Fang Qingyuan was the first to recover from the waves of dizziness. He looked around and saw seven or eight other Foundation Establishment Cultivators, all still dazed and unsteady, clearly not having regained their senses yet.

These people had all teleported with him from Qinan City, but they were not in good shape.

This large-scale Teleportation Array might be fast and convenient, but the experience was truly awful.

Fang Qingyuan wasn’t sure if it was because of his Body Refining or his powerful soul, but he seemed to be the least affected of all his companions.

A moment later, while the people inside were still disoriented, a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator approached the entrance and shouted at those within the Array:

"Everyone inside, hurry up and get out! Don’t block the Array and hold up the next group of guests!"

Urged on, Fang Qingyuan stopped pretending to be sick. He subtly followed the others out.

As he passed through several rooms, Fang Qingyuan observed the facilities, making calculations in his mind.

’The Teleportation Array here is much smaller than the one in Qinan City,’ he thought. ’At most, it’s only one-tenth the size.’

At that moment, Fang Qingyuan used his Voice of All Things Divine Technique to briefly scan the area, sensing the cultivation levels of the numerous Cultivators within a radius of a few miles.

’Hmm, three Golden Core Cultivators, dozens of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and over a thousand Qi Refining Cultivators. This place isn’t remote at all.’

’Makes sense. A place with a Super Long-Distance Teleportation Array, no matter how underdeveloped, would still be more prosperous than Celestial Gate Mountain. After all, Celestial Gate Mountain hasn’t even considered building a large-scale Teleportation Array in all this time.’

It wasn’t that Fang Qingyuan didn’t want to; he simply lacked the Spirit Stones to fund such a project. Besides, constructing a Teleportation Array would require the involvement of the Great Zhou Academy.

After leaving the Grand Transmission Hall, the sunlight outside shone directly down on Fang Qingyuan.

Before Fang Qingyuan could get a good look at his surroundings, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator beside him spoke up.

"Everyone, my surname is Wang, and I am a director for the Fenglong Trading Company from Qinan City. Since we all came from the same place, we should look out for one another. I would be honored to offer everyone a temporary place to stay, free of charge. I ask for no Spirit Stones, only to form a friendly connection with you all."

’A free place to stay?’

Fang Qingyuan glanced at the Cultivator who called himself a director of the Fenglong Trading Company. He had a potbelly and an air of shrewd amiability, fitting the very stereotype of a trading company manager.

However, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t the least bit interested in such an offer. Besides, this was the first time he had ever heard of the Fenglong Trading Company.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Director Wang, but I have urgent business to attend to and won’t impose."

The one who politely declined was an old man with graying hair. Beside him stood a boy of about ten.

"Not at all, not at all. I won’t insist. Please, feel free, senior."

Steward Wang was all smiles. The old man offered a few more apologies before tugging the boy at his side and departing.

After the old man left, two more Cultivators followed suit. Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan also silently distanced himself from the group and left.

After Fang Qingyuan had gone, Steward Wang turned to the few Cultivators who remained, his smile widening as he continued to entertain them.

....

「Half a month later.」

Fang Qingyuan walked into a brokerage, found a Broker, and stated his intention to rent a residence.

For the past half-month, Fang Qingyuan had first found an inn to settle into. He then spent his days sitting in the main lobby, drinking tea and gathering information about the islands.

Through his inquiries over the past two weeks and the information he had obtained earlier, Fang Qingyuan finally had a rough understanding of the Iron Wind Islands.

The Iron Wind Islands were one of the exclaves of the Beast Taming Sect. Originally, it had been a desolate and barren place—sparsely populated, with low-quality Spiritual Lands.

Before Zhao E Lian’s arrival, the population was barely a million. Scattered tribes dotted the large island, which spanned thousands of square miles, and the annual birth rate was only slightly higher than the death rate.

Besides the Iron Wind Main Island, there were six affiliated islands and over a thousand smaller, uninhabited isles.

These islands, scattered across the South Sea and far from the mainland, formed a unique ecosystem spanning tens of thousands of square miles.

Even the nearest island, Hai Feng Island, was a full eighty thousand nautical miles away.

