4: Chapter 4: Poor People's Thinking

Time flew by, and half a month had passed in a flash. During this period, Wang Bin occasionally Cultivated, but more often, he wandered around the city or collected various books, whether they were strange tales or cultivation manuals, he accepted them all.

This day, he was engrossed in a copy of “The Great Bestiary,” reading with great interest.

“City Lord, Chen Jun requests an audience.”

Chen Jun’s voice suddenly came from outside the room.

“Come in.”

Wang Bin responded, and then a man who looked to be in his early forties walked in.

The man was dressed in a gray Daoist robe, with a somewhat dull expression on his face. Upon entering, he first cupped his hands respectfully, a gesture of respect from a lower-ranked Cultivator to a higher-ranked Cultivator.

“Reporting to the City Lord, I recently felt my cultivation Realm loosen, and I should be close to Breakthrough to the Qi Refinement Stage Great Perfection.

Your subordinate would like to request half a month of leave and also apply to use the Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Room for ten days,” Chen Jun said.

“Oh?”

Wang Bin raised an eyebrow slightly and looked down to check.

“You’ve been the patrol captain in White Cloud City for five years, with an annual salary of two hundred Spirit Stones and five days of Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Room cultivation time. Now you’ve only accumulated 25 days of cultivation room usage time.

You’re not saving this time to Breakthrough the Foundation Establishment Stage, but instead using it to Breakthrough a minor Realm?”

“Your subordinate wishes to Breakthrough as quickly as possible. Your subordinate will be seventy-one next year, time is pressing. If I still haven’t been able to Breakthrough Foundation Establishment by eighty, with my Qi and blood declining, then hope will be even more remote!”

Chen Jun replied with a serious expression.

His Aptitude was ordinary, he had no background or backing, and lacked cultivation resources. In over fifty years of Cultivating, he hadn't even encountered a single fortuitous encounter.

While patrolling today, he had a sudden impulse and felt the opportunity for a Breakthrough, so he made up his mind to seize this chance.

Originally, he had planned to save the Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Room time for when he was Breakthrough Foundation Establishment, but today, while chatting with Huang Youcai during patrol, he heard that Huang Youcai had another son, which made him feel that his own time was even more pressing.

He knew that if this Breakthrough failed, it would delay him for several more years, and then the hope of Foundation Establishment would truly be minuscule.

“Alright, granted. You and Huang Youcai hand over the patrol duties, then go to Cultivation Room B. I will open the Restriction, and you can go in yourself,” Wang Bin said.

Watching Chen Jun’s departing back, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Wang Bin, and an idea for easily earning Spirit Stones emerged.

White Cloud City is situated atop a Second-Grade Spirit Vein. The Spiritual Qi contained within this Spiritual Vein, besides maintaining the normal operation of the city’s Formation, also has a considerable surplus.

The Formation Master who originally set up the grand Formation also built four Foundation Establishment Cultivation Rooms at key nodes of the Spiritual Vein, specifically for Foundation Establishment Cultivators to Cultivate.

After all, the higher a Cultivator’s Realm, the greater their demand for Spiritual Qi during Cultivation.

One of the benefits of Wang Bin being stationed in White Cloud City was that he could use the Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Rooms on this Second-Grade Spirit Vein at any time. This was probably why White Cloud City assigned a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like him to be stationed here.

Golden Core cultivators couldn't Cultivate here; the Spiritual Qi of a Second-Grade Spirit Vein was simply not enough for a Golden Core cultivator to absorb.

“Isn’t this a good opportunity to make money?”

Wang Bin secretly rejoiced, “If I rent out all four of these Foundation Establishment Cultivation Rooms, wouldn’t Spirit Stones come rolling in?

As for my own Cultivation, hehe, let's put it aside for now. We’ll talk about it after I earn Spirit Stones.”

In the Cultivation World, there is a common understanding that during Cultivation, one must maintain a peaceful and tranquil state of mind to better comprehend the mysteries between heaven and earth, draw spiritual power into the body, and steadily improve one’s Realm.

