Chapter 82 : One’s Own Land
Chapter 82: One’s Own Land
“Old Dong! Look at this—quick!” Long Tao tapped a line on the official gazette with his finger.
“That new town by the river—construction has really started!”
“Yeah, I saw it.” Dong Jiayuan leaned over for a glance, his tone rather indifferent.
“But it doesn’t have much to do with us anymore. By now, the good locations have long been carved up internally. Honestly, we should count ourselves lucky we didn’t rush in back then—both plots we guessed were completely wrong, not even close.”
There was not the slightest hint of regret in his voice—if anything, he sounded relieved that they had avoided wasting money.
Coupled with the fact that they had made a killing from the recent secret realm affair, he truly had little interest left in that new riverside land.
But Long Tao cared.
He still had that plot Zhu Huaisu had gifted him earlier, and he had never found the time to go see it.
This news was the perfect excuse.
……
When disciples of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect spoke of “the river,” they were usually referring to a single one—the Yingxia River that wound through the sect’s northern territory.
In truth, this great river flowed straight through the sect’s core regions, rich in water-aspect spiritual energy and blessed with magnificent scenery.
Yet for historical reasons, the sect’s development had long focused on the south and west, leaving the northern riverbanks somewhat neglected.
This sudden decision to build a new town on the river’s southern bank was, on the surface, said to be for better development of several spirit stone veins north of the river.
Privately, however, many speculated that it had something to do with the fighting around that fragment of a small world to the northwest.
Those extraterritorial heavenly demons seemed to be escalating their efforts, and the sect had to plan ahead—fully reorganizing and reinforcing the northern region as a strategic response.
From the sect’s Main Peak to the planned area by the Yingxia River was a little over fifty li.
How should one put it? It was acceptable—one of those distances that would make you hesitate if you had to commute to the Main Peak every day, but still within tolerable limits.
That afternoon, Long Tao set out for the southern bank of the Yingxia River, carrying with him the rather weighty land deed.
When he arrived, the scene before him was already one of frenzied construction.
Large numbers of strongman puppets tirelessly hauled massive stones and timbers across the site, while cultivators clad in Tiangong Pavilion attire traced formation runes through the air.
The dull thuds of rammed-earth foundations mixed with the sounds of activated magical artifacts, creating an atmosphere that was busy yet orderly.
The most eye-catching feature was the cloud vessel dock platform that had already begun to take shape.
Built against a natural rock outcrop by the river, its framework already rose several stories high, looking imposing indeed.
The sect’s decision to prioritize construction of this dock spoke volumes—future transportation and material transfer here would clearly rely on cloud vessels.
This alone showed how seriously the sect regarded this new town.
Standing on slightly elevated ground and facing the river breeze, Long Tao took the land deed from his robe.
The sect’s distinctive seal was still crisp and clear.
Comparing the brief directional description on the deed, he paced back and forth through the noisy, unfamiliar construction site, searching aimlessly like a headless fly, utterly unable to get his bearings.
“Hey! Fellow Daoist—could you give me a hand and help me find where this place is?”
He spotted a disciple squatting by a pile of materials, looking suspiciously idle, and went over to ask.
The disciple jumped in surprise and turned around irritably, but when he saw that Long Tao was also wearing Outer Sect Disciple robes, his lingering fright turned into impatience.
Still, he lazily took the land deed.
After a few quick glances, he casually pointed toward a relatively quiet area to the southeast.
“There. There’s a small dirt hill—that’s it. From here, probably… less than eight li.”
Eight li from the cloud vessel dock?
To Long Tao, who had grown up in a major city in his previous life and was used to measuring living circles by metro stations, this was practically prime real estate—a golden subway-adjacent location! He thanked the disciple repeatedly and almost jogged in that direction.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long to find the place.
A small dirt hill about ten meters high stood prominently on the plain.
What delighted him even more was that there was a living water source on one side of the hill—a clear, thin stream seeped out from somewhere on the slope, flowing downward into a naturally formed small pool not far away.
Long Tao guessed that beneath the pool there was likely an underground river or spring, perhaps even hydraulically connected directly to the nearby Yingxia River.
He hurried over, crouched down, scooped up a handful of water, and tasted it.
