Chapter 26 Draft_1

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After obtaining the three-tailed red whisker carp fry, Lu Xuan returned to the courtyard.

At the edge of the spiritual spring, the red whisker carp in the bag seemed a bit listless after the bumpy journey, their thin, red, long whiskers drooping weakly on both sides of their heads.

"Time to give you guys a luxurious new home!"

Lu Xuan poured the three-tailed red whisker carp into the spiritual spring, his tone slightly sardonic as he spoke.

If only the spiritual spring were larger and deeper, he would eagerly dive in for a soak himself.

The red whisker carp initially felt some discomfort upon entering the spiritual spring, but under the gentle stimulation of the water infused with faint spiritual energy, they quickly regained their vitality.

Swimming leisurely in the spring, their two thin, red, long whiskers floated gracefully in the water, embodying relaxation.

Lu Xuan watched with a trace of hopeful anticipation, focusing his mind on one of the red whisker carp's bodies.

"Red whisker carp fry, spirit beast with no rank, highly satisfied with their new environment. If only some spirit rice were to fall into the spring, it would be even better."

A fleeting thought emerged in Lu Xuan's mind.

"Not bad!"

He couldn't suppress the excitement he felt inside, pumping his fist vigorously.

If he could already observe the red whisker carp's instant status like this, there was a high chance that when they matured, they'd produce a white light cluster.

Lu Xuan gazed at the three-tailed red whisker carp freely swimming in the spring, almost as if he could see the treasures they were nurturing for him.

"Looks like I can raise more spiritual birds and spiritual beasts in the spirit field or spring."

He silently made a decision to do so.

Reflecting on the instant status of the red whisker carp that had appeared in his mind, *he couldn't help but chuckle aloud.*

"The three little fellows are even dreaming of spirit rice falling from the sky. If it does, it'll drop into my mouth first. Let me drink some of this spiritual spring water that doesn't cost me spirit stones!"

He walked away from the spring, surveying everything in the spirit field.

In the section of the spirit field where the blood jade ginseng grew, Lu Xuan's spiritual sense detected that the positions of twenty blood jade ginseng seeds had shifted, with several pairs clustering together.

Lu Xuan quickly activated the Earth Pulling Technique, using the spirit soil to return them to their original spots, keeping them at a relatively safe distance from one another.

A hundred spiritual firefly grasses had already begun sprouting new shoots, their tender, slender green shoots sparsely distributed in the spirit soil, conveying a robust and optimistic growth energy to Lu Xuan.

The spirit field was segmented into several areas, one of which had slightly denser spiritual energy, hosting transplanted spirit plants.

Among them, the second-level sword grass occupied a large patch of spirit soil by itself. Its straight, blade-like posture occasionally emitted strands of sword intent, making the surrounding area unsuitable for other spirit plants to grow nearby.

The first-grade red cloud pine had fine, red needle-like leaves, with a few clusters of flowers blooming vibrantly, their blossoms strikingly beautiful.

Meanwhile, the second-grade dark marrow mushroom still thrived alongside decaying wood, its densely packed dark red filaments extracting the decaying spiritual power within.

In a corner of the spirit field, the grass puppet leaned against the wall, silently acclimating to its new surroundings.

The large hole in its chest remained conspicuously visible.

Lu Xuan approached it, somewhat reluctant, and took out a spirit stone.

Typically, feeding the grass puppet only required providing a single broken spirit to maintain its functions and protect the spirit field.

But if he wanted it to activate its self-healing ability, a mere broken spirit wouldn't suffice.

He inserted the spirit stone into the gray grass lump on the puppet's head.

From the enormous lump formed by gray, withered grass, a faint wave of spiritual power fluctuated.

Soon after, two gray-black dead grasses floated out from its head, one on the left and the other on the right, swaying gently like willow catkins in the wind, before aimlessly drifting toward the large hole in its chest.

Starting at the edges of the cavity, the two strands of gray grass slowly wove in a crisscross pattern, gradually filling in the hole bit by bit.

