From the fake emperor to the concubine

He stayed at Baicaotang for a while longer, observing the hunters who came to sell their wares.

Most of these hunters were dressed in leather armor and carried long knives at their waists, clearly people who made a living in the wilderness year-round. Their cultivation levels varied, some were only at the Nascent Soul stage, while others had already reached the Body Integration stage.

Zheng Yi noticed that the hunters were selling different things. Some sold monster hides, some sold monster bones, and some sold whole monster carcasses, leaving the people at Baicaotang to handle them themselves.

"It seems there are quite a few hunters," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

After leaving Baicaotang, Zheng Yi visited several other shops and pharmacies to inquire about the prices of materials made from demonic beasts.

He discovered that Baicaotang's price was already the fairest. Although other merchants also bought monster materials, their prices were all lower than Baicaotang's.

"Looks like I'll be buying things from Baicaotang from now on," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

Next, he wanted to inquire about the housing prices in Qingyun City.

Zheng Yi arrived at a bustling street in the city, which is the commercial center of Qingyun City, lined with various shops, including many real estate brokerage firms.

He walked into a shop called "Hengtong Dental".

"Sir, what can I do for you?" a waiter approached and asked warmly.

"I'd like to buy a house in Qingyun City. I wonder what the current market price is?" Zheng Yi said.

"You've come to the right person, sir." The waiter's eyes lit up. "Hengtong Real Estate Agency is the largest in Qingyun City. There's no property in the city we don't know. What kind of house are you looking to buy, sir?"

"It needs a courtyard, and at least seven or eight rooms. The location doesn't need to be great, but it needs to be quiet and safe," Zheng Yi said.

“Let me think about such a house,” the shopkeeper said after a moment’s thought. “There’s a house in the east of the city, with three courtyards and over a dozen rooms, plus a large yard. It’s located in a quiet alley. The owner is moving out of town and needs to sell quickly, so the price is relatively low.”

"How much?" Zheng Yi asked.

"The original price was 80,000 spirit stones, but I'm selling it for 75,000 now," the shopkeeper said.

"Seventy-five thousand?" Zheng Yi frowned.

The price was higher than he had expected. He currently only had less than ten thousand spirit stones at most, far short of the required amount.

"Is there anything cheaper?" Zheng Yi asked.

“We also have cheaper options,” the shopkeeper said. “There’s a small house in the north of the city, with two courtyards and six or seven rooms, plus a small yard. It’s in a rather remote location, but it’s quiet. The price is 30,000 spirit stones.”

"Thirty thousand." Zheng Yi still felt it was too expensive.

"Sir, that's how housing prices are in Qingyun City," the waiter said helplessly. "Thirty thousand spirit stones is the cheapest option; anything cheaper is just a dilapidated house in the suburbs."

Zheng Yi nodded, indicating that he understood.

He didn't rush to make a decision, but instead took his leave and left the brokerage.

Walking down the street, Zheng Yi pondered his financial situation.

To buy the cheapest house, you'd need 30,000 spirit stones. Adding in daily expenses, cultivation resources, and so on, you'd need at least 50,000 spirit stones to be on the safe side.

He currently has less than 10,000 spirit stones.

In other words, he needs to earn at least 40,000 spirit stones.

"If I hunt demonic beasts, a Nascent Soul Realm inner core can sell for ten thousand spirit stones," Zheng Yi calculated to himself. "That means I only need to hunt four or five Nascent Soul Realm demonic beasts to raise enough money to buy a house."

With his strength, hunting down demonic beasts at the Fusion Realm is a piece of cake. Even demonic beasts at the late Fusion Realm would be instantly killed in front of him.

"It seems that hunting monsters is indeed the most profitable way," Zheng Yi made up his mind.

He decided to first go outside the city to scout out where those monsters were.

Zheng Yi left the city gate and flew towards the north of the city.

The man said there was a dark forest fifty miles north of the city, inhabited by a large number of black wolf demons. Although black wolf demons weren't the most valuable monsters, they were numerous and easy to hunt, making them suitable as practice targets.

After flying for about half an hour, a dark forest came into view.

The forest was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see. The trees were all black, with dense foliage that blocked out the sun, making the forest gloomy and dark even during the day.

"Is this the Black Forest?" Zheng Yi descended from the clouds, stood at the edge of the forest, and looked into it.

The forest was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind. But Zheng Yi's divine sense detected the presence of numerous lurking demonic beasts within.

“So many black wolf demons,” Zheng Yi nodded to himself.

He didn't rush in, but instead circled the edge of the forest to observe the terrain.

