You dare to cultivate without money?!
Chapter 163 - 163 135 Difficulty Breathing Thanks to 'Your Dad Laughs Cheerfully' for the reward

163: Chapter 135: Difficulty Breathing (Thanks to ‘Your Dad Laughs Cheerfully’ for the reward) 163: Chapter 135: Difficulty Breathing (Thanks to ‘Your Dad Laughs Cheerfully’ for the reward) On the highway sidewalk.

Two figures were racing one after the other, bringing up gusts of wind, speeding towards the Spirit Mechanism Protection Zone.

It was Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

However, at this moment, besides Zhang Yu using his Running Car Leg to fly down the road.

Bai Zhenzhen occasionally had flashes of electric light on her body, as she used the newly learned Electric Light Step to follow behind Zhang Yu.

Unlike Zhang Yu, who focused on enhancing his Physical Strength, Bai Zhenzhen, who was preparing for the martial arts path, spent more energy on cultivating Martial Arts, in addition to improving her Dao Heart, Mana, and Physical Strength.

This Electric Light Step was a combat Cultivation Technique, enabling Bai Zhenzhen to make short high-speed movements in battle, more flexible, changeable, and explosive than the Running Car Leg, making it more suitable for combat, thus she used it for both traveling and practice.

Under the sunlight, Bai Zhenzhen could also feel a warm stream flowing through her body, as her True Spirit Root absorbed the Spirit Machine from the radiance.

However, the True Spirit Root has now gradually adapted to the light and dark adjustments, understanding Bai Zhenzhen’s intentions, and would no longer render her dim.

On the other hand, under the sunlight, Zhang Yu felt as if magma was flowing all over his body, crazily inhaling and exhaling the Spirit Machine falling from the sky.

At the same time, he was calculating in his mind.

This trip to the Spirit Mechanism Protection Zone was to see, through Xiong Wenwu’s connections, if he could rent a spot near a Spirit Vein at a cheaper rate to cultivate.

After all, although his Physical Strength had grown rapidly in recent days, the improvement of his Dao Heart and Mana through Cultivation Techniques alone was too slow for Zhang Yu.

And it’s said that Spirit Veins not only have a rich Spirit Machine, greatly enhancing Mana refining efficiency, but with prolonged stay, can also improve physique, cure diseases, and prolong life, bringing countless benefits.

“The idea of renting a whole Spirit Vein is surely out of the question, but perhaps the money I have can rent a space, so Azhen and I can cultivate within the Spirit Vein.”

During this period, despite the income from the black tutoring market, Le Mulan, Yu Xinghan, and Song Halong, as well as the first endorsement fee of 200,000.

However, Zhang Yu’s expenses were equally substantial, like the Primordial Pill costing 24,000 every three days, each set of Nine-Dragon Needle costing another 10,500, and with continuous focus on Body Refinement lately, his Physical Strength had increased, driving his food expenses up to 1,500 per day, and by early May, he had also paid 15,000 in loan interest…

Zhang Yu glanced at his account balance, which stood at 570,000.

He thought to himself: “Renting a spot within the Spirit Vein shouldn’t pose too much of a problem, should it?”

The two continued to race down the way, and more and more factories came into sight, with huge chimneys constantly emitting plumes of white smoke, and some factories even had Red Tower Pasture signs.

As Zhang Yu’s gaze swept over these rows of factories, he was suddenly surprised, “What’s that?”

It appeared that what seemed to be a factory land had become nothing but ruins, with broken walls scattered all over, as if it had endured a great battle.

There was even a palm print several hundred meters wide on a nearby hillside, various scraps of high towers, walls, and machinery still lingered on it.

Light screens enveloped the ruins, with various warning signs floating on the screens, resembling crime scene lines.

Zhang Yu asked, “Did a battle happen here?”

Bai Zhenzhen glanced at it and said, “Don’t you know?

Half a year ago, it was quite the buzz online.

A factory was caught evading taxes.”

“The tax evaders resisted on the spot, launching various Flying Swords and Magic Treasures, killing most of the tax inspectors.”

Zhang Yu was shocked.

The tax evaders in Kunxu are this fierce?

Bai Zhenzhen continued: “Then the tax inspectors called upon the Divine Power of Gongsun Taxation Deity, who smashed the entire factory with one palm, while also taking the souls of most offenders.”

“Most?” Zhang Yu was curious: “What about those whose souls weren’t taken?

Did they die or escape?”

Bai Zhenzhen said, “Those who saw the Gongsun Taxation Deity descend committed suicide on the spot.”

Zhang Yu swallowed, relieved he had never evaded taxes in Kunxu.

The two continued racing, soon spotting a gigantic arc on the horizon, their destination.

It’s said that long ago, this Spirit Mechanism Protection Zone was a territory of Demon Beasts, with several powerful Great Demons roaming it.

The so-called Great Demons were powerful monsters, now referred to as demon descendants.

Unlike Demon Beasts, which were seen as animals, demon descendants had true intelligence, able to integrate into social life and work.

But later, the Great Demons here were defeated by corporate security troops, the Protection Zone changed hands several times, ultimately being acquired by Red Tower Pasture, which has operated it to this day.

It’s said that it still retains various natural landscapes and original Demon Beasts that lived there, which of course have all become assets of Red Tower Pasture.

At this moment, Zhang Yu observed closely, noticing what appeared to be an immensely large glass dome, covering the rolling mountains and hills.

As the two approached, dense runes occasionally flickered on the glass dome, signifying the power of the Array, isolating the inside and outside worlds.

