1: Chapter 1 rewarded a portable cave dwelling.

"Today is just a small punishment. I will come again tomorrow. If you still cannot pay the rent, then get out of Anping Market."

A Black-robed Man stood at the courtyard gate, sternly rebuking a thin and slightly pale young man.

"Yes... Brother Hu, I understand."

Hearing the clattering and smashing of pots and pans from the courtyard, Li Qing replied with a troubled expression.

The Black-robed Man glanced at Li Qing again before walking away. Soon after, two sturdy underlings came out of the courtyard, shot a mocking look at Li Qing, deliberately shook the two old hens in their hands, and followed closely behind.

Ever since the Qingyang Gang took over the management of Anping Market half a year ago, not only had the monthly rent increased by one Low-Grade Spirit Stone, but the rent for all shops in Anping Market had also increased by half.

The extra monthly expenditure of one Spirit Stone made Li Qing curse once every day:

"May Chen Qingyang be struck by lightning when he steps out."

Do not underestimate this one Spirit Stone. In the Mortal world, it could be exchanged for ten taels of silver, enough for his living expenses for a month.

But before he went bankrupt, Chen Qingyang was still living well.

If he still couldn't pay the rent tomorrow, Li Qing shuddered at the consequences!

He could not care about the sympathetic, pitiful, or gloating pointing fingers of the neighbors around him.

"Living as an Immortal is not easy!"

Li Qing sighed and lowered his head, walking into the small courtyard that, at least for today, still belonged to him.

"Little Qing, can you pay that three Low-Grade Spirit Stone rent tomorrow?"

Just as Li Qing was closing the door, a voice rang in his ear.

Li Qing looked up and saw his next-door neighbor, Old Man Liu, at Qi Refining Stage 3, who never let go of his smoking pipe.

Li Qing's eyes lit up. Could it be that the usually stingy Old Man Liu was going to lend him three Spirit Stones today to help him tide over this difficulty?

He looked up; the sun hadn't risen from the west today, had it?

"Old Man Liu—no, Uncle Liu, you know my situation best. How could I possibly scrape together those three Low-Grade Spirit Stones by tomorrow?"

Li Qing sighed, looking at Old Man Liu—no, his Uncle Liu—expectantly.

"I do have a way to help you scrape together the Spirit Stones, it just depends on whether you are willing or not."

A puff of smoke was exhaled from Old Man Liu's mouth, revealing his yellow teeth.

Before Li Qing could reply, Old Man Liu continued:

"With your cultivation at Qi Refining Stage 2, if you are kicked out of Anping Market, I fear you will only have a dead end."

"Not to mention those Yao Beasts, even those elusive rogue cultivators will not let you off."

Seeing Li Qing nod in agreement, Old Man Liu's tone suddenly shifted.

"Since that's the case, why don't you go find Boss Scar? I have some friendship with Boss Scar and could introduce you. That way, you might have a glimmer of hope."

Li Qing was stunned, looking at Old Man Liu in disbelief, a nameless rage suddenly rising in his heart.

"Damn it, I treated you like an elder, and you want me to sell my ass?"

Who in Anping Market didn't know Boss Scar? He was someone who specialized in usury. Putting aside his ruthless nature, just his legendary perverted habit of being into both men and women made people shrink back in fear.

If you borrowed Spirit Stones from him, you could be safe if you paid it back on time, but if you couldn't, you would become his plaything, a fate worse than death.

Even if you died, he would still squeeze out your last bit of value.

You despicable old man, you actually want me to find Boss Scar? What is your intention?

"You don't need to trouble yourself, I have my own arrangements for my affairs."

After saying this, Li Qing closed the courtyard door. Although death was terrifying, Li Qing feared losing his dignity as a human even more.

"Bah, if you don't listen to an old man's words, you will regret it tomorrow."

Old Man Liu spat out a glob of yellow phlegm. For the sake of that small referral fee, he had offended Li Qing today.

But Old Man Liu didn't care at all. People who Cultivate are not father and son, or master and disciple; what kind of friendship is there to speak of?

Even if they were father and son, or master and disciple, there were countless cases of them turning into enemies in the face of Immortal destiny.

He was just an incompetent Loose Cultivator at Qi Refining Stage 2; Old Man Liu didn't take him to heart.

The small courtyard was less than a hundred square meters. Besides a dilapidated wooden hut, there was just an empty courtyard with a Spirit Well standing alone in the middle.

Some vegetables were planted in the corner, and the two kept old hens had already vanished, leaving only chicken feathers all over the coop.

It was likely that those two underlings had already taken them to have a snack.

Pots and pans were shattered all over the courtyard. In the dilapidated wooden hut, the wooden bed, wardrobe, and bedding were scattered everywhere, destroyed beyond recognition. The remaining rice in the jar had broken free from its constraints and rolled onto the floor.

"With this crappy environment, how can they justify charging three Spirit Stones a month for rent?"

"Isn't this forcing me to leave?"

Although that was the case, Li Qing also knew he couldn't leave this place.

As soon as he left this courtyard, new people would move in immediately, and he would only be kicked out of Anping Market.

Leaving Anping Market, only a dead end awaited him.

Not to mention the man-eating Yao Beasts in the wild, even the elusive rogue cultivators would not let Li Qing go.

Living here wasn't about the environment, but about a guarantee of safety!

"Ding, detected that the host's living environment has been damaged, Portable Cave Abode activated."

