I Practice Farming While the Rest Cultivates
When Lu Xuan woke up, he found himself to be an Ordinary Spirit Plant Master in the Loose Repair Market, scraping by on his three-quarters of an acre Spirit Field in the Cultivation World. Luckily, he made an accidental discovery that whenever a Spirit Plant matures, he would receive an extra reward. For each Sword Grass he harvested, he would receive a Sword Pill. For each Xuan Chong Vine he harvested, he would receive a portion of Hidden Star Sand. For each Underworld Spring Flower he harvested, he would receive an Underworld Flame Elixir Recipe. … From then on, he decided to live a peaceful life, staying put and observing the tumultuous changes of the Cultivation World from his Spirit Field. "What does a Fight Law contest, Secret Land exploration, seeking fairy fortunes, obtaining Magic Treasures… have anything to do with me?!" "I just want to peacefully farm my land."
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1 Chapter 1 Tanaka's Fields That Shine Like Jade _1
Translator: 549690339
Linyang Market.
The day had just dawned, with the mists not yet dissipated, the entire market was veiled beneath a layer of gauzy white fog.
A small courtyard was encircled by blue-gray stone walls, the yard spanning about thirty feet in length and twenty feet in width, with most of the area being gray-black soil. Only the middle had a narrow path paved with bluestone.
In the gray-black soil, some low-grade spiritual plants were planted, which after a silent night of moisture from the fog, were bursting with vitality, lazily stretching out their tender green leaves.
With a creaking sound, the stone house at the end of the bluestone path opened, and a young man walked out.
The teenager was about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in a gray shirt, tall and handsome, with lively and clear eyes.
It was Lu Xuan, who had been here for quite a while since he crossed over.
Originally, he was just an ordinary young man on Earth, but unexpectedly, when he woke up, he unknowingly inhabited this teenager's body and became an insignificant Spirit Plant Master among the many beings in the Cultivation World.
After overcoming the initial confusion and fear, Lu Xuan gradually adapted to his new identity.
With a standard start, no parents, alone, ordinary talent, and cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, he relied on years of accumulation to rent a Spirit Field in the market, plant spiritual grass and spiritual medicine, and strive to survive in this dog-eat-dog, dangerous Cultivation World.
The thin layer of fog that came into the courtyard brought Lu Xuan, who had just woken up, a lot more alertness. He went around those spiritual plants, observing carefully.
There were about twenty or thirty spiritual plants, with a certain gap between each one, standing a feet tall, the thinned leaves shimmered with faint white fluorescent spots, decorating the white fog like stars.
These were the Spirit Firefly Grasses, a first-grade spiritual plant, which was relatively easy to cultivate. Once matured, they can be used as materials to refine several types of healing pills, and they have a wide range of applications in the Cultivation World.
Besides the Spirit Firefly Grass, there were two trees in the courtyard, both of which were Moon Erosion Trees.
Moon Erosion Tree was a first-grade spiritual plant, which under the careful nurturing of Lu Xuan, had grown well, even taller than his head. Hidden amongst its vibrant green leaves were dozens of silver hook-like fruits.
These fruits were called Moon Erosion Fruits, beginning like crescents when they formed and gradually growing larger until they turned into a full moon upon maturity.
Ripe Moon Erosion Fruits could be directly consumed, slightly enhancing the spiritual energy within a lower-rank Qi Cultivating Monk. They were also used to refine valuable pills like the Yuan Cultivating Pill.
The difficulty of cultivating the Moon Erosion Tree and its rarity were both slightly higher than that of the Spirit Firefly Grass, thus Lu Xuan invested the most into its cultivation.
The two types of spiritual plants were growing quite well, yet Lu Xuan's face revealed a hint of worry.
Quickly, he went to the western side of the courtyard, squatted down, using two fingers to hold the leaf of a Spirit Firefly Grass near the stone wall, carefully flipping it over.
As he anticipated, thin strands of faint black lines were on the back of the leaf, which would hardly be noticed if not for Lu Xuan's careful observation.
"Compared to yesterday, the amount of black lines has noticeably increased."
Lu Xuan secretly compared in his heart, looking at the Spirit Firefly Grass being eroded by the filament, he couldn't help but sigh.
He discovered the abnormal state of a Spirit Firefly Grass near the stone wall two days ago when caring for the spiritual plants. After a long search, he finally found these black lines on the back of the leaf.
The thin lines seemed to have fused with the Spirit Firefly Grass, sticking tightly together, making them extremely difficult to separate.
As a low-grade Spirit Plant Master of humble origin with inadequate knowledge, Lu Xuan had no idea about the origin of these black lines.
Unable to prescribe the right remedy, he had no choice but to use his inner spiritual energy to carefully separate the black lines from the back of the leaf.
Despite exhausting all his spiritual energy and mental power, he barely managed to clean it up, but when he inspected it the next day, the black lines appeared abruptly, and their numbers increased day by day.
"At this rate, in a day or two, this Spirit Firefly Grass will be overrun by the black lines, and it is very likely that they will spread to the nearby Spirit Firefly Grass."
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan fretted, standing still in a daze.
He had considered pulling out the Spirit Firefly Grass to prevent it from spreading the black lines to the others nearby.
However, after a brief consideration, he dismissed this idea.
After all, the origin of the black thin line was unknown, and Lu Xuan wasn't sure how it had infected the Spirit Firefly Grass. If pulling it out worked, it would be alright. But if the other Spirit Firefly Grass was still inevitably infected after it was removed, that would bring about a lot of regret.
"At present, the only solution is to find a professional, experienced Spirit Plant Master in the market to help resolve this."
"The few Spirit Stones that I painstakingly saved, which I originally planned to use to pay the rent of the Spirit Field after two months, now…"
Lu Xuan, being only a Qi Cultivation Second Layer Loose Cultivator, could not completely own a Spirit Field of his own.
The small Spirit Field in the courtyard had been leased from a Qi Practitioner Intermediate Level cultivator in the Market. It needed a hefty amount of Spirit Stones as rent every month.
"I will have to tighten my belt and live frugally for the next period."
He stood up, looking determined.
After the Spirit Plants had matured, they could be sold to shops and cultivators in the Market. The Spirit Stones acquired from the sale, apart from being used for rent and daily cultivation, would leave a bit spare.
However, if they were used to request for help from a senior Spirit Plant Master, Lu Xuan would need to pay a considerable amount.
Lu Xuan had made a decision. He looked around.
A black thorn fence surrounded the grey stone wall, filled with numerous sharp black thorns which provide some protection.
However, its defensive power was merely satisfactory and was only effective against honest persons. It wouldn't fend off villains let alone prevent those mysterious creatures that coveted Spirit Plants.
"After dealing with this matter, I will need to save some Spirit Stones to set up a protective array to prevent similar incidents from happening again."
"Relying on this Grass Puppet to guard the Spirit Field is utterly unrealistic."
Lu Xuan glanced at a Straw Man Puppet that was standing in the corner of the courtyard.
The Puppet was three feet tall and leaned against the courtyard wall. It was made of unknown dry straw. Its head was large and the body small, making it seem a bit deformed. On its big head, there was a tumor made of grey straw.
This Grass Puppet was a second-hand good that Lu Xuan bought from a stall in the Market. The vendor claimed that the Puppet, which originated from the Thousand Mechanism Sect in the Cultivation World, had a simple behavioural pattern and was often used to guard low-grade Spirit Fields.
If it felt the intrusion of cultivators or demonic beasts into the Spirit Field, the Grass Puppet would alert its owner. If it discovered anyone attempting to harm the Spirit Field and its Spirit Plants, it would also initiate an attack to restrain them.
However, the Puppet in the courtyard was not very reliable, possibly because it was second-hand. Its alert function worked intermittently, let alone launching an attack, which was not even to be considered.
Of course, this also had a lot to do with Lu Xuan himself. He rarely went out since his arrival here, had little contact with the outside world, and hence, no cultivators or demonic beasts entered the courtyard.
Lu Xuan, with irritation, glared at the Grass Puppet with the tumor. He stirred up his spiritual power, creating minor Spirit Rain above the Spirit Firefly Grass and the Moon Erosion Tree. The rain fell on their branches and leaves and drenched into them.
With the nourishment of Spirit Rain, Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field seemed to be more tender, clean, and totally dust-free. Their branches and leaves rocked lightly, displaying pure elegance.
This was the basic Spirit Rain Technique essential for all Spirit Plant Masters. It combined minuscule spiritual energy with water steam to interact with Spirit Plants, ensuring their smooth growth.
"Hmm? This Spirit Firefly Grass has entered its maturation period."
After irrigating all Spirit Plants, Lu Xuan found that on one Spirit Firefly Grass, little sparkling lights were shimmering, as if they were about to fall off from the leaf.
He quickly went back to the room and fetched a White Jade Box, carefully plucked the Spirit Firefly Grass and put it in the box.
The Jade Box could slow down the loss of spiritual power in the Spirit Plant to some extent, safeguarding its medicinal potency.
"What is this?"
When Lu Xuan was about to leave after closing the Jade Box, he suddenly found that where the Spirit Firefly Grass had been planted, a white light cluster the size of a fist was left. The light cluster was shining slightly, scattering specks of spiritual light.
Having been intrigued, Lu Xuan stretched out his hand and touched the white light cluster lightly.
In an instant, countless light points from the cluster flooded into his palm. An involuntary thought flashed through his mind."
"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained Three Months of Cultivation Level."
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2 Chapter 2 Pest Damage_1
Translator: 549690339
An idea flashes in his mind, and Lu Xuan feels something unusual within him.
His typically calm spiritual power suddenly surges, rampaging through his meridians.
After half a moment, the uncontrolled spiritual power gradually calms down.
Lu Xuan carefully senses the changes within him, not able to keep a trace of joy from his face.
His cultivation level has suddenly increased considerably, the equivalent of three months of hard cultivation, and he is just a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation.
"After so long since my transmigration, my golden finger has finally arrived."
Lu Xuan was overjoyed: in his previous life, he was quite ordinary in terms of mentality and physical condition. Without any external aid, he didn't know how he was going to survive in the Cultivation World.
Information flows into his mind, mysteriously revealing everything about the white light group to him.
Whenever he personally plants and cultivates a spirit plant or spirit grass, ripening and harvesting them will yield a white light group as a reward. Within the white light group, he can extract cultivation level, magic artifacts, cultivation techniques, elixirs, and other items.
The richness of the rewards is related to many factors, such as his involvement in the growth process of the spirit plant, the type and rank of the spirit plant, and the quality of the product at maturation. All of this will affect the size of the white light group's reward.
The light group is only visible and tangible to him, others can't see it. If it is not his personally planted spirit plant, he will not get the light group reward.
"So, what you're saying is, as long as I successfully cultivate a spirit plant, in addition to the spirit plant itself, I can also receive additional rewards from the light group?"
"Isn't that double the harvest and double the joy then?"
Lu Xuan looks at the Spirit Firefly Grass and the Moon Erosion Tree that are growing vigorously in the soil, as if he could see the white light groups flashing at him.
"I, Lu Xuan, have achieved what I have today thanks to my continuous hard cultivation and diligent care for spirit plants."
Lu Xuan can't help but think.
He feels that ever since the white light group appeared, the many spirit plants in the spirit field have also shown inexplicable changes.
Lu Xuan, sensing a stroke of luck, concentrates his attention on a stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass under his feet.
A barely noticeable progress bar appears above the Spirit Firefly Grass. The nearly full progress bar indicates that the Spirit Firefly Grass in front of him is about to be fully mature.
Another piece of information flashes through Lu Xuan's mind.
"Recently soaked by the Spirit Rain, content as can be, but feeling a little squeezed due to the neighbor's too long and large roots."
What, is this like a real-time status for spirit plants?
With a question in his mind, Lu Xuan focuses his spirit on another stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass next to him.
The progress bar is also more than halfway full, and similar information flashes through his mind.
The neighboring Spirit Firefly Grass seems to be growing quite well, but likewise feels that the neighboring roots are too long and large, occupying its growth space.
"In that case, there is no solution, the spirit field is only so big, so you guys have to bear with it, and get used to step over rejection."
Lu Xuan sighs.
Whether it's the progress bar or the real-time status, both are quite beneficial to him: they allow him to understand the growth needs of spirit plants, adjust the details, and make them mature faster and better.
Looking at the progress bar that is about to be filled, he can't wait to use the Spirit Rain Technique right away to speed up the maturation of the Spirit Firefly Grass.
But he knows full well the principle that excess is as bad as deficiency. Proper nourishment is very beneficial for spirit plants, but if he nourishes it frequently, it's like spoiling it by assisting growth prematurely.
Even if it matures, if its quality is poor, it will affect the reward of the white light group.
This thought soothes Lu Xuan's eagerness to harvest the Spirit Firefly Grass and receive the reward from the light group.
Just as he was about to go back to his room, a thought strikes him, and he goes to the western side of the yard.
Since he can know the real-time status of the spirit plants, wouldn't the Spirit Firefly Grass being affected by the black thread reveal its truth?
He concentrates, gathering his spiritual sense on the Spirit Firefly Grass tightly entwined with the black threads.
The progress bar is not too different from the previous two stalks, it's also about to be filled.
Information flows into Lu Xuan's mind.
"The Spirit Firefly Grass, being eroded by the Black Bud Worm Larva, is in a worrying state. If not treated in time, its life-force will be completely consumed by the Black Bud Worm, turning it into a withered stalk."
"Black Bud Worm Larva…"
Lu Xuan murmurs to himself, his anxiety easing up a bit.
Now that he knows where the black threads come from, it's a relief, at least he's no longer fumbling around without a solution.
He hurries back to his room, flips out a thick book.
"Common Harmful Demon Bugs and Their Solutions".
The book records hundreds of common demon insects that may harm spirit plants during cultivation, along with solutions suggested by the author of the book.
He flips through the pages quickly, soon locating the details about the Black Bud Worm.
"Black Bud Worm, adult worm as thick as a finger, moves like the wind, loves to ingest the leaves and branches of spirit plants."
"During laying, it will leave its eggs on the spirit plant. After hatching, the larvae grow by absorbing the life-force of the spirit plant. When the life-force of the spirit plant got exhausted, the larva will leave automatically, looking for the next target."
"The solution requires a cultivator of the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, who is skilled in offensive spells."
"The eggs and larvae are extremely hard to detect for lower-rank Qi cultivating monks unless their spiritual sense is exceptionally sharp."
"As the larvae are too small and entangled with the spirit plant, they could easily harm the plant during treatment. Therefore, only those who are proficient in certain specific spells and can aptly control them can solve this problem."
Lu Xuan closes the book and starts meditating.
"To avoid harming the spirit plants affected by the larvae, the spell used must meet two conditions."
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3 Chapter 2 Pest Damage_2
Translator: 549690339
"One must have enough firepower, and the damage range should be controlled."
Coming from humble beginnings and having only reached the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation, he had currently mastered only two low-level spells.
One was the Spirit Rain Technique, mainly used for nurturing spiritual plants, and the other was the defensive Fireball Technique.
However, for both these spells, his knowledge was shallow and he was completely unable to execute refined control.
Moreover, the two spells did not seem suited to deal with the specific task of exterminating Black Bud Worm Larva.
The Spirit Rain Technique, in its initial stages, only served to nourish the spiritual plants. Lu Xuan guessed that the Black Bud Worm Larva would not only be unharmed by the spell, but might even be reinvigorated by it…
As for the Fireball Technique, it did have enough firepower, but if employed, it would result in the mutual destruction of the Spirit Firefly Grass and the Black Bud Worm Larva.
"It seems I'll have to seek help in the market and spend money to avoid disaster."
"At least, knowing the problem will allow me to save some money."
Lu Xuan touched the somewhat shriveled cloth bag at his waist and sighed deeply.
…
"Little Brother Lu, are you home?"
Knock, knock. accompanied by a loud and clear voice, echoed from outside the courtyard.
Immediately after, a grey-black rope of grass came slithering out from a corner of the courtyard, gently tapping Lu Xuan's knee.
This was the Grass Puppet staying in the yard; sensing a person approaching and possibly intruding on the Spirit Field's boundary, it warned Lu Xuan.
"The person has been standing outside the door for some time and has already called out, yet you choose to sound the alarm only now. If someone with ill intentions was present, my house would have been burglarized before you could even react."
As Lu Xuan looked at the retracted grey-black grass rope, he couldn't help but rub his forehead.
The voice sounded familiar and belonged to one of the few cultivators Lu Xuan knew since he'd crossed over.
"I'm here, Brother Zhang!"
He replied, and then walked up to the courtyard gate, opening the door.
A tall, kind-looking cultivator walked in.
The visitor was Zhang Hong, a Third Level Qi Cultivator, who lived next to Lu Xuan. Zhang Hong had a Dao companion who had reached the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation and they were raising a six or seven-year-old child. When Lu Xuan had just arrived, Zhang had given him many pointers saving him from much trouble.
"Brother Zhang, please come inside for a cup of hot tea."
Lu Xuan led Zhang Hong into the house.
Zhang Hong turned and looked at the Spirit Firefly Grass and the Moon Erosion Trees along the little stone path, nodding his head in approval.
"Little Brother Lu, you are taking good care of these two types of Spirit Plants. It seems like there will be a good harvest in the near future."
"I wouldn't say so. Compared to the Spirit Plants in the Spirit Fields of your house, these do not match."
Lu Xuan served a cup of hot tea to Zhang Hong after he sat down.
Two or three tender green tea leaves floated up and down in the teacup, spinning endlessly.
Zhang Hong didn't mind, he knew Lu Xuan's cultivation level and financial situation. Being able to have a cup of tea mixed with spiritual tea leaves was already quite hospitable.
"As expected from Clear Rain Tea, drinking it gives the feeling as if drizzling rain is nourishing the heart. Only at Lu Xuan's place would I have a chance to drink such a fine tea."
"At home, my wife never allows me any of this, it's so boring."
Zhang Hong sipped the tea, savoring the effects it brought, and shook his head with his eyes closed. Thinking about the restraints at home, he couldn't help but slap his thigh.
"No choice, your sister-in-law wants to prepare for Little Yuan's future, so naturally, she has to be more careful in spending."
"You're right."
Zhang Hong let out a sigh,
"Sometimes, I really envy you, Little Brother Lu. You are alone with no pressure to support a family."
"You can lead the life you want without arguing over trivial matters, like where to buy groceries, or worrying about a child's health or what cultivation technique they should learn, or which Sect they could enter in the future."
"How carefree you are!"
"If Brother Zhang were in my shoes, I bet he would miss being with his wife and child. It would be such a joy."
Lu Xuan said with a smile.
"You kid, you're so young and already understand so much."
Zhang Hong only casually sighed, then changed the subject with a laugh.
"The reason I came to see you this time is because I have something to tell you."
"From various sources, I learned that the Wang family in our market town accidentally discovered the location of a Secret Land. But it is located far in the wild, so after some time, they will hire hundreds or thousands of cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer or higher to go and develop the Secret Land."
"I thought you might be interested, and if you are, you should start preparing."
"Develop a Secret Land?" Lu Xuan said thoughtfully, falling into contemplation.
"I'm planning to go and have a look. A new Secret Land is very risky, but the rewards are in proportion to the risks. Just by planting Spirit Plants in the market town, maintaining a normal family life is very difficult."
"As for you, Little Brother Lu, I personally suggest you go and take a look. After all, the Wang family has cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage leading the way, so it will be difficult for us to encounter any powerful Demon Beasts."
"The most important thing is, Little Brother Lu, you are still young. Being a Spirit Plant Master is safe, but the resources you can acquire are limited and your strength increases slowly. After a long time of planting Spirit Plants, your vigour, too, will slowly diminish, and it would be hard for you to make further progress."
Zhang Hong looked at Lu Xuan, who was deep in thought, and advised him.
Lu Xuan nodded lightly. Indeed, what Zhang Hong said made sense. Developing a Secret Land carries a certain amount of risk but is still within a manageable range. Moreover, the appearance of a new Secret Land often means huge earnings. Even if he only got the leftovers, it would take a long time to fully digest them.
If this had been earlier, he might have had a slight chance of agreeing.
But now, with the appearance of the White Light Group, this faint possibility had disappeared completely.
He would venture out to gain cultivation resources, and then exchange them for elixirs, cultivation techniques, magic artifacts – but he could get all of these by staying at home and growing Spirit Plants!
It is safer and earns more. Gardening is wonderful!
He pretended to ponder for a while, looking undecided. Eventually he raised his head, his eyes filled with regret as he said to Zhang Hong,
"I appreciate your kindness, Brother Zhang, but I am a cautious person, with low cultivation and no special spells. I'm afraid that if I went, I might never return."
"Therefore, all I want to do is stay in the house, guarding this small Spirit Field, and quietly grow Spirit Plants."
"As for the future, let's see how it unfolds."
Seeing that Lu Xuan was firm in his decision, Zhang Hong couldn't help but sigh.
"Your idea is not wrong. Although there is not much danger in developing a Secret Land, it doesn't mean there is none. Even the slightest negligence could be fatal for us Qi Practicing Little Cultivators."
"However, I have no choice but to take a chance. Little Yuan shouldn't have to follow my unconventional cultivation methods like I did."
The two sat in silence for a while before Zhang Hong left, taking his leave and asking Lu Xuan to look after his young son when he left.
Lu Xuan nodded in agreement, watched Zhang Hong leave, and closed the courtyard door.
"With the advent of the White Light Group, I have to avoid putting myself in danger as much as possible in the future."
"Unless I have 90% certainty… no, 90% certainty is as good as none. If I don't have 100% certainty, I won't casually take risks."
Gazing at the Spirit Firefly Grass and Moon Erosion Fruit along the cobblestone path, Lu Xuan felt a surge of confidence.
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4 Chapter 3 Frost Armor Technique_1
Translator: 549690339
After Zhang Hong had left, Lu Xuan, without wasting any time, prepared to take all his belongings with him to look for a way to deal with the Black Bud Worm Larvae.
Before leaving, he took out a small stone, the size of a fingernail, and approached the Grass Puppet.
The small stone was pure white and emitted faint fluctuations of spiritual power. It was a small piece of Broken Spirit, divided from a Low-grade Spirit Stone and widely used by Lower Rank Qi Cultivating Monks like Lu Xuan.
"Eat your fill and guard the house well!" he said.
He inserted the small piece of Broken Spirit into a gray grass lump on the head of the Grass Puppet, instructing it seriously.
With the supplementation of the spiritual power from the Broken Spirit, a very faint spiritual light emanated from the Grass Puppet, seemingly reinvigorated.
Though he was not entirely confident in this slow-reacting housekeeper puppet, Lu Xuan had no other options. He could only hope that the spirit plants in the courtyard would remain safe during his absence.
After leaving his house, Lu Xuan quickly treaded along the bluestone road.
His courtyard was located in the North District of Linyang Market, an area mostly crowded with Lower Rank Qi Cultivating Monks like him, harboring dreams of breaking their limits and changing their fate.
As for the market center, it was the preserve of the great families and major powers. Lu Xuan rarely visited it.
Having not left his house for a while, he felt a little out of sorts, seeing everything as familiar but also peculiar.
A Deep Yellow Paper Bird, about half a foot in length, slowly flew past at low altitude, carrying a cultivator. The bird had inconsistent long and short spines on its body, having clearly been used for a long time.
Next, a Multi-legged Mechanism Beast flew over Lu Xuan's head, carrying about twenty or thirty cultivators.
The Multi-legged Mechanism Beast was a common mode of transportation within the market. With just a few dozen Broken Spirits, one could reach the center of the Market in a short time.
There was no aerial prohibition formation on the outskirts of the Market, so spirit beasts and flying artifacts similar to these were abundant. Occasionally, a streak of Sword Light would fleetingly speed across the higher altitudes.
The Sword Light represented a cultivator controlling a flying sword, which implied at least a High-tier Qi Cultivator – a presence that felt unreachable for Lu Xuan at his current level.
Lu Xuan couldn't help but display a hint of envy. The ability to control a flying sword, roam the heavens and earth, was a distant dream for him, in both his past and present lives.
Collecting himself and quickening his pace, he arrived at a gathering place of cultivators in the North District after a short while.
The gathering place was full of shops and stalls. Even though they didn't compare with those in the central district, it was more than sufficient for Lower Rank Qi Cultivating Monks like himself.
Lu Xuan wove through the crowd, soon finding a middle-aged cultivator in a corner.
The man, like Lu Xuan, was a Qi Cultivation Second Layer cultivator. He had a thin frame, a gaunt face, and high cheekbones due to his lack of flesh.
A pair of mustaches perched on his upper lip as his eyes darted around, swiftly scanning the cultivators passing by.
Lu Xuan knew his surname was Huang, and he lived not far from his courtyard. Always loitering in the gathering places, Huang was well-informed about every aspect of the North District.
However, if you wanted to inquire about anything, you had to pay a certain fee.
Upon sensing Lu Xuan's gaze, the whiskers on Huang's upper lip curled up slightly as he squeezed out a smile, welcoming Lu Xuan.
"Little Friend Lu, it's been a while. Is there something I can assist you with?" he asked.
Lu Xuan responded with a smile.
"I indeed have a matter in need of Brother Huang's advice."
"I heard that Brother Huang has a wide network and knows cultivators at various stages in the North District. Could you introduce me to a few?"
"I have a few requirements. First, they should be at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer. Secondly, they should have strong offensive abilities and be able to precisely control their spells or similar artifacts."
"Lastly, they should be in the vicinity of the North District and able to be found immediately."
Lu Xuan said to the middle-aged cultivator surnamed Huang, while handing him a handful of Broken Spirit Stones.
He wasn't expecting to find a more advanced cultivator. Although they could potentially resolve the issue of the Black Bud Worm Larvae more quickly, hiring a Qi Practicing Fifth Level would cost him more than double the fees than if he hired a Fourth Level cultivator.
Moreover, the Spirit Firefly Grass had already been significantly damaged by the infestation. If he couldn't resolve this soon, he could lose not just one or more of the Spirit Firefly Grass plants but also those unknown rewards encapsulated in the white light came with the maturation of the spirit grass.
That's why the ordinarily frugal Lu Xuan was willing to pay so many Broken Spirits. He was asking a fourth-level Qi cultivator to be found immediately, all in order to deal with the Black Bud Worm Larvae as soon as possible.
The middle-aged cultivator received the broken spirit from Lu Xuan, his smile obviously warmer and more genuine.
"There are quite a few cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer in the North District, but, there are very few who can meet your other conditions, Little Friend Lu."
"To my knowledge, there are only three nearby."
"One is Lingyun Fairy, whose cultivation level is quite high. She possesses a set of Red Cloud Needle Artifacts, which she uses masterfully, fulfilling the conditions of strong offensive power and delicate control."
"The other is Friend Qin Ming, who has a deep understanding of ice system techniques. While his offensive power may be slightly lacking, his control is unrivaled."
"Lastly, there is Friend Li Xu, who is obsessed with the Sword Dao. He has the ability to turn sword qi into silk, which also meets your requirements."
He gave Lu Xuan the addresses of the three cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer. Seeing that he remembered, he said with a smile:
"How about I accompany you, Little Friend Lu, on your visits to these three fellow practitioners?"
"I appreciate your kindness, Brother Huang, but I don't want to trouble you further."
Lu Xuan, with the knowledge that it would cost him even more, thanked him with a fist and palm salute, then turned and left.
He was not worried about the middle-aged cultivator cheating him. After all, this was his livelihood and he wouldn't sabotage it.
…
In the courtyard.
On the back of the Spirit Firefly Grass invaded by the black filament, a thin layer of frost, filled with bone-chilling cold, spreads rapidly.
The Black Bud Worm Larvae felt the rapid approach of the freezing cold, and the thin black filaments tried to struggle out of the leaves.
However, their struggling speed could not keep up with the spreading frost and the black filaments were frozen within the thin layer of frost.
Like snowflakes, the frost instantly hardened, and with a crack, a thin layer of ice shattered, falling along with the Black Bud Worm Larvae.
A white, tender palm reached out to catch all the shattered pieces of ice.
"Wow, Brother Qin really lives up to his name, his mastery of the Frost Armor Technique is amazing. I am in awe," Lu Xuan said, half in truth, half in jest, as he looked at the Spirit Firefly Grass leaves, unharmed under the frost.
The owner of the white, tender palm was a plump, white cultivator, who cheerfully tucked the shattered pieces of ice into his bosom.
"I didn't disgrace myself. I solved the problem of the Black Bud Worm Larvae without freezing the Spirit Plant leaves."
"I checked the nearby Spirit Firefly Grass for you and found no sign of Black Bud Worm Larvae. You can be worry-free for a while."
"However, as I looked around the courtyard, I noticed that the protective force around your small Spirit Field seems a little weak. If this persists, similar incidents could likely occur in future."
The plump white cultivator reminded Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan waved his hand.
"Let's deal with the future when it comes. This time, the reward is…?"
"Six Spirit Stones and fifty Broken Spirit, as we previously agreed."
A single Spirit Firefly Grass is worth far less than six Spirit Stones. The reason for such a high reward is primarily to deal with the pest problem in the Spirit Field, but also because of Qin Ming's mid-stage Qi cultivation.
The plump white cultivator's face bore an innocuous smile.
Lu Xuan took out fifty Broken Spirit, counted it twice, then, one by one, pulled six Spirit Stones from his waist, turned his head, and handed it to the plump cultivator.
"Thank you, Friend Lu."
The plump cultivator, Qin Ming, took the Spirit Stones and left the courtyard.
Sensing the spiritual stones getting further and further from him, Lu Xuan felt a pang of pain in his heart and couldn't help but spit in secret.
"Swindler!"
5 Chapter 4 'Jingold Sword Art'_1
Translator: 549690339
After learning the information of the three cultivators at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation from the cultivator surnamed Huang, Lu Xuan made haste to visit each one. In the end, he chose Qin Ming, who was skilled in the Ice System Technique.
