41-50

Chapter 42: Chapter 41: Report If You Can't Fight Back 1

In the midst of their tense demeanor, Lu Xuan took out a Spirit Stone from his sleeve and excitedly handed it over to the Qi Practitioner Intermediate Level cultivator.

Dear friends, you've worked hard on your journey here. This is a little gift of Spirit Stones, please accept it as a token of respect and treat yourselves to some Spiritual Tea," Lu Xuan said with his most sincere and warm smile.

The leading Qi Practitioner Intermediate Level cultivator could not refuse and consequently accepted it. He weighed the Spirit Stone on his hand and instantly knew its approximate quantity. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. Seeing him accept the Spirit Stone, Lu Xuan slightly relaxed.

He did not want these three people to enter his Spirit Field and notice the Sword Grass, Dark Marrow Mushroom, and other rare and valuable spirit plants, in case they arouse envy and invite trouble.

If he were to refuse through force, he was confident that he could instantly eliminate the three men with his Qi Practicing Fifth Level Cultivation Level Special Magical Tool-Split Silver Blade, Second-Grade Sword Qi Talisman,' and Thunder Fire Pearl.

However, he would not be able to bear the consequences that would ensue afterward. After all, there are many witnesses around, and it wouldn't be possible to dispose of the three men unnoticed.

If this didn't work, he could only resort to bribery. Twenty Spirit Stones to ward off the potential trouble was still acceptable.

Keeping up a facade smile on his face, he quietly took note of these three people in his mind, particularly the leading Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner, vowing to seize any opportunity to get his money's worth back.

The Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner skillfully put all twenty Spirit Stones into his storage bag. The two Qi Cultivation Third Level cultivators at his side pretended not to notice anything and went along as usual.

"Looking at you, Friend Lu, you're obviously a man of talent and integrity. I'm sure you wouldn't have any connection with the Demon Envoy. How about you let my two subordinates take a look around your courtyard as a formality?" the Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner said with a smile to Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan was taken aback, he understood the undertone in his words and instantly felt the rise of anger in his heart.

'Tve already given you twenty Spirit Stones, and you holding onto them all by yourself is already outrageous enough, yet you still want me to satisfy your subordinates? Aren't you afraid that this will fill your stomach beyond capacity?"

Lu Xuan was merely planning on getting even, but after hearing the Mid-stage Qi Practitioner's words, Lu Xuan began to entertain hard-line thoughts of murdering the three men.

He then led the two Third Level Qi Cultivators into the courtyard and slipped each of them five Spirit Stones. After a casual glance, they left satisfied.

"My Spirit stones aren't that easy to come by."

Lu Xuan followed the two men out of the courtyard, watching their departing figures with a cold sneer in his heart.

Just as the three of them were about to go to another courtyard, Wang Shan came out of his house.

Seeing the Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner, his eyes lit up.

"Brother Tan, why have you come over here? You didn't even visit me when you arrived," a jovial Wang Shan approached, beaming.

"Didn't you know I have a mission? And there's so much official business to attend to. With the sporadic emergence of Demon Envoy figures in the market, I had to come out to check more frequently."

"It has been so long since we last met, Brother Wang Shan, your cultivation level has deepened greatly," the Mid-Stage Qi Practitioner replied with a smile.

"I see. Friend Lu is my neighbour, and he loves cultivating spirit plants most of all. He is simple and honest. Brother Tan, I hope you didn't give him any hard time?"

"Not at all. On the contrary, Little Brother Lu is very upright and couldn't possibly be associated with the Demon Envoy," the cultivator surnamed Tan said, omitting the fact that he had just received twenty Spirit Stones from Lu Xuan.

"I'm glad to hear that. Let me introduce you to each other," Wang Shan decided to introduce both parties.

"This is Friend Lu Xuan. He is at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation and is a Spirit Plant Master."

"And this is Tan Xiao Dong, who is in charge of the market's safety. He is deeply cultivated and has been at the Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation for many years. He's sort of my senior brother," Wang Shan introduced both parties to each other.

"Nice to meet you. Officer Tan is impartial and dedicated. Having such a strong professional guarding the marketplace is a blessing for all cultivators," Lu Xuan said ironically.

"Why didn't you come out earlier, Wang Shan? If you had come out a bit earlier, I might've been able to save those dozens of Spirit Stones, and your senior brother's life could've been spared."

He couldn't help but grumble in his heart, lamenting the loss of his thirty Spirit Stones.

"Roar—!!"

In the courtyard, upon seeing Wang Shan come in, the Cloud Leopard that had been quietly waiting in the corner suddenly growled.

"Quiet!"

Lu Xuan gently patted its ash-gray fur on the sharp ears.

The Cloud Leopard Juvenile Beast stared coldly at Wang Shan and the others With its pair of emerald eyes, no longer roaring, but its teeth were bared.

After a few exchanges, Wang Shan and the three others left together. After the figures of the few men disappeared, the Cloud Leopard Juvenile Beast finally calmed down, regaining its elegant posture. With a gentle leap, four white clouds landed on Lu Xuan's shoulder.

"Don't bark at will in the future, understand?"

Lu Xuan picked it up, put it on the ground, and gently pulled its ear-tufted hair.

"Roar?? "

The Bi Jing Cloud Treading Mink pinched its throat, trying hard to make a falsetto sound.

"Huh?"

Lu Xuan suddenly sensed something was not right.

He clearly remembered that when Wang Shan had just come in, the civet juvenile's roar was not as pretending as it is now, but straight and harsh.

Besides roaring once in front of him for the first time, it growled like this only three times.

Twice when Wang Shan entered his courtyard and once when he discovered the Metamorphosis Cultivator in the market.

His expression suddenly turned grim. The time at the market, when the civet juvenile discovered something unusual about that cultivator. The two times it roared upon seeing Wang Shan, did it discover anything?

"Did you discover something irregular about that neighbor?"

Lu Xuan thought of the peculiarities of the Bi Jing Cloud Treading Mink's emerald eyes and asked it.

The Cloud Treading Leopard was a Different Species Demon Beast with high spiritual intelligence. With its round eyes, it nodded its small head.

"Like the Metamorphosis Cultivator in the market?"

Lu Xuan continued to ask.

The juvenile beast first nodded and then shook its head.

"What does nodding and shaking the head mean?"

"Yes, the event with the cultivator at the market occurred after the multitude of cultivators returned from the cultivation of Secret Land and the Demon Envoy broke out. But the Mink gave me a warning growl the first time it saw Wang Shan."

"Does nodding mean that Wang Shan's body is carrying the Demon Envoy or other abnormalities, and shaking the head indicate that there's some difference between him and the cultivator at the market?"

Lu Xuan roughly guessed.

"What should I do about a ticking time bomb nearby? Should I just wait and watch, or pre-emptively attack?"

"Remaining idle seems too passive, as there's a saying that you can only attempt robbery for a thousand days, not safeguard against it for a thousand days."

"But if I attack first, will I be able to beat him?"

"If it's just Wang Shan with his Qi Cultivating Fifth Level power, then things would still look hopeful. But when the unpredictable Demon Envoy inside is added into the equation, it becomes impossible to predict."

"Moreover, Wang Shan is a minor leader of the patrol guards in the market with an official background. It would be easy to get entangled with more affairs."

"More importantly, I don't know what eerie Demon Envoy could be lurking behind him."

Lu Xuan fell into a dilemma. If he doesn't solve it, he will always have to worry as he lives near Wang Shan. Moving out is unrealistic, after all, he has paid so much rent for this courtyard.

But, if he chooses to solve it, it might put him at risk too.

"Is there a safe and effective method?"

Lu Xuan was deep in thought.

"Doesn't Linyang Market carry out a large-scale purge of Demon Envoy recently? Why not take this opportunity to solve this from within?"

"If I can't beat him, I can report!"

Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Grass Puppet: Defense of the Spirit Fieldl

"I just want to live a peaceful life, farming my land. Why does it always get disrupted?"

After obtaining the special light cluster from his Spirit Field, Lu Xuan adopted a detached approach to life.

He stopped striving and jostling for opportunities among the countless Loose Cultivators.

That was why he had previously declined the invitation from Zhang Hong and the Spirit Plant Master from Bai Cao Tang to explore the Secret Land.

Usually, he would act kindly towards others and seldom go out.

Wang Shan was possessed by a Demon Envoy, which was highly likely to disrupt his peaceful life. Hence, Lu Xuan had no choice but to solve it proactively.

"Who should I report Wang Shan to then?"

"The person must be obviously stronger than him and shouldn't be close to him."

Lu Xuan pondered a while before recalling that Wang Shan had once bad-mouthed one of his superiors while they were drinking together.

Initially, he considered solving the problem through Bai Cao Tang's connections, but eventually gave up. After all, he had only just started working with Bai Cao Tang, held no significant achievements, and didn't know any people with real power. The only person he knew well, Manager He, wasn't of a high status either.

"Another point to note is that my identity must be well concealed, lest this reporting not only ends in failure but also implicates myself."

After deciding who to report to, Lu Xuan began to secretly investigate and prepare for action.

Linyang Market, North District Enforcement Hall.

A massive building occupying an area of over 10 acres was rife with spiritual energy and teeming with strange and rare plants.

Ling Peng was sitting at his desk, flipping through a book on artifact crafting.

Usually a quiet person, he selected a courtyard office on the side of the Enforcement Hall. A lush Spirit Wood was planted outside the window which he would gaze at for relaxation.

