Chapter 2 - Pests

  The thought flashed through his mind, and Lu Xuan felt something strange coming from his body.

  The originally calm and peaceful spiritual power suddenly surged, rushing back and forth between Lu Xuan's tendons and veins.

  Half a moment later, the uncontrolled spiritual power gradually subsided.

  Lu Xuan carefully felt the changes in his body, and couldn't help showing a hint of joy on his face.

  His cultivation level increased a lot, which was equivalent to three months of hard practice in normal days, and he was only a stone's throw away from breaking through to the third level of Qi training.

  "After traveling through time for so long, the golden finger has finally arrived."

  Lu Xuan was overjoyed. In his previous life, both his mind and body were just average, and the qualifications and background of this body he occupied were also ordinary. If there were no plug-ins, he didn't know how he could survive in the cultivation world.

  A piece of information emerged in his mind, and he understood everything about this white light ball.

  All the spiritual plants and herbs that he planted and cultivated with his own hands will be rewarded with a white light ball after they mature and are collected. From the white light ball, various things such as cultivation, magic tools, exercises, and elixirs can be opened.

  The richness of the reward is related to many factors, such as one's own participation in the growth of the spiritual plant, the type and grade of the spiritual plant, the appearance when mature, etc., which will affect the size of the white light ball reward.

  The light ball can only be seen and touched by oneself, and cannot be seen by outsiders. If you pick a spiritual plant that you did not plant yourself, you will not get the light ball reward.

  "In other words, as long as I successfully plant a spiritual plant, in addition to the spiritual plant itself, I can also get an additional light ball reward?"

  "Isn't that double the harvest and double the happiness?"

  Lu Xuan looked at the spiritual firefly grass and the Eclipse Moon Tree that were thriving in the soil, as if he saw white light balls flashing towards him.

  "I, Lu Xuan, can achieve what I have today because I have been practicing hard and taking care of the spiritual plants."

  Lu Xuan couldn't help thinking.

  He felt that since the appearance of the white light ball, many spiritual plants in the spiritual field have also undergone inexplicable changes.

  Lu Xuan's mind was filled with blessings, and he focused his mind on a spiritual firefly grass under his feet.

  A barely visible progress bar appeared above the spiritual firefly grass. The progress bar was almost full, indicating that the spiritual firefly grass in front of him was about to enter the fully mature stage.

  A message flashed through Lu Xuan's mind.

  "I was just nourished by the spiritual rain, and I am satisfied. However, the roots of the neighbor next to me are too big and too long, so I was a little squeezed."

  What is this, the real-time status of the spiritual plant?

  Lu Xuan was puzzled, and his mind was focused on a spiritual firefly grass next to him.

  The progress bar was also more than half full, and the same message flashed through his mind.

  The spiritual firefly grass next to him was growing quite well, but he also felt that the roots of the neighbor were too long and too big, occupying its growth space.

  "There is no way, the spiritual field is so big, I can only force you to add roots on top of roots."

  Lu Xuan sighed.

  Whether it is the growth progress bar or the real-time status, it is of great help to him. It allows him to grasp the growth needs of the spiritual plant and adjust the details to make it mature faster and better.

  Looking at the progress bar that is about to reach the top, he can't wait to use the spiritual rain technique to ripen the spiritual firefly grass.

  But he also knows the truth that too much is as bad as too little. Appropriate nourishment is of great benefit to spiritual plants, but if it is moisturized frequently, it is equivalent to forcing the growth of seedlings.

  Even if it is mature, poor appearance will affect the reward of the white light ball.

  Thinking of this, Lu Xuan's thoughts of ripening the firefly grass and getting the light ball reward immediately disappeared.

  When he was about to go back to the house, he thought of something and turned to the west side of the yard.

  Since he could know the current status of the spiritual plant, would the firefly grass eroded by the black thread also reveal the truth?

  He held his breath and concentrated his mind on the firefly grass tightly wrapped by the black thread.

  The progress bar was not much different from the previous two plants, and it was also about to be full.

  A piece of information flooded into Lu Xuan's mind.

  "The firefly grass eroded by the black budworm larvae is in a worrying state. If it is not treated in time, the vitality in the body will be completely sucked away by the black budworms and become dead grass."

  "Black budworm larvae..."

  Lu Xuan muttered to himself, and his heart was relieved a little.