The Black Forest is vast, stretching for hundreds of miles. The edges of the forest are relatively safe, frequented only by some Nascent Soul stage black wolf demons. But the deeper one ventures, the stronger the demonic beasts become.

"The Black Wolf Demon at the Integration Realm should be deep in the forest," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

He decided to go in and take a look.

As soon as you step into the Black Forest, it immediately gets dark.

The trees in the forest were tall and dense, blocking out almost all sunlight. The ground was covered with decaying leaves, soft and yielding underfoot. A damp, rotten smell permeated the air, making one feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Zheng Yi cautiously walked deeper into the forest.

He hadn't gone far when he sensed several watchful eyes.

"Come out," Zheng Yi said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, several dark figures darted out from the bushes and blocked Zheng Yi's way.

They were three black wolves, more than twice the size of ordinary wolves, their bodies as black as ink, their eyes gleaming with an eerie green light. They bared their fangs and let out low growls, revealing their ferocious nature.

Zheng Yi sensed them and discovered that all three black wolves were at the late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

“Just a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, worthless.” Zheng Yi shook his head.

He didn't make a move, but continued walking forward.

The three black wolves seemed intimidated by Zheng Yi's imposing presence and did not dare to attack. Instead, they retreated to the side and cleared the way.

Zheng Yi continued deeper into the forest.

The deeper you go, the more black wolf demons you'll encounter, and the stronger they become.

Soon after, Zheng Yi encountered a group of black wolf demons at the Integration Realm.

There were seven or eight black wolf demons in this pack, led by a gigantic wolf king whose cultivation had reached the mid-stage of the Integration Realm. Its fur was shinier than the other black wolves, and its eyes gleamed with a cunning light.

“This wolf king is quite impressive.” Zheng Yi’s eyes lit up.

A black wolf demon at the mid-stage of the Integration Realm can fetch at least 15,000 spirit stones for its inner core. Adding its fur and bones, the total value should be around 20,000 spirit stones.

The wolf king seemed to sense Zheng Yi's dangerous aura. Unlike the other black wolf demons, it did not attack rashly, but instead stared at Zheng Yi warily, letting out a low growl.

"At least you have some brains," Zheng Yi sneered. "Too bad you ran into me."

He didn't bother with words and took direct action.

A sword aura shot out from his fingertips, as fast as lightning, aiming straight for the wolf king's vitals.

The wolf king reacted quickly, immediately dodging to the side. But Zheng Yi was even faster; his sword energy instantly caught up with it, piercing its head with a single strike. The wolf king didn't even have time to howl before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

The other black wolf demons were terrified and scattered in all directions when they saw their wolf king being killed instantly.

Zheng Yi did not chase after them, but walked to the wolf king's corpse and put it into his storage bag.

"A wolf king, and 20,000 spirit stones in hand." Zheng Yi nodded in satisfaction.

He continued his search in the Black Forest and hunted down several more Black Wolf Demons at the Integration Realm.

In half a day, he had hunted down five black wolf demons at the Integration Realm and more than a dozen at the Nascent Soul Realm. Based on market prices, the total value of these spoils should be around sixty to seventy thousand spirit stones.

"It went even more smoothly than I expected," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

He decided to stop. He was only here to scout ahead; there was no need to wipe them out completely. Besides, killing too many would attract the attention of even more powerful monsters deep within the Black Forest, which would cause much bigger trouble.

Zheng Yi left the Black Forest and returned to Qingyun City.

Upon arriving at Baicaotang, he removed the corpses of the black wolf demons one by one and handed them over to the shop assistant for processing.

The guy's eyes widened when he saw so many black wolf demon corpses.

"Sir, did you hunt this all by yourself?" the waiter stammered.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Zheng Yi said casually.

"No, nothing." The waiter swallowed.

He'd been in this line of work for many years and had seen many skilled hunters, but he'd never seen anyone like Zheng Yi who could hunt down so many black wolf demons in half a day.

Especially that wolf king in the mid-stage of the Fusion Realm, many hunters forming teams might not be able to successfully hunt it down, but this guy actually took it down all by himself.

"This customer is definitely a master among masters," the waiter thought to himself.

He dared not delay and immediately summoned the shopkeeper to personally handle the goods for Zheng Yi.

The shopkeeper was a shrewd middle-aged man named Sun Fu. He carefully examined the corpses of the black wolf demons and praised Zheng Yi's skills highly.

"Sir, your technique is truly clean and efficient," Sun Fu said. "These demonic beasts were all killed with a single blow, their fur and bones almost undamaged, allowing them to fetch the highest price."

