The cold wind hit his face, and a layer of white frost quickly formed on Ji An’s eyebrows and hair.

The fierce wind echoed in the crevices of rocks, bringing intermittent wailing sounds, like the cries of vengeful spirits.

He involuntarily shivered, the cold brought by the rapid movement of the wind was unbearable for him.

Even a Chao Origin Stage Cultivator could not be immune to the effects of such harsh weather, so he activated the Fire Element Chapter of the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture, the magical power circulating in his Immortal Vein, the brilliance of the Fire Element Divine Talisman glowing.

His cold body gradually warmed up, and the tips of his hair flickered with red light, the hair fluttering in the wind like flames from a torch.

Walking against the wind, his speed was destined not to be very fast. After nearly two double hours of trekking, he finally flew out of the Gulal Pass.

Outside, the wind and frost still persisted, with small snowflakes drifting down, and the earth was a vast stretch of white.

This land was covered in wind and snow for most of the year, with only certain special areas being exceptions.

Ji An immediately dived downward, greedily inhaling, and after another double hour of flying, the Immortal City built of white stone was in the distance, and Silver Moon City was already beckoning to him.

During his flight, he could already see other cultivators.

These cultivators were dressed in leather coats and hats, and upon seeing him riding on a cloud, they immediately kept their distance.

No matter where you are, there’s a rule in the survival law of cultivators: ’Do not provoke cultivators whose cultivation level is higher than your own. If possible, try to avoid them.’

Ji An didn’t mind, continued flying forward until he finally landed at the entrance on the outskirts of the Immortal City.

The information his ancestor gave described this city in detail, and he understood what to do.

A cultivator with a full beard among those guarding the entrance stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:

"Senior, are you planning to enter the Immortal City?"

"Yes, please get me an Identity Jade Token."

Ji An replied, Silver Moon City is a city of loose cultivators, and the City Lord is a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Anyone entering the Immortal City must follow the rules to receive a standard jade token and pay ten Spirit Stones.

This jade token has a positioning function, and unless one is a Golden Core cultivator, they must obtain one.

The bearded cultivator took out a jade token, handed it over respectfully, and said:

"Senior, Chao Origin Stage cultivators do not need to pay the entrance fee, but the city strictly prohibits fights between cultivators. If you encounter any disharmony, please tolerate it for the time being, and the Law Enforcement Hall will handle it."

Ji An took the jade token, nodded slightly, and said:

"Thank you."

He stepped into the Dharma Prohibition, and immediately felt a warm breeze blowing. Outside was winter, but here it was spring.

He found a broker and asked:

"How many Spirit Stones do you charge for a day’s service?"

The broker was a rather skinny Eighth-Layer Qi Refining cultivator, whose eyes appeared sharp, not seeming deceitful.

Of course, appearances can be deceiving, and people can hide their true nature. He would maintain necessary caution.

He wouldn’t assume that others wouldn’t dare to deceive him just because his cultivation was high. If the interests are large enough, many cultivators would transform into tribulation cultivators.

"To report to senior, it only costs three Spirit Stones a day."

The broker wore an appropriately sincere smile on his face. Three Spirit Stones wasn’t much; his main income was the customer’s commission for purchasing goods.

Otherwise, with his cultivation, it’s impossible for him to reside in the city.

Ji An handed over the Spirit Stones, saying:

"Take me to the shops selling various Spirit Soils. I haven’t planned to procure much, enough for fifty acres of Spirit Field for five years."

He had long planned to purchase Spirit Soil to upgrade the grade of his Spirit Field from the Outer Region to avoid all familiar cultivators.

"Alright," the broker happily put the Spirit Stones into his Storage Bag and inquired:

"Senior, may I ask what grade of Spirit Field you need to cultivate? This way, I can recommend the most suitable shops for you."

From a single sentence, he initially judged the other party to be a potential big client, with little money, but it must genuinely belong to him.

If it’s rented Spirit Field, no cultivator would be willing to cultivate it, because the benefit of the enhanced grade would not be theirs, not to mention the increased rent. It would purely make wedding clothes for the landlord.

Besides Spirit Soil, such a cultivator must have other needs.

"Currently Tier One Upper Grade."

"Understood, please follow me, senior. Flying Escape is not allowed in the Immortal City, or you’ll be fined by the Law Enforcement Team."

The broker was very talkative, describing the specialties of the shops on the street.

Upon passing a clothing and hat shop, he paused and said:

"Senior, I think you should buy a leather coat. This would be advantageous when bargaining.

The leather coats here are just made from the fur of Tier One demon beasts, good quality and cheap."

Considering he would be staying in this icy and snowy land for many years, Ji An nodded slightly and stepped inside.

He quickly picked out three sets, nodded to the broker, and after some haggling, spent fifty Spirit Stones.

Ji An changed into a set on the spot, concealing his Daoist Robe.

After leaving the shop, they took several turns before arriving at a narrow street, the broker introduced:

"Senior, the shops on this street all deal in Spirit Plants and Spirit Fields related goods. If you’re cultivating Tier One Upper Grade Spirit Field, Zhang Clan’s Spirit Rice Shop is the most cost-effective."

"Let’s visit them all first, I’ll compare the prices."

Ji An said, the two of them had just met, there wasn’t much trust yet.

The broker had experienced many such situations, leading guests from one shop to another.

Every time Ji An entered a store, he would inquire about the price of the spirit soil needed and whether there were spirit seeds for sale above Tier Two Upper Grade.

