Chapter 3: The Sacred Mountain

However, this young girl was quite resourceful. Over the years in the small town, what had she accomplished? Besides running a restaurant to earn a living, she grew vegetables, raised fish, hunted, refined elixirs, forged magical instruments, crafted talismans, created mechanisms, arranged formations, and even made puppets—she was skilled in nearly everything, producing items that could truly impress onlookers.

But what good was a brief flash of brilliance? After all, her strength was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. The puppets, talismans, elixirs, and magical devices she made were all suited only for cultivators at her level or below. Items suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators had little demand in this small town, aside from some youngsters.

Well, the town’s children treated her elixirs and magical devices like candy or toys, so there was some market. The money earned from these sales, combined with her restaurant income, was just enough for Mu Tong to buy what she needed in town, and nothing more.

Those high-grade items were beyond her current use. Even if she bought them to keep, the spiritual stones and immortal crystals required would be beyond Mu Tong’s means.

Unable to shake off Yun Feng, Mu Tong ignored him and returned home on her own, heading into the backyard to begin harvesting rice and vegetables.

Speaking of this little courtyard, Mu Tong wasn’t sure how it came to be hers. When she first arrived at Hidden Immortal Town, it was this very courtyard she entered. Property in Hidden Immortal Town all had owners. To own a house in town, one had to purchase it from the town mayor.

Generally, houses in town were not sold once owned, so property prices kept climbing, reaching levels difficult to believe. Yet every day, hopeful buyers would swarm the mayor’s office in throngs.

Because available housing was scarce, and Hidden Immortal Town couldn’t be developed like Earth with developers freely building, the fact that a newcomer like Mu Tong owned a house sparked quite a bit of discussion.

Mu Tong paid no mind to the gossip. Since the house was registered in her name, she intended to cherish it well. Even if others envied her, forced sales were impossible. Houses in Hidden Immortal Town required a special token held only by the owner for entry. Anyone entering without permission would be deemed an illegal intruder and punished by the Divine Mountain.

When Mu Tong first appeared in this courtyard, she had a special token for the house in her hand.

The Divine Mountain statue in the town center was no mere decoration. Anyone who violated town rules or caused chaos would be mercilessly wiped out by the Divine Mountain.

Every year, many outsiders were eliminated by the Divine Mountain. As for town residents, none were foolish enough to break the rules and suffer the same fate.

Therefore, the town was safe. But outside the protective barrier of the town, the Divine Mountain no longer intervened in fights. Mu Tong had never left the town; even the carefree mountain where she hunted was within the town’s shield and thus safe. Unless, by some accident, she was killed by the so-called “cats and dogs” the immortals spoke of.

Well, that was practically impossible. Even encountering a beast of her level was just a tough fight at worst. After all, she had her own talismans, puppets, and elixirs to support her. Mu Tong would not become the town’s laughingstock.

Though fighting was prohibited within the town, hunting on Carefree Mountain was not banned. Presumably, the Divine Mountain considered the beasts there to be mostly level zero to one, at the most level two, and not yet possessing true intelligence, so they were outside its protection.

Mu Tong’s backyard was about one acre. She didn’t leave it idle but made it into fields for planting rice and vegetables. The crops she grew were varieties brought from Earth, bred over generations and upgraded to spiritual rice and spiritual vegetables.

After one harvest, she would immediately plant again.

Using Wind Blade Technique to till the soil, Wind Binding to plant seeds into the freshly dug earth before covering them with dirt; Spirit Rain Technique to water seedlings; Spring Blossom Autumn Fruit Technique to accelerate growth; Wind’s Hand to pick ripe fruits and vegetables; and Fallen Leaf Returning Root Technique to turn discarded plants into fertilizer.

Thus, a new cycle of planting began.

Spiritual rice, corn, peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, tomatoes, loofah, apples, pears...

Who said those with five elemental roots were useless? Mu Tong actually found many advantages in having five elemental roots. She could use spells from all elemental schools, which was particularly convenient for daily life. The only downside was a slower advancement speed.

While planting, Mu Tong checked her storage space with her divine sense: Which vegetables or fruits were running out? If any were finished, she took out seeds to plant more, continuing until each variety filled a storage bag.

Mu Tong’s storage space contained many storage bags, storage rings, and storage bracelets—various storage devices. There was no choice; with so many items to store, they had to be organized according to category. Otherwise, mixing everything together would make finding things difficult and waste a lot of time.

Fortunately, she could craft these storage devices herself, and the required materials were affordable for her. So in her free time, she enjoyed refining storage equipment.

Regarding Mu Tong’s personal storage space, it was different from the storage devices she made.

That storage space seemed innate. Ever since she gained consciousness, she always saw a cubic space before her eyes.

Initially, its volume was only one cubic meter. After successfully drawing qi into her body, it expanded to ten cubic meters. Later, upon completing Foundation Establishment, it grew to its current size of one hundred cubic meters.

She guessed that to expand it further, she would have to reach the Golden Core stage. But she expected to remain at the early Foundation Establishment stage for life, so no further expansion was possible.

Even so, she was quite satisfied. This storage space could hold storage devices like bags and rings. But the storage devices she made could not hold other storage devices. This was true not only for those she crafted but also for some purchased from immortals.

However, immortals were said to possess the divine ability called “Universe in Sleeve,” which created space capable of holding storage devices. As for how vast that space was, Mu Tong didn’t know, but she suspected it depended on each immortal’s cultivation level, much like her own innate storage space.

Not comparing herself to immortals, this storage space alone was superior to any storage device. Moreover, Mu Tong could enter it. Although once inside, it was just a windowless cube with no doors, normal breathing was possible, so life was safe. If she encountered any unavoidable danger, it could serve as a refuge.

Of course, Mu Tong generally preferred not to stay in her storage space long. Being confined in a sealed room too long would unnerve anyone. So she rarely entered it, instead retrieving items through divine sense.