51-59
Chapter 52: Chapter 51 Flood Dragon Vine l
Lu Xuan quickly lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact with the black paper kites, and the sinister thought that skimmed his body soon disappeared.
"What the hell is that!"
He cursed silently to himself, becoming more cautious about the forces behind the black market.
The idea that around a dozen of such eerie paper kites could be patrolling the black market hinted at the terrifying power of the forces behind it.
As he slowly walked, he was vigilant about his surroundings.
"There are more cultivators in the black market than I imagined. Two hundred people, each paying an entrance fee of three spirit stones, that's at least six hundred spirit stones. This is quite the moneymaker!"
"The spiritual energy inside the black market is denser than outside. I wonder how long I can stay with three spirit stones. If there is no time limit, I might as well remain in the black market and cultivate, taking advantage of this spiritual energy."
He thought to himself, but he didn't actually attempt it. After all, he didn't know what the consequences would be.
The goal of those in control of the black market is to make spirit stones; there's no way they'd allow the cultivators to take advantage of them.
The management of the entire black market was quite lax. Cultivators who came in could randomly set up stalls. As long as they didn't invade others' stalls or cause other conflicts, the black market's managers would not intervene.
Lu Xuan carefully observed the items on the stalls.
His main purpose in coming this time was to find rare or unknown spiritual seeds, saplings, or young creatures of demon beasts, demon bird eggs, and so on.
Secondly, he was looking for a defensive array that is stronger. The defensive array in his courtyard was the one left behind by the Tooth Row, which he had only a limited time to use. With the number of spirit plants in the spirit field increasing and their ranks becoming higher and higher, the current array was proving to be somewhat insufficient.
Next, he was looking for a cultivation technique suitable for him. He had not yet come across any cultivation techniques in the light clusters rewarded by mature spirit plants. Although he hadn't been cultivating for a long time, if he could find a profound technique, Lu Xuan thought it might be worth acquiring.
Lastly, he was looking for a defensive magic artifact. Whether it was the Slivered Silver Blade, the Fire Departing Sword, or the Thunder Fire Pearl, they were all offensive. Lu Xuan thought it necessary to compensate for his own shortcomings.
However, with the backing of the white light cluster and four Red Cloud Pine nuts about to mature, he was not in urgent need of a magic artifact.
The items he wanted to sell included the First Grade Flying Sword left by Qin Ming. Having been kept in his storage bag occupying space for so long, and now that he was in the black market, he had nothing to worry about.
If the price is right, he would consider selling the Red Cloud Pine nuts as well, along with the second-class Fire Departing Sword, which somewhat conflicts with the Slivered Silver Blade.
Although the latter is only a first-grade, because it can split into many fragments, it can have an unexpected effect. Lu Xuan finds it more handy.
The stalls were full of bizarre goods. Lu Xuan even saw several ominous paper dolls displayed on a stand.
Pale paper bodies, two vivid red circles on their cheeks, an eerie smile hanging in the corners of their mouths.
The owner of the stall looked peculiar, thin, and not much thicker than paper, appearing fragile in his loose red and green robe, which was horribly ominous at first glance.
There were also stalls displaying a variety of strange materials from monster beasts, parts of Demon Envoy's bodies, and some items of unknown origin.
A large, self-mobile eyeball, a weird monster beast with a conjoined body, a hairy ball with countless slender tentacles swaying like seaweed in the wind…
"Huh?"
As he passed by a stall, Lu Xuan found himself involuntarily stopping.
On the stall sat several attractive female cultivators bound firmly by black ropes, each with a cultivation level of lower level Qi cultivation stage one or two. Their figures were all the more highlighted. An urge to torment them cruelly couldn't help but arise in the hearts of some.
There was a black sign in front of them that read:
"Furnace for sale at a low price, Lower Level Qi Cultivation."
"Friend, do you want to test the quality?"
Behind the stall, a masked, thin cultivator spoke roughly to Lu Xuan.
"No, thank you. My cultivation technique requires my primal energy to remain intact before reaching Foundation Establishment."
Lu Xuan casually made up an excuse and bypassed the stall.
His eyebrows creased, his mind filled with thoughts.
As far as he was aware, Wang Shan had bought a Qi Cultivation Second Layer female cultivator in the black market before being contaminated by the Demon Envoy. He had even shown off to Lu Xuan about it at the time.
After his purchase, Cultivator Wang Shan sang joyfully all the way, his cultivation level skyrocketing rapidly.
In retrospect, Lu Xuan had noticed something was off. Being able to rapidly increase one's cultivation level through pleasurable experiences with others… what kind of good thing could that be in this world? Perhaps, the encounter with the demon envoy had a close connection with that Qi Cultivation Second Layer female cultivator.
Thinking about this, Lu Xuan unconsciously quickened his pace.
He arrived at a stall run by a female cultivator. Her aura was faintly discernible and she was clearly not weakly cultivated; she was at least a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner, and she was possibly of high-level Qi cultivation.
The items displayed at her stall were mostly spiritual medicines and spirit plants, the lowest of them being First Grade Spirit Plant, and many varieties that Lu Xuan hadn't even seen before.
Lu Xuan presumptuously selected a few things on the stall, eventually picking up a vine about half a foot long.
The vine was dark black in color, twisted and gnarled like the sinuous body of a black snake.
"Dao friend, can you tell me what kind of plant this vine comes from?"
He asked the female cultivator.
"This a Flood Dragon Vine, a third-grade Spiritual Plant, which can be used to forge whip-type or rope-type Magic Artifacts, or one could grind it into a powder and add it into the ingredients of some elixirs."
The female cultivator responded neutrally.
"I recall vine type Spiritual Plants can be propagated by cuttings. Can this vine do so?"
Lu Xuan asked curiously.
"In theory, it can. However, I advise you not to entertain wild fantasies. Even the Spirit Plant Masters of the Great Sects can't easily propagate it."
"Only those Flood Dragon Vines that have undergone special treatment, along with an exclusive cultivation method, can possibly grow into a complete vine." "Is that so? It seems I was indeed daydreaming."
Lu Xuan sighed for a moment, failing to hide his disappointment.
"I am a little interested in this piece of Flood Dragon Vine and intend to take it back to forge into a rope-type Magic Artifact, Dao friend, you name the price!"
"A third-grade Spiritual Plant, good quality, only a little short. Dao friend, if you truly want it, you can have it for two hundred Spiritual Stones."
Although the female cultivator recognized Lu Xuan's cultivation level at a glance, she did not show any contempt at all. After all, in the black market, cultivation level was the least respectable thing.
"Two hundred Spiritual Stones, that's too expensive."
Lu Xuan immediately shook his head. His total fortune was just over two hundred spirit stones, so naturally, he found it hard to decide all at once.
He hesitated for a moment, glanced around, saw that no one was paying attention to them, took out a second-class Fire Separating Sword from his storage bag.
"Dao friend, what do you think about this second-grade Flying Sword? Can it be exchanged for your Flood Dragon Vine?"
The female cultivator took the flying sword from Lu Xuan's hand, channeled some spiritual energy into it, and fiery flames burst out of the red blade immediately.
"The flying sword is not bad, how about this, if you add thirty spirit stones, you can take the Flood Dragon Vine."
"Dao friend, the short length of your Flood Dragon Vine greatly restricts the artifacts that can be forged from it. It is somewhat unessential when refining elixirs."
"Moreover, materials are usually the cheaper part of any item, my flying sword should be more than enough to trade for it."
"Twenty Spiritual Stones."
"Still too expensive, ten Spiritual Stones, and I'll take the Flood Dragon Vine right away."
The female cultivator hesitated.
The value of this piece of Flood Dragon Vine was indeed greatly affected due to its shortness, and it had been in her possession for quite some time.
She was very fond of Lu Xuan's second-grade flying sword and directly nodded her head after considering it.
"Alright.."
Chapter 53: Chapter 52: Bathed in Blood 1
After Lu Xuan exchanged a piece of Third-Grade Jiao Vine from a female cultivator with his Second-Class Fire Separating Sword, he continued to stroll around in the black market.
After searching around, not finding anything resembling unknown spiritual seeds, he found an empty spot and hung up the First Grade Flying Sword that he got from Qin Ming.
Finally, he successfully sold it for the price of thirty-five Spirit Stones.
He couldn't find any specially satisfactory protective arrays in the black market, and the ranks of the few cultivation techniques he saw were not so high either, so Lu Xuan had to give up.
