"I naturally won't doubt you, Lu Xuan."
The middle-aged cultivator stepped back a couple of paces under Lu Xuan's intense gaze.
"I just want to understand your planting methods better, after all, I paid over thirty spirit stones for it."
Hearing this, Lu Xuan let out a cold laugh.
"Alright, then let me ask you, did the quality of the twenty Spirit Firefly Grasses you picked improve?"
"Compared to before, there are two or three more good quality Spirit Firefly Grasses, but the top quality ones haven't changed."
The middle-aged cultivator answered honestly.
"Isn't that enough?"
"Having two or three more good quality ones means you can earn nearly one spirit stone. If you plant dozens or hundreds of Spirit Firefly Grasses, you could make several spirit stones."
"Spirit Firefly Grass is a non-ranked spiritual plant, it matures quickly, and you can harvest three or four batches in a year. This means you can earn back those spirit stones in just a few years."
"Not to mention, this method works for other spiritual plants as well."
"So, what else do you have to doubt, Zhou?"
After saying this, Lu Xuan ignored the middle-aged cultivator and walked away.
But he hadn't gone far when he was grabbed.
"Did I give up most of my cultivation time and spend so many spirit stones just to earn that little bit?"
"You must tell me the secret today, or I won't let this go."
He said fiercely, his tone carrying a hint of threat.
During this time, he had hardly practiced his techniques and had devoted almost all his time to carefully cultivating spiritual plants.
He had originally thought he would get high-quality Spirit Firefly Grass, but the results left him very disappointed. The improvement was minimal.
With such a big gap between reality and expectation, he instinctively thought Lu Xuan was hiding something from him. He couldn't help but wait at the Hundred Herbs Hall, wanting to hear the key points of cultivating spiritual plants directly from Lu Xuan.
"I've already made myself very clear."
Lu Xuan shook off his hand, and a sword qi talisman quietly slipped down to his wrist.
"Giving up your cultivation time was your choice."
"I can guarantee my method is correct and effective. As long as you follow my teachings and carefully cultivate the spiritual plants over time, their average quality will definitely improve."
"As for whether you can get perfect quality Spirit Firefly Grass or other spiritual plants, that depends on the cultivator's personal talent and effort."
"I gave up my cultivation and put all my energy into cultivating spiritual plants. Plus, I naturally have a strong affinity for them and can keenly sense their needs, which allows me to grow perfect quality spiritual plants."
"That said, please don't pursue this any further, Zhou, or I won't hold back."
Lu Xuan warned the middle-aged cultivator and ignored his protests, walking away directly.
"You..."
"You will face consequences for this!"
Behind him, he heard the middle-aged cultivator's angry voice.
Lu Xuan found it amusing. He believed he was in the right and that the method he shared with this loose cultivator was indeed effective, able to slightly improve the quality of his spiritual plants.
The only and biggest difference between them was that Lu Xuan could clearly grasp the immediate state of the spiritual plants and meet their subtle needs at any time. The appearance of the white light orb also allowed him to not worry about stagnation in his cultivation or missing treasures.
As long as the spiritual plant cultivator could calm down and follow Lu Xuan's advice to carefully cultivate the plants, he would be able to earn back the spirit stones spent in no time.
But he was clearly too eager for results and had become a bit unbalanced after seeing the quality of Lu Xuan's plants, leading to his erratic behavior.
As for the consequences he mentioned? Lu Xuan thought his cultivation was deep enough and his treasures and talismans numerous, so he didn't take those words to heart.
He arrived at the loose cultivator market.
Since many cultivators had been turning into strange creatures that were neither human nor ghost, there were noticeably more law enforcement cultivators in the market than before.
Cultivators were always on guard as they moved about.
In this tense atmosphere, Lu Xuan moved quickly, his eyes scanning the stalls on either side.
Many cultivators were selling materials from spirit beasts, mostly sourced from the wilderness or secret realms, with a few being raised by themselves, and there was a lot of spirit beast meat.
After all, eating spirit beast meat could slightly enhance a cultivator's internal spirit power, making it a common consumable.
Next were special parts that could be used to refine artifacts, like the fur, scales, and bones of certain spirit beasts.
Occasionally, he saw stalls selling spirit beast blood. Lu Xuan approached with anticipation, but unfortunately, it wasn't snake beast blood.
Finally, he found a bottle of python blood at a stall run by a young cultivator at the first level of Qi Refinement.
The python was called a Black Line Snake, which wasn't a ranked spirit beast. According to the young man, he and a few companions had worked together to kill the snake, but since he contributed less, he didn't get the skin or fangs, only a small bottle of blood, which he put up for sale on a whim.
Lu Xuan spent seventy spirit fragments to buy the small bottle of Black Line Snake blood.
The young man had thought the snake blood would just rot in his hands, so he was surprised to receive seventy spirit fragments and quickly bowed to thank Lu Xuan.
With the snake blood in hand, Lu Xuan returned to his courtyard.
Entering the spiritual field, everything was normal. The half-man-high straw puppet was still tirelessly patrolling the area.
As it passed by Lu Xuan, it didn't stop its steps, but its large gray head turned to look at him, spinning nearly one hundred eighty degrees before returning to its original position.
"After absorbing two drops of grass spirit essence, the straw puppet's intelligence has clearly improved, probably from a lifeless puppet to the level of a one or two-year-old baby."
"What hasn't changed is its unwavering heart to guard the spiritual field."
Lu Xuan sighed, grateful to have such a loyal tool at his side.
He looked around the spiritual field, and everything seemed fine. A few plants needed nurturing, so he used the Spirit Rain Technique or Wood Growth Technique to ensure they got the best care.
Finally, he arrived at the area where the Bloodsucking Vines were located.
He couldn't wait to take out the small bottle of Black Line Snake blood, removed the cork, and carefully poured the blood onto the twisting vines.
The bright red blood didn't drip down but clung tightly to the surface of the vines.
Then, it slowly seeped into the vines.
The originally deep black vines turned a dark red after absorbing the Black Line Snake blood. Upon closer inspection, the winding and twisted vines looked like a little snake waking up after a long winter, moving slowly.
After several breaths, they finally stopped.
Lu Xuan focused his mind on the vines.
"It feels like something good has entered, but before I could taste it, it was gone..."
He felt like he was waiting for a long drought to end, hoping for a good soak, but only got a few drops of rain.
(End of Chapter)