Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Why Aren’t There Any Small Loans...

"Alright, I’ve told you everything for free. You’d better give me some business from now on."

Chu Mu sized up the young woman before him, a hint of doubt in his eyes. "You... What kind of business do you run?"

If his senses were correct, this Chang Hong’Er was only at the Qi Cultivation First Layer. ’Qi Cultivation First Layer... what kind of business can she possibly run? What business could someone at the First Layer even get involved in?’

"Me? I supply all the food for our Zone A3."

"Chicken, duck, fish, meat, all kinds of grains... you name it, I’ve got it!"

"Same price as always. For three months, it’s just one Broken Spirit. All you have to do is give me your menu."

Chang Hong’Er said excitedly, practically holding her hand out for the payment.

Chu Mu frowned. "So... it’s mundane food?"

"Of course."

Chang Hong’Er nodded as if it were obvious. "Who living in this area can afford Spiritual Food? We all eat mundane food, don’t we?"

"Alright, I’ll start with two months."

Chu Mu took out a Broken Spirit and handed it to Chang Hong’er.

"Great! I’ll go take care of your trash first. Give me your order later, and I’ll bring it by at noon."

As if she’d just found a priceless treasure, Chang Hong’Er snatched the Broken Spirit and tucked it away. With a wave, she picked up the garbage Chu Mu had wrapped in a bedsheet and scurried off.

Chu Mu’s smile faded as he watched her retreating figure, his expression turning thoughtful.

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, mundane food was extremely cheap.

But if Chu Mu recalled correctly, you had to pay one Broken Spirit as an entry fee every time you entered the Marketplace.

On top of that, the Marketplace cracked down on private sales.

In other words, a small-time, one-person operation reselling mundane food in the Marketplace wouldn’t be viable.

It cost one Broken Spirit just to enter, so how much mundane food could one person possibly carry?

A few hundred pounds at the absolute most, carried on their back and in their arms.

With a one-Broken-Spirit entry fee per trip just to bring in a few hundred pounds of mundane food, you’d lose your shirt trying to resell it!

Clearly, there was more to this Chang Hong’Er than met the eye.

Handling trash collection for the dozens of households in Zone A3 at the rate of one Broken Spirit every two months... that had to add up to several Lower Grade Spirit Stones a month.

And that was on top of reselling mundane food at one Broken Spirit per three months, which, on average, must also bring in a few Lower Grade Spirit Stones each month.

’Without some serious backing, how could an opportunity like this fall to a mere Qi Cultivation First Layer cultivator?’

The door closed. As Chu Mu surveyed the room, a grave expression surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

Based on the information he had just gleaned from Chang Hong’er, the previous owner of this room was anything but ordinary.

According to Chang Hong’er, the room’s previous owner was a man named Li Han. He had moved into Zone A3 right after it was built, making him one of its first residents.

His Cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, and he was an outside Cultivator who worked odd jobs in the Marketplace.

However, late last month, Li Han had suddenly left and hadn’t been seen for ten days or so.

Then, just a few days ago, the Law Enforcement Team had raided Li Han’s room. The reason, it turned out, was because Li Han had murdered a disciple from the Sun Family’s Direct Lineage.

And that particular disciple was the direct grandson of one of the Sun Family’s Foundation Establishment Powerhouses!

That very same powerhouse was one of the three Foundation Establishment experts the Sun Family had stationed to oversee the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace!

In the face of the Foundation Establishment Powerhouse’s fury, Li Han was, of course, left without a complete corpse.

The room was naturally sealed off. But with Li Han dead, it had now been assigned to him.

’His Cultivation must have been higher than the Qi Cultivation Third Layer...’

Chu Mu gazed at the view of Jade Emperor Valley outside his window, pondering silently.

Even if that Sun Family descendant was only at the Qi Cultivation First Layer, he was by no means someone a mere Qi Cultivation Third Layer Loose Cultivator could afford to target.

Talismans, Magical Artifacts, Puppets... the Cultivation Immortal Realm had far too many mysterious and unpredictable methods.

One’s realm was merely a measure of internal cultivation; Combat Power often relied on external forces. The Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortal gave rise to countless such unfathomable techniques.

How could the direct grandson of a Foundation Establishment Powerhouse not possess some powerful tricks up his sleeve?

It was just like that youth from Qili Village. He was just a newcomer to the Path to Immortality, yet he’d been able to stir up all sorts of trouble right under the noses of other Cultivators and get away unscathed. Wasn’t that all thanks to the measures that old man had left him?