One of the high-tier Qi Cultivators from the Enforcement Hall, he usually remained in the Hall, only stepping in during large-scale Demon Envoy invasions.

Suddenly, he made a soft yelp, and a shield covered with gray-black scales flashed out from his storage bag, circling around him.

The moment the gray-black shield appeared, a golden light streak, like a sharp arrow, shot into the room.

'Ding'

To Ling Peng's surprise, the golden light streak didn't aim at him, but shot directly at the room's beam, lingering there.

"Who's so audacious to attack an Enforcement Hall Cultivator?"

A streak of anger surfaced on Ling Peng's face as the shield automatically circulated him, his spiritual power operating at its maximum.

Several breaths later, there was no movement outside.

Ling Peng, puzzled, looked at the golden Sword Qi on the beam.

"To have this Sword Qi last for so long, the cultivator behind all this must possess extraordinary accomplishments in Sword Dao."

Ling Peng exclaimed and noticed a palm-sized white paper pinned to the beam by the golden Sword Qj.

He dispersed the golden Sword Qi and used the Object Manipulation Technique to let the paper float towards him.

The white paper contained two lines of shoddy handwriting that were obviously added intentionally.

"Wang Shan may be corrupted by the Demon Envoy. Patrol in-charge, Tan Xiao Dong, is very likely to be covering it up intentionally."

Ling Peng read the text softly.

A cluster of dark red flames suddenly appeared beneath the paper, leaving it slightly charred.

"Is the information true or just a prank?"

"I remember Wang Shan being a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner in the Enforcement Hall, a Qi Cultivator of the Fifth Level, occupying a middle-tier position. If even he is corrupted by the Demon Envoy, then some calamity is likely to happen in the Enforcement Hall."

"The possibility of this being a prank is too low."

He looked at the faint trace left by the golden Sword Qi on the beam, contemplating.

"The Sword Qi unleashed by the people behind it was silent and undetectable, even my advanced-level Spiritual Sense could only discover it when close by. The Sword Qi lingered, its momentum was overwhelming, yet it only left a faint trace."

"This suggests that he has been immersed in Sword Dao for at least ten years, and his mastery of Sword Qi has reached a minor completion, or even grand completion. Hence, his cultivation level is most likely advanced Qi Cultivation as it would be extremely difficult for a mid-stage Qi practitioner to possess such Sword Dao skills."

"Therefore, I must keep an eye on those two."

Ling Peng quietly made a decision.

He leapt onto a crimson flying sword and circled around the Enforcement Hall without spotting any suspicious characters.

Not far away on a street, Lu Xuan slowly walked down the bluestone road. Not too long after, a surging Spiritual Sense swept over him.

With the help of the Concealment Method, Lu Xuan only revealed the Third Level Qi Cultivation at this moment. The Spiritual Sense didn't find anything unusual and disappeared in an instant.

Lu Xuan continued to walk at a normal pace, without displaying any panic.

"By sending this message with the Grand-mastery Gold Sword Technique, the high-level Qi Cultivator who is suspected to have a close relationship with Wang Shan would surely scrutinize my warning. At least, he would keep a closer watch on Wang Shan."

"As for Tan Xiao Dong who swallowed my Spirit Stone and is still not satisfied, I'll trip him up along the way. When the opportunity arises, I'll settle the score when my strength can crush him."

Lu Xuan reviewed his reporting action.

With the help of the Concealment Method, he silently approached the target cultivator without attracting any attention, applied the Grand-mastery Gold Sword Technique to deliver the warning, then disguised himself as a Third Layer Qi Cultivator to evade any possible inspection.

"Let's see if it works."

At this point, whether Wang Shan's contamination by the Demon Envoy is detected or not, all Lu Xuan could do is to respond to changes without changing his plan and watch how things unfold.

"Spirit Firefly Grass, Red Cloud Pine, Sword Grass, quickly mature."

He returned to the courtyard and looked at dozens of the nearly mature Spirit Firefly Grass in the Spirit Field, as well as five Red Cloud Pine that were growing increasing in size and deepening in color, and the Sword Grass that stood straight like a sword blade. He felt reassured.

"As long as the Spirit Plants mature, I can continue to accumulate strength. Then, even if the Demon Envoy inside Wang Shan wants to harm me, I can solve it myself."

At the edge of the Spiritual Spring Pool, the Bi Jing Cloud Treading Mink dug out a strange worm from an unknown place.

While it put the strange worm down and three Red-bearded Carps from the Spiritual Spring Pool emerged to fight for it, it quickly snatched the strange worm back into its paw, at the same time grabbing the whiskers and yanking the Red-bearded Carp out.

The long whiskers contracted and expanded in mid-air, causing the Red-bearded Carp below to constantly bounce up and down.

"I told you not to go fishing, why didn't you listen? Asking for a beating, aren't you?!"

Seeing this, Lu Xuan couldn't help but smack the sharp ears of the Cloud Leopard Juvenile Beast.

The Cloud Leopard Juvenile Beast with its indifferent gaze put the Red-bearded Carp back into the Spiritual Spring Pool, walked to the side, and started tampering with the dying strange worm in the furrows of the Spirit Field.

Lu Xuan was worried that it would be upset about being hit, so he focused his thoughts on it.

"Rawr- Master stroked me again today-"

"This little guy…"

Lu Xuan was left speechless, realizing that the Civet caught the Red-bearded Carp to attract his attention, where even a smack was better than not being touched all day.

On a whim, he walked over to the Grass Puppet who was patrolling the Spirit Field.

The Grass Puppet slowly circled the Spirit Field with the same steps.

"The Grass Puppet has undergone significant changes after absorbing the Grass Nourishing Elixir, even showing some degree of Spiritual Intelligence. I wonder what its current state would be like."

Curious, Lu Xuan focused his spiritual mind on the dark body of the Grass Puppet.

"Guard the Spirit Field!"

"Guard the Spirit Field!"

"Guard the Spirit Field!"

The same phrase echoed repeatedly in Lu Xuan's mind..

Chapter 44: 43 Aroma Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea 1

"Such dedication to guard the Spirit Field, truly a good servant of mine…"

Lu Xuan, feeling the same phrase echoing in his mind, couldn't help but sigh as he watched the Grass Puppet that kept patrolling.

"I must reward it greatly!"

He made up his mind, called the Grass Puppet over, fumbled in his arms for a moment, and took out a Broken Spirit.

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out another one and stuffed them into the grey grass tumours on the Grass Puppet's massive head.

Then, his mind gathered on the Grass Puppet's body.

"Guard the Spirit Field!"

"Guard the Spirit Field!"

The acquired words were still repeating, but Lu Xuan felt a hint of joy in the Grass Puppet's heart compared to before he fed it the Broken Spirits.

In the next two days, Lu Xuan remained vigilant, the Slivered Silver Blade and the Million Swords Qi Talisman were almost inseparable from his hand, but there were no movements at all, everything was as usual.

As if the report two days ago had never appeared.

The Spirit Firefly Grass in the Spirit Field has matured in large quantities, and Lu Xuan has harvested twelve strains.

Among the twelve strains, two were of perfect grade, six of superior quality, and the other four were of good quality.

Harvest lead Spirit Firefly Grass, gain six months of cultivation progress."*!

Harvest Spirit Firefly Grass, obtain nine months of cultivation."*!

Of the twelve white light clusters, four were cultivation rewards, bringing Lu Xuan a total of two and a half years of cultivation progress.

Lu Xuan had four thoughts flashing in his mind, waves of spiritual power emerged in his body, surging and rushing, impacting the meridians and dantian in his body.

After a long time, the violent spiritual power gradually calmed down.

Lu Xuan gently circulated it, feeling the thick spiritual power filling his bones, and a sense of peace naturally emerged.

His cultivation level had progressed further, and if he had a direct conflict with the Demon Envoy behind Wang Shan, he would have a greater chance of success.

"Harvest Spirit Firefly Grass, get First Grade Talisman Sword Qi."*!

"Harvest Spirit Firefly Grass, get First Grade Ice Sting Talisman."

"Harvest Spirit Firefly Grass, get First Grade Exorcism Talisman."

Flashes of thought, four different talismans appeared in Lu Xuan's hand one after another.

Although they are only First Grade Talismans, they can be fatal to the middle-stage Qi cultivator, but as long as there are enough numbers, they can also have a good effect when they are all fired together.

After consuming most of his talismans during the attack by Qin Ming, Lu Xuan has collected dozens of First Grade Talismans during this period.

"Harvest Spirit Firefly Grass, get First Grade Yang Metal Sword Art."

"Harvest Spirit Firefly Grass, get Tree Life Spell."*!

In the remaining four white light clusters, three of them had Technique Experience Packages, which helped Lu Xuan understand the Yang Metal Sword Art and the Tree Life Spell more thoroughly.

The Yang Metal Sword Art was already faintly touching the threshold of the grandmaster realm, increasing the speed of the technique, the lethality, and the control ability.

The Tree Life Spell has reached the Mastery Realm. When casting it, you can see a faint green spiritual power converging on the branches and leaves of the Spirit Plant. Compared with the beginning, the progress is rapid.

Lu Xuan gently picked up the last white light cluster.

The light cluster turned into countless light spots, sinking into Lu Xuan's body, and a thought flashed in his mind.

