Chapter 340: Spending Money to Avert Disaster

Even if only a small group of people refined flying vehicles, the patent fees paid would be more than enough for Lu Yang to make a fortune.

Lu Yang had always thought the patent was still pending approval and that flying vehicles hadn't yet entered mass production, so he had put the matter of patent fees out of his mind.

But with flying vehicles clearly visible soaring overhead, it couldn't be that the patent still hadn't been approved.

"Could it be that Fifth Elder, despite his kind appearance, was black-hearted and embezzled my patent fees?"

This thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed.

Fifth Elder wouldn't stoop to covet such petty gains.

"Never mind," Lu Yang decided. "I'll just ask Fifth Elder when I see him." He stopped dwelling on the issue.

The old horse pulled the carriage, taking Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to the foot of the mountain, where a newly built inn stood.

The Qingzhou Grand Ceremony was held for seven days each time, and cultivators couldn't possibly be expected to rough it outdoors for an entire week; that would be undignified.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had arrived relatively early, so there were still empty rooms.

"Two of your best rooms!"

"Certainly, two Heaven-grade rooms. May I ask if you'd like to book a room for your horse as well?"

Meng Jingzhou was surprised, thinking to himself, *Could it be that they've recognized how unfathomable our old horse is and intend to treat it like a person?*

The innkeeper chuckled and explained, "Esteemed guest, it's like this: our inn offers a free service to care for spirit beasts. However, space is limited, so we house all spirit beasts in the backyard. The Qingzhou Grand Ceremony often attracts powerful cultivators who bring high-level spirit beasts, and keeping those high-level spirit beasts in the backyard can more or less affect the other spirit beasts. If you don't mind your spirit beast being affected, we can certainly care for it for free."

Meng Jingzhou considered this. Although he didn't know the old horse's true strength, given that his family had sent it as a protector, its cultivation realm must be quite high. It would be a miracle if it *didn't* bully other animals.

However, also recalling the old horse's penchant for charming young mares, it was probably safer to get it a separate room.

"In that case, give the old horse a room too."

"Understood! Three Heaven-grade rooms!"

"Old horse, give me the lowdown," Meng Jingzhou whispered. "What's your actual cultivation realm? I promise I'll pretend I don't know."

The old horse glanced at Meng Jingzhou, snorted twice, clearly not believing a word of Meng Jingzhou's nonsense.

After Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou went upstairs, another group arrived to check in. However, they weren't as wealthy as Meng Jingzhou.

"Innkeeper, three Human-grade rooms, please."

"My apologies, esteemed guests, but we don't have any Human-grade rooms available."

The group was stunned. "Are the Human-grade rooms all sold out?"

He calculated their travel funds, which were barely enough. "Then two Earth-grade rooms."

They could squeeze into two rooms.

"My apologies, esteemed guests, we only have Heaven-grade rooms left."

"What?!"

They were only at the Qi Refinement stage; how could they afford such high-end rooms?

"Senior Brother, let's try another inn."

The innkeeper chuckled. "Begging your pardon, but other inns also only have Heaven-grade rooms left."

Their faces fell. Were they going to be forced to sleep on the streets on the very first day of the grand ceremony?

The innkeeper, accustomed to such reactions, explained, "It's not as you imagine, esteemed guests. Every year at the opening of the grand ceremony, there would be fights over the Heaven-grade rooms. So, the Qingzhou government informed us to upgrade all rooms to Heaven-grade rooms, keeping the price the same as Human-grade rooms. The government subsidizes the difference."

Rather than dealing with the chaos and disruption caused by fighting cultivators, the Qingzhou government preferred to spend more spirit stones and nip the risk in the bud.

Meng Jingzhou, meanwhile, had no idea that his Heaven-grade room was actually quite cheap. He had always had no concept of such small expenses.

"Lu Yang, once you're settled, come out and explore! I heard there's a street on the mountain selling all sorts of antiques and magic artifacts."

"Lu Yang, once you're settled, come out and explore! I heard there's a street on the mountain selling all sorts of antiques and magic artifacts."

"Alright."

Lu Yang had little to unpack. After the tiring journey, he shed his clothes. Since he didn't know the Body Cleansing Incantation, he had to use the room's array formation to wash himself. He then changed into fresh, neat clothes and headed out for a walk.

