Chapter 349: Chapter 348: Spending Money to Avert Disaster _1

Even if only a small group of people were producing flying cars, the patent fees alone would be enough to make Lu Yang very wealthy.

Previously, Lu Yang assumed that the patent was still being reviewed and the flying car had not been mass-produced, so he put the issue of patent fees out of his mind.

But with glaringly obvious flying cars zipping through the skies above him, he couldn’t say that the patent hadn’t been granted yet.

“Could it be that the Fifth Elder is playing a double game, pocketing my patent fees?”

This thought flashed through his mind, but was quickly dismissed.

The Fifth Elder wouldn’t stoop to such petty greed.

“Let it be, I’ll ask the Fifth Elder about it when I see him.” Lu Yang decided not to dwell on this matter.

Old Horse pulled the carriage, bringing Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to the foot of the mountain, where a newly built inn stood.

The Qingzhou Festival was always held for seven days, and cultivators couldn’t be expected to sleep in the open during this time, as it would be unbecoming of their status.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou arrived relatively early and there were still vacant rooms.

“Two of your best rooms, please!”

“Alright, two Grade-A rooms, sir. Do you also need us to book a room for your horse?”

Meng Jingzhou was surprised, thinking could it be that they have recognized that Old Horse has unfathomable powers, treating him as an equal?

The innkeeper explained with a smile, “Sir, we offer a service to take care of spirit beasts for free. However, due to limited space, the spirit beasts will have to stay in the backyard. Occasionally, some Great Powers bring high-ranking spirit beasts to the Qingzhou Festival. If we put these high-ranking beasts in the backyard, other spirit beasts will be inevitably affected. If you don’t mind your spirit beast being affected, we can take care of it for free.”

Meng Jingzhou thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure of Old Horse’s strength, but given that the family had assigned him as the protector, his realm should be very high. He would be content if Old Horse didn’t bully others.

Nevertheless, considering Old Horse’s habit of attracting young female horses, it would be prudent to provide him with a room of his own.

“Then please book a room for Old Horse as well.”

“Alright then, three Grade-A rooms!”

“Old Horse, please tell me in confidence, what realm are you in? I promise to pretend that I don’t know.” Meng Jingzhou asked softly.

Old Horse glanced at Meng Jingzhou sideways with disbelief, snorted loudly, unconvinced by Meng Jingzhou’s words.

After Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou went upstairs, another group of people came to the inn. However, they were not as flamboyant as Meng Jingzhou.

“Innkeeper, we would like three Grade C rooms.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t have Grade C rooms here.”

The guest was taken aback, “Are the Grade C rooms sold out?”

He calculated how much money he had, it was barely enough, “Let’s get two Grade B rooms then.”

They could squeeze into two rooms.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we only have Grade-A rooms left.”

“What?”

They were only at the Qi Refinement stage, they couldn’t afford such high-end rooms!

“Senior Brother, let’s find another inn.”

The innkeeper smiled and said, “If I may be blunt, all the other inns only have Grade-A rooms left too.”

Their faces turned dark, were they to sleep on the streets on the first day of the festival?

The innkeeper was not surprised by their reaction, “It’s not as bad as you might think. Every year, when the festival starts, there is always a mad scramble for the Grade-A rooms, often resulting in fights. So, the Qingzhou government office has instructed us to upgrade all the rooms to Grade-A, but keep the price of the Grade C rooms. The government office will cover the excess.”

Rather than allowing cultivators to fight and cause disorder, which could disrupt the order, the Qingzhou government office would rather fork out some extra spirit stones to nip the problem in the bud.

…

Meng Jingzhou had no idea that his Grade-A room was so cheap. He had always been oblivious to such small amounts of money.

“Lu Yang, pack up and come take a stroll. I heard there’s a street market on the mountain that sells all sorts of antiques and magic artifacts.”

“Sure.”

Lu Yang didn’t have much to pack. He was weary from his journey, so he took off his clothes. Since he didn’t know the Body Cleaning Spell, he used the Array Method in the room to wash up and got dressed in a crisp, cool outfit before heading out.