"How many can you sell?" Zheng Yi asked.

Sun Fu did the calculations and then said, "The five Nascent Soul stage black wolf demons, including their inner cores, fur, and bones, cost a total of 63,000 spirit stones. The seventeen Nascent Soul stage black wolf demons cost a total of 8,500 spirit stones. The total is 71,500 spirit stones."

"Over seventy thousand," Zheng Yi nodded. "That's acceptable."

"Sir, you're very generous!" Sun Fu said with a smile. "Will you continue to supply goods in the future? If we can cooperate long-term, we can offer you a more favorable price."

“Yes, I will,” Zheng Yi said. “I’ll come often in the future.”

"That's wonderful!" Sun Fu exclaimed with delight. "From now on, sir, whenever you have goods, just send them over. Baicaotang will definitely give you the fairest price."

Zheng Yi nodded, put away the spirit stones, and left Baicaotang.

In half a day, he collected over 70,000 spirit stones. This efficiency was even higher than he had expected.

"At this rate, I'll have enough money to buy a house in just a few days," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

He went to Hengtong Dental Clinic again and found the same clerk from before.

"Sir, you're back?" the waiter greeted him warmly. "Have you decided which house you want to buy?"

"Could you lower the price of that three-courtyard house in the east of the city, which is 75,000, a little more?" Zheng Yi asked.

The shop assistant hesitated for a moment, then said, "Sir, 75,000 is already the lowest price. That house was originally priced at 80,000, and the owner has already lowered it by 5,000. However, if you are truly interested in buying, I can go and ask if we can lower the price a little more."

“Go ask,” Zheng Yi said. “If they can lower the price to 70,000, I’ll pay today.”

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir." The waiter hurriedly ran into the inner room to discuss the matter with the manager.

After a while, the waiter came out with a big smile on his face.

"Sir, the shopkeeper said that since you're so straightforward, it'll be 70,000 yuan. You can pay today and move in tomorrow."

“Deal.” Zheng Yi said decisively.

He paid a deposit of 70,000 spirit stones on the spot and signed the contract.

The shopkeeper accepted the spirit stones, beaming with joy. Such a straightforward buyer is a rare sight indeed.

"Sir, these are the contract and the house deed." The waiter handed Zheng Yi several documents. "Tomorrow, take these to the government office in the east of the city to transfer the ownership, and then you can officially move in."

"Okay." Zheng Yi put away the documents, turned around and left the brokerage.

After leaving the brokerage firm, Zheng Yi did not rush back to the barren wasteland, but went directly to the east of the city to check on the condition of the mansion.

The alley in the east of the city is very quiet, with ordinary houses on both sides, and it looks very safe.

Zheng Yi found the house and saw a "For Sale" sign hanging at the entrance. He pushed open the door, went inside, and looked around.

The courtyard is indeed quite large, with three courtyards and more than a dozen rooms. There are also a few trees planted in the yard, which are somewhat overgrown, but could be quite nice if tidied up.

“This is just enough for the seven of us.” Zheng Yi nodded in satisfaction.

He then checked the mansion's defenses and found nothing there.

"It seems I'll need to spend some money to set up some defensive formations," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

But these are minor issues; we can take it one step at a time.

After inspecting the mansion, Zheng Yi left Qingyun City and returned to the barren wasteland.

Back in the stone house, everyone gathered around.

"Master, how was today?" Zheng Bowen asked anxiously.

"Everything went smoothly." Zheng Yi smiled slightly. "I bought a house, and we'll move to Qingyun City from now on."

"Buy a mansion?" Everyone was taken aback. "Master, where did you get the money?"

"I went to the Black Forest and hunted a few black wolf demons," Zheng Yi said casually.

"A few black wolf demons are enough to buy a house?" Zheng Hongzhi asked in surprise.

“A single black wolf demon at the Nascent Soul stage can fetch ten to twenty thousand spirit stones,” Zheng Yi said. “I hunted five, and with some at the Divine Transformation stage, I made a total of seventy thousand spirit stones.”

Everyone looked at each other, stunned by Zheng Yi's efficiency.

In half a day, he spent 70,000 spirit stones and also bought a house.
"The patriarch is truly amazing," Zheng Bowen exclaimed sincerely.

Su Wanqing stood to the side, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. Although she knew Zheng Yi was very capable, she hadn't expected him to be so good at making money.

"Alright, stop standing there," Zheng Yi said. "Pack your things; we'll move to Qingyun City in three days."

"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.

For the next three days, Zheng Yi went to Qingyun City every day. (End of Chapter)