Harvest Spirit Firefly Grass, get Second Grade Sword Qi Talisman."

A talisman with countless delicate sword marks appeared in Lu Xuan's hand.

The sword Qi was sharp, as if it could pierce the body at any time.

One of the two Spirit Firefly Grass with perfect grades has yielded a Second Grade Sword Qi Talisman, and the other one don't know if it's a First Grade Talisman or the Yang Metal Sword Art. That's not bad either."

Lu Xuan put away the talisman and packed the Spirit Firefly Grass in a jade box.

Now he has collected 23 mature Spirit Firefly Grass. To prevent loss of vitality, he has to take it to the Bai Cao Tang for processing.

Lu Xuan activated the formation in the courtyard, instructed the Grass Puppet to pay close attention, then took the Bi Jing Cloud Treading Mink and went out.

With the transformations cultivators appearing outside from time to time, having the young Civet by his side would make things a little safer.

In Bai Cao Tang, the hall was filled with a strong medicinal fragrance. Manager

He was not in sight, there were only a few attendants handling herbs.

Brother Lu, you're here, Manager He is dealing with some matters inside, sit down first, I'll make you a pot of hot tea."

An observant medicinal attendant who was over ten years old saw Lu Xuan coming in, and quickly called out. He moved a redwood chair to Lu Xuan's side and quickly brought him a cup of steaming Spiritual Tea.

"Thank you."

Lu Xuan sat down and took the Spiritual Tea.

He could feel that compared to his first visit to Bai Cao Tang, the attendants' attitudes towards him had changed substantially.

When he first came, he was just a Qi Cultivation Second Layer loose cultivator, bringing a few stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass of ordinary quality, brazenly asking Manager He to take them. The few attendants in the hall barely gave him a second glance.

Gradually, as his visits to Bai Cao Tang increased, only one or two of the attendants would greet him with a nod.

But after he establish a cooperative relationship with Bai Cao Tang, the attendants suddenly became passionate. They greeted him proactively, treating him like an old friend.

After continuously selling Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass, they were even more enthusiastic, offering him tea and water, sparing no effort in providing for his needs.

Lu Xuan understood clearly that this striking change was due to his ability to cultivate a constant supply of high-quality Spirit Plants.

He appreciated this realization, further understanding the value of the timely assistance provided by Manager He and Zhang Hong.

Before he finished his tea, Manager He rushed in.

"Kid Lu, you're here?"

"How many stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass did you bring this time? How is the quality?"

The thin and lean old man asked curiously.

"I brought twenty-two stalks, the quality will definitely not disappoint you."

Lu Xuan replied with a smile.

He took out more than twenty stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass from his storage bag and placed them on the counter.

"Nine of Good Quality, nine of Superior Quality, and four of Perfect Grade."

Manager He carefully inspected each one, his gaze complex as he looked at Lu Xuan and sighed.

"You're growing up too fast, kid. So many Spirit Firefly Grass, not a single one of ordinary quality. The lowest quality is good, and the probability of perfect quality is also not low."

"It seems like those Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass you brought in earlier were no accident."

"Being able to guarantee such a planting efficiency, you've already surpassed most of the Spirit Planters in Bai Cao Tang. Keep in mind, they spend twice or even several times more effort on Spirit Plants than you."

'I also know that I'm quite amazing, so how many Spirit Stones can I get for these Spirit Firefly Grass?"

Lu Xuan, with his chin in his hand, smiled at Manager He, who was still sighing.

"You money-grubbing kid."

Same old price, let me calculate, it adds up to seventy-seven Spirit Stones and thirty Broken Spirits, do you agree?"

"I'm sure your calculations are correct, Old He."

Lu Xuan took the seventy-plus Spirit Stones handed to him, swept through them with his spirit, and put them into his storage bag.

"Do you remember what I told you before? As long as you can steadily cultivate high-quality Spirit Plants, you will have an opportunity."

There are several Spirit Plants in the hall entrusted to me. I was tasked to find someone among the cooperating Spirit Plant Masters. Seeing your good performance, I plan to reserve half of them for you."

"Oh? Which Spirit Plants?" Lu Xuan asked curiously.

"Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea."

"Second Grade."

Manager He said with a smile..

Chapter 45: Chapter 44 The Untold Secret 1

"Second Grade Spirit Plant?"

Hearing what the thin old man said, Lu Xuan couldn't help sitting up straight, his expression serious.

"Correct, Second Grade Qingmiao Spirit Tea seedlings. The tea leaves plucked after they mature have a clear and enlightening effect. To a certain extent, it can resist the invasion and pollution of many types of Demon Envoys, very welcomed by the 'Qi Practitioner Intermediate Level1 and High-Order Cultivators."

"I have six seedlings in my hand, and I have to give three to other spirit plant masters in the hall. If you're willing, I can give you the remaining three at a low price."

"Of course, I'm willing."

Lu Xuan immediately responded.

"Thank you, Old He, for delivering this opportunity to me."

He rose and bowed to the thin old man.

"This is all that you have strived for. If I didn't see your stable production of high-quality spirit plants, I wouldn't have given them to you."

Manager He looked at Lu Xuan with a tinge of satisfaction in his eyes.

Before I give them to you, I need to confirm a minor detail."

"Can your Spirit Field handle the spiritual energy levels and area that you own? Qingmiao Spirit Tea is somewhat overbearing, it doesn't allow other spirit plants around it, and the demand for spiritual energy is also relatively high." "No problem."

Lu Xuan responded decisively.

The spiritual field in the yard had a small part vacant. It should be no problem to plant three second-level spirit plants. The spiritual energy was richer and purer than the initial spiritual field, and there is a Spiritual Spring for irrigation.

The more important thing is that he can grasp the state of the spirit plant at any time and make minor adjustments according to its needs and fulfill them.

With the accumulation of these different factors, naturally, it is not difficult to plant three Second Grade Spirit Plants.

"If there's no problem, you wait here for a while, and I'll be right back."

Innder courtyard of the 'Bai Cao Tang'.

In a spacious and bright room, three Spirit Plant Masters were sitting on wooden chairs, moving around from time to time, showing that they were not really calm.

"Why is Manager He so stubborn? For three Qingmiao Spirit Tea seedlings, he keeps holding onto them."

"Friend Zhou, calm down. There aren't many in 'Bai Cao Tang' who are more suitable than us for planting Qingmiao Spirit Tea."

"That's right. We've been cooperating with 'Bai Cao Tang' for many years and every one of us is very experienced in cultivating spirit plants. If he doesn't give them to us, who will Manager He give them to? He's just waiting for a better offer and wants some benefits."

The three comforted each other, drank a sip of the cold spiritual tea in the cup, forcibly calming themselves.

Not much later, Manager He entered the room.

"Old He!" *3

The three of them stood up unanimously and greeted enthusiastically. "The three of you, please go back. I've told you before that there's a suitable candidate for the Qingmiao Spirit Tea. Why are you making things difficult for me?"

The three men's faces turned serious upon hearing this.

After a long pause, a dark-skinned middle-aged cultivator asked Manager He. "I wonder, Manager He, who you intend to give Qingmiao Spirit Tea to? Is it Old Shen from the west district? He does have a lot of experience, but he is old and has declined in physical strength. I'm afraid it will be hard for him to successfully cultivate the spirit tea."

"No, it's a young man, not even twenty, full of strength."

"Pfft!"

A cultivator next to him could not help but spit out the cold tea that he hadn't swallowed yet.

"Old He, could you be senile? You're giving such an important second-grade spirit plant to a young man not even twenty years old?"

"Isn't this a waste, losing three precious Second Grade Spirit Plant seedlings?"

The thin old man sneered at their words.

"The three of you have been cooperating with 'Bai Cao Tang' for quite some time. Can you tell me how many years you've been cultivating spiritual medicine?"

"Twenty years."

' I'm two years less, eighteen years."

"Merely, I have been for twenty-five years."

The last cultivator spoke with a smile, proudly.

"So, when you're planting Spirit Firefly Grass, which is in the highest demand in 'Bai Cao Tang', how many of the matured Spirit Grass is of high quality?" "I did some rough calculations, of the Spirit Firefly Grass I cultivate, about 30% is of ordinary quality, around 50% is of good quality, and the rest, about 20%, is of superior quality."

The results spoke by the other two were similar to his.

"What about Perfect Grade?"

Manager He asked calmly.

"How could Perfect Grade be that simple? The requirements for the spirit plant master and the spiritual energy of the spirit field are too high. For a No-Organization Spirit Plant Master, it's a matter of chance."

"Oh, really?"

The thin old man cornered the tip of his mouth in disdain.

"But that young man, who has been in contact with spirit plant cultivation for less than three years, recently brought over less than forty strains of Spirit Firefly Grass. The lowest quality was good, and there were even eight Perfect Quality ones."

"How is that possible?!"

The words slipped from the lips of the dark-skinned middle-aged cultivator, his tone full of shock.

"Why isn't it possible? I personally checked all the Spirit Firefly Grass. Are you saying that there's a problem with my eyesight?"

Manager He's brow furrowed, his words piercing.

The dark-skinned middle-aged cultivator stumbled over his words but didn't retort in the end.

User 2: The words from Manager He were too unimaginable for him. As a Spirit Plant Master who had been cultivating for more than 20 years, he knew how rare it was to cultivate a Spirit Plant of Perfect Quality.

