I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely - Chapter 242 - 220: Law Stone
“Also.”
“After all, your Special Demon Extermination Order was issued by Qingfeng Town. It might grant you certain privileges in Qingfeng Town, or even Moon River Prefecture City, but you’ll have no special rights here in Cangzhou Prefecture. At most, this Special Demon Extermination Order is equivalent to a commoner’s identification tablet in Cangzhou Prefecture.”
“However.”
“You do have a ’government-affiliated’ status of sorts. If you’re dealing with the Prefecture Mansion, that should work in your favor.”
“Thank you for the reminder.”
Xu Qing nodded. He took out ten taels of silver to pay the city entrance fee, then gave the guard one hundred taels in silver notes as a tip.
“Ahem…”
The guard gave a light cough, discreetly pocketing Xu Qing’s silver, and added, “You can go to Luoshui Street and look for a man named Wang Mazi. Just tell him Big Head sent you. Wang Mazi has some cheaper houses available.”
“Thank you.”
Xu Qing was taken aback for a moment.
In fact,
he had only given the guard one hundred taels in silver notes to make a good impression, and because the guard had reminded him of a few things.
But as it turned out,
the guard seemed to have misinterpreted his intentions. He had actually given Xu Qing a contact, thinking Xu Qing was asking for a favor.
Then again,
this was Xu Qing’s first time in Cangzhou Prefecture. He was in an unfamiliar place and knew no one. Although Ye Langtian had arrived in Cangzhou Prefecture a few steps ahead of him, he hadn’t contacted Xu Qing in many days.
Two days ago,
after Ye Langtian had arrived in Cangzhou Prefecture, he had contacted Xu Qing to let him know he was there and had met with members of the Blood Demon Sect Cangzhou Chapter.
That was all.
“Are these Half-Demons your slaves?”
the guard asked.
“Yes.”
Xu Qing nodded.
“Once you’re inside the city, you need to keep your slaves in line. Don’t let them cause trouble. You’ll be held responsible for anything that happens because of them.”
The guard added, “Also, if you’re bringing four slaves into the city, you’ll have to pay an additional forty taels of silver. Only then can you enter.”
“Alright.”
Xu Qing didn’t argue. He followed the rules of Cangzhou Prefecture and paid another forty taels of silver. After confirming there were no other issues, the guard let him pass.
After that,
Xu Qing walked into Cangzhou Prefecture.
Inside the city,
the streets bustled with carriages and people. It was lively and very prosperous. But looking up, he saw the second layer of Cangzhou Prefecture’s Suspended City, hanging like a dark, oppressive cloud overhead, making one feel as if they couldn’t breathe.
Xu Qing roughly measured the distance with his eyes.
The first and second layers were separated by a full thousand meters. This meant the second layer of the Suspended City floated a thousand meters above the first.
’By that calculation,’
’if each layer is a thousand meters apart, then the top of Cangzhou Prefecture, the Ninth Layer, must be ten thousand meters high, reaching into the clouds.’
After a moment of contemplation,
Xu Qing found a local of Cangzhou Prefecture, spent some silver, and inquired about the location of Luoshui Street. It turned out to be the first street not far from the city gate.
「Half an hour later.」
At the end of Luoshui Street, Xu Qing saw a dilapidated Wooden House. He walked over to the door, hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and knocked lightly.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
The sound of knocking echoed.
“Who is it?”
A rough, slightly impatient voice came from inside the dilapidated Wooden House.
“Big Head sent me to find you.”
Xu Qing said from outside the door.
“Big Head?”
CREAK!
The Wooden House’s door opened, and a large man poked his head out. His face was indeed covered in pockmarks, as if someone had sprinkled sesame seeds all over it.
“Come in.”
Wang Mazi sized up Xu Qing for a few moments, then glanced at the Half-Demon slaves behind him. He curled his lip and said, “Another one from a prefecture or a county town, I suppose.”
