Lu Xuan stood at a distance, looking at Qin Ming's body, which was now separated from his head, covered in shards of the Silver Splitting Blade. A few gray grass ropes extended from the wooden bed, binding Qin Ming's corpse tightly.
Lu Xuan couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. He lifted the blanket and saw that the Straw Puppet, which had a large hole in its chest, was trying hard to trap the enemies that had intruded into the courtyard.
"Fortunately, this Straw Puppet has some recovery ability. As long as I have enough Spirit Stones, it can return to normal. Since you took a hit for me, I’ll make sure you recover completely," Lu Xuan said, watching the puppet move slowly but with determination.
He circulated his spiritual energy, and a fireball the size of a fist landed on Qin Ming's corpse. The flames quickly spread, and before long, it turned into a pile of black ash.
Next, he took out a talisman with strange runes on the edges and a ghost being suppressed in the center. He tossed the talisman, and a beam of white light swept through the entire room. This was the Evil Dispelling Talisman he had obtained earlier, capable of detecting and purifying low-level evil spirits.
Lu Xuan worried that Qin Ming might have died with too much resentment, which could attract evil spirits. After using the fireball technique to destroy the body, he still didn't feel secure and decided to spend a bit more on the Evil Dispelling Talisman to prevent any evil spirits from appearing. After all, he had already used so many Sword Qi Talismans, so he didn't mind using this one.
Once the white light faded, the room returned to darkness, with only a little silver-white moonlight shining through the hole made by the ice spear. Lu Xuan finally felt at ease. He lit a candle on the wooden table and swept the black ash together.
With his spiritual energy guiding him, dozens of Silver Splitting Blade shards reassembled into a silver-white blade. Holding the weapon made Lu Xuan feel braver as he took the black ash to the spiritual field and sprinkled it on the spiritual soil.
"This is fertilizer made from a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. You all need to grow well and not let him down for nurturing you," he said softly, looking at the many spiritual plants in the field.
In the courtyard, the moonlight was calm and quiet. The fierce battle that had just taken place seemed to have gone unnoticed by the surrounding cultivators. The loose cultivators living here had long developed a habit of not getting involved in others' affairs, as they had no capital to meddle in such matters.
"Lu, little brother, Lu, little brother..." A slightly anxious female voice called out from outside the courtyard wall, looking for Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan recognized it as Xu Wan, Zhang Xiuyuan's mother, who lived nearby. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, sister," he replied, feeling a warmth in his heart at her familiar voice.
"I was worried you might be hurt, but since my strength is not enough, I could only ask from a distance," Xu Wan said, her voice getting closer.
"There was a blind little thief who tried to steal my spiritual plants. I caught him and took care of it," Lu Xuan casually made up an excuse to respond to Xu Wan.
"Then you should go back and rest early. Little Yuan is home alone, and I worry about him," she said.
"I appreciate your concern, sister," Lu Xuan replied.
"Okay, just be careful," Xu Wan said before heading back to her home.
"What a pity about this protective formation. It was only used for a short time before Qin Ming broke it with brute force," Lu Xuan said with regret as he returned inside.
Once everything was settled, he finally relaxed and slumped into a wooden chair. Although he had dealt with Qin Ming without a scratch, it was far from as easy as it seemed. Qin Ming truly lived up to his status as a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, with a solid foundation. From the jade medallion that had blocked his deadly strike to the flying sword artifact and his excellent ice-based techniques, it all showed how troublesome he was.
Fortunately, Lu Xuan had accumulated enough experience during this time. His cultivation was also at the fourth level of Qi Refinement, not weaker than Qin Ming, plus he had the Gengjin Sword Art at a small success level and many first-grade talismans that didn’t require Spirit Stones to use. The complete first-grade artifact, the Silver Splitting Blade, played a crucial role.
With ample preparation and an element of surprise, he managed to eliminate him without much risk. Whether it was artifacts, techniques, or talismans, Lu Xuan's were all stronger than Qin Ming's. What could Qin Ming use to fight against him?
"I wonder how much this storage bag can make up for my losses?" Lu Xuan thought as he looked at the gray storage bag he had taken from Qin Ming's waist.
Having used up more than half of his talismans, he still felt a pang of regret and hoped that the storage bag left by Qin Ming could compensate for it. "Thanks to the old buddy for sending me this storage bag," he mused.
He had long wanted to buy a storage bag but never expected Qin Ming to be so considerate and provide him with one. The gray storage bag was of a lower grade and had no restrictions drawn on it. After testing it with his spiritual energy, Lu Xuan easily reached inside.
The space inside was not small, measuring over half a meter in length, width, and height. Qin Ming had left some items piled in one corner. Lu Xuan happily used his spiritual energy to control the items inside the storage bag to float out.
After a quick scan, he found about two hundred Spirit Stones. There were also seven or eight bottles, both jade and stone, but Lu Xuan was afraid there might be poison inside, so he didn't open them right away and set them aside.
In addition, there was a book that recorded the cultivation methods for a few low-grade ice techniques, which weren't very useful to Lu Xuan. He also found three talismans: two Evil Dispelling Talismans and one Speed Talisman.
Finally, there was a flying sword artifact left outside, grayish-white and exuding a chill. Lu Xuan compared it briefly and found it to be much inferior to his Silver Splitting Blade.
"What a great person! I didn't have a storage bag, and he just sent me one," he thought. "I needed Spirit Stones to rent a big courtyard, and he brought me over two hundred Spirit Stones. Even after death, he still contributes to nurturing the spiritual plants in the field."
He thought of Qin Ming's significant contributions and felt a wave of sadness, bowing his head in mourning for a moment. "Indeed, killing and setting fires brings a golden belt," Lu Xuan sighed as he looked at the pile of items on the wooden table.
After all his hard work in planting, he had gained more from taking down Qin Ming. However, that thought quickly vanished. He knew well that such significant gains often came with greater risks. It couldn't be that he always reaped rewards without facing risks.
This time, the risk seemed minimal, yet it still ended with Qin Ming being defeated by him. So, it was better to quietly farm, which was a sure profit with risks close to zero.
After counting everything, dawn broke. Lu Xuan stepped out of the house and approached the spiritual field.
Delicate strands of spiritual rain seeped into the remaining ten or so Spirit Firefly Grasses, which looked lush and vibrant. Lu Xuan sensed that the leaves seemed even more plump than the day before.
Then, he cast a fireball technique, which transformed into flickering flames as it landed on the fine red needles of the Red Cloud Pine, causing the pine to instantly become bushy.
Golden sword energy fell on the straight sword grass, leaving a few golden lines. The aura from the decaying spiritual wood beneath the Dark Marrow Fungus became even richer, causing more dark red mycelium to sprout from the shadowy area.
Today was a day of no trouble, just planting in the spiritual field.
(End of Chapter)