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Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Blissful Cottage
"Bricks for walls, iron bars for bones, constructing a building dozens of meters tall."
"No flying eaves or arches, no jade tiles to be laid, and no need for courtyards or gardens—just divide the building into identical, separate housing units, each layer upon layer, room by room."
"Yes, exactly! Like rows of stone coffins—that’s a very apt description. That’s exactly the feel we’re going for!"
Li Quanqing stood on his own land, explaining passionately to a group of earth-wood cultivators.
Next to him, Li Quanfu continuously held up an overnight model of the building, which could be opened from the inside to show the structure to everyone.
Li Quanqing found that building these single apartments for low-rank Qi Refinement cultivators was very convenient.
They don’t eat, relying solely on Fasting Pills and inhaling Spiritual Energy; an occasional luxury meal of Spirit Rice doesn’t involve the cycle of the five grains.
Thus, the kitchen and bathroom were completely omitted.
Bathing had the Dust Removal Spell, laundry had the Clean Talisman; both were insignificant small talismans, abundant and cheap, convenient and quick.
Only one room was needed, with a meditation mat for both cultivation practice and sleeping, even beds and bedding could be spared.
But Li Quanqing was considerate enough to decide to equip each room with a set of table and chairs, convenient for them to recite scriptures and draw talismans.
The only thing that needed consideration was the drinking water.
After contemplating and discussing, they decided to place large water tanks on top of the building and lay pipes around the outer layer, setting up a few water rooms on each floor.
After all, these earth-wood cultivators found it hard to understand how to create twisted passages inside stone walls; high demands were tough to meet.
And in this world, people didn’t have the habit of drinking boiled water; just toss in a couple of Water Purifying Spells, and it’s done.
Elevators?
Cultivators inhaled Spiritual Energy day and night, their bodies robust, plus various Light Body Spells and Qi Boosting Spells.
Climbing dozens of floors was tiring, and you think you could escape from the vicious bandit cultivators?
It’s better to retire early back in the mortal realm to live out your days.
Li Quanqing felt that these cultivator tenants might even thank him for providing a chance to exercise by climbing the floors regularly.
"Squeak!"
Beside him, the little Vine Wood Ape, keen-eyed, seeing its master thirsty, hurriedly poured a bowl of amber-colored plum iced tea from a gourd.
The newly acquired Spiritual Beasts couldn’t be kept in the Spiritual Beast Bag for long, so Li Quanqing let them out in this three-hundred-acre wilderness.
The snow leopard and the Golden Flame Tiger could burn the grass and clear the fields, while the rainbow chicken caught bugs in the ground.
The five Vine Wood Apes were trying to plant various ornamental plants in the cleared land, doing the greenery project in advance.
"Boss, can our Blissful Abode really earn Spirit Stones?"
Li Quanfu came over, his face tinged with worry.
He had never seen such a bizarre Cave Mansion; how was it any different from living in a coffin?
Li Quanqing, sipping on the plum iced tea, was instead full of confidence: "Tell me, how much does it cost to rent a Cave Mansion in Whale Emperor Fang for a year?"
"At least thirty to forty Spirit Stones, I guess."
Li Quanfu scratched his head, citing a figure.
Each Workshop had this rule: cultivators must stay in officially certified Cave Mansions recognized by the Workshop after nightfall.
For one thing, it was easier to manage; for another, it was a means to earn Spirit Stones.
This was an experience summarized by upper-tier cultivators over centuries; instead of schemingly emptying the Loose Cultivators’ Storage Bags, why not directly and forcefully?
If you don’t pay the Spirit Stones for the Cave Mansion, then get out, don’t even think about lingering in the streets to soak up Spiritual Energy.
It was literally standing there earning Spirit Stones!
This also caused the price of every Cave Mansion in the Workshops to be very expensive.
Many cultivators, in order to mooch off the Workshop’s Spirit Veins, can only resort to co-renting with others, and there are even cases where over a hundred people live together in one Cave Mansion.
Up there are policies, down here are countermeasures.