For no other reason than that he was the cheapest.
Among the three people, Lingyun Fairy had the highest asking price, starting at ten Spirit Stones, which scared Lu Xuan away. Next was Li Xu, who was skilled in Sword Qi into Silk, asking for nine Spirit Stones. The cheapest was Qin Ming, who only required seven Spirit Stones.
Lu Xuan naturally did not hesitate and chose Qin Ming first. He spent considerable effort along the way haggling and managed to reduce Qin Ming's reward by fifty Broken Spirits, saving half a Spirit Stone.
This was cheap only relative to the other two cultivators. You should know that Lu Xuan rented this courtyard with a Spirit Field, and the monthly rent was five Spirit Stones.
In such a short time, he'd spent more than a month's worth of expenses. How could Lu Xuan not feel pained!
Fortunately, the problem with the Black Bud Worm Larvae was solved successfully. He could only hope that the recovering Spirit Firefly Grass and its white light cluster could bring substantial rewards.
His mental power focused on the Spirit Firefly Grass that had been corroded by the black fine lines, a thought flashed across his mind.
"I suddenly shook, feeling so empty, as if something had disappeared from my body, urgently requiring nutritional supplements."
What the hell was this state?
Lu Xuan complained to himself, his spiritual energy within his body surged, and threads of Spirit Rain fell on the green leaves of the Spirit Firefly Grass, seeping into them.
After three consecutive uses of the Spirit Rain Technique, the life-deficient Spirit Firefly Grass had mostly recovered.
Lu Xuan then made a round to inspect the small courtyard, understanding the current state of the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass and the two Moon Erosion Trees. After confirming there were no issues, he relievedly entered the room.
The next day.
Early in the morning, Lu Xuan hastily made his way to the Spirit Firefly Grass without even having time to wash up. He pinched the leaf and turned it over to look at the back.
The persistent black fine lines that had been present for the past few days were finally gone.
He let out a long sigh of relief, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
After a round of Spirit Rain technique, Lu Xuan carefully assessed the Spirit Plants in the field, found three more Spirit Firefly Grass progress bars that were fully filled.
His mental power converged on it.
"Ordinary Quality Spirit Firefly Grass *2."
"Good Quality Spirit Firefly Grass."
"Huh? Good Quality Spirit Firefly Grass?"
Lu Xuan noticed the subtle differences between the three Spirit Firefly Grasses.
The planting plugin didn't appear until he harvested the first Spirit Firefly Grass, so he wasn't aware of the quality of the first Spirit Firefly Grass when it matured.
He carefully picked the Spirit Firefly Grass full of faint luminescence, and three white light clusters silently appeared on the spot, flickering faintly as if enticing Lu Xuan to pick them up.
"Harvested a Spirit Firefly Grass, gained Three Months Cultivation."
"Harvested a Spirit Firefly Grass, gained Three Months Cultivation."
"Harvested a Spirit Firefly Grass, gained Earth Pulling Technique Spell."
The moment he picked up the light cluster, Lu Xuan felt a sudden surge in his spiritual energy.
The rushing spiritual power wreaked havoc in his meridians. After calming down, Lu Xuan realized his cultivation had smoothly progressed to the breakthrough of the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation.
After cultivating diligently for many days, with a little help from the three white light clusters, he finally broke through to the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation successfully.
Lu Xuan was pleased to think so.
At the same time as his spiritual power surged, a formula method known as the Earth Pulling Technique appeared in his sea of consciousness.
He had an understanding in his heart, and knew a lot about the Earth Pulling Technique.
Earth Pulling Technique, like the Spirit Rain Technique, is one of the few low-level formula methods that a Spirit Plant Master must know. After successful cultivation, it can drive and control the structure of the soil, change the concentration of spiritual power in the soil, and make Spirit Plants grow better.
To the current Lu Xuan, it was quite practical.
He activated the formula method, and under the control of his spiritual power, the gray-black soil in the Spirit Field rose slightly, changing the root position of the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass in subtle places, making their distribution more reasonable. No longer leaving a large open spot or piled together.
"I originally thought all Spirit Firefly Grass would bring a white light cluster that would be Three Months Cultivation. Now it seems that the same variety of Spirit Plants can bring different light cluster rewards.
That mature Spirit Firefly Grass with Good Quality brought the Earth Pulling Technique."
"It seems that the remaining twenty or so Spirit Firefly Grass, and the two Moon Erosion Trees, all need to be taken care of more carefully. Improving their quality when they mature also improves the reward of the white light cluster."
Lu Xuan thought to himself.
The courtyard wasn't big. The two Moon Erosion Trees occupied half of the area, and the remaining area was planted with a total of twenty-four Spirit Firefly Grass. After two harvests, a total of four were harvested, leaving twenty to mature.
Although the Spirit Firefly Grass occupied very little land, the range of the roots in the soil was very wide. Even if only more than twenty were planted, it was already maximizing the use of the Spirit Field soil.
Looking at the rewards brought by the Spirit Firefly Grass with Good Quality, raising Spirit Plants is best to try to improve their appearance when they mature.
This way, not only can more Spirit Stones be sold, but also better light cluster rewards can be obtained. It's a win-win situation.
Now that he can know the real-time status of the Spirit Plants, and have the assistance of Earth Pulling Technique and Spirit Rain Technique, Lu Xuan was full of confidence.
He planned to change his usual planting methods.
In the past, he would use the Spirit Rain Technique after an interval every day to nourish the Spirit Plants. In his cultivation breaks, he would check the Spirit Field from time to time to check for any Strange Worm invasions.
For him, a low-level Spirit Plant Master, this was already a relatively reasonable cultivation method.
With the ability to now understand the real-time status of the Spirit Plants, he planned to change large-scale Spirit Rain Technique to local and detailed application. Whenever he noticed the needs of the Spirit Firefly Grass, he would satisfy them, striving to cultivate the best quality Spirit Plants.
Thinking, he acted immediately. According to the subtle differences in the needs of each Spirit Firefly Grass, he used the Spirit Rain Technique and Earth Pulling Technique over and over again until his internal spiritual power was exhausted.
Looking at each of the green and shiny Spirit Firefly Grass in the Spirit Field, the exhausted Lu Xuan revealed a satisfied smile.
As for not having time to cultivate during the day? He believed that it was no longer important, all he wanted now was peace and quiet for planting.
After two days of hard work, five mature Spirit Firefly Grass were laid in front of Lu Xuan.
However, perhaps due to the long planting time, a few days of intensive cultivation could not bring qualitative changes.
Among the five Spirit Firefly Grass, three were of Ordinary Quality, and two were of Good Quality.
The three Ordinary Quality Spirit Firefly Grass brought to Lu Xuan spiritual energy equivalent to nine months of his daily cultivation.
As for the other two Spirit Firefly Grass of Good Quality, one was also the Earth Pulling Technique.
After Lu Xuan absorbed it, he felt that he had a deeper understanding of this Formula Method. The time to activate the Formula Method was shorter and the control over soil change was more precise.
"It seems that if the reward for the light clusters is the same Formula Method, absorbing it will increase the understanding of it, which is similar to an experience bar."
Lu Xuan began to ponder, and then a reward from the Good Quality Spirit Firefly Grass in his sea of knowledge appeared.
"Jingold Sword Art!"
6 Chapter 5 Turmoil_1
Translator: 549690339
"Jingold Sword Art, a First Grade Technique, uniquely cultivates gold-series Sword Qi in the orifices. When activated, it's swift as the wind, causing grave damage."
A First Grade Technique, he didn't expect such a treasure to come out from that Light Cluster…
Lu Xuan's mind was awestruck for a moment.
He had currently mastered three spells; Fireball Technique, Spirit Rain Technique, and the Earth Pulling Technique, which had recently emerged from the white cluster of light. These three techniques were of the lowest grade, strictly speaking, simply a rudimentary application of Spiritual Power.
As for Jingold Sword Art, although it was of the lowest rank, a First Grade Technique, Lu Xuan was already fully satisfied.
It should be known that even among Qi Practitioners of the intermediate or high level, a First Grade Technique wasn't something that everyone had.
He stayed in place, and following the path that appeared in his mind, his Spiritual Power slowly gathered.
Immediately, a pale gold colored stream of air about three inches long and finger-wide gushed from his body, rapidly moving towards the stone wall and slashing a black thorn into two.
Lu Xuan walked over, picked up the smoothly cut half of the thorn, and was secretly shocked at the destructive force of the pale gold Sword Qi.
Although Black Thorn was not a Spirit Plant, it was extremely tough. Lu Xuan had once tested it with the Fireball Technique, and it took half a moment to burn the thorn into two.
Comparing the two techniques, the Jingold Sword Art was significantly cleaner and much more lethal, clearly over twice as powerful.
"Just started practicing, the time it takes to use the sword technique is too long, its power also greatly reduced."
"With such a powerful method, it needs to be practiced more in the future."
"Of course, if I can get another Jingold Sword Art as experience bonus, that would be even better."
Lu Xuan looked at the remaining fifteen Spirit Firefly Grasses, and couldn't help but think.
He put the harvested Spirit Firefly Grass into the Jade Box and plans to go out again.
He currently had nine mature Spirit Firefly Grasses, six of which were of ordinary quality and three were of good quality.
The quantity of Jade Boxes was limited, there was no room to put extra Spirit Plants. In order to prevent the Spiritual Power of the Firefly Grass from dissipating, these nine Spirit Firefly Grasses had to be sold as soon as possible.
At the same time, a lot of Spirit Fields were freed up, combined with the near maturity of the remaining Firefly Grasses, Lu Xuan planned to use the Spirit Stones he got in exchange to buy some Spiritual Seeds.
If he had enough Spirit Stones, he could look for a low-level protection method at the market.
The emergence of the white light cluster in the courtyard Spirit Field abruptly heightened the importance of the Spirit Field. Lu Xuan was afraid that a Cultivator or Demon Beast might sneak in, take away or injure the Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field, affecting the richness of the white light cluster.
He instructed the Grass Puppet a few words to take care of the house, then took the Jade Box with Spirit Firefly Grass, and left the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped out, he ran into Zhang Hong who had just returned from the market.
"Little Brother Lu, where are you heading?"
Zhang Hong saw Lu Xuan from a distance and laughed heartily.
"Hello Brother Zhang, I plan to take a look at the market."
Lu Xuan greeted Zhang Hong.
After a few pleasantries, he learned that Zhang Hong had just returned from the market and bought several body protection talismans, preparing for the forthcoming clearing of the Secret Land.
"Little Brother Lu, are you really not willing to join us on the expedition to clear the new secret land in the wilderness?"
Zhang Hong, changing the subject, asked Lu Xuan again without giving up.
"I appreciate Brother Zhang's kindness, but my aspiration is not in that direction, I just want to be an ordinary and peaceful Spirit Plant Master."
Lu Xuan waved his hand, firmly refusing.
"There's nothing I can do then, I was thinking that if I could partner with you, based on our long time spent together, we could back each other up."
Zhang Hong said regretfully.
"I wish Brother Zhang a successful journey full of extraordinary encounters and a safe return."
Lu Xuan sincerely wished, holding his fists.
The two bid farewell to each other.
Lu Xuan walked to the market and found that there were a lot more cultivators in the market than usual.
Defensive talismans became a hot commodity, healing pills were even more scarce. As soon as they appeared, many cultivators would scramble for them. Even if the price was considerably higher than usual, they remained in high demand.
"It seems that the news about the Wang Family's upcoming exploration of a new secret land has already spread throughout Linyang Market."
"So many qi cultivators of low and intermediate levels want to get a share of the spoils. I wonder how many will get the opportunity, and how many will simply turn into stepping stones for others."
Lu Xuan observed the restless energy in the market without being swayed and watched quietly.
He lingered in the market for a couple of moments, taking note of every piece of information around him, occasionally asking casual practitioners who had set up stalls. Eventually, he turned a few corners and arrived at a medicinal shop called 'Bai Cao Tang'.
The shop owner was an alchemist with a great demand for various alchemy materials. Lu Xuan had sold all the spiritual medicines he had grown to this shop before, and the prices were fair.
Upon entering the shop, a strong smell of herbs wafted over. Lu Xuan verily familiar with the place, headed straight into a wooden house.
Inside the wooden house, all sorts of spiritual medicines of different sizes were piled up, with several attendants busily processing them.
"Kid Lu, are you here to sell Spirit Firefly Grass again?"
An elderly man with a lean figure spotted Lu Xuan, looked at his bulging chest, and greeted him.
"Yes, Manager He, some Spirit Firefly Grasses have matured. I've come to sell them to your shop."
The lean old man was a relative of the medicinal shop's alchemist and usually assisted in managing some of the shop's miscellaneous tasks. Lu Xuan had to interact with him while selling the Spirit Firefly Grass, and the two were quite familiar with each other.
"How much do you have?"
"Nine stalks, how much is the Spirit Firefly Grass for a stalk now?"
Lu Xuan took out a jade box from his chest and asked.
"Still the old price, three low-grade spirit stones per stalk."
"Manager He, aren't you a bit unreasonable?"
Upon hearing the thin old man's answer, Lu Xuan, who had reached out to hand over the jade box, pulled his hand back.
"As far as I know, quite a few of the Spirit Firefly Grasses cultivated by the spirit plant masters in the North District have recently been plagued by pests, resulting in lower yield than usual."
"Rumors are rampant in the market that the Wang Family in the central area is about to explore a new secret land, which has lead to a dramatic surge in the price of healing pills."
"As the main ingredient in refining healing pills, if the Spirit Firefly Grass is still being priced according to old quotes, it'll be too much for us honest casual practitioners."
"You little devil, your cultivation level isn't high, but your nose is pretty sharp."
Manager He laughed and scolded him, then adjusted his expression and stated.
"One Spirit Firefly Grass for three spirit stones plus twenty spirit fragments. Non-negotiable."
Lu Xuan lowered his head and pondered for a moment, knowing that this was a very fair price.
"The Spirit Firefly Grass of a good quality is the same price?"
"Oh?"
The lean old man looked up in surprise.
"You've actually cultivated a good quality Spirit Firefly Grass? Show me."
High-quality raw materials could slightly increase the rate and effect of pill formation during alchemy, making them highly sought after by alchemists.
"No mistake, this is indeed a good quality Spirit Firefly Grass."
"For someone as young as you with sparse spiritual power in the field, it's not easy to cultivate such quality spirit plants."
"In that case, I'll buy these three good quality Spirit Firefly Grasses at a price of three spirit stones and fifty spirit fragments per stalk. Would that be agreeable to you?"
Lu Xuan quickly nodded his head; after all, it was just slightly better than ordinary quality. It wasn't top-tier or perfect quality Spirit Firefly Grass. An increase of thirty spirit fragments per stalk was already quite good.
He handed the nine Spirit Firefly Grass stalks to the lean old man. The old man furrowed his brows, checked over each one carefully, didn't fuss over them, and counted out the spirit stones to give to Lu Xuan.
Six regular Spirit Firefly Grass stalks and three of good quality exchanged for twenty-nine inferior spirit stones and seventy spirit fragments in total.
Lu Xuan carefully put them at his waist, feeling the traces of cold essence emanating through his clothes from the spirit stones. His heart was burning with excitement.
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7 Chapter 6 Red Cloud Pine_1
Translator: 549690339
"The nine Spirit Firefly Grasses were exchanged for a total of twenty-nine inferior spirit stones and seventy spirit fragments. Adding the six spirit stones and eighty-two spirit fragments I have, I now hold a total of thirty-six inferior spirit stones and fifty-two spirit fragments."
"It's a shame that the damn black bud worm larvae caused so much damage, otherwise I would have more assets."
Thinking about the black thread that cost him six spirit stones and fifty spirit fragments, Lu Xuan was gnashing his teeth in anger.
Money lends courage, and with such a large amount of spirit stones, he found himself standing much straighter.
Leaving 'Bai Cao Tang', Lu Xuan, worried about the lack of protective power around his Spirit Field, rushed directly to his next destination.
There were various kinds of shops in the market, including those that sold spiritual seeds.
He confidently entered a familiar shop.
A lower-level Qi cultivator, an average middle-aged man, was caring for the Spiritual Plant seedlings in the shop. When he saw Lu Xuan come in, he got up to greet him.
"Young Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
The shop owner asked.
"I'll look around first."
Lu Xuan replied, sweeping his gaze across the entire shop.
The shop displayed many kinds of spiritual seeds, all differing in shape, most of which Lu Xuan could not recognize.
In the corner were several Spiritual Plant seedlings. Their appearance was even more unfamiliar to him.
Spirit Plants have a certain chance of growing spiritual seeds if they continue to grow after maturing. However, most of these seeds are not suitable for cultivating new plants.
Most spiritual seeds need to be condensed through various special means, and even some condensing methods are only mastered by the great Sects.
Especially those rare and high-rank Spiritual Seeds, their condensing methods are never leaked to the outsiders.
Even the condensation of common rank spiritual seeds is not something a simple Loose Cultivator can master. Behind this shop maybe there is a grand cultivator, or a large family.
"How much is a Spirit Firefly Grass Seed?"
Lu Xuan pointed to the Spirit Firefly Grass Seeds on the shelf that looked like dried tea leaves and asked the middle-aged man.
"Forty spirit fragments each if you buy more than ten at a time, fifty for individual purchases."
"I need twenty."
"Also, could you recommend a first-grade spiritual plant seedling or spiritual seed for me? Preferably the ones with low spiritual energy requirements and simple growth conditions."
Previously, Lu Xuan planted twenty-four Spirit Firefly Grasses in that small plot in his yard, this time he didn't plan to buy the same number of seeds.
Spirit Firefly Grass and Moon Erosion Trees have no grades, the value of Moon Erosion Tree is higher, but it's not a first grade.
When a Spirit Plant matures, the white light cluster that appears is affected by many factors, one of which includes the type and grade of the Spirit Plant.
So Lu Xuan wanted to try planting a relatively simple first-grade Spirit Plant to see what kind of light cluster reward there would be when it matured.
"Low spiritual energy requirements, simple growth conditions…"
"How about these two?"
"Both are first-grade Spirit Plants. One is the Blood Eater Vine spiritual seed, which needs a certain amount of essence from strange beast or demon beast meat for nourishment. When mature, it can enhance the Qi and blood of cultivators or assist in practicing some special cultivation techniques."
"The other is a Red Cloud Pine seedling. Occasionally needs nourishment from fire attribute spiritual power during cultivation. The Red Cloud Pine Spirit Fruit has abundant spiritual power and an exquisite taste, and is very popular among female cultivators."
The higher the rank of the Spirit Plant, the more stringent its growing environment and conditions. Spiritual energy, Spirit Soil, Spiritual Spring among other complex conditions, the cultivation of these two first-grade Spirit Plants is relatively simple.
Lu Xuan first ruled out the Blood Eater Vine. He was just getting by, hardly eating Demon Beast meat once in ten or fifteen days. If he were to plant this Blood Eater Vine, what would he feed it with?
He surely couldn't feed the vine with his own flesh, could he?
As for the Red Cloud Pine, he currently had the Fireball Technique. There were still more than ten Spirit Firefly Grasses and Moon Erosion Fruits to be opened in the lottery, perhaps he could get some Fire System Techniques as a result. Supplying it with a small amount of fire attribute spiritual power wouldn't be a big problem.
"How many Spirit Stones for that Red Cloud Pine seedling?"
Lu Xuan pointed to a pine seedling in the corner. The young pine was around two feet tall, its leaves appearing as tiny red needles from afar, resembling a small cluster of red clouds. This was why it was known as the Red Cloud Pine.
"Five Spirit Stones," the middle-aged cultivator replied.
"Twenty Spiritual Firefly Grass seeds, and this Red Cloud Pine seedling, twelve Spirit Stones in total, I'll take them all. How does that sound?"
"Young man, you're driving a hard bargain. Alright, it'll be my loss, but let's add seventy Spirit Fragments."
"Comrade, you know it's not easy for us Loose Cultivators to earn Spirit Stones."
"I'm only considering buying the Red Cloud Pine because I feel a connection with it. I don't even know if I can successfully plant it if I do buy it!"
"Fifty Spirit Fragments, I can't go any higher."
"Deal!" The middle-aged cultivator shook his head and replied with a bitter smile.
He passed twenty Spiritual Firefly Grass seeds to Lu Xuan, and helped to pack the Red Cloud Pine seedling in a cloth bag, advising Lu Xuan to plant it as soon as possible, as any delay could affect its vitality.
Lu Xuan complied, reluctantly taking out the twelve Spirit Stones and fifty Spirit Fragments, barely warm from their recent transaction, thus making a clean deal.
At the market, Lu Xuan was arguing heatedly with another Loose Cultivator.
"Comrade, this Protective Array is second-hand, and there's even blood stains on it. This is a sign of great misfortune, isn't it? Twenty Spirit Stones is already too high!"
The Loose Cultivator looked helpless.
"Young man, if the formation was brand new, I would've at least doubled the price. As for the bloodstains, it won't affect its protective power. You just reduced the price from 25 Spirit Stones to 20, is that how you bargain?"
"There's no problem with the formation, it's just that the origin is a mystery, which is a bit worrying. Plus, I don't know how long it's been used for. I'm afraid it won't last."
Lu Xuan appeared to want to buy it, yet filled with worries.
"Alright, take it for 21 Spirit Stones. If there's any problem with the formation, you can find me in the market. I've been setting up here for over ten years, I have that much credibility."
"Okay, consider us friends then."
Lu Xuan appeared resolute, taking out twenty-one Inferior Spirit Stones.
"No, no, no. We just discussed the Spirit Stones, not friendships."
The Loose Cultivator hurriedly refused. Lu Xuan had argued with him nearly half an hour to remove a few Spirit Stones. If they had true friendship, who knows how many Spirit Stones would be needed to compensate for that.
Lu Xuan took the Array Plate stained with dark red blood spots from the vendor, carefully put it into his chest pocket.
He didn't care at all about the blood spots. After all, no ghost could be more frightening than poverty.
Previously, he used to avoid bargaining and never went to roadside shops. But in this Cultivation World, in order to save a bit of Spirit Stones, he has honed a lethal bargaining skill.
"The Spirit Stones from the nine Spirit Firefly Grasses have already been spent and my original savings have been used up."
"However, the gains are quite considerable. Twenty Spiritual Firefly Grass seeds, and a Red Cloud Pine seedling."
"The most important thing is, the long-cherished Protective Array is finally in hand."
Lu Xuan rubbed his somewhat barren chest pocket thinking.
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8 Chapter 7 Sword Qi Talisman_1
Translator: 549690339
Having accomplished his mission outside, Lu Xuan, always mindful of the spirit plants in his yard, wasted no time and headed directly home.
Inside his room.
He couldn't wait to pull out the array plate smeared with dark red blood stains. The array plate inscribed with a basic protective array, once activated, could protect a certain area and even alert the user when an outsider intrudes.
Lu Xuan adjusted his breathing and waited for his emotions to calm down. Then, he catalyzed the spiritual power within his body and began to slowly pour it into the array plate, following the instructions of the loose cultivator who ran the stall.
The array plate, stimulated by spiritual power, flickered a faint white light. Once it absorbed enough spiritual power, the white light instantly amplified hundreds to thousands of times, covering the entire yard.
The faint white light swayed gently, like a layer of egg white.
Lu Xuan continued to adjust, controlling the array plate. The faint spiritual energy shield continuously changed according to the shape of the house, gradually disappearing until it was completely invisible from the outside.
As the master of the array plate, he could still clearly perceive the existence of the spiritual energy shield.
The shield has a certain defensive capability that can block assaults from outsiders. If anything tries to penetrate the spiritual energy shield, as long as Lu Xuan is at home, he can detect it immediately.
After the successful deployment of the protective array, the worry that had been weighing heavily on Lu Xuan finally lifted completely.
At this moment, he felt entirely secure. He no longer had to worry about the spirit plants in his yard being harmed by evildoers or demon insects, which would affect the rewards of the white light cluster.
After a brief rest, Lu Xuan took the Spirit Firefly Grass Seeds and the sack containing the Red Cloud Pine seedling and entered the spirit field.
After harvesting the nine Spirit Firefly Grasses, a large area in the spirit field had been vacated.
Lu Xuan estimated their future growing range, took out ten Spirit Firefly Grass Seeds, and began to plant them.
Spiritual power surged within him, causing the soil in the spirit field to rise slightly. Under the control of the Earth Pulling Technique, ten cracks of various sizes formed.
The seed, no bigger than a dried tealeaf, was placed into each crack, then a thin layer of spirit field soil was spread on top.
Droplets of spiritual rain infiltrated the soil, nourishing the Spirit Firefly Grass Seeds inside.
Lu Xuan focused his mind on the seeds, sensing a surge of joyous and thriving emotion exuding from them.
This emotion infected him, making him smile involuntarily.
"Little guys, grow well, break through the soil quickly, and witness this magical world."
He planned to plant the remaining ten Spirit Firefly Grass Seeds after the other fifteen Spirit Firefly Grasses had matured.
Next, he took out the Red Cloud Pine sapling. The sapling, which had been in the sack for half a day, appeared a little weary.
Lu Xuan quickly used the spirit field soil to cover the root of the sapling.
After planting, he cast the Spirit Rain Technique again. Under its thorough nourishment, the Red Cloud Pine sapling showed new signs of life.
Lu Xuan ran his internal spiritual power, causing a fist-sized red fireball to appear in front of him.
The fireball, tracing an arc, flew towards the Red Cloud Pine sapling.
The moment before it was about to touch the Red Cloud Pine, the red fireball silently dissolved into hundreds of small flames, merging into the trunks and needles of the Red Cloud Pine.
Under the nourishment of countless tiny flames, the originally grey-black trunk of the Red Cloud Pine revealed a faint red color, giving off a mild sensation of heat.
The countless needle-like leaves all stood upright. The entire Red Cloud Pine looked like an aroused hedgehog. It was quite an amusing sight.
Looking at the Red Cloud Pine in its stress state, Lu Xuan couldn't resist a chuckle.
Three days passed in a blink of an eye.
During these three days, Lu Xuan stayed at home, without stepping out once.
In order to obtain higher quality Spirit Plants, he spent most of his time caring for and cultivating them, sparing a little time for his own cultivation, practicing the Earth Pulling Technique and the Golden Sword Technique.
The cultivation technique he practiced was called "Yuan Attraction Technique", which was common and unremarkable, with an extremely slow rate of absorbing spiritual energy.
Of course, for Lu Xuan then, and even now, its greatest advantage was being inexpensive.
After several days of practicing the Earth Pulling Technique and the Golden Sword Technique, he became more skilled, and the speed at which he deployed the sword technique increased quite a bit.
If he really had to face an opponent, this slight improvement wouldn't make much of a difference, the result would be similar:
The sword technique would crumble before it could fully take effect.
"At times like these, I fondly remember the white light cluster and look forward to another experience bar appearing."
Lu Xuan sighed, stepping into his courtyard.
After several days of meticulous care, another four plants of the Spirit Firefly Grass were fully matured, leaving only eleven more to ripen.
With extra days of careful cultivation, a good quality Spirit Firefly Grass now had a higher chance of appearing. Among the four plants of Spirit Firefly Grass, three were good quality, and one was ordinary.
The ordinary Spirit Firefly Grass still brought three months of cultivation level.
As for the three good quality Spirit Firefly Grasses.
Lu Xuan collected the three slightly sparkling white light clusters from the soil one by one.
"Harvest a Spirit Firefly Grass, acquire a First Grade Technique, 'Jingold Sword Art'."
"Harvest a Spirit Firefly Grass, acquire a half-year cultivation level."
"Harvest a Spirit Firefly Grass, acquire a First Grade Talisman, Sword Qi Talisman."
Several thoughts flashed through Lu Xuan's mind, as the rewards from the three white light clusters were revealed, one after another.
After absorbing the light cluster containing the sword technique, Lu Xuan's understanding of the sword technique improved, its execution speed was faster, and its power increased by ten to twenty percent.
"The ordinary quality Spirit Firefly Grass brings three months cultivation level, while the good quality one provides a half-year cultivation level, this is a delightful surprise."
Lu Xuan thought to himself, his attention then focused on the talisman appearing quietly in his hand.
The talisman was a dark yellow color, with complex and obscure rune patterns carved around the edges. In the center, a faint Sword Qi stood out on the talisman, as if it would burst out at any moment.
"Sword Qi Talisman, a First Grade Talisman, a one-time-use item, equivalent to the full-force attack of a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner proficient in the Sword Dao, with immense killing power."
"A First Grade Talisman… I feel like I've hit the jackpot."
Though it was a one-time-use talisman, the Sword Dao has always been known for its killing capabilities. This Sword Qi Talisman was equivalent to a full-force attack from a Middle-Stage Sword Cultivator, its offensive strength was evident.
For Lu Xuan who was at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, this was considered a decent weapon.
Feeling quite satisfied, Lu Xuan's expectations for the remaining eleven Spirit Firefly Grasses grew even more.
The ten Spiritual Firefly Grass seeds that he planted three days ago, all sprouted, showing new buds.
The tender green leaves were extremely narrow, with tiny traces of glowing dust on them, barely noticeable unless closely observed.
"Spirit Firefly Grass in its rapid growth stage grows well, showing a very strong demand for spiritual energy. Can you, a second-rate Spirit Plant Master, satisfy them?"
Lu Xuan looked at the thought that had formed in his mind, and snorted in disdain.
"I want to plant ten more plants!"
The Red Cloud Pine was growing a little slower, reaching about an inch in length. Whenever Lu Xuan used the flame from the Fireball Technique to stimulate it, the fine red pine leaves would surge with vigor, returning to normal only after fully absorbing the flames.
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9 Chapter 8 Concealment Method_1
Translator: 549690339
Night fell.