But that young man cultivated eight Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grasses from

a mere thirty or so strains. How could he accept that in such a short time?

But Manager He spoke so confidently, making him have to believe it.

The three of them glanced at each other, and they each read the doubts and helplessness in each other's eyes.

"I don't know if Manager He can introduce the young spirit plant master to us."

One of them asked with his head lowered.

"He's here in 'Bai Cao Tang' right now. If you have any doubts, you can go and see for yourselves."

Seeing the three of their attitudes, Manager He knew they had mostly believed him. He then had the idea of introducing Lu Xuan to the three of them, so he could make more acquaintance with the Spirit Plant Masters.

After hearing this, the three of them hurriedly came to the lobby and noticed the calm, handsome young man by the edge of the wooden cabinet at first sight.

"May I ask if you are Friend Lu?"

The dark-skinned middle-aged cultivator came to the young man's side and asked with a bow.

"Yes, it's me."

Lu Xuan returned the bow and said.

"No wonder you are a cut above the rest. It makes sense that you can plant

Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass."

The middle-aged cultivator scanned over the wooden cabinet and saw more than twenty Spirit Firefly Grass of excellent quality, and his last doubt vanished.

"You flatter me, I got lucky. I still need to ask all the fellow daoists on how to plant spirit plants."

Many hands make light work, Lu Xuan replied modestly.

The three looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

"Friend Lu, you mustn't joke with us. You're a Spirit Plant Master who can grow

Perfect Grade spirit plants. Where would you need to learn from us?"

After a pause, one of them asked in a low voice.

"Friend Lu, if I may be so bold, how did you cultivate Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass?"

"How to cultivate Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass?"

Lu Xuan looked troubled, his right thumb and forefinger lightly touching each

other, and in the end, it turned into a sigh.

"This is a secret that cannot be shared, and it's really not convenient for me to tell others.."

Chapter 46: Chapter 45 Do You Really Think I'm Lying down

Seeing the hand movement of Lu Xuan, the three individuals mutually understood. They shared a glance and retreated to a corner of the lobby.

"This young man is always talking about some kind of secret knowledge that he refuses to share. It's clear that he just wants Spirit Stones. What do you think?"

"In my opinion, we should give it a try. If his methods do indeed work, we stand to gain a lot. If we can truly grow Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass, we'll gain significant reputation and Spirit Stones.

Moreover, if we can grow Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass, it is possible to cultivate Perfect Quality First or even Second-Level Spirit Plants."

"I'm just worried that what he is saying won't work, and we end up wasting our Spirit Stones for nothing."

"In any case, he is also a Herbalist of Hundred Herbs Hall. If we get scammed, we can still find him through the Hall."

The three quietly discussed for a moment, then approached Lu Xuan again.

"Friend Lu, we three have decided to offer sixty Spirit Stones in exchange for your method of growing Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass. What do you think?"

"Inasmuch as teaching one's methods should not be taken lightly, the method to cultivate Perfect Quality Spirit Plants involves a lot. I hope the three of you will understand."

Lu Xuan's tone gradually relaxed, shifting from the initial 'nonetheless it's a secret' to the present 'teaching one's methods should not be taken lightly'.

The meaning behind his words was also very clear:

He wanted more money.

The three returned to the corner, debated in muted voices, and eventually came back to Lu Xuan.

"One hundred Spirit Stones, and not a single one more. My friend Lu, you should understand better than anyone that Spirit Stones are hard to come by as a No-Organization Spirit Plant Master. This is the most that we can pool together."

The swarthy middle-aged cultivator said with a regretful expression.

As for the three men's wealth, Lu Xuan had no interest in knowing. He just knew that one hundred Spirit Stones was indeed not a small sum.

One should know, Perfect Quality Spirit Firefly Grass, compared to other qualities, doesn't have a substantial price increase. Making a profit would require cultivating many high-quality Spirit Firefly Grass.

"Methods should be passed down to those with a connection. Being able to meet the three of you here means we have strong karma. I will tell you the cultivation methods."

"The principle is very simple, according to the growth needs of the Spirit Plants, change from large-scale formula methods to precise application of these methods, such as the Spirit Rain Technique, the Earth Pulling Technique, the Tree Life Spell, etc, extending these to the Spirit Plants when most apt. Only in this way can they achieve optimal growth."

"As for when to apply these precise methods, that's something the three of you will have to figure out."

"That's how it is!"

The three suddenly came to understand.

"Every Spirit Plant, during the course of its growth, has different needs. Even if the differences are very slight, they accumulate over time and ultimately affect the quality of the plant when it matures."

"And nurturing the Spirit Plants carefully will indeed address these problems to the fullest."

"My friend, I understand!"

The expressions of the three of them showed their gratitude. The method Lu Xuan spoke of was indeed very simple, but there aren't many Spirit Plant Masters who are willing to do it this way.

After all, for most cultivators, cultivating Spirit Plants is just one of many cultivation skills, no different from Alchemy and Tool refining. Cultivation is the most important thing.

Immediately, the three of them realized the problem.

"If we really do as Friend Lu suggests, wouldn't that mean we spend most of our energy on cultivating Spirit Plants, leaving little time for cultivation of ourselves?" The swarthy middle-aged cultivator asked doubtfully.

"Indeed, that's how it is."

Lu Xuan nodded.

"I know my talents are average, and I have no hope in cultivation. Hence, I chose to give up on cultivation all together, spending all my time and effort on cultivating Spirit Plants, and have thus obtained a bit of insignificant results."

"As for the three of you, whether you want to work hard in cultivation, improving your cultivation level, or you want to cultivate more high-quality Spirit Plants and earn more Spirit Stones, that's up to your personal choices."

The three men left with lots of thoughts in their heads.

Lu Xuan watched the backs of the three departing men, satisfied, he put the hundred spirit stones he'd obtained into his storage bag.

He took these hundred Spirit Stones without any guilt.

The method he told the three was indeed effective. After careful cultivation of Spirit Plants, the quality of the plants they grow will definitely improve to some extent, thus allowing them to earn more Spirit Stones.

However, what Lu Xuan didn't mention, the most crucial point, was that he is able to understand and control the real-time status of the Spirit Plants. He can adjust according to their needs at any time.

The three of them couldn't do this; they can only find out by trial and error and approximate estimation. They can't achieve perfect cultivation, and it's very difficult to get perfect quality Spirit Plants.

Moreover, if they chose to cultivate Spirit Plants carefully, they have basically given up cultivation. They are not like Lu Xuan, who has rewards from the White Light Grp; they can get all kinds of treasures and cultivation levels.

"You think I'm really laying down and taking it easy?"

Lu Xuan chuckled softly to himself.

"In fact, I'm stealing all your thunder."

"You boy, not only are you good at cultivating Spirit Plants, but you're also not bad at earning Spirit Stones."

The thin old man approached Lu Xuan, who didn't notice when he came. He laughed softly as he spoke.

"Isn't that right?"

Lu Xuan smiled smugly.

"With three sentences, I got three Spirit Plant Masters to spend a hundred Spirit Stones. This level is ok, isn't it?"

"Earning one hundred Spirit Stones is quite good, but if you let your unique method be known, then it won't be worth the loss."

Manager He showed some dissatisfaction, seemingly blaming Lu Xuan for leaking the method of growing Perfect Grade Spirit plants for the sake of a little profit.

"Manager He, rest assured, it's not that simple. The method is are as I described, but whether one can do it or not is another matter.

Otherwise, with so many Spirit Plant Masters, why hasn't anyone discovered that careful cultivation can uplift the quality of Spirit Plants? But do you see how many Spirit Plant Masters can cultivate perfect quality ones?"

Lu Xuan said calmly.

The lean elder nodded, feeling slightly reassured.

"Come here, take those three Qingmiao Spirit Tea seedlings."

Lu Xuan followed the elder into a room. The room was filled with a sweet fragrance. In the center was a wooden shelf with three flower pots marked with strange patterns.

Within the flower pots, were three tea tree seedlings.

Though these seedlings were only about five inches tall, their branches were twisted and knotty, which exuded a strange contrast between being delicate and powerful.

On these branches, were a few tiny green tea leaves, which were slightly shaking under the breeze. Despite their fragile appearance, one could feel a strong vitality from them.

"These are the three seedlings of Second Grade Qingmiao Spirit Tea."

"This is not some Non-grade Spirit Plant like the Spirit Firefly Grass. It is much more expensive. You have to take great care of it and make sure you don't fail."

Manager He looked stern as he instructed Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan nodded gravely.

"How many Spirit Stones do these three Qingmiao Spirit Tea seedlings cost?"

"On the market, each recorded buying of Qingmiao Spirit Tea seedling is usually thirty spirit stones apiece. The price is a result of the seedlings scarcity and the preciousness of the tea leaves. Although you have a deal with Bai Cao Tang, you can get them at a lower price. The three seedlings, you can take away for sixty Spirit Stones."

With the price being reduced by more than 30%, Lu Xuan felt even more fortunate that he'd established such a relatively free partnership with Bai Cao Tang and felt even more grateful to the old man who'd brought him in..

Chapter 47: Chapter 46 Hexaptera Parasite

"Come down."

Lu Xuan returned to the courtyard with three Qingmiao spirit tea seedlings and spoke to the Cloud Leopard Juvenile Beast that was perched on his shoulder.

The Cloud Leopard, its blue-green eyes coldly regarding Lu Xuan, gently descended to the ground and headed straight for the spiritual spring pool.