It can also be said that during Cultivation, one must keep their mind clear and avoid being disturbed by distracting thoughts. Only in this way can the cultivation process proceed smoothly, without negative emotions and distracting thoughts affecting the progress and effectiveness of Cultivation.

But Wang Bin, he was originally a good young man, but deeply “poisoned” by the internet.

Every time he sat there to Cultivate for a while, all sorts of chaotic things would involuntarily appear in his mind.

Especially the various temptations he had seen on the internet. Now that he had become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his memory had also improved, and memories he had almost forgotten all came flooding back.

Images from the several gigabytes of short videos stored on his phone would flash in his mind from time to time, causing him to be filled with distracting thoughts, making it impossible for him to Cultivate in peace.

“Damn it, I’ve changed worlds, and I’m still troubled by these things! Those short videos from Japan are truly a scourge!”

Wang Bin cursed secretly in his heart.

However, Wang Bin also knew that if he wanted to rent out the Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Rooms to earn Spirit Stones, there were still two problems that needed to be solved.

The first was the accountability issue with the Four Seas Commerce League, but the League didn’t seem to have any clear regulations prohibiting such actions.

“Who cares,” Wang Bin thought,

“This place is a remote backwater, far from the emperor, what’s there to fear?

I urgently need Spirit Stones right now, so I’ll do it first. Nothing major should happen.

Even if someone does cause trouble, at worst, I’ll just share some Spirit Stones.”

The second problem was the pricing of the rent. Theoretically, the higher the better, but practical circumstances also needed to be considered.

There were only about a hundred permanent Cultivators in the entire White Cloud City, and they were all at the Qi Refinement Stage. Aside from a few occasional passing Foundation Establishment Cultivators, he really wasn't clear about the market conditions.

“It seems I still need to find someone to inquire about it,” Wang Bin pondered.

Chen Jun had gone into seclusion, so Wang Bin had no choice but to find Huang Youcai.

He subconsciously reached into his pocket, wanting to pull out his phone to make a call, but as soon as his hand went in, he reacted.

“My goodness!”

He couldn’t help but curse in a low voice, only then remembering that he was now in the Cultivation World and there was no such thing as a mobile phone.

Immediately after, he realized another problem: the entire City Lord’s Mansion, such a large place, actually had no servants for him to command.

“Sure enough, it’s still a poor person’s mindset. Being a City Lord, and still not knowing how to enjoy!”

Wang Bin shook his head helplessly, “This Qingmu really was a bitter Cultivator, he never bothered with these matters.”

Wang Bin was originally a modern person, just an ordinary commoner before, and had never been served by servants, so for a while, he didn’t feel anything was amiss.

“Seriously, always thinking about earning Spirit Stones, I’ve delayed the important matters.”

He muttered to himself, “Although I’m now a Foundation Establishment Stage old man over a hundred years old, and I’ve been exiled to such a desolate place, my status should at least be higher than a Mortal emperor, right?

Not to mention three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines, I should at least marry seven wives first. I should at least catch up to that Wei Xiaobao fellow, right?

Besides, I, Wang Bin, have come to this Cultivation World. I must leave something behind, right?

At least I should have ten or eight sons to pass on my Wang surname. It wouldn’t be a wasted trip.”

Thinking of this, Wang Bin quickly shook his head again,

“Bah, bah, bah, there are still too many distracting thoughts in my mind. If this continues, how can I calm down and Cultivate?”

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset,

“Let’s recruit 100 maidservants first, and pick 7 from them to be wives, that’s enough.

For now, important matters come first. I’ll earn Spirit Stones and repair my Meridians first.

Otherwise, even with many wives, I can only watch. If these matters disturb my mind and cause Qi Deviation, that would be troublesome.”

Just as he was about to fly on his sword to find Huang Youcai, he suddenly remembered that there were two guards standing at the City Lord’s Mansion gate, but what were their names?

He searched through Qingmu’s memories but found no clue.

So, Wang Bin transmitted a message to one of the guards, asking him to call Deputy Captain Huang.