Lu Xuan, unable to endure the puppet's slow mending motions, moved on to other parts of the spirit field, casting a round of the Spirit Rain Technique, followed by activating the Earth Pulling Technique and the Golden Sword Technique tailored to the spirit plants' needs.

After nearly two hours had passed, when he came back to check on the grass puppet, its repair work on the chest cavity had finally neared the final stage.

The two strands of gray-black dead grass wove the last gap closed, tied a slow knot, and dropped their remaining fragments to the ground.

*Lu Xuan could distinctly sense that the enormous grass lump on its head had shrunk noticeably in size.*

"As long as you've recovered—it's good. I still need you to guard the spirit field for me."

Although he had the protection of a first-grade protective array within the spirit field now, Lu Xuan was already accustomed to the grass puppet silently standing in the corner of the field. He didn't mind spending a spirit stone to heal it.

After all, purchasing this second-hand grass puppet had only cost him fewer than three spirit stones.

After carefully inspecting the spirit field, Lu Xuan activated the array and headed to the loose cultivation market.

Taking advantage of his new move, he decided to invite Xu Wan, Zhang Xiu Yuan, and Manager He of Bai Cao Tang over to his house as guests—an opportunity to express his gratitude for their prior care and support.

Thus, he came to the market intending to buy some spirit rice and spirit beast meat to prepare a lavish feast.

The market featured a dedicated spirit rice shop offering several varieties of spirit rice for sale. The least expensive cost thirty broken spirits per pound, while the most expensive—a variety called Blood Tooth Rice, plump with grains and incredibly fragrant—had a price of four spirit stones per pound.

Rumor had it that there were even pricier varieties, exclusively supplied to the core members of prominent families within the market. Ordinary loose cultivators, regardless of how wealthy they were in spirit stones, had no means of accessing it.

After considerable deliberation, Lu Xuan ultimately bought ten pounds of thirty-broken spirit-per-pound spirit rice, along with two pounds of fifty-broken spirit-per-pound spirit rice, totaling four spirit stones spent.

After purchasing the spirit rice, he stopped by a stall selling spirit beast meat, buying two pounds of thorny porcupine meat and three pounds of wild bull meat.

From another stall, he purchased over a pound of jade spirit leaves, vibrant green like jade itself, slightly stir-fried to be crisp and delicious, capable of incrementally boosting the low levels of spiritual energy in Qi-cultivators' bodies.

Finally, he picked up some non-spiritual but incredibly tasty foods. Only then did Lu Xuan, laden with bags, return home.

Having bought so many ingredients, he had spent nearly ten spirit stones. For Lu Xuan, typically frugal, this was considered a major splurge.

Back home, he began preparing ingredients for dinner.

As dusk approached, Lu Xuan finished all preparations, estimating that Manager He and the others should be arriving soon.

Soon enough, an energetic voice came from outside the yard.

"Kid Lu, hurry up and open the door! I've come for some free food!"

Lu Xuan opened the courtyard gate and found the lean old man holding a wine jar.

"This Yellow Mildew Wine is ten-year spirit brew; its flavor is rich and lasting, and it can nourish your flesh body. Let's enjoy a few good cups of this later."

Manager He raised the wine jar in his hand.

"You, kid, quietly went and rented such a large courtyard. No wonder you opened your mouth wide like a lion, snapping up so many spiritual firefly grass seeds and blood jade ginseng seeds."

He looked over the expansive spirit field, his heart filled with admiration.

"Old He, go find yourself a spot to sit first. I'll go finish making dinner."

Lu Xuan gave his instructions before heading to the kitchen.

Before he could start cooking, another booming voice sounded.

"Little Uncle Lu, my mother and I have arrived!"

Lu Xuan stepped out to welcome them, and the goofy Zhang Xiu Yuan jumped inside, grabbing hold of his leg.

"Congratulations on your housewarming, Little Uncle Lu! I'm sticking to your coattails from now on!"

Behind him, Xu Wan carried a bamboo basket filled with spirit fruits, smiling graciously.