After weighing his options, he spent thirty-two Spirit Stones to buy a First Grade Shield named Iron Scale Shield, which has densely packed black scales on its surface. It's protection level is pretty good among First Grade artifacts. The items most abundant in the black market are strange materials from Demon Beasts, and mature spiritual plants, followed by charms and elixirs. Lu Xuan had no interest in these, so he activated the Guiding Talisman with his spiritual power, and followed the black arrow, walking out from the dense black fog that seemed solid.
The moment he got out, the cultivator guarding the entrance took back the Guiding Talisman.
Lu Xuan remained vigilant, glanced around, and quickly left the periphery of the black market.
On the way back, nothing unexpected happened. Nobody in the black market targeted him, a Qi practicing young cultivator who appeared to be quite ordinary in terms of cultivation level and wealth.
More than half an hour later, he returned to the courtyard.
The formation was still functioning well, without any traces of being touched or intruded upon.
Lu Xuan felt slightly relieved. He knew that in the Spirit Field behind the courtyard, there were a multitude of rare spiritual plants.
The First Grade Blood Jade Ginseng, Pure Snow Lotus, Red Cloud Pine, second-level Sword Grass, Dark Marrow Mushroom, Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea, Third-grade Fantasy Smoke Fruit-
Even without considering the light clusters rewarded when they mature, their intrinsic value alone could tempt any Qi-Cultivator to take risks.
After opening the courtyard gate, Lu Xuan saw a streak of black light flash past him towards the back of the yard.
He was startled at first, but then he recognized the black figure as the Bi Jing Cloud-Treading Civet which he had reluctantly left at home.
'Could it be that this little guy has been waiting outside the door for me to come back all along?"
Lu Xuan went to the back of the yard, where the Civet Juvenile was lying at the edge of the Spiritual Spring Pool, its emerald green eyes fixed on the Red-bearded Carp swimming leisurely inside.
It seemed not to have noticed that Lu Xuan had already returned.
"I'm home!"
Lu Xuan shouted towards the other side. The Grass Puppet Gray Grass, who was on guard, turned its head a hundred and eighty degrees. Its two hollow eyes looked in the direction of the voice, and its steps didn't stop as it kept patrolling.
The Cloud Leopard ignored him and kept staring at the Red-bearded Carp in the Spiritual Spring Pool.
With sharp eyes, Lu Xuan noticed that the civet's two ears, with a tuft of gray hair on them, were gently trembling, revealing its inner joy and excitement.
Lu Xuan went straight into the room.
Only then did the civet tum its head and look at Lu Xuan's retreating figure.
The hair on the tips of its ears shook gently. Sensing Lu Xuan's footstep getting closer, it quickly turned its head back.
With a "plop," a fat strip of porcupine meat was thrown in front of the civet.
"Meow —"
The civet made a shy cry, its paws as white as clouds grabbed the strip of meat, and stuffed it into its mouth.
Lu Xuan let out a soft laugh and went back into the room.
This time, he went to the black market to dispose of the newly acquired Second-Class Fire Separating Sword as well as the First Grade Magical Instrument left by Qin Ming in his storage bag for a long time. In return he procured a piece of Third-Grade Jiao Vine and a First-Grade defensive Magic Artifact, the Iron Scale Shield.
The spirit stones were neither lost nor gained. He rented the Guiding Talisman for three spirit stones, which just happened to offset the three spirit stones he earned from reselling the flying sword and shield.
He took out the piece of Jiao Vine from his storage bag.
The deep black vine was about half a foot long. If you wanted to refine it into a whip or rope-like magical instrument, it was indeed a bit short.
However, this didn't affect Lu Xuan too much. He paid a huge price to buy it mainly for cultivation and planting.
Holding this python-like section, he came to an empty spot in the Spirit Field. Each Spirit Plant requires a certain amount of space, which suggests that the Spirit Field of over one mu (equivalent to 0.66 acres) is somewhat insufficient. Therefore, he currently plans to opt for the quality over quantity strategy. The Spirit Firefly Grass, Blood Jade Ginseng and other numerous Spirit Plants were supplied by 'Bai Cao Tang', the other rare and higher-ranked ones depended on whether he gets an opportunity from other channels.
Lu Xuan used the Earth Pulling Technique, and the spirit soil quietly changed, revealing a small crack.
He inserted the half-foot-long Jiao Vine into the crack, leaving about two-thirds of its length outside. Bits of Spirit Rain fell down, landing on the deep black and dry vine, seeping into the surrounding Spirit Soil.
The Spirit Soil gradually became moist, and the energetic atmosphere slowly permeated into the interior of the vine through its skin.
Lu Xuan's heart and mind were focused on the deep black twisting vine.
A thought flashed through his mind.
"Jiao Vine, a Third-Grade Spirit Plant, can be used to cultivate and nourish the flood dragon demon beast when mature. After special treatment, it can also be used to refine whip or rope-like instruments, or it can serve as the main ingredient for certain rare elixirs."
"When cultivating Jiao Vine, nourishing it with the blood of snake-type demonic beasts, or flood dragon-type monsters can promote its rapid growth. The higher the quality of related blood, the faster the vine grows."
"I crave for the blood containing potent power…"
Lu Xuan instantly understood its cultivation method through the real-time status of the Jiao Vine he just planted.
"It needs the nourishment of snake-type demonic beasts, or flood dragon-type monsters. Generally, after cultivators hunt snake-type demonic beasts, they pay more attention to snake skin, poison fangs, poison juice, etc, and don't value the blood highly."
"Looks like, I still have to go to the market to find it, if I could find the best if not…"
Then I'll use spirit stones to commission the cultivator to help me get fresh blood from the demonic snake."
Lu Xuan thought to himself.
Let him go to the wilderness, or mystical places to hunt demonic snakes and get fresh snake blood?
That's impossible. He'd rather spend a bit more spirit stones to hire a cultivator, rather than risking leaving the many rare Spirit Plants in his Spirit Field for an external adventure.
As for Flood Dragon Monster, he dare not even think about it. Even the weakest Flood Dragon Monster is at least equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, so Lu Xuan doesn't have any hope of obtaining Flood Dragon blood. "For now, let's plant it in the Spirit Field. When I find the blood of a snake-type demonic beast, I will come back to cultivate it properly."
"Right now, although the Spirit Rain Technique and Tree Life Spell can sustain its vitality, if it continues like this, the growth will be extremely slow. It isn't a long-term solution."
After planting the Jiao Vine in the Spirit Field, Lu Xuan inspected the many Spirit Plants within.
Third-grade Spirit Plants really are more troublesome. The first and second grades only require specific growing environments and special spiritual power, but the third-grade ones seem to have their own personalities."
"The two third-grade Spirit Plants in the field, like the mischievous Phantom Smoke Fruit, set up their own space. If others can't find it, they won't be able to cultivate it."
"This Jiao Vine is even more demanding. A single vine needs to bathe in snake blood or even Dragon Blood. If I really had Dragon Blood, I'd rather use it on myself!"
Lu Xuan looked at the increasingly large fog cluster formed by the Phantom Smoke Fruit in front of him, and he couldn't help sighing..
Chapter 54: Chapter 53 Doubt_l
"Spirit Firefly Grass remains reliable. It's easy to grow in large amounts, requiring a simple cultivation method, and most importantly, it awards cultivation points."
Lu Xuan looked around his spiritual field. Each spirit plant had its own unique properties: the second-grade Sword Grass known as Iron Straight Grass, the first-grade Blood Jade Ginseng that desired to reside in darkness and decay, the second-grade Dark Marrow Mushroom that only needed spiritual spring water for irrigation, and others…
In this regard, Spirit Firefly Grass is quite low-maintenance.
Lu Xuan made a round in the area where the Spirit Firefly Grass grew, harvesting twelve mature plants.
Among them, four were of good quality, six were of superior quality, and the remaining two were of perfect grade.
More than half of the Spirit Firefly Grass in the field has been harvested. From a total of one hundred, only thirty-nine plants were left, and they are nearing maturity.
Among the twelve white light clusters that appeared, four were cultivation rewards: two granting six months of cultivation progress, and two granting nine months, amounting to two and a half years of cultivation progress in total.
"TWO and a half years again, seems like I have some affinity with this number." Lu Xuan remembered that this was not the first time he received a reward of two and a half years of cultivation progress.
He channeled his spiritual power, softening the surging energy to further solidify his Cultivation Qi Level Six.
The three white light clusters contained three first-grade talismans: a Sword Qi Talisman, an Evil Banishing Talisman, and an Explosion Flame Talisman. Lu Xuan stored all of them in his storage bag.
