Chapter 14: The Spirit-Level Secret Realm

The fading glow of the sunset cast mottled light upon the worn streets of Tianyun City. Lin Chuan carried two roasted chickens wrapped in oiled paper and a jug of aged wine as he turned into the alley leading to the small courtyard where he rented a room.

The savory aroma of the roasted chickens seeped through the paper, making a few children playing nearby swallow their saliva in envy.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, he saw Li Yu crouched by the well, washing vegetables, while Zhang Lin busied himself by the stove. The fragrance of the meal already filled the small yard.

Wang Tiezhu sat at the stone table, clumsily mending a coarse cloth garment.

“Brother Zhang, Sister Li, Brother Tiezhu!” Lin Chuan greeted warmly, raising the wine and chicken. “Tonight, we’re having an extra dish!”

Zhang Lin looked up, eyes brightening at the sight of Lin Chuan’s goods. “Brother Lin, have you struck it rich? Such generosity!”

“It’s not about wealth, just feeling happy,” Lin Chuan replied, placing the chickens on the stone table and gently setting down the wine jug. “I learned quite a bit today at Tianyun Tower and wanted to celebrate.”

Li Yu wiped her hands and walked over, scolding lightly, “Even if you have money, you don’t know how to save it, always wasting it!”

Despite her words, a smile played on her lips.

Lin Chuan chuckled, tearing open the oiled paper. The golden skin of the roasted chickens gleamed with oil, releasing an inviting aroma.

Wang Tiezhu’s stomach grumbled audibly, prompting hearty laughter from everyone.

The four of them gathered around the stone table, and Lin Chuan poured each a cup of wine.

After several rounds, he casually asked, “Brother Zhang, if you had four or five thousand lower-grade spirit stones, how would you use them?”

Without hesitation, Zhang Lin took a bite of chicken leg. “Buy a house! Of course, buy a house!”

“A house?” Lin Chuan’s lips twitched slightly.

“Absolutely!” Zhang Lin’s eyes sparkled. “A small courtyard in Tianyun City’s eastern district costs about that. Having your own place means truly establishing yourself in the city.”

Li Yu nodded in agreement. “We’ve been saving for ten years and only managed a few hundred lower-grade spirit stones. If we had four or five thousand, we’d sign the deed tomorrow!”

Lin Chuan suddenly realized his question had been poorly phrased.

Zhang Lin and his wife, much like his parents back on Earth, dreamed their whole lives of owning a home in the city, so their children would be city dwellers from birth.

“I mean...” Lin Chuan rephrased, “If you had four or five thousand lower-grade spirit stones, how could you quickly make more money?”

Silence fell around the stone table. Zhang Lin set down his chicken leg, scrutinizing Lin Chuan carefully. “Brother Lin, are you in urgent need of money?”

Lin Chuan nodded quietly, saying no more.

Zhang Lin glanced at his wife. Li Yu frowned slightly and softly asked, “Is something urgent?”

“Yes,” Lin Chuan replied decisively.

Ever since the chubby boy warned him that the founders of the Dao Court might have targeted them, a constant sense of urgency shadowed him.

Each day of delay increased the risk of exposure.

And to enter the core secret realm of Tianyun City to obtain cultivation resources required a great deal of wealth to exchange for those resources and improve one’s cultivation.

Li Yu pondered for a moment, sighed, and nodded to her husband.

Zhang Lin took a deep breath, wiping his rough hand on his collar. “Brother Lin, after these few days together, Brother Tiezhu and I both think you’re a good person. Since you need money urgently...”

He paused, seeming to weigh his words carefully. “Although my wife and I don’t have much skill and have only saved eight hundred lower-grade spirit stones in ten years, we can lend you six hundred to tide you over.”

Lin Chuan was stunned, chopsticks suspended mid-air.

He hadn’t expected a couple he’d known for just a few days to offer their savings to help him.

“Next year, our city access permit costs one hundred and forty lower-grade spirit stones, and rent is forty-two,” Zhang Lin carefully calculated. “That leaves six hundred and eighteen. We’ll lend you six hundred and keep eighteen for emergencies.”

Wang Tiezhu put down his wine cup, a shy smile breaking across his dark face. “I’ve got two hundred lower-grade spirit stones. It’s not much, but I can chip in.”

Lin Chuan swallowed hard, his mind flashing to his parents on Earth.

When he first started working and faced difficulties, his parents did the same—without hesitation, they gave him their retirement savings.

That unreserved trust and support, spanning two worlds, felt remarkably similar.

“Brother Zhang, Sister Li, Brother Tiezhu...” Lin Chuan’s voice tightened, “I truly appreciate your kindness, but I can’t accept the money.”

The three exchanged glances, about to ask why, when suddenly the door to Pan Yu’s room creaked open.

Dressed in a flamboyant gown, Pan Yu stepped out. Unusually, she didn’t leave along the corridor but instead walked straight through the courtyard’s center, passing by the stone table where the four were seated.

Her chin lifted slightly, eyes flashing unhidden disdain as they swept over the humble meal and the cheap wine, a mocking smile curling her red lips.

Li Yu slammed down her chopsticks, her face flushing with anger. “Pan Yu! You—”

“Sister Li!” Lin Chuan grabbed Li Yu’s wrist, gently shaking his head.

