CHAPTER 548: CHAPTER 548: CRAZY INFRASTRUCTURE

Wan Mingchuan was overjoyed, previously he only envied his master for having a mount, without realizing how impressive it was.

Later, when he ventured outside and saw the humble circumstances of the Lin Family and Celestial Sword Sect, so-called families and sects of immortal cultivation, even having a demon beast as a mount was a mere daydream.

Yet, he directly obtained a growing demon cultivator mount!

"The two of us have mutual intentions, but we still need the master’s consent. As soon as he returns, I’ll immediately beg for master’s grace!" Wan Mingchuan was delighted, eager to establish a connection with the prospective mount.

Yun Mo and Eagle Fifty-Third breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, thinking today was indeed a great day!

"No wonder the Bronze Compass indicated today was auspicious, it really is a splendid day!"

Jiang Yuan arrived at the courtyard, unable to suppress a smile on his face, he walked to the Floating Market and clicked the gear icon to check the special materials needed for upgrades.

Upon leveling up, the Golden Chicken River Market with higher-level opportunities will be unlocked, along with new maps waiting for exploration.

The thread of Flood Dragon Bloodline Power that Xiao Bai absorbed and refined initially was obtained by the Shen Family through the underground auction at the Golden Chicken River Market. Moreover, there was a VIP badge from the underground auction inside Shen Laoliu’s stolen storage bag.

Once the new market is unlocked, it will be possible to take a look when free. If more Flood Dragon Bloodline Power can be acquired, Xiao Bai can absorb more and eventually transform into a dragon.

[Would you like to exchange for 5 pieces of Dragon’s Chant Wood]

Click to use a special materials package, select five urgently needed Dragon’s Chant Wood, and then click ’Confirm’. The five shining materials entered the storage bag, marking the Dragon’s Chant Wood on the Floating Market upgrade materials list as green (5/5).

Choosing packages on your own is delightful; switch whichever is needed!

Following the list, he exchanged all the special materials required for upgrade at once and clicked ’Upgrade’!

The gray mist continued to envelop the Floating Market; a faint sound of pounding was heard. After roughly ten seconds, the progress bar completed, the gray mist dispersed, and a brand-new, exquisite Cloud Grocery Store appeared in front of his eyes.

[Market upgraded to Level Five, Golden Chicken River Market unlocked]

Jiang Yuan didn’t go in to inspect the new market. Instead, he clicked the gear button again, exchanged all required special materials he didn’t possess one by one according to the list.

The gray mist appeared and dispersed again. Once cleared, the previously single-layer Floating Market transformed into a new two-story carved wooden tower, its qualitative change felt just by its exterior!

He pushed the door open and entered, finding the grocery store fully in its sophisticated decor mode.

Even the originally somewhat coarse order tags were changed to gold-inlaid jade styles, advancing consecutively to Level Six may have allowed reception of signals from afar, causing order quantity to surge to sixty.

New dense order notifications chimed ceaselessly, Jiang Yuan glanced mainly at basic materials like rice, flour, oil, various ordinary meats, meals, and some requiring firewood, well water, bedding, even cotton clothes and shoes.

Fortunately, he was a type of farmer who prepared for trouble during times of peace, never letting workshops rest as long as materials were available. Even if it meant hardship, he wouldn’t let farmland lay unused. Hence, reserves of materials such as firewood, rice, salt, and bedding were substantial in the warehouse.

Clicking one by one to submit orders, occasionally if something was lacking, he’d supplement it with a little Spirit Stone.

"In the future, public orders will increase, relying solely on this farmland seems insufficient..." Jiang Yuan carefully calculated.

Despite harvesting and planting daily across the large expanse of ordinary farmland on the other side of the bridge, yielding seems plentiful. However, a variety of seasonal crops are available in the shop, and orders unpredictably request certain vegetables. To ensure timely delivery, a portion of each must be planted.

Originally, the large piece of farmland planted with diverse crop types naturally led to fewer quantities.

