NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 375 Difficult Survival
This time, Ding Huan didn't use the iron pot, for he was off in search of the ruins of a collapsed Immortal Gate.
Controlling a supreme-grade Spiritual Artifact, Ding Huan moved forward with his Divine Will constantly scouring the surroundings.
Twenty days into his journey, Ding Huan had not found the closed Immortal Gate, but he had stumbled upon an Immortal City.
To speak the truth, Ding Huan had been in the Fourth Immortal Domain for several years now. Although he spent most of his time in cultivation, he had also traveled outward.
He had seen many different Immortal Sects, but it was the first time he encountered an Immortal City like this one.
Without hesitating, Ding Huan brought the spaceship down outside the city, while disguising himself as a common Loose Cultivator who had been expelled from his sect.
In the Fourth Immortal Domain, there were countless Loose Cultivators who had been expelled due to inadequate abilities. Ding Huan's disguise was hardly unusual.
Ding Huan figured that Yan Yuefang would seek him out. Unless she was an idiot, Yan Yuefang would definitely inquire about Chang Danyi's situation.
Chang Danyi would absolutely spill the beans about his discovery of the Immortal Spirit Spring, and he might even reveal the matter of setting up the Protecting Array and Killing Trap Array Pattern.
He had no interest in working for the Shuangzi Mountain Immortal Sect. Why bother toiling to find an Immortal Spirit Spring for someone else?
After all, the Immortal Sects had existed without him just fine for more than a day or two, and with him, there would simply be a few more Immortal Spirit Spring Eyes, nothing more.
If the Sect Masters of the major Immortal Sects knew that Ding Huan regarded the Immortal Spirit Spring Eyes as just a few more, they would probably go mad with anger.
An Immortal Spirit Spring Eye, after all, is the foundation of an Immortal Gate, a major factor in the ranking of sects. Can it really be described as just having a few more?
There was a Third-level Immortal Array outside the Immortal City, which Ding Huan thought was quite reasonable.
Based on his recent travels in the Fourth Immortal Domain, most Immortal Sects' Protecting Arrays were Second or Third-level, with only a rare few employing Fourth-level Protecting Arrays.
This, of course, made sense, since, in the Immortal Domain, the most common danger appeared to be the mysteriously emerging Stealing Immortal Worm.
The Fourth Immortal Domain seemed to have strict regulations. Fights between Immortal Sects were rare, and with no top-tier Immortal Demon Beasts, it was sufficient to keep out the Stealing Immortal Worm.
As for setting up higher-level Immortal Arrays, first, there's the question of whether one could even employ such an advanced Array Master.
The daily consumption of Immortal Crystals by a high-level Immortal Array is a significant expense. Therefore, for the impoverished Fourth Immortal Domain, the motto seemed to be to save where one could.
Outside the Immortal City, four giant characters floated in the air: Moon Invitation Immortal City.
"To enter the Immortal City, one must pay Immortal Crystals. The daily fee for Moon Invitation Immortal City is ten Immortal Crystals," Ding Huan was stopped by the City Guard right at the entrance.
Ding Huan asked, "If I pay a hundred Immortal Crystals, and I don't stay the full ten days, will I get a refund?"
While he said that, Ding Huan felt in his heart that it was truly expensive.
If he hadn't entered the Fourth Immortal Domain, perhaps he would have no concept of Immortal Crystals. But now, he knew well that ten Immortal Crystals were no small fortune to an ordinary Cultivator.
The City Guard, clearly a hired Cultivator, chuckled and said, "You must have been expelled from an Immortal Sect, right? There won't be a refund here, but if you pay a hundred Immortal Crystals and don't stay for ten days, you can still come back later on."
As soon as the guard said this, Ding Huan knew that this City Guard had also been expelled from an Immortal Sect; however, his luck wasn't too bad, as he had landed a job as a City Guard and was thus managing to scrape by.
Ding Huan took out a hundred Immortal Crystals and handed them over: "I'll book for ten days first."
The City Guard's eyes lit up at the sight of Ding Huan instantly producing a hundred Immortal Crystals—it was definitely the mark of a wealthy individual.
Had it not been strictly forbidden by the City Guard's code of conduct to inquire into the personal details of incoming guests, he would have really liked to befriend Ding Huan and ask where he had made his fortune.
Why, after being expelled, could he only find a job as a City Guard, while Ding Huan could enter the city like a magnate, nonchalantly producing a hundred Immortal Crystals?
The City Guard quickly processed a Jade Plate for Ding Huan, inscribed with the words "Yao Yue." Besides these characters, there was also an Array Pattern.
There was a number, ten, written on the Array Pattern.
Ding Huan understood that, apparently, each day he stayed there, this number would decrease by one. If he left Moon Invitation Immortal City, the number on the Jade Plate would remain the same.
Having stored the Jade Plate, Ding Huan decided to stay in Moon Invitation Immortal City for a while, then get a clearer understanding of the Fourth Immortal Domain's situation to prepare for his future endeavors.
Upon entering Moon Invitation Immortal City, Ding Huan immediately felt that the ten low-grade Immortal Crystals he was spending each day weren't being wasted unjustly.
In a Fourth Immortal Domain so lacking in Immortal Spiritual Energy, the Immortal Spiritual Energy here was surprisingly substantial.
Ordinary cultivators practicing here would definitely achieve excellent results.
Without a doubt, there was an Immortal Spirit Spring Eye here.
Spending ten Immortal Crystals for individual cultivation would be a waste and wouldn't yield significant progress.
