"Come down."
Lu Xuan returned to the courtyard with three young Spirit Tea seedlings and spoke to the Cloud Stepping Leopard cub that had been resting on his shoulder.
The cub, with its bright green eyes, glanced coldly at Lu Xuan before gently landing on the ground and walking straight towards the Spiritual Spring Pool.
Lu Xuan went to a corner of the Spiritual Field, cleared a large area of Spiritual Soil, and used the Earth Summoning Technique to create three small holes, placing the three Spirit Tea seedlings gently in them.
After planting the seedlings, he focused his mind on them.
"The purest water is needed to grow the best tea."
"Using Spiritual Spring water to nourish the seedlings will have even better results."
"The Spirit Tea has a pure aura in its leaves, so no evil spirits or impurities should linger near the seedlings for too long, as it would affect their growth."
A thought flashed through Lu Xuan's mind, and he instantly understood the needs and precautions for the Spirit Tea seedlings.
"Nourishing them with Spiritual Spring water isn't hard; there's a pool of it right in the courtyard, and a little bit continuously seeps from the ground, more than enough to support the three seedlings."
"As for evil spirits and impurities, I, Lu Xuan, am pure and righteous, so I won't be contaminated by such things."
"Well, I should try to keep Wang Shan and his wife out of the courtyard in the future to avoid polluting my Spirit Tea."
After using the Spirit Rain Technique to thoroughly water the seedlings, he moved to another part of the Spiritual Field.
In a corner, there was a misty cloud about half a meter wide.
The mist was hazy and hard to see through, even his spiritual sense felt a bit sluggish.
The third-grade Mirage Smokefruit seemed to have merged with the faint mist.
"Oh, still playing hide and seek with me."
Lu Xuan focused his mind on the mist and began to search, quickly locating the Mirage Smokefruit.
With a wave of the Spirit Rain Technique, the mist stirred slightly, and the seedlings of the Mirage Smokefruit became visible.
After nurturing the Smokefruit, Lu Xuan took a round in the Spiritual Field to confirm that each Spiritual Plant was growing well before returning to the house.
Once inside, he sat at the table and counted the Spiritual Stones in his hand.
The twenty-two Spirit Firefly Grass he brought back had exchanged for seventy-seven Spiritual Stones, while the three Spirit Tea seedlings cost sixty stones. Luckily, three Spiritual Plant Cultivators had generously offered him a hundred stones, so he ended up making nearly one hundred twenty Spiritual Stones in total.
Adding that to what he already had, he now possessed over two hundred Spiritual Stones.
"With over two hundred stones, plus the Spirit Firefly Grass entering a rapid growth phase and the Red Cloud Pine about to mature, my wealth is about to see a big increase."
Lu Xuan looked at the small pile of glowing Spiritual Stones on the table, feeling quite pleased.
"Lu little brother, are you there? Your sister-in-law has made a feast; why don't you come over and have a drink with me?"
Outside the courtyard, Wang Shan's voice called out.
Lu Xuan wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the voice sounded a bit too excited.
His hair stood on end as the Silver Splitting Blade quietly split into dozens of silver-white shards, and a second-grade Sword Qi Talisman fell into his palm.
"Wang brother, I'm a bit tired from cultivating today and have a headache, so I won't be coming over. I'll try your sister-in-law's cooking next time."
He casually made up an excuse to brush off Wang Shan.
"Alright, take care of yourself then."
Wang Shan accepted this and left.
At the Wang residence, a redwood table was set in the middle of the hall, laden with over ten dishes, including rare meats from spirit beasts. Wang Shan's concubine sat quietly at the table, her head bowed.
"Lu Xuan isn't feeling well and can't come, so let's eat together."
"Okay, as you say, husband."
Lady Wang replied softly and got up to serve rice for Wang Shan.
"Thank you, my dear."
Wang Shan looked at her delicate, pale hands reaching out to him, feeling satisfied.
When he bought this concubine from the black market, he only wanted someone to pass the time with, but he never expected it to exceed his initial expectations.
After bringing her home, her gentle charm brought him immense joy, and he found himself so captivated that he rarely visited the entertainment houses he used to enjoy.
More importantly, after some time, he felt that he was on the verge of breaking through to the sixth level of Qi training.
This made him cherish this concubine even more, seeking her day and night, lost in pleasure.
"My dear, you’ve worked hard."
He gently stroked her soft, pale hand and said tenderly.
"Does my husband not want me to suffer?"
Lady Wang looked up, her eyes sparkling, with a charming mole at the corner of her eye.
"Of course not. I cherish you too much to let you suffer."
"What if I get pregnant? I’ve heard it can be very painful."
Lady Wang asked with a pitiful look.
"Um..."
Wang Shan hesitated, and Lady Wang subtly pulled her hand back, a smile appearing on her lips.
"How about you have a child for me?"
Just as Wang Shan was about to refuse, he suddenly felt a strange craving in his belly, as if something was growing inside.
"Sure!"
The craving was so strong that it overwhelmed his thoughts and spiritual sense, and he instinctively agreed.
As soon as he spoke, a gurgling sound came from his abdomen, and his belly began to swell visibly, while his limbs, chest, and back shrank down.
Before long, his belly had ballooned into a large sphere, and Wang Shan's eyes sunk in, revealing a hint of madness. The rest of his body had become extremely thin, with only skin hanging on his bones.
"My lord, please have a child for me!"
Lady Wang's face flushed with excitement as she gazed at Wang Shan's enormous belly.
At the same time, in the courtyard of the Wang residence, a Spiritual Wood tree trunk quietly split open, and a nearly transparent little worm shot out from the crack.
The worm was about two inches long, with six wings, each pair as thin as a cicada's wings, adorned with faint patterns.
At that moment, the patterns on its wings darkened with Wang Shan's changes, causing the six-winged little worm to emit a soft, anxious buzzing sound.
Over ten miles away, in the Law Enforcement Hall, a high-level Qi practitioner named Ling Peng looked at the equally restless six-winged little worm in front of him, a heavy expression on his face.
"It has finally appeared."
The strange bug before him was called the Six-Winged Heartworm. It was highly stealthy; if it sensed the presence of evil spirits nearby, it would undergo a transformation, and another worm within a certain distance would simultaneously sense the change and react violently.
The stronger the evil spirit's aura, the greater the reaction.
After learning that Wang Shan might be possessed by evil spirits, he had secretly investigated but found nothing. He had to leave a Six-Winged Heartworm in the Wang residence to monitor the situation at all times.
After waiting for several days, he finally witnessed the emergence of the evil spirit.
"Senior brother, I need your help to go with me. Looking at this worm's reaction, I fear I don't have absolute confidence in dealing with it."
He turned to a young cultivator beside him, who had a lightning scar on his forehead that occasionally flickered with sparks.
(End of chapter)