Early the next morning, Zhou Xun had breakfast prepared with Tier Two Spirit Rice and Demon Beast Flesh.
He then left the cave mansion and headed towards the place in the Immortal City where shops were leased.
The person in charge of the leasing was still that middle-aged steward.
"Steward Luo, Zhou is here to trouble you again!"
Seeing the figure of the middle-aged steward, Zhou Xun smiled warmly and said.
The middle-aged man was reclining on a chair, holding a jade scroll, engrossed in it, nodding slightly at the subtle parts, revealing a knowing smile.
"Oh, it's Alchemist Zhou, what brings you here!" The middle-aged steward was taken aback, and after seeing Zhou Xun's face clearly, he immediately switched to a friendly smile.
If his subordinates saw this, they might be quite shocked.
The usually stern, impartial, and emotionless Steward Luo had such an enthusiastic side.
"Are you here to select a cave mansion?" The middle-aged man inquired.
He was present when Zhou Buqi discussed terms with Zhou Xun, and knew Zhou Xun could freely use a Tier Two Middle-Grade Cave Mansion, though he wondered why it took him so long to come.
"Cave mansion?"
Only then did Zhou Xun remember he still had a Tier Two Middle-Grade Cave Mansion to claim.
"No hurry on that matter!"
He was currently quite comfortable living on Golden Spring Lane, with the Tier Two Low-Grade spiritual energy concentration being sufficient for his current cultivation needs, so there was no rush to change.
"I'm here today to lease a shop!"
White Cloud Immortal City, as a city of loose cultivators, has a very developed commercial sector.
A regular shop's rent is not any less than that of a Tier Two Cave Mansion.
"Does Honored Guest Elder Zhou have any specific requests regarding location, size, layout, etc.? You should know that shops in White Cloud Immortal City are extremely sought after, and very rarely available!"
Sensing that his words were too official and might cause Zhou Xun to misunderstand, he added another line.
"I am concerned there might not be a shop to your liking, Alchemist Zhou!"
"It would be best if it's slightly larger, with more rooms. As for the location, I am not particular." Zhou Xun thought for a moment and answered truthfully.
His previous shop at Qingyue Square was quite good, having both a storefront and a backyard, with ample space.
As for the location, with his reputation as Alchemist Zhou, anywhere he is becomes a good location, with many seeking him for alchemy services.
"If only size is a concern, there are indeed several places available!" Steward Luo felt relieved upon hearing this.
He knew how much importance the Chief Steward placed on Honored Guest Elder Zhou, so he dared not exhibit any negligence.
He then took out a sand table styled magical artifact and placed it in front of Zhou Xun.
Chanting softly, he cast a spell onto the sand table, instantly bringing forth the miniature model of a shop on it.
"Please have a look, Alchemist Zhou!"
"This shop occupies one acre, with a three-story small building in the front and a backyard inside. The advantage is its proximity to your cave mansion, while the downside is its somewhat remote location, away from the main roads of the Immortal City, resulting in less traffic."
Zhou Xun looked at it, with its pavilions and water pavilions, artificial mountains, and peculiar stones. It could be a cave mansion besides being a shop!
However, Zhou Xun didn't rush to decide and continued to look at other options.
Seeing Zhou Xun not making a statement, Steward Luo continued the presentation.
"This one is much smaller, with only half an acre, comprising a two-story building at the entrance with only a few side rooms inside. Its advantage is its closer proximity to the main road, significantly better in terms of location!"
"This one occupies one acre, close to the North City Gate..."
After examining four shops, Zhou Xun ultimately chose the first one, the one close to his cave mansion.
"It's a fair deal at two hundred Spirit Stones a year. As an Honored Guest Elder of middle rank in our Immortal City, you only need to pay two hundred Spirit Stones a year!"
Steward Luo glanced and quoted a price.
Upon hearing two hundred Spirit Stones, Zhou Xun nodded.
"Indeed, very affordable."
So he directly took out two thousand Spirit Stones, renting it for ten years.