But it was different in Moon Invitation Immortal City—the Immortal Spiritual Energy was systematically distributed throughout the entire city space. Cultivating in such a place for a day was far superior to cultivating with ten Immortal Crystals in the wilderness.
There were many people in Moon Invitation Immortal City. As Ding Huan's Divine Will swept through, he saw that there were some from the Immortal Bridge, but relatively few.
The majority were at the True Immortal Realm, accounting for a significant portion, followed by a very small number whose cultivation levels were higher than that of True Immortals. Ding Huan guessed they must be Golden Immortal cultivators.
In the Fourth Immortal Domain, Golden Immortal cultivators were considered to be among the highly cultivated.
Ding Huan entered a Trading Building and asked, "Excuse me, do you have a Jade Scroll introduction to the Immortal Sects of the Fourth Immortal Domain? And a Jade Scroll of directions?"
"Sure," the shop assistant immediately took out two Jade Scrolls and handed them to Ding Huan.
Ding Huan scanned them with his Divine Will and chuckled, "The Jade Scrolls you've provided describe only Immortal Sects that are thriving. What you should also include are the poorly developed ones, even those that have been annihilated."
Upon hearing Ding Huan's words, the assistant burst into laughter, "I get it, you want to search for Immortal Spirit Spring Eyes in those extinct Immortal Sects, right?"
Ding Huan subconsciously touched his own head. Was he really being that obvious? It seemed like he'd only asked a simple question.
Before the assistant could respond, a young Cultivator nearby chuckled,
"Most Cultivators who are new to the Fourth Immortal Domain think about searching for Immortal Spirit Spring Eyes in these extinct Immortal Sects. So, it's not a secret. Everybody knows."
That made sense. It looked like there were plenty of smart people around.
"Yeah, I'm so poor that I also want to try my luck," Ding Huan frankly admitted without hiding anything further.
The assistant shook his head, "Fellow Daoist, what you're thinking, the Immortal Sects have already thought of. Generally, when an Immortal Sect perishes, someone will take over their domain.
"Some Immortal Sects are destroyed due to natural disasters, and their domain will be immediately occupied by new Immortal Sects.
"Some Immortal Sects fall because they can no longer sustain themselves and will actively sell their domain before annihilation. No matter the method, ordinary Loose Cultivators don't get a chance to acquire the territory of an Immortal Sect."
Ding Huan felt helpless. All he could do was to shake the Jade Scrolls in his hand and ask, "How much for the Immortal Crystals?"
"Just one Immortal Crystal in total," replied the assistant honestly, without overcharging.
After paying for the Immortal Crystal and taking the two Jade Scrolls, Ding Huan began to worry.
Could it be time to look for another Immortal Sect to join?
On his journey, he had encountered several closed Immortal Sects with their Protecting Arrays firmly sealed.
Ding Huan couldn't help but recall his first life on Earth when he saw a classmate job hunting by wandering around the industrial park outside the companies, but to no avail.
Was he now to wander outside the gates of various Immortal Sects?
No, that wouldn't do. He didn't want to be bound by an Immortal Sect. Once he joined one, he would definitely become their tool for finding Immortal Spirit Springs.
He was not a tool.
Walking to the corner of the street, Ding Huan saw a shop with a 'for sale' sign.
Could he possibly start a small business? Wouldn't that allow him to survive here?
With that thought, Ding Huan promptly stepped into the shop.
A short-haired man watching the shop saw Ding Huan enter and indifferently asked, "What can I do for you? My shop has temporarily ceased operations."
"This shop is for sale? For how many Immortal Crystals?" inquired Ding Huan.
The man sized up Ding Huan before responding, "Thirty-seven thousand Immortal Crystals."
"And what about renting?" Ding Huan knew he couldn't afford the purchase price.
"One hundred Immortal Crystals per month," the man replied matter-of-factly.
Ding Huan was taken aback. How cheap was that? Did this mean he only needed to spend a hundred Immortal Crystals to stay in Moon Invitation Immortal City for a month?
Not only would he avoid accommodation fees, but he'd also be free from the daily ten Immortal Crystal charge.
However, before Ding Huan could fully process his good fortune, the man spoke again, "The daily Immortal Crystal fee for Moon Invitation Immortal City must still be paid by the tenant."
It dawned on Ding Huan that it wasn't the rent that was expensive, but the three hundred Immortal Crystals a month for Moon Invitation Immortal City.
Perhaps the shop owner was considering selling because business was poor, and he had to pay the city's Immortal Crystals monthly.
Hesitating for a moment, Ding Huan asked, "Can I rent it for three months to try it out?"
"Sure, but you need to pay the Immortal Crystals upfront," said the shop owner without hesitation.
Ding Huan took out three hundred Immortal Crystals, and the shop owner presented the rental contract. The two quickly finalized the shop rental deal.
The owner left the shop as quickly as if he'd shed a heavy burden.
After reviewing the contract, which seemed fine except for a shop management fee on his end,
it reminded him of the sanitation fees back on Earth—just a few Immortal Crystals at most. Ding Huan wasn't too concerned.
After cleaning the shop, Ding Huan was still pondering what kind of business to start.
Making Arrays was his forte, but he couldn't sell that.
While he could craft talismans, he could currently only create up to Level 9 Spirit Talismans, which seemed a bit low-grade for this place, and there probably wouldn't be many buyers.
As Ding Huan was still undecided on what business to pursue, the person collecting the city's management fees arrived.
When Ding Huan heard it was a hundred Immortal Crystals monthly, he looked at his small, shabby rented shop and sighed inwardly. No wonder the owner wanted to sell; it was hard to keep the shop going.
(Good night, fellow Daoists. I ask for your support with the monthly votes!)