In the dense and lush fire-red pine needles, five pine nuts were half hidden, with one already ripe. The outer red pine cone skin looked like fish scales, wrapping the pine nut inside layer by layer from the bottom up.
The center held only a few pine nuts, around twenty, about the size of a fingertip, resembling pomegranate seeds. They were a light red, crystal clear, and fragrant, making one’s mouth water just by smelling them.
Focusing on the ripe Red Cloud Pine nut, Lu Xuan quickly received detailed information about it.
“Red Cloud Pine nut, from the first-grade spiritual plant Red Cloud Pine, contains rich spiritual energy. It can slightly enhance the cultivation level of low to mid-level Qi Refining practitioners.”
“Its taste is sweet and refreshing, lasting a long time, and is very popular among many female cultivators.”
Lu Xuan carefully removed the ripe Red Cloud Pine nut and placed it into a special container, which had runes drawn on it to ensure the nut stayed fresh as much as possible. As he took the nut, he also learned that this particular nut was of good quality.
From where he picked the Red Cloud Pine, a white light orb appeared, flickering gently. Lu Xuan's heart raced; this was his first harvest of a mature first-grade spiritual plant. Previously, whether it was Spirit Firefly Grass or Moon-Eroding Fruit, they were all unranked plants, much less valuable than the Red Cloud Pine.
“Harvested one Red Cloud Pine nut, received the second-grade flying sword, the Fire Sword.”
The white light orb transformed into countless light spots that surged into Lu Xuan’s body. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. A flying sword quietly appeared in his hand.
The sword was about three feet long, light in weight, and fire-red in color, with dark red veins on the blade. Tiny flames flickered from the edge as it moved.
“Second-grade flying sword!”
Lu Xuan couldn’t help but exclaim. This was the first second-grade magical item he had ever obtained in his cultivation journey. Before he got the special spiritual fields, he had to save for a long time just to buy a Sword Qi Talisman.
Now, not only did he have treasures like the Silver Splitting Blade and Thunder Fire Pearl, but he also had a large number of talismans. The Sword Qi Talisman and Evil Dispelling Talisman, which had been hard to obtain before, were now piled up, and he even had two second-grade Sword Qi Talismans.
Now, he had gained another second-grade magical item, the Fire Sword.
“Planting a piece of spiritual field brings many opportunities.”
“I don’t love exploring secret realms, nor do I enjoy fighting for treasures; I just like to cultivate some flowers and plants.”
The appearance of the second-grade Fire Sword made Lu Xuan look forward even more to the remaining four Red Cloud Pine nuts. It also strengthened his resolve to quietly tend to his fields.
He stored the Fire Sword in his storage bag and went to the area where the Spirit Firefly Grass was located.
Out of a hundred Spirit Firefly Grass plants, sixty-five remained, and they had already entered a rapid maturity phase. The slender leaves sparkled with glowing dots, making them stand out even in daylight.
Lu Xuan harvested fourteen mature Spirit Firefly Grass plants at once. Among them, four were of good quality, seven were of superior quality, and the remaining three were perfect quality, with none being of ordinary quality.
He carefully stored the fourteen mature Spirit Firefly Grass plants in a white jade box to prevent their vitality from fading.
Looking towards the spiritual field, fourteen white light orbs quietly approached.
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained six months of cultivation.”
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained nine months of cultivation.”
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained one year of cultivation.”
Four of the white light orbs brought cultivation rewards, totaling three years of cultivation.
Thoughts flashed through his mind as waves of rich spiritual energy surged within Lu Xuan. It rushed wildly through his dantian and meridians. He clenched his teeth and worked hard to circulate his cultivation technique.
After a moment, the spiritual energy gradually calmed down.
After many days of hard work, along with the small cultivation rewards from before, Lu Xuan finally broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining.
“Heaven rewards hard work. It’s worth my efforts to plant the spiritual field and seize every moment to practice diligently. Achieving today’s success is closely related to my hard work.”
Lu Xuan sighed inwardly.
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained a first-grade talisman, Sword Qi Talisman.”
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained a first-grade talisman, Evil Dispelling Talisman.”
Five of the white light orbs brought rewards of first-grade talismans, increasing the stock of talismans in Lu Xuan’s storage bag.
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained one first-grade Primordial Nourishing Pill.”
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained one first-grade Primordial Nourishing Pill recipe.”
“Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained one drop of Spirit Plant Essence.”
The remaining five white light orbs yielded three Primordial Nourishing Pills. The other two, likely due to the perfect quality of the Spirit Firefly Grass, included one recipe and one treasure, the Spirit Plant Essence.
Lu Xuan absorbed the recipe for the Primordial Nourishing Pill, and instantly, he gained a deeper understanding of refining it, including material handling, dosage, refining timing, and pill extraction… all improved significantly.
Though he had never practiced it, he was now a solid theoretical expert in refining the Primordial Nourishing Pill.
A drop of green, semi-solid liquid appeared in Lu Xuan’s hand; it was the Spirit Plant Essence, containing a large amount of plant essence.
Lu Xuan called over the Straw Puppet and poured the green liquid into the gray tumor on its head.
Not long after, the gray tumor visibly turned lush green, like an old tree sprouting new buds, bursting with vitality.
“Eating well gives you more strength to protect the spiritual field.”
Lu Xuan smiled as he looked at the Straw Puppet, now topped with greenery.
“Lu, my friend, are you there?”
A somewhat familiar voice came from outside. Lu Xuan recalled and quickly recognized it as an older cultivator named Wu, who liked to drink and had previously come to ask if Lu Xuan grew any suitable spiritual plants for brewing.
“Friend Wu, I’m here. What’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing serious. The enforcement hall’s lackeys have finally left these past few days. I’m feeling happy and wanted to find someone to drink with, so I thought of you.”
Lu Xuan opened the courtyard door and smiled at the older cultivator.
“Alright, let me tidy up, and I’ll join you for a drink.”
The older Wu nodded and left.
Lu Xuan returned inside and, just in case, hid the Thunder Fire Pearl and Sword Qi Talismans in his clothes.
Wu’s cultivation was at the fourth level of Qi Refining. If he had any ill intentions, even if he hid something, Lu Xuan felt confident that with many talismans and magical items at hand, he could handle it.
After a moment’s thought, he called over the Cloud Stepping Leopard.
The young leopard looked expressionless, staring with its bright green eyes, but inside it was jumping with joy as it hopped onto Lu Xuan’s shoulder, its four white clouds clinging tightly to Lu Xuan’s robe.
With the Cloud Stepping Leopard’s keen eyes, Lu Xuan felt completely at ease. Ordinary cultivators would find it hard to detect any malevolent spirits, ensuring his safety was further guaranteed.
He took the leopard with him and activated the formation to head towards Wu’s residence.
Coincidentally, he also wanted to ask the older Wu for some advice.
It had become increasingly difficult to find unknown spiritual seeds at the scattered cultivator market. While there were many types of spiritual seeds in large shops, most were expensive and of low rank, mostly first-grade or unranked, which didn’t meet Lu Xuan’s growing standards.
He thought about visiting the mysterious black market in the town to see what was available while also selling some things he had.
The older Wu had decent cultivation and had spent enough time in the market, so he surely knew a lot about that black market.
(End of Chapter)