The newly ripened Moon-Eroding Fruits were twice as many as the first batch, totaling eight. All eight fruits were of good quality. Lu Xuan carefully placed them into a special container, eagerly picking up the eight white light orbs that appeared one by one.
“Harvested a Moon-Eroding Fruit, obtained a first-grade artifact, Silver Splitting Blade (fragment).”
“Harvested a Moon-Eroding Fruit, obtained a first-grade talisman, Sword Qi Talisman.”
“Harvested a Moon-Eroding Fruit, obtained a first-grade pill, Primordial Pill.”
“Harvested a Moon-Eroding Fruit, obtained a first-grade talisman, Explosive Flame Talisman.”
Out of the eight light orbs, five produced fragments of the Silver Splitting Blade, two revealed talismans, and one orb yielded a pill.
“Primordial Pill, a first-grade pill, can quickly replenish spiritual energy when consumed by a cultivator.” Lu Xuan carefully stored the Primordial Pill. He had heard of this pill before but had never owned one. It was very useful for low and mid-level cultivators and was worth quite a few spirit stones.
“I have eight fragments of the Silver Splitting Blade now.” Lu Xuan looked at the eight thin silver fragments swirling around him, feeling a bit helpless. Suddenly, he had a thought, and the eight fragments instantly came together, their edges fitting tightly, forming a strange object.
“Why does it feel like a silver blade, even though it has quite a few gaps?” The more Lu Xuan looked, the more he felt this object resembled a blade. “If it is a blade, does that mean it can be used as a separate artifact during combat, confusing the opponent by suddenly splitting into many thin pieces?”
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he eagerly anticipated the moment when all the fragments would be collected. There were still thirty Moon-Eroding Fruits left. Based on the probability of the fragments appearing and the size of the gaps in the incomplete blade, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
But thinking back to his previous experiences with drawing cards, he couldn’t help but feel less optimistic.
“Little Uncle Lu, do you want spirit stones?” Just then, Lu Xuan heard the familiar mischievous voice of Zhang Xiuyuan from outside the courtyard.
Lu Xuan quickly opened the courtyard door. “What’s up? You have spirit stones for me?”
“I don’t have spirit stones, but I have a chance for you to earn some!” The chubby Zhang Xiuyuan grinned, his eyes sparkling with a hint of cunning that didn’t quite match his age.
“Oh? Tell me about it.” Lu Xuan looked at Zhang Xiuyuan, who was tightly hugging a straw puppet, feeling a bit curious.
“A few days ago, you helped my family with the pest problem, right? Today, I heard Cai Bin say that he has those weird bugs at his house too. I told him you’re really skilled, and he hurried home to tell his parents. He wants me to bring you to help.”
“His dad is worried sick about this. If you can handle it like last time, you’ll earn a lot of spirit stones!”
“Cai Bin?” Lu Xuan recalled a skinny kid who often played with Zhang Xiuyuan. His house was about two to three miles away from Lu Xuan’s courtyard. He had met Cai Bin’s father, Cai Hai, who was a third-level Qi Refining cultivator. They knew each other but didn’t have much interaction.
“Should I go take a look?” He hesitated, weighing whether it was worth it to earn those spirit stones.
Risk? The main issue was dealing with the Black Bud Worms. With his increasingly skilled Gengjin Sword Art, he could easily handle them. The chances of conflict were very low. Plus, with his third-level Qi Refining cultivation, the Gengjin Sword Art, various talismans, and the Silver Splitting Blade fragments, he could manage most unexpected situations.
Profit? Qin Ming, a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator, earned seven spirit stones for clearing a batch of Black Bud Worm larvae. Even though he only showed a second-level Qi Refining cultivation, asking for five spirit stones wouldn’t be unreasonable, right?
Most importantly, he was really short on spirit stones! He needed them badly. His spiritual field was too small, and after planting these spiritual plants, there was hardly any space left. Lu Xuan wanted to have a larger spiritual field. He also wanted to buy a storage bag; as his collection of treasures grew, he couldn’t carry everything with him every time he went out.
Buying unknown spiritual seeds also required a lot of spirit stones. With that in mind, Lu Xuan stopped hesitating and nodded gently under Zhang Xiuyuan’s eager gaze.
“Lead the way.”
“Okay!”
...