Lu Xuan went to a corner of the spirit field, sectioned off a large part of the virgin spirit soil, and using the Earth Pulling Technique, created three small pits in the spirit field. He gently placed the three Qingmiao spirit tea seedlings in the pits.

After planting the Qingmiao spirit tea, his attention was focused on the small tea seedlings.

"Only the purest water can engender the most delicate tea."

"To water the tea seedlings with spirit spring water would be even better."

"Qingmiao spirit tea embodies a clear spirit in its branches and leaves. You cannot let nefarious beings or filthy objects linger around the tea seedlings for too long, or they will affect the growth of the tea seedlings."

An insight flashed through Lu Xuan's mind as he instantly understood the needs of the Qingmiao spirit tea seedlings and precautions to take.

"Water with spirit spring… That's not difficult. There just so happens to be a pool of a spiritual spring in this courtyard, and a small amount of spring water is constantly seeping from the earth, which is more than enough to nourish the three Qingmiao spirit tea seedlings."

"As for the nefarious, filthy things, I, Lu Xuan, am clean and innocent, filled with righteous Qi; naturally, I can't be infected by those things."

"Hmm, from now on, I should try to prevent the Wang Mountain Couple from entering the courtyard as much as possible, so as not to pollute my spiritual tea."

After using the Spirit Rain Technique to lavish the Qingmiao Spirit Tea seedlings, he proceeded to another corner of the Spirit field.

In the corner of the Spirit Field, there was a fog cluster about half a meter in length and width.

The mist was hazy and hard to see clearly, even with his spiritual sense felt slightly stagnant.

The third-grade Fantasy Smoke Fruit seemed to transform into a smoky mist, merging with the lingering fumes.

"Oh, you're playing hide-and-seek with me."

Lu Xuan focused his mind in the mist, constantly seeking, and soon learned the location of the Fantasy Smoke Fruit.

After applying the Spirit Rain Technique, the faint mist gently churned then condensed, revealing the seedling of the Fantasy Smoke Fruit.

After nourishing the Fantasy Smoke Fruit, Lu Xuan made another round in the Spirit Field, confirming each spirit plant was growing well, then returned to his house.

Once back, he sat at the table, tallying up the spirit stones he had in hand.

The twenty-two Spirit Firefly Grass plants he took with him were exchanged for seventy-seven spirit stones. The three Qingmiao Spirit Tea seedlings cost sixty spirit stones. Fortunately, three Spirit Plant Masters voluntarily offered a hundred spirit stones, making a net gain of about a hundred and twenty spirit stones.

In addition to what was in his hand, his total wealth was over two hundred spirit stones.

"Over two hundred spirit stones, plus the Spirit Firefly Grass is maturing quickly, and the Red Cloud Pine will mature soon. My wealth is about to surge." Lu Xuan gazed at the small heap of spirit stones overflowing with spiritual energy on the table, thinking exuberantly.

"Little Brother Lu, are you home? My wife has prepared a feast. Why not come over and join me for a drink?"

The call came from outside the courtyard. It came from Wang Shan.

Lu Xuan was not sure whether it was his perception at play, but the voice sounded somewhat eager.

With his hair standing on end, the Slivered Silver Blade quietly split into dozens of silver fragments, and a Second-Grade Sword Qi Ten Thousand Talisman slipped into his palm.

"Big Brother Wang, I am a bit tired from cultivating spiritual plants today and have a headache. I won't come over today. I'll taste your wife's cooking another time."

Wang Shan listened to Lu Xuan's words, then left.

At the Wang Family home,

There was a mahogany table in the center of the hall with more than ten dishes on it, including rare ingredients like Demon Beast Meat. Wang Shan's concubine sits at the table quietly with her head down.

"Lu Xuan isn't feeling well and couldn't make it. So it'll be just the two of us eating."

"Yes, as you wish, master."

Lady Wang replied softly before standing up to serve Wang Shan his meal.

"Thank you, my lady."

Watching the pale, soft feet that extended towards him, Wang Shan felt content.

When he initially bought this concubine from the black market, he only wanted to alleviate his loneliness. However, he was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

After bringing this concubine home, her gentleness and charm brought Wang Shan extreme pleasure. He became so engrossed that he hardly visited the pleasure house lately.

Importantly, he had an inkling that he might soon break through to the sixth level of Qi Cultivation.

His fondness increased for the concubine. Enjoying her company day and night, he couldn't get enough.

"My lady, you've worked hard."

He gently stroked her tender, fair hand and spoke softly.

"Would master be unwilling to let me work so hard?"

Lady Wang raised her head, her eyes shimmering with allure, enhanced by a mole near the corner of her eye.

Of course, I cherish you. How can I bear seeing you work so hard?"

"Then, what if I'm pregnant? I've heard that pregnancy is very painful and tormenting."

Lady Wang asked pitifully.

"Hmm…"

While Wang Shan hesitated, Lady Wang subtly pulled her hand away, revealing a faint smile.

"Why don't you have the baby for me!"

Barely pondering a refusal, Wang Shan suddenly felt a peculiar yearning within him as if something inside him wants to breed.

"Sure!"

This longing was so potent that it overwhelmed his thoughts and spiritual sense, causing him to unconsciously agree.

As the words left his lips, his stomach started to rumble. His belly started growing at a visible rate while his limbs, chest, and back shrank.

In a short span, his belly inflated like a large sphere. Wang Shan's eyes sunk into sockets, revealing a hint of madness. His body had become incredibly shrivelled with nothing but a layer of skin draped over his bones.

"My lord, have my baby for me!"

Lady Wang's face flushed, and she stared obsessively at Wang Shan's enormous belly.

At the same time, just as Wang Shan started to change, a nearly translucent parasite shot out from a cracked Spirit Wood in the yard.

The parasite was about two inches long with six wings that were as delicate as cicada wings, decorated with faint patterns.

Currently, the patterns on the wings turned black as Wang Shan transformed, causing the Hexaptera Parasite to whimper nervously.

Located miles away, at the Enforcement Hall.

Ling Peng, a high-grade Qi practitioner, watched the restless Hexaptera

Parasite with a grave expression.

"It's finally shown up."

The Hexaptera Parasite in front of him was known for its excellent concealment capabilities. It would start to change and produce intense reactions when it detected Evil Spite Qi nearby.

The stronger the Evil Spite Qi, the more significant the reaction would be.

After learning about the possibility of Wang Shan being possessed by a Demon Envoy, he quietly conducted an investigation but gained nothing. Thus, he left a Hexaptera Parasite in the Wang Family's yard to monitor the state of the Wang Family constantly.

After waiting for a few days, he finally witnessed the Demon Envoy's appearance.

Senior Brother, I'm afraid I don't have full assurances to deal with it by myself.

Will you please accompany me? Judging by the worm's reaction, it's going to be tough."

He turned to look at a young cultivator next to him, a lightning scar centered on his forehead flickered occasionally with electric flashes..

Chapter 48: Chapter 47 Thunderstorm (Seeking Follow-up Reading)!

The young cultivator was called Lei Yin, with the cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi training, just a hair's breadth from achieving perfect Qi training. He excelled in Thunder Method.

He was the highest-level cultivator in the Enforcement Hall, commonly known for exterminating countless Demon Envoys, his formidable reputation was infamous.

His eyes were a golden yellow, full of domineering presence. He coldly looked at the Hexaptera Parasite struggling in Ling Peng's hand and said:

"Heretic monsters, daring to reach out to our cultivators from the Enforcement Hall, whether it's intentional or unintentional, I'll make sure they pay a heavy price!"

"Let's go!"

The moment his words fell, Lei Yin rode on a flying sword, shooting out. Ling Peng quickly followed.

Wang Family.

In the grand hall, Wang Shan's belly had swelled into a large ball. This huge ball swelled and contracted like a beating heart.

His entire body had become like a dried corpse. His drooping skin continuously cracked, exposing bleached bones underneath.

"Ah… It's about to be born…"

Lady Wang looked at the incessantly throbbing large ball, her face showing a hint of maternal glow. Her hands were cradling her abdomen, ready to catch the baby about to burst out.

"Where does this Demon Envoy come from? Daring to act wildly in Linyang Market, meet your doom!"

As his words fell, a gigantic fire dragon, several dozen feet long, rushed in swiftly, charging straight towards Wang Shan's swollen belly.

"Wa!"

A baby's cry came from Wang Shan's belly. The cry carried endless resentment, a wall of grey-black spiritual energy instantly solidified, protecting the large ball from the rapidly advancing fire dragon.

The fire dragon collided with the grey-black wall, instantly turning into countless flames, falling on the furniture inside the house, burning furiously.

Ling Peng flew above the house, coldly observing the two people inside the house in a bizarre state through the large hole opened by the fire dragon.

He looked at the increasingly rapidly throbbing large ball, as well as the woman with a frantic expression, knowing that there was no time to lose, he let out a cold snort.

A small fire lotus flew out from his body.

The fire lotus was three-colored: the stems were dark red with numerous thin lines, the petals were fire red with flowing traces of magma, and the lotus flowers were light red, transparent as jade.

The three-colored fire lotus split into three, growing rapidly in size, directly piercing through the grey-black spiritual energy wall, and was about to land on the large ball in Wang Shan's abdomen.

The large ball seemed to sense the threat of the three-colored fire lotus, a huge crack rapidly appeared, with two small black arms lying on either side of the crack.

