Yunxi handed two spirit stones to Jiaozi and sent him on his way before stepping forward and calling out, "Senior, I'd like to rent a cultivation dwelling."
The old man opened his eyes, yawned, and glanced at her before speaking, "This shop divides dwellings into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower, based on spiritual energy density and the array formations inside. The cost varies accordingly. Which one do you want?"
Wei Yunxi chuckled. "Senior, I'm a bit short on spirit stones, so I'll take the lowest-tier dwelling. But it must be safe."
The old man gave her a sideways glance and immediately noticed she was on the verge of a breakthrough. With a lazy gesture, he handed over a jade token. "Dwelling C-46, bottom tier. We settle by the day, twenty low-grade spirit stones per day. Pay five hundred up front. Any extra will be refunded when you leave.
But I'll say this upfront, the spiritual energy in those low-tier rooms is very thin. Not ideal for breaking through."
Yunxi didn't argue. She paid the spirit stones without hesitation, took the jade token, and smiled."Thank you for the warning, Senior. I'm well aware of my own limits. This is all I can afford for now. Once I regroup with my companions, I might get to borrow one of their higher-tier dwellings."
Her words were ambiguous, intentionally so. It suggested she wasn't traveling alone and that her companions were well-off. They had simply split up temporarily, and she came ahead to break through first.
The old man didn't ask any more questions. After pocketing the spirit stones, he led her to the entrance of dwelling C-46 and gave her a final reminder. "That jade token in your hand is your key. It also controls the isolation and spirit-gathering arrays inside. Do not lose it. The formation only recognizes the token, not the person. Lose it, and the dwelling is as good as someone else's."
"Yes, I understand." Yunxi clasped her hands in thanks and used the jade token to unlock the door.
It truly was a cave dwelling. The stone walls bore obvious signs of being carved by hand. The space was no more than ten square meters, with only a single meditation cushion in the center. Cramped didn't even begin to describe it.
Yunxi couldn't help but feel five hundred spirit stones had been poorly spent, but when traveling, frugality was key. She inserted the jade token into a slot on the inside wall, and the door closed behind her. Moments later, the isolation and spirit-gathering formations activated.
When the formation patterns lit up around the meditation cushion, Yunxi finally felt like she got at least some value for her money.
Still, to be safe, she pulled out her third-rank formation disk and slotted in nine mid-grade spirit stones. Only then did she retrieve the Xianling Grass from her spatial storage.
The Xianling Grass unfurled its leaves and took a moment to sense the ambient spiritual energy before speaking, "Xiao Yunxi, you've already left the sect?"
"Yes. I've arrived in Baohua City, at the base of the Baohua Mountain Range. But my cultivation is starting to become unstable," Yunxi answered honestly.
The Xianling Grass gave a soft shake of its leaves. "Then establish your Foundation first. That way, you'll be able to venture deeper into the mountain range."
"That was exactly my plan. That's why I rented this dwelling."
"Tsk, judging by the spiritual energy here, you definitely rented the lowest tier." The Xianling Grass spoke bluntly.
Yunxi rubbed her nose and muttered, "You're not wrong. What can I do? I'm broke. Most of my savings went into the teleportation array. If I hadn't sold some of my stash, I wouldn't even be able to afford this."
"You're just a little Qi Refining cultivator. How did you even dare use a teleportation array? Weren't you afraid of being targeted?"
Yunxi dodged the question slightly. "I was going to take a regular flying boat to Baohua City, but something felt off. My sixth sense told me I had to leave quickly. Just then, the teleportation array had one spot left, so I took it."
The Xianling Grass nodded in understanding. That kind of intuition was a cultivator's natural sense of danger.
"Alright, then. I'll help you with the breakthrough. I've stored enough spiritual energy for it."
"Great. Let's begin."
Yunxi didn't waste words. She sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion and placed the Xianling Grass beside her, then closed her eyes and began circulating her cultivation method. The sooner she reached Foundation Establishment, the fewer days she'd need to pay for this cave dwelling. She had every reason to get it done fast.
As Yunxi began to circulate her Qi Refining technique, the Xianling Grass quietly channeled its stored, purified energy into her body. At the same time, it sneakily extended its roots into the spiritual vein beneath the dwelling, siphoning off a portion of that energy for itself.
Yunxi focused entirely on breaking through, guiding her internal energy to impact the barrier to Foundation Establishment. Once, twice, three times... On the ninth try, a crack appeared. Spiritual energy surged through the opening and flooded into her dantian.
Her dantian expanded rapidly, then began to compress, over and over, until the Qi inside condensed into a thin liquid. The spiritual liquid gathered at the base of her dantian, signaling her complete breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment stage.
At that moment, dark clouds swirled above the dwelling, and a tribulation storm began to form, locking onto Wei Yunxi's presence.
Back at the counter, the old man's eyes snapped open. He looked toward the source of the clouds and immediately understood. That young girl from three days ago was facing her Foundation Establishment tribulation. He flashed across the courtyard and appeared outside dwelling C-46 just as the first bolt of lightning struck.
The moment Yunxi was locked onto by the lightning, she swept the Xianling Grass back into her spatial storage. That precious thing absolutely could not be exposed. She opened the door to the cave dwelling and flashed onto the open ground outside.
She didn't want the lightning to damage the dwelling. If it did, she'd have to pay for it, and right now, she was clinging to every spirit stone she had. She couldn't afford that kind of loss.
These thoughts passed in a flash, and strangely enough, they helped calm her nerves. As the first bolt came down, it struck her directly from above.
The old man watching was a bit startled. This girl didn't use any defensive formations at all. Was she crazy? Or was she just too poor to afford one? He stroked his beard thoughtfully. Most likely, she was broke.
His guess was half right. The other half was that Yunxi had Lightning Spiritual Roots and intended to use the lightning to temper her body.
As the first bolt entered her body, it surged wildly through her meridians. Thankfully, Yunxi's spiritual sense was far stronger than her cultivation stage. Within two breaths, she managed to guide the lightning along specific paths through her body, both tempering her meridians and refining a trace of lightning essence.
That trace eventually settled into her dantian and merged into the base of her Lightning Spiritual Root, which glowed briefly with a brilliant violet light.
Surviving the first strike boosted her confidence. When the second bolt came, she followed the same process and began refining it again.
But the intervals between the strikes grew shorter. As if sensing her adaptability, the tribulation cloud held nothing back. The final three bolts came almost simultaneously.
Gritting her teeth, Yunxi endured them all. Inwardly, she cursed endlessly. Each bolt was fiercer than the last. The first had left her tingling, almost ticklish, but by the end, it felt like she'd grabbed a live lightning pylon with both hands.