After securing the shop, Zhou Xun prepared to take his leave, but was stopped by Steward Luo's words.
"Why not select a Tier Two Middle-Grade Cave Mansion as well, Alchemist Zhou?"
Seeing Zhou Xun's surprise, Steward Luo continued to explain:
"You may not know this, but Tier Two Middle-Grade Cave Mansions are not limited to within the Immortal City!"
"Any place under the jurisdiction of our Immortal City can be chosen!"
"About fifty thousand miles east of our Immortal City, there is a small Tier Two Middle-Grade Spirit Vein called Wangchuan Lake that will be available in a year. Would Alchemist Zhou be interested?"
"Spirit Vein? Is this also considered within the Tier Two Middle-Grade Cave Mansion category?" Zhou Xun inquired with surprise.
Indeed, Xui Country has many Spirit Veins available for rental externally, but the prices are extremely high, typically only rented by Cultivation Clans.
For instance, the Spirit Veins within a hundred thousand miles of Juntian City are entirely owned by the Cloud Light Sect.
All the Cultivation Families residing near Juntian City rent the Cloud Light Sect's Spirit Veins.
"You may not know, Alchemist Zhou, but although Wangchuan Lake is a Tier Two Middle-Grade Spirit Vein, it is relatively small, only covering five or six miles of the Lake Heart Island, and was another High-Ranking Honored Guest Elder's Daoist Field,"
"However, this Honored Guest Elder perished seven years ago in Hundred Savage Mountain, and now it is inhabited by his descendants!"
"They are unable to afford the rental for this small Spirit Vein, so they decided not to renew the lease when it expires in a year. If Alchemist Zhou is interested, I can reserve it for you!"
Steward Luo smiled slightly and said.
"Even if this Spirit Vein is not large, its rent is probably not low either!"
"Indeed, it is not low. Normally, it would require one thousand Spirit Stones annually. However, Alchemist Zhou has a free quota for a Tier Two Middle-Grade Cave Mansion, and with some maneuvering on my part,"
"You would only need to pay five hundred Spirit Stones annually!"
"Although the Spirit Vein isn't large, it contains quite a few Spirit Fields and Medicinal Fields. If Alchemist Zhou hires some Spirit Plant Cultivators and Spirit Farmers to cultivate them for a few years,"
"The yearly income should easily amount to several hundred Spirit Stones!"
"Calculated this way, it would cost you almost nothing!"
"Is Alchemist Zhou interested?"
Steward Luo finished speaking and took a gentle sip of Spirit Tea.
"Why doesn't Steward Luo take this great Spirit Land for yourself?" Zhou Xun asked with some curiosity.
"I already have one Spirit Vein under my name. If I take another one, it might not be pleasing to the Chief Steward!" Steward Luo leaned in and said softly.
Zhou Xun understood upon hearing this.
It made sense, as being in charge of leasing, there wouldn't be a shortage of such Spirit Vein Daoist Fields, and he overthought it for a moment.
After contemplating, he nodded in agreement.
"In that case, I'll trouble Brother Luo!"
"No problem at all!"
Subsequently, Zhou Xun took out another thousand Spirit Stones as a deposit for renting Wangchuan Lake, securing the Tier Two Middle-Grade Spirit Vein.
...
After returning, Zhou Xun checked on the sacrificial refining of the Yuan Condensing Grass.
"More than halfway through, success is within these ten days!"
In the following days, besides cultivating, Zhou Xun spent all his time refining elixirs.
His Danhai Pavilion was about to open in White Cloud Immortal City, so naturally, he needed to prepare some goods for sale in advance.
He was refining elixirs of Tier One High-Grade and above.
As for the middle and low grades, he planned to leave them to his two apprentices.
They had already written to express their willingness to come to White Cloud Immortal City, but unfortunately, Shopkeeper Huang was too old and unwilling to leave his hometown.
He would still need to find a new shopkeeper.
Suddenly, a candidate flashed in his mind.
Master Chuyun!
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