Even though he knew the Law Enforcement Team had probably torn the place apart, Chu Mu couldn’t suppress a flicker of hope and began to search the room.

He was dirt poor right now. Worst of all, he was also unemployed. A sudden windfall would solve his most pressing problems.

He turned the room upside down and even scanned it with his Divine Sense, leaving no corner unchecked. In the end, he found nothing.

Chu Mu wasn’t too bothered. It had just been a bit of wishful thinking, after all.

He took out the Spirit Stones he had on him. Staring at his entire fortune—less than twelve Lower Grade Spirit Stones—Chu Mu frowned and sank into thought.

In over six months, he had thoroughly researched dozens of types of Spiritual Food, filling several lab notebooks with his findings.

The research phase for the Grain Avoidance Pill was undoubtedly complete.

All that was left was to gain practical experience.

The experience of actually refining the Grain Avoidance Pill.

And refining the Grain Avoidance Pill was clearly a far cry from his previous small-scale tinkering.

He needed to buy a Pill Furnace, a large quantity of Spiritual Food, and Spiritual Charcoal...

This would inevitably cost a fortune.

His fortune of less than twelve Lower Grade Spirit Stones was a drop in the bucket.

Chu Mu picked up a pen and began silently calculating on a piece of paper. He had, of course, already looked into the market prices for the items he needed over the past few days, but he had yet to actually tally up the total cost.

He had asked about Pill Furnaces. At the Spirit Treasure Pavilion in the Marketplace, the cheapest one cost three hundred and fifty Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

Refining the Grain Avoidance Pill required a mix of five types of Spirit Grain. At a price of one Spirit Stone per pound, buying fifty pounds of each would cost two hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.

Jade Emperor Valley didn’t provide a public Alchemy Land, so he had to use Spiritual Charcoal to start a fire. The cheapest Spiritual Charcoal on the market was mulberry charcoal, supplied by one of the Sun Family’s material shops, and it cost about two Spirit Stones per pound.

The price was quite high, but Spiritual Charcoal had a wide range of applications. It was used in many of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortal, such as Alchemy and Artifact Refining. Even Spirit Plant Masters needed it to mix Spiritual Fertilizer for their Spiritual Plants. With such broad utility, it was naturally expensive.

For his first attempt, he would need to buy at least twenty pounds of Spiritual Charcoal, which would cost another forty Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

Furthermore, the heat from a Spiritual Charcoal Flame wasn’t very high and might not be enough for Alchemy. He’d also have to buy a Spiritual Object to boost the flame. The most common one in Jade Emperor Valley was Bai Xie Oil, which was extracted from Bai Xie Beans.

The price was exorbitant: eight Spirit Stones for a bottle that contained barely an ounce.

Finally, he’d need to prepare a few Elixirs to restore his Magical Power. His Magical Power as a Qi Cultivation First Layer cultivator was definitely not enough to sustain the entire refining process for a Grain Avoidance Pill. Alchemy allowed for no interruptions; he couldn’t possibly get distracted trying to recover his Magical Power midway.

Elixirs were even more expensive. Any kind that restored Magical Power cost upwards of ten Spirit Stones, and that was for a single pill.

’I’ll need at least eight hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones...’

Staring at the final calculated sum, Chu Mu felt his head begin to throb.

Eight hundred Spirit Stones. What did that even mean?

He earned three to four Lower Grade Spirit Stones a month. Even assuming he made four a month, it would take him two hundred months to earn that much.

With twelve months in a year, that was almost seventeen years of work!

And that was only if he didn’t eat, drink, or spend a single Spirit Stone on anything else.

Even if his Cultivation improved and he earned more Spirit Stones, his expenses would undoubtedly grow as well. It would be impossible to save every single one.

Besides, that eight hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones was just for the *first* attempt. There was no guarantee it would even succeed.

If he failed, then out of those eight hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones, everything except the reusable Pill Furnace would be money down the drain.

Subsequent attempts would inevitably cost another hundred, or even several hundred, Spirit Stones!

And this was just to refine the Grain Avoidance Pill, the most basic Elixir in the Cultivation Immortal Realm...

If Elder Li had left him a recipe for a different Elixir, one that required actual Spirit Medicine, it would have been a goal for the next lifetime.

The question now was... where was he going to get eight hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones?

’This world has everything... so how come there aren’t any payday loans?’

He mused idly. If there really were loans, he’d take them for everything they were worth!

He’d take the money and run. The Cultivation Immortal Realm was huge. What was there to be afraid of?

...