Lu Xuan dragged his slightly weary body back into the house.
Though the number of spirit plants in the spirit field was not high at present: eleven stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass were about to mature, ten new seedlings were just planted, two Moon Erosion Trees, and one Red Cloud Pine.
But because of the extremely meticulous cultivation method, a round after round of Spirit Rain Technique and Ground Leading Technique had been carried out, making even Lu Xuan's strong physique of a Qi-Cultivator feel tired after a whole day.
However, he was enjoying it, and compared to watching the many spirit plants grow vigorously, this bit of fatigue was nothing.
After a simple dinner, he rested for a while, then sat on the wooden bed, operating his cultivation technique to recover his spiritual power.
The sudden increase in his cultivation level caused stagnation in the circulation of spiritual power within his body, which required some adjustment.
Suddenly, he noticed the array plate by his side emitting intense light.
A miniature spiritual energy shield appeared on the array plate. In a certain direction of the shield, a faint spiritual light was shimmering like ripples.
Lu Xuan's expression turned grave. He memorized the location of the shimmering spiritual light, the Sword Qi Talisman dropped into his left palm, and he abruptly stood up, came to the green-grey stone wall, and leaped over it.
On crossing the stone wall, Lu Xuan caught sight of a black shadow twisting its small body and trying to flee away at a high speed.
Upon seeing the tiny black shadow that tried to infiltrate his spirit field, Lu Xuan was fuming and wouldn't let it escape so easily.
He quickly circulated the spiritual power within his body and soon, a faint golden Sword Qi instantly condensed and, like a shooting star, whizzed towards the tiny black shadow.
The black shadow momentarily slowed as if solidified by the sword intent, getting sliced into two by the golden Sword Qi.
The light faded, and everything turned dim.
Lu Xuan tightly gripped the Sword Qi Talisman and scanned his surroundings. Seeing nothing unusual, he let out a sigh of relief.
He approached the severed black shadow, picked up the two cut pieces, and returned to the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped inside the house, a grey-black straw rope moved to Lu Xuan's feet, tapping his knee to signal that a foreign object had invaded the spirit field.
"I've already wiped it out, and your alert just came through. Your reaction speed is remarkable, indeed."
Lu Xuan looked at the grass puppet, which had retreated after alerting him, and couldn't help but be amused.
Under the dim candlelight, he could clearly see the Remnant Black Bud Worm in his hand.
"Once wasn't enough, so you came again. You consider my spirit field as your backyard, huh?"
Lu Xuan used the Golden Sword Technique to chop the Black Bud Worm's body into pieces, then burnt them into ash with the Fireball Technique, only then was his anger completely quelled.
"Thank goodness, the protective array functioned and timely stopped the invasion of this Black Bud Worm, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable…"
The thought of his spirit plants inside the spirit field possibly being parasitized by the Black Bud Worm's eggs and thereby affecting his light cluster reward made him shudder.
More than ever, he felt that buying this second-hand formation must have been an extremely wise decision.
The appearance of the black bud worm was just a minor ripple in his otherwise tranquil farming life. In the following days, nothing unusual happened.
Lu Xuan's life was simple yet fulfilling, meticulously cultivating spirit plants every day using Spirit Rain and Ground Leading Techniques, and occasionally stimulating the Red Cloud Pine with the Fireball Technique.
He hadn't ventured out much over the past few days, only Zhang Hong had visited once.
Zhang Hong was about to go with the Wang Family cultivators and hundreds or thousands of loose cultivators into the wilderness, to open up a newly emerged Secret Land. Before he left, he came to say goodbye to Lu Xuan, and asked him to help watch over his wife and children at home.
Apart from that, Lu Xuan had barely interacted with anyone else.
After five days, he had harvested another two batches of mature Spirit Firefly Grass. A total of eight plants, leaving only the last three about to mature in his Spirit Field.
Out of the eight, three were of ordinary quality, while five were of good quality.
Three of the eight white light clusters that appeared gave Lu Xuan a year's worth of accumulated cultivation level. His spiritual power increased considerably as a result.
Out of the remaining five, two were experience packages for the Earth Pulling Technique and the Golden Sword Technique. These further deepened his understanding of these two formula methods, making them faster to deploy and more powerful.
And the last three yielded three first-grade talismans: a Sword Qi Talisman, a Swift Talisman for boosting speed, and an Earth Armor Symbol for defense. Lu Xuan stored all of them for future use.
After picking the eight mature Spirit Firefly Grass, a large area of the Spirit Field was cleared. Lu Xuan carefully planted the remaining ten Spirit Firefly Grass Seeds. Soon, they sprouted tender green shoots that trembled gently in the breeze.
The ten plants he had planted earlier had grown considerably, each about three inches tall. The color of their leaves turned dark green, and the luminescent spots on them became more prominent.
The last three Spirit Firefly Grass plants did not keep Lu Xuan waiting for long. One day, after each cast the Spirit Rain Technique, their progress bars filled up to the max.
With his mind focused, Lu Xuan encountered a pleasant surprise.
"Mature Spirit Firefly Grass of Good Quality." *2
"Mature Spirit Firefly Grass of Superior Quality."
"Finally, I have managed to cultivate a Superior Quality Spirit Firefly Grass."
Lu Xuan clasped the lustrous Spirit Firefly Grass in his hand, filled with relief.
Out of a total of twenty-four plants, through the careful cultivation of the Spirit Rain Technique and Ground Leading Technique, one of Superior Quality finally emerged.
Although the odds were slim, Lu Xuan understood why.
After all, the spiritual energy in his Spirit Field was thin. And the immediate status of the Spirit Firefly Grass was already in its late stage when he got to know it. It was difficult to significantly improve the quality, let alone elevate it to a higher level.
"If I want to produce spiritual plants of Superior Quality in large quantities, or even of Perfect Grade, it needs at least two conditions to be met,"
"Dense spiritual power and meticulous cultivation of the spiritual seeds from the time they are planted to maturity."
Lu Xuan concluded.
In the Spirit Field, three white light clusters flashed tantalizingly, drawing Lu Xuan's attention.
"Harvest one Spirit Firefly Grass and gain half a year's cultivation level."
Another boost to his cultivation level—I feel so lazy even thinking about practicing hard.
Touched by the soaring spiritual power that suddenly appeared in his body, Lu Xuan sighed.
"Harvest one Spirit Firefly Grass, acquire one First Grade Evil Banishing Talisman."
A yellowish talisman appeared in Lu Xuan's hand. An evil ghost pattern was emblazoned in the center, suppressed by two peculiar chains of inscriptions.
"An Evil Banishing Talisman, a First Grade Talisman, can purify and drive away certain ranges of evil, quite rare indeed."
A thought flashed through Lu Xuan's mind, and he carefully put away the talisman with the evil ghost pattern.
The final white light cluster came from the Superior Quality one. The quality of the spirit plant is one of the factors that affect the richness of rewards, and Lu Xuan had high hopes for it.
The light cluster turned into countless light spots and poured into Lu Xuan's mind. A sense of intimacy flashed in his mind, and a Cultivation Technique appeared within his Sea of Consciousness.
"'Concealment Method,' after practicing, it can conceal one's own breath and cultivation level, providing quite good hidden abilities."
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10 Chapter 9 Full Moon_1
Translator: 549690339
"Although it is only an auxiliary method, which cannot be used for cultivation or real combat, its value is no lesser than cultivation practices considering my current situation."
The appearance of the white light group led to a rocket-like rise in Lu Xuan's cultivation level.
Although his talent was ordinary, it would be fine in the short term, but if it goes on for a long time, others would definitely discover the anomaly in his cultivation level, which could possibly put him into a difficult situation.
Cultivators usually will not proactively probe into others' cultivation levels, after all, it is a bit of an impolite behavior and could easily upset others.
But when you interact with more people, you will naturally come across intentional or unintentional prying.
The emergence of the concealment method can disguise me to a certain extent, just like usual, I am merely a Spirit Plant Master with a low level of cultivation.
Unless the other party's cultivation level is much higher than mine, or even higher by a large realm, or they have practiced certain probing formula methods, otherwise, it will be difficult to detect my actual cultivation level.
Following the progression route of the cultivation technique, Lu Xuan slowly circulated the spiritual power within his body. In an instant, the spiritual power fluctuation emanating from him immediately converged, greatly lowering his presence.
He experimented for a while, revealing the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, and returned to his usual average Loose Cultivator's status.
In the spirit field, among the two spirit plants that were planted before, all of the Spirit Firefly Grass had been harvested, leaving only the two Moon Erosion Trees on both sides.
The Moon Erosion Trees have grown a lot in this period, and the original crescent shaped Moon Erosion Fruits among the green leaves have gradually become full, from concave to flat, and then round.
The Moon Erosion Trees are slightly hidden among the lush foliage, appearing even more enchanting as they gradually become round and full.
Although the Moon Erosion trees have not been graded yet, they are more valuable than Spirit Firefly Grass. Lu Xuan is looking forward to what kind of light group reward it will bring him when the moon is full.
There is still some time before the newly planted Spirit Firefly Grass and Red Cloud Pine mature in the spirit field.
The difficulty of growing Spirit Firefly Grass is relatively low, generally maturing in two to three months. As for Red Cloud Pine, because it is a first-grade spirit plant, Lu Xuan estimates that it will take about half a year to mature.
Of course, this is the normal cultivation cycle of these two spirit plants for most low-ranking Spirit Plant Masters. Lu Xuan guesses that he may be able to slightly shorten their maturation time because he knows the real-time status of the spirit plants.
After all, other Spirit Plant Masters cannot accurately understand the small needs of spirit plants like him, and they cannot satisfy them meticulously.
For them, cultivating spirit plants is just a means of making a living, while cultivation is the right path.
Take the Spirit Rain Technique for example, the cultivation method adopted by Spirit Plant Masters usually involves wide-range watering, and it is completely impossible for them to control it as precisely as Lu Xuan, performing local application in order to maintain the spirit plants in their best condition.
The harvested Spirit Firefly Grass can't be stored for a long time, so Lu Xuan plans to go to Bai Cao Tang again to sell the fifteen strains of Spirit Firefly Grass he holds to Manager He.
Out of the fifteen strains of Spirit Firefly Grass, four are of ordinary quality, ten are of good quality, and one is of superior quality.
He fed two broken spirits to the Grass Puppet, opened the protective array, and left the house at ease
Bai Cao Tang.
It is the familiar scent of medicine again.
The attendants are bustling about processing materials, while the thin old man is casually lying on a wooden chair, flipping through the account book in his hands.
"Oh, Kid Lu is here again. How's the harvest?"
"You need to tell me the current market condition of Spirit Firefly Grass first."
Lu Xuan shows a mysterious smile.
"Now that a large number of low-ranking Qi-cultivators have entered the wilderness, the demand for healing pills has dropped a lot."
"But, recently, there are signs of an increase in pests in the North District, and many low-level Spirit Plant Masters' spirit fields have been invaded, so the price is still the same as last time, twenty broken spirits and three Spirit Stones for ordinary quality ones, and an additional thirty broken spirits for each good quality one."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan nodded slightly. On his way here, he already saw that the usual bustling congregating areas of Loose Cultivators were a lot quieter, and the place was empty.
As for pests, he had also heard about it. Many Loose Cultivators' Spirit Fields without protective arrays were invaded by demon insects, causing heavy losses.
"Here, the Spirit Firefly Grass I brought this time, Manager He, you can distinguish them according to their quality."
Lu Xuan placed fourteen Spirit Firefly Grass plants in front of the skinny old man.
"As for this one, it has a different price."
He finally took out the superior quality Spirit Firefly Grass and waved it in front of Manager He.
"Is this… Superior Quality Spirit Firefly Grass?"
The skinny old man had been buying Spirit Firefly Grass for many years and immediately recognized the uniqueness of this plant, asking in surprise.
"That's right, this is indeed Superior Quality Spirit Firefly Grass. Considering that your Spirit Field, which has almost no spiritual energy, can grow such high-quality Spirit Firefly Grass, that is quite remarkable."
"It seems, perhaps you have decent talent in cultivating spiritual plants."
He looked at Lu Xuan and sighed leisurely.
"It was just luck."
"I just spent the time others use for cultivation on planting spiritual plants."
Lu Xuan half-jokingly said.
"I don't care how you did it, the more high-quality Spirit Firefly Grass you plant, the better. I will buy them at a price you'll be satisfied with."
"I'll take this Spirit Firefly Grass for the price of three spirit stones, and seventy spirit fragments, what do you think?"
Manager He asked Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow, smiling without a word.
It goes without saying, the price needs to be increased!
The skinny old man naturally understood the implication and quickly offered a price that tempted Lu Xuan.
"Four low-grade spirit stones, no more, as this is already 20-30% more than the purchase price of ordinary Spirit Firefly Grass."
"Deal!"
Manager He quickly exchanged the spirit stones for the fifteen Spirit Firefly Grass plants given to him by Lu Xuan, totaling fifty-one spirit stones and eighty spirit fragments!
With the three spirit stones he had left over before, his wealth has instantly increased to nearly fifty-five spirit stones.
"Kid Lu, if you ever get more Spirit Firefly Grass of this quality, remember to bring it to me. The price will definitely not disappoint you."
Manager He looked at Lu Xuan, who was stacking spirit stones around his waist, and specifically instructed.
"If you truly have talent in the spiritual plant path, I can introduce you to a path, which might be your chance."
"Oh?"
Lu Xuan became interested in the old man's words and looked at him curiously.
"It's not enough right now, let's see the quality of the spiritual plants you bring in the future."
"Thank you, Manager He. I will continue to support your business in the future."
Lu Xuan didn't care much about the opportunity mentioned by the old man. After all, the appearance of the white light cluster made any other opportunity seem insignificant.
On the contrary, it might affect his current peaceful and simple farming life.
He bid Manager He farewell and hurried home with a bunch of spirit stones around his waist.
At first he thought about buying some demon beast meat or spirit rice to improve his life and satisfy his appetite, but when he actually passed by the stalls, he felt reluctant.
He still has to pay the rent for the courtyard next month!
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11 Chapter 10 Slivered Silver Blade_1
Translator: 549690339
The rent for the spirit field in the courtyard was five spirit stones per month, payable every six months, with less than one month left until the next payment.
Almost half of the spirit stones in hand would soon be used up. Since it would still be some time before the several spirit plants in the spirit field matured, Lu Xuan decided to save up for any unexpected needs.
The spirit field had already been utilized to its maximum capacity. Even if he had enough spirit stones in hand, there would be no place to plant new spiritual seeds if he bought them. He could only bring more than fifty spirit stones back home.
After returning home, he shut the courtyard door tightly, almost cutting off contact with the outside world, devoting his heart to cultivating the spiritual plants.
Several days passed, and the silver fruit on the two Moon Erosion Trees grew rounder and fuller, hanging on the tree like moons.
They were about to enter the maturation stage.
Lu Xuan took time to count, and there were about forty-two Moon Erosion Fruits on the tree.
According to the purchase price he knew, each Moon Erosion Fruit was worth approximately one spirit stone, with little fluctuation.
However, because he had been carefully cultivating them during this period, the quality of several dozen Moon Erosion Fruits was not bad. Lu Xuan estimated that most of them were of good quality and a few were of superior quality.
"Little Uncle Lu, Little Uncle Lu, are you home?"
One day, a familiar, childish voice came from outside the courtyard gate.
Lu Xuan opened the gate, and a seven-year-old child with a tigerish face squeezed in through the gap in the gate. Judging by his facial features, he looked 70 to 80 percent similar to Zhang Hong who had gone off to explore the wilderness.
It was indeed Zhang Hong's child, named Zhang Xiu Yuan. Because he was not far in age from Lu Xuan, he would occasionally run over to him.
"I thought you weren't home! You've had your door shut every day, and I haven't seen you in a long time!"
Zhang Xiu Yuan muttered a sentence, hopping and jumping to the front of the Grass Puppet and hugging it.
"Little Grass, long time no see, I've missed you!"
The Grass Puppet, feeling a stranger enter the courtyard, still extended a gray grass rope to Lu Xuan, fulfilling its responsibility of defending the spirit field.
"Alright, alright, if you keep hugging your little friend, its head will fall off."
Seeing the gray grass lump on the Grass Puppet's head about to fall off, Lu Xuan said to the overly enthusiastic Zhang Xiu Yuan with a smile.
The two of them went inside the house.
Zhang Xiu Yuan sat dumbfounded in the wooden chair, staring blankly at the spirit plants in the courtyard.
"It's more comfortable here with you, Little Uncle Lu. No need to cultivate techniques, learn about various types of spiritual medicine, or knowledge of spirit ores."
Lu Xuan couldn't help but laugh. It was like seeing distressed children struggling with their studies in his previous life.
"By the way, have you heard from your father since he's been out for so long?"
He asked Zhang Xiu Yuan.
"Where could it be so fast? The journey alone takes half a month!"
"But my dad is so amazing, he'll definitely be able to kill lots and lots of demon beasts and bring back lots and lots of treasures for me."
Zhang Xiu Yuan spoke with a longing look in his eyes. In a child's mind, the figure of his father was always particularly tall, as if he could block all the storms.
Lu Xuan nodded, chatted a few more words with the child, and then went to the spirit field to check on the growth of the spiritual plants.
In the spirit field, whether it was the progress bar or the real-time status, or even the white light cluster that appeared after maturity, only Lu Xuan could see it. So he was not worried that Zhang Xiu Yuan would discover the abnormality of the spirit field.
"Little Uncle Lu, you seem really busy in your spirit field. Do you need my help?"
Zhang Xiu Yuan rested for a while, and seeing Lu Xuan busy all the time, he rolled up his sleeves and walked next to Lu Xuan.
"Hey hey hey, don't move, I can handle it myself."
Lu Xuan quickly spoke to stop him. Are you kidding? One of the factors affecting the reward of the light cluster is the participation in the planting process.
If the reward of the light cluster is affected because of Little Yuan's help, it would be a loss.
"Hmph, my mom always asks me to help her, and I don't even want to!"
Little Yuan was rejected by Lu Xuan, and he felt somewhat embarrassed. Crossing his arms over his chest, he huffed.
"How many cycles have you cultivated today? Have you memorized all the common spiritual herbs and ores?"
Lu Xuan noticed the child lingering in the Spirit Field, showing no inclination to leave, so he voiced his inquiry.
Each time he asked, a hint of heaviness appeared on Zhang Xiu Yuan's face, and when Lu Xuan had finished asking, Zhang Xiu Yuan waved his hand vehemently and ran off.
"I'm never coming to play at your place again!"
"Hahahaha!"
Lu Xuan laughed mercilessly.
He did not placate, knowing very well that children lose their temper as quickly as they regain it. In a few days, he'd come looking for fun again.
For the next three days, Zhang Xiu Yuan indeed did not visit. Lu Xuan was at ease, cultivating the Spirit Firefly Grass, Red Cloud Pine, and watching the Moon Erosion Fruit develop step by step each day.
Finally, with concentrated attention, Lu Xuan discovered that the four Moon Erosion Fruits had fully matured.
All four Moon Erosion Fruits were of good quality, and their successful growth validated his dedicated care over this period.
He carefully picked them and placed them in a specially made container.
Immediately after, he was captivated by four white light clusters floating on the Moon Erosion Tree.
Above the light clusters, little dots of white light twinkled.
Lu Xuan absorbed the first one, and a thought flashed through his mind.
"Harvest Moon Erosion Fruit, gain First Grade Artifact, Silver Rift Blade (remnant)."
A slender object appeared in Lu Xuan's hand.
"First Grade Artifact!"
Lu Xuan was taken aback, scrutinizing the object in his hand.
It was a thin, long piece, about the thickness of a finger, with an irregular shape. It felt cold to touch, and the edges seemed incredibly sharp.
With his Spiritual Sense, Lu Xuan controlled the thin, long piece with a mere thought.
The thin piece transformed into an almost invisible silver light and deeply embedded itself into the stone wall.
"The power is extraordinary, indeed worthy of a First Grade Artifact. But what does this 'remnant' mean?"
"Is this artifact incomplete? However, it seems quite powerful in use…"
Confused, Lu Xuan looked at the remaining three white light groups.
"Harvest Moon Erosion Fruit, gain First Grade Artifact, Silver Rift Blade (remnant)."
"Harvest Moon Erosion Fruit, gain First Grade Talisman, Purification Charm."
"Harvest Moon Erosion Fruit, gain First Grade Artifact, Silver Rift Blade (remnant)."
The Purification Charm could keep a cultivator's mind clear for a long duration, preventing them from being beguiled by Demon Envoy. It was a great assistance charm.
As for the other two white light clusters…
Looking at the three silver-white thin pieces in his hand, Lu Xuan was briefly stunned.
All three pieces were of differing shapes, their shared features being an ultrasharp edge that did not tarnish the reputation of the First Grade Artifact.
Additionally, Lu Xuan surprisingly discovered that he could actually wield all three Silver Edge fragments simultaneously.
Normally, with his current Third Level Qi Cultivation, it would be nearly impossible for him to control three First Grade Artifacts at once.
"Could it be that these three irregular thin pieces come from the same artifact, and only when all pieces are assembled, can it become the complete Silver Rift Blade?"
Comparing the edges of the pieces, Lu Xuan increasingly felt that this was closer to reality.
"The question is, how many pieces are needed to assemble the complete Silver Rift Blade?"
"Hopefully, the remaining thirty-eight Moon Erosion Fruits can produce as many Silver Rift Blade fragments as possible."
"Although the fragments are useful, who would want them if the complete one is available?"
Lu Xuan gazed at the Moon Erosion Fruits hanging from the Moon Erosion Tree, looking like jade plates, lost in thought.
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12 Chapter 11 Withered Seed_1
Translator: 549690339
Even though the Moon Erosion Fruit-era First Grade Artifact, Silver Rift Blade fragment needed to be collected and assembled, Lu Xuan was still quite satisfied.
It's important to understand that in the Cultivation World, among resources of the same grade, elixir recipes and cultivation techniques are the most valuable, followed by formations, magic artifacts, elixirs, and charms, and finally various cultivation materials like spirit grass, spirit ores, and demon beast's flesh and blood.
Considering the Moon Erosion Tree is merely an ungraded spirit plant; even a mere remnant of a magical artifact can be counted as an unexpected joy.
He gazed at the three silver white thin slices flitting around him, looking forward to the moment he would complete the assembly of the Silver Rift Blade.
One day, a sound echoed in the courtyard, undisturbed by any cultivators.
From outside the courtyard came a somewhat anxious, but warm voice.
"Brother Lu, are you at home?"
Lu Xuan immediately recognized the owner of the voice. It was Zhang Hong's wife.
He hadn't seen her more than a few times and had only met her when visiting Zhang Hong's family. His impression was that she was a gently beautiful woman named Xu Wan who was at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer.
Lu Xuan opened the courtyard door to see a rather haggard-looking Xu Wan.
"Sister-in-law, is something the matter? Please come in."
"No, Brother Lu, the matter does involve troubling you."
Upon seeing Lu Xuan emerge, Xu Wan's breath eased significantly.
"Old Zhang at home was saying earlier that your spirit field had been plagued by the shadow of a Black Bud Worm Larva, and spent quite a few spirit stones to have someone handle it."
"Over the past period, many loose cultivators in the North District have suffered from pests. Despite my constant vigilance, I couldn't prevent my home spirit field's spiritual plants from being infested by the Black Bud Worm Larva. By the time it was found, it was already a serious issue."
"I was wondering if you could tell me about any loose cultivators in the vicinity that can deal with Black Bud Worm Larvae, and how much I ought to pay as reward?"
After a moment of consideration, Lu Xuan shared the information he had accumulated with Xu Wan.
"I know of three people. Lingyun Fairy, who is skilled with flying needle artifacts, Li Xu who can transform Sword Qi into silk, and Qin Ming, who is incredibly proficient in ice techniques. Qin Ming asks for the least compensation, seven spirit stones, but there might be some room to haggle."
"Seven spirit stones…"
Upon hearing this, Xu Wan's eyes flashed with doubt, and she started biting her lip. Her hands, which were resting on her stomach, began to rub unnaturally.
Her husband, Zhang Hong, had used most of their savings preparing to be more ready. Their child's expenses were very high. If she were to spend seven spirit stones to solve the bug problem, they would have trouble affording food afterward.
"Thank you, Brother Lu."
She eventually decided to hire someone to exterminate the Black Bud Worm Larvae. She thanked Lu Xuan, and as her expression returned to normal, she turned to leave.
"Wait."
Lu Xuan stopped Xu Wan. When she had turned around again, he spoke with certainty.
"Sister-in-law, I've made rapid progress in a certain technique recently, and I'm seventy or eighty percent certain I can take care of the Black Bud Worm Larvae. Why don't I take a look first?"
"Then, thank you very much, Brother Lu."
Upon hearing Lu Xuan's words, Xu Wan's face flickered with surprise. She hadn't thought about asking Lu Xuan for help without compensation, but hiring a Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer cultivator instead of a Second Layer one would undoubtedly be more costly.
If Lu Xuan could resolve the problem, any small amount saved would help.
Lu Xuan closed the courtyard door and quietly followed Xu Wan.
He had considered the matter over when he asked Zhang Hong's wife if she needed help.
After the appearance of the white light group in the spirit field, the first thing he had to avoid was getting himself into too much danger.
The Zhang Family was just a short distance away, and what he was up against were merely Black Bud Worm Larvae, which weren't too deadly.
The adult Black Bud Worm had been annihilated in one blow under the Golden Sword Technique previously. Now, with his deeper cultivation skills, a more profound understanding of the sword technique, the fragments of the Silver Rift Blade, and several charms in hand, he was fairly confident he could handle the Black Bud Worm Larvae.
So thought Lu Xuan prudently.
Beyond those reasons, there was a primary one.
From his previous body's memories, he knew that his smooth transitioning into a Spirit Plant Master had been largely due to Zhang Hong's help. When he first rented the tiny spirit field, Zhang Hong had loaned him a few spirit stones.
Since he had taken over this body, he had received some guidance from Zhang Hong about cultivating spiritual plants. Plus, Zhang Xiu Yuan, their child, was quite endearing. This seemed like a good opportunity to pay a visit.
The two residences were not very far apart, and soon Lu Xuan was following Xu Wan into her home.
Zhang Xiu Yuan, guarding the spirit field, revealed a joyous look upon seeing Lu Xuan. Then, as if he had thought of something, he puckered up his lips and looked away.
"Zhang Xiu Yuan!"
Xu Wan sternly called out.
"Hey, Uncle Lu." The child spoke reluctantly, somewhat afraid of his mother.
"Alright."
Lu Xuan didn't mind and made his way over to the Zhang family's Spirit Field.
The Spirit Field in the courtyard was almost twice the size of his own, with a wider variety of Spirit Plants being cultivated. In addition to Spirit Firefly grass, there were three other common types of Spirit Plants.
He quickly found the infected Spirit Firefly grass.
Turning it over, he could see tiny black threads clinging tightly to the leaves, as if they were fused together.
Lu Xuan's gaze sharpened, fixated on the black threads.
Quickly, he closed his eyes, invoking the essence of the Golden Sword Technique. His internal Spiritual Power began to circulate, compressing and refining within his acupoints.
In a flash, a strand of golden Sword Qi, as thin as hair, was suddenly produced and slid along the leaf, splitting the black thread in two.
After cutting one black bud worm larvae, without losing momentum, the golden thread of Sword Qi swept in a graceful arc and bisected another black thread.
So it went, each black thread was divided into sections, dropping to the ground. After bouncing twice, they went still.
"Wow! Uncle Lu, you're so amazing!"
Zhang Xiu Yuan, who had squat beside Lu Xuan at some unknown point, exclaimed loudly.
Lu Xuan arose, appearing nonchalant in the face of Zhang Xiu Yuan's adoration.
"Just a few black bud worm larvae, they're not worth mentioning."
"Brother Lu, thank you for your hard work. Please come in for a warm cup of tea."
Seeing the black bud worm issue that had been troubling her so easily resolved by Lu Xuan brought a look of relief to Xu Wan's face. She invited Lu Xuan into the house.
After sending Zhang Xiu Yuan to review his cultivation knowledge, Xu Wan fetched five Spirit Stones from the inner room.
"Brother Lu, thank you so much this time. Please accept these few Spirit Stones."
"Sister-in-law, I can't possibly accept this. Brother Zhang has helped me so much in the past, how could I take your Spirit Stones?"
Lu Xuan hurriedly waved his hand in refusal.
He was indebted to Zhang Hong, and naturally, he would not take the Spirit Stones as he knew the hardship Xu Wan faced, a widow raising Zhang Xiu Yuan alone.
"No, you've helped me so much, you must accept! If I had sought help elsewhere, it would have cost even more. Giving you just five Spirit Stones already feels like I've gotten the better deal."
Xu Wan appeared frail, but she had a strong personality insistent that Lu Xuan accept the Spirit Stones.
Unable to refuse further, an idea popped into Lu Xuan's mind.
"How about this, Sister-in-law, I still won't take the Spirit Stones, you keep them for yourself. But, I won't go unrewarded. If there are any unknown spiritual seeds you've gathered from the wild, just give me one."
He proposed a compromise. Zhang Hong often went out to the wilderness, he might have come across some unknown spiritual seeds.
"An unknown spiritual seed? I do have one, but I'm unsure what kind it is and it's nearing the end of its vitality."
Xu Wan pondered for a moment before answering.
She went to the inner room, returning quickly with a withered seed.
The seed looked like a small sword, its surface was gray-black, indicating it had been stored for a pretty long time.
"Brother Zhang had obtained two seeds a long time ago. He asked some loose cultivators, but nobody knew what kind they were."
"He tried to plant one, but it didn't even sprout so he gave up."
"As for the remaining seed, he thought about trading it but couldn't fetch anything worthwhile. So it stayed at home. Over time, a large portion of its life force has been lost."