The thing inside couldn't wait to hatch normally, and was about to prematurely encounter the world.

The woman next to him, her abdomen also had the same large crack, her insides were all empty, filled only with pure resentment.

The baby's arms lay on the edge of the crack, all of a sudden, a more resentful baby's cry rang out, numerous grey-black baby palm print appeared on the three-colored fire lotus, the magma flowing in the petals slowed down almost instantly.

"Still struggling in vain, meet your death!"

A harsh voice rang out.

Above Wang's residence, it suddenly became pitch white, the cultivators who were watching instantly losing any vision, a loud rumbling sound echoed, thunder descended, the entire Wang residence turning into an ocean of lightning.

When everything calmed down, Wang residence had turned into a black and grey area. The large ball in Wang Shan's abdomen along with Lady Wang, under the might of the thunderbolt, turned into dust.

After the two swept their spiritual sense around the courtyard and its surrounding areas, confirming that there was nothing abnormal, they descended.

"Junior Brother Ling, after some time, have someone come and inspect the surroundings again, to ensure no Demon Envoys are overlooked."

" The cultivators from the Enforcement Hall who conduct the inspections must strictly perform their duties, they can't affect the normal life of the surrounding cultivators, nor can they pass it off sloppily, too casually."

"Yes, Senior Brother Lei, I'll personally supervise it, ensuring that no Demon Envoys are missed."

Ling Peng nodded heavily.

Not far away, Lu Xuan was staring at the Wang Family compound with intensity in his gaze.

He noticed the moment thunder appeared but didn't look at it directly, leaving his eyes unaffected.

The Enforcement Hall Cultivator who released such a powerfully potent formula method didn't involve Lu Xuan's small courtyard, showing his superb control of spiritual power.

Lu Xuan was ready for combat, with talisman tools nearby in his hands.

Fortunately, the cultivator who came to deal with the demon envoy was powerful and left no stray remnants of the demon envoy to infiltrate Lu Xuan's courtyard.

"The reporting magic technique is really the best…"

Lu Xuan breathed a sigh. He had been aware of the baby's scream. Even though he wasn't the primary target of the scream, he couldn't help but feel his head swell and his movements slow.

If he had to face it directly, he could not guarantee he could deal with the demon envoy easily.

Luckily, he previously invoked the reporting magic technique, using others' force against themselves, and lured out two high-tier Qi Practitioners from the Enforcement Hall who took care of Wang Shan, who was contaminated by the demon envoy.

"When I reported it, I mentioned that Wang Shan was abnormal and said in passing that Tan Xiao Dong might deliberately be covering for him."

"Now that Wang Shan has been proven to be infiltrated by the demon envoy, Tan Xiao Dong has no excuse. Even if he eventually proves irrelevant to the demon envoy, he cannot escape being accused of negligence."

Lu Xuan sat at the table, motionless.

Wang Shan and the demon envoy had just been dealt with, and it was a sensitive period. As a neighbor, he was naturally the subject of much attention, so it was best not to make any movements for the time being and stay at home.

As expected, within half an hour, three middle-stage Qi Practitioners came to his home to inspect.

"Apologies for the disturbance, fellow cultivator. Tonight, the Enforcement Hall found a powerful demon envoy nearby. After the solution, to avoid the possibility of its hidden access to cultivators' homes, and to ensure all cultivators' safety, we must do a detailed check. We kindly seek your understanding," said the leader with a smile to Lu Xuan.

"Three middle-stage Qi practitioners. What a mighty force."

Lu Xuan exclaimed quietly to himself and replied,

"It's not a problem. Let this cultivator be at ease to do the inspection. I have no objections."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

The leader made a hand gesture towards Lu Xuan and took out a white jade Buddha statue from his storage bag.

The Buddha statue stood about three inches tall, smiled gently, and had a layer of hazy spiritual light emitting from it.

The cultivator manipulated the spiritual energy in his body, cast a spell, and whipped a wave of spiritual power onto the surface of the Buddha statue.

In an instant, the hazy spiritual light suddenly flourished. Like ripples, it swept across Lu Xuan and his courtyard.

As the faint spiritual light swept over, Lu Xuan felt himself becoming immaculate and clear-minded in an instant, untainted by dust.

After sweeping over the entire courtyard, the spiritual light receded back into the Buddha statue. The Buddha statue was still emitting a hazy spiritual light and showed no abnormalities.

"It's done. We didn't detect any anomalies. We apologize for the disturbance."

The leader tucked away the white jade Buddha statue, and together with the other two, rushed towards the next house.

"Did they finish?"

Lu Xuan was perplexed in his heart. He had initially prepared for the likelihood of the spirit plants in his spirit field being exposed. He didn't expect the Enforcement Hall Cultivator's inspection technique to be this simple.

"It seems that Tan Xiao Dong indeed had the intention to swindle me the last time."

"He thought I was just a third layer Qi Cultivation no-organization Spirit Plant Master and wanted to thoroughly search under the premise of performing an inspection."

"But he probably didn't anticipate the price he would pay for a few spirit stones."

Lu Xuan laughed and returned inside his house..

Chapter 49: Chapter 48: When the Pine Nuts Ripen

In the heart of Linyang Market.

In a dimly lit room, seven or eight babies were scrambling around.

The babies had an abnormal bluish-black hue, with dark energy seeping out from their bodies occasionally. Their tiny limbs, sharp teeth, and protruding eyes gave them a fierce appearance.

They possessed agility and speed that didn't match their physical form. Whenever they ran into each other, they'd engage in brutal bites, emitting venomous screams of pain that could induce a throbbing headache.

In the corner of the room, two pretty young girls sat quietly. They said nothing, yet a slight smile on their faces conveyed a kind of maternal radiance.

Both girls sported erupted bellies, much like big leather balls. The belly of one girl was highlighted with a huge crack, through which an a bulging, greyish-white eyeball would occasionally glance at the outside world, seemingly ready to crawl out from the stomach.

"Who? Who canned my beloved Demon Baby?"

A cultivator sat upright on a bed made of ice in the room, enveloped in a dense cloud of resentment. From time to time, faced etched in pain silently wailed as they emerged from this cloud.

The seven or eight babies who were originally brawling in the room instantly quieted down, still as cicadas in winter, seemingly terrified by this person.

The two women in the corner still maintained their smiles, motionless, as the greyish-white eyeball slowly retreated back inside the cracked abdomen.

"With this, the odds of me successfully refining the Demon Baby Pill have decreased. Damn."

The cultivator's cloud of resentment continued to rise, echoing his anger.

He'd been at the Perfect Qi Training stage for quite some time and had attempted to break through the Foundation Establishment phase twice, but both attempts ended in failure.

By chance, from a secret land, he discovered an evil method to refine Demon Baby Pills. After ingesting the pills that were made, the chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage would increase by one or two percent.

Following the procedures recorded in the evil method, he collected hundreds of resentful spirits, condensed them into a Demon Baby Fetus, then found more than ten young girls. Through a secret technique, he controlled them and implanted the Demon Baby Fetus into their bodies.

Then, by various means, he sold them off. When a target cultivator indulged in a moment of pleasure, the Demon Baby Fetus would silently integrate into their bodies.

Because the Demon Baby Fetus is a peculiar treasure, the fusion process enhances the cultivator's internal spiritual energy, giving them the illusion of massive cultivation growth, thus making them even more committed to dual cultivation.

Once the Baby Demon Fetus completely fuses with the cultivator, it seizes an appropriate opportunity to absorb all of the cultivator's spiritual power and essence, turning into a Demon Baby.

After reducing the cultivator to a dry corpse, the Demon Baby would break out of the body and return to the young girl's body, using her to conceal the evil aura and secretly return to his residence.

The entire process remains extremely covert. When the Demon Baby Fetus merges into the cultivator's body, ordinary Evil Banishing Talisman and magic artifacts struggle to detect anomalies. Only in the brief moment when it breaks out of the body does it emit a tiny bit of qi.

Unless someone is constantly vigilant, this small abnormality usually goes unnoticed.

However, despite his caution, a Demon Baby was discovered and killed, which decreased his chances of successfully condensing a Demon Baby Pill and made his advancement to the Foundation Establishment Stage more difficult.

For him, this is akin to a deep hatred.

"It seems I need to find a few more young female Qi Practitioners, implant the Demon Baby Fetus in their bodies, and release them into the black market to be bought by cultivators."

"But with a Demon Baby being discovered, it probably won't be as smooth as the first time."

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a burning rage. His resentment seemed to take a physical form, frightening the seven or eight Demon Babies into immobility.

In the courtyard.

With the threat of Wang Shan's evil spirit gone, Lu Xuan felt much more at ease, focusing entirely on nurturing the numerous spirit plants in his Spirit Field.

After the unexpected emergence of the evil spirit, the Enforcement Hall has been extremely strict in monitoring his area, frequently performing inspections and being very cautious about the entry and

exit of cultivators in the region.

However, this doesn't greatly affect Lu Xuan. After all, he mostly stays in the courtyard, cultivating spiritual plants and occasionally playing with the Cloud Leopard and Red-bearded Carp.

He paid slight attention to the cultivators from the Enforcement Hall who came for inspections. Among the ten or more middle-stage Qi Practitioners, Tan Xiao Dong was noticeably absent. Lu Xuan concluded that he was probably implicated due to the information disclosed in the last report.

