How long will you stay?"

"Three spirit coins for a room? That's a rip-off!" Zhao Yuanchen, who was carrying his luggage, grumbled, "Almost one spirit stone for a month's stay! Even the robbers outside Wushan Market aren't that efficient."

"Sir, you'd better take care of your servants!" The proprietress said with a wry smile, "All inns in Xiaoyao Fairy City charge this price. I saw that you were all so tired and exhausted, and I thought you were all frugal and thrifty, so I simply didn't mention the room. Otherwise, it would have been twice as expensive as a regular room!"

Zhao Yuanchen was furious when he heard this, his face showing an expression of indignation. He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, a fifty- or sixty-year-old man at the third level of Qi training is so impressive, and he's not ashamed of himself... Grandpa Uncle could have killed him with just one finger."

"Haha, stay for two nights first." Jing Yu took out twelve spirit coins and threw them to the proprietress with a smile. He had done his homework in advance. The cultivators who could open shops in Xiaoyao Xiancheng were all local residents and had some connections behind them. Since he was a newcomer, it would be best not to cause trouble.

"Okay, two guest rooms!" The mortal waiter bowed and said, "Masters, please follow me upstairs."

A few people went up to the second floor. When the proprietress on the first floor saw that they were far away, she muttered softly:

"He's from the stinky market, and he's come to our Xiaoyao Immortal City to beg for food!"

Jing Yu had cultivated his body to the Treasure Body Realm, and his fate was naturally sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, so he heard the proprietress's words clearly, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

The local cultivators in Xiaoyao Xiancheng really have eyes that go to the sky. After all, he is a cultivator of the ninth level of Qi training. Most of the cultivators of the third level of Qi training in ordinary markets would respectfully call him "fellow Daoist" when they see him, and some would even flatter him and call him "senior" directly!

I never thought I'd get yelled at like this by a local Qi training level three native in the Immortal City. And this is a business in the Immortal City. I wonder what the situation is like for the cultivators within the system in the Xiaoyao Alliance...

Jing Yu was thinking about something and his pace slowed down a few steps involuntarily. He saw Zhao Yuanchen arguing with the mortal guide in the room ahead:

"Brother, what kind of shady place did you find for us? The prices are high and the attitude is terrible. My uncle is a well-known figure in Wushan Market. How could he have suffered such injustice?"

The mortal guide couldn't help but accompany him, whispering, "Sir, you don't know that this inn is the most polite one on the whole street..."

Jing Yu shook his head. The most important thing for him right now was to find a suitable place to build his foundation. He didn't have time to waste on such matters. He stepped forward and asked, "Young man, do you know how to get to the Immortal Registration Office in Xiaoyao Immortal City? Is there a fellow Taoist named Pu Xiu there?"

The mortal guide thought for a moment and replied, "Master Zhao, the Immortal Registration Office is an institution for cultivators. Mortals like us are strictly prohibited from entering. However, generally speaking, cultivators from the same department in Xiaoyao Immortal City tend to live in the same neighborhood. That's the low-rent housing that the Xiaoyao Alliance has allocated specifically for cultivators serving within the alliance. Perhaps the person you're looking for is there."

"lead the way."

----

In Xiaoyao Xiancheng, cultivators below the foundation-building stage are forbidden to fly in the city, so the few people had no choice but to take the city’s public flying boat and fly from the West City District to the North City District, arriving near a group of tube-shaped buildings.

"Do the monks of the Xiaoyao League live in places like this?" Zhao Yuanxi looked up at the densely packed row of tube-shaped buildings and asked with a frown.

In her opinion, the shanties in the outer district of Wushanfang City were already cramped and had extremely poor living conditions, but at least they were independent houses.

However, the tube-shaped building in front of us not only has extremely narrow space for each room, but even the entire floor shares a corridor, making it difficult to guarantee even the most basic privacy!

"Fairy, you may not know that the population of cultivators in Xiaoyao Immortal City has skyrocketed in recent decades. The cave dwellings originally planned for the city are no longer sufficient. The entire Xiaoyao Immortal City has been expanded again and again, but it still cannot accommodate the cultivators... Although the environment here is a bit harsh, the spiritual energy is abundant. It is already comparable to many independent courtyards in the inner city, and it is not comparable to the spiritually barren shacks in the suburbs outside the city!"

The mortal guide said, "Besides, the cultivators of the Xiaoyao Alliance here enjoy rent reductions. It only costs two spirit stones a year, which is about the same as renting a shack in the suburbs... If a cultivator was solely focused on the foundation-building path, they would naturally not be bothered by the harsh environment. But if a cultivator was focused on pleasure... they would have long ago gone to the mortal world to enjoy the good life, and why would they still be struggling to make a living in Xiaoyao Immortal City?"

Zhao Yuanxi took a deep breath and nodded silently: "Indeed, the spiritual energy is rich. No wonder, no wonder..."

Zhao Yuanchen came running over from a distance and said to Jing Yu, "Uncle, I've heard that there's a family named Pu living here. They do have a cultivator working at the Immortal Registry Office, and he's at number 23 Jiachen."

"Okay, go upstairs." Jing Yu said briefly and threw out a spiritual coin. The mortal guide caught the coin, thanked him profusely, and retreated happily.

The three of them walked up to the tube-shaped building and met a few mortals on the way. They thought they were relatives of the monks here. After asking around, they stopped in front of a house with the plate "No. 23 Jiachen".

Zhao Yuanxi took out an inkstone from his storage bag and held it in his palm. It was said that this Taoist Puxiu was fond of inkstones, so he spent four or five spirit coins to buy one as a gift.

bang bang bang-

"Is Daoist Puxiu here? An old friend is visiting..."

squeak-

The door opened, and a haggard middle-aged female cultivator in mourning clothes poked her head out. She looked at the people outside with a little caution: "Who are you?"

When Jing Yu saw the man's attire, his heart skipped a beat and he asked tentatively:

"We are relatives of Mu Shan from Wushanfang City, and we have come to visit fellow Taoist Pu Xiu. I wonder..."

The middle-aged female cultivator said impatiently:

"You're looking for my dad? It's too late!"

"My father was trying to establish his foundation a month ago, but his dantian exploded and he died!"