When Lu Xuan returned to the Hundred Herbs Hall, he approached Steward He.
"Steward He, the hundred Spirit Firefly Grass seeds we planted last time have all been harvested. Could you please get me some more?"
"This time, I need one hundred and twenty seeds," Lu Xuan added after a brief pause.
Even though Spirit Firefly Grass has no rank and is worth much less than other spiritual plants in the spiritual field, it is still the only one that can provide cultivation rewards so far. Therefore, Lu Xuan not only wanted to continue planting it but also to slightly increase the yield.
However, due to the limited area of the spiritual field, and the fact that he needed to use more spiritual energy for careful cultivation, he couldn't plant as freely as he wanted. One hundred and twenty was already the maximum he could cultivate after his recent breakthrough.
The thin old man nodded and went inside to get one hundred and twenty long, dried spirit seeds, handing them over to Lu Xuan.
As usual, they agreed on a cooperative price, which was about twenty to thirty percent cheaper than the normal purchase price. Lu Xuan spent thirty-six spirit stones for the one hundred and twenty Spirit Firefly Grass seeds.
"Steward He, there's something I would like to ask you for help with."
After handing over the spirit stones, Lu Xuan said with a warm smile.
"Seeing that sneaky look on your face, I know it can't be good. Just tell me," Steward He sighed, already used to Lu Xuan's ways.
"Just now, many spiritual cultivators gathered at the Hundred Herbs Hall, and Master He Zongguang warned us to be careful of spiritual plants being invaded and contaminated by evil spirits and strange insects. He even brought out two contaminated spiritual plants."
"Since you are one of the decision-makers at the Hundred Herbs Hall, could you give me those two contaminated plants?"
"What do you want those for? They’re not good for anything!"
The thin old man looked serious.
"I have an immature idea. I want to take them back for an experiment to see if I can find out the cause of the contamination and a solution."
"Have you lost your mind?! Bringing two diseased plants back to your own spiritual field? Aren't you afraid they’ll contaminate your own plants?"
Steward He's expression changed, and he scolded Lu Xuan.
"Don't worry, Steward He. Since I want to take them back, I have some confidence. At least I won't let my own plants get contaminated."
Lu Xuan knew the old man was just concerned for him, so he replied earnestly.
Seeing Lu Xuan like this, Steward He reluctantly went to fetch the two contaminated spiritual plants from the back room.
"Take care of yourself. You must be careful not to let your spiritual plants get infected. Otherwise, you might have to give up your cultivation, and all your hard work could be destroyed overnight."
"I will," Lu Xuan assured, taking the two contaminated plants. Instead of putting them in his storage bag, he wrapped them in a cloth bag and quickly returned to his courtyard.
As soon as he opened the courtyard door, a shadow darted through the crack. The Cloud Stepping Leopard stood still, staring at the Three-Tailed Red-Bearded Carp in the spiritual spring pool, its pointed ears slightly trembling as it sensed Lu Xuan's movement.
"I'm back!"
Lu Xuan pretended not to notice the leopard waiting behind the door and greeted it.
The Cloud Stepping Leopard turned its head gracefully at the sound, its bright green eyes glancing at Lu Xuan before returning its focus to the Red-Bearded Carp.
Lu Xuan concentrated on the leopard and felt its excitement, a smile appearing on his face.
In the distance, a straw puppet, still showing hints of green, was tirelessly patrolling the spiritual field. The two new legs it had just woven were still quite useful, allowing it to walk steadily with its large head.
Lu Xuan found a blank area in the corner of the spiritual field, keeping a distance from other spiritual plants. With a thought, he summoned the thick mist surrounding the courtyard to slowly envelop the chosen area.
Now that he could grasp the immediate state of the spiritual plants, he was quite confident he could prevent his own plants from being contaminated by the diseased ones. However, caution was still necessary.
After confirming that the mist had completely surrounded the blank area, Lu Xuan took out the two contaminated plants and used the Earth Summoning Technique to place them in the cracks of the spiritual soil.
He then controlled the spiritual soil to tightly wrap around the roots of the two plants.
After doing all this, he focused his attention on the Blood Jade Ginseng, which had a grayish-white sandy area.
Sure enough, a thought emerged in Lu Xuan's mind.
"Excessive intake of polluted spiritual energy has caused unknown changes. It requires a hundred-year-old spiritual milk to restore its vitality."
"A hundred-year-old spiritual milk?"
Lu Xuan pulled the diseased Blood Jade Ginseng out of the spiritual soil.
"No hope, just wait to die!"
What a joke! To save a first-grade Blood Jade Ginseng, it needed a hundred-year-old spiritual milk!
Spiritual milk was already rare, let alone one that was a hundred years old.
Lu Xuan quickly assessed the situation and, without thinking, surrounded the diseased Blood Jade Ginseng with golden sword energy, cutting it into over ten small pieces. Then, he used a Fireball Technique on the severed pieces, turning them to ash in just a few breaths.
"It seems my deduction is still valid. Moving the growing spiritual plants into the spiritual field allows me to grasp their immediate state. However, since they weren't planted by me, the rewards might not be as good, if there are any at all."
"But this is a skill that can be further explored. If used well, it can bring considerable benefits."
Lu Xuan thought to himself, focusing