  Knowing the origin of the black thread would make it much easier, at least he would no longer be like a headless fly, with no direction to solve the problem.

  He heard the name and felt that it was familiar. He hurried back to the house and flipped out a thick book.

  "Common Harmful Demonic Insects and Their Solutions".

  It records hundreds of common monster insects that may harm spiritual plants during the cultivation of spiritual medicines, as well as the treatment suggestions left by the author of the book.

  Lu Xuan flipped through the pages one by one and soon found detailed information about the black bud insect.

  "The black bud insect, the adult is as thick as a little finger, comes and goes like the wind, and likes to devour the branches and leaves of spiritual plants."

  "When laying eggs, it will stay on the spiritual plants. After the eggs hatch, the larvae grow by absorbing the vitality of the spiritual plants. When the vitality of the spiritual plants is exhausted, they will automatically leave and look for the next target."

  "Solution. The adult insects need to be safely handled by cultivators who are at the third level of Qi training and are good at attacking spells."

  "Unless the spiritual awareness is sharp, it is extremely difficult for low-level cultivators to detect the eggs and larvae."

  "Because the larvae are too small and connected to the spiritual plants, it is easy to affect and harm the spiritual plants when handling them. Therefore, it requires a deep attainment in certain specific spells and subtle control to solve them."

  Lu Xuan closed the book and closed his eyes in thought.

  "To avoid harming the spiritual plants infested by the larvae, the spells used must meet two conditions."

  "One is to have sufficient lethality, and the other is to be able to control the damage range."

  Because of his humble origin and cultivation level of only the second level of Qi training, he currently only mastered two low-level spells.

  One is the Spirit Rain Spell, which is mainly used to cultivate spiritual plants, and the other is the Fireball Spell, which is also used for self-defense.

  However, he knows these two spells but is not proficient in them, and is completely unable to achieve fine control.

  Moreover, the two spells do not look like specific spells that can meet the needs of clearing black budworm larvae.

  In the early stage of the Spirit Rain Spell, it can only play the role of nourishing spiritual plants. Lu Xuan estimated that if he cast a spell, the black budworm larvae would not only be unharmed, but would become more excited...

  As for the Fireball Spell, although it is enough to kill, one fireball will result in the death of the Spirit Firefly Grass and the black budworm larvae.

  "It seems that I still have to go to the market to seek help and spend money to avoid disaster."

  "Fortunately, I can find the right medicine for the disease. I can save a little bit."

  Lu Xuan touched the slightly shriveled cloth bag on his waist and sighed faintly.   

  ...

  "Brother Lu, are you home?"

  A loud voice came from outside the yard amid the knocks on the door.

  Then, a gray-black straw rope swam over from the corner of the yard and gently tapped Lu Xuan's knee.

  It was the straw puppet in the yard that sensed that someone was about to invade the spiritual field and warned Lu Xuan.

  "People have been outside the door for a while and greeted you, so you warned them. If they really had bad intentions, you might not have reacted when your home was robbed."

  Lu Xuan looked at the gray-black straw rope that retracted and couldn't help but hold his forehead.

  The voice sounded familiar. It was one of the few cultivators that Lu Xuan knew after traveling through time.

  "I'm here, Brother Zhang!"

  He responded, came to the gate of the courtyard and opened the door.

  A tall and honest cultivator walked in.

  The visitor was named Zhang Hong, with a third-level Qi training level. He lived next door to Lu Xuan. He had a Taoist partner who was at the second level of Qi training and raised a child of six or seven years old. When Lu Xuan first came here, he gave him a lot of advice, which helped him avoid many wrong paths.

  "Brother Zhang, please come in and have a cup of hot tea."

  Lu Xuan led Zhang Hong into the house.

  Zhang Hong turned around and looked at the well-growing Firefly Grass and Eclipse Moon Tree on both sides of the bluestone path, and nodded.

  "Little Brother Lu, you have taken good care of these two spiritual plants. It looks like there will be a good harvest in a while."

  "It's just so-so, not comparable to the spiritual plants in your spiritual field at home, Brother Zhang."

  After Zhang Hong sat down, Lu Xuan made him a cup of hot tea.

  Two or three tender green tea leaves floated in the tea bowl, swirling endlessly.

  Zhang Hong didn't care. He knew Lu Xuan's cultivation and family background. It was already quite polite to have a cup of tea with spiritual tea in it.