"Well then, I won't stand on ceremony, and will take this seed."
Lu Xuan inspected the sword-shaped, withered seed from all angles, then laughed.
After receiving the withered spiritual seed, he didn't stay too long. With Xu Wan's gratitude and Zhang Xiu Yuan's reluctance, he left the Zhang Family.
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13 Chapter 12 Sword Grass_1
Translator: 549690339
Returning home, Lu Xuan carefully examined the almost withered spiritual seed he had taken from his bosom.
The dried up seed was long and slender like a sword, grey-black in color. Perhaps due to much of its vitality having evaporated, its form was slightly shriveled.
Although Xu Wan had told Lu Xuan that she and Zhang Hong had once attempted to plant another similar spiritual seed without success, Lu Xuan felt highly confident about his own endeavor.
After all, if he successfully planted this withered spiritual seed, he would be able to understand the seed's subtle needs through its immediate status and correct any deficiencies, possibly leading to a successful cultivation.
Deciding to act, Lu Xuan found a small empty plot within his Spirit Field, activated the Earth Pulling Technique and a tiny fissure appeared in the Spirit Soil, just enough to accommodate the withered spiritual seed.
Having buried the dried-up seed, Lu Xuan further invoked the Earth Pulling Technique, gathering the faint spiritual energy within the Spirit Field towards the seed.
The Earth Pulling Technique, having absorbed several experience packages, had already undergone a profound transformation. It could not only alter the terrain within a localized range, but also slightly manipulate the flow of spiritual energy within the Spirit Field.
Once the minute spiritual energy in the Spirit Soil was absorbed by the spiritual seed, Lu Xuan with a bit of trepidation, focused his spiritual sense on the withered seed.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Sword Grass, Second-Level Spirit Plant. Upon maturity, it becomes sharp and tough as a sword, a natural material for forging a flying sword.
Feeling as though it's about to dry up, let's give it a hearty soak with a torrent of spiritual energy."
After digesting this thought, Lu Xuan's heart filled with joy.
As expected, he not only understood the corresponding spirit plant information after planting this withered spiritual seed, but he also clearly understood the detailed needs of the seed.
He immediately circulated the spiritual energy within his body. Above the withered spiritual seed, a mist of water vapor appeared instantly, followed by a rain of spiritual energy droplets that fell and seeped into the soil.
Like the rain after a long drought, the Sword Grass seed greedily absorbed the Spirit Rain.
Following the first round of Spirit Rain, Lu Xuan used his spiritual sense to check the Sword Grass Spirit Seed, only to find that it was still in a withered state.
I still want more, more water the better."
Just a measly second-grade spirit seed, unable to be satisfied by my Third Level Qi Cultivation?"
Lu Xuan chuckled. He who had already mastered the Spirit Rain Technique, almost instantaneously conjured another round of Spirit Rain.
I want more, I want more!"
Lu Xuan coldly snorted, Just you wait and see, I'll drench you till you burst!"
…
After seventeen rounds of the Spirit Rain Technique, Lu Xuan gritted his teeth and once again mobilized the spiritual energy within his body.
Above the Sword Grass Spirit Seed, the spiritual energy fluctuated for a moment but then quickly vanished, not a single drop of Spirit Rain fell.
It's gone, truly, not a single drop is left."
Feeling dizzy and seeing stars, he staggered and rose to his feet.
This was the effect of overusing spiritual energy.
Although his cultivation had already stabilized at the Third Level of Qi Cultivation and was much deeper than before, even a lot of spiritual energy could not withstand such continuous usage.
His spiritual sense focuses on the Sword Grass Spirit Seed.
I still want more, I want more…"
Lu Xuan shivered and hurriedly moved away.
But the numerous carefully executed Spirit Rain Techniques were not ineffective. He could sense that the Sword Grass Seed in the soil was much more plump, appearing lively and full of vitality.
Two days later, after basic care to the other spirit plants, Lu Xuan focused his attention on the second-grade Sword Grass Spirit Seed.
After countless rounds of Spirit Rain Techniques, the seed's immediate status finally changed..
Sword Grass, Second-Level Spirit Plant; during cultivation, it requires a certain amount of spiritual energy. In addition, it occasionally needs the nurturing of Sword Qi to stimulate growth."
The need for Sword Qi nurturing, as expected of a Second-Level Soul Plant, the requirements are clearly on a different level. It's highly probable that Brother Zhang and the others failed mainly because of this. After all, spiritual seeds are usually delicate, who would think to stimulate it with Sword Qi?"
Lu Xuan had an epiphany and figured out the reason for Zhang Hong's failure in their cultivation attempt. He felt even more fortunate for being able to constantly grasp the immediate status of the Spirit Plant.
As for Sword Qi, he possessed his own Golden Sword Technique.
With spiritual energy circulating within his body and under Lu Xuan's mental control, a faint golden Sword Qi sprung up from his finger, passed through the Spirit Field soil, and struck the Sword Grass Spirit Seed.
In an instant, Lu Xuan thought he heard a weak sword cry from the soil, following which, the golden Sword Qi seeped into the seed, leaving a faint golden mark on the gray-black seed.
Doing as he had done previously, he summoned three more golden Sword Qi, leaving marks on the Sword Grass seed. Only after understanding that the Sword Qi was sufficient did he stop.
Only after the golden marks on the seed had faded could a new Sword Qi is used to nourish the Sword Grass Spirit Seed.
Finally, successful planting has been accomplished, and the growth phase has begun."
I wonder what kind of Light Cluster rewards a Second-Level Spirit Plant can bring…"
Through his Spiritual Sense, Lu Xuan sensed the subtle changes in the Sword Grass Spirit Seed and heaved a sigh of relief.
He found the importance of mastering the immediate state of Spirit Plants is increasingly apparent.
Perhaps, it would be possible to go to local markets or find some on the stalls of Loose Cultivators to acquire some unknown spiritual seeds?"
Although the appearance of wild Spirit Plant Seeds is rare, it's not completely absent."
Naturally matured Spirit Plants have a certain probability of producing spiritual seeds, which can also be obtained from other cultivators or demon beasts, not to mention those weird Secret Lands where anything can occur."
Perhaps other cultivators have some unknown spiritual seeds. For them, if the species of spiritual seed is unknown, it's hard to evaluate its value and it's hard to cultivate successfully."
But I am different, I can know the planting conditions of spiritual seeds. As long as the conditions can be met, the possibility of successful cultivation is huge, and I can also get the Light Cluster rewards."
The more Lu Xuan thought about it, the more feasible this method seemed. But remembering the few remaining spirit stones he had, he quickly cooled down.
Purchasing unknown spiritual seeds is ultimately a gamble. Although my chances of winning are higher, it's not a sure win. More importantly, I don't have enough spirit stones to enter the game."
After all, once you acquire wild spiritual seeds, you cannot guarantee whether it can be cultivated. Secondly, you do not know its rank. Buying a first or second grade is fine, but if you end up with an ungraded seed, it may even result in a loss."
We can wait until Brother Zhang and their group of cultivators who are exploring the Secret Land return. The quality of the spiritual seed produced in the Secret Land is more guaranteed, and the quantity and variety of offerings will be greater."
From Lu Xuan's memory, there were few stands selling wild spiritual seeds when he strolled in the market during normal days. Even if there were, they were mostly familiar varieties. Unknown spiritual seeds were almost invisible."
He decided to let things take their course and accumulate more knowledge of Spirit Plants in his spare time, pay more attention in the marketplace, and if he encounters unknown spiritual seeds and has enough spirit stones, try to bargain for them."
What's more important is his own courtyard's Spirit Plants.
The twenty Spirit Firefly Grasses were growing very well, the leaves were lazily stretching under the nourishment of the Spirit Rain, and tiny glints of light reflected under the sunlight, resembling twinkling stars.
The Red Cloud Pine had grown another two inches or so, the fine red needles on the tree were denser, stimulated by the Fireball Technique, it looked like a porcupine covered in red spikes.
The Moon Erosion Fruit, on the other hand, had entered a rapid maturation phase.
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14 Chapter 13: Little Uncle Lu, Do You Want the Spirit Stone or Not?_1
Translator: 549690339
The newly matured Moon Erosion Fruits were double the amount of the first batch, a total of eight.
All eight Moon Erosion Fruits were of good quality. Lu Xuan carefully placed them into specific containers and expectantly picked up the eight white light clusters that appeared.
"Harvested one Moon Erosion Fruit and obtained a Fragment of First Grade Artifact, Silver Rift Blade."*5
"Harvested one Moon Erosion Fruit, obtained a First Grade Sword Qi Talisman."
"Harvested one Moon Erosion Fruit; obtained a First Grade Qi Cultivation Pill."
"Harvested one Moon Erosion Fruit; obtained a First Grade Explosive Talisman"
Out of the eight light cluster rewards, five were fragments of the Silver Rift Blade, two were First Grade talisman and one was a First Grade pill.
"Yuan Cultivating Pill, a First Grade Pill, can quickly supplement spiritual power after a cultivator ingests it."
Lu Xuan carefully stored this First Grade Yuan Cultivating Pill.
He has heard of this kind of pill before, but it's the first time he's owned one. It's very useful for lower level and middle level Qi cultivation, and worth quite a few Spirit Stones.
"This Silver Split Blade fragment is getting more and more. I already have eight pieces."
Lu Xuan looked at the eight thin silver-white fragments flying around him, somewhat helpless.
Suddenly, he had a thought and the eight fragments instantly combined together, their edges tightly fitting to form a peculiar object.
"Why does it feel like a silver blade, just with many gaps."
The more Lu Xuan looked, the more he felt this object resembled a sword blade.
"If it is a blade, during a fusion, it could act as a single magical weapon. In a fight, it can confuse the opponent by suddenly splitting into many thin pieces."
The more he thought about it, the more he felt this was a great possibility, anticipating the moment all fragments were collected.
There were still thirty Moon Erosion Fruits and considering the appearance rate of fragments and the size of the gaps in the fragment blade, there should be no problem.
But when he thought of the gacha experiences from his past life, he couldn't help but be pessimistic.
"Young Uncle Lu, do you need some Spirit Stones?"
Just as Lu Xuan was feeling worried, he heard the familiar teasing voice of Zhang Xiu Yuan coming from outside the courtyard.
Lu Xuan quickly opened the courtyard door.
"What's up? This young man, do you have some Spirit Stones to give me?"
"I don't have Spirit Stones to give you, but I have an opportunity that can help you earn some."
The chubby Zhang Xiu Yuan chuckled, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
"Oh, let's hear it."
Looking at Zhang Xiu Yuan tightly hugging the Grass Puppet, Lu Xuan felt a trace of curiosity.
"You helped solve the bug problem in my house a few days ago, right? Today, I overheard Cai Bin saying they have the same strange bugs in their house. I told him you are very capable, so he quickly rushed home to tell his parents and asked me to bring you over to help."
"His dad is anxious about this and is willing to use a lot of Spirit Stones to solve it!"
"Cai Bin?"
In his memories, he was like a scrawny, monkey-like child who often played with Zhang Xiu Yuan. His home was two or three miles away from Lu Xuan's yard.
Lu Xuan had seen his father Cai Hai before, a Third Layer of Qi Cultivation loose cultivator. They knew each other, but kept a distance.
"Should I go take a look?"
He hesitated, wondering whether or not to go earn these Spirit Stones.
The risk? Mainly dealing with the Black Bud Worm, which can easily be handled by his increasingly skilled Golden Sword Technique, along with various talismans, Silver Split Blade fragments, and his Third Layer Qi Cultivation. He basically could handle all kinds of unexpected situations.
The benefit? The Fourth Layer Qi practitioner, Qin Ming, charged seven spirit stones for dealing with a Black Bud Worm larva. Although he only showed the cultivation level of the Second Layer of Qi, charging five Spirit Stones did not seem excessive, right?
The main thing was, he was too poor now!
He has a large demand for Spirit Stones.
The Spirit Field was too small; after planting these Spirit Plants, there were no gaps left. Lu Xuan very much wanted to have another larger Spirit Field.
He also wanted to buy a storage bag; as the number of treasures in his hand increased, it was unrealistic to carry them all the time.
Purchasing unknown spiritual seeds also required a large amount of Spirit Stones.
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan didn't hesitate anymore, in the expectant gaze of Zhang Xiu Yuan, he gently nodded his head.
"Lead the way."
"Okay!"
….
Cai's Courtyard.
Cai Hai's wife, Mrs. Li, was scolding her son.
"What were you thinking, inviting a teenage loose cultivator to solve our bug problem? Do you think this is child's play?!"
The six or seven-year-old Cai Bin's face turned red from his mother's scolding, he gathered his courage and replied:
"But, Xiu Yuan said his Uncle Lu is very powerful, with extraordinary swordsmanship, and he managed to kill all those demon insects in an instant!"
"Are you going to believe everything he says? Don't you think with your pig brain, how impressive can a second layer Qi Cultivator be?!"
Mrs. Li turned her head, speaking to her husband, Cai Hai, who was staring at the ground:
"My dear, I think we should just call my younger brother over. He has some connections and knows a middle-stage Qi practitioner who can solve the pest problem, certainly more reliable than that second layer Qi Cultivator from the brat's mouth."
"Heh, that so-called young brother-in-law who asks for ten Spirit Stones right off the bat?"
The skinny Cai Hai sarcastically responded with a cold smile.
"He dares to rip off his own brother-in-law. What, are you going to provide the ten Spirit Stones?"
Mrs. Li mumbled a few words: "I'm just worried about our Spirit Plants."
"Ah…"
Cai Hai released a long sigh.
"Now, we can only give that young Loose Cultivator a try."
"I just asked around, Zhang Hong's family did have a pest problem before, and it was apparently solved by a teenager, probably the person Cai Bin talked about."
Cai Hai squatted down, looking at the Spirit Plants tightly wrapped in black threads, concern flashing in his eyes.
Other cultivators who could solve the problem all asked for high prices, a massive burden for him at the moment.
His only hope now lay with Lu Xuan, a second layer Qi Cultivist.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Despite hearing the argument from outside, Lu Xuan figured that since he had come this far, and there were Spirit Stones to be made, he asked Zhang Xiu Yuan to knock on the door.
The door opened.
Cai Hai forced a smile on his thin face and went out to welcome the guests.
"Friend Lu, I appreciate your effort in coming. I've heard you have some unique skills in dealing with pests. I'll have to trouble you later to have a look at our Spirit Plants."
"Unique skill is a bit much, I've simply just made some advancements in a particular method recently that happens to counter those Black Bud Worm Larvae."
Lu Xuan explained briefly before continuing.
"I'll do my best to help you tackle the pest problem. But there's one thing I must mention before I proceed. My service fee is five Spirit Stones, no negotiation."
"A fourth level Qi Cultivist only asks for seven Spirit Stones, so why are you, a second layer Qi Cultivist, asking for five?"
From the side, Mrs. Li interrupted.
"If we're both addressing the same issue, why not ask the middle-stage cultivator instead?" responded Lu Xuan coldly.
Unwilling to do so, Mrs. Li hesitated and said,
"Five Spirit Stones is not a problem, but what if you fail to solve the pest problem?"
"Get back in the house!"
Cai Hai shouted at Mrs. Li in a low voice.
"What a shrew, sorry for such a scene, Friend Lu."
He turned around with a bitter smile on his face.
"Whether Friend Lu can solve the pest problem or not, five Spirit Stones will be offered. All we hope is that you do your best, after all, as a Spirit Plant master yourself, you know that Spirit Plants are everything to us."
"Of course."
Lu Xuan responded solemnly.
As for the remarks made by Mrs. Li, he didn't take them to heart at all. As long as he could get the Spirit Stones, it didn't matter.
He approached the infested Spirit Plants, focusing his mind, and a thin golden sword Qi elegantly emerged, charging with unparalleled sword intent towards the Black Bud Worm Larvae.
After a few breaths, all the larvae were severed by the golden sword Qi and fell to the ground in pieces.
"Mission accomplished."
He stood up and said to the tense-looking Cai Hai.
Behind him, Zhang Xiu Yuan secretly raised an eyebrow at his friends.
"See how powerful my Little Uncle Lu is?"
"Thank you, Friend Lu, thank you!"
Cai Hai looked relieved.
Not far away, a window from the house suddenly closed, and soft sobs could be faintly heard.
Lu Xuan collected the payment from Cai Hai and left with Zhang Xiu Yuan.
He weighed the Spirit Stones in his hand, enjoying their hefty feel, and suddenly asked.
"Little Yuan, what do you say we partner up? You look for cultivators in the area dealing with pest problems, and I will be the one to solve them. Each time, I'll give you thirty Broken Spirits, how about it?"
"Uncle Lu, you helped my family so much last time, I can just help you find the cultivators. No need for Broken Spirits."
Replied Zhang Xiu Yuan naively.
"No, that won't do. I can't have you working for nothing. It's settled then!"
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15 Chapter 14: Return_1
Translator: 549690339
"It's decided," Lu Xuanzhan stated decisively, leaving no room for Zhang Xiu Yuan to retort.
Since he did not want to spend a vast amount of time to look for No-Organization Spirit Plant Masters who have suffered from pest invasions, he assigned this task to Zhang Xiu Yuan, providing him with a bit of compensation.
With no other options available, Zhang Xiu Yuan had to accept the task.
The idea that he could earn thirty Broken Spirits every time he found a cultivator suffering from demon insect invasions brought a joyful grin on his face. His mind was filled with pleasant expectations.
"However, we must set some ground rules. The cultivators you find must be restricted to the North District. And I can only help out three No-Organization Spirit Plant Masters at most per day."
Lu Xuan added.
His main focus was cultivating the Spirit Plants in his own courtyard. Letting his Spirit Plants to grow under the best possible circumstances could not be compromised for the sake of making a few more Spirit Stones.
He was mindful of making that distinction.
Another factor he had to consider was that he was only showing the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation to others. If he frequently used the Golden Sword Technique, his true cultivation level might be revealed.
In the following ten days or so, Lu Xuan had to go out almost every day to help deal with the pest issue, thanks to Zhang Xiu Yuan's diligent efforts.
As the pests were becoming severe and could attack repeatedly, he had to use the Golden Sword Technique three times almost every time he went out.
He gave Zhang Xiu Yuan thirty Broken Spirits each time as a reward, and ended up with 4 Spirit Stones and seventy Broken Spirits for himself. All together, Lu Xuan had accumulated around two hundred Spirit Stones over the past ten days.
In the meantime, the landlord had come to collect the rent once, which cost him thirty Spirit Stones.
Furthermore, he harvested eleven more Moon Erosion Fruits, leaving nineteen still maturing on the tree.
All were of good quality, including five Slivered Silver Blade fragments, three First Grade Qi Cultivation Pills, and three First Grade Talismans.
With the addition of these five pieces, the broken Slivered Silver Blade seemed a bit more complete, with only a few small missing chunks.
As storing Moon Erosion Fruits was relatively simple, Lu Xuan did not rush to sell them. Instead, he decided to wait until all of the fruits had matured before selling them to Uncle He of BaiCaoTang.
In addition to the nearly fully mature Moon Erosion Tree, the growth status of the three other Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field was also excellent.
The Spirit Firefly Grass had passed half of its growing period, he expected to make another harvest in more than a month. The Red Cloud Pine didn't change much, just grew slightly taller.
As for the Sword Grass, after being nurtured daily with the Golden Sword Qi from the Golden Sword Technique, it began to sprout a blade-like black grass strand.
Standing straight up, with its tip pointing toward the sky, it gave faint traces of Sword Intent around the leaves.
…
"Come, come, time to split the Spirit Stones. Here is your reward for today."
Lu Xuan pulled out ninety Broken Spirits on the cobblestone path and handed them to Zhang Xiu Yuan.
"Thank you, Little Uncle Lu!"
With a smile from ear to ear, Zhang Xiu Yuan skillfully received the Broken Spirits and carefully slipped them into his clothes.
The two had just visited three houses of loose cultivators, with Lu Xuan successfully solving each problem. It was now time to split the earnings.
"They're back! The first batch of cultivators who ventured into the secret land are back!"
A sudden uproar came from not far ahead. Lu Xuan heard bits and pieces of conversations, which seemed to be about the loose cultivators who participated in the Wang Family's expedition to the wilderness. The first batch had returned today.
Having not been there personally, Lu Xuan was somewhat curious about the new secret territory. And so, he followed the crowd with Zhang Xiu Yuan.
"I heard the secret territory is protected by several powerful formations. The Wang Family's Array Masters successfully broke two of the formations, and managed to find a lot of rare Spirit Plants, natural treasures, even high-grade Magical Instruments and Methods!"
"Damn, I'm really envious. I regret not signing up to go with them!"
"If I had gone, I might have been able to gain a huge fortune, instantly skyrocket to fame, and even possibly become a Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Major Cultivator!"
"Exactly, it's a pity we can't be there in person!"
Everybody was talking about it, clearly envious of the massive harvests returned by the cultivators from the secret realm.
However, Lu Xuan was not moved by the news of these enormous returns. It was obvious that there would be great gains in the secret realm, or else the Wang Family, a major clan of the Linyang Market, would not have organized so many cultivators to venture into it, with such an expenditure of resources.
However, the major portion of the gains would be taken by the Wang Family. The rest would be divided among some powerful cultivators. As for most loose cultivators who outnumbered the others, if they could get some leftover spoils, that would be considered lucky.
Some might not only end up empty-handed, but might also have lost their lives in the process.
Zhang Xiu Yuan stood by him, his mood tense and eager as he listened to the cultivators' discussions. Thinking about his long-absent father, he excused himself from Lu Xuan and hurried back home.
Lu Xuan walked back home leisurely.
The news of cultivators returning from the newly discovered secret realm spread like fire, stirring up the entire North District. The air was filled with a sense of unrest.
As he walked past one of the Loose Cultivator households, he heard a few cries of deep sorrow.
Looking through the open courtyard door, he saw a weary-looking, unkempt cultivator clutching a bone-white urn. A woman in front who was crying heartbreakingly with intense grief.
Lu Xuan knew this cultivator. He was a middle-aged man with the surname Xiong who was at the Third Level Qi Cultivation. He had signed up to participate in the secret realm expedition this time.
The outcome was self-evident.
Scenes just like this, he had already seen or heard it countless times along the way.
"The path to cultivation is difficult and long. Ordinary cultivators need to grasp at every opportunity if they want to ascend to greater heights. Despite the risk of losing their lives with a single misstep, they still try to seize every opportunity.",
""The path to cultivation is indeed hard."
"Fortunately, I have that Special Spirit Field. I don't have to risk my neck for a thread of hope. I just need to calmly cultivate the field."
Lu Xuan felt even more grateful that he possessed that special white Light Cluster, which strengthened his resolve to avoid unnecessary risks.
During the following days, he stayed quietly within his home, cultivating his Spirit Plants.
Zhang Xiu Yuan didn't seek him out. Lu Xuan knew that he was worried about his father. The few times that he did see him, Zhang Xiu Yuan seemed dispirited. Xu Wan also seemed composed on the surface, but her visibly thinner face revealed her internal struggle.
"Father!"
One afternoon, while using the Spirit Rain Technique to water the Spirit Plants in his yard, Lu Xuan heard an exclamation of joy.
He smiled, opening the gate.
As expected, Zhang Hong returned to his home with dirt-streaked clothes. His arms were bulging with bags of spoils from his expedition and his face was lit with a radiant, joyful smile.
Seeing Lu Xuan, he gave a distant nod, a friendly smile on his face.
Lu Xuan returned the smile, watching as Zhang Hong embraced his wife and child, finally going into his home with a bright and cheery smile on his face.
Lu Xuan didn't join the excited crowd. Zhang Hong had just returned from the wilderness bearing spoils from the secret land – now was a highly sensitive time. Any unnecessary stir might trigger a wave of suspicion and resistance.
Half a day later, Zhang Hong came to visit him himself.
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16 Chapter 15 Dark Marrow Mushroom_1
Translator: 549690339
"Little Brother Lu, it's been a long time. How have you been?"
Zhang Hong greeted Lu Xuan with a hearty laugh.
"Thanks for your concern, Brother Zhang. Everything's fine. Instead, congratulations on your safe return from the wilderness."
Lu Xuan said with a smile.
"Haha, I got lucky, suffered only minor injuries, and luckily found some treasures."
"I came here to thank you, Little Brother Lu."
"My wife told me that you helped eradicate the pests that infested our spirit fields."
"And that little rascal, ever since he came back, he's been bragging about how he can now earn spirit stones and even plans to support the family with them!"
Thinking of Zhang Xiu Yuan's proud face, Zhang Hong laughed heartily.
"There's no need for formalities, Brother Zhang. You've helped me so much before, what I did is nothing in comparison."
"As for Little Yuan, he has saved me a lot of time and unnecessary troubles, so a little reward should be given."
"What can a child like him do!"
"To my surprise, Little Brother Lu, I thought you would just peacefully cultivate your spirit fields, but I didn't expect you to possess such swordsmanship skills."
"With it, you can beat many cultivators of the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation."
Zhang Hong exclaimed.
With the concealment method covering him, Lu Xuan was not worried that Zhang Hong would detect his true cultivation level.
"Our spirit field was among the first affected by the pest infestation, it almost cost me seven spirit stones to hire a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner to solve it."
"In order to prevent this from happening again, I bit the bullet and purchased a first-grade sword technique. I didn't expect to progress so slowly in my spiritual power cultivation, but I found some talent in mastering the sword technique."
"I progressed quickly with the sword technique, and even reached a point where I could help others get rid of pests, so I thought of making some spirit stones by using it to cover its costs."
Lu Xuan made up a reason to explain how he used the Golden Sword Technique to solve the pest problem.
Zhang Hong believed him without any doubts.
The two chatted for a while, and naturally the conversation turned to Zhang Hong's experience of exploring the wilderness mystery this time.
"The Wang Clan's Array Mage broke two formations, according to the Middle-Stage Qi Practitioners who entered deeper into the secret land, this new secret land is not smaller than Linyang Market, and there are countless spirit plants and spirit medicines inside."
"We Loose Cultivators at the second and third stages of Qi cultivation only operated on the periphery, lacking the ability or qualification to enter the deeper parts of the wilderness."
"I followed a group of Loose Cultivators, collecting spirit plants and clearing out some low-level demon beasts."
"Even though there were senior cultivators from the Wang family defending at the front, it was said that the casualties were still considerable, about one-third."
"Our little squad was relatively lucky. We only encountered two dangerous situations. One time, while collecting spirit plants, we encountered a mutated plant. It was extremely aggressive and good at disguising itself, and two cultivators were unwittingly sacrificed."
"On another occasion, we encountered a peculiar demon beast, a spider with a human face. It was incredibly fast, and we couldn't see it clearly. One of the Loose Cultivators was cut in half by it. Thankfully, a high-tier Qi Cultivator arrived in time to eliminate it."
Thinking of these two encounters, Zhang Hong turned pale, showing a lingering fear. The shadow left by these events was not small.
Lu Xuan on one side listened with interest. After all, he didn't have to experience it personally, hearing the stories was quite entertaining.
"So, Little Brother Lu, are you interested in going? The opening of the new secret land has the biggest rewards and risks. After that, both will lessen."
"Of course, this is only known for the periphery of the wilderness, what's happening inside, I couldn't tell."
Seeing Lu Xuan's interested expression, Zhang Hong laughed and invited.
"No, thank you. With my low cultivation level and my lack of proficiency in combat, and without any magical talismans on hand, I'd better stay and continue being a Spirit Plant Master."
He said with a smile.
The spiritual power cultivation from the white light cluster was poorly accumulated, and the magical talismans and elixir brought by the light cluster were scant, so they were practically 'non-existent'.
Zhang Hong just casually mentioned it and then dropped the subject.
"By the way, Brother Zhang, did you acquire any unknown wild spiritual seeds during your trip to the Wilderness Mystery? If so, I can buy them with spirit stones,"
Lu Xuan deflected the topic and asked.
"Unknown wild spiritual seeds? Wild spiritual seeds are rare to begin with, let alone unknown species."
"I didn't come across any myself, but I heard that a loose cultivator discovered a wild spiritual seed in a desolate part of the Secret Land. I will check it out for you."
"Just keep in mind that the type of this spiritual seed is unknown, as is the cultivation method. If you want to cultivate it, Little Brother Lu, you might be taking on a significant risk. You could just be wasting your time and spirit stones."
Zhang Hong couldn't help but advise after hearing Lu Xuan's inquiry.
"I just want to try it out, not betting on a slim chance of success."
"If I fail, I can still gather some experience growing spiritual plants and widen my horizons."
Lu Xuan found an excuse to dodge the subject.
"All right! I will ask around for you!"
Zhang Hong nodded and said.
He was very efficient, and brought some good news two days later.
In the Zhang Family Courtyard.
He introduced Lu Xuan to a bald monk who was at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation.
"This is Friend Long, very strong."
"This is Little Brother Lu. He has some talent in cultivating spirit plants. He would like to know more about the unknown spiritual seed in your possession."
Zhang Hong introduced Lu Xuan and the bald monk to each other, and quickly got to the point.
"This spiritual seed, I found it in a desolate area on the periphery of the Secret Land. At the time, I found more than ten wild spiritual seeds, and a deacon from the Wang Family rewarded me with one."
"I still haven't figured out exactly what species it is, but judging by the location where it was found, it should at least be First Grade."
"If Brother Lu wants it, you can take it for five spirit stones."
The bald monk spoke directly.
Lu Xuan took the spiritual seed from him and examined it closely.
The spiritual seed was shaped like a small fungus, dark red in color, with something resembling blood vessels visible on the surface. A viscous substance was slowly flowing through those vessels.
"Five spirit stones, that is not expensive. The price was the same when I obtained the Red Cloud Pine."