The old horse had nothing to unpack either. After the tiring journey, it dropped its saddle. Since it *did* know the Body Cleansing Incantation, it could wash itself without needing the room's array formation. It then unleashed its divine sense to see if any young mares had checked in.

"Foundation Establishment Pills! Foundation Establishment Pills with pill patterns! Guaranteed to help you establish your foundation, or a full refund!"

"Beast hides! Hides from Qi Refinement complete beasts! Excellent materials for refining magic artifacts!"

"Roasted beast meat! Roasted Qi Refinement complete beast meat! Freshly stocked from next door!"

"Formless Origin Technique, Flowing Cloud Sword Art, Pure Sound Manual... All sorts of cultivation techniques and spells, we have everything!"

"The most comprehensive Star Chart! Painstakingly drawn by me over twenty years of observing celestial phenomena, this Star Chart is an essential guide for cultivating star-based techniques!"

"Phoenix Bloodstone—Phoenix Bloodstone for vigor! Rune Stone—can enhance the quality of blades and swords! Gold-absorbing Stone—can absorb gold!"

The street was filled with constant shouts and bustling with activity.

As soon as Lu Yang entered the market, he felt a sense of suppression. It wasn't his cultivation realm that was suppressed, but his divine sense.

After all, if one could simply scan items like cultivation techniques with divine sense and know their contents, what would the vendors sell?

"They even have the Flowing Cloud Sword Art?" Lu Yang exclaimed in surprise. The Flowing Cloud Sword Art was a sword technique created by True Monarch Flowing Cloud two thousand years ago, extremely rare and not circulated on the market.

Meng Jingzhou had more experience in this regard than Lu Yang. "Don't trust the cultivation techniques here. A sword technique written by True Monarch Flowing Cloud can be called the Flowing Cloud Sword Art, but you could write any random sword technique and also call it the Flowing Cloud Sword Art. The buyer has never seen the *real* Flowing Cloud Sword Art, so even if they buy it and find issues, they can't claim you sold them a fake."

"After all, new cultivation techniques are created every day, so it's perfectly normal for them to share names."

Lu Yang suddenly understood, never expecting there to be so many tricks here.

"Do you have a Star Chart here?" Lu Yang noticed what the vendor said.

His cultivation technique wasn't related to stars, but he could buy one and guess which stars were his Senior Sister's Golden Core.

"Esteemed guest, what sharp eyes you have! This Star Chart was painstakingly completed by me using a telescopic artifact. My own cultivation technique is also related to my vision. To draw this Star Chart, I poured my heart and soul into it, persevering until it was finally done!"

"May I take a look?"

Upon hearing this, the vendor's face became wary. "No, I can't discern your cultivation realm. Even though divine sense can't be used here, you might have activated a spiritual space and could memorize the entire Star Chart just by looking at it once, then you wouldn't buy it."

Lu Yang chuckled wryly; he naturally had no such intention.

"How many spirit stones? I'll buy it."

"There's only one copy of this chart in the world. Two thousand spirit stones, no bargaining."

Two thousand spirit stones weren't expensive for Lu Yang. As he was about to pay, he heard a voice of pleasant surprise from behind him.

"Senior Brother, look quickly! There's a Star Chart here!"

"What?"

The Senior Brother was overjoyed. He had a core disciple Senior Sister whose cultivation technique was related to stars, and she needed a Star Chart.

To win his Senior Sister's favor, the Star Chart was a must-have.

Seeing that Lu Yang had a kind face and seemed easy to talk to, he mused inwardly: *Esteemed Senior Brother, this Star Chart is something a Senior Sister I admire needs for her cultivation. Would you be willing to part with it?*

*Esteemed Senior Brother, this Star Chart is something a Senior Sister I admire needs for her cultivation. Would you be willing to part with it?*

He repeated the phrase twice, decided the lines and tone were perfect, suppressed his nervousness, clasped his hands, and addressed Lu Yang:

"Esteemed Senior Sister, this Star Chart is something a Senior Brother I admire needs for his cultivation. Would you be willing to part with it?"

Lu Yang turned his head, and after confirming his own gender and the other party's gender, he silently took two steps back.