The second seed from the Red Cloud Pine was picked. It was also of high quality. Lu Xuan stored it in his bag and looked at the white light orb flickering on the Red Cloud Pine. The light orb transformed into countless tiny dots that surged into his body, and a thought flashed through his mind. "Harvested a Red Cloud Pine seed, obtained a second-grade artifact, the Red Line Needle."
A long, slender red needle appeared in Lu Xuan's hand. The needle was about three inches long and felt incredibly light, as if it were weightless when he held it between his fingers. He infused a bit of spiritual energy into it, and with a thought, the needle shot out of his hand with a whoosh. Following the faint sensation, he found the needle embedded deep within the thick stone wall. Under his control, the Red Line Needle flew out from the wall, swirling around Lu Xuan at high speed, creating countless red line illusions around him.
"Needle-type artifacts are quite rare. This Red Line Needle has excellent concealment and is even faster than the Silver Splitting Blade. With its terrifying piercing ability, it’s practically the ultimate tool for sneak attacks." The needle was too small, so Lu Xuan first placed it in a jade box, then stored it in his bag.
"Two seeds from the Red Cloud Pine, both high quality. One yielded a manual on basic talismans, detailing the crafting methods for dozens of common first-grade talismans, while the other produced a second-grade needle artifact, the Red Line Needle."
"It’s no wonder it’s a first-grade spiritual plant; the rewards are much richer than those from the unranked Spirit Firefly Grass and Moon-Eroding Fruit." Lu Xuan couldn’t help but sigh. With his current cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, the first-grade talismans from the Spirit Firefly Grass felt a bit underwhelming, but it was the only option he had for cultivation rewards right now. Until he found new spiritual plants that could provide cultivation rewards, he still needed to plant a lot of Spirit Firefly Grass.
After picking the two mature Red Cloud Pine seeds, Lu Xuan approached the straw puppet. The straw puppet had its limbs severed by a masked cultivator in the middle of the night and now only had a large head and a gray straw body, looking quite strange. At that moment, from the large gray lump on its head, numerous gray-black dry grasses were extending out, slowly weaving together into an arm.
It was a perfect example of "a strong will despite physical limitations." Unfortunately, its efficiency was too slow; after all this time, it had only managed to weave a short section at the shoulder. Usually, Lu Xuan only fed it spirit fragments, but today he decided to be generous. He took out a spirit stone from his bag and placed it into the gray lump on the straw puppet's head.
"You performed well last night, so here’s a spirit stone as a reward. Once you finish weaving your limbs, continue to guard the spiritual field for me."
"Guard the spiritual field! Guard the spiritual field!" With his focus gathered, Lu Xuan sensed the deep-seated obsession within the straw puppet.
"What a dedicated employee for a Spiritual Plant Cultivator..." With the spirit stone providing spiritual energy, the number of gray grasses extending from the gray lump increased a few more, but the speed was still slow. Lu Xuan had to leave it to heal slowly on its own.
He hadn’t taken a few steps when suddenly, a rough, strained cry came from beneath his feet. "Aow~~" Lu Xuan looked down and saw a Cloud Stepping Leopard cub walking by with its thick, cloud-like paws. It moved gracefully and calmly, its green eyes seemingly indifferent to Lu Xuan.
Knowing its true nature, Lu Xuan couldn’t help but chuckle at the Cloud Stepping Leopard. "Alright, alright, you performed well last night too. I’ll reward you with a couple of pieces of dried pufferfish meat at noon." The Cloud Stepping Leopard appeared not to hear him, continuing its leisurely stroll, though the small tufts of gray-white fur on its ears twitched, revealing its inner excitement.
After taking care of the straw puppet and the Cloud Stepping Leopard, Lu Xuan tossed a handful of spirit rice into the Spiritual Spring Pool. The three Red Whiskered Carps fought over it, creating waves in the spring water, causing the Pure Snow Lotus's white leaves to sway gently in the ripples.
Taking advantage of the lingering mist, Lu Xuan began his day's work as a Spiritual Plant Cultivator. He controlled the Spirit Rain Technique to meet the needs of each spiritual plant, adjusting the range, volume, and duration of the rain to ensure they received plenty of nourishment. He also separated a first-grade Blood Jade Ginseng that had become entangled with eight others, carefully isolating it to prevent it from being drained completely.
"Dealing with eight Blood Jade Ginsengs at once, I shall call you the King of Ginseng." Lu Xuan carefully used his spiritual energy to keep them apart, ensuring the central Blood Jade Ginseng wasn’t completely drained. He also cast a sword technique on the Sword Grass to nourish it with sword energy.
The smoke from the Mirage Smokefruit grew thicker, making it hard for his spiritual sense to penetrate. He had to explore slowly, trying to gather his thoughts and eventually find its location. For those in a rapid growth phase, he also applied a Wood Growth Technique to encourage their swift development.
It was simple yet tedious, busy yet fulfilling. By the time he finished everything, half a day had already passed. Lu Xuan returned to the eaves of his house, looking at the thriving spiritual plants in the field, wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead with a satisfied smile. He looked every bit the passionate Spiritual Plant Cultivator, completely forgetting that not long ago, he had taken down two mid-level Qi Refinement cultivators.
After a short rest, Lu Xuan decided to visit the scattered cultivator market to see if he could find a good second-grade defensive formation and some snake-type monster blood. He also planned to stop by the Hundred Herbs Hall to see what reactions and changes arose after the death of the Zhou family Spiritual Plant Cultivator.
He adjusted his Concealment Technique to display the aura of a fourth-level Qi Refinement. By showing a cultivation level that crossed from low to mid-level, he could avoid unnecessary trouble. When he first rented this spiritual field, he had presented himself as a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator. In less than a year, he had broken through to the fourth level. Although this was considered rapid progress among scattered cultivators, it was still within the realm of understanding.
As for his sixth-level Qi Refinement, he dared not reveal that. The difference between moving from third to fourth level and from third to sixth was like night and day. Anyone with a discerning eye would notice something was off, easily attracting the attention and covetousness of other cultivators.
At the Hundred Herbs Hall, everything seemed normal. The death of the Zhou family Spiritual Plant Cultivator hadn’t caused much of a stir. Only occasionally did a medicine boy mention it in passing. This was understandable; although there were cultivators from the Enforcement Hall patrolling the market, it was still difficult to avoid mysterious deaths, especially on the outskirts where many different people mingled. A familiar cultivator could disappear or die without warning any day.
Moreover, like Lu Xuan, the Zhou family Spiritual Plant Cultivator had a second type of cooperation with the Hundred Herbs Hall and did not receive its protection. Thus, it was hard for the medicine boys in the hall to empathize or worry about their own safety.
After sitting for a while, Steward He came out from inside. "Lu kid, back so soon to hand in the Spirit Firefly Grass?"
"Not really. I wanted to buy some things at the market and thought I’d stop by to see you."
"I plan to sell the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass to the hall after it all matures, but I might want to take some more Spirit Firefly Grass seeds from you next time."
"A hundred Spirit Firefly Grass plants isn’t enough for you? With the little spiritual energy in your body, can you handle more?"
Lu Xuan smiled without answering, taking a sip from his teacup. The thin old man noticed his demeanor and had a guess, using his spiritual sense to scan Lu Xuan’s body, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.
"You’ve broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement?"
(End of Chapter)