"However, by looking at the strange and peculiar spiritual seed, its rank and rarity definitely do not fall short of the Red Cloud Pine. If the exact species was known, the price would definitely have been much higher than the Red Cloud Pine."
Lu Xuan thought to himself and quickly made a decision.
"Friend Long, I'll take this spiritual seed."
"Brother Lu is very straightforward."
One handed over the spirit stones and the other gave the spiritual seed. Both showed faint smiles.
The bald monk was delighted that the unknown wild spiritual seed could bring him five spirit stones. Lu Xuan was glad to have another rare spirit plant in his spirit field.
And the white light clusters that come when the spiritual plant matures were even more important.
Back at home, he activated the Earth Pulling Technique, clearing a small spot in the spirit field and planting this dark red fungus.
Focusing his mind, detailed information about the spirit plant flashed through his brain.
"Dark Marrow Mushroom, a Second-Level spiritual plant. After maturing, it can be used to refine some body refinement elixirs or can be directly consumed to strengthen a cultivator's physique."
"It's a plant that grows in dark places. It doesn't need light or spirit rain, it only wants to stay in the dark, accompanied by rotting spirit wood."
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17 Chapter 16: Elixir Recipe_1
Translator: 549690339
"It seems that the Dark Marrow Mushroom dislikes light, and its growing environment requires decayed spiritual wood," Lu Xuan surmised from the hints that appeared in his mind.
"It being light-averse is fairly simple. Although due to the nature of the Spiritual Field and Spiritual Soil, it's not convenient to move it inside, I can build it a simple shed to block the light."
"Finding decayed spiritual wood, however, is rather difficult. Spiritual wood is common enough, but who would have decayed spiritual wood in their home?"
While pondering this, Lu Xuan fetched some tools from his house and built a simple wooden shed for the Dark Marrow Mushroom.
After all, the earlier a Second Grade Spirit Plant is planted, the earlier it can be harvested. He would not delay further, deciding to go out and look for the item immediately.
He headed towards the center of the market. Half a moment later, he arrived in front of a huge courtyard.
His gaze traveled over the stone wall, making out the densely planted tall spirit trees inside.
The owner of the courtyard was a cultivator surnamed Zhou, with a cultivation level of Third Layer of Qi Cultivation. Lu Xuan had only heard rumors about him and rarely had the chance to interact with him.
It was said that this Zhou cultivator had a close relationship with a high-tier Qi cultivator in the market center, which was why he could occupy such a large courtyard and plant so many spirit trees.
Decayed spiritual wood usually results from pest damage during growth, being kept too long, or from poor storage conditions, causing the nature of the spiritual wood to change and consequently decay.
With the Zhou cultivator planting such a large quantity of spiritual trees, it was possible that his family would have some decayed wood.
Lu Xuan walked up and a young cultivator greeted him.
Lu Xuan explained his purpose, and the young cultivator brought him to the Zhou cultivator.
The young man quietly spoke a few words to his father, the Zhou cultivator.
"I am Zhou Yuan. May I know how to address little brother?"
"Lu Xuan."
"Greetings, Friend Lu. I heard from my son that you are curious if we have any decayed spiritual wood. May I ask what you need it for?"
"I don't mean to hide anything from Brother Zhou, I recently have some insights on nurturing spiritual plants and want to verify a hypothesis with the decayed wood. I've heard that Brother Zhou has a very high level of skill in planting spiritual trees, so I thought I'd try my luck here."
Lu Xuan responded, half true and half false.
"I see."
Zhou Yuan nodded, his expression unchanged; it was unclear if he believed him or not.
"Due to various reasons, we do indeed have several pieces of decayed spiritual wood at home."
Zhou Yuan instructed his son, who then fetched several pieces of spiritual wood from the storehouse in the backyard.
The spiritual wood's surface was rotting and emitted a foul and decaying odor.
"Little brother Lu, if you want it, you can take it."
"However, planting spiritual trees requires more resources and manpower than ordinary spiritual plants. Even if these pieces of spiritual wood are decayed, they still have some value."
"Two spirit stones, and you can take these three pieces of spiritual wood."
Lu Xuan frowned.
"Since the spiritual wood is decayed, it means it has lost its original use. Asking two spirit stones for three useless pieces of wood seems a bit unreasonable, don't you think?"
He clearly understood the other party did not know his true intentions for wanting the decayed spiritual wood, so with this information asymmetry, Lu Xuan was very confident.
"One spirit stone, consider it as me helping you, Friend Zhou, to dispose of your waste."
Zhou Yuan originally just wanted to test Lu Xuan's bottom line. Seeing his attitude, he didn't insist any further and agreed with a nod.
These discarded spirit woods are usually gathered in large quantities and then buried in an uninhabited area outside the market. To be able to exchange them for a single spirit stone is already quite a good deal.
Upon reaching an agreement, Lu Xuan paid with spirit stones and took the three discarded spirit woods back home.
In the courtyard, under the shelter of a simple wooden shed, the dark red fungi seemed to be merging into the shadows.
Lu Xuan hurriedly took out the three decayed woods and carefully placed them around the Dark Marrow Mushroom spiritual seed.
By the time he returned from casting a round of the Spirit Rain Technique, he already noticed clear changes in the Dark Marrow Mushroom spiritual seed.
At the root of the fungus, whether it was drawn to the special smell of the decayed spirit wood or not, numerous tiny dark-red mycelia had quietly grown.
The red mycelia spread into the decayed wood, and Lu Xuan felt the Dark Marrow Mushroom take on a deeper color. The flow of viscous liquid in the blood vessel-like channels inside had accelerated.
Successfully planting the Dark Marrow Mushroom, Lu Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Over the following period of time, he stayed mostly at home, spending most of his time meticulously cultivating spiritual plants, and using the rest of his time in practicing cultivation techniques and formula methods, getting familiar with the still remnant Silver Edge.
He also visited the Loose Cultivation Market twice, hoping to come across unknown spiritual seeds from Loose Cultivators who have just returned from opening up secret lands.
Unfortunately, the seeds sold at the stands that occasionally had a spiritual seed were all common ones Lu Xuan was familiar with.
The spirit field in the courtyard was already packed full and has no space to accommodate other spiritual plants.
The twenty stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass were entering a rapid growth phase, while half of the two Moon Erosion Trees' Moon Erosion Fruits had already matured.
A Red Cloud Pine at first grade didn't require a high spiritual energy environment, and needed only occasional stimulation from the Fireball Technique.
A Second-Level Sword Grass required the Golden Sword Technique and Spirit Rain Technique, and a second-level Dark Marrow Mushroom drew its nutrients primarily from decayed spiritual wood, not needing Lu Xuan to nourish it with the Spirit Rain Technique.
All that was required was to keep the decayed wood in its decayed state using the Spirit Rain Technique and Earth Pulling Technique.
Looking at this, Lu Xuan realized that he had the least amount of first-grade spiritual plants in his spirit field, just a single Red Cloud Pine, and found two unexpected surprises from the spiritual seeds he had obtained, as they were both second-grade spiritual plants.
In the meantime, he harvested another five Moon Erosion Fruits.
Four were of good quality, and one was of superior quality.
The five white light clusters they brought with them included two Silver Edge fragments. With that, the Magic Artifact Silver Edge was almost complete, with just a few minor gaps left.
Lu Xuan estimated there would be no trouble with the remaining fourteen Moon Erosion Fruits.
There were also two first-grade talismans, a Sword Qi Talisman and an Evil Banishing Talisman, both of which were quite impressive for first-grade talismans.
As for that superior quality Moon Erosion Fruit, after Lu Xuan absorbed it, a stream of information appeared in his mind.
"Cultivating Pill Prescription, records the materials and methods related to refining the first-grade Qi Cultivation Pill."
"It's actually an elixir recipe. As expected of a superior quality Moon Erosion Fruit."
Lu Xuan was surprised. The white light clusters had previously emerged as Yuan Cultivating Pills, but they directly exploded into an elixir recipe this time.
It was a good thing, teaching a man to fish is better than giving him a fish. It seemed like he would need to spend some time learning how to refine elixirs.
Lu Xuan thought to himself.
"It's just that I don't have any foundation before, so the probability of failure in refining elixirs from scratch is quite high."
"I don't know if the Moon Erosion Fruits will explode into Cultivating Pill Prescriptions again. If there are more elixir recipes, will it be like the previous Earth Pulling Techniques and Golden Sword Techniques, and multiply my alchemy experience after repeated absorption?"
Lu Xuan looked at the more than ten plump Moon Erosion Fruits hanging among the lush leaves and optimistically thought to himself.
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18 Chapter 17 Cooperation_1
Translator: 549690339
"Each mature spirit plant bestows different gifts within the white light cluster."
After harvesting two different types of spirit plants, Lu Xuan began to recognize some patterns.
When the Spirit Firefly Grass ripened, the white light cluster contained varying levels of cultivation, low-grade formula methods, and First Grade Talismans. When the Moon Erosion Fruit ripened, it mainly unveiled fragments of magic weapons, elixirs, charms, and occasionally the much rare elixir recipes.
"Perhaps in the future I could adjust the types of spirit plants I'm cultivating according to my needs."
However, the immediate problem that needed to be solved was to find a larger Spirit Field with abundant spiritual energy and a complex environment suitable for various types of spirit plants.
The second most pressing concern was a storage bag, because as his wealth was increasing, the amount of talismans, elixir medicines and more was also growing. He couldn't possibly carry all of them in his pockets every time he went out.
With that in mind, Lu Xuan, looking at the twenty-eight Moon Erosion Fruits piled up in his room, decided to sell them and exchange them for spirit stones.
He packed them in a sack and without stopping along the way, he headed straight for his destination – Bai Cao Tang.
In the room full of heavy medicinal aromas, Manager He, with sharp eyes, spotted Lu Xuan and the bulging sack he was carrying.
"Kid Lu, it's been a while. Did some other spirit plants mature?"
"Two Moon Erosion Trees entered the mature stage and I harvested some fruits to visit you."
Lu Xuan said with a smile.
"Visiting this old man is not the real intention, visiting the spirit stones of Bai Cao Tang is the real goal, right?"
The thin and old man said with a teasing smile.
"Take out your treasures and show this old man."
Lu Xuan placed the sack on the wooden cabinet.
"Twenty-eight Moon Erosion Fruits, one of them is of superior quality while the rest are all of good quality."
"Almost all of them are of good quality? Did you gain some insight?"
Manager He said, astounded. Previously, the Spirit Firefly Grass that Lu Xuan brought had plants of good and superior quality, but there were also many of ordinary grade. Now, all of them are of good quality, which surprised him.
"They are certainly all of at least good quality."
He checked each Moon Erosion Fruit one by one, determining their quality by assessing the size and roundness of the fruits.
"A gentleman changes within three days… One should look at him with fresh eyes."
The lean old man stared at Lu Xuan and sighed with emotion.
He remembered when this teenager had first come to Bai Cao Tang, selling a few ordinary Spirit Firefly Grass.
Bai Cao Tang usually had steady suppliers and didn't buy spirit plants from small Loose Repair cultivators. However, seeing the persistent and firm expression on the young boy's face, the old man empathetically agreed to his request to sell the plants.
And now, this young man had become a Spirit Plant Master, capable of planting high-quality spiritual medicines anytime he wanted.
The lean old man was filled with a momentary reflection, but the youngster's next sentence pulled him back to reality.
"Manager He, are you daydreaming? Are you thinking about how to take advantage of me?"
"You cheeky brat!"
Manager He laughed and scolded.
"Good quality Moon Erosion Fruits will be ten broken spirits for each, and that superior quality one will add twenty broken spirits."
"Agreed."
Lu Xuan had compared the prices with several other drugstores and stalls, and knew that this was a fair price, and readily agreed.
The price of Moon Erosion Fruits was lower than Spirit Firefly Grass, but one Moon Erosion Tree could produce more than twenty fruits. So, in the end, the value was much higher than the Spirit Firefly Grass.
Manager He gave Lu Xuan a total of thirty-two low-grade spirit stones and curiously asked,
"Kid Lu, tell me honestly, has your planting skills improved a lot? So many good quality Spirit Fruits can't be achieved purely by luck."
"Yes, they have improved."
"However, this improvement came with a lot of sacrifices."
"I only use the time other cultivators spend on cultivation and exploring the Secret Land on planting spirit plants."
"In order to plant higher quality spirit plants, I have completely given up the naive idea of becoming a powerful cultivator. Now, I just want to plant spirit plants and live an ordinary life as a Spirit Plant Master."
Lu Xuan stared blankly, trying hard to maintain his character as a very ordinary Spirit Plant Master.
"It's good to have such thoughts; it's definitely safer. You don't need to fight to death with others for a slim chance, and you might even live longer than them."
"And if you keep improving like this, you can also gain a high status as a Spirit Plant Master."
The lean old man empathized and comforted Lu Xuan.
He paused for a moment, then continued.
"I told you before, if you can maintain this level of planting skill, I'll give you an opportunity."
"You know that there is a Pill Master in Bai Cao Tang. His alchemy level is one of the top in Linyang Market, and he has many alchemy apprentices under him."
"Hence, the demand for various elixir materials is huge. We also have a few big Spirit Fields, hiring Spirit Plant Masters specifically to plant related spiritual medicines."
"Though I don't hold a high position, I can still have some say in Bai Cao Tang. I can recommend you to cooperate with Bai Cao Tang."
"What kind of cooperation?" Lu Xuan asked curiously.
"There are generally two kinds. The first is to directly hire a Spirit Plant Master to plant spiritual medicines for Bai Cao Tang, and the produced spiritual medicines belong to Bai Cao Tang, with a certain compensation given to the Spirit Plant Master."
"The better the quality of the produced spiritual medicine, the more rewards will be given."
"This cooperation model can provide you with a more stable planting environment, so you can concentrate on cultivation, without worrying about anything else."
"The second one is much simpler. We will sell spiritual seeds to Spirit Plant Masters who want to cooperate at a low price, and at the same time stipulate that when the spirit plant matures, Bai Cao Tang has the right to buy it first. The risks and benefits are all borne by the Spirit Plant Master himself."
"Of course, this right of first refusal will not be abused. If the price difference with other buyers is too great, the Spirit Plant Master can make a decision on his own."
Lu Xuan nodded. Both modes of cooperation had their pros and cons.
The first one is more stable, providing safety for both himself and his spiritual plants, but comparatively it has less freedom.
The second one carries higher risks, but it can also generate higher rewards. If he were truly content with a mundane life as an Ordinary Spirit Plant Master, the first option would definitely be more sensible.
However, Lu Xuan has never liked being restrained, and with the existence of the white light cluster, having the freedom to do as he pleases was especially important for him.
"Manager He, I'm used to being lazy and not keen on being controlled, so if we are to cooperate, I'd choose the second kind."
Lu Xuan was pleased at the prospect of having people providing spiritual seeds for him.
"Alright, then I'll report it to the superiors. Once it's confirmed, I'll inform you when you come next time."
"Thank you, Manager He."
Lu Xuan clasped his hands towards the lean old man in gratitude.
He could clearly sense the kindness of the old man, which he kept deep within his heart.
"With this, the most pressing matter is to get a bigger and better Spirit Field."
His heart was filled with a clear sense of urgency regarding this idea.
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19 Chapter 18 Threat (Please follow and read)_1
Translator: 549690339
"Brother Lu, what do you think of this Spirit Field?"
Lu Xuan walked slowly inside the spacious courtyard, observing his surroundings closely.
A young cultivator with a scar on his face, at the Qi Cultivation First Level, trailed after him, steps matching his pace.
The young man leaned his body slightly and squeezed out a very enthusiastic smile.
"The master of this courtyard was a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner. After venturing out for a while and not returning, it was mortgaged by his offspring, and our Tooth Row took it to rent."
"Now, this Spirit Field in front is almost an acre in size, rich with spiritual energy. The location is next to the Loose Cultivation Market, with market guards on patrol, greatly boosting safety."
"Furthermore, there is a chicken coop in the front which has been marked with dust removal, stability, and soundproofing runes by the previous owner. It is suitable for rearing Spirit Beasts and Spirit Birds."
"It indeed seems nice but I need some time to consider."
Lu Xuan said indifferently.
Over these days, he had a few gaps in his schedule and had shown several Spirit Fields through Tooth Row.
The areas of these Spirit Fields were several times, or even tens of times larger than his current one. The spiritual energy was richer, and there were various conveniences.
In amongst them, there was one courtyard whose Spirit Field not only occupied more than an acre but also contained a Spiritual Spring!
This made Lu Xuan's heart race. Yet, after asking about the rent, he was quickly brought back down to earth.
Among the Spirit Fields he viewed, even the cheapest required forty Spirit Stones per month in rent and the one with a Spiritual Spring required sixty Spirit Stones per month. Additionally, the rent was to be paid every six months at a time.
Nowadays, Lu Xuan, who had been poor for a long time, had nearly three hundred Spirit Stones. He was somewhat inflated inside.
Just now he realized that these Spirit Stones are completely insufficient when he truly needs them. He needs to save for a while longer.
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan turned to the scarred Tooth Row member.
"I'll go back and take it into consideration. If interested, I'll contact you again."
He turned around and left after saying that.
As Lu Xuan's figure disappeared into distance, the scarred Tooth Row member couldn't help but spit.
"What's this? A small Loose Repair at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer is dreaming of renting this kind of Spirit Field, the sheer audacity!"
"Wasting my time!"
Lu Xuan slightly frowned. He had broken through to the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation a while ago, and his senses had gotten much more acute compared to before. He faintly heard the words of the scarred young cultivator.
He then smiled, not caring about Tooth Row's attitude of respect at first and rudeness later. Just quietly adding him to the blacklist, vowing to never going to him to see Spirit Fields again.
"Ah, always feeling too poor before, I'd even begrudge feeding a Broken Spirit to the Grass Puppet."
"Now that I have close to three hundred Spirit Stones, I can feed a Broken Spirit, no… two Broken Spirits to the Grass Puppet."
"But why do I feel so poor?"
He had such a thought in his heart.
"I still need to work hard to earn Spirit Stones."
Zhang Hong went back to the Wilderness Mystery a few days later after resting, and Zhang Xiu Yuan had already started his job in these few days.
The two continued their partnership. When Zhang Xiu Yuan found a Loose Repair that met the requirements and was plagued by pests, Lu Xuan would help solve the problem.
With frequent usage, his understanding of the Golden Sword Technique naturally became much deeper. He combined that with a clean and affordable pest removal, gaining a certain level of fame among the cultivators in the North District.
At the beginning, Zhang Xiu Yuan had to actively find customers, but now they come to him. Sometimes there are even lines.
On this day, Lu Xuan accepted five Spirit Stones and came out of a dilapidated courtyard under the continuous gratitude of a Cultivator.
"Friend Lu, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to meet you here."
A mild voice rang in his ears.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan looked around, and saw a fat and white cultivator standing around the corner, smiling at both Lu Xuan and Zhang Xiu Yuan.
"A coincidence my ass, the North District is so big, there is no way I was going to encounter him by chance, he was clearly waiting for me!"
Lu Xuan cursed inside, smiled and replied.
"It turns out to be friend Qin. It's been a long time. Brother Qin, your cultivation level is becoming more profound. Truly the role model for us Loose Cultivators."
"I dare not accept the honor. On the contrary, it is friend Lu who has surprised me quite a bit. I didn't expect that a Loose Repair at the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation who needed my help to deal with pests a few months ago, has now grown to the point where he can easily handle pests by himself."
Qin Ming exclaimed. He genuinely didn't expect that the little Loose Repair who didn't catch his eye would one day use a superb sword technique to become his competitor.
"It's only a fluke. I am still far behind compared to you, Brother Qin."
A look of reminisce flashed through Lu Xuan's eyes.
"It all started from the time I encountered pests. After that incident, in order to avoid the Spirit Plants in my Spirit Field from being infested again, I made a painful decision to spend all my savings to purchase the Sword Technique."
"After several months of intensive cultivation, combined with perhaps a hint of talent for the Sword Dao, today's achievements were made."
"However, due to my low cultivation level, I can only use the Sword Technique two or three times a day, which also leads to me earning such a trivial amount of Spirit Stones."
Knowing that they have a conflict of interest, Lu Xuan had anticipated meeting other Cultivators who deal with pests, especially the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer cultivator, Qin Ming, who is considered the busiest in the North District.
He recounted the pre-prepared answers, showing that his cultivation level was low and he was only earning a few spirit stones, which wouldn't grab much business from Qin Ming.
"So that's the case."
Qin Ming slightly nodded.
"However, now that friend Lu is still young, you should prioritize your cultivation and stay away from the pest problems."
With a friendly smile on his face, Qin Ming looked straight at Lu Xuan, his words half advice and half threat.
"Thank you for your reminder, friend Qin. I have a clear idea of what to do."
Lu Xuan's response was calm. He pulled Zhang Xiu Yuan and left.
Walking along the way, he constantly felt a gaze on his back.
"There are so many Loose Cultivator's in the North District. I have already shown weakness and indicated that I am only earning a small amount of Spirit Stones. Why is he still threatening me?"
He thought angrily to himself. He had already demonstrated his weakness, but Qin Ming continued to pursue relentlessly, stoking his ire.
Suddenly, he paused his steps, an idea flickered in his mind.
The more he thought, the worse it became. Lu Xuan decided to stop and pulled Zhang Xiu Yuan over.
"Little Yuan, Uncle Lu has a favor to ask."
"Go to the home of one of your good friends who also suffered from pests and ask if they invited a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner who is proficient in Ice System techniques."
"If that's the case, ask in detail how he dealt with the Black Bud Worm Larva after solving the pest problem."
"You're young, people won't guard against you, and they will tell you detailed information. I will guard outside, you don't have to worry about safety."
Zhang Xiu Yuan looked at Lu Xuan's serious expression. The sensible youngster knew the severity of the situation, he pursed his lips and nodded firmly.
The two arrived at the house of the Loose Cultivator mentioned by Zhang Xiu Yuan. Zhang Xiu Yuan shouted outside the courtyard, and under the invitation of a boy of the same age, he entered the courtyard.
Lu Xuan held a few charms in his hand, waiting quietly for him to come out.
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20 Chapter 19: Qi Cultivation Level 4 (Seeking Follow-up Reading)_1
Translator: 549690339
"Little Uncle Lu, I have found out."
"The parasite issue at his house was resolved by that fat white cultivator, the impressions of the cleaned up larval corpses were not very strong, seems like the cultivator took them away."
It didn't take long for Zhang Xiu Yuan to come running out, panting for breath. The words he uttered made Lu Xuan's heart tighten.
"Investigate again!"
He exhaled a sigh, speaking with determination.
After asking two more loose cultivators, the answer was still the same.
After Qin Ming dealt with the parasite problem, he just took away the larval corpses.
In an instant, thoughts flooded Lu Xuan's mind, forming a clearer picture.
"Why is it that, despite being a cultivator at Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer like Lingyun Fairy and sword cultivator Li Xu, Qin Ming still charges ten to twenty percent less?"
"Why did he take away the larval bodies after dealing with the Black Bud Worm Larvae?"
"Why do I, a Qi Cultivation Second Layer cultivator, not have the right to earn even a little bit of Spirit Stones?"
"Because those Black Bud Worm larvae were released by Qin Ming himself!"
"He released the adult Black Bud Worms into the Spirit Fields of the Loose Cultivators, quietly laid eggs, used the vitality of the spirit plants in the field to nurture and feed the Black Bud Worm Larvae. When the larvae grew, he, under the guise of fixing the parasite issue, re-collected the larvae."
"This can also explain why, despite having the same cultivation level, the price to hire him, Qin Ming, is much lower than other cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Level."
"He is most adept at the Ice System Technique, which can separate the Black Bud Worm Larvae without harming the Spirit Plant."
"In the same way, he can freeze the larvae without killing them. After retrieving the larvae, he can defrost them."
"Thus, he can earn Spirit Stones and effortlessly bring back the larvae that were parasitic on the Spirit Plants, killing two birds with one stone."
Lu Xuan suddenly understood and realized why he had been so pushy.
Not only did Lu Xuan earn his Spirit Stones but he also killed the Black Bud Worm larvae he had planted.'
More importantly, he was just a little loose cultivator of the Qi Cultivation Second Level.
"So it seems, both the Black Bud Worm larvae I dealt with earlier and the adults I killed in the middle of the night, he put them secretly in the Spirit Field."
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan couldn't help but grit his teeth.
In other words, he not only used his spirit plants to help Qin Ming raise the larvae but also gave him Spirit Stones to take away the grown larvae…
If it weren't for the appearance of the White Light Group, immediately buying the Protective Array, getting the Golden Sword Technique, his own spirit field would just keep suffering from parasite issues again and again, until it consumed him piece by piece.
"Indeed, the weak only prey on the weaker."
However, if anyone thought he was just another helpless weakling ready to be played around with at will, they would be sorely mistaken.
A tiny grin stretched across his lips, his eyes bright.
When he returned home, the first thing Lu Xuan did was go around the walls of his courtyard, carefully examining every part of the Protective Array.
The Grass Puppet, sensing the presence of its master, extended a grey grass rope, trailing behind him like a small snake.
After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the array, Lu Xuan approached the Grass Puppet, took out a Broken Spirit and tucked it into the large tumor at the top of its head, formed out of grey grass.
"Given the huge gap in overt power and the significant conflict of interest, it seems that Qin Ming won't let me off."
"Fortunately, I don't intend to let him off either."
"However, even though I have made great strides in my cultivation, formula methods, elixir talismans, and so on recently, Qin Ming is, after all, at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation. I don't know if I can defeat him if we were to confront each other now."
"The matter at hand is to strive to enhance my own power. Let's put the matter of clearing the parasites aside for now to avoid revealing any flaws in front of him."
Lu Xuan pondered and decided to stay home for now, enhancing his power while preparing for the possibility of Qin Ming breaking into his home.
In the following days, he peacefully stayed at home cultivating his spirit plants, and warned Zhang Xiu Yuan not to go out recklessly.
The fourteen remaining Moon Erosion Fruits had all ripened since the previous harvest, of which twelve were of good quality and two of superior quality.
Lu Xuan picked up the fourteen faintly shimmering White Light Clusters.
"Harvesting a Moon Erosion Fruit, acquired First Grade Artifact, Silver Rift Blade (Remnant)"*3
"Harvesting a Moon Erosion Fruit, acquired First Grade Talisman"*6
"Harvested one Moon Erosion Fruit, received one Yuan Cultivating Pill." *3
The rewards from the twelve superior-quality Moon Erosion Fruits were just as Lu Xuan expected.
Three silvery Silver Edge fragments filled in the last gap of the sword blade.
A thin blade appeared before Lu Xuan's eyes. The blade was a pale silvery white and was extremely concealed, whether it was day or night.
He controlled the silvery blade to dance freely in the air with his spiritual power, the speed of the blade was extremely fast, and it was very sharp.
Lu Xuan pulled out a decayed spiritual wood to test, the sword blade parted it like tofu, severing the sturdy spiritual wood evenly at the root.
With a thought, the rapidly moving silver blade around his body suddenly split into dozens of differently shaped thin silver slices, like a swarm of silver butterflies, they flew swiftly around Lu Xuan.
Soon, the dozens of thin silver slices gathered together, perfectly seamless, forming a uniformly intact small sword.
"Finally, all the fragments of the Silver Edge were successfully collected."
Lu Xuan let out a sigh of relief. The complete Silver Edge was even sharper, and it can instantly split into dozens of fragments.
When it was incomplete, Lu Xuan could control all the fragments, but there were still some feelings of sluggishness.
Now, even though there are more fragments, they are controlled smoothly and naturally, extremely slick.
"The greatest value of the First Grade Magical Instrument, the Silver Rift Blade, lies in its ability to split into fragments."
"If it attacks in the form of a sword, then it's just a decent First Grade Magical Instrument. But if it suddenly fragments during combat and attacks opponents, its worth will instantly rise two levels."
Lu Xuan controlled the silvery blade, swirling around several sword flowers, holding it dearly in his hands.
For the current situation, this is his best method to deal with Qin Ming.
Six talismans were all First Grade Talismans, no new types emerged.
Lu Xuan carefully preserved them. First Grade Talismans already have the ability to injure middle-stage Qi cultivators, if the number is sufficient…
All fears come from a lack of power!
Lu Xuan looked at the many talismans he had collected during this time and felt slightly relieved.
In addition, there were three First Grade Qi Cultivation Pills.
Two superior Moon Erosion Fruits yielded two First Grade Qi Cultivation Pill recipe from the light clusters.
After Lu Xuan absorbed them, he felt that he had a vast amount of theory in cultivating the Yuan Cultivating Pill.
It's like even though he hasn't been in actual combat yet, he has read numerous papers and has a very solid theory.
In the next ten days, the situation was calm without any waves.
Qin Ming seemed to have put Lu Xuan behind him.
However, Lu Xuan did not dare to be careless and was very cautious every day.
Apart from taking care of the spirit plants in the courtyard every day, he stayed inside the house, keeping his doors closed.
The Spirit Firefly Grass in the spirit field has been planted for quite some time. Under his meticulous cultivation, several Spirit Firefly Grass reached maturity in the past ten days.
Lu Xuan harvested six stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass, four of them were of superior quality and two were of top quality.
From the moment the Spirit Firefly Grass was first planted, Lu Xuan provided it with the best growing conditions based on its current status, and the hard work paid off, greatly increasing the chances of obtaining top quality crops.
Among them, three of the six rewards from the light clusters were several months of cultivation.
"Harvest one stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass, receive six months of cultivation progress." *2
"Harvest one stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass, receive nine months of cultivation progress."
As the thought passed, Lu Xuan's internal spiritual power surged wildly, rampant in his meridians.
Just like breaking through a non-existent barrier, spiritual power gradually calmed down.
"Finally, I've broken into the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation."