Three low-grade formula methods emerged from a different set of three white light clusters: two Tree Life Spells and one Earth Pulling Technique.
Lu Xuan absorbed them and gained a deeper understanding of both methods. His knowledge of the Earth Pulling Technique reached the minor proficiency boundary, while his Tree Life spell had reached the mastery realm, allowing him to accumulate Wood-element spiritual power more quickly and in larger quantities, improving the effects of nurturing spirit plants.
The two white light clusters that resulted from the two perfect quality Spirit Firefly Grass contained a first-grade Golden Sword Technique, and after the cluster merged with Lu Xuan, he had an epiphany, deepening his understanding of this sword technique.
With a thought, a golden sword qi flew from his fingertip. The sword qi, as if alive, whirled around Lu Xuan, the speed increasing with each round, leaving a trail of golden phantom images, almost as though a golden shield had been raised with Lu Xuan standing at its heart.
After a dozen or so breaths, the sword qi gradually dissipated, and the golden phantoms left behind faded and vanished.
"Not only is the casting speed almost instantaneous, but I also have more control over the sword qi, able to manipulate it as easily as flexing my arm. Moreover, the sword qi can remain in the outside world for a longer time," Lu Xuan said, reflecting on the changes brought about by the increased understanding of the Golden Sword Technique.
The other white cluster gave him another first-grade Qi Cultivating Pill recipe, improving his understanding of how to concoct this pill.
"Perhaps I should save up a few more pill formula experience packages. Once I begin concocting pills, I will be able to produce those with the highest success rate and best quality," Lu Xuan suggested, thinking that since he had already consumed several pill formulas, a few more wouldn't hurt.
With twenty-six mature Spirit Firefly Grasses in his storage bag and running out of jade boxes to store them, Lu Xuan decided to pay a visit to 'Bai Cao Tang' and check if there was any snake-type demonic beast blood available at the Loose Cultivation Market.
In the aromatic Bai Cao Tang grand hall, Manager He saw Lu Xuan approaching from a distance and set aside his current affairs. "Kid Lu, you're here? How's the quality of your herbs this time?" "The quality is, of course, excellent. It's just a matter of how many spirit stones you have at your disposal," Lu Xuan said, slapping his palm on the wooden counter before Manager He and raising an eyebrow.
"Are you saying that your spirit plants are going to drain 'Bai Cao Tang' of its spirit stones? One percent? Or one thousandth?'
"Old He, 'Bai Cao Tang' must be quite wealthy," Lu Xuan said, a beaming smile on his face as he accepted a cup of hot spiritual tea from the attendant.
"Please, have some tea."
"At least you have some tact," Manager He conceded.
"Could you show me the Spirit Firefly Grass you brought?"
Lu Xuan lost his smile, straightened his face, and took out the twenty-six mature Spirit Firefly Grass he had.
The Red Cloud Pine Nut was not particularly suitable for refining elixirs, so Lu Xuan decided to keep it first and sell it to other cultivators at the right time.
"Top grade, top grade, perfect…"
The thin old man kept nodding, examining the Spirit Firefly Grass while counting and classifying them according to their different qualities.
"In total, we have twenty-six Spirit Firefly Grass plants, of which eight are of good quality, thirteen are of superior quality, and five are of perfect grade." His familiarity with Lu Xuan's performance meant he no longer found it surprising. After glancing at Lu Xuan and seeing no objection, he continued. "The price remains the same. For each Grass of good quality, three Spirit Stones and fifty Broken Spirits; for each of superior quality, an additional twenty Broken Spirits; and for each perfect grade, an additional thirty Broken Spirits."
"So, the total amount is ninety-six Spirit Stones and ten Broken Spirits, right?" "Your mind is sharp, there's no mistake, of course.
Lu Xuan took the ninety-plus Spirit Stones given by the old man, gave them a quick glance with his Spiritual Sense, and put them into his storage bag. After a brief conversation with the thin old man, he planned to leave.
"Friend Lu, please wait a moment."
just as he walked out the door of 'Bai Cao Tang', a somewhat familiar voice called Lu Xuan.
As Lu Xuan turned back, a middle-aged cultivator of the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer was waiting by the door, looking somewhat anxious.
It was one of the three Spirit Plant Masters who had previously bought the high-grade Spirit Plant cultivation method from Lu Xuan.
"Friend Zhou, do you need something?"
Lu Xuan asked.
"Friend Lu, I saw the Spirit Firefly Grass you just gave to Manager He, and the quality was indeed brilliant, with the lowest grade being good, and even several of perfect grade."
The middle-aged cultivator said with a sheepish smile.
"If you have something to say, please speak straightly.'
Lu Xuan noticed something unusual in his tone and said, unperturbed.
"Here'S the thing, after I and my two friends learned your planting method last time, we devoted most of our cultivation time to cultivating the Spirit Firefly Grass."
■'just recently, a batch of Spirit Firefly Grass matured, but the results seem quite limited, far from your quality."
"How many Spirit Firefly Grass did you harvest? It hasn't been long since you started intensive cultivation, right?"
"Twenty plants were harvested at once. As for intensive cultivation as you instructed, it's been less than seven days."
"Twenty plants of Spirit Firefly Grass isn't much, so it doesn't prove anything. Of course, the main reason is that you've been cultivating intensively for too short a time."
-When I cultivate Spirit Plants, I use that method from the moment the seed enters the Spirit Soil until it matures. That takes about two to three months. You, Friend Zhou, have only been doing it for seven days. It seems you are a bit too anxious."
Lu Xuan indifferently said.
"But… the quality of my Spirit Firefly Grass compared to yours is far inferior!" "More than half of yours are of superior quality, and there are quite a few of perfect grade as well, while my superior grade ones are rare." The middle-aged cultivator mumbled for a while, and then said.
"So, you suspect that I'm hiding something? Not telling you everything?"
Lu Xuan's face turned cold..
Chapter 55: Chapter 54 Prolonged Drought_l
"Of course, I wouldn't doubt you, Friend Lu."
The middle-aged cultivator took two steps back under Lu Xuan's piercing gaze.
"I just want to understand more about your planting methods. After all, I did spend over thirty spirit stones on it."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan scoffed.
"Okay, let me ask you? Has the quality of the twenty Spirit Firefly Grass plants you picked improved?"
"Compared to before, there are two or three more of good quality, but the superior quality ones remain unchanged.
The middle-aged cultivator answered truthfully.
"Then isn't that it?"
"There are two or three more plants of ordinary quality turned good quality. This is with only a short time of meticulous cultivation. Given more time, the average quality will improve further."
"Three more plants of good quality means you can earn nearly one more spirit stone. If you plant tens or hundreds of Spirit Firefly Grass, you can earn several spirit stones."
-The Spirit Firefly Grass is a non-grade Spirit Plant which matures quickly. You can get three or four harvests a year. This way, you can recover the spirit stones you spent in just a few years."
"Moreover, this method is effective for other spirit plants as well."
"So, Friend Zhou, do you have any more doubts?"
After finishing his words, Lu Xuan paid no further attention to the middle-aged cultivator and left.
Not far away, he was stopped by him.
"Did I give up most of my cultivation time and spend so many spirit stones just to earn that little bit of spirit stones?"
"You must tell me the secret today. Otherwise, I won't let it go."
He said fiercely, a hint of threat in his tone.
During this time, he hadn't been cultivating much. He had been focusing all his time on meticulously cultivating spirit plants.
He originally thought that he would get high-quality Spirit Firefly Grass. But the result disappointed him greatly, as the improvement was minimal.
A huge gap between expectations and reality led him to subconsciously believe that Lu Xuan had hidden something from him. Unable to hold back, he waited at Bai Cao Tang for Lu Xuan, hoping to pry the cultivating key out of him.
"I have explained everything clearly."
Lu Xuan shook off his hand, subtly sliding a Million Swords Qi Talisman onto
his wrist.
"Giving up your cultivation time was your choice.
"I can assure you that my method is correct and effective. If you follow my instructions and meticulously cultivate the spirit plants over a long period of time, the average quality of your spirit plants will definitely improve."
"As for whether you can get perfect quality Spirit Firefly Grass or other spirit plants, that depends on a Spirit Plant Master's individual talent and level of effort."
"I gave up cultivation, focused all my energy on cultivating spirit plants, and had a strong natural affinity for spirit plants. This has allowed me to accurately sense the needs of the spirit plants and cultivate perfect quality ones."
"AU has been said. If you continue to pester me, Friend Zhou, don't blame me for being impolite."