At this thought, his mood elevated, planting in the Spirit Field gave him a sense of utmost satisfaction.

In the early morning, the thin layer of mist had yet to disperse.

A three-foot-tall Grass Puppet emerged from the mist after patrolling the Spirit Field tirelessly all night, with its wispy dry grass slightly dampened from the mist.

"What a wonderful worker you are…"

Lu Xuan, carrying a white jade thin neck bottle, exclaimed leisurely and then entered the Spirit Field, stopping at the edge of the Spirit Spring.

Seeing his familiar figure, the three fat, red-bearded carps, thinking they were about to feed on strange worms, flapped their tails and swam over to him.

With their six long, red whiskers trailing along like six red ribbons, bouncing along in the Spiritual Spring Pool.

Lu Xuan, after scattering a handful of Spirit Rice, left them unattended and proceeded to fill the white jade thin neck bottle with half a bottle of Spirit Spring Water.

A dark shadow flashed by.

A Cloud Leopard juvenile beast leaped into the air, its paws, as white as clouds, stepped on the surface of the water, catching a red-bearded carp by the whiskers, and pulled it out of the water.

The juvenile beast skimmed across the surface, leaving only the red-bearded carp flipping in mid-air, then, in its frantic struggle, it dropped back into the spirituality pool, causing ripples to spread out.

The other two red-bearded carps, startled by this sudden event, swiftly dived to the bottom of the Spirit Spring Pool. Their frantically fast movement made the ripples on the water surface all the more intense and apparent.

In the center of the Spirit Spring Pool, the Pure Snow Lotus was swayed gently by the impact of the water waves. The delicate white lotus leaves illustrated a scene of fragility struggling against the wind.

"You rascal, causing some much trouble by catching fishes is fine, but disturbing the growth of my Pure Snow Lotus. I'll deduct a dried porcupinefish from your lunch."

Witnessing the scene, Lu Xuan from the side, reached out to pat the sharp ears of the Cloud Leopard juvenile and threatened.

"Roar—"

Hearing that his favorite food was being deducted, the snooty juvenile beast couldn't help but let out a low growl.

If it hadn't made a sound, it would have been fine. But the moment it squeaked in that coy falsetto, Lu Xuan became more determined to deduct its dried meat.

Afterwards, he brought the Spirit Spring Water to the three Qingmiao Spirit Tea saplings, controlled the water through his spiritual power, transforming it into thin streams that flowed into the tea saplings.

Having watered the Qingmiao Tea saplings, he continued his inspection around the Spirit Field.

Separating twenty Blood Jade Ginsengs from each other which were trying to twist together.

With the rapid growth of Blood Jade Ginseng, their eagerness to be close to each other had also strengthened. This time, if Lu Xuan hadn't stopped it, a dozen of the Blood Jade Ginseng could have tangled together.

A large scale group ginseng movement had almost taken place.

After separating the Blood Jade Ginseng, he cast two Golden Sword Techniques on the Sword Grass, encouraging it to absorb the sharpness and intent of the sword.

Under the wooden shed was the Dark Marrow Mushroom. He adjusted the position of the decayed spiritual wood, so it was better able to absorb the decayed spiritual power within it.

Next, he located the Phantom Smoke Fruit hidden in the dense white fog. Over the past few days, the range of smoke around it had expanded somewhat.

In the end, he arrived in front of the soon-to-be ripe Red Cloud Pine, focusing his mind on its branches and leaves.

"Huh, one of the pine nuts is matured?"

A thought flashed through his mind, Lu Xuan exclaimed in surprise..

Chapter 50: Chapter 49 Fire Departing Sword l

In the thick and thriving slender red pine leaves, five pine nuts were half hidden, with one of them already ripe.

The outer red pine cone looks like fish scales, wrapping up the pine nuts from bottom to top, layer by layer.

The number of pine nuts at most central part is not much, just over twenty, fingertip-sized, similar to pomegranate seeds.

They appear pale red, crystal clear, overflowing with a delicate fragrance that tempts one to start salivating.

Focusing his mind on the ripe Red Cloud Pine Nut, Lu Xuan immediately received detailed information about it.

"Red Cloud Pine Nut, derived from the First Grade Spirit Plant Red Cloud Pine. It contains abundant spiritual power, which can slightly improve the cultivation level of lower-middle level Qi cultivators."

"Its taste is sweet and refreshing, with a lingering aftertaste, deeply welcomed by many female cultivators.'1

Lu Xuan plucked this ripe Red Cloud Pine Nut and placed it into a specialized vessel, which was painted with related runes to ensure the freshness of the pine nut to the greatest extent.

While plucking the pine nut, he also learned that this pine nut was of good quality.

Where he had picked the Red Cloud Pine appeared a white light cluster, flickering faintly.

Lu Xuan was stirred with emotion; this was his first harvest of a mature First Grade Spirit Plant.

Previously, whether it was Spirit Firefly Grass or Moon Erosion Fruit, they were all non-grade Spirit Plants, their value much lower than Red Cloud Pine.

"Harvested a Red Cloud Pine Nut, received a Second-Grade Flying Sword, Fire Separation Sword."

The white light cluster turned into countless light spots that flowed into Lu Xuan's body, next, an idea flashed through his mind.

A flying sword quietly appeared in his hand.

The flying sword was about three feet long, had a light physique, was a fiery red color, with dark red veins on the blade, small flames flew out from the blade when it quivered.

"A Second Grade Flying Sword!"

Lu Xuan couldn't help but exclaim, this was the first Second Grade Magic Artifact he had received in his cultivation career.

Before he had obtained the Spirit Field, he wanted to buy one Sword Qi Talisman, and he had to save up for quite a while to afford it.

But now, not only does he have treasures like the Slivered Silver Blade and the Thunder Fire Pearl.

He has many talismans; previously hard-to-get Sword Qi Talismans and Evil Banishing Talismans have piled up in abundance. He now even owns two Second-Grade Sword Qi Ten Thousand Talisman.

Now he has received another Second Grade Magic Artifact, a Fire Separating Sword.

"Planting a Spirit Field brings many opportunities."

"I don't love exploring secret lands, I don't like fighting for treasures, I just like cultivating flowers and plants."

The appearance of the Second Grade Fire Separation Sword made Lu Xuan anticipate the remaining four Red Cloud Pine Nuts even more and moreover, it strengthened his determination to quietly cultivate his field.

He kept the Fire Separation Sword in his storage bag and arrived at the Spirit Firefly Grass area.

Out of the hundred Spirit Firefly Grasses, sixty-five remained, and they had entered the accelerating maturity phase. Tiny points of light were flickering on its slender leaves, very eye-catching even in daylight.

Lu Xuan harvested fourteen mature Spirit Firefly Grasses at once.

Among these, four were of good quality, seven of superior quality, and the remaining three of perfect grade. There were none of ordinary quality.

He put the fourteen mature Spirit Firefly Grasses into a White Jade Box to prevent their vitality from dissipating.

Looking at the Spirit Field, fourteen white light clusters quietly appeared.

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained six months of cultivation progress."*!

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained nine months of cultivation progress."

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained one year of cultivation progress." Four of the white light clusters brought cultivation rewards, totaling three years of cultivation progress.

Ideas flashed through his mind and wave after wave of dense spiritual power appeared within Lu Xuan's body.

In his Dantian and meridians, a wild surge was wreaking havoc. His teeth clenched tightly, he desperately operated his cultivation technique.

A moment later, the spiritual power within his body gradually calmed down.

After days of bitter cultivation, combined with the slight cultivation rewards from earlier, Lu Xuan had finally managed to break through to the sixth level of Qi cultivation.

"Heaven rewards those who toil hard. It is not in vain that I strove to cultivate in every spare moment, planting in the spirit field. Achieving such success today is inseparable from my hard work and diligence."

Lu Xuan sighed quietly to himself.

"Collect one Spirit Firefly Grass, receive one first-grade Sword Qi Talisman."*3 "Collect one Spirit Firefly Grass, receive one first-grade Evil-Banishing Talisman."*!

Among them, the five white light clusters brought rewards of first-grade talismans, making the storage bag full of talisman even fuller.

"Collecting one Spirit Firefly Grass, receive one first-grade Yuan Cultivating Pill."*3

"Collecting one Spirit Firefly Grass, receive one Qi Cultivating Pill Recipe."

"Collect one Spirit Firefly Grass, receive one drop of Grass Spirit Elixir."

Out of the remaining five white light clusters, three produced Yuan Cultivation Pills. As for the other two, possibly due to the perfect quality of the Spirit Firefly Grass, one yielded a pill recipe while the other presented a precious Grass Spirit Elixir.

When Lu Xuan absorbed the Yuan Cultivating Pill recipe, his understanding of pill concocting deepened considerably. The processing of materials, doses, fire control during concoction, the timing of pill formation… all replenished significantly.

Despite not having real-life experience in concocting pills, he was already a theoretical expert.

A drop of semi-solid green liquid appeared in Lu Xuan's hand. It was the Grass Spirit Elixir, rich in plant essences.

Lu Xuan summoned the Grass Puppet, pushing the green liquid into the gray grass lump on its head.

Not long after it was injected, the grey grass lump turned bright green at a visibly rapid pace. It looked like a old tree sprouting fresh buds, exuding delightfully vibrant energy.

"After a full meal, you'll have more strength to guard the Spirit Field."