After visiting over a dozen shops, he found nothing.

During this time, he did encounter some high-tier spirit seeds that Red Flame Peak didn’t have, but none were what he needed.

Leaving the last shop, Ji An said:

"Let’s go and buy from the Zhang Clan’s Spirit Rice Shop."

The two turned back and returned to the Zhang Clan’s shop. Ji An said:

"I wish to purchase two thousand pounds each of Obsidian Soil, Cyan Elite Soil, Red Moon Soil, Yellow Crystal Soil, and White Profound Earth."

The shopkeeper immediately became spirited. This was no small transaction. He picked up the abacus and started calculating with a clickety-clack, then said with a smile:

"Senior, the prices for Cyan Elite Soil, Red Moon Soil, and Yellow Crystal Soil are slightly higher, at sixty-five spirit stones per hundred pounds.

Obsidian Soil and White Profound Earth are sixty spirit stones per hundred pounds, totaling six thousand three hundred spirit stones."

Here it was the broker’s turn to act. After some haggling, the deal was made at six thousand spirit stones.

Ji An readily took out sixty middle-grade spirit stones and left with five storage bags.

These storage bags were specially made large-capacity storage items, with a refining cost of nearly a hundred spirit stones. Otherwise, he could have saved some more spirit stones.

The two left and wandered aimlessly for another double hour. Ji An said:

"I want to rent a grotto mansion with at least a Tier Two Middle Grade spiritual vein node."

He would stay in Silver Moon City for several years, slowly integrating into this icy world.

The broker bowed his head and said:

"That requires going to the area surrounding the mountaintop, but the grotto mansion rental price is set by the City Lord and is non-negotiable."

"Just show me the way, and you can leave."

...

Ji An managed to rent a Tier Two Middle Grade grotto mansion, at three thousand spirit stones a year, genuinely feeling the expense.

Inside the grotto mansion were several rooms: a living room, a beast taming chamber, an earth fire chamber, and a purification chamber for cultivation.

He originally thought the reason the temperature in Immortal City was higher than outside was due to the magic arrays’ operation.

Now it seemed it was due to the underworld fire vein’s presence; underneath the icy world lay scorching magma, and the distance between the magma and the surface was not far.

Three thousand spirit stones were just the price for a Tier Two Middle Grade vein. A grotto mansion with a top-grade spiritual vein node would cost five thousand spirit stones per year.

Calculating like this, staying in the sect for so many years was equivalent to saving tens of thousands of spirit stones in expenses.

"It’s not easy being a loose cultivator."

After sighing, Ji An went to the beast taming chamber and released three beasts.

The beasts, unlike corpse refining, would be severely affected if they slept for long periods. Golden Fur and Dahuang had been intermittently asleep for three months.

Ji An returned to the quiet chamber, sat cross-legged on the pudun, and connected his mind to the Upper Stone Turtle.

"Enter the Gourd World!"

His figure suddenly disappeared, leaving only the gourd stone floating in the air, emitting a soft light.

The stone walls had patterns of flowers, birds, insects, fish, sun, moon, and stars, like living things.

The Gourd World was now a scene of prosperity, with the Gathering Essence Tree now half a foot above ground, emitting a warm spirit light.

Ji An marveled countless times, saying it truly deserved to be the Heaven and Earth Spirit Root, even though it was only Tier One Lower Grade, it was radiant with spirit light.

It was now as thick as a pinky finger, with five thumb-sized leaves at the top, in the colors yellow, red, white, black, and blue, like the manifestation of the Power of the Five Elements.

At this moment, the leaves were bundled together, not knowing when they would unfold.

The Earth Spirit Fruit Tree next to it was already two feet tall, its tier reaching Tier One Middle Grade, and the slender Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo was six feet tall. The two were completely unlike having been planted at the same time.

Ji An, pinching a spell to take out the Yellow Crystal Soil, evenly sprinkled a thin layer in this earth element spirit field, using about two hundred pounds, and did this twice a year.

He pinched the Yellow Dragon Essence Enhancement Skill, and with the vibration of the earth vein, the warm spirit light enveloped the earth, nurturing the pervasive magic intent.

The Yellow Crystal Soil completely mixed with the soil, and under the effect of the magic array, would enhance the soil’s contained spiritual qi.

Ji An always wondered what form this little world existed in, and how its space was formed?

All of this was so magical; his mind couldn’t penetrate into the mystery.

After pondering for a while, he gave up finding the answer to the question and turned to the cyan soil area.

He scattered the Cyan Elite Soil here and pinched the Azure Dragon Shocking Skill.

A cyan dragon over ten feet long appeared, its dark green scales shimmering, the emerald spirit light coloring this misty world, bringing more vitality.

The resounding dragon roar was deafening, and the spirit plants swayed in the exuberant magical power that surged up.

The Biluo Tree was now four feet tall, and the Jade Leaf Mulberry had reached five feet, with palm-sized leaves.

Next, Ji An successively scattered Obsidian Soil, Red Moon Soil, and White Profound Earth in the respective spirit fields, continuously casting spells.

The Red Cloud Pine, Spiritual Peach Trees, and Dragon Blood Tree were now as thick as an arm and over four feet tall. The peach trees were beginning to weigh down their branches.

The spirit fish in the pond leapt out of the water, the largest being a two-foot-long red carp, with a pair of golden dragon whiskers.