Zhang Yuan's residence was halfway up the mountain. As an Inner Sect Disciple, he received all the benefits he was entitled to, even if he was a bit lazy.
'Could it be that the Camel Manta started advancing because the Spiritual Qi is so rich halfway up the mountain?'
Fang Qingyuan pondered this for half the trip but couldn't come to a conclusion. The moment he saw his Camel Manta, however, he threw the question to the back of his mind.
His gaze was completely captivated by his Camel Manta.
Staring at the house-sized Camel Manta before him, Fang Qingyuan was amazed. It had only advanced from Tier One Lower Grade to Tier One Middle Grade, yet its size had increased by half. He couldn't help but ask Zhang Yuan, who stood beside him:
"This thing's gotten huge! What have you been feeding it?"
Zhang Yuan scratched his head and said:
"I don't know, either. I just fed it whatever I could find. For this Camel Manta of yours, I even had to go out and take several missions. Otherwise, I would've taken a break long ago."
Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan felt a little embarrassed. Zhang Yuan had clearly put a great deal of effort into caring for his Camel Manta.
Considering Zhang Yuan's usual habit of resting for half a month after a single mission, it must have been quite an ordeal for him to be so diligent.
Moreover, for the Camel Manta to grow so large, Zhang Yuan must have spent a considerable sum. Otherwise, he couldn't have possibly covered the food consumption required for its advancement.
Thinking of this, Fang Qingyuan took out a Middle-grade Spirit Stone, pressed it into Zhang Yuan's hand, and said sincerely:
"You've gone to so much trouble recently. Please, take this Spirit Stone."
Zhang Yuan took the Spirit Stone without any pretense of refusal, then smiled.
"A Middle-grade Spirit Stone, huh? Nice. Alright, I'll take it. Now hurry up and get this thing out of here. It's eating me out of house and home."
Seeing Zhang Yuan accept the Spirit Stone, Fang Qingyuan breathed a sigh of relief. 'Now that he's taken the Spirit Stone, it means there are no longer any strings attached between him and the Camel Manta.'
The Camel Manta advancing under Zhang Yuan's care should have been a good thing. However, Fang Qingyuan was only renting it from the sect; he didn't actually own it.
If Zhang Yuan had taken a liking to it and gone to the sect to buy the Camel Manta, the sect would have undoubtedly revoked Fang Qingyuan's rental rights and sold it off.
Fortunately, Zhang Yuan was a man of his word and hadn't entertained such thoughts.
In truth, Fang Qingyuan was being uncharitable. If Zhang Yuan had truly intended to claim the Camel Manta, he wouldn't have rushed to inform Fang Qingyuan the moment he returned.
After exchanging a few more words with Zhang Yuan, Fang Qingyuan walked over to the Camel Manta and looked up at the massive beast.
The original Camel Manta had already been quite large, but compared to its current self, it was like the difference between an infant and a seven or eight-year-old child.
This Camel Manta wasn't the largest, however. The one Fang Qingyuan had seen with Zhao E Lian that day was what could truly be called a behemoth.
At the time, Zhao E Lian's Golden Silk Silver-backed Manta Ray was like a flying mountain peak, casting a shadow that could cover half of Tianshan Villa.
Camel Mantas were sea beasts, and it seemed creatures from the ocean were always larger than those on land. Fang Qingyuan had seen other Camel Mantas within the sect, some of which even had palaces built upon their backs.
Even after advancing, the Camel Manta hadn't lost its boisterous nature. Upon seeing Fang Qingyuan, it brought its head over and rubbed vigorously against his body.
This was overwhelming. After just a few nudges, Fang Qingyuan felt he couldn't withstand the force and quickly raised his hands to stop it.
Fortunately, though the Camel Manta was rowdy, it was still very obedient to Fang Qingyuan. Seeing that he didn't like it, the creature turned its head, signaling for him to climb on.
Fang Qingyuan smiled in gratification. After bidding farewell to Zhang Yuan, the man and his beast instantly shot up into the sky.
...
Above the Black River, dark clouds drifted, forming a vast sea of mist. Suddenly, a colossal beast emerged from the cloudy expanse. With a gentle flap of its manta-like wings, it leisurely carved ripples through the air, thinning the surrounding fog.
Atop the giant beast's head, Fang Qingyuan was gazing into the distance. Ahead, Black River Square was faintly visible.
After parting with Zhang Yuan, Fang Qingyuan had come straight to Black River Square, intending to liquidate the demon beast pelts in his Immortal Mansion as quickly as possible.
Fang Qingyuan hadn't been in such a hurry before, but his Camel Manta's sudden advancement had caught him off guard.
The ownership of the Camel Manta belonged to the sect; Fang Qingyuan only had rental rights. If the sect decided to reclaim it, there would be nothing he could do.
Previously, the sect wouldn't have recalled a Camel Beast for no reason, but now, things were uncertain.
Therefore, the most urgent task was to buy the Camel Manta. Only then could Fang Qingyuan be at ease.
It was a good plan, but he was short on Spirit Stones. Three thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones—it was an astronomical sum.
Even some Cultivator Clans couldn't produce such an amount, let alone an Outer Disciple like Fang Qingyuan.
No, that wasn't right. Fang Qingyuan was an Inner Sect Disciple now. Starting next month, his Spirit Stone allowance would rise to twenty.
And that wasn't all. His monthly supply of Elixir Pills would also double, and he would receive a new Daoist Robe each season. All in all, the sect would be spending at least fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones on him per month.
Benefits like these were top-tier, even in the outside world. Countless Loose Cultivators would kill for a chance to get in.
However, with improved benefits came greater responsibilities. If the sect took a hands-off approach with Outer Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples were expected to shoulder certain duties.
In other words, Fang Qingyuan could no longer spend his days operating his Camel Manta ferry service as he pleased. He had to go to work.
'Why does this feel so familiar? I used to be a wage slave. How could I start cultivating immortality only to end up in the same predicament?'
Shaking off these stray thoughts, Fang Qingyuan guided the Camel Manta down to the docks of Black River Square. After settling the creature, he entered the Marketplace and began selling the demon beast pelts.
Right now, Fang Qingyuan had about a hundred demon beast pelts in his Immortal Mansion. He planned to sell half of them in a bulk deal to one of the large, established shops in the Marketplace, and the rest to the Loose Cultivators who ran stalls.
The established shops were reliable, but their purchase price was low. The Loose Cultivators offered more, but they couldn't buy in large quantities.
'Sigh, if only I had my own shop. I could just leave the hundred demon beast pelts there to sell slowly, and they'd probably be gone in just over a month.'
Unfortunately, that was just a daydream for Fang Qingyuan. A single storefront was worth even more than his Camel Manta; it wasn't something he could even hope for at his current stage.
As the saying goes, "a shop can support three generations." Even in a newly opened Marketplace like Black River Square, you couldn't get a storefront for less than several thousand Spirit Stones.
And several thousand Spirit Stones would only get you a shop in a remote location. The truly good storefronts weren't even for public sale.
Even if they were for sale, Spirit Stones alone weren't enough. Without status and standing, the owners wouldn't even give you the time of day.
As far as Fang Qingyuan knew, the vast majority of good storefronts in Black River Square were in the hands of influential local powers. And behind these powers, one could faintly glimpse the shadows of the major sects.
These weren't the kind of sects that could act high and mighty just because they had a few Golden Core masters. To earn respect from others, a sect needed at least one Nascent Soul Cultivator.
Otherwise, even if your clan had five Golden Core masters, in their eyes, you were nothing more than a country bumpkin, a nouveau riche family. You weren't in the same league and certainly didn't deserve the same treatment.