Lu Xuan warned the middle-aged cultivator and left without acknowledging his relentless questioning.
"You…"
"You will be repaid for this!"
Behind him, the angry voice of the middle-aged cultivator echoed. Lu Xuan found it amusing. He felt that he had been true to his conscience. The method he told this No-Organization Spirit Plant Master was indeed effective, and could slightly improve the quality of the spirit plants he planted.
The only and greatest difference between the two was that Lu Xuan could clearly master the real-time status of the spirit plants, able to meet their delicate needs at any time. The appearance of the white light cluster made him no longer worry about stagnation in cultivation or lack of treasures.
As long as that spirit plant master could calm down and meticulously cultivate the spirit plants in the way Lu Xuan had explained, it wouldn't take long before he could earn back the spent spirit stones.
But he was clearly impatient for results, and after seeing the quality of the spirit plants that Lu Xuan had grown, he became somewhat off-balance, acting out of turn.
As for his mention of retribution? Lu Xuan, considering his deep cultivation, multiple magic artifacts, and charms, didn't take his words to heart.
He arrived at the loose cultivation market.
Since cultivators were continually mutating into monstrous creatures, the number of Enforcement Hall cultivators in the market was noticeably greater than before.
The cultivators were also constantly vigilant.
Lu Xuan, in this heavy atmosphere, quickly moved, his eyes passing over the stalls on both sides.
At the stalls, many cultivators were selling demon beast materials, mostly from wastelands and secret lands, and a few were self-reared, among which demon beast meat was the majority.
After all, eating demon beast meat could slightly enhance the spiritual power in a cultivator's body and was considered a daily consumable.
Secondly, there were those special parts that could be used to refine magic artifacts, such as the fur, scale armor, skeleton, and so on of some demon beasts.
Occasionally, Lu Xuan came across stalls selling demon beast blood as well. Expectantly, he inquired about the species of the demon beasts. Unfortunately, none of it was snake-devil beast blood.
Finally, he found a vial of python's blood at a stall run by a young cultivator in the first level of Qi cultivation.
The python, known as the black line snake, was un-ranked. According to the teenager, he and his companions had together killed the snake. Since he had contributed the least, he didn't get the python's skin or fangs, but only a small vial of black line snake blood, which he put up for sale at the stall with an excited mentality.
Lu Xuan spent seventy spirit fragments and bought that small vial of black line snake blood from the young man.
The young man, who thought that the snake blood would go wasted in his hands, hadn't expected to accidently receive seventy spirit fragments and hurriedly bowed to Lu Xuan to express his gratitude.
Lu Xuan returned to his yard with the snake blood.
Upon entering the spirit field, everything was as usual; the half-human-tall grass puppet was still tirelessly patrolling the spirit field.
As it passed Lu Xuan, its feet didn't stop, its giant gray grass head looked stupidly towards Lu Xuan's location, moved nearly one hundred and eighty degrees, then returned to its original position.
■'After absorbing two drops of the grass spirit elixir, the grass puppet's spiritual intelligence has clearly improved. From being a lifeless puppet, it has now become like a one or two-year-old baby."
"What doesn't change is its perseverance in defending the spirit field." Lu Xuan sighed, feeling fortunate that he had such a devoted tool under him. He looked around the spirit field. The growth status of all the spirit plants was normal. For those that needed nurturing, he accordingly implemented the Spirit Rain Technique or the Tree Life Spell, ensuring that they could get the maximum satisfaction.
At the end, he approached the area with the Flood Dragon Vine.
He couldn't wait to take out the small vial of black line snake blood, remove the stopper, and carefully pour the snake blood onto the twisting vine.
When poured onto the Flood Dragon vine, the bright red blood did not drop but was tightly absorbed onto the surface of the vine.
Then, it slowly seeped into the vine.
The originally dark vine turned black and red after absorbing black line snake blood. If observed closely, the winding and twisting, knotty vine seemed like a small snake that had been in hibernation all winter and was awakening and moving slowly.
It only stopped after a few breaths.
Lu Xuan focused his attention on the Flood Dragon vine.
"It felt like something good entered its body, but it disappeared before it could really taste it…"
It had a thirsty look, as though it wanted to enjoy the sweet ram after a long drought, but ended up with only two or three drops..
Chapter 56: Chapter 55 Attack_l
The Flood Dragon Vine was a third-grade spiritual plant, and Lu Xuan naturally didn't believe that a small bottle of the rank-less Black Line Snake blood could satisfy its growth requirements.
His main intention was to see what changes the Flood Dragon Vine could undergo after bathing in snake blood.
The result was satisfactory. Even if the bottle of Black Line Snake blood didn't quench its thirst at all, the Flood Dragon Vine still underwent a delightful transformation and was no longer in its previous withered state.
"It seems that I need to find a way to obtain snake demonic beast blood with a larger volume and a higher-grade in the future," Lu Xuan said, contemplating while feeling the noticeably increased vitality within the Flood Dragon Vine that still maintained its dark red color.
In the following three days, Lu Xuan stayed tranquilly in his courtyard, allocating all his energies to cultivating spiritual plants and rearing spiritual beasts.
There was spirit rice and demon beast meat ready in the house, among other common supplies, which could meet his needs for a while, so he didn't have to worry about livelihood issues.
During these three days, thirteen of the remaining thirty-nine Spirit Firefly Grasses had fully matured.
Among them, five were of good quality, six were of superior quality, and two were perfect grade.
Planting led to rewards. The thirteen white light clusters brought Lu Xuan thirteen awards.
His cultivation level increased by a total of two years, further consolidating Lu Xuan's Qi Cultivation Level Six strength. Additionally, he received four First Grade Talismans, three Technique Experience Packages which were the Earth Pulling Technique, the Tree Life Spell, and the Golden Sword Technique.
He also absorbed two Cultivation Pill Prescriptions, which significantly added to his theoretical knowledge of concocting the Yuan Cultivating Pill.
There are two more Red Cloud Pine Nuts on the Red Cloud Pine which should be about to reach full maturity.
Of course, picking them now wouldn't be a bad decision since they appear no different from the first Red Cloud Pine nut that he had previously harvested.
It was just that Lu Xuan, being able to perceive the subtle status of the spirit plant at all times, knew the nuts hadn't reached their peak maturation period.
Picking them either too early or too late might slightly affect the quality of the pine nuts, thereby affecting the awards brought by the white light clusters.
Thus, he could only harvest them at the most optimal moment.
Lu Xuan decided to leave the two pine nuts for now and come back to check on them the next morning.
That night, under the cover of darkness and the tranquil world, the spiritual field lay dormant under a thin spiritual aura shield. Only the Grass Puppet, dragging its slender gray grass legs, continued to patrol slowly between the furrows of the spiritual field.
A figure as intangible as clouds and mist floated to the front of the formation. The figure paused, and out of the darkness emerged a cultivator dressed in night-walker clothes, with his face covered, silently looking at the thin spiritual aura protector.
"This should be the place."
"I have no idea what Friend Zhou was thinking. A loose cultivator at the third level of Qi cultivation couldn't even muster full confidence to come by himself and even spent spirit stones to hire me."
"It seems that he spent too much time planting spiritual plants. Being with those flowers and plants every day probably wore down his sharp edge." "However, according to him, this no-organization spirit plant master is highly valued in the Bai Cao Tang. Many rare spiritual medicines are planted in his spiritual field. Once he's eliminated, everything will be mine." As these thoughts ran through his mind, the figure drew a shining talisman from his storage bag.
"To avoid startling the other cultivators and attracting the patrol guards from the Enforcement Hall, I'm going to have to use this second-grade Breaking Spirit Talisman."
There were generally three ways for a cultivator to break a formation.
The first one was to have an array master with a deep understanding of formations break the formation from its roots.
The second was to use talismans or magic artifacts related to breaking formations to achieve a rapid breakdown of the formation.
In the end, it was solved by brute force. No matter how exquisite the formation, I would plow through it with sheer strength.
For him, who was at the fifth layer of Qi cultivation, breaking through the first-grade array with brute force wasn't difficult. It would, however, cause a lot of commotion and was likely to stir up disturbance.
With no other choice, the masked cultivator reluctantly used a second-grade spirit-breaking talisman.
No matter the formation, each had its own way of circulating spiritual power. The higher the rank, the more complex and variable the spiritual power, with other peculiar characteristics simultaneously present.
The second-grade spirit-breaking talisman in his hand could quickly find the mode of spiritual power circulation in a first-grade or ungraded formation, hence revealing the weakness, thereby quickly resolving the formation and saving a significant amount of time.