Pan Yu’s footsteps did not falter; without looking back, she exited the courtyard, leaving behind a pungent scent of heavy perfume.

“That wretch!” Li Yu trembled with rage. “Always putting on airs—what is she but a courtesan from the Drunken Immortal Tower!”

Zhang Lin’s expression darkened. “She usually avoids us. Today, she deliberately walked through the middle. It’s clearly provocation!”

Wang Tiezhu scratched his head. “I just think her walk’s odd—like a hen with its neck stepped on.”

His words made Li Yu chuckle, dissipating much of her anger.

Lin Chuan, however, gazed thoughtfully at the courtyard gate. “She probably overheard us talking about borrowing money...”

“So what if she did?” Li Yu scoffed. “She looks down on everyone! Brother Lin, don’t stop me—I’ll teach her a lesson next time!”

Lin Chuan shook his head, then suddenly pulled out an exquisite storage pouch from his bosom, tipping it upside down with a clatter.

Transparent spirit stones spilled out like a waterfall, reflecting dazzling light in the sunset as they quickly piled into a small mound.

Zhang Lin and the others gaped, mouths agape as if they could fit eggs inside. Li Yu dropped her chopsticks with a clatter but was completely unaware.

“Th-these... are all lower-grade spirit stones?” Zhang Lin’s voice trembled as he reached out to touch the pile, as if to confirm it wasn’t an illusion.

Wang Tiezhu stammered, “Brother Lin, are you... robbing Tianyun Tower?”

Lin Chuan chuckled. “Brother Tiezhu, you’re joking. You all know I work as an appraiser at Tianyun Tower—this is today’s commission.”

“In one day?” Li Yu exclaimed sharply. “In one day you earned what would take us decades to save?”

Lin Chuan scratched his nose sheepishly. “Got lucky—appraised a few valuable treasures.”

Zhang Lin suddenly laughed heartily, slapping Lin Chuan’s shoulder. “Good lad! No wonder you refused our small change!”

Wang Tiezhu’s broad smile matched his sincerity. “I knew Brother Lin was no ordinary man!”

Li Yu’s eyes reddened unexpectedly. She turned away, wiping them.

It wasn’t jealousy but the realization that their modest savings were a mere joke compared to Lin Chuan’s fortune.

“Sister Li...” Lin Chuan said softly, “Your kindness is far more precious than these four thousand five hundred spirit stones.”

Li Yu turned back, tears shimmering in her eyes. “You brat... our little money...”

“When I was at my lowest, there were people willing to give their all,” Lin Chuan said earnestly. “That bond, I, Lin Chuan, will remember always.”

Zhang Lin nodded heavily, pouring wine for each. “Come, let’s drink to Brother Lin’s good fortune!”

Glasses clinked, and warmth returned to the courtyard.

After several more rounds, Zhang Lin lowered his voice. “Brother Lin, since you have so many spirit stones, I do have a way to make money quickly...”

Lin Chuan’s eyes brightened. “Please, Brother Zhang, do tell.”

“Since you’re new to the cultivation cities, you might not know—on the Cangxuan Continent, cultivation cities and their secret realms are ranked.

“Cultivation cities are divided into Day, Moon, and Star levels from highest to lowest. Tianyun City is a Star-level city.

“Within these cities, the connected secret realms are ranked Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Spirit levels, with Spirit-level realms being the lowest. You only need to be at Spirit Warrior stage to enter them.”

At this, Zhang Lin glanced cautiously around. “Even the lowest Spirit-level realms contain abundant spiritual herbs and materials. If you can gather some and sell them in Tianyun City, you can make a fortune.”

Li Yu frowned. “Old Zhang! Secret realms don’t just have herbs and materials; they’re full of monstrous beasts and fighters sent from other cultivation cities. It’s a dangerous place!”

“I’m just suggesting,” Zhang Lin shrugged. “Whether to go or not is your decision, Brother Lin.”

Lin Chuan pondered.

The chubby boy’s excited voice echoed in his mind: “Right! Although the Dao Court controls all soul-type treasures on the Cangxuan Continent, those tens of thousands of secret realms are outside their jurisdiction. There might be soul treasures slipping through their control!”

“Brother Zhang,” Lin Chuan asked, “How does one enter these secret realms? Are any credentials needed?”

Zhang Lin hesitated briefly. “Entering requires paying the Dao Court’s teleportation fee—one thousand lower-grade spirit stones per person for Spirit-level secret realms.

“But besides the teleportation fee...”

Before he could finish, the courtyard gate swung open. Pan Yu sashayed in, twisting her waist.

She hadn’t expected the four to still be in the courtyard. Her steps faltered, eyes drawn irresistibly to the pile of spirit stones by the stone table.

Her pupils sharply contracted; a look of disbelief flickered across her face before she masked it with her usual haughty expression and hurried toward her room.

This time, she dared not pass through the courtyard’s center but skirted along the corridor’s edge like a sneaky mouse, slipping back into her room.

With a bang, the door shut.

Li Yu sneered coldly. “Look at her! A money-grubbing creature!”

Lin Chuan stared at Pan Yu’s closed door, brows furrowed.

He withdrew his gaze and smiled. “Brother Zhang, can you tell me more about these Spirit-level secret realms?”