"Nine Spirit Firefly Grasses were exchanged for a total of twenty-nine low-grade Spirit Stones and seventy Spirit Fragments. Adding the six Spirit Stones and eighty-two Spirit Fragments I had, I now have thirty-six low-grade Spirit Stones and fifty-two Spirit Fragments."
"It's a pity that the cursed Black Bud Worm larvae ruined a lot of them; otherwise, I would be even richer."
Lu Xuan thought about the black threads that had cost him six Spirit Stones and fifty Spirit Fragments, and he couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger.
With a good amount of Spirit Stones in his possession, he felt a lot more confident.
After leaving the Hundred Herbs Hall, Lu Xuan was still worried about the weak protection of his Spiritual Field, so he hurried to his next destination.
The market was filled with all kinds of shops, including many that sold Spirit Seeds either exclusively or as part of their offerings.
He went straight to a shop he was familiar with.
A middle-aged cultivator at the early stage of Qi Refinement was tending to the Spirit Plant seedlings displayed in the shop. When he saw Lu Xuan enter, he stood up to greet him.
"Little brother, is there anything I can help you with?"
The shopkeeper asked.
"I'll take a look first," Lu Xuan replied, scanning the shop.
There were many types of Spirit Seeds on the shelves, most of which he didn’t recognize.
In one corner, there were several Spirit Plant seedlings, each looking unique, and Lu Xuan was even less familiar with them.
When Spirit Plants mature and continue to grow, there is a chance they will produce Spirit Seeds, but most of these seeds are not suitable for growing new Spirit Plants.
Most Spirit Seeds need to be formed through various special methods, and some of these methods are only known to large sects.
Especially for rare and high-grade Spirit Seeds, their formation methods are completely kept secret from outsiders.
Even the formation of ordinary-grade Spirit Seeds is not something that casual cultivators can master; there might be some powerful cultivator or a big family behind this shop.
"How much is a Spirit Firefly Grass seed?" Lu Xuan asked, pointing to the Spirit Firefly Grass seeds that looked like dried tea leaves on the shelf.
"Forty Spirit Fragments for one seed, but you have to buy at least ten at a time. If you buy them individually, it's fifty Spirit Fragments each."
"I need twenty seeds."
"Also, could you recommend a first-grade Spirit Plant seed or seedling? Preferably one that doesn't require much spiritual energy and has simple growing conditions."
Previously, he had planted twenty-four Spirit Firefly Grasses in a small part of his Spiritual Field, but this time he didn’t plan to buy the same amount of seeds.
The Spirit Firefly Grass and Corrosive Moon Tree don’t have grades; the Corrosive Moon Tree is more valuable but still not considered first-grade.
The richness of the white light orbs that appear when Spirit Plants mature is affected by many factors, including the type and grade of the Spirit Plant.
So, Lu Xuan wanted to try planting a relatively easy first-grade Spirit Plant and see what kind of light orb reward he would get when it matured.
"Low spiritual energy requirements and simple growing conditions…"
"How about these two?"
"Both are first-grade Spirit Plants. One is the Bloodsucking Vine seed, which needs a certain amount of blood essence from exotic or demon beasts to grow. Once mature, it can enhance a cultivator’s vitality or assist in practicing certain special techniques."
"The other is the Red Cloud Pine seedling, which occasionally needs fire-type spiritual energy during its growth. The Red Cloud Pine Spirit Fruit it produces is rich in spiritual energy and has a unique and wonderful taste, making it very popular among female cultivators."
The higher the grade of a Spirit Plant, the more demanding its growing environment and conditions are, requiring various complex factors like spiritual energy, spiritual soil, and spiritual springs. These two first-grade Spirit Plants are relatively simple to cultivate.
Lu Xuan quickly ruled out the Bloodsucking Vine. It was a joke; he was barely getting by and might not eat demon beast meat for ten days or more. How could he feed the Bloodsucking Vine?
He couldn’t just cut himself to feed the vine, could he?
As for the Red Cloud Pine, he currently knew the Fireball Technique and had more than ten Spirit Firefly Grasses and Corrosive Moon Fruits to use. He might even unlock some fire-type techniques, so providing it with a small amount of fire-type spiritual energy wouldn’t be a problem.
"How many Spirit Stones do I need for that Red Cloud Pine seedling?" Lu Xuan asked, pointing to a small pine seedling in the corner, which stood less than two feet tall. Its needles looked like fiery red needles, appearing from a distance like a small cluster of red clouds, hence the name Red Cloud Pine.
"Five Spirit Stones," the middle-aged cultivator replied.
"I'll take twenty Spirit Firefly Grass seeds and this Red Cloud Pine seedling for twelve Spirit Stones. How about that?"
"Little brother, you’re really tough on the bargaining. How about this: I’ll take a loss and add seventy Spirit Fragments."
"Friend, you know it’s not easy for casual cultivators to earn Spirit Stones."
"I just feel a connection with that Red Cloud Pine, which is why I’m tempted. Who knows if I can even grow it successfully after buying it!"
"Fifty Spirit Fragments, no more."
"Deal!" The middle-aged cultivator shook his head and smiled bitterly.
He handed over the twenty Spirit Firefly Grass seeds to Lu Xuan and helped him pack the Red Cloud Pine seedling in a cloth bag, reminding Lu Xuan to plant it as soon as possible, as delaying too long would affect the seedling's vitality.
Lu Xuan nodded in agreement, reluctantly taking out the twelve Spirit Stones and fifty Spirit Fragments, completing the transaction.
In the market, Lu Xuan was red-faced as he argued with a casual cultivator.
"Friend, this protective formation is just second-hand goods, and it has blood stains on it. That’s a terrible omen, very unlucky! Twenty Spirit Stones is already a high price!"
The casual cultivator looked helpless.
"Little brother, if it were brand new, I would have to charge at least double. As for the blood stains, they don’t affect its protective capabilities. You can’t just cut the price from twenty-five Spirit Stones to twenty like that!"
"The formation is fine, but its origins are unclear, which is a bit worrying. Plus, I don’t know how long it has been used, so I’m afraid it might not hold up."
Lu Xuan pretended to want to buy it while looking very worried.
"How about this: twenty-one Spirit Stones? If there’s any problem with the formation, you can come back to the market to find me. I’ve been here for over ten years, so I have some credibility."
"Alright, I’ll consider you a friend."
Lu Xuan made a decision and took out twenty-one low-grade Spirit Stones.
"No, no, no, let’s just talk about Spirit Stones, not friendship."
The casual cultivator quickly refused. Lu Xuan had already spent nearly half an hour haggling with him to save a few Spirit Stones. If they became friends, who knew how many Spirit Stones he would need to spend to make up for that?
Lu Xuan took the formation disk, which had a few dark red blood stains on it, from the stall owner and carefully tucked it into his clothes.
He didn’t care about the blood stains at all; after all, no ghost could be scarier than being broke.
He used to avoid haggling to not have to deal with roadside shops, but now, in this cultivation world, he had developed deadly bargaining skills just to save a few Spirit Stones.
"All the Spirit Stones I got from the nine Spirit Firefly Grasses are gone, and I even used some of my own savings."
"However, the gains are still quite good. Twenty Spirit Firefly Grass seeds and a Red Cloud Pine seedling."
"The most important thing is that the protective formation I’ve been wanting is finally in my hands."
Lu Xuan squeezed his now deflated chest, thinking to himself.
(End of Chapter)