Lu Xuan looked at the Grass Puppet, its head now adorned with bright green, and said with a laugh.

"Friend Lu, Friend Lu, are you there?"

From outside the house, a somewhat familiar voice came. After a brief moment of recollection, Lu Xuan recognized it as a local Cultivator surnamed Wu. Wu was quite old, and fond of drinking. He had previously visited Lu Xuan's yard to ask if Lu had planted any Spirit Plants that were suitable for making wine. "Daoist Wu, I'm here. What can I do for you?"

"It's nothing big, just that the bootlicking officers from the Enforcement Hall have finally withdrawn these past few days. Feeling joyful, I thought I would find someone to share a drink with, and that's when your name, Little friend Lu, came to mind."

Lu Xuan opened the courtyard door, smiling as he spoke to the Cultivator surnamed Wu.

"Great, let me tidy up a bit, and then I will join you for a drink."

The old man surnamed Wu nodded and left.

Returning to the house, being cautious, Lu Xuan stowed away the Thunder Fire Pearl and the Sword Qi Million Talisman inside his clothes.

Mister Wu was a Cultivator of the fourth Qi cultivation level. Just in case he had malevolent intentions, even if he tried to cover it up, Lu Xuan felt confident that with his array of talisman tools, he would be able to handle it.

After thinking for a moment, he also summoned Cloud Leopard.

The young civet, with an expressionless face and verdant eyes, joyfully jumped onto Lu Xuan's shoulder, clutching tightly onto his robe.

Now, Lu Xuan was completely reassured. With Cloud Leopard's Divine Mysterious Pupils, regular Cultivators couldn't detect any wicked beings. This gave Lu Xuan an extra layer of security potential attacks.

Accompanied by the young civet, he activated the formation, and headed towards the residence of the Wu cultivator.

Moreover, he also had some questions that he wanted to ask the old Mr. Wu.

It was difficult to find unknown spiritual seeds on the Loose Cultivation Market. As for those big shops, although there were many variety of seeds, most of them were costly and weren't high-ranking, basically first grade or non-graded, which could not satisfy the increasingly picky Lu Xuan.

Therefore, he had the idea of visiting the mysterious black market in the market city and, at the same time, wanted to get rid of some items he had on hand.

Since the Cultivator surnamed Wu had good cultivation and had been in the marketplace for a long time, Lu Xuan thought that he must know a lot about the black market..

Chapter 51: Chapter 50 Paper Kite l

"Come on, Friend Lu, try this aged brew of mine. It's been maturing for nearly a

decade."

In the home of Daoist Wu, the two were, deep in their cups.

Lu Xuan swirled the golden ling wine in his silver glass. As he moved, the heaviness and richness of the wine aroma drifted out.

"I can hardly believe that our neighbor, Wang Shan, a patrol guard from the Enforcement Hall, was actually corrupted by a demon envoy. Luckily, it was discovered early, and it didn't affect us neighbors."

Putting down his wine glass and thinking of the possible consequences, Daoist

Wu shivered.

"Yes, if the demon envoy hadn't been promptly discovered and annihilated, it would be hard for us living nearby to ensure our own safety."

Lu Xuan echoed.

"These worthless Enforcement Hall guards. They've been watching our area, making it inconvenient for us to do anything.

"They couldn't even protect their own, and allowed a demon envoy to invade. What good can they do for us? They'd better conduct a thorough investigation within their ranks-they might even uncover a few more!"

The Wu older man, slightly drunk, had a vague look in his eyes.

"Friend Lu, why don't you grow those spirit plants suitable for brewing spiritual wine? If you grow them, I'll buy as much as you have!

Before he knew it, Daoist Wu had shifted the conversation towards Lu Xuan.

"I have been considering it recently, but the spirit field in my yard is too small and there's no extra space to plant other spirit plants. For now, I also lack the energy to cultivate other spirit plants.

"If I decide to do so, I'll definitely come to you, Friend Wu, for cooperation.

The two continued to drink.

"By the way, Daoist Wu, do you know of the black market in Linyang Market?

Lu Xuan asked the old man.

"The black market? Why, are you thinking of going in?

"I do have such an idea, but since I've never been there before, I don't know much about it. And you, Friend Wu, are skilled in cultivation and have spent a lot of time in the market. Therefore, I want to ask you about it."

Lu Xuan smiled.

"I've indeed been in a few times, with the most recent being about two years

ago."

The old man sobered up a bit, showing a reflective expression.

"The black market is located at the center of the market. It is rumored to be managed by several underground forces in the market, but I suspect there are one or more of the major families in the market behind it."

"The market was originally built on an abandoned secret land, the black market sits in a natural maze, which can only be accessed by purchasing a guiding talisman with a few spirit stones."

"Named the 'Black Market', it differs significantly from the Loose Cultivation Market and those big shops. Most of the goods there are things that can't stand the light of day, and the cultivators who come there generally hide their faces and cultivation levels."

"The goods inside are similarly like that, and there are quite a few treasures that you can't see in the market or shops. Some are obtained under unknown circumstances, which makes them difficult to sell normally, and others are various strange and bizarre materials, often involving demon envoy related items."

Lu Xuan occasionally nodded.

"Then do regular loose cultivators have safety guarantees when they enter the black market?"

"It'S definitely safe inside, with powerful cultivators standing guard, and it's rare to hear of anyone making trouble inside."

"As for the outside, it's not under the jurisdiction of the black market. Among the cultivators who come and go in the black market, there are many vicious and wicked individuals, or evil cultivators practicing sinister cultivation techniques. So the safety is much lower than inside, and occasionally, there are incidents of robbery and murder."

"Normally, it's still safe. After all, the black market is located in the central area of the market. Anyway, I've been there more than once during my low-level Qi cultivation period, and I've never encountered any accidents."

"If you truly wish to enter, just be cautious. If you're really terrified, you can enter with a familiar cultivator."

"I'm grateful for this important information, thank you Daoist Wu."

The older man with the surname Wu waved his hand.

"None of that was particularly significant, you'll leant more if you ask around outside."

The two weren't very close, so he did not ask Lu Xuan about his intention to enter the black market.

Lu Xuan stayed a while longer, then returned home with the Cloud Leopard Juvenile Beast who had been quietly sitting on his shoulder the entire time. He pondered for a moment, then decided to make a trip to the Black Market. According to the older man with the surname Wu, many odd and curious things appear on the black market, so the possibility of finding an unknown spiritual seed is greater there than at the Loose Cultivation Market. Moreover, entering and exiting the black market is generally safe. Lu Xuan felt that as long as he does not expose his wealth or provoke any trouble, he can leave unscathed.

Furthermore, he has complete confidence in his current strength.

With level six Qi cultivation, nearly grandmaster level Golden Sword Technique, a first-grade special magical tool (the Split Silver Blade), two grade two Million Swords Qi Talismans, a grade two Flying Sword – Fire Departing Sword, a first-grade treasure – Thunder Fire Pearl, and numerous charms… Even if he went up against a high-tier Qi cultivator, Lu Xuan has quite a bit of confidence in defeating them.

The next day, Lu Xuan inspected his Spirit Field and ensured that all his spirit plants were in optimal condition. Then, according to the location provided by the older man with the surname Wu, he headed to the black market.

Because the Cloud Leopard Juvenile Beast is too conspicuous, and there was no appropriate means to conceal it, Lu Xuan decided to leave it at home.

Upon learning that it couldn't accompany Lu Xuan outside, the Cloud Leopard stared at Lu Xuan with it's emerald eyes, as if it was so afraid that Lu Xuan would abandon it, filled with helplessness and fear.

This almost caused Lu Xuan's heart to soften. However, after considering the potential risk of revealing his true identity, he comforted the creature and left some dried meat strips for the Cloud Leopard before setting out alone.

About an hour later, Lu Xuan arrived outside the black market.

Although the black market is near the center of the market, the surroundings are very desolate, devoid of courtyards or residences. A few cultivators, who seemed wary of each other, were hurrying along the road.

The entire blackmarket is enveloped by a dense black fog. When spiritual sense probes into the fog, it feels as if it is blocked by something, and can't advance a single step.

Lu Xuan, with a simple mask on his face, approached the cultivator who was guarding the entrance of the black market.

Along the way, he noticed that almost all cultivators were dressed similarly, wearing masks or cloth on their faces while a few used special magical devices to conceal their identities. Some didn't seem to care, showing their true faces, although whether they were their real faces or not, Lu Xuan couldn't tell.

He observed how the cultivators ahead of him paid three spirit stones to a cultivator shrouded in black fog at the entrance.

Shortly after, he received a guiding talisman with black runes drawn on it, with a slightly moving black arrow on it.

Once inside the black fog, his surroundings became hazy. The black arrow on the talisman flickered and continually adjusted its direction, leading Lu Xuan forward through the fog.

Awhile later, Lu Xuan felt a sudden refreshment as he passed through the black fog and arrived inside the black market.

The black market was more spacious than he had imagined, with around one to two hundred cultivators in sight. The atmosphere was relatively quiet, with only soft murmurs of discussion.

Overhead, it seemed as if a thick black cloud was covering the black market, and in the high skies, about ten black kites were slowly flying.

At first glance, the kites seemed to be made of beast skin, floating in the sky. As they flew over Lu Xuan's head, he could feel a malevolent thought sweeping over him, causing goosebumps to appear on his skin..