"The Cave Mansions in the Whale Emperor Fang are too expensive, after all, they are situated on Third-Rank Spirit Veins, and breathing in the Spiritual Energy is like inhaling the essence of heaven and earth."
"So many poor Loose Cultivators can only choose to leave the Workshop at night and live on nearby deserted islands, returning during the day to set up stalls on the streets and cultivate while doing business."
Li Quanqing leisurely began, "Our business is targeting this group of people, offering them a blissful little home where they can stay in the Workshop even at night."
Li Quanfu understood clearly, their target customers were all Qi Refining First or Second Level impoverished cultivators.
Those in the Qi Refining Middle Stage and Qi Refining Late Stage Loose Cultivators were too rich, the Shuihua Sword Sect and various Foundation Establishment forces were all watching them.
On the contrary, these Qi Refining Early Stage cultivators either co-rent or leave the Workshop at night to live on deserted islands.
The forces interested in the Spirit Stones in their pockets were not very powerful themselves, at most some Qi Refining small families.
Backed by the Green Jade Li Family, Li Quanqing naturally had nothing to fear.
"Boss, in this way, our profit will also decrease accordingly, right?"
Li Quanqing held up a finger, "The price I’ve tentatively set is one grain of Spirit Sand per day."
Living for a month costs 30 grains of Spirit Sand, 0.3 Spirit Stones.
Renting for a year, it’s only 3.6 Spirit Stones, a tenth of the typical Cave Mansion price!
Even Li Quanfu couldn’t help but gasp when he heard this number, "Boss, isn’t this too low, can we still make a profit?"
Li Quanqing laughed, "According to the current plan, each blissful mansion has 33 floors, and each floor can house 20 households. Calculate how much we can earn annually from two buildings."
He also wanted to build higher, but Whale Emperor Fang has regulations, any higher would touch the boundaries of the Island Protection Array.
Moreover, although there are many low-level cultivators, two floors are enough.
Any more, and firstly, the Spirit Gathering Arrays would be insufficient, and secondly, earning too many Spirit Stones could attract jealousy, and the Li Family couldn’t protect them.
"Those Qi Refining Fourth Level and above cultivators, having money in their pockets, look down on these coffin rooms, therefore the luxurious Cave Mansions operated by Foundation Establishment forces are not affected at all."
"When the time comes, give a part of these Spirit Stones to the Supreme Elder, and another part to the Sword Sect Elder stationed at the Whale Emperor Fang, and all will be settled."
Li Quanqing stroked his chin.
Even if this business ultimately fails, at worst, they could tear it down and rebuild, as the land was owned by his own family.
The group of Earth Spirit Root cultivators built quickly, first allowing the Metal Spirit Root practitioners to manipulate various metal rods to construct the skeleton of the building.
Then came the Earth Spirit Root cultivators, who covered the metal skeleton with blocks of hard stone, dividing the floors and rooms.
Considering privacy, soundproofing, and the destructive capabilities of cultivators, the walls were at least two to three feet thick, which would be considered a millennium wonder in a mortal kingdom.
Finally, Wood Spirit Root practitioners checked for leaks and filled in the gaps, creating doors, windows, and furniture.
For these two buildings to look good, as well as considering the mental health of the cultivators,
Li Quanqing specifically left a glaze-made French window in every room, embedded in the stone layer.
From the outside, the nearly hundred-meter-tall glass buildings stood beside the lake, shining brilliantly under the sun, a magnificent sight.
When had the ancient and conservative Cultivation World ever seen such spectacular architecture?
Even before completion, it had already attracted the attention of many cultivators in the Workshop, with people inquiring daily about what they were building.
Once the two main buildings were completed, next would be the supporting two commercial streets.
Li Quanqing chose the street-facing shops on upper and lower floors, the upper could be inhabited, and the shops were neatly uniform, embodying a clean and orderly beauty.
He originally wanted to replicate a large modern shopping center from his previous life, creating a shopping center belonging to cultivators.
But considering the unruly nature of Loose Cultivators, he ultimately abandoned the idea.
Honestly, it’s better to just rent out the shops to Loose Cultivators themselves, and collect rent from the ground.