Furthermore, Zhang Yu saw many red warning notices on it.

They were things like ‘Red Tower Pasture Private Land, Please Purchase Tickets, Enter Through Main Gate’.

Bai Zhenzhen muttered: “So stingy, they won’t even let a bit of Protection Zone air out?”

She initially thought she could perhaps absorb the Spirit Machine and air near the Protection Zone border, but it seemed they were prepared for that.

The two proceeded to the main entrance of the Spirit Mechanism Protection Zone to buy tickets.

Seeing the ticket price was just 5 yuan, both Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu were astonished.

Was Red Tower Pasture doing charity?

This almost felt like a free pass.

Bai Zhenzhen immediately retracted her previous stingy comment; Red Tower Pasture was anything but stingy, it was exceedingly generous.

The two opened their phones to see if there were any discounts available, surprised to find the protection zone’s rating was only 1.3?

But as the ticket seller attached air gauges, Spirit Machine Monitors, and weight sensors to them, they understood why the tickets seemed almost free and why the ratings were so low.

The ticket seller said: “The air inside the protection zone costs 1999 yuan per cubic meter, water is 2888 yuan per liter, and Spirit Machine is 3999 yuan per unit.”

“The price list for everything in the protection zone, plants, animals, soil, and rocks, is in the user manual, I’ll send it to you, please accept it…”

Looking at the user manual filled with an endless list of charges, Zhang Yu was speechless.

Everything inside the Spirit Mechanism Protection Zone – air, water, food, or anything else – cost money, and an ordinary person picking up some rocks could bankrupt themselves.

Bai Zhenzhen nervously exclaimed: “Yu Zi, once inside, breathe less, it’s too expensive.”

After buying tickets, the two entered the sealed chamber, and with the closing of the rear door, they were completely isolated from the outside world.

As the front door opened, Zhang Yu felt an incredibly fresh air flooding in.

With just a deep breath, Zhang Yu felt utterly comforted, his body seemed to relax entirely.

“Is this…

air?”

“What have I been breathing until now?”

He felt as though the air he usually inhaled was merely car exhaust in comparison.

“Was I always in such a bad air environment?

Just that I got used to it?”

Zhang Yu stepped out of the sealed chamber, fully immersing himself in the protection zone environment.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yu felt as if his entire body had been cleansed, with his body’s blood and mana becoming more lively.

Even in such a peripheral location, Zhang Yu could feel the Spirit Machine concentration in the air, which was about the same as in the quiet rooms with Spirit Gathering effects inside Songyang High School.

As the two proceeded along the tourist path briskly, the air became increasingly enriched with Spirit Machine, and Bai Zhenzhen’s Spirit Machine charges surged to over 500, frightening her into suppressing her True Spirit Root, telling it not to absorb Spirit Machine for the time being.

Zhang Yu also felt that the Spirit Machine absorbed by his Great Sun Qi Sea was much denser; a day of cultivation here might be equivalent to several days outside.

Bai Zhenzhen patted her chest in relief and said, “This place is so likely to bankrupt someone, we better meet Xiong Wenwu and leave quickly.”

Zhang Yu nodded; staying in this Spirit Mechanism Protection Zone felt more dangerous than being on a gang war scene.

He thought: “Breathing and cultivating in just the outer regions costs so much, going to the real Spirit Vein…

how much would that cost?”

At this moment, he doubted if he could even rent a spot in a Spirit Vein.

Especially after he looked at the map and saw that there were three Spirit Veins in the Protection Zone, spanning seven major areas and over twenty mountain peaks, none of which tourists could enter, either permanently leased private lands or different pastures, factories, plantations…

In short, the areas tourists could enter were all on the periphery of the Spirit Veins.

However, the cost of long-term breathing and cultivation in the peripheral areas was also unaffordable for Zhang Yu.

“Sigh, ordinary tourists can only enter the protection zone and absorb the Spirit Vein periphery, with no means to enter.”

Now, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen no longer hoped to rent inside the Spirit Vein, hoping to at least briefly absorb the air from Spirit Vein’s periphery.

“Let’s meet Xiong Wenwu and see what he says?”

Xiong Wenwu arranged to meet them at a breeding base, located on the outskirts of the protection zone.

The two proceeded along the map, and every mountain they passed, they could feel the surging Spirit Machine on the mountains, heavily isolated by light screens and Arrays, as if it would rain Spirit Machine.

Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu even saw occasional light rain on the mountains, with Spirit Machine steaming noticeably in the raindrops, and couldn’t help clicking their tongues.

These mountains marked the real Spirit Vein locations.

Unlike the tourist path Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were on, merely the periphery of the Spirit Vein, absorbing a bit of air and Spirit Machine slipping down from above.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t imagine what those staying on the mountains were doing, needing such vast amounts of Spirit Machine, and how much it cost per second?

Below the mountains, outside the light screen isolating tourists, on the tourist side.

Zhang Yu often saw various people carrying oxygen tanks and water bottles, sprawled at the mountain base, like small fish attached to a whale, absorbing the Spirit Machine flowing out from the Spirit Vein, gaining much faster cultivation efficiency than the outside.

No…

Zhang Yu rejected his previous thoughts.

“These aren’t low-income people; those crouching at the mountain base and cultivating, by the pricing here…

are wealthy to us.”

“There really are a lot of wealthy people in Kunxu.”

Bai Zhenzhen commented, “We should’ve brought oxygen tanks too, it’s too costly to breathe here.”

Zhang Yu nodded in agreement.

After walking for over ten minutes, they finally arrived at the so-called breeding base.