  "It's worthy of being Qingyu Tea. Drinking it feels like a drizzle moistening my heart. Only with you, little brother Lu, can I have the opportunity to drink such a good cup of tea."

  "At home, your sister-in-law doesn't allow anything. It's boring."

  Zhang Hong carefully recalled the effects of the spiritual tea, closed his eyes and shook his head. Thinking of the frustration at home, he couldn't help but pat his thigh.

  "There's no way. My sister-in-law has to prepare for Xiaoyuan's future, so she can only be more careful."

  "That's true."

  Zhang Hong sighed,

  "Sometimes, I envy you, little brother Lu, who is alone and has no pressure to support a family."

  "Live the way you want, without arguing about trivial matters, and don't worry about whether the child can grow up healthily and smoothly, and don't consider what kind of skills he practices, and what sect he can enter in the future."

  "How free!"

  "If Brother Zhang really becomes like me, I guess he will think about how happy it would be to have a wife and children to warm the bed."

  Lu Xuan said with a smile.

  "You kid, you know so much at such a young age."

  Zhang Hong just sighed casually, laughed, and changed the subject.

  "I came to you this time because I want to tell you something."

  "I learned from other channels that the Wang family, a big family in the market, accidentally got information about a secret realm, but the secret realm is far away in the wilderness, so after a while, they will recruit hundreds or thousands of cultivators above the second level of Qi training to go and cultivate the secret realm."

  "See if you have any ideas, if you do, you can make preparations early."

  "Cultivate the secret realm?" Lu Xuan pondered and fell into deep thought.

  "I will go and take a look this time. The emergence of a new secret realm has a big risk, but the benefits are proportional to the risk. If you stay in the market and plant spiritual plants all the time, it will be difficult to maintain the normal expenses of the family."

  "As for you, little brother Lu, I personally suggest that you go and take a look. After all, there are Wang family foundation-building cultivators rushing to the front. It is difficult for us to encounter those powerful monsters and spirits with our strength."

  "The most important thing is that you are still young, little brother Lu. Although being a spiritual plant master is stable, the resources you can obtain are limited, and your strength improves slowly. After planting spiritual plants for a long time, your spirit will be slowly worn away, and it is rare to have a sharp edge."

  Zhang Hong looked at Lu Xuan who was thinking with his head down, and suggested.

  Lu Xuan nodded gently. Indeed, what Zhang Hong said made sense. Although there were certain risks in reclaiming secret realms, it was still within the controllable range. Moreover, the emergence of new secret realms often meant huge benefits. Even if you get a bite of leftovers, it will take a long time to fully digest them.

  If it was before, he might have a slight possibility of agreeing.

  But now, with the appearance of the white light ball, this slight possibility has disappeared.

  The reason for going out on a quest is nothing more than to obtain cultivation resources, and then return to exchange them for elixirs, techniques, instruments, etc., but all of these can be obtained by staying at home and planting spiritual plants!

  Higher safety, greater returns, farming is so good!

  He pretended to think for a while, his expression was tangled, and finally raised his head, and said to Zhang Hong with an apologetic look.

  "Brother Zhang, I, Lu Xuan, appreciate your kindness, but I have always been cautious and afraid of things, plus my cultivation is low, and I don't have any magic skills. I'm afraid that I will never come back if I go out."

  "So, I just want to stay at home, guard this small piece of spiritual field, and plant spiritual plants quietly."

  "As for the future, let's wait and see."

  Zhang Hong saw that Lu Xuan had made up his mind, and couldn't help sighing.

  "Your idea is not wrong. Although the risk of reclaiming the secret realm is not big, it does not mean that there is no risk at all. If we miss a little bit, it may cost several lives if we are practicing Qi."

  "But I have to go and give it a try. Xiaoyuan can't practice a wild technique like me."

  The two were silent for a while. Zhang Hong sat for a while, then got up and said goodbye, and asked Lu Xuan to take good care of his little kid.

  Lu Xuan nodded in agreement, watched Zhang Hong leave, and closed the gate of the yard.

  "With the appearance of the white light ball, we should try our best to avoid putting ourselves in danger in the future."

  "If you are not 90% sure... No, 90% sure is equivalent to zero sure. If you are not 100% sure, don't go out and take risks casually."

  Lu Xuan looked at the Lingying grass and Eclipse Moon Fruit beside the bluestone path, feeling full of energy.

  (End of this chapter)