The spiritual light on the spirit-breaking talisman became increasingly vigorous, finally merging into the thin spiritual aura shield. Soon, threads of spiritual power emerged on the round spiritual aura shield, flowing in a mysterious and complex pattern.
The eyes of the masked cultivator brightened as he swiftly found a flaw in the first-grade protective formation.
A few tens of breaths later, he easily broke through the formation and entered the Spirit Field.
In the hazy night, what entered his sight was a large patch of Spiritual Firefly Grass, with their slender leaves twinkling like stars.
"Two or three dozen mature Spiritual Firefly Grass, just the value of these alone is way beyond the price of the spirit-breaking talisman I just used." The masked cultivator darted about in the Spirit Field as light as a swallow. While charging towards the house not far away, he was also scanning the spirit plants in the Spirit Field nearby.
The other party was just a third layer Qi cultivation loose cultivator, so he didn't take him seriously. His attention was more focused on the numerous spirit plants in the Spirit Field, considering them as his bagged catch. "There are about twenty first-grade Blood Jade Ginseng, and their quality seems pretty good too. I can exchange them for quite a few spirit stones at Friend Zhou's. After all, he promised that he only wants the Book Jade Slip on this loose cultivator."
"These three should be the second-grade Clear and Wonderful Spirit Team he mentioned. Heh, judging by his previous complaints, it seems he couldn't compete with this third-layer Qi cultivation small loose cultivator."
"Eh, what is this?"
The masked cultivator slowed down, his attention drawn to a Spirit Grass right before his eyes.
The spirit grass was about two feet long, pitch-black in color, standing upright in the Spirit Soil, shaped like a sword. Around it strands of faint sword intent were swirling in the Spirit Soil.
Such an unusual Spirit Grass was a rarity, even for him who had never planted spirit plants before.
"And this vine, at first glance, I thought it was a dead snake.
A snake-like vine, a sword-like Spirit Grass, plenty of Spiritual Firefly Grass, Blood Jade Ginseng, and three precious Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings…
"This trip is totally worth it…"
The masked cultivator was pleased. The quantity and rank of the spirit plants in this loose cultivator's Spirit Field had brought him unexpected joy.
"Once that Little Loose Cultivator is taken care of, all these will be mine." He sped up by three-fold, a short jet-black blade appearing in front of him. The blade shimmered slightly as though ready to shoot out at any moment, piercing through the wall and directly through the cultivator's body.
"Uh?"
Suddenly, several strands of thin grass ropes sprang out from the Spirit Field behind him, wrapping around his ankles and arms like a stubborn disease. The jet-black blade turned into a streak of black light, circling around the grass ropes, slicing them apart.
Under the cultivator's direction, it traced back following the direction of the grass ropes, directly severing the limbs of the grass puppet made from Gray Grass.
"So it's just a straw puppet, though a bit more aggressive.
Seeing that he had severed the limbs of the grass puppet, the masked cultivator relaxed..
Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Are You Awake? 1
Just as he was about to step forward and completely exterminate the Grass Puppet.
Suddenly, a golden Sword Qi shot out like a lightning, reaching the Masked Cultivator in the blink of an eye.
"What kind of Sword Technique is this?!"
The Sword Technique was so sudden and swift that the Masked Cultivator didn't have enough time to deploy his defense magic artifact.
In a desperate moment, he had no choice but to barely turn his body. There was a whoosh.
The golden Sword Qi pierced straight through his shoulder, instantly causing blood to gush out and stain the Spirit Field.
The momentum of the Sword Qi didn't diminish, piercing into the wall of the courtyard behind him.
"Run away quickly!"
Despite the excruciating pain coursing through his wounded shoulder the Masked Cultivator had a thought flash across his mind-he must escape this Spirit Field.
With his wealth of experience, he knew that such a Sword Technique was not something a Small Loose Cultivator of the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation could unleash.
With a few more similar Sword Techniques, or even just one more, he would risk dying here.
A gust of wind came from behind, as a Silver White Blade swiftly followed him. The Masked Cultivator's thoughts moved quickly, his Spiritual Energy circulating rapidly. A wall of ice materialized mid-air, just in time to block the Silver White Blade heading towards him.
Unexpectedly, just before the blade collided with the ice wall, the Silver White Short Blade silently split into dozens of thin fragments, which attacked the Masked Cultivator from all directions like silver butterflies.
This unexpected attack method threw the Masked Cultivator into chaos, with fragments piercing his limbs, shoulder, and chest.
Before he could react, a nimble black Spirit Beast materialized in front of him, its emerald-green pupils coldly watching the Masked Cultivator. Its bewitching gaze left him momentarily dazed.
Before he could regain his senses, the Spirit Beast raised its thick white paw and landed a blow on his head, knocking the cultivator to the ground. After rolling around a few times, he passed out from the pain.
The Masked Cultivator consciousness slowly emerged from unfathomable darkness.
Rather than opening his eyes to survey his surroundings immediately, he carefully sensed the current state of his body.
The situation was dire. As he tried to circulate his internal spiritual power, it felt like he was throwing stones into the sea-the Qi Sea in his Dantian was destroyed, and his cultivation level was completely lost.
At the same time, his body was tied up and unable to move. Wounds on his limbs were exposed to the air, causing waves of intense pain.
His throat, heart, and lower body areas felt a distinct cold sharpness. It seemed that any slight movement would allow these sharp chilly feelings to invade his body.
"Are you awake?"
A gentle voice sounded not far from him.
The cultivator remained with his eyes closed, as if still in deep slumber. "If you don't really wake up, then I'll make sure you never wake up again." The soft voice casually spoke.
With no other option, the Masked Cultivator opened his eyes. His pupils moved, taking in the entire situation.
He was in a simply furnished room, bound by grey-black grass ropes. The silver fragments that had once threatened his life were right before his vulnerable points.
A young cultivator was standing in front of him, his eyes clear and bright. I didn't expect you, a No-Organization Spirit Plant Master, to hide so deep." "That Sword Technique… it's almost at the level of a grandmaster. Even the experienced swordsmen I've met before seldom have such superb swordsmanship."
"Moreover, you're still so young."
"And your cultivation level… It's definitely way beyond the Third Layer." The more the Masked Cultivator thought about it, the more regretful he became. Initially, he thought taking down a Small Loose Cultivator of Qi Cultivation would be a piece of cake. But he didn't anticipate that he would meet with such a disaster, and now he was severely injured and easily captured.
"Speak, why did you enter my mansion and try to harm me?"
Lu Xuan ignored the masked cultivator and asked with a smile.
"I was just passing by and wanted to sneak into your spirit field to steal a few spirit plants. I didn't expect to run into trouble."
The masked cultivator casually made up a reason, attempting to bluff his way out.
"Do you think I would believe that?"
Lu Xuan found it amusing. His expression turned cold, and the remnant piece hovering in front of the cultivator's throat sank a bit deeper, piercing his skin and letting out a drop of dark red blood.
"Just say who sent you."
The masked cultivator fell silent.
"Actually, whether you speak or not, I have a pretty good idea who it is."
"I am usually a recluse and we do good deeds. Anyone who wants to provoke
me to the point of wanting me dead- think about it for yourself."
"But if you won't speak, the ending will be very different. This magic artifact in front of you will cut you into thin slices and try its best not to kill you." "When you are barely breathing, I will then send you to the black market. There, many evil cultivators buy cultivator's souls. You, a middle-stage Qi practitioner, should fetch a good price."
Lu Xuan spoke coldly.
'If I talk, would you let me go?"
"If you talk, I will give you a clean end. If not, you will have to endure the endless torment of both your body and soul. You can choose for yourself." "It was Zhou Hai Wen, a Spirit Plant Master. He promised me a spirit stone to come and kill you. He promised me all the spirit plants in your spirit field, as long as I give him the book jade slip from you."
Without any more hesitation, the masked cultivator laid out everything.
"Indeed, it's the relentless Spirit Plant Master. He probably wants to glean the
method for planting perfect quality spirit plants from me."
Lu Xuan had suspected all along. After hearing the masked cultivator's answer,
he was completely certain.
"Tell me his address, and don't attempt to lie to me. You know that he and I are both Spirit Plant Architects hired by the Hall of Hundreds of Grasses, it's not difficult for me to get his information."
"Fine, I'll tell."
After revealing the information about the Spirit Plant Master, the masked cultivator no longer had any reservations, laying out everything he knew, holding onto the slim hope that Lu Xuan might spare him.
"Alright, you can rest now."
