Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

Chapter 725: Chapter 725: Entering the City
 

The air was crisp and clear, with a vast expanse of blue sky.

Wang Chen had set foot in Thousand Star Immortal City for the first time.

Unlike Yongle Immortal City, Thousand Star Immortal City did not have a Forbidden Air, allowing cultivators to use flying artifacts to enter and exit the city.

But after entering, there were distinctions.

Ding Grade citizens could only walk on the streets, Bing Grade citizens were free to fly below thirty feet, Yi-grade citizens had a limit of fifty feet, while Jia-grade citizens had no restrictions whatsoever.

Furthermore, only personal magic artifacts were permitted for flying, allowing one companion to be carried, but larger flying artifacts like flying boats, flying ships, and flying warships required proper passage qualifications to be used.

Although Wang Chen had obtained the qualifications of a Yi-grade citizen, after entering the city, he didn’t strut around with Su Ziling, but chose to walk the market streets to appreciate this city of commerce and trade.

Thousand Star Immortal City was truly unique.

It completely overturned Wang Chen’s preconceived notions of the immortal cities of the Haotian Realm. For instance, the high-rise buildings flanking the streets, layer upon layer, the lowest were at least a dozen stories high, with the tallest reaching beyond a hundred yards.

Moreover, the Bixi that bore the weight of the city had a shell that rose steeply upwards, transitioning gradually from the lowest edges to the central peak, with quite a substantial drop-off.

Thousand Star Immortal City had no city walls, one could enter from any direction.

Countless structures filled the city, like a vast forest, and not one building was identical to another, all with more or less differences, some of which were particularly distinctive.

Walking among them felt like entering a forest maze.

And this feeling involuntarily reminded Wang Chen of a city he had visited in his previous life.

A mountain city!

Though they were completely different worlds, Thousand Star Immortal City triggered an indescribable sense of familiarity and warmth in Wang Chen.

The number of shops, teahouses, taverns, and hostels here was also extraordinary, with banners for attracting business densely hung, and shop assistants calling out to attract passengers from all directions with their accented words.

That unique buzz and ostentation of the market made it easy to lose oneself!

Su Ziling followed closely by Wang Chen’s side, looking at the scenery within Thousand Star Immortal City, a look of reminiscence surfaced on her face, “I haven’t been here in a long time.”

The last time she came to Thousand Star Immortal City was when she was ten years old.

Back then, Su Ziling was accompanied by her parents, her life was not exactly rich, but it was warm and joyful.

However, everything changed with her mother’s death; her father, in his grief and despair, degenerated into a gambling addict despised by all.

Reflecting on the past brought a glimmer of tears to the young girl’s eyes.

Wang Chen took her hand, silently offering her comfort and warmth.

Visiting Thousand Star Immortal City for the first time, going shopping was indeed an interesting affair; there were so many shops and workshops catering to every conceivable aspect of immortal cultivation, opening Wang Chen’s eyes to new wonders.

But when night fell, they couldn’t keep wandering forever, so Wang Chen found an inn to stay at.

The world above and below the Bixi Dragon Turtle was completely different, with prices serving as the best proof of that.

The cost for a suite for one night here was three times that of Welcoming Immortals Town!

So, how much were the property prices in Thousand Star Immortal City?

Wang Chen suddenly felt less confident about his Sumeru Ring.

The next morning, he inquired with the inn’s shopkeeper, then found a well-known real estate agent.

Wang Chen planned to open a shop in Thousand Star Immortal City, so he needed to rent a storefront, preferably one that he could live in as well.

He also asked about the local real estate prices and, despite being prepared, was still taken aback.

Thousand Star Immortal City really did measure land by the inch, with the land on the turtle’s back having been fully developed hundreds of years ago; thus, there were no “new properties,” only second-hand ones available for trade.

But the prices were outrageously high, enough to knock on the door of absurdity—it was exorbitantly expensive!

The real estate agent shopkeeper told Wang Chen that over ninety percent of the housing and storefronts in Thousand Star Immortal City were controlled by the merchants.

“Merchant families” here refers to those among the merchants, large clans, and societies.

The other half is the private property of the Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators.

As for the ordinary city residents, very few own their own homes, and those who do are Jia-grade citizens.

So, where do the millions of Ding-grade city residents live?

Most of them rent their homes.

Over seventy percent of the residents of Thousand Star Immortal City work for merchant families, and it’s common for one person, a whole family, or even generation after generation to do so.

These merchant families provide them with relatively cheap houses or offer subsidies on their rent.

This ensures that the vast majority don’t have to sleep on the streets.

Because the land is extremely limited, to accommodate so many people, the houses in the city keep getting taller.

If the old houses can’t fit everyone, they are demolished and replaced with new skyscrapers.

Normally, these houses are not for sale to the public.

And even when they are, they only circulate among merchant families.

Thousand Star Immortal City is made up of a thousand merchant families, and there is also an alliance between them—the Thousand Star Commerce Alliance.

As the saying goes, scarcity makes something more valuable; with so few houses on the market, their prices naturally reach astonishingly high levels.

Fortunately, Wang Chen had no intention of buying property outright; renting was considerably easier.

After hearing Wang Chen’s requirements, the real estate agent Shopkeeper picked out five shopfront properties from the register and had a clerk accompany Wang Chen to view them.

Although Thousand Star Immortal City is Thousand Star Commerce Alliance’s turf, or more accurately their stronghold, they don’t monopolize all business and keep outsiders from getting a piece of the action.

Some of their own shops are rented out to local city residents or visiting traveling merchants for them to run their businesses.

This probably helps stimulate market vitality.

In any case, Wang Chen had no trouble opening a shop here; whether he could keep it going was another matter—it would depend on his ability.

After all, ninety-nine percent of outsiders who come to Thousand Star Immortal City to open a shop end up incurring losses.

The very few who manage to earn Spirit Stones may get absorbed into one of the merchant families.

Despite the seemingly open atmosphere of Thousand Star Commerce City, it’s actually quite difficult to gain a foothold.

Especially for those who do not wish to work themselves to the bone for a merchant family—that’s even tougher!

Under the guidance of the real estate agent’s clerk, Wang Chen visited five different shopfronts.

But none felt quite right.

Either the location was too remote, or the space was too large, or the surrounding area was unsafe due to the mixed crowd.

Then, after a long selection process, he still couldn’t make a choice.

Luckily, the Shopkeeper received a Talisman Message from the clerk and then brought out another property for the clerk to show Wang Chen.

As it turned out, Wang Chen took a liking to this particular shopfront at first sight.

After asking the price and some bargaining, Wang Chen finally rented the house for an annual rent of five hundred thousand Low Spirit, establishing his place in this city.

If possible, Wang Chen would have preferred to buy the property.

Alas, since the other party wasn’t willing to give a discount on sale, he buried this thought deep in his heart.

Looking forward to next year!

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