“Tsk, tsk…”
Wang Mazi shrugged. He turned around and muttered to himself, “They really think it’s easy to get by in Cangzhou Prefecture! If it were me, I’d definitely stay in a county town or a smaller prefecture and live like a king. Who would come to Cangzhou Prefecture just to suffer?”
Xu Qing remained silent and followed Wang Mazi into the room.
“Have a seat.”
Inside, Xu Qing glanced around and found that the interior was completely different from the outside. While the Wooden House looked dilapidated from the exterior, the inside was spotless and well-decorated, giving it the feel of an elegant, antique residence.
“Alright.”
Xu Qing nodded and found a place to sit.
“Where are you from?”
Wang Mazi asked.
“Qingfeng Town.”
Xu Qing replied.
“That’s pretty far.”
Wang Mazi said.
“You know of Qingfeng Town?”
Xu Qing asked.
“Nope.”
Wang Mazi shook his head. “I was just making small talk. I just asked casually. Besides, you might not even be from Qingfeng Town.”
“Let’s get to business.”
Xu Qing said, “I need a stable place to live in Cangzhou Prefecture.”
“Fine.”
Wang Mazi nodded. “I like straightforward people. Since Big Head sent you, I can give you a discount.”
“First,”
Wang Mazi continued, “you’ve seen it for yourself. Cangzhou Prefecture is formed by nine stacked layers of Suspended Cities, creating a kind of tower-like structure.”
“Right now, I have housing resources on the first, second, and third layers. Which layer do you want?”
“What’s the difference?”
Xu Qing asked.
“Not much of a difference.”
Wang Mazi shrugged. “It’s just that the living environment on the third layer is better than the second, and the second is better than the first.”
“But,”
“if you don’t have enough strength, you’d best not aim for the upper layers.”
“The first layer, then.”
Xu Qing said.
“Sure.”
Wang Mazi nodded and continued asking, “The first layer is the largest in Cangzhou Prefecture, so it’s divided into nine rings. The closer you get to the city center, the better the location, the more expensive the price, and naturally, the better the living environment.”
“What’s the price in the outermost ring of the first layer?”
Xu Qing asked.
“One million taels of silver.”
Wang Mazi held up one finger, a slight smile on his face. “And for each ring you move inward, the housing price doubles.”
“Also,”
“for houses on the second layer, the minimum price is one million taels of Gold.”
“And when you get to the third layer,”
“most of the residents have stepped into the ’Second Realm: Extraordinary.’ So from the third layer onward, the currency for transactions is basically ’Primordial Stones’.”
“I’ve heard,”
“that from the 7th Layer upward, because you’re dealing with those in the ’Third Realm,’ the currency used is the ’Law Stone.’ Every ’Law Stone’ contains the operating Laws of heaven and earth, which can be absorbed by those in the ’Third Realm’ to aid their Cultivation.”
“Law Stone.”
Hearing this, Xu Qing’s eyes lit up with genuine interest. He asked, “Do you know where one might obtain a ’Law Stone’?”
“How would I know?”
Wang Mazi shot Xu Qing a look. “Are you going to buy or not?”
“However…”
Wang Mazi added, “If you really want to find out about ’Law Stones,’ you’d best go to the third layer or higher. It’ll be easier to get information there.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Xu Qing said calmly, “I just need a house to live in on the outermost ring of the first layer. ’Law Stones’ and the like are far beyond my reach right now.”
“Fine, no problem.”
Wang Mazi shrugged and took out several Memory Stones. They formed projections that appeared before Xu Qing. “These are the listings I currently have for the outermost ring of the first layer.”
“One last thing,”
“I’m not a ’brokerage’ certified by the Prefecture Mansion, but I can get you legitimate property deeds. Naturally, the price will be a bit higher.”
“Of course,”
“you could also go to a ’brokerage’ certified by the Prefecture Mansion to buy a place. But this is Cangzhou Prefecture. To buy a house from a ’brokerage,’ you need proof of status from the Prefecture Mansion, and getting that isn’t something money can solve.”
“But here with me,”
“you can solve most things with silver.”