Lu Xuan softly whispered, the thin piece in front of the cultivator's throat suddenly lunged forward, piercing deeply into his throat.
After killing the cultivator, Lu Xuan circulated his spiritual power, and a fireball the size of a head appeared above the cultivator's corpse.
Then, it turned into sparks of fire, falling onto his corpse. Within a few breaths, it turned him into black ash.
Lu Xuan took out an Evil Banishing Talisman, a layer of white light centered on
the black ashes, rippled outward.
Without any anomalies occurring.
Only then did he completely relax, sweeping the thick layer of black ash on the ground and scattering it in the soil of the spirit field.
"You guys dodged a bullet today, here's some good fertilizer for you to make
up."
After Qin Ming, another cultivator has ended up in his spirit field, his body crushed into ashes and turned into a fertilizer.
Lu Xuan briefly cleaned up the courtyard, scanned the surroundings with his spiritual sense, left the Bi Jing Cloud Treading Mink to guard the mansion, and silently moved outside.
There are cultivators patrolling day and night within the market, but the strength of the protection in each area varies.
In the outer areas of the North District where Lu Xuan previously lived, it was a mixed bag with virtually non-existent security.
The courtyard he now resides in is slightly closer to the center and has considerably increased security, but it's generally only a handful of low-level Qi cultivators patrolling for show.
Only the core area has middle and even high-ranking Qi cultivators providing proper protection to prevent evil cultivators or demon envoys from invading. A moment later, Lu Xuan arrived at his destination, outside the courtyard of the surnamed Zhou Spirit Plant Master..
Chapter 58: Chapter 57 'Fundamentals of Rune Making' l
Zhou Hai Wen lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep for a long time.
Thinking of how he was about to obtain a method to cultivate Perfect Quality Spirit Plants, his spirit became excited and couldn't calm down one bit.
On the day when Lu Xuan refused to pass on his secret method for cultivating Perfect Quality Spirit Plants, Zhou Hai Wen returned home, becoming increasingly angry and experiencing an escalating greed. Finally, he invited a fellow cultivator he knew from the Flower Spirit Stone, planning to forcibly snatch Lu Xuan's secret.
Although his cultivation of spirit plants improved after meticulous care, he was not satisfied with these small progresses. After seeing Lu Xuan's result, he coveted nothing less than growing Perfect Quality Spirit Plants.
"It's been over a time system now, they should be almost back."
He lay on the bed, estimating the time when his friend might return.
After another while, there was still no movement.
"I wonder if there's been an accident?"
Zhou Hai Wen's brow wrinkled slightly with worry.
"There can't have been any accidents. That kid's just a Third Layer Qi Cultivation loose cultivitor with no time to cultivate spiritual power and techniques. Even if I were to go, I'd have an absolute certainty. Let alone a more skillful Cultivator with the Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation."
"It must have taken him some time after he killed him. After all, collecting spirit plants and handling the aftermath, all require quite some time."
"I hired him using the Flower Spirit Stone, with the promise of giving him all the spirit plants. If he only wants any cultivation books or jade slips on that kid, since the former isn't a Spirit Plant Master, he wouldn't consider ingesting the cultivation methods."
Zhou Hai Wen, the middle-aged cultivator, optimistically analyzed as if he already saw himself receiving the cultivation method, growing Perfect Quality Spirit Plants, and being valued by Bai Cao Tang and even major Market families…
His future was absolutely bright.
While he was indulging in daydreams, his eyes certainly shone intensely.
Suddenly, a sparking Sword Qi arrived. Just as it was about to pierce the body of the middle-aged cultivator laying down, it swiftly turned and moved towards the cultivator's forehead at extreme speed, drilling into his mind and giving a violent twist.
The last thing seen by the middle-aged cultivator was the bright golden light brought by the Sword Qi.
Lu Xuan, light as a feather, floated into the room and took away the storage bag from the cultivator's waist.
After that, two First Grade Explosive Talismans respectively activated and set the cultivator's remains and the furniture inside the room continuously ablaze, thoroughly eliminating the hole on the "heaven's spirit cover" left by the sword technique as well as any trace of Lu Xuan's presence in the room.
By the time the big fire caused a commotion, Lu Xuan had already departed far away.
He safely returned home, meticulously reviewing his actions of the night.
After arriving at the courtyard where the Spirit Plant Master lived, he easily managed to enter.
Outside the yard, there was only a First Rank Protective Formation to block strange beasts and worms from invading the Spirit Field. Lu Xuan forcefully broke the formation effortlessly.
Under the First Grade Golden Sword Technique who was nearly at the Grandmaster Realm and the unexpected Slivered Silver Blade, both the Masked Cultivator and the Spirit Plant Master were eliminated smoothly without any disturbances.
He did not pick any spirit plants from the middle-aged cultivator's spirit field, firstly because they were still growing and couldn't be directly exchanged for spirit stones, and secondly because picking them takes a certain amount of time, so to avoid more troubles in the night, he directly took the storage bag and left.
On the wooden table, two storage bags and a glossy black flying sword were laid out.
The flying sword was a First Grade Magical Instrument left by the Masked Cultivator.
Firstly, he used his spiritual power to open the bag of the Masked Cultivator, who had a slightly higher cultivation level.
There weren't many things inside; over a ten First Grade Talismans, two bottles of elixir, one was a Yuan Cultivating Pill which could quickly supplement spiritual power and the other, Blood Activating Pills, that could treat some simple injuries.
Apart from these, there were about eighty spirit stones, thereby raising Lu Xuan's property to around three hundred and sixty spirit stones.
After plundering all the things in the Masked Cultivator's bag, he then shifted his focus to the bag of the middle-aged Spirit Plant Master.
One bottle of elixir, uncapped, contains only five Yuan Cultivating Pills, slyly rolling around at the bottom.
Six spiritual seeds, their rank and species unknown.
"How destitute. Disgracing us, the Spirit Plant Masters."
Lu Xuan complains.
After becoming a Spirit Plant Master, he never systematically studied the cultivation of spirit plants.
He started crudely with the cultivation of Spirit Firefly Grass, and after receiving peculiar light clusters within his spirit field, he gained deep understanding of the spirit plants he himself cultivated, but remained ignorant about the rest.
For the moment, he didn't plan on hastily planting these six spiritual seeds. After all, his Spirit Field, a little over an acre, already had plenty of spirit plants.
The numerous Spirit Firefly Grass and Blood Jade Ginseng-there's still twenty-six stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass about to mature, while there are twenty stalks of Blood Jade Ginseng.
The lesser in quantity but stable in value First Grade Red Cloud Pine and Second Grade Qingmiao Spirit Tea are present too, with the former having four pine nuts left and the latter having three seedlings growing vigorously.
As for the rare and mysterious types-there are the First Grade Pure Snow Lotus, Second Grade Dark Marrow Mushroom, Second Grade Sword Grass, Third-grade Fantasy Smoke Fruit, and Third-grade Flood Dragon Vine, most of which he successfully cultivated by relying on his grasp of the current state of spirit plants.
In order to maximize the rewards of the light clusters, he adopted refined cultivation methods, necessitating the daily casting of techniques such as Spirit Rain Technique, Tree Life Spell, etc. Furthermore, plants like Sword Grass and Fantasy Smoke Fruit had additional requirements.
Restrictions of the Spirit Field's area, limited time and energy, coupled with the frequent consumption of spiritual power, made it impossible for him to plant large quantities of spirit plants. He could only roughly manage the number and variety of spirit plants.
After checking this harvest, Lu Xuan shifted his attention to the formation outside the courtyard.
The invasion of the Masked Cultivator made his intent to change formation more urgent.
With his cultivation level improving more and more quickly, the number and quality of spirit plants in the Spirit Field growing higher, the First Grade Protective Array left behind from Tooth Row was gradually falling short.
First and second rank formations correspond to Qi-Cultivators, and a first-rank protective array had limited protection against a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner. If a Second Rank Spirit Breaking Talisman was added, it could easily penetrate the formation.
He had over three hundred Spirit Stones on hand, more than enough to install a Second-rank Protective Array.
Without him realizing, dawn had broken. Lu Xuan didn't continue resting, and ran towards the Spirit Field to check on the state of the spirit plants.
He was quite lucky. The fight with the Masked Cultivator last night didn't affect the spirit plants in the Spirit Field.
After his patrol, the condition of the spirit plants was all pretty satisfactory, especially the Dark Marrow Mushroom. Perhaps due to the special fertilizer in the spirit soil, it seemed like more dark red mycelium had spread.