A relieved smile appeared on Lu Xuan's face.
After breaking through to the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, Lu Xuan has been working hard to cultivate. Together with the almost two years of cultivation from the three new light clusters, he successfully broke through and became a middle-stage Qi cultivator.
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21 Chapter 20: Is This Damn the 2nd Level of Qi Cultivation? _1
Translator: 549690339
Inside the other three white light clusters, two instances of the Golden Sword Technique appeared, as well as a first-grade talisman, the Earth Wall Charm.
When used, it can summon a thick, high earthen wall about a zhang tall, providing excellent defense.
Lu Xuan immersed himself in mentally digesting the Golden Sword Technique, carefully experiencing and understanding the subtleties of the sword technique.
As his spiritual power circulated, a beam of golden light emerged almost instantly, whizzing through a massive rock with a swoosh.
He felt that his mastery of this sword technique had reached the Minor Proficiency Boundary, requiring less spiritual power when used, having faster speed and significantly increased power.
The six mature Spirit Firefly Grasses, along with the six white light clusters they produced, further enhanced Lu Xuan's combat strength.
He even wished that Qin Ming would arrive later, ideally after all the Spirit Firefly Grasses had matured – he could even accept if the Red Cloud Pine or Sword Grass matured too.
However, he clearly understood this was an unrealistic fantasy. Once the enemy discovered his bottom line and movement patterns, they would naturally take action quickly.
That night, all was quiet.
A figure silently emerged outside Lu Xuan's courtyard without making any noise.
"That damn kid, quite cunning, hiding inside the house without coming out."
"However, do you think you'll be safe just by hiding at home? You're too naive."
Qin Ming quietly stayed outside the courtyard, looking at the black thorn on the bluestone courtyard walls, a mocking smile floated on his face.
Relying on his cultivation level, which was two minor realms higher than Lu Xuan's, he was fearless, viewing Lu Xuan as a cat treats a mouse, and even deliberately met Lu Xuan face to face.
Unexpectedly, that Qi Cultivation Second Layer "Loose Cultivator" was quite cautious, hiding in the house all this time and no longer coming out to help others eradicate pests.
Upon his several days of surveillance and seeing no appearances of his target, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
"A basic Protective Array, although a first-grade array method would play a significant role, this kind of defensive power directly breaks it."
Qin Ming pointed his finger towards the thin layer of Spiritual Energy Shield outside the courtyard, and several sharp ice spikes appeared, rotating and whistling, directly breaking the Protective Array.
Coming to the window, he used his spiritual sense to detect that there was no movement inside the house. The breaking of the Protective Array seemed not to have triggered any alertness from the little Loose Cultivator.
"His spiritual sense is too weak. Surprisingly, he's sleeping so soundly. Well, it's for the best. Let him die in his sleep and suffer less pain."
Qin Ming muttered in his heart. Immediately, a spear of ice over three feet long appeared above his head, trembling lightly at its tip. The white jade-like spear body emitted a chilling aura.
The ice spear let out a soft whistling noise, swiftly piercing towards the cultivator on the bed.
"Huh?"
The ice spear pierced the entirety of the bed, but Qin Ming felt something was amiss. He approached the wooden bed, a layer of frost armor appeared on his body intending to inspect the situation.
The moment he stepped into the room, a golden light flashed at a high speed, instantly aiming for Qin Ming's head.
The Frost Armor was easily penetrated by the golden light, which was about to pierce his head.
Sensing the deadly threat from the golden light, a jade badge around Qin Ming's waist shattered silently. A layer of foggy spiritual light formed on his body, rapidly expanding, blocking the still forceful golden light on the outside.
"How audacious!"
Looking at the rapidly melting Golden Sword Technique, Qin Ming's face flashed with an afterthought of fear.
He had been cautious enough to add a Frost Armor Technique for protection when he came in. But he never expected that a Qi Cultivation Second Layer Spirit Plant Master would be capable of releasing a sword technique with such killing power.
The Frost Armor Technique, which had proven itself countless times before, collapsed so easily!
If not for that jade badge artifact sensing the danger and providing timely protection, he might have fallen right under the attack of this sword technique.
After the fear passed, a look of regret covered his face.
The jade badge magic artifact that blocked the fatal strike for him was extremely hard to get, costing him nearly two hundred spirit stones. He always carried it with him just in case.
Unexpectedly, such a precious jade badge magic artifact was used up on this lowly Qi cultivation second layer loose cultivator!
"Very good, your proficiency in sword technique far exceeds my expectations, but, this is the end for you."
"You've wasted my top-grade protective magical artifact, I will make you regret it!"
He looked at Lu Xuan, who appeared from the dark corner, and said sinisterly.
"I'm just a regular Spirit Plant Master, why would you, a Qi Practitioner at the Intermediate level, need to be so ruthless?"
Lu Xuan spoke indifferently.
"Your mistake was killing so many of my larvae and taking the spirit stones that should have been mine."
"The biggest mistake is that you are just a Qi cultivation second layer loose cultivator, understand?"
Lu Xuan didn't say much and gestured to Qin Ming.
"Hmph!"
Provoked by a Qi cultivation second layer Spirit Plant Master, a vicious fire flared up in Qin Ming's heart, and his spiritual power began to circulate.
Dozens of ice spears emitting bone-chilling cold rapidly appeared in front of him, covering all possible directions Lu Xuan could dodge.
Lu Xuan showed no emotion as he swung both hands, releasing a dozen first-grade charms at once.
In a blink of an eye, dense sword blades rained down on Qin Ming like a rain of arrows, mixed with red fireballs, greenish-gray wooden spikes, and more.
"All these white spirit stones…"
A thought quickly flashed through Lu Xuan's mind. This attack almost drained all the charms he had collected during this time. This was indeed a spirit stone war!
At the same time, a pale silver-white blade followed behind the numerous sword Qi, inconspicuous.
Seeing such a large number of sword Qi attacking him, Qin Ming cursed inwardly, pressed his palm, and suddenly raised a thick ice wall in front of him.
He indeed had deep skills in the ice system technique. His Frost Armor Technique could be thin enough to freeze the Black Bud Worm Larva as thin as hair strands, and could also quickly form such a strong ice wall for protection.
Hundreds, thousands of sword Qi roared and came. With the sound of clinking, numerous fine cracks appeared on the ice wall. Under the subsequent sword Qi attack, the cracks spread rapidly, and large and small ice blocks fell.
A loud bang.
The red fireball hit the crack, the ice and fire mingled, and a violent explosion occurred instantaneously.
A huge hole appeared on the ice wall.
A silver-white sword light quietly passed through it, aiming at Qin Ming's head.
"Coming!"
A flying sword flew out from Qin Ming's waist to meet the silver-white blade.
Just as the two were about to touch, the silver-white blade suddenly split into dozens of thin remnants.
The remnants carried sharp sword intent, and under Qin Ming's horrified gaze, they attacked every part of his body.
The largest remnant circled behind Qin Ming's head, brushed lightly, and a thin line appeared on the back of his neck. Immediately after, bright red blood splashed out.
The moment his head fell, the last bit of conscious in Qin Ming saw one or several thin remnants stuck in his limbs, heart, private part, and other places.
"Is this bloody Qi cultivation second layer?"
Regret surged in his heart, and then his consciousness sank into endless darkness.
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22 Chapter 21: Nothing to Do Today, Planting in the Spirit Field_1
Translator: 549690339
From a distance, Lu Xuan watched Qin Ming's dismembered corpse, his body densely covered with fragments of the Silver Edge.
Several grey ropes extended from the wooden bed, binding Qin Ming's remains.
Lu Xuan couldn't help but chuckle, lifting up the blanket to see a grass puppet with a large hole in its chest struggling to capture the intruders in the yard.
"Fortunately, this grass puppet has a certain recovery ability. As long as there are enough spirit stones, it can recover as usual. Considering that you blocked a strike for me, I will definitely restore you completely."
Lu Xuan looked at the grass puppet, which was a few beats slower but still working its hardest, and consoled it.
With the circulating spiritual power within him, a fist-sized fireball fell on Qin Ming's remains.
The flames quickly spread to the corpse, and not long after, it turned into a pile of black ash.
He then took out a charm from his bosom, inscribed with bizarre runes on the edge and in the middle, a suppressed evil ghost.
He threw the charm, and a white light swept across the entire room.
This was the Evil Banishing Talisman he got before, which can detect and purify low-level demon envoys.
Lu Xuan was worried that Qin Ming, dying at the hands of a mere Qi Cultivation Second Layer Spirit Plant Master like himself, would bear too much resentment, and possibly spawn a demon envoy.
After using the Fireball Technique to eradicate the remains, he still wasn't very confident, so he made a big investment and used the Evil Banishing Talisman again, to avoid the presence of a demon envoy.
Anyway, he had already used a bunch of Sword Qi Talismans. He wouldn't mind using another one.
When the white light faded, the house returned to darkness, and only a bit of silver moonlight came in through the hole pierced by the ice spear.
Only now did Lu Xuan feel completely at ease. He lit a candle on the wooden table and swept the black ash together.
Under the control of his spiritual power, the dozens of Silver Edge fragments recombined into a single silver-white blade.
With the weapon in his hand, Lu Xuan grew bolder, carrying the black ash to the Spirit Field, and scattering it on the Spirit Soil.
"This is the fertilizer formed by a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner. You all should grow diligently and don't let his nourishment go to waste."
He gazed at the many spirit plants in the Spirit Field, softly sighing.
In the courtyard, the moon was as cool as water, and all was quiet.
The intense struggle that had just occurred seemed not to have attracted any attention from the cultivators around.
The Loose Cultivators living here had long developed a good habit; the ones that were discreet would look the other way, they wouldn't meddle in other people's affairs, nor did they have the means to.
"Little Brother Lu, Little Brother Lu…"
From outside the courtyard wall, a slightly anxious female voice came from afar, calling out to Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan recognized that it was Xu Wan, the mother of Zhang Xiu Yuan who lived nearby.
"I'm fine, thanks for your concern, sister-in-law."
Hearing this familiar voice, a warm feeling surged in Lu Xuan's heart.
Xu Wan was only a Qi Cultivation Second Layer lady. The fact that she could take the risk to come out, even though it was just to inquire about his condition from a distance, was commendable.
"That's good. I was afraid that you might get hurt. Due to my own lack of strength, I could only ask from a distance."
Upon hearing Lu Xuan's words, Xu Wan's voice came a bit closer.
"There was a blind thief who tried to break into my place and steal my spirit plants. I caught him and took care of him."
Lu Xuan made up an excuse to explain to Xu Wan.
"You should go home and rest early, sister-in-law. I'm sure Little Yuan is worried being home alone."
"I'll always remember your concern, sister-in-law."
"Alright, just be careful."
Seeing that Lu Xuan was fine, Xu Wan returned to her home.
"What a pity on this protective array. It hasn't been used for long, but Qin Ming forcibly broke it."
With a sigh, Lu Xuan returned indoors.
Only when everything was taken care of did he finally relax completely, collapsing weakly into a wooden chair.
Although I managed to resolve the issue with Qin Ming without a hair out of place, in reality, it was far from easy.
As for Qin Ming, he truly lived up to his identity as a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner, his profound skills evident. Be it the jade badge that blocked my lethal blow, the Flying Sword Artifact, or his perfectly proficient Ice System Technique, all demonstrated his difficulty.
Luckily, my recent accumulation of knowledge proved to be rich enough.
At Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, my cultivation was not weaker than Qin Ming's. Coupled with the minor proficiency boundary of the Golden Sword Technique, I used a large array of First Grade Talismans as if they were worth nothing and the intact First Grade Artifact, Silver Rift Blade, played a key role.
With ample preparation and striking him by surprise, I was able to kill him without risk.
Regardless of whether it was the magical instruments, techniques, or charms, all were stronger than Qin Ming's. What could he use to fight me?
"I wonder, how much will this storage bag compensate for my losses?"
Lu Xuan looked at the grey storage bag taken from Qin Ming's waist, sighing in exclamation.
Having used up most of the charms, he was still heartbroken and hoped that whatever was left in Qin Ming's storage bag would make up for it.
"Thanks to the old chap for gifting me this storage bag."
He had long wanted to buy a storage bag, and unexpectedly, Qin Ming was so understanding and gifted him a ready-made one.
The grey storage bag was of a lower grade and had no prohibitions drawn on it. Lu Xuan tested it with his spiritual power and easily probed its contents.
The space inside was quite large, about half a zhang in length, width, and height. Qin Ming had left some items piled in one corner.
Lu Xuan joyfully controlled the items inside the storage bag to fly out with his spiritual power.
He roughly counted around two hundred spirit stones.
There were also seven or eight different bottles and pots, both made from jade and stone. Lu Xuan was worried there might be poisonous substances inside and did not open them immediately, but set them aside instead.
Besides that, there was also a book that recorded several low-grade ice system cultivation methods, which were not very useful to Lu Xuan.
There were three charms: two Evil Banishing Talismans and one Swift Talisman.
Lastly, there was a flying sword artifact left outside. It was a grey-white color and emanated a cold aura. Lu Xuan briefly compared it and found it much inferior to his Silver Rift Blade.
"What a great man! He gave me a storage bag when I didn't have one."
"I lacked spirit stones to rent a large courtyard, and he sent me over two hundred spirit stones."
"Even after death, he continued to make contributions, using himself to nurture the spirit plants in the spirit field."
"He really…"
Thinking about Qin Ming's significant contribution, Lu Xuan was overwhelmed with sorrow and lowered his head in a moment of mourning.
"He really was a brilliant murderer with a golden waistband."
Looking at the large pile of items on the table, Lu Xuan could not help but sigh in exclamation.
He had worked so hard to plant for so long, yet the yield was not as big as what he got from killing Qin Ming.
However, this thought instantly disappeared.
He knew well that such a huge harvest often comes along with greater risks. It's impossible to always gain without taking risks.
This time, Qin Ming seemed to have a low risk, but he still fell into my hands.
Thus, it's best to steadily cultivate. It's a safe investment with minimal risk.
After taking inventory, dawn broke.
Lu Xuan walked out of the room and came to the side of the spirit field.
Threads of Spirit Rain seeped into the remaining dozen or so Spirit Firefly Grass. The lustrous green Spirit Firefly Grass lazily spread its leaves, making Lu Xuan feel as though its leaves were even plumper than yesterday.
Then, a fireball technique was launched. Before falling on the Red Cloud Pine's fine needles, it turned into threads of flame, merging into the pine's leaves, causing the Red Cloud Pine to instantly bristle.
Golden Sword Qi fell on the Straight Sword Grass, leaving a few golden lines.
Below the Dark Marrow Mushroom, the scent emanating from the decaying Spirit Wood grew stronger by a few degrees, causing more dark red mycelia to sprout in the shadows of the mushrooms.
Today there are no tasks, just cultivating in the spirit field.
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23 Chapter 22 Renting a Field_1
Translator: 549690339
"Maturing…"
"Maturing…"
His mind was focused on the Spirit Firefly Grass, and the status of all fourteen plants indicated that they were maturing.
"It needs to be faster! Higher! Stronger!"
The Black Sword Grass stood up straight, imbuing Lu Xuan with an uplifting spirit.
"Come and see me when the flowers bloom…"
Inside the fine red needles of the Red Cloud Pine, Lu Xuan saw several clusters of bright red buds poking out.
After all this time of cultivation, the Red Cloud Pine was finally in bloom.
"A more decayed smell than usual fills the air, accompanied by a slight hint of burning, it's fascinating."
The Dark Marrow Mushroom, growing on decaying wood covered in numerous dark red mycelium, obviously liked the special fertilizer Lu Xuan added to the spirit field last night.
After a stroll around the spirit field, verifying that every spirit plant was growing well, he returned to his house.
Among the possessions left by Qin Ming, the storage bag was directly used by Lu Xuan, and as for the more than two hundred spirit stones, there was no need to mention.
As for the remaining Flying Sword Artifacts and the unknown elixirs in the bottles and jars, he didn't plan to sell them right away.
After all, he didn't know if there were any hidden marks on the Flying Sword Artifact, so he decided to wait until the storm had passed before exchanging them for Spirit Stones or Spiritual Seeds.
Several days passed like this, Lu Xuan stayed in the courtyard, taking care of his spirit plants every day. He seemed leisurely and satisfied, but he was tense inside, worrying about the possible repercussions after killing Qin Ming.
Upon not finding any signs of cultivators invading or probing his own courtyard, he relaxed slightly and went outside.
The area of the Spirit Field in his yard was too small. Considering what Uncle He of BaiCaoTang said about establishing a simple partnership with Lu Xuan, Lu Xuan had the idea of renting a larger Spirit Field.
He entered a tooth row specifically serving Cultivators.
In the main hall of the Tooth Row, there were a few people, either serving cultivator customers or arranging things.
"Welcome, fellow Daoist."
An idle tooth man greeted their customer enthusiastically with a smile upon seeing new customers.
"So it's Fellow Daoist Lu, are you looking at Spirit Fields again?"
This tooth man, who had gossiped behind Lu Xuan last time, recognized him instantly. The smile on his face froze as he emphasized the word "again".
Lu Xuan nodded, his expression neutral.
The scarred cultivator saw Lu Xuan's pose and a trace of hidden mockery flashed in his eyes. He then shouted to a slightly plump young cultivator nearby.
"Hey, this fellow Daoist wants to see the Spirit Fields, you take care of it."
He clearly knew that Lu Xuan was just a Second Layer Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivator and couldn't possibly afford to rent those large courtyards, so he decided not to waste his time and directly called over a junior loose cultivator who had just started working at the Tooth Row.
The slightly plump young man looked up and smiled at Lu Xuan.
"Fellow Daoist, if you have any requests, just ask me directly. We have a large number of Spirit Fields here that can meet your different requirements."
"I had my eye on a Spirit Field previously. Just take me there again."
Lu Xuan explained to the slightly plump cultivator about the Spirit Field he had seen before and asked him to take him there directly.
The slightly plump young cultivator nodded, and the two left the Tooth Row.
"Viewing those large Spirit Fields again, even if you view more what's the use? You still can't afford it."
The scarred young cultivator watched the backs of the two departing figures, snickered, turned his head, and quickly switched to a very enthusiastic smile.
"Dear Daoist, let me introduce you to that popular, high-quality Spirit Field…"
…
The first choice Lu Xuan made was the courtyard with a Spiritual Spring. Although it had the highest rent, needing sixty Spirit Stones per month, the allure of the Spiritual Spring was too strong.
More importantly, with more than two hundred Spirit Stones left by Qin Ming, Lu Xuan now felt that the price was just right.
The slightly plump young cultivator brought him to the huge courtyard, took out a specially made Array Plate, and opened the Protective Array outside.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, this courtyard is located near the center of the market, and it's inhabited by some famous Middle-Stage Qi Practitioners. There's no need to mention its safety."
"The Spirit Field in the courtyard is over an acre, rich in spiritual energy, which can speed up the growth of spirit plants, which is most suitable for you, a Spirit Plant Master."
"Of course, the most important thing is this Spiritual Spring in the Spirit Field, which can continuously seep Spirit Spring Water containing faint spiritual energy. It is ideal for brewing Spiritual Wine or soaking Spiritual Tea."
"Adding a little bit of spirit spring water when performing Alchemy and Tool refining can slightly improve the quality of the elixirs and artifacts."
The slightly plump young cultivator pointed to a spiritual spring and explained to Lu Xuan.
The Spiritual Spring was about one zhang (about 3.33 meters) long and about half a zhang wide, with a shallow layer of accumulated Spirit Spring Water.
"Can this Spiritual Spring guarantee to always be there? That it won't disappear once it's used up?"
He raised a question to the slightly plump cultivator.
"Fellow Daoist, you can rest assured that the Spiritual Spring is closely connected to a branch of the Spirit Vein in the market, and there will always be Spirit Spring Water seeping out, just in small quantities."
"We can write this into the contract. If it's not there, we will provide you with sufficient compensation."
The slightly plump young cultivator said with a smile.
"Can the price go any lower? Sixty Spirit Stones a month is a bit too expensive."
Lu Xuan skillfully started bargaining.
"That… The rent isn't something I can decide. However, if Fellow Daoist intends to rent it, we can let you use the First Grade Protective Array in the courtyard for free for a while."
The slightly plump young cultivator sighed silently in his heart. His faint hope that Lu Xuan might rent it instantly vanished.
"Sixty Spirit Stones…"
Lu Xuan hesitated slightly.
"Alright then!"
"If Fellow Daoist feels that sixty Spirit Stones a month is too expensive, you can also take a look at the courtyard nearby."
The slightly plump young cultivator responded formulaically with a smile.
"Huh…?"
He suddenly realized something, looked up at Lu Xuan, and his eyes were half expectant and half doubtful.
Lu Xuan nodded with a nonchalant smile.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist. Thank you, Fellow Daoist! I will handle all your affairs right away!!"
Tooth Row.
The scarred cultivator lay on a wooden chair, gently rocking it back and forth, clearly in a good mood.
Just now, he had successfully made a deal, rented out a small courtyard for seven spirit stones a month, and got a good commission.
The slightly plump young man came in hurriedly.
"You're back already? Didn't that Loose Cultivator have you show him several more Spirit Fields?"
He watched the slightly plump young cultivator rushing towards the counter, his voice containing a hint of mockery.
"No, just one."
The slightly plump young cultivator replied nonchalantly, without lifting his head.
"Well, he still has some conscience, not to waste your time."
"Yes, Fellow Daoist Lu was really great. After viewing one Spirit Field, he promptly booked it and even paid the deposit."
"Huh?"
The scarred cultivator thought he had heard wrong, and the softly swaying wooden chair stopped abruptly.
The slightly plump young cultivator lifted his head to reveal a simple smile.
"The one that costs sixty spirit stones a month."
With a clatter, the wooden chair lost control and fell to the ground.
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24 Chapter 23 Blood Jade Ginseng_1
Translator: 549690339
After confirming the rental of the courtyard with the spiritual spring, they soon completed the handover.
The slightly chubby young cultivator did as he said and handled all the trivial matters for Lu Xuan, saving him a lot of time and energy.
Lu Xuan paid half a year's rent, and more than half of the spirit stones in his hand were consumed, leaving only about one hundred and sixty.
Luckily, the Spirit Firefly Grass has gradually entered the maturity stage, and there are also fourteen Moon Erosion Fruits that were not sold before, so he is not too worried about a shortage of spirit stones for the time being.
The new yard was temporarily protected by the first grade protective array provided by the Tooth Row, the key Array Plate was given to Lu Xuan, and as long as Lu Xuan adjusted the array patterns on it, other cultivators would find it difficult to enter the courtyard.
The array could only be broken by brute force or a cultivator who is proficient in formations.
So, Lu Xuan decided to use this free and effective protective formation first, and when he had more resources, he would replace it with a formation of his own.
In the small courtyard where he used to live,
Lu Xuan looked at the spirit plants in the courtyard and felt somewhat reluctant to leave.
This small courtyard had accompanied him through many stages of his life, cultivating, living, raising spirit plants, each area left countless memorable scenes.
The spirit plants in the spirit field, from the initial Spirit Firefly Grass to the planting of two Moon Erosion Trees, and after the white light group appeared, a first grade Red Cloud Pine, a second-grade Sword Grass and a second-grade Dark Marrow Mushroom were added.
"Out with the old, in with the new,"
He composed his emotions and thought optimistically.
Moving was relatively simple, he didn't have many clothes, and even lesser elixirs, charms, and magic artifacts, a single storage bag was more than enough.
But two problems were difficult to solve,
The first one was the spirit plants cultivated in the spirit field.
Spirit plants are living beings, and only dead objects can be stored in the storage bag. If forced in, their vitality would quickly diminish. Lu Xuan could only choose to dig up the spirit plants along with the spirit soil and move them to the new courtyard as quickly as possible.
Although this would also affect the spirit plants, with his understanding of the plants' immediate states, he can quickly adjust and restore their condition.
In the spirit field, four more Spirit Firefly Grasses had matured, bringing Lu Xuan a total of one year's worth of cultivation and one Earth Pulling Technique and Golden Sword Technique experience package each.
The remaining ten spirit plants were estimated to mature in a few days. Lu Xuan planned to harvest them immediately after they matured without taking them to the new spirit field.
As for the Red Cloud Pine, Sword Grass, and Dark Marrow Mushroom, they were small in size and valuable, Lu Xuan planned to dig up these three Spirit Plants and plant them in the new Spirit Field.
The two Moon Erosion Trees were too large and there was still a long time until their next maturation. Because they were not graded and took up a large area, Lu Xuan planned to give them to Zhang Xiu Yuan, the new spirit field would plant higher-grade spirit plants.
The other problem was how to deal with the small courtyard.
After all, he had just paid thirty spirit stones for rent, it would be a waste to simply give it up.
Yet, he didn't have the energy to travel back and forth between two courtyards, he could only focus on the new one.
If the courtyard were managed by Zhang Hong's wife, he worried that it would bring her trouble for no reason.
An Intermediate Stage Qi Cultivator had died in the courtyard, it was hard to believe this would end peacefully.
"I can only rent it out to other Loose Cultivators for a cheaper price."
He looked for a few days in the Loose Cultivator Market and found a Qi Cultivation Second Layer cultivator to whom he sublet the courtyard for a monthly rent of four spirit stones and thirty broken spirits.
"Wasting spirit stones just like that, it hurts."
Upon receiving the rent from the cultivator, Lu Xuan felt like he had cut out a piece of his flesh.
After properly dealing with the small courtyard, he went to the Zhang family before leaving to bid farewell to Xu Wan and Zhang Xiu Yuan.
"What? Little Uncle Lu, you're moving?"
When Lu Xuan said he was about to move, Zhang Xiu Yuan's face was full of shock and he grabbed Lu Xuan's hand tightly, refusing to let go.
Xu Wan, who was at the side, also showed a hint of surprise. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, she nodded understandingly.
"That's true. However, where I live is not too far away from your home. You can visit me often when you're free."
Lu Xuan comforted her.
"It's just that my previous plan to cooperate with you to deal with the pest problem has to be put aside for now."
After the incident with Qin Ming, Lu Xuan's idea of earning spirit stones by resolving the pest problem has faded a lot in his mind.
He always feels that the situation in the house is complicated and he doesn't want to get involved again.
"Sister-in-law, I've rented out my yard, including the spirit field. There are two Moon Erosion Trees in there, which I do not plan to take with me. Go and transplant them over!"
Seeing Lu Xuan's determined tone, Xu Wan, who originally thought of refusing, nodded in agreement.
"Little Brother Lu, your move seems rather hurried."
"There's nothing I can do about it. I mean, as you know, the outskirts of the North District are full of mixed people and it's not very safe. After that incident at night some time ago, I've been thinking about moving."
"Indeed, if our family had the means, we would also move to a more central area. Your relocation is, after all, a beneficial and harmless decision."
Xu Wan agreed, completely concurring with Lu Xuan's view.
Lu Xuan didn't stay long. He brought fourteen Moon Erosion Fruits and ten Lingying grass and went to Bai Cao Tang.
"Kid Lu, you're finally here. Put those spirit plants down and come with me to meet someone!"
As soon as he arrived at Bai Cao Tang, a thin old man grabbed Lu Xuan's hand and led him in.
The room inside was lavishly decorated. The floor was covered with soft beast skin, and the tables and chairs were all made of spirit wood. In the centre, there was a gigantic three-legged furnace with two handles, emitting a thin smoke and a refreshing scent of medicine.
A beautiful young girl was sitting on a wooden chair, stroking a white as snow little mink in her lap.
"Miss, this is the Lu Xuan I've told you about. He has an exceptionally good talent in the field of spiritual plant cultivation. He can grow a large number of good quality and even superior quality spiritual plants."
Manager He spoke respectfully, clearly holding this girl in high regard.
Lu Xuan also bowed slightly in return.
The beautiful girl moved her gaze from the white mink and scanned Lu Xuan briefly.
Lu Xuan quietly activated his concealment method, keeping his cultivation level at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer.
"Grandpa He, you rarely introduce a Spirit Plant Master to cooperate with Bai Cao Tang, so his skills must go without saying."
The beautiful girl raised her chin slightly.
"However, he is younger than me and has low cultivation. He needs to prove himself with his performance."
"The spiritual seeds in Bai Cao Tang are hard to come by, I'm not confident in handing over second-rank spiritual plant seeds to him."
"Therefore, in the beginning, Bai Cao Tang will provide him with a predetermined amount of Spiritual Firefly Grass Seeds. Besides, he can also choose a first grade spiritual seed. If he performs well in the future, more varieties will be added."
"Of course, this is already a lot."
The thin old man respectfully nodded, paused for a moment, and then continued.
"Currently, a few first grade spiritual plants in the hall are in short supply. I am quite familiar with this kid, so I took the liberty to make a decision for him. I suggested that he choose the First Grade Blood Jade Ginseng. What do you think, Miss?"
"Okay."
The beautiful girl agreed by nodding.
Seeing this, a hint of joy appeared on the thin old man's face. He took Lu Xuan, who was in a state of confusion, and left the room.
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25 Chapter 24 Breaking the Way of Worship_1
Translator: 549690339
The two entered the pharmacy.
It was only after entering that Lu Xuan finally spoke, asking the question that had been bothering him.
"Manager He, what on earth is going on? You've got me all confused."
"The main issue was that the young miss happened to be here, so things got a little rushed."
The skinny old man gestured towards the inner room with his mouth and pulled Lu Xuan into a corner.
"You know who's behind 'Bai Cao Tang', right? One of the most famous alchemists in Linyang Market."
"The young lady you just saw is his granddaughter. She's extraordinarily gifted, and at your age, she has already reached the mid-stage of Qi cultivation. She is greatly favored by the master and has the authority to handle most of the affairs within 'Bai Cao Tang'."
"I see."