"The Immortal Cave can be upgraded, some Immortal Cave buildings have been unlocked."

"Special note: when leaving the Portable Cave Abode, you will appear at the location where you entered the Immortal Cave."

Several abrupt voices rang in Li Qing's mind.

"Did this reward me with a Portable Cave Abode?"

Li Qing was stunned for a moment, then wild with joy.

Li Qing had heard of Immortal Caves; they were Advanced items only found in Feiyun City.

It was said that they were built on Spiritual Veins, and the monthly rent for the lowest-level Immortal Cave was over a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Unexpectedly, today I actually got an Advanced item like a Portable Cave Abode. This is 'out with the old, in with the new'; it's a trump card right from the start!

"It's here, my Golden Finger has finally arrived!"

Thinking of the arduous life of the past three years, Li Qing was moved to tears.

The Yunling Mountain Range stretches for millions of kilometers, nurturing one temple, one valley, three Schools, and five Sects—ten Cultivation Schools in total.

Houtu Sect is one of the four Sects and the only Cultivation Sect in this region for tens of thousands of miles. They built one main city, four garrison cities, and thirty-two markets here to gather nearby low-level Loose Cultivators to capture Yao Beasts and collect Heaven And Earth Treasure from the Yunling Mountain Range for them.

These Loose Cultivators are all called "Mountain Chasers."

Mountain Chasers, although it is a livelihood where one's head is tied to their waistband, often comes with opportunities to get rich overnight.

Li Qing's parents were Mountain Chasers.

It's just a pity that in one mountain-chasing trip before Li Qing came, they never returned.

Li Qing, who originally relied on his parents for a living, suddenly lost his pillar of support. With his cultivation at Qi Refining Stage 2, going to chase mountains would only result in being chased by the mountains. Helpless, he could only rely on odd jobs in this Anping Market to get by.

Barely scraping by with enough to eat.

Now, he could barely even manage that.

...

Li Qing calmed his excited mood and quickly tidied up the debris all over the floor.

Closing the door tight, Li Qing moved his mind, and his whole person disappeared from the wooden hut.

Reappearing, Li Qing arrived at the Portable Cave Abode.

At this moment, the Immortal Cave was empty, but it was bright.

Calling it an Immortal Cave is better described as a sealed space, with an open space of about a hundred square meters in the middle, surrounded by white-as-jade stone walls, and a mass of white fog overhead.

Touching the stone wall with his finger, it felt ice-cold.

Beneath the stone wall, there was also a stone cave. At this moment, the cave door was wide open. Li Qing went in and looked: a stone table, two stone stools, and a stone bed—quite simple.

In a trance, a light screen appeared in Li Qing's field of vision, filled with many characters.

[Immortal Cave lv1 (Upgradeable)]

[Function: Unique space, no disaster, no harm, no difficulty.]

"What a 'three-no' product."

Li Qing sighed and continued reading.

[Immortal Cave lv2 upgrade condition: Qi Refining Stage 4, Low-Grade Spirit Stone × 100.]

[Unlocked buildings: fish pond, beast enclosure, Spirit Well, farmland.]

Subsequently, the light screen disappeared and turned into a pale golden panel.

"Just this?"

"Where are my personal attributes, my experience bar, my destiny?"

"What's with this fish pond, beast enclosure, Spirit Well, and farmland? Are you asking me to farm and raise beasts?"

Li Qing was very disappointed; it was completely different from the Golden Finger he had imagined.

He had thought it would be that kind of Cultivation panel where 'Heavenly Dao rewards diligence' and things fall into place naturally, where as long as one Cultivates diligently, one could upgrade and add points. He didn't expect it to be a farming cheat.

Can this help me Cultivate? Li Qing was dazed.

For a Mortal to want to Cultivate, they must possess Spiritual Roots, and by running a Cultivation Technique, they can sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, thereby absorbing it into the Dantian and making it their own.

Although Li Qing had Spiritual Roots, they were Mixed Spiritual Roots with all Five Elements.

Having all Five Elements sounds so high-end, but it is recognized in the Cultivation world as the lowest-grade Spiritual Root.

But it also reached the basic condition for Cultivation, it's just that every time he ran the Cultivation Technique, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi absorbed was pitifully small.

Taking one Low-Grade Spirit Stone as an example, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi Li Qing absorbed in one night of Cultivation was only one percent of that Spirit Stone.

The effect can be imagined.

Otherwise, how could he have Cultivated for five years and still be hovering at Qi Refining Stage 2?

Of course, there was another fast way to Cultivate, which was to absorb Spirit Stones to Cultivate.

As long as there were enough Spirit Stones, Cultivating from Qi Refining Stage 1 to Qi Refining Perfection was not a dream.

Although absorbing Spirit Stones could increase the speed of Cultivation, for Loose Cultivators like them, Spirit Stones were hard to come by. Moreover, Magical Artifacts, Cultivation Techniques, Daoist Magic, Talisman, and Medicinal Pill—which one didn't require Spirit Stones?

Using Spirit Stones to assist Cultivation was a grand state that only appeared in dreams!

Up until now, Li Qing only knew one Daoist Magic—the Object Control Technique. As for the Flying Sword his parents left him, it had long been pawned off.

Shaking his head, casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, Li Qing's gaze turned to the four unlocked System buildings.

It is said that products from the System are always high-quality. Hopefully, those four Immortal Cave buildings could bring an unexpected surprise.