On the Red Cloud Pine, among the fine red pine needles, two Red Cloud Pine Nuts had fully matured.
Lu Xuan picked the first one. The pine nut was of superior quality, slightly better than the first pine nut he had harvested before.
A white light cluster appeared where the Red Cloud Pine Nut was harvested.
Lu Xuan absorbed it, and the light cluster turned into countless light spots flowing into his body.
A thought flashed through his mind.
"Harvesting one Red Cloud Pine Nut gives a copy of the 'Fundamentals of Rune Making.'"
Countless knowledge about runes poured into Lu Xuan's consciousness, almost making his head burst.
The book recorded the methods of making dozens of commonly seen first-grade runes, the types of materials required, the way to process them, the drawing of the rune diagrams, etc.
"The reward brought about by the maturing of a first-grade spirit plant is really different. I remember the fully grown, perfect quality Spirit Firefly Grass would yield a First Grade Qi Cultivating Pill Recipe, while the Red Cloud Pine Nut directly gave a book of rune making methods, teaching dozens of first-grade runes all at once."
Lu Xuan made a comparison and stared at the other mature Red Cloud Pine Nut in expectancy..
Chapter 59: Chapter 58 Red Threaded Needle l
The second Red Cloud Pine Nut was picked.
It was also of superior quality.
Lu Xuan put it into his storage bag and looked at the white light cluster shimmering on the Red Cloud Pine.
The light cluster transformed into countless light spots and flowed into his body. A thought emerged in his mind.
"Harvested one Red Cloud Pine Nut and earned a Second Grade Magical Tool Red Line Needle."
A long, thin, red needle appeared in Lu Xuan's hand.
The red needle was about three inches long and extremely light. Holding it between his fingers felt like holding nothing.
Lu Xuan infused a trace of spiritual power, moved with his spiritual sense, and with a whistle, the red needle instantaneously disappeared from his hand.
Following a weak sense, he found the red needle embedded in the middle of the wall. The needle had completely penetrated the thick stone wall.
Under his spiritual control, the red needle flew out of the stone wall, rotating around Lu Xuan at an incredible speed, creating countless red thread illusions.
"Needle-type artifacts are rather rare. This red needle has excellent concealment and is slightly faster than the Slivered Silver Blade. Coupled with its terrifying piercing ability, it is an excellent tool for sneak attacks."
Due to the small size of the red needle, Lu Xuan first placed it in a jade box before putting it into his storage bag.
"Two Red Cloud Pine Nuts, both of superior quality. One yielded a copy of the 'Fundamentals of Rune Making,' detailing the refining methods of dozens of commonly used First Grade charms. The other produced a Second Grade needle-type artifact, a red needle."
"As expected of a First Grade Spirit Plant, the rewards are much more plentiful than those of the spontaneous Spirit Firefly Grass and the Moon Erosion Fruit."
Lu Xuan couldn't help but sigh.
With his current Cultivation Qi Level Six, the First Grade talismans from grinding the Spirit Firefly Grass and the spontaneous Formula Methods are somewhat unappealing. Still, it's the only thing that can yield cultivation rewards at present.
Hence, before discovering a new Spirit Plant that can provide cultivation rewards, he still needed to plant a large number of Spirit Firefly Grass.
After harvesting two mature Red Cloud Pine Nuts, Lu Xuan approached the Grass Puppet.
Half of the Grass Puppet's limbs were removed by the masked cultivator at midnight, leaving behind only its oversized head and gray grass torso, which looked quite strange.
At the moment, from the enormous gray grass lump on its head, countless strands of gray, black, withered grass were extending, merging at the spot where an arm used to be, slowly weaving itself together.
It was a perfect embodiment of the phrase 'Undeterred even with a broken body.'
Unfortunately, the progress was too slow. After such a long time, only a small section had been woven at the shoulder.
Lu Xuan, who usually only fed it Broken Spirit, generously took out a Spirit Stone from his storage bag
and stuffed it into the grass lump on the Grass Puppet's head.
"You did well last night. Here's a Spirit Stone as a reward. After you finish weaving your limbs, continue helping me guard the Spirit Field."
"Guard the Spirit Field! Guard the Spirit Field!"
When concentrated, Lu Xuan sensed the Grass Puppet's innermost persistence.
"What a touching and dedicated employee for a Spirit Plant Master…"
With the Spirit Stone providing spiritual power, a few more strands of withered grass emerged from the gray lump, though the speed was still slow.
Lu Xuan had to leave it alone to slowly recover.
After only a few steps, suddenly, a coarse struggling cry came from beneath his feet.
"Ooh—"
Lu Xuan followed the sound and saw the Cloud Leopard Juvenile beast stepping on its thick cloud-like paws, passing under his feet.
It walked with grace, looking leisurely. Its green eyes seemed to disregard Lu Xuan entirely.
Having already known its true identity, Lu Xuan looked at the Cloud Leopard and couldn't help but laugh.
"All right, all right, you performed quite well last night, I'll reward you with two dried hedgehog meats at noon."
The Cloud Leopard seemed not to have heard, it calmly strutted about, the slight trembling of its fur on its pointy ears revealing its inner excitement.
After dealing with the Grass Puppet and the Cloud Leopard, Lu Xuan took out a handful of Spirit Rice and threw it into the Spiritual Spring Pool. The three Red-bearded Carps fought over it, stirring up layers of ripples in the spring water, making the Pure Snow Lotus's snowy leaves sway gently under the onslaught of the ripples.
Taking advantage of the mist that had not yet dissipated, Lu Xuan began his day's work as a Spirit Plant Master.
According to the needs of each Spirit Plant, Lu Xuan controlled the range, capacity, and duration of the Spirit Rain Technique, providing them with thorough irrigation.
Incidentally, he also ruthlessly separated a clump of First Grade Blood Jade Ginseng that had grown entangled together. A single Blood Jade Ginseng was surrounded by eight others, intertwined from all sides.
"To deal with eight Blood Jade Ginsengs at once, I'd like to crown you the king of Ginseng."
Lu Xuan carefully isolated them with spiritual power, to prevent the Blood Jade Ginseng in the middle from being directly drained by the other eight.
He also imparted a Sword Technique to the Sword Grass, allowing it to be nourished by Sword Qi.
The smoke produced by the Phantom Smoke Luo Fruit multiplied, obstructing any Spiritual Sense from permeating it, leaving Lu Xuan to carefully navigate to find its location.
For the rapidly growing plants, he used the Tree Life Spell, to urge them to mature quickly.
It was both simple and dull, busy, yet fulfilling.
After finishing all his tasks, half a day had passed. Lu Xuan returned beneath the eaves, looking at the flourishing Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field. Wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, he revealed a satisfied smile.
He looked every bit the Spirit Plant Master, who was passionate about planting. It was hard to imagine that not long ago he had killed two Middle-Level Qi Practitioners.
After a short rest, Lu Xuan decided to go to the Loose Cultivation Market, to see if he could find a good Second Grade Defense Array and snake-type demon beast blood.
He would also stop by at Bai Cao Tang to see how the death of the Zhou-surnamed Spirit Plant Master might have affected things.
He adjusted his Concealment Method, revealing the power of a Fourth Level Qi Cultivator.
By projecting an intermediate Qi Cultivation level instead of his actual lower Qi Cultivation level, he could avoid unnecessary troubles.
When he first rented this Spirit Field, he appeared as a Third Level Qi Cultivator. In less than a year, he had broken through to the Fourth Level. Although this rapid improvement was still within reason for a loose cultivator, it would still draw attention.
As for revealing his actual Sixth Level Qi Cultivation, he dared not do so.
The difference between cultivating from the Third Level to the Fourth Level and cultivating from the Third Level to the Sixth Level was enormous. A discerning person would know that there is a serious problem with such a rapid increase and it would easily arouse the jealousy and scrutiny of other cultivators.
In Bai Cao Tang, everything was as usual. The death of the Zhou-surnamed Spirit Plant Master had not caused much disturbance.
Only occasionally would one hear an attendant who dealt with medicinal herbs mention it.
It was understandable, although the Enforcement Hall cultivators patrolled the markets, they couldn't prevent all cultivators from being mysteriously killed, especially on the outskirts of the market where all sorts of people mingled. It was not uncommon for familiar cultivators to suddenly disappear or mysteriously die.
Moreover, like Lu Xuan, the Zhou-surnamed Spirit Plant Master was also under the second type of cooperation with Bai Cao Tang and did not accept its protection. Therefore, the attendants in Bai Cao Tang couldn't empathize or worry about their own safety.