Though greenhouses allow off-season crops, increasing twelve plots per upgrade level, by Level Six there was still not much land.

The riverbank’s Level Two and Level Three farmlands also had corresponding crops, leaving no room to spare, hence...

"Seems like I’d better contact Chan Yu to find out where the Night Butterflies appear and catch some more!"

Night Butterflies are materials used in the system mall, costing one Spirit Stone per bottle—a guarantee for making Butterfly Demon Scale Powder.

Encountering them last time in the Swamp Secret Realm yielded a batch, each processed Butterfly producing ten bottles of Butterfly Demon Scale Powder, enabling expedited maturity of ordinary crops, relieving stress if accumulated over time.

Jiang Yuan wandered the first floor of the grocery store, feeling aside from slightly more spacious rooms, there was little overall change.

He then climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor.

"Oh wow, the second floor is interesting!" As he ascended, he entered a spacious living room, proceeding further led to a two-room two-hall layout with a study.

In the living room, he clearly saw a scene of Cyan Fish Mountain Market shrouded in a faint mist, yet upon the study’s carved wooden window, it was Wo Hu Temple Market.

Despite markets resting closed during the day, there were still quite a number of cultivators residing in Wo Hu Temple Market’s inns. He poked his head out the window looking around, spotting occasional moving figures inside closed-off inns, evidently not mere images but real-time scenes.

The other two windows offered views of Golden Carp Lake Market, with the other unfamiliar street likely being Golden Chicken River.

Markets not operating during the day certainly couldn’t be opened, hence Jiang Yuan peered through the window.

Advanced markets even had complex shop and house styles, even though the lights were off, yet seeing lanterns hanging from rows of gracefully tilted eaves implied evening in Golden Chicken River Market would be bustling and vibrant.

Buildings here differed from other places, seeming small, yet fully utilizing space by stacking buildings tall, with dizzying balconies amidst the air.

A rough scan revealed inns, dining halls, elixir boutiques, weapon workshops, and even a corner shop sign marked with ’Array,’ evidently specializing in array sales.

Empty, unmoving markets, gazed at long enough, evoked an eerie feeling as chilling winds blew through the streets. Jiang Yuan found it dull and pulled back to close the window.

Better proceed to upgrading other buildings immediately!

Returning to the courtyard, the blazing sun, leisurely cicada sounds, and chirping birds made him feel suddenly returned to the mortal world.

Ling Di and the Azure Bird sensed his presence, felt assured, and continued cultivation without leaving their seclusion.

Jiang Yuan proceeded with upgrades consecutively.

As he upgraded, each place changed to more updated, larger, and prettier buildings. Upon upgrading animal houses and sheds to Level Six, their appearances improved dramatically, and upon entry, it felt as if owning a vast grassland.

Moreover, two new areas were developed; while ordinary chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, and sheep continued free-range, a relatively simple stone-enclosed section displayed capability for demon beast breeding!

"Such a pity, only demon beasts sold in the system mall for meat can be raised." At first sight of the new feature, he was invigorated, immediately thinking about catching various demon beast cubs from Carefree City for rearing.

Then, upon examining usage rules, realizing it couldn’t change farming attributes, the beasts were meant to be raised for meat consumption or harvesting essentials like fur and horns.

After spending most of the day, as dusk approached, all buildings in the courtyard finally upgraded to Level Six.

Though the larger warehouse was emptier—lumber and stone, these basic materials depleted entirely. Future upgrades could only temporarily rely on currency to offset shortages in basic building materials, fortunately, compared to special material prices, they were much less costly, avoiding too much heartache.

[Task 5: Upgrade all buildings to Level Six completed. Reward: Acceleration Card+5; Skill Upgrade Card+1 issued]

[Main Quest: Construct Level Six Home completed. Reward: Courtyard Communicator issued]

[New area unlocked, officially included in protection range]

[Main Quest: Construct Level Seven Home. Reward: Void Detector blueprint]

[Task 1: Possess at least fifty Level Five farmlands. Reward: Random magical seed pack]