The distances over the ocean were far vaster than on land; one could easily travel for tens of thousands of nautical miles without seeing a speck of land.

Add to that the rampaging demonic beasts in the sea—especially the unknown Deep Sea Giant Beasts, whose power was said to be on par with Nascent Soul Cultivators—and the journey became even more perilous.

Furthermore, there were the sudden, unpredictable natural disasters. Even Golden Core Cultivators risked death if they were caught in one. Thus, despite its size, few Cultivators ever visited the Iron Wind Main Island.

It was only in recent years, after Zhao E Lian had spent a fortune to build a Teleportation Array, that the number of Cultivators here had increased significantly.

But a round trip was not cheap. At twenty Top-grade Spirit Stones, it was a price that Qi Refining Cultivators could not afford. Therefore, most of the Cultivators who came here to seek their fortunes were at the Foundation Establishment realm.

An Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, even one with no special cultivation-related skills, could earn five to eight thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones annually just by serving as a Guest Minister for a family clan.

By saving for a dozen or so years, they could scrape together enough for the teleportation fee.

The Iron Wind Islands produced Tier Two Windmill Iron, Tier Two Iron Wind Geese, and other special Spiritual Objects. These items were quite unique and could only be obtained here, which alone was enough to make the islands valuable to the Beast Taming Sect.

When Zhao E Lian was exiled here, the place was nothing but treacherous mountains and foul waters. Yet, in just thirty years, it had undergone a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation.

....

"Elder Jia, what do you think of this estate? It’s not far from the core district, and the neighbors are all reputable Foundation Establishment Cultivators. The Marketplace’s enforcement patrols come through daily, so security is definitely not an issue."

The Broker at Fang Qingyuan’s side was exceedingly polite.

Since he was away from home and planned to conduct some clandestine investigations, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t foolish enough to reveal his real name.

Thus, he had borrowed the name Jia Changqing and used a Cultivation Technique to disguise himself as an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivator trying to make a living on the Iron Wind Islands.

Ever since Zhao E Lian had successfully developed the Iron Wind Islands, the place had attracted numerous Cultivators who were dissatisfied with their prospects in their original Land Realms.

The Iron Wind Islands saw dozens of Loose Cultivators like the one Fang Qingyuan was impersonating arrive every year.

Listening to the Broker’s words, Fang Qingyuan sized up the property before him. It was a vacant, secluded courtyard that covered a fair bit of ground—quite a nice find within the Iron Wind Main City.

The courtyards on either side of this one looked even more impressive.

"If you take a liking to it, Elder Jia, we’ll also throw in a complimentary Tier One Upper Grade Five Elements Illusion Heart Array. On top of that, there are considerable discounts on the rent."

Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan was inwardly speechless. For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, a Tier One Upper Grade Array was hardly considered a treasure.

’It’s more like a cheap throw-in,’ he thought. ’For my own residence, I’ll definitely need to set up a few Second Order Arrays before I can feel at ease.’

The only problem was that his current identity was that of a cash-strapped Loose Cultivator. The thousands of Top-grade Spirit Stones inside his Immortal Mansion couldn’t see the light of day just yet.

With this in mind, Fang Qingyuan began to haggle. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"I don’t want the Five Elements Illusion Heart Array. Just knock its value in Spirit Stones off the price. Also, I don’t like the existing decorations in the courtyard. You can either move them all out or convert their value into Spirit Stones as well so I can buy new ones..."

A long time later, the Broker was drenched in sweat. As soon as Fang Qingyuan finally signed the contract, the man fled as if his life depended on it.

Fang Qingyuan rented the residence for an initial term of ten years at a price of one thousand eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones per year.

Because it was a long-term lease, the price included a discount, and he could make payments every six months.

The original asking price for the courtyard had been two thousand three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones per year, but after a relentless round of haggling from Fang Qingyuan, it had been reduced to the current price.

Once the Broker left, Fang Qingyuan settled in with peace of mind. The very next day, the original plaque on the courtyard gate was replaced with one that read "Evergreen Garden."

「Three days later.」

Fang Qingyuan carried a few items as he strode toward the neighboring courtyard, preparing to pay his new neighbors a visit.