After Lu Xuan sat for a while, Manager He came out from inside.
"Kid Lu, are you here to hand in the Spirit Firefly Grass so soon?"
"Not really, I just wanted to go to the market to buy some things and I was passing by, so I thought I'd drop in and see you."
"I intend to sell the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass to the Hall after all of them have matured. However, next time I may want to get more Spirit Firefly Grass seeds from you."
"A hundred Spirit Firefl Grasses are not enough for you? If you want more, can your small amount of spiritual power handle it?"
Lu Xuan only laughed in response and took a sip from the cup of tea in his hand.
Seeing Lu Xuan in this state, the thin old man formed a guess in his mind. His spiritual sense swept over Lu Xuan's body, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Have you broken through to the Fourth Level of Qi Cultivation?"
Chapter 60: Chapter 59'- Hidden Fog Maze Array
"These past two days, I've had some minor achievements and have by a fluke ascended to the ranks of Middle-Stage Qi Practitioners.'
Lu Xuan said with a proud smile.
"You're doing well, lad."
The thin old man praised, before immediately changing the topic.
"With the cultivation of the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, the spiritual power in your body can nonetheless meet the requirements for planting more Spirit
Firefly Grass."
■■At that time, I will put in a good word for you, so you can get more Spirit
Firefly Grass or other spirit plant seeds."
"Many thanks, Old He."
Lu Xuan expressed his gratitude cheerfully to the thin old man.
"That's based on your own merit. If you didn't have that ability to cultivate high-quality spiritual plants, and if your cultivation wasn't at the intermediate stage of Qi cultivation, then no matter what I said, it would be impossible."
"However, your growth really surprised me a bit.
"I remember when you first entered Bai Cao Tang, you were just a Second-grade Loose Cultivator. After breaking through to the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, your talent in cultivating spiritual plants began to show, and now you have become a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner.
Manager He seemed thoughtful, his expression serious.
"Your rapid breakthrough in cultivation proves that you have some talent in cultivation. What's more, with your current status as a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner, you can enter some of those low-level secret lands with certain
safety assurance."
"in that case, you might have a chance to come across some opportunities and make a meteoric rise."
"Therefore, do you want to continue being satisfied being a Spirit Plant Master, or do you want to make full use of this talent, work hard in cultivation and compete for opportunities?"
Lu Xuan gave a wry smile.
"Manager He, I do understand myself."
"Being able to break through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation so quickly doesn't mean I have a great talent for cultivation, I just took a shortcut."
"In order to enrich the spiritual power in my body so that I can deploy more techniques for cultivating spiritual plants, I used all the spirit stones I got from selling spiritual plants to buy First Grade Elixirs that could accelerate my cultivation."
"It was only by taking them consecutively for a considerable period of time that
I was able to break through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation."
"The higher you go, the less effective First Grade Elixirs become, so the speed of future cultivation increase will slow down."
"Moreover, I have spiritual power in my body, but I'm not skilled in methods and I don't have a reliable magic artifact. Going to the secret lands, I don't have the means to compete with others for opportunities.
The White Light Group involved too many aspects, making it hard to explain clearly, so even though he trusted Manager He a great deal, he did not reveal his true strength.
"That's a bit of a pity."
"I was hoping that since you're still young and your future should not be figured out in one glance, it would be good to get out there and see the world." -Now it seems, honestly dedicating yourself to growing spiritual plants and living a safe life can also be a good choice."
Upon hearing this, Manager He sighed, expressing his regret for Lu Xuan. Lu Xuan kept the old man's concern for him in his heart, stayed for a while longer, then took his leave.
In the marketplace street.
Buildings stood close together on both sides, with all kinds of shops offering everything, creating a bustling scene.
Lu Xuan arrived in front of one of the tallest buildings.
The building was four stories high, constructed from Sky-reaching Spirit Trees. Its roof was covered with green glazed tiles, and in the middle were three big words written with a calligraphic flourish: Wanbao Building. This was the most famous shop in the marketplace, where all kinds of cultivation treasures could be found. As long as you had enough spirit stones, even items required by Foundation Establishment Cultivators could be purchased.
Lu Xuan followed the cultivators in front of him into the building.
There were twenty or thirty cultivators in the hall. The counter was filled with an array of items – magic artifacts, charms, elixirs and so on, making people dazzled.
Seeing Lu Xuan looking around after entering, a pretty young girl came over to greet him.
"Hello, fellow practitioner, is this one of your first few visits to the Wanbao Building? If you need anything, you can tell me, and I can take you to have a
look."
"Sure, no problem. Lead me to the formation section, please." Lu Xuan nodded, acknowledging that it was his first time in the Wanbao Building.
During his previous stage as a Qi Cultivation Second Layer small Loose Cultivator, he never considered entering Wanbao Building due to his financial constraints.
Later, when the miraculous white light group appeared in his spirit field and his financial status fluctuated, Bai Cao Tang provided the spiritual seeds he needed. Since the Wanbao Building wouldn't have any unknown spiritual seeds, he didn't enter the building until he decided to purchase a higher-quality defensive array.
"Fellow Daoist, this is the formation counter in the first floor lobby. Here, we have dozens of formations with various functions, such as attack arrays, maze arrays, concealment arrays, defense arrays, and so on," said the beautiful young girl, leading Lu Xuan to a relatively secluded spot with a warm smile.
"Show me some defensive arrays," Lu Xuan instructed.
"Defensive arrays. Are you looking for first-grade or second-grade ones, Fellow Daoist?" She asked.
"Second-grade."
First-grade arrays are pretty effective for low-rank Qi Cultivating Monks, but they become average against a Middle-Stage Qi Practitioner. If the cultivator also has a Formation-breaking Charm or a magic artifact, the array would be significantly fragile.
"Okay."
The beautiful young girl's smile grew even wider. Not many cultivators have a great demand for arrays. If she could sell a second-grade array, she would receive a handsome commission.
"This is the Chaotic Stone Array, known for its defense. If a cultivator intrudes, you can even control the giant stones in the array to attack the intruder." "This is the Wood Cage Array. It needs to be arranged in an environment with special Spirit Trees. It can trap and block cultivators from entering the array." -This is the Hidden Fog Maze Array. Its defensive power is relatively strong among the second-grade arrays. Moreover, it includes a maze. Once a cultivator enters, their spiritual sense will be affected by the fog in the array, making it easy for them to be trapped within."
"This one is…"
The beautiful young girl pointed at the array plates and array flags in the counter, providing Lu Xuan with detailed introductions.
"The Chaotic Stone Array has some attack power, but it requires a cultivator to actively control it from the rear. As for the Wood Cage Array, it demands a high level of environmental conditions, which makes it unsuitable to be set up outside a yard."
Lu Xuan weighed his options and pointed to one of the array plates surrounded by fog, asking, "How much is this Hidden Fog Maze Array?"
"One hundred sixty-five spirit stones," she responded.
"What about one hundred thirty spirit stones?" Lu Xuan knew that this price was already quite reasonable, but he had long been accustomed to bargaining and habitually knocked off a big chunk.
The beautiful young girl shook her head politely, declining his offer.
in the end, after a tough negotiation, Lu Xuan managed to knock off ten spirit stones and purchased the Hidden Fog Maze Array for one hundred fifty-five spirit stones.
"Luckily, that Masked Cultivator sent over eighty spirit stones in time. Otherwise, my wealth would have dwindled by more than half," Lu Xuan thought, glancing at the remaining almost two hundred spirit stones in his storage bag. He felt more grateful to the Masked Cultivator, who had already integrated with the Spirit Soil.
"Oh, do you have the blood of snake-type or Dragon-type Monsters, preferably fresh?" After paying for the spirit stones, Lu Xuan asked the beautiful young girl.
"As for demon beast blood… it's usually extracted from species that have peculiar existences in their blood. As for snake-type demonic beasts, materials like snake skin, scale armor, snake venom, and such are commonly sold. I don't recall having snake-type demonic beast blood," The beautiful young girl responded apologetically after a short contemplation.
"Fellow Daoist, hold on. If you have an urgent need, you could reserve some spirit stones at Wanbao Building. We will then try to mobilize resources from other cities and markets to find what you need," she offered when she saw Lu Xuan was about to leave.
"However, you might have to spend ten to twenty percent more spirit stones compared to direct purchases.
"If we can't bring the items to you within the stipulated time, we will refund all the spirit stones you've deposited with us." Sensing Lu Xuan's intention to leave, she hurriedly called out to him, offering a suggestion for his consideration..