Lu Xuan nodded his head in understanding after Manager He's explanation.
"But what's the deal with that Blood Jade Ginseng?"
"After all, you're just a no-organization Spirit Plant Master. Miss doesn't trust you enough, so she could only give you some average-quality spiritual seeds to help plant."
"However, I believe in your strength, and soon, you'll be as strong as the powerful Spirit Plant Masters in 'Bai Cao Tang'."
"As for that Blood Jade Ginseng I mentioned earlier, I was worried that you wouldn't know which spiritual plants to choose and make a wrong decision, so I took it upon myself to help you decide. I hope you don't mind."
Lu Xuan quickly shook his head.
"I should be thanking you, why would I mind?"
He had had many interactions with Manager He and could clearly sense his kindness towards him.
"Of all the First Grade spirit seeds, the Blood Jade Ginseng has the lowest requirements for the spiritual energy of the spirit field, and it's easy to cultivate. Moreover, when Baicaotang recycles them, the price is fairly good. It's considered the most cost-effective among those spiritual plants."
"The only downside is that the cultivation process is a bit tedious. But I know you focus on planting spiritual plants and don't put much thought into cultivation, so it's just perfect for you."
Given Lu Xuan's rapid progress in cultivating spiritual plants and his confession to the old man about focusing on planting spiritual plants, Manager He decided to choose Blood Jade Ginseng for him from the First Grade spiritual plants after weighing the options.
Lu Xuan remained indifferent to the skinny old man treating him as an ordinary Qi Cultivation Second Layer Spirit Plant Master.
"Thank you, Old Mr. He! I don't know how I can repay you!"
He grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth.
"How about providing these spiritual plants for a lower price?"
Manager He squinted his eyes, with a cunning smile appearing on his wrinkled face.
"No way. The bond between us can't be measured by mere spirit stones."
Lu Xuan flatly rejected him with a righteous tone.
"I knew you value spirit stones more than life. Now, take them out and let's see."
Lu Xuan took out the mature Moon Erosion Fruits and Spirit Firefly Grass from his cloth bag.
He had hidden his storage bag and didn't bring it out.
"In total, there are fourteen Moon Erosion Fruits, among which twelve are of good quality and two of superior quality."
"The quantity of Spirit Firefly Grass is not much, only ten stalks, but among them three stalks are superior quality, and the rest are good quality. Manager He, please calculate the price."
"Indeed, I didn't misjudge you. You have a natural talent for cultivating spiritual plants."
Upon seeing the mature spiritual plants that Lu Xuan had pulled out, all of which were at least of good quality, the skinny old man was no longer surprised. While he was inspecting the quality of the spiritual plants, he sighed and said.
"Moon Erosion Fruits of good quality cost one spirit stone and ten broken spirits each. Superior quality adds twenty broken spirits, totaling fifteen spirit stones and eighty broken spirits."
"Spirit Firefly Grass of good quality cost three spirit stones and fifty broken spirits per stalk. Superior quality adds twenty broken spirits, totaling thirty-five spirit stones and sixty broken spirits."
"The combined value of the two types of spiritual plants is fifty-one spirit stones and forty broken spirits."
Manager He took out a small pile of spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them to Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan gladly accepted. Although the spiritual stones he earned from planting spiritual plants were much less than what he got from helping the loose cultivators clear away pests and the entirety of Qin Ming's properties, he would rather choose the former.
Not for anything else, but for peace of mind.
After dealing with this batch of mature spiritual plants, there were only ten Spirit Firefly Grass left in the small courtyard.
Looking at the current state, Lu Xuan estimated that they would all mature in a few days, just before the switchover with the new loose cultivator tenant.
"Old Mr. He, didn't you say before that you would sell spiritual seeds to me at a lower price after we established cooperation?"
Unable to suppress his desire for new spiritual seeds, he asked the slender old man.
"How much space can you free up in your small courtyard after planting Spirit Firefly Grass and Moon Erosion Tree?"
"I rented a new courtyard not long ago. There's a Spirit Field in it, which is much bigger than before. I can plant quite a few spiritual plants!"
"I didn't expect you to have saved so much spirit stones! No wonder you always fight for every penny when you come to Bai Cao Tang."
Manager He thought that Lu Xuan had saved enough spiritual stones through thrift. He never thought Lu Xuan would rent a courtyard with a spiritual spring. After joking, He took Lu Xuan into a side room.
After greeting a middle-aged cultivator inside, he said to Lu Xuan.
"Bai Cao Tang has its own source of spiritual seeds, which are 10-20% cheaper than buying outside."
"Spirit Firefly grass seeds cost thirty broken spirits each. Due to being a first-grade spiritual plant, Blood Jade Ginseng is much more expensive, four spiritual stones each."
Lu Xuan compared the prices with those he had purchased spiritual seeds before.
Months ago, he had bought Spirit Firefly Grass seeds for forty broken spirits each. In Bai Cao Tang they were thirty each, more than 20% cheaper.
As for Blood Jade Ginseng seeds, he hadn't bought them before, so he could only compare them with the price of Red Cloud Pine that he bought at that time.
Red Cloud Pine cost five spirit stones, while Blood Jade Ginseng seeds costs four, also much cheaper.
He immediately felt like he had made a huge profit!
"Then, I want a hundred Spirit Firefly Grass seeds and twenty Blood Jade Ginseng seeds."
Of the two types of mature plants, only the Spirit Firefly Grass could reward him with cultivation level upgrades, so he planned to plant more of them.
On the surface, he seemed to have given up cultivation and became a spirit plant master dedicated to farming. His actual desire for power, however, was still strong.
After all, in such a cultivation world where strength was respected, being powerful would guarantee more security and freedom.
The spiritual stones he had just earned were spent in an instant.
With the spiritual seeds he had obtained in his hands, Lu Xuan sighed with emotion inside.
Back at his new yard, Lu Xuan controlled the array plate to open the formation, coming to the Spirit Field in the backyard.
From Manager He's instructions, he understood that Blood Jade Ginseng spirit seed needed to be preserved in a special way, and they had to be planted as soon as they were taken out, otherwise their lifeforce would quickly fade away.
Without delay, he took out a flat and elongated jade box, and removed a small charm that was stuck on it.
Upon opening the jade box, twenty bright red seeds that looked like jade stones came into view. Each seed was surrounded by a light red mist and had a faint icy feeling.
This was also a method to slow down the loss of life force of the Blood Jade Ginseng spirit seed.
Lu Xuan quickly took the spirit seeds out of the jade box, activating his spiritual power.
Under the pull of the Earth Pulling Technique, fine cracks immediately formed in the Spirit Field in front of him.
"Blood Jade Ginseng, a first-grade spiritual plant. When mature, it can be used as the main ingredient for most low-grade Qi blood elixirs."
"Whether it's the seed or the grown Ginseng, they're restless and fluid, slowly moving freely in the spirit soil. If they sense the presence of others of the same kind, they will attract each other. After staying together for a long time, they will vie for each other's vitality until one of them withers."
With his focused mind, Lu Xuan understood the details about Blood Jade Ginseng.
"This Blood Jade Ginseng is kind of unruly…"
He couldn't help but remark.
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26 Chapter 25 Red-bearded Carp_1
Translator: 549690339
When he left Bai Cao Tang, Manager He had advised him to keep a broad distance while cultivating Blood Jade Ginseng. They should not be allowed to tangle together, lest they interfere with each other's growth.
Only after he had planted the Blood Jade Ginseng spirit seed did he understand the specific reason.
Spirit Seeds or Spirit Ginseng can slowly move within the Spirit Field. If they get too close, they attract each other. Over time, they intertwine and siphon life from each other until a winner is determined and the loser withers.
Of course, Spirit Plant Masters typically wouldn't let such extreme situations occur. If they notice the roots of the Spirit Ginseng entwined, they would find a way to separate them.
"Attracted to each other, then spooning and intertwining, then absorbing each other's life force, until I separate them. "
"It feels like they are lovers, and I'm the cold-hearted parent tearing them apart."
Lu Xuan couldn't help but sigh.
Luckily, he has plenty of time to ensure that two Blood Jade Ginseng do not come into contact with each other.
"The Blood Jade Ginseng shouldn't have genders, right?"
He shook his head, tossing the image of entwined Blood Jade Ginseng out of his mind.
After planting the twenty Blood Jade Ginseng spirit seeds, Lu Xuan used the Spirit Rain Technique for irrigation, gentle streaks of Spirit Rain seeped into the soil, greedily absorbed by the jade-like blood-red spirit seeds.
Next, he planted one hundred dried tea leaf-like Spiritual Firefly Grass Seeds, also nourishing them with the Spirit Rain Technique.
The new Spirit Field was about ten times larger than the previous one. After planting one hundred Spiritual Firefly Grass Seeds and twenty Blood Jade Ginseng Seeds, there was still a small area left vacant.
Lu Xuan planned on using that for planting the Red Cloud Pine, Dark Marrow Mushroom, and Sword Grass. If he came across other fine Spirit Seeds, he would also buy and attempt to cultivate them.
"How can I make the most use of this Spirit Spring?"
He looked at the Spirit Spring in the Spirit Field, its shallow spring water causing him to fall into deep thought.
Spirit Spring water is often used to assist in alchemy, brewing, and steeping tea. Some cultivators would directly consume it for a slight increase in their internal spiritual power.
However, for Lu Xuan, this seemed a bit insignificant. The cultivation rewards from the Spiritual Firefly Grass made the slight amount of spiritual power look pitiful.
"Aquatic Spirit Plant, although rare, they do exist. I could try looking for some in the market or shops."
"This Spirit Spring isn't small in size, it's unlikely I'd find enough aquatic Spirit Plants. If it goes uncultivated, it would go waste, which feels quite unacceptable."
"Perhaps I can nurture a couple of Spiritual Fish?"
An idea suddenly popped up in Lu Xuan's mind, growing stronger and stronger.
"Growing Spirit Medicine in the Spirit Field leads to Light Cluster rewards. What if I cultivate Spirit Beasts, would there be rewards?"
Upon this thought, he was somewhat excited.
"If not, I won't be at a loss anyway. Spiritual Fish nurtured in the Spirit Spring water could fetch a good price. If there are rewards, though, I would make a fortune!"
"I must give it a try."
This idea became more firm in his heart.
He activated the formation, leaving the courtyard.
First, he returned to the old courtyard. In the Spirit Field of the yard, there were ten nearly matured Spirit Firefly Grass.
He harvested a batch and waited for two days. Concurrently, he helped Xu Wan move two Moon Erosion Trees into her home. After finishing this task, all the Spirit Firefly Grass matured.
Among the ten Spirit Firefly Grass, six were of good quality, while four were of superior quality. He presumed the reason he hadn't cultivated a Spirit Plant of higher quality was because his Spirit Field lacked spiritual power.
Out of the ten white light clusters that appeared, four gifted him different months of cultivation, totaling more than two years, making the spiritual power within his body more stable.
Three more light clusters brought him three First Grade Talismans, and the remaining three were technique experience packages. Two for the Earth Pulling Technique and one for the Golden Sword Technique, enhancing Lu Xuan's understanding of these two techniques.
He felt that if he used the Earth Pulling Technique at full strength, he could cause seismic tremors, creating a considerable attack effect.
As for the Golden Sword Technique, it goes without saying that if he were to fight against Qin Ming again, even if he had a protection magic artifact similar to the jade badge, Lu Xuan was confident he could kill with a single blow.
After absorbing all ten white light clusters, Lu Xuan looked around his somewhat empty courtyard and turned to leave.
Arriving at the Loose Cultivation Market, he took a look around and found very few booths selling spirit beast cubs or eggs. So, he went to a Spirit Pet Shop.
In the shop, there were all kinds of spirit beast cubs; ones that could fly, run on land, or swim in water, they had them all.
Most were spirit pets; pleasingly cute and gentle in appearance, with weak aggressive instincts. It was said that the shop owner was a family member of an Inner Sect Disciple of the Ten Thousand Beast Gate, who was quite proficient in Beast Mastery Skill.
"May I help you, fellow cultivator?"
Upon seeing Lu Xuan looking around, a handsome young woman greeted him with a smile.
"I wish to purchase one or two aquatic spirit beasts. Do you have any recommendations?"
Lu Xuan went straight to the point.
"For aquatic spirit beasts, you can have a look over here."
"This is the Red-bearded Carp, an unranked demon beast with high viewing value. Once matured, it can be cooked and its meat is delicately delicious. The two red whiskers beside its head can be used as materials for artifact refinement."
"The Red-bearded Carp has low requirements for its environment and can be raised in an ordinary spiritual spring. Of course, if you could feed it spirit rice, its maturity will be even quicker."
"This is the Black Arrow Fish, also an unranked demon beast, shaped like an arrow, extremely fast in speed, and needs to devour a certain amount of blood and flesh essence while feeding."
"And this one is a Black Water Python, a first-grade demon beast that can live both on land and in water. Its aggression is extraordinarily strong and its size varies quite widely, at its longest, it can reach about eighteen meters."
"As for other aquatic demon beasts, as they are hard to tame due to their wild nature and might harm their owners, they seem an ill-suited choice for you."
The young woman introduced the common aquatic spirit beasts in the shop to Lu Xuan, hinting that given Lu Xuan's revealed cultivation level of Qi Cultivation Second Layer, the maximum he could rear was a Black Water Python.
Lu Xuan thought for a moment and decided to eliminate the Black Arrow Fish and the Black Water Python.
Raising Black Arrow Fish required flesh and blood essence, and since even he barely had good meals, how could he possibly feed it with extra demon beast's flesh and blood?
As for the Black Water Python, Lu Xuan gave up on it the moment he heard it could grow up to eighteen meters long.
His spiritual spring couldn't even accommodate half of its body, what was he supposed to raise it on?
Also, now was an experimental phase, and he wasn't clear whether white light clusters would really appear or not.
Hence, Lu Xuan tended to choose spirit fishes which were cheaper and had a shorter maturity cycle.
"How much is this Red-bearded Carp?"
He asked, pointing at a carp fry in the pond.
The Red-bearded Carp was named aptly; it had two thin red whiskers next to its gills, which were even longer than its body. When the fish swam, the whiskers drifted like two ribbons.
"For a Red-bearded Carp fry, it costs one spiritual stone each."
The beautiful young woman replied.
"Being unranked, it is more expensive than the Spiritual Firefly Grass Seed and the Moon Erosion Tree seedlings."
Lu Xuan compared the prices habitually.
"I'll buy three. Make it a bit cheaper, how about eighty broken spirits each?"
He naturally bartered the price down.
"If you wish to buy three, I can lower the price to two spiritual stones and eighty broken spirits. That's the lowest I can go."
"Two spiritual stones and sixty broken spirits, and I'll take them immediately."
"Seventy, I can't go any lower than that."
"Alright, it's a deal!"
Lu Xuan replied, satisfied.
27 Chapter 26 Draft_1
Translator: 549690339
After procuring the Three-Tailed Red Whisker Carp fry, Lu Xuan returned to his courtyard.
By the edge of the Spiritual Spring, the Red Whisker Carp in the bag appeared listless after being jolted during the journey, its slender red whiskers hanging down weakly from both sides of its head.
"Let's get you into your luxurious new home!"
Lu Xuan poured the three Red Whisker Carps into the Spiritual Spring, somewhat sourly.
If the Spiritual Spring was a bit larger, deeper, he might have wanted to take a dip in it himself.
Upon being dropped into the Spiritual Spring, the Red Whisker Carp initially found it hard to adapt. However, the faint spiritual energy in the spring water stimulated them, quickly reviving their vitality.
Swimming around in the spring water, they let their slender red whiskers float in the water, seeming very content.
Lu Xuan, filled with anticipation, focused his mind on one of the Red Whisker Carps.
"Red Whisker Carp fry, a non-ranked Spirit Beast, seems quite satisfied with the new environment. It would be even better if some Spirit Rice fell into the Spiritual Spring."
A thought flashed through Lu Xuan's mind.
"Great!"
Unable to suppress his excitement, Lu Xuan raised his fist in triumph.
Since he could see the instant status of the Red Whisker Carp, once it matured, there was a good chance a white Light Cluster would appear.
Looking at the three Red Whisker Carps freely swimming in the Spiritual Spring, Lu Xuan imagined them nurturing a wealth of treasures for him.
"It seems that I can raise more spiritual birds and spiritual beasts in the Spirit Field or Spiritual Spring."
He made a silent decision.
Thinking back to the immediate status of the Red Whisker Carp that appeared in his mind, he couldn't help but laugh.
"These three little fellows are hoping for Spirit Rice to fall from the sky. Even if it did fall, it would first fall into my mouth. For now, just enjoy this free Spiritual Spring water!"
He left the Spiritual Spring and inspected the Spirit Field.
In the area of the Spirit Field where the Blood Jade Ginseng was located, Lu Xuan sensed that the location of twenty Blood Jade Ginseng Seeds had moved, with several pair clustering together.
Lu Xuan hurriedly activated the Earth Pulling Technique. Through the Spirit Soil, he made them return to their original positions, maintaining a relatively safe distance from each other.
One hundred Spirit Firefly Grass have begun to sprout new buds, the tender green buds sporadically distributed in the Spirit Soil, conveying a vigorous growing status to Lu Xuan.
The Spirit Field was divided into several areas. One area with slightly thicker spiritual power was being used to plant the relocated Spirit Plants.
Among them, the Second-Level Sword Grass alone occupied a large chunk of Spirit Soil. Around its upright sword-like body, there were occasional strands of Sword Intent emitted, preventing other Spirit Plants from growing nearby.
The Fine Red Needle Leaves on the First Grade Red Cloud Pine, with several flower clusters, looked increasingly coquettish. The buds opened and appeared very charming.
A Two Grade Dark Marrow Mushroom was still accompanied by rotten wood, with dense dark-red mycelia absorbing the putrid spiritual energy inside it.
In the corner of the Spirit Field, a Grass Puppet leaned against the wall, quietly familiarizing itself with the new environment.
The big hole in its chest still existed and was extremely eye-catching.
Lu Xuan came over to its side, somewhat reluctant to use up a Spirit Stone.
Normally, to feed the Grass Puppet, one only needed to provide a Broken Spirit, and it could maintain its functions and guard the Spirit Field.
But if he wanted to activate its self-healing ability, a meagre Broken Spirit was far from enough.
He put a Spirit Stone into the grey Grass Knot on the Grass Puppet's head.
Then, a faint spiritual power fluctuation came from the huge tumor-like lump made of grey grass.
Immediately afterwards, two grey dried grass strands floated out one on the left and one on the right from its head. Like a willow leaf in the wind, they slowly floated to the big hole in its chest.
Starting from the edge of the hole, two grey grasses weaved together in a cross, gradually filling the large hole in the chest.
Lu Xuan couldn't stand its slow weaving motion, he ran to another part of the Spirit Field, performed a round of Spirit Rain Technique, and released the Earth Pulling Technique and Golden Sword Technique according to the needs of Spirit Plants.
After nearly two hours, when he checked the Grass Puppet again, it finally reached the final stage of filling the large hole in its chest.
Two strands of grey-black withered grasses filled the last tiny gap, tied a slow knot, and the remaining small pieces of withered grass fell to the ground.
Lu Xuan could clearly feel that the Grass Puppet's huge head had become a bit smaller.
"It's good that you have recovered, I am counting on you to guard the Spirit Field."
Although the Spirit Field is now guarded by a First Grade Protective Array, Lu Xuan had already grown accustomed to the Grass Puppet standing dumbly in the corner. He was also willing to pay a Spirit Stone to heal it.
You should know that when he bought this secondhand Grass Puppet, it cost less than three Spirit Stones.
After checking-in the Spirit Field, Lu Xuan opened the formation and came to the Loose Cultivation Market.
Taking this opportunity of moving into a new house, he planned to invite Xu Wan and Zhang Xiu Yuan, as well as Manager He from Bai Cao Tang over to his house to show his gratitude for their previous care and concern.
Therefore, he came to the market, planning to buy some Spirit Rice, Spirit Beast Meat, to prepare a lavish meal.
There is a dedicated Spirit Rice shop in the market, selling several kinds of Spirit Rice, with the lowest price being thirty Broken Spirits per pound, and the most expensive one being a kind of Spirit Rice named Blood Tooth Rice, which has full grains and irresistible aroma, requiring four Spirit Stones per pound.
It is said that there are even more expensive ones, specifically supplied to core members of major families in the market. Ordinary loose cultivators, no matter how many Spirit Stones they have, have no access to them.
After thinking for a long time, Lu Xuan finally bought ten pounds of Spirit Rice at the price of thirty Broken Spirits per pound, and two pounds of Spirit Rice at fifty Broken Spirits per pound, a total cost of four Spirit Stones.
After buying the Spirit Rice, he visited the stall selling Spirit Beast Meat and bought two pounds of porcupine meat and three pounds of wild bull meat.
He also bought more than a pound of Jade Spirit Leaves from another place. The color of Jade Spirit Leaves is like jade, which can be eaten after a slight stir-frying, with a crisp and delicious taste, capable of adding a trace of Spiritual Energy to low-level Qi-cultivators.
Lastly, he also bought some tasty food without Spiritual Energy. Only then did Lu Xuan return home with a bunch of stuff.
Having bought so much food, he had spent about ten Spirit Stones. For the always frugal Lu Xuan, this was quite a lot of money.
After returning home, he started preparing the ingredients for dinner.
As evening approached, Lu Xuan was ready, estimating that Manager He and others would be arriving soon.
Soon, Manager He's energetic voice could be heard outside the courtyard.
"Kid Lu, hurry up and open the door, I've come to mooch dinner off you!"
Lu Xuan opened the door to see a thin old man carrying a jug of wine.
"This Yellow Mildew Wine is a ten-year-old Spirit Brew, the taste is mellow and long, it can nourish the flesh body, we will have a good drink later."
Manager He held up the jug of wine in his hand.
"You kid, you rented such a big courtyard secretly. No wonder you opened your mouth so wide and swallowed so many Spiritual Firefly Grass Seeds and Blood Jade Ginseng Seeds."
Looking at the wide Spirit Field, he sighed in his heart.
"Old He, find a place to sit first, I'll go prepare dinner."
Lu Xuan gave a command and then went into the kitchen.
Before he started cooking, Zhang Xiu Yuan's loud voice rang out again.
"Little Uncle Lu, I've come with my mother!"
Lu Xuan went out to greet them, and Zhang Xiu Yuan, with his silly face, jumped in, hugging his thigh.
"Congratulations on your housewarming, Little Uncle Lu, from now on I will cling to you!"
Behind him, Xu Wan, carrying a bamboo basket filled with Spirit Fruit, smiled sweetly.
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28 Chapter 27 Fishing Worm_1
Translator: 549690339
Lu Xuan, still needing to prepare dinner, just had a short chat with Xu Wan before heading into the kitchen.
By the side of the Spiritual Spring.
Zhang Xiu Yuan poked his head over, staring unblinkingly at the red-bearded carp leisurely swimming in the spring water.
Occasionally, he would reach out his small hand, hesitating to touch the long red whiskers of the fish, but, ultimately, he lacked the courage and quickly drew back.
"This is a Red-bearded Carp, it isn't aggressive. Its red beard is pretty, isn't it?"
Manager He, who had appeared at his side at some point, began to explain the origins of the red-bearded carp.
"Beautiful. I didn't expect Little Uncle Lu to be raising such beautifully looking spiritual fish. He's amazing!"
The child uttered with genuine admiration.
Xu Wan, standing behind him, silently nodded.
Unlike her son, Zhang Xiu Yuan, who only cared about whether the red-bearded carp looked good, she saw and thought of much more.
She found it hard to imagine how many Spirit Stones Lu Xuan must have, given such a large Spirit Field and a Spiritual Spring.
Her interactions with Lu Xuan usually were minimal and her impressions of him were mostly from her husband Zhang Hong's occasional mentions.
From Zhang Hong, she learned that Lu Xuan was of a modest aptitude and reserved character, not fond of socializing, but was kind-hearted, hardworking in his cultivation, and tireless in his nurturing of spiritual plants.
An ordinary and kind-hearted Spirit Plant Master.
But now, seeing him helping her family exterminate pests, taking Zhang Xiu Yuan to earn Spirit Stones, his unknown struggles at night, and the wealth to rent such a home, she felt somewhat puzzled about who he really was.
"Kid Lu has changed a lot recently. I never expected such a silent, stubborn and frugal young man to silently grow to such a point."
A lean old man standing next to her also sighed with emotion, a smile of relief spreading on his face.
"Dinner time!"
From a distance, the voice of Lu Xuan rang out.
"Braised Spiny Porcupine Meat!"
"Stir-fried Bull Beef!"
"Hand-shredded Cui Ling leaves!"
One after another, dishes full of color, aroma and taste were served on the table.
"Wow! It smells so good!"
Zhang Xiu Yuan exclaimed dramatically, causing Lu Xuan to get lost in his praises.
The Manager He and Xu Wan were more restrained, yet from their occasional glances, it was clear that both were drawn to the dishes.
Lu Xuan served each of them a bowl of steaming Spirit Rice, and poured each a bowl of Orange Spirit Brew.
"Thanks to Manager He, Sister Zhang, and Little Yuan for coming over to celebrate my house warming. Cheers!"
Manager He and Xu Wan gave their blessings, and the three of them drank to the toast.
The moment the Spirit Brew traveled down their throats, an initial spicy sensation soon gave way to a warm and rich feeling that started to spread warmth throughout their bodies.
"Gurgle!"
As Zhang Xiu Yuan put down his bowl, a noise emitted from his stomach, which made Lu Xuan and the others chuckle.
"Let's start eating, everyone help yourselves."
Whether it was the Spirit Beast Meat or Spirit Rice, both lived up to their worth with excellent taste and traces of Spiritual Energy.
The four of them were heartily enjoying themselves, devouring all the food on the table as if they were a whirlwind sweeping through a desert.
After a short rest, Xu Wan and her son, along with Manager He, took their leave one after another.
Manager He, whose house was not far from here and whose strength was much greater than Xu Wan and her son, left on his own.
As for Xu Wan and Zhang Xiu Yuan, who lived on the edge of the North District, where things were chaotic, and given their low strength, Lu Xuan decided to escort them home.
When Lu Xuan returned to his house, it was already late at night.
The night had fallen, the moon was bright, but the stars were sparse.
Lu Xuan removed the charm and the Slivered Silver Blade from his sleeve, looking at the night sky, he held more anticipation for his future.
The next day, at dawn, Lu Xuan was already awake.
After a day of cultivation on the bed, he washed and, in the faint fog, arrived in the Spirit Field.
In the Spiritual Spring, three Red-bearded Carps were swimming around in the shape of "品".
Lu Xuan focused on them.
A thought came into his mind.
"Drinking water yesterday, drinking water today, drinking water every day, how can one grow this way?"
"It's not satisfying enough to have Spiritual Spring water to drink?"
Lu Xuan retorted, ran back to the room, and grabbed a handful of Spirit Rice.
Apparently sensing the faint Spiritual Power emanating from the Spirit Rice, the three Red-bearded Carps noticeably quickened their swimming, moving along with Lu Xuan's movement.
Lu Xuan scattered half of the Spirit Rice, and instantly, the water surface churned and rippled. Six thin, red whiskers appeared and disappeared like thin threads.
A few breaths later, the water returned to calm, and the three Red-bearded Carp swam slowly, but their heads kept turning in Lu Xuan's direction.
Lu Xuan focused his mind on the bodies of the Red-bearded Carp.
"Please, give us some more rice!"
A thought flashed in his mind, and then he scattered another half of the Spirit Rice.
The surface of the Spiritual Spring water stirred again.
Lu Xuan scattered all the Spirit Rice into the spring, and the Red-bearded Carp ate all of it.
After getting their fill, the Red-bearded Carp no longer moved around Lu Xuan, they turned indifferent, as if they no longer cared about anyone.
Lu Xuan then went to inspect the many spiritual plants in the Spirit Field.
He adjusted the position of the out-of-place Blood Jade Ginseng Spirit Seed, and then supplied each Spirit Firefly Grass with a targeted and measured supply of Spirit Rain, enabling them to gain maximum nourishment.
Afterwards, Lu Xuan expanded his Spiritual Sense to the greatest extent, carefully searching each piece of Spirit Soil.
"Found you."
Using the Earth Pulling Technique, the spirit soil underwent slight changes, and a grey-white tiny worm was pushed out.
He continued his search, finding several other different tiny worms, and even turned up a vibrant and vividly colored, tiny strange worm from the spirit soil.
These small worms hide in the spirit soil, waiting to emerge. Once they do, the larvae feed on the leaves of the spirit plants, affecting the plants' normal growth.
These small worms have many sources. Some are eggs buried in the spirit soil, some are accidentally brought into the Spirit Field, while some other strange worms have secretive movements and an extremely strong camouflage ability. They can penetrate the Protective Array and invade the Spirit Field.
As a Spirit Plant Master, one must frequently inspect the Spirit Soil in his Spirit Field. He needs to act first to eliminate the harmful worms before they can harm the spiritual plants in the Spirit Field.
Because the new Spirit Field had just been moved and was quite busy, it was not until today that he started to search for and remove worms on a large scale.
His Spiritual Sense ploughed the entire Spirit Field, and Lu Xuan finally unearthed seven larvae in total.
He took the larvae to the edge of the Spiritual Spring, pinched a plump white worm, and tossed it towards the center of the spring.
A thin red whisker flashed out like lightning, winding tightly around the worm before delivering it into the mouth of the fish.
"Wow, that was quick!"
Lu Xuan was amused, watching the Red-bearded Carp that was still savoring the taste of the larvae.
The other two further away red-bearded carps also swam over, following the movements of Lu Xuan's hand.
Another larvae fell.
Six thin, red whiskers shot out at the same time, vying for ownership of the larvae.
