The next day, Lu Xuan walked around the spiritual field, using various low-level techniques to nurture spiritual plants. He watched as a straw puppet slowly moved around the field.
"You didn't walk around the spiritual field all night, did you? Stop, stop."
The straw puppet continued to stretch its dry, straw-like legs.
It only reacted when Lu Xuan returned to the house, stopping in place with its straw head facing the spiritual field.
"I'm planning to go out for a bit. Do you want to come with me?"
After entering the house, Lu Xuan spoke to the green-eyed Cloud Stepping Leopard lying on the ground.
"Aw..."
The young leopard let out a low sound, its eyes calm, as it walked to the door.
Seeing this, Lu Xuan understood that it was just being its usual aloof self, but deep down, it wanted to accompany him.
As expected, when he reached out to grab the leopard's fur, it struggled a little before obediently lying on Lu Xuan's shoulder.
Four fluffy white clouds clung to Lu Xuan's clothes, and the leopard's pointed ears stood up, with tufts of gray and white fur swaying in the wind.
There wasn't much spirit beast meat or spirit rice left at home, so Lu Xuan planned to go to the market to buy some.
After raising the Three-Tailed Red-Bearded Carp and the Cloud Stepping Leopard on his shoulder, the consumption of spirit beast meat and spirit rice had increased significantly. While he satisfied their needs, he hoped to get better rewards from the white light orbs once they matured.
As for the nine mature Spirit Firefly Grasses, he didn't plan to sell them to the Hundred Herbs Hall just yet. He stored them in a white jade box in his storage bag, waiting until he had more to deal with.
When he arrived at the market, Lu Xuan usually scanned all the stalls to see if he could find the unknown spirit seeds and spirit beast eggs he wanted. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side, and he didn't come across any.
Feeling calm, he entered a shop and bought twenty pounds of the lowest grade spirit rice and five pounds of monster meat, spending a little over ten spirit stones in total.
After that, he had about eighty spirit stones left.
After putting the spirit rice and monster meat into his storage bag, Lu Xuan was about to leave when suddenly, a huge monster bird flew overhead, flapping its wings.
The monster bird's wings spread about thirty yards wide, casting a large shadow on the ground.
"That's the Wang family's third-grade monster beast, the Iron Feather Eagle. It's been raised for over a hundred years and is as strong as a Foundation Establishment beginner."
A knowledgeable cultivator in the market said quietly.
Sure enough, not long after the Iron Feather Eagle passed by, various monster birds and flying boats flew over the market.
Eventually, they landed in a spacious square hundreds of yards away.
Lu Xuan followed the crowd and took a distant look.
"That's Wang Wenhong, a high-level Qi Refinement cultivator. Among the young talents of the Wang family, he is one of the strongest. I heard he was taken into the wilderness for training."
A steady-looking young man walked out of the square, holding a red long sword, exuding a faint aura of danger.
"I wonder how the new secret realm is developing? Do we loose cultivators have any chance to get a few scraps?"
"With your second-level Qi Refinement cultivation, you think you can enter the new secret realm? Don’t forget, the Wang family and the loose cultivators going to explore will clean it out. Even if there are some good things left, with your cultivation, you won't even make it to the entrance."
"What did these cultivators from the Wang family encounter in the secret realm? They all look so serious."
"Don't overthink it. They're just back for supplies and rest."
The loose cultivators in the market were buzzing with conversation, and Lu Xuan blended into the crowd, observing carefully.
Besides the large group of Wang family cultivators returning, there were also hundreds of loose cultivators.
Many of the loose cultivators didn't have storage bags, and their waists were bulging, clearly having gained a lot.
Each loose cultivator looked uneasy, filled with suspicion, fear, and heaviness...
Lu Xuan glanced around but didn't see Zhang Hong.
However, he wasn't too worried about Zhang Hong's safety. After all, it hadn't been long since Zhang Hong last returned, and the journey was far; he wouldn't waste time going back and forth.
He quietly slipped out of the crowd. With so many cultivators returning, he figured there would be plenty of good things appearing in the market in the next few days, so he planned to keep an eye out.
Back at home, he carefully placed the spirit rice and monster meat in their proper spots and warned the Cloud Stepping Leopard not to sneak into the kitchen for meat, or he would make sure it wouldn't get anything good.
In the afternoon, Wang Shan came over.
As soon as he entered, the young Cloud Stepping Leopard glared at him with its bright green eyes, letting out a low growl.
"Aw~!"
"This is a monster I bought at the market a while ago. It's still wild and might have startled you, Wang Daoist. I apologize."
Lu Xuan gently patted the leopard's head, signaling it to calm down, and smiled at Wang Shan.
"No worries, Brother Lu. You've got quite the interest, raising such a monster. But this Cloud Stepping Leopard's eyes are quite special."
"Looks can be deceiving; there's nothing extraordinary about it."
Lu Xuan casually replied.
"As for raising this little thing, I mainly want it to guard the house. Plus, staying alone at home for too long can get a bit boring. Having something to keep me company is better."
"I'm not like you, Brother Wang, with a beautiful partner by your side, enjoying life day and night."
Lu Xuan teased.
After not seeing each other for a while, Wang Shan's face was even brighter.
"Hahaha!"
Wang Shan laughed heartily.
"I came to remind you, Little Brother Lu."
"This time, hundreds or even thousands of loose cultivators have returned from the new secret realm, and they all have valuable things. Naturally, this will attract a lot of envy. They are also at their most sensitive, so conflicts are likely to arise."
"There were two fights in the northern district today, resulting in the deaths of three loose cultivators."
"Besides that, there are malevolent spirits in the wilderness that might have mixed in with them, so be careful, Daoist Lu."
"Thank you for the reminder, Daoist Wang."
Lu Xuan expressed his gratitude.
No matter what happens outside, he would just focus on cultivating his spiritual plants in the yard. If any cultivator tried to disrupt his peaceful farming life, he wouldn't let them have it easy.
After chatting for a bit, Wang Shan went off to patrol the streets in the northern district.
Lu Xuan closed the yard gate tightly and set up a formation to isolate the yard from the outside.
Not long after, a soft voice called from outside the yard.
"Little Lu, are you home?"
It was Wang Shan's young concubine.
Lu Xuan opened the yard door to find the beautiful Lady Wang standing quietly at the entrance. Her loose robe couldn't hide her curves, and her eyes were lowered. When she saw Lu Xuan come out, she looked up, and her gaze sparkled, full of charm.
"Sister Wang, what brings you here?"
Lu Xuan asked.
"I don't know what's making strange noises in my house. I'm scared being alone. Can you come help me take a look?"
Lady Wang's expression was timid, resembling a frightened little rabbit, ready to hide at the slightest sound.
A strange smile appeared on Lu Xuan's face.
A newlywed couple, with the husband busy with work, the wife facing problems at home, and having to seek help from the neighbor.
This scene felt oddly familiar.
(End of Chapter)