Mm… the flavor was decent enough, but there was not the slightest trace of spiritual energy—just ordinary mountain spring water.
“No wonder…” Long Tao suddenly realized, muttering softly.
“Zhu Huaisu was so generous and just gave this land to me.”
To cultivation-world rich ladies like her, a plot with no spiritual energy at all was probably worth less than a single bottle of condensed dew on their dressing table.
Giving it away casually in exchange for a favor was an extremely cost-effective move.
He ran a few steps up to the top of the hill and looked around, taking in his entire territory at a glance.
At that moment, he couldn’t help but draw in a small breath—this area was far larger than he had imagined!
When Zhu Huaisu had casually gifted it, she had only described it as a “remote corner.” Subconsciously, Long Tao had assumed it would be enough at most for a house with a courtyard and perhaps a small private plot.
Yet before his eyes, the land enclosed by the simple wooden boundary markers—by rough estimation—covered nearly twenty mu!
This scale far exceeded his residential needs.
After all, his family was hardly some large clan—just his parents, one younger sister, Steward Uncle Liu, and Xiao Ying currently living on Zhiying Peak.
Such a small family living on such a vast tract of land would feel eerie at night.
As for hoarding the land and waiting for appreciation? That thought flickered through his mind for barely a second before being decisively dismissed.
He knew full well that in the Cultivation World, the core value of land was always and only one thing: the abundance of spiritual energy.
Now that news of this new town had already gone public, prices of plots based on spiritual energy density were essentially fixed.
This kind of “wasteland” with no spiritual energy whatsoever had virtually no room for future appreciation.
Rather than letting such a large piece of land rot in his hands and tie up precious funds, it was far wiser to liquidate it as soon as possible and turn it into real, usable capital.
So then—who to sell it to?
Almost without hesitation, the first person who came to mind was Dong Jiayuan.
This fellow, a hometown friend who had come out of Qinglin Town together with him, had lived only half a street away back home—practically a neighbor.
Growing up together like that, if they could become neighbors again in this foreign land, knowing each other inside and out and looking out for one another, it would be perfect.
However, Old Dong’s family situation was much like his own—simple in numbers—and probably couldn’t take in too much land.
So who should buy the remainder?
Two figures quickly surfaced in Long Tao’s mind—the Spider Siblings, his previous new neighbors.
Aside from their half-human, half-spider forms that were a bit startling at first glance, these siblings were practically the textbook definition of perfect neighbors.
Mild-mannered and reasonable, powerful and reliable, they kept to themselves on ordinary days, so quiet they were almost unnoticeable.
He and Luo Yusi had even teamed up in a secret realm before, sharing a dangerous adventure together—barely qualifying as “life-and-death comrades.” While they might not know each other deeply yet, at least within the sect, being neighbors with them was ideal in terms of both safety and comfort.
Long Tao made up his mind.
The countless pitfalls and bitter lessons from renting in his previous life had taught him one of the deepest truths: it was better to pay a bit more, but you absolutely had to have good neighbors.
He even figured that if the Spider Siblings were short on funds for the time being, he could sell it cheaper—or even let them owe him the money without issue.
Just as he stood atop the small hill, planning the layout of his future residence while thinking about how to bring up this land deal with Old Dong and the Spider Siblings, two people happened to walk along the temporary road not far away, still riddled with wheel tracks and potholes.
Coincidentally, Long Tao had seen both of them before.
The one in front had neat short hair and wore simple, efficient attire, exuding a sharp, decisive aura—it was Shi Manyu, the Sect Master’s Deputy.
Walking half a step behind her, with a respectful yet slightly nervous demeanor, was a young disciple Long Tao recognized at once.
He was the very senior brother who had previously gone to Long Tao’s residence to inform him to be prepared, possibly to report to the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion as sect labor.
Right—he had introduced himself back then as Shi Manyu’s disciple.
A trace of doubt immediately arose in Long Tao’s heart.
Strange.
With war against the Wuyi Sect looming, the sect’s upper echelon should have been swamped with work.
Shi Manyu, as the Sect Master’s right-hand aide and the core figure handling administrative affairs, should have been far too busy to spare a moment.
Why would she have time to come to this newly started, dust-filled riverside town?