They then pulled back almost simultaneously to the sides of the carp's head, one of them, luckily, had the larvae entangled in its whiskers and delivered it into its mouth.
Lu Xuan was suddenly in a playful mood. He threw a larvae high into the air, or made a fake move, enticing the thin red whiskers of the Red-bearded Carp.
It was only after the last strange worm was eaten that he felt somewhat reluctant to stop.
"Haha, the long whiskers on the sides of the Red-bearded Carp's head looks like fishing lines. So, it seems like while people fish for fish, the fish are in turn fishing for worms, that's an amusing thought."
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29 Chapter 28 New Neighbor_1
Translator: 549690339
Inside the house.
Lu Xuan sat cross-legged on a wooden bed, operating his cultivation technique, his spiritual power flowing within his body.
After a full cycle, he exhaled a turbid breath slowly.
Although his many days of intense cultivation couldn't compare to the cultivation reward brought by a single Spirit Firefly Grass, Lu Xuan still continued to diligently cultivate.
His focus is mainly on tending and cultivating spirit plants and spirit beasts, while practicing cultivation techniques and formula methods is of secondary importance.
It's been half a month since he moved to the new courtyard. During this time, he rarely goes out and concentrates on cultivating spirit plants.
There have been noticeable changes in his Spirit Field.
The Three-Tailed Red Whisker Carp in the Spiritual Spring has grown by about two inches and its fine long, red whiskers have grown more than half a foot. When it shoots out to catch insects from the water, it can instantly extend to more than half a foot.
The hundred Spirit Firefly Grass plants have grown a lot taller, points of luminescence have begun to appear on their fine, emerald-green leaves. In the deep night, countless light points blink like myriad tiny stars in the sky.
The Blood Jade Ginseng has protruded above the Spirit Soil, looking as transparent as freshly mined jade.
The movement of the Spirit Ginseng has sped up considerably after they had started to grow, either clustering together or venturing into the region where the Spirit Firefly Grass resided, requiring Lu Xuan's constant attention.
The Red Cloud Pine has discreetly produced five small pine nuts which just peep out of the fine red pine leaves.
The Sword Grass has grown to the size of a Slivered Silver Blade, and its demand for sword qi is greater. Lu Xuan has to release a Golden Sword Technique for it every two hours.
Occasionally, there are fine cracks in the spirit soil next to it – a result of the sword intent leaking from the Sword Grass.
As for Dark Marrow Mushroom, numerous dark red mycelium have tightly wound around the decayed spiritual wood, leaving practically no gap.
"The decayed wood has almost been completely absorbed by the dark red mycelium. It seems that I need to find a few more pieces as replacements, otherwise, the growth of the Dark Marrow Mushroom will be affected,"
Lu Xuan muttered to himself.
"It's just right. I might as well take the opportunity to stroll through the market while I am out, maybe I can find some interesting spirit beasts or unknown spiritual seeds."
He walked out of the courtyard, the strong light made him squint his eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Lu Xuan, you've finally come out of your yard today. Such a rare sight."
A voice sounded from the courtyard across the way.
Lu Xuan looked over upon hearing the voice. A middle-aged cultivator was lying on a wooden chair. Seeing Lu Xuan come out, he got up and came over.
"Hello, Fellow Daoist Wang."
Lu Xuan greeted him.
The middle-aged cultivator's name was Wang Shan, who lived next door to Lu Xuan. He had come over to pay a visit after Lu moved in.
Wang Shan was a Qi Practising Fifth Level cultivator, a small leader among the patrol guards of the market, and liked to relax in the pleasure house in his spare time.
"Fellow Daoist Lu Xuan, you can't always stay at home. One day I'll take you outside to have fun and see the world."
Wang Shan teased Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan timely exhibited an embarrassed expression and waved his hands in refusal.
"Thank you for your kindness, Fellow Daoist Wang, but with my low cultivation level, entering the pleasure house would lead to me being completely devoured, leaving not even a bone behind?"
Shortly after moving in, Lu Xuan controlled his concealment technique to display the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation.
After all, there were quite a few Middle-Stage Qi Practitioners living in the vicinity. If he remained at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, he would actually attract attention.
Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, while still low, looked at least somewhat regular now.
As for the Pleasure House, his words were not wrong. The female cultivators in there knew various enchanting techniques and how to please customers, but they would likely be unconsciously drained of their spiritual power and essence blood.
The most important thing was, it would be fine if one only wanted to listen to some music, but if one wanted deeper exchanges, the amount of Spirit Stones spent would not be small.
"You're such a bore. We cultivate to gain greater power, isn't it for the sake of enjoying life?"
Wang Shan smacked his lips, his enthusiasm suddenly gone.
"Fellow Daoist is profound in cultivation and can deal with those demonesses, which is a good thing."
"As for me, I prefer the company of spirit plants and beasts over the pleasures of the flesh. To each their own, right?"
"Alright, I won't force you. If you change your mind someday, let me know. I'll take you for a ride, and the spirit stones are on me."
With that, they parted ways, and Wang Shan staggered back to his courtyard.
Lu Xuan continued forward. When he passed another courtyard, a rich aroma of wine wafted out.
The owner of the courtyard was a Fourth Layer Qi Cultivator. He couldn't do without wine for a single day and had also mastered the art of brewing spiritual wine. Once he found out that Lu Xuan was a Spirit Plant Master, he excitedly asked if Lu Xuan knew of any spirit plants suitable for brewing spiritual wine, but he gave up upon Lu Xuan's denial.
When Lu Xuan first moved into the courtyard, he attracted the curiosity and peeping of a few cultivators nearby. It wasn't until they discovered his lower-level Qi Cultivation and that he was merely an Ordinary Spirit Plant Master that these gazes gradually disappeared.
Not too far from the new courtyard was the Loose Cultivator Market. In less than a quarter of an hour, Lu Xuan was already in the market.
The market was bustling, with the occasional shouts from stall owners.
"Passing by don't miss out. We have a variety of top-notch artifacts, which you won't find anywhere else."
"Fresh demon beast meat, just hunted from the wilderness, the blood hasn't even dried. Get a catty or two, it's worth half a month's cultivation!"
"High prices for second-hand magic artifacts, second-hand formations, remnant charms, and also purchase of all kinds of rare treasures and unknown materials."
Lu Xuan strolled leisurely through the market, constantly shaking his head and observing the goods on each stall.
Most stalls had the main cultivation resources of the cultivation world, such as magic artifacts, demon beast materials, spiritual medicine and spiritual grass, charms and elixirs, etc.
Unknown spiritual seeds, spirit beast eggs or young beasts like Lu Xuan needed were extremely rare. When seen occasionally, they were only sold incidentally and almost never exclusively at a stall.
Suddenly, he stopped by a stall.
The stall owner was a young girl at the Second Layer Qi Cultivation. She had average looks and healthy oatmeal-colored skin. Seeing Lu Xuan staring in interest at the goods on her stall, she hurriedly greeted him.
"Dear fellow daoist, I have various types of demon bird feathers here, and specially made demon bird eggs. They contain dense spiritual power and taste very good. Would you like to try some?"
Lu Xuan shook his head, pointing to a black cage in the corner of the stall.
"How do you sell these young demon birds?"
In the cage, several colorfully feathered young birds with rich and dense plumage stood out, revealing a pair of black and white patterned bird claws.
"Oh, these Colorful Chickens? I found a nest and took them from a mountain. They can be tamed and bred, and when mature, they might lay spirit eggs. If not, you could eat them as their meat is very tender."
The girl introduced the birds to Lu Xuan.
"How long does it typically take for a Colorful Chicken to reach maturity when breeding?"
"Two and a half years."
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30 Chapter 29: Invitation_1
Translator: 549690339
In the end, Lu Xuan did not buy the few young colorful chickens.
Though he felt a strange sense of connection, the maturity period of two and a half years made him engulfed in hesitation and finally abandon the idea.
The main purpose of him raising spirit beasts was to get the white light group. Two and a half years was enough to mature a First Class or even a Second-Class spirit beast.
Using this time to raise these chicks seemed somewhat wasteful.
He left the stall and continued to wander around.
And finally, he made quite a significant discovery.
On one of the stalls, he found a very rare first-class spirit seed, the Pure Snow Lotus.
The Pure Snow Lotus, although it is of the First Class, is extremely rare, and it is widely acknowledged among the Spirit Plant Masters that its cultivation conditions are strict.
After maturity, the lotus seeds produced can maintain the mental clarity of the cultivator for a certain period of time, avoid being eroded by demon envoys, and is also a main ingredient for the second-class elixir, Spirit Bearing Elixir. The spirit-inspiring elixir refined from it can slightly enhance the spiritual sense of Qi-Cultivator.
Lu Xuan negotiated, and finally got the spirit seed, as white as jade, for the price of seven spirit stones.
The price for the same class of spiritual seeds is much more expensive than Red Cloud Pine and Blood Jade Ginseng, which shows the value of the Pure Snow Lotus.
Returning to his courtyard, he put the Pure Snow Lotus spirit seed into the Spiritual Spring Pool and operated his spiritual power. The Earth Pulling Technique, which had already reached the mastery realm, was used to incorporate the snow-white spirit seed into the spirit soil without changing the structure of the spring.
After successfully cultivating it, Lu Xuan focused on the spirit seed in the shallow layer of the spirit soil.
A thought flashed in his mind.
"Cold icy rain rhythmically hits the lotus…"
The reason why it is difficult to successfully cultivate Pure Snow Lotus is that, in addition to needing an environment similar to a spiritual spring, it also needs to be nourished by spirit rain carrying a chill. Only then can it grow smoothly.
Lu Xuan's Spirit Rain Technique, after having been cast countless times, had already reached a perfectly proficient level.
Yet imbibing it with a chill, was still somewhat difficult for him.
He had learned the Ice-Based Basic Technique when he first started cultivating. But, due to his average talent, he gradually gave up, mainly concentrating on practicing the Spirit Rain Technique and the Fireball Technique.
Later, he got the Earth Pulling Technique and the Golden Sword Technique from the white light group, but there was no Ice System Technique experience pack.
He conducted several experiments and finally managed to release a Spirit Rain Technique that carried a wisp of chill, which was sprinkled on the Pure Snow Lotus spirit seed.
Only after a few days of continuous practice did the success rate of casting the technique increase a bit. His spiritual sense sensed that the snow-white spirit seed in the Spiritual Spring Pool was undergoing subtle changes.
One day while Lu Xuan was cultivating his Spirit Plant, a semi-familiar voice came from outside his courtyard.
"Friend Lu, are you home?"
Lu Xuan racked his brain to recall only then did he remember the owner of the voice.
After reaching an independent cooperation agreement with 'Bai Cao Tang', he had visited it twice. Once to sell the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass, and another time to report on the growth status of his Spirit Plant.
During this time, he met with several Spirit Plant Masters, one of whom was the owner of the voice, Lei Fei, who was at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation. Since they lived fairly close to each other, they had spoken a few more words.
Lu Xuan opened the door and greeted them.
Upon seeing Lei Fei and another cultivator, whose disposition seemed somewhat gloomy, behind him.
"Hello Friend Lu, this person here is Li Qing, a good friend of mine for many years."
"This is Daoist Lu Xuan, who has excellent talent in planting spirit plants, and has established a cooperation relationship with 'Bai Cao Tang' at a young age."
Lei Fei introduced both of them to each other.
After greeting them, Lu Xuan invited both of them into the house.
"Friend Lu Xuan, the reason why we came is because we have a proposal for you. Both Li Qing and I want to invite you to the Southern Secret Realm together to look for Spiritual Medicines."
After a few polite exchanges, Lei Fei got straight to the point.
"Entering the Secret Land? With our cultivation level at the third layer of Qi cultivation, wouldn't that be very dangerous?"
Lu Xuan asked straight away.
Secret lands can either form naturally or be a legacy of the ancient times. They often contain various treasures, including spiritual medicines, cultivation techniques, and magic artifacts, but they often come with considerable risks, like mysterious and eerie evil spirits, terrifying demon beasts, and so forth.
Most spirit plants and spirit beasts need to grow in a pure or special spiritual energy environment, so it's rare to see them in ordinary fields.
Those secret lands left from the ancient times, every time they open, many rare treasures appear. This is why so many cultivators, like moths to a flame, ceaselessly rush into various secret lands to seek a slight chance.
For example, the newly discovered secret land has attracted many powers of various sizes in Linyang Market, as well as thousands of loose cultivators, all in search of an elusive chance.
The great sects of the cultivation world usually occupy their cave heavens, even generating small worlds. They don't need to fight to the death over minor cultivation resources like ordinary cultivators.
Seeing Lu Xuan worried about safety, Lei Fei explained.
"The danger in the Southern Secret Realm has been mostly cleaned up over the hundreds of years since its discovery. It's rare to encounter any."
"Moreover, we only plan to explore the outskirts of the secret land, not delve deep into it. We can't guarantee absolute safety, but usually, there won't be any problem."
"Although we are both spirit plant masters, we can't just settle for mediocrity. We should strive for what we can."
He tried to persuade Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, then asked further.
"Then this trip to the secret land would take up quite a bit of time, both on the road and inside the secret land, wouldn't that delay the cultivation of the spirit plants?"
"We have a flying boat magical tool for the journey, so it takes only one or two days to go back and forth. We may stay longer in the secret land as we may not necessarily be able to pick spiritual medicines in time."
"As for delaying the growth of the spirit plants, how significant could the impact be during this short period of time? You can continue planting when you come back."
Lu Xuan kept silent, but in his heart, he snickered quietly.
"It may not have a big impact on your spirit plants, but it might not be the case for mine."
"After being away for a few days, while the spirit plants may seem to grow normally, it is probably hard to get good quality or even superior quality spirit plants."
"I'm hoping to grow a spirit plant of perfect grade and see what kind of light cluster reward there will be!"
Lei Fei answered truthfully.
"I apologize, Thunder Fellow Daoist, I have always focused my energy on cultivating spiritual plants. I am not good at fighting, I don't carry magical talismans, and even my current cultivation level at the third layer of Qi cultivation is also piled up through consuming elixirs."
"So, for safety reasons, I will not go with the two of you to explore the Southern Secret Realm."
Lu Xuan declined politely.
"Alright, we respect your choice, Friend Lu."
Lei Fei, having been turned down, said despondently.
The two of them didn't stay long. They left the courtyard, planning to invite other cultivators.
"This Lu Xuan, he is too timid and cautious. He's at the third layer of Qi cultivation, but he's still worried about the dangers of going to a secret realm that's been developed for hundreds of years."
"Besides, what would delay his cultivation of spirit plants? He's just growing Spirit Firefly Grass, what could be delayed?"
As soon as he stepped out of the door, Lei Fei couldn't help but complain.
He originally thought that inviting a cultivator at the third layer of Qi cultivation would be almost certain, he didn't expect to be rejected by Lu Xuan, hence, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"Alright, if he doesn't want to go, he doesn't want to go. Let's invite other people."
"Although he is cautious, he is overly cautious. With his way of doing things, it's hard to get chances."
"He will only be an ordinary spirit plant master at the mercy of others for the rest of his life."
Li Qing glanced back at the courtyard where Lu Xuan lived, there was a hint of disdain in his tone.
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31 Chapter 30 Cultivating Immortality Starts from Taking a Concubine?_1
Translator: 549690339
After Lei Fei and the other left, Lu Xuan promptly closed the courtyard door.
He didn't show any inclination to explore the secret land as the two had invited him to.
Going to the secret land is nothing more than seeking a tiny, illusory opportunity, which would naturally occur as long as he devoted himself to growing spiritual plants.
The better the quality of the spiritual plants he grows, the higher the value of the treasure that appears. It's possible that a trip to the so-called Southern Secret Realm won't compare to the light cluster reward he gets from planting a single spiritual plant.
Furthermore, venturing into the wilderness, even with a well-planned route and in an area explored for hundreds of years, doesn't necessarily mean safety.
Demon beasts, demon envoys, robbery and murder, fellow travelers killing each other… all these accidents can be mostly avoided just by staying at home.
Lu Xuan's attitude in his courtyard displayed the sentiment, 'preserve the spirit field, regardless of winter, summer, spring, or autumn'.
A few days later, the voice of his next-door neighbor, Wang Shan, came through his yard.
"Lu, please open the door, I have a wedding invitation for you."
The door opened, and Lu Xuan saw Wang Shan holding a fiery-red wedding invitation, his face gleaming as though he was full of satisfaction and pride.
"Wang Fellow Daoist, you seem energized. Is there some good news?"
Lu Xuan curiously asked.
"I've taken a concubine recently. I'm inviting some close friends and neighbors over in a few days to celebrate and enjoy some wine."
Wang Shan replied with a laugh.
"Good, I'll definitely be there."
Lu Xuan nodded in agreement.
"Seems that you've changed, Wang Fellow Daoist. You are abandoning your old flames from the pleasure house?"
"Heh, if I miss them, I can still go and have a deep conversation at night."
Wang Shan showed a mysterious smile, lost in his thoughts.
"One is a staple diet, the other is dessert, they don't conflict."
"I bought this concubine from the black market. She takes care of my daily needs, I don't imagine she'll restrict me."
He said confidently.
"Black Market?"
"Yes, Lu, you must have heard of it. I bought a Third Layer of Qi Cultivation woman there recently. These women cultivators, whether in appearance, figure, or cultivation talent, are truly top-notch. They all underwent special training and learned the Yin Yang Technique from Unity Sect. When making love, they can blend their spiritual power, mutually nourishing each other, the cultivation level they gain is faster than when cultivating alone."
Wang Shan enthusiastically recommended.
"Ha, when I have a chance, I might want to take a look."
Lu Xuan played along with a laugh.
After Wang Shan left, he returned to the yard.
Lu Xuan wasn't interested in the female cultivator Wang Shan had mentioned, but he was a bit interested in the so-called black market.
He'd heard about the black market in Linyang Market, located on the other side of the market, hidden and only open at certain particular times.
Many cultivators who like to stay in the shadows frequented there, bringing unchecked treasures with them.
Lu Xuan had considered looking for unknown spiritual seeds in the black market, but owing to his low cultivation level, he wasn't confident enough, so this plan had always been put on hold.
"After another batch of spiritual plants matures, I can go and have a look."
In the newly planted spiritual plants, although the Spirit Firefly Grass was gradeless, it won because of its quantity. Moreover, it has been growing in a better spiritual energy environment, and being carefully cultivated since the beginning, Lu Xuan believed that his strength would skyrocket once it matures.
Other than this, the Red Cloud Pine had already started fruiting, and the Sword Grass was growing well. These two first-grade and second-grade spiritual plants made Lu Xuan look forward to them even more.
Three days later, Lu Xuan, along with a neighboring cultivator who loved spiritual wine, went to the restaurant set by Wang Shan for the banquet as per the wedding invitation.
The cultivator, surname Wu, loved to take a small sip of wine whenever he was free or not. Lu Xuan had met him a few times since he moved here, they were on familiar terms.
As it was just taking a concubine, the normal wedlock process wasn't followed.
Lu Xuan inquired about the gift money from the Wu cultivator, turned his grief into appetite, indulged in drinking and eating at the banquet, swearing to eat back the spirit stones he gave.
"Thank you all for your presence, I raise a toast to everyone."
During the banquet, wearing a big red gown, Wang Shan's face showed a hint of excitement.
Finally, Lu Xuan got a chance to see his concubine.
Under the sheen of her marriage garb, her skin was like creamy jade and her face melded beauty and charm with a refined physique. Even through the loose dress, her curves were evident. There was a black beauty mark under her left eye, which added a few more points to her seductiveness.
"Wang Shan, after taking a concubine, he seems to have forgotten everything else. However, looking at him, he seems to have recuperated a lot recently, and his cultivation level has even improved a bit."
After Wang Shan left, cultivator Wu set down his wine cup and sighed. A hint of jealousy could be heard in his voice.
"Wang Fellow Daoist bought his concubine from the black market. If you want, you can go and have a look. Maybe buy one too, and have the best of both worlds?"
Lu Xuan teased from the side.
"He's the leader of the patrol guard, he has tons of ways to earn spirit stones. I'm not that generous to spare hundreds, thousands of spirit stones."
Cultivator Wu replied, sounding somewhat downhearted.
After this interruption, Lu Xuan retreated back into his simple and quiet life.
Every day he would check on the Red-bearded Carps in the Spiritual Spring, feed them Spirit Rice and Strange Worms. Then took care of Pure Snow Lotuses with his not-so-mastered Ice System Technique and every once in a while, he would burn the Red Cloud Pine and electrify the Sword Grass.
Perhaps influenced by Wang Shan's taking a concubine, he was more proactive in preventing the Blood Jade Ginsengs from joining together, making sure they didn't take that first step.
In his spare time, he would cultivate his techniques, practice the few spells he knew, and research the Cultivation Pill Prescription he received earlier.
Occasionally, he would go to the Loose Cultivation Market to see if he could find one or two unknown spiritual seeds, or some spirit beasts' eggs or young animals that caught his eye.
One day, as soon as he stepped out of his yard, he bumped into Wang Shan's concubine.
"Greetings, Friend Lu."
She held bags of spiritual medicines and spirit beast meat, and she gave a slight curtsy.
"Lady Wang, just returned from a big shopping trip in the market?"
Lu Xuan casually asked.
"Yes, I bought some nourishing spiritual medicines and spirit beast meat. Seeing how hard Wang is working on his cultivation, I want to help him nourish his body."
Her voice was soft and sweet as she replied. A light blush could be seen on her face, her eyes shimmering as if her black beauty mark had moved.
"Indeed, she's a professional. Seductive charm is in every move she makes. It seems that she's not concerned about nourishing Wang's body as she is about nourishing hers."
Lu Xuan muttered to himself, though his facial expression didn't change.
"Big Brother Wang has overworked himself, toiling day in and day out, he really should take some time to recuperate."
After a few more casual exchanges, Lu Xuan made an excuse and left.
Lady Wang walked past Lu Xuan with graceful, doll-sized steps, causing a gust of fragrant wind to hit Lu Xuan's face.
Achoo!
The fragrance was so strong that Lu Xuan couldn't help but sneeze.
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Chapter 32: Chapter 31 Cloud Leopard i
Translator: 549690339
Inside Bai Cao Tang.
Lu Xuan had strolled around the market, but got nothing in return. However, he wasn't disappointed and decided to drop by the office of Manager He.
"Kid Lu, you're here?!"
The thin old man was flipping through his account book, glanced at Lu Xuan, and didn't pay him any more attention.
Lu Xuan took a seat wherever he wished, watching as several young attendants, aged around thirteen or fourteen, were bustling around inside the Bai Cao Tang, coming in and out.
The collected spirit plants go through many processes, and the tasks these attendants undertake are the most basic ones.
This kind of procedure doesn't require much skill. Hence, Bai Cao Tang conducts these openly in the hall without worrying about anyone watching.
"Here, have a hot cup of tea."
After a while, Manager He, who momentarily finished his work, came over to Lu Xuan and handed him a cup of tea with a fresh green spiritual tea floating in it.
As the spiritual tea entered his throat, a heart-refreshing aroma wafted into his mouth and nose, leaving Lu Xuan to savour it for a long while.
"So, how is it? Are the spirit plants growing well? If they are not up to par, it will cause a significant loss to your profits!"
The lean old man asked with concern.
"Not bad, the quality is better than the last batch."
Lu Xuan laughed as he replied, he knew the cultivation of spirit plants in the spirit field not only concerned his income but also represented the reputation of Manager He to some degree, since it was him who introduced Lu Xuan into Bai Cao Tang.
After hearing Lu Xuan's reply, Manager He felt slightly relieved, and the two chatted at leisure.
Suddenly, a distraught-looking woman carrying a little child rushed into Bai Cao Tang.
The woman was sobbing uncontrollably, her eyes swollen with tears, indicating she had been crying for a long time.
The child had a bewildered look on his face, his mouth gaping open as he allowed the woman to hold him tightly.
After asking the woman a couple of questions and entering into the Bai Cao Tang, Manager He followed along, concerned that something might have happened.
A moment later, he returned to the hall with a grim expression on his face.
"One of the Spirit Plant Masters who had a partnership agreement with the hall met with an unfortunate accident. His family came to inquire about the subsequent handling of the spirit plants."
"What happened?"
"They said that several people were invited to pick spiritual medicines in a secret land, and had the misfortune of encountering an injured Tier-2 Demonic Beast. Two of them died on the spot, and the other two were seriously injured and could hardly hold on."
"What was the name of the Spirit Plant Master who established the partnership agreement with the hall?"
Upon hearing Manager He's words, Lu Xuan couldn't help but think back to an incident when Lei Fei had invited him to explore a secret land some time ago.
"His name was Lei Fei, one of the two who died. Why, did you know him?"
As expected, Lu Xuan got confirmation from Manager He that it was indeed Lei Fei, the Spirit Plant Master who had invited him.
"Back then, they tried to invite me to explore the Secret Land together. I was worried about the spirit plants in the Spirit Field and was afraid of encountering danger, so I didn't agree."
Lu Xuan sighed.
"Luckily, you didn't agree, otherwise…you might have been added to the list of victims."
Manager He couldn't help but say.
"All that could be said is that they were unfortunate to have met with this calamity. Despite having visited the secret location countless times along with numerous other cultivators, they had the misfortune of encountering a Tier-2 Demonic Beast."
"What happens to the spirit plants he had under his care?"
"After a Spirit Plant Master dies, and his family isn't adept at cultivating First-Grade Spirit Plants, per the regulations, the hall should take over and transplant the plants, giving a certain compensation to the family."
"However, the amount paid for these is much lower than that for mature spirit plants. The family has come today, hoping to plead to allow them to cultivate the remaining spirit plants."
Manager He did not expressly say how matters would be handled, but by observing his expressions, Lu Xuan could guess a major portion of it.
Bai Cao Tang prioritizes profits. In front of profit, every hint of sentiment is optional.
This incident reinforced Lu Xuan's decision to not stake his life for prospects of profit. After all, if he went out and could not come back, wouldn't the spirit plants in his courtyard be benefiting others for free?
After this interlude, he no longer felt like savoring the spiritual tea. After gulping it down, he got up and left.
"This little Cloud Leopard for forty Spirit Stones? Are you insane?"
"Dear friend, this isn't an ordinary Cloud Leopard, look at its eyes, it's a different species of civet, the price definitely can't be the same as usual."
While meandering around, Lu Xuan's attention was drawn to a dispute on a nearby stall.
Intrigued, Lu Xuan approached the stand; his attention was caught by an iron cage in the corner.
The iron cage, constructed from an unknown material, was adorned with intricate details. It emanated a chilling aura, and had charms pasted on the four corners to prevent the creature inside from escaping.
Through the bars of the cage, Lu Xuan saw a small civet.
The Civet's fur was pitch black, but the four paws were as white as snow, standing as if balanced on four white clouds. The name 'Cloud Leopard' probably originate from this.
Two long ears stood straight up, tipped with clusters of white fur. They were straight and seemed like two antennas.
Its pair of jade-green eyes caught everyone's attention, gazing coldly all around.
Upon meeting Lu Xuan's glance, the battle-scarred Cloud Leopard showed its teeth, leaning slightly forwards as if in an attacking stance.
"So if it has pretty eyes, it becomes a different species? Then would my sash at my waist count me as a Cultivator of a different species?"
A Qi-Cultivator in front of the stall couldn't help but retort the stall owner.
No wonder he was angry. Normally, this Cloud Leopard Juvenile would go for twenty Spirit Stones. But the stall owner raised the price, leveraging the fact that this Cloud Leopard had different colored pupils, and was demanding for forty Spirit Stones.
"Forty Spirit Stones, no lower!"
The stall owner was unwavering, sticking to the original price.
"You can keep this so-called 'different species' of Cloud Leopard for yourself then! Just stare at it as much as you like every day!"
The Qi-Cultivator left after dropping this sentence.
"Ignorant."
The stall owner mocked him mercilessly.
"Fellow Daoist, may I know how you obtained this Cloud Leopard, and the story behind its pupils?"
Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded. The stall owner looked towards the source to find a handsome young man standing in front of the iron cage, his clear eyes looking directly at him.
"My companions and I went through great lengths to obtained this from deep within the Secret Land."
"The Cloud Leopard is a First Grade Spirit Beast, it moves rapidly and silently, has a great attack power. This juvenile beast is unlike a common Cloud Leopard, its pupils might have some special abilities once it grows up."
"What do you think?"
"How about thirty Spirit Stones?"
Lu Xuan, out of habit, cut down a large portion of the price.
"Hehe."
The stall owner crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring Lu Xuan's proposal.
"Dear friend, you say it's a different species of Cloud Leopard, but what's your basis for this? Just because of its green pupils?"
"You should know, different species of Demon Beasts are very rare, it's one in ten thousand for a First Grade Demon Beast."
"These green pupils could just be due to some stimuli during the development of the embryo, or affected by the unique spiritual energy environment, directly classifying it as a different species seems a bit too arbitrary."
"Besides, I can see that this Cloud Leopard Juvenile in your cage is not in a good condition, I assume it was injured quite seriously during your capture, and it's been trapped in the cage ever since, not receiving good treatment and rest."
"With its current condition, it's uncertain whether it can be raised successfully."
"Thirty-six Spirit Stones, no lower, please understand that we paid a huge price to catch this."
"Thirty-Two Spirit Stones, and I'll take it away."
Lu Xuan knew the stall owner had been convinced by his arguments. Plus, he had particularly taken a liking to this Cloud Leopard with green pupils, and relaxed the price a bit.
"Alright, I'll make you a special offer then."
After gritting his teeth, the stall owner agreed.
He was well aware that the chances of this being a different species were extremely low, and he was also afraid he couldn't keep it alive for long. Being able to profit more than half, compared to an ordinary Cloud Leopard Juvenile, was already a pretty good end result..
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