Old Horse didn’t have much to pack either. He was worn out from his journey, too. He set down his saddle, and, unlike Lu Yang, he knew the Body Cleaning Spell and could refresh himself without resorting to the Array Method in the room. He then released his Spiritual Sense to check if there were any mares around.

“Foundation Establishment Elixir, an Elixir Pattern-infused Foundation Establishment Elixir, guaranteed to enable Foundation Establishment, or get a full refund!”

“Demon Beast fur, fur from a Qi Refinement-Complete demon beast, perfect material for making magic artifacts!”

“Barbecued Demon Beast, Qi Refinement-Complete Barbecued Demon Beast, just delivered from next door!”

“‘Solidification Skill’, ‘Cloud Flow Sword Technique’, ‘Clear Sound Secret Text’… all sorts of magic skills and spells, anything you could want!”

“Most comprehensive Star Chart, the result of two decades’ painstaking effort, personally observing the stars at night and drawing the Star Chart, an indispensable tool for practitioners of the star-related magic skills!”

“Phoenix Blood Stone, Yang Invigorating Phoenix Blood Stone, Taiwen Stone, can enhance the quality of swords, Gold Attraction Stone, capable of absorbing gold!”

Hawkers constantly shouted out their wares, bringing life and color to the street.

Upon entering the market, Lu Yang felt a kind of suppression, not of Cultivation Realm, but of Spiritual Sense.

After all, for something like magic skills, a sweep of one’s Spiritual Sense would reveal their contents. Why would anyone then buy from the hawkers?

“They even have ‘Cloud Flow Sword Technique’?!” Lu Yang was surprised. The Cloud Flow Sword Technique was a rare sword technique created by a True Lord Yun over two thousand years ago, not commonly circulating in the market.

Meng Jingzhou, in this respect, was much more savvy than Lu Yang: “Don’t trust the magic skills sold here. A sword technique written by True Lord Yun may be called ‘Cloud Flow Sword Technique’, but you could scribble a completely random technique and also call it ‘Cloud Flow Sword Technique’. Since the buyer has never seen the true ‘Cloud Flow Sword Technique’, even if they spot a problem after buying, they can’t accuse you of selling fake goods.”

“After all, new spells are created every day, duplication of names is quite normal.”

Lu Yang suddenly understood. He didn’t anticipate such intricate dealings here.

“Do you have a Star Chart?” Lu Yang caught the vendor’s comment.

While his own practice had no relation to the stars, he still wanted a copy so that he could guess which ones corresponded to his Eldest Senior Sister’s Golden Core.

“This esteemed guest has good taste. This Star Chart was drawn by me, using a telescopic magic instrument. My own magic skill practice involves a high level of visual acuity. I put my heart and soul into creating this Star Chart, and ultimately, my perseverance paid off!”

“Can I have a look at it?”

On hearing his question, the vendor’s face grew wary: “No way, I can’t see through your Cultivation Realm, even if one can’t use their Spiritual Sense here, you might have opened up your Spiritual Space. If you glance at the Star Chart, you could remember all its contents, and then you wouldn’t buy it.”

Lu Yang couldn’t help but laugh. He, of course, had no such intentions.

“How much is it in Spirit Stones? I’ll buy it.”

“This is the only copy in the world, two thousand Spirit Stones, no bargaining.”

Two thousand Spirit Stones was not a steep price for Lu Yang. He was about to make the payment when he heard voices buzzing with excitement behind him.

“Senior brother, look, there’s a Star Chart here!”

“What?”

The Senior Brother looked overjoyed. He had a close female junior with a star-related magic skill which required the Star Chart.

To win over his junior sister, the Star Chart was essential.

He thought Lu Yang seemed friendly and probably okay to negotiate with. He kept repeating to himself: Brother, this Star Chart is for a sister that I adore, can you part with it for me?

Brother, this Star Chart is for a sister that I adore, can you part with it for me?

After rehearsing twice in his mind and feeling confident about his tone and choice of words, he suppressed his nerves, clasped his fists, and said to Lu Yang:

“Sister, this Star Chart is for a brother that I admire, could you part with it for me?”

Lu Yang turned around, assured himself of his own gender and the other person’s. He quietly retreated two steps in silence.