At Cai’s small courtyard, Cai Hai’s wife, Li Shi, was scolding her son fiercely.
“What were you thinking, calling a teenager cultivator to solve the pest problem at home? Do you think this is a child’s game?!”
The six or seven-year-old Cai Bin, red-faced from his mother’s scolding, mustered his courage to reply, “But, Xiuyuan said his Little Uncle Lu is really amazing and has incredible sword skills. He took care of all the bugs in no time!”
“Do you believe everything he says? Use your brain! How powerful can a second-level Qi Refining cultivator really be?!”
Li Shi turned to her husband, Cai Hai, who was looking down at the ground. “Dear, I think we should call my older brother. He has connections and knows a mid-level Qi Refining cultivator who can handle the pest problem. That would be much more reliable than that kid you’re talking about.”
“Hey, that so-called brother-in-law who charges ten spirit stones right off the bat?” Cai Hai scoffed. “He’s trying to take advantage of his own family! Why don’t you pay the ten spirit stones?”
Li Shi hesitated, “I’m just worried about our spiritual plants.”
“Ugh…” Cai Hai sighed deeply. “At this point, we can only try that young cultivator.”
“I just went out to ask. Zhang Hong’s family had a pest problem before, and I heard it was solved by a young boy. That must be the one Cai Bin mentioned.”
Cai Hai squatted down, looking at the spiritual plants tightly wrapped in black threads, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes. Other cultivators who could solve the pest problem charged very high fees, which was a huge burden for him right now. He could only pin his hopes on the second-level cultivator, Lu Xuan.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Although Lu Xuan heard some arguing outside, he thought that since he was already there, he might as well earn those spirit stones. He knocked heavily on the door.
The door opened. Cai Hai, with a thin face, forced a smile as he stepped out. “Friend Lu, thank you for making this trip. I’ve heard you have a unique skill in dealing with pests. I’ll need your help with my spiritual plants later.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s a unique skill, but I’ve been improving on a certain technique recently, which happens to counter those Black Bud Worms.” Lu Xuan explained, then added, “I’ll do my best to help you, but I must say upfront, my fee is five spirit stones, no negotiation.”
“Even fourth-level cultivators only charge seven spirit stones. Why do you, a second-level cultivator, charge five?” Li Shi interjected.
“If it’s the same pest problem, why don’t you go hire that mid-level cultivator?” Lu Xuan replied coldly.
Li Shi wasn’t easily deterred. After a pause, she said, “Five spirit stones are fine, but what if you can’t solve the pest problem?”
“Get back in the house!” Cai Hai shouted quietly at Li Shi. “You’re making a scene and embarrassing me in front of Friend Lu.”
He turned back to Lu Xuan, forcing a bitter smile. “Regardless of whether you can solve the pest problem, I’ll pay you the five spirit stones. I just hope you can give it your all. After all, as a Spiritual Plant Cultivator, you know how important our plants are to us.”
“Of course.” Lu Xuan said seriously.
He paid no mind to Li Shi’s harsh words, as long as he could get the spirit stones. He approached the infested spiritual plants, focused his mind, and a thin golden sword qi skillfully shot out, carrying an unmatched sharpness toward the Black Bud Worm larvae.
After a few breaths, all the Black Bud Worm larvae were severed by the golden sword qi, falling to the ground in pieces.
“Mission accomplished.” He stood up and said to the tense Cai Hai beside him.
Behind him, Zhang Xiuyuan secretly raised his eyebrows at his little partner. “See how amazing my Little Uncle Lu is?”
“Thank you, Friend Lu! Thank you!” Cai Hai’s face showed a look of relief.
Not far away, a window suddenly closed, and faint sobbing could be heard from inside.
Lu Xuan accepted the payment from Cai Hai and walked out with Zhang Xiuyuan. He weighed the spirit stones in his hand, feeling their heavy presence, and suddenly asked, “Hey, Xiuyuan? How about we team up? You find cultivators nearby who are dealing with pest problems, and I’ll handle them. For each time I help, I’ll give you thirty spirit fragments. What do you think?”
“Little Uncle Lu, you helped my family so much last time. I’ll just help you find people, no need for spirit fragments.” Zhang Xiuyuan replied innocently.
“That won’t do. I can’t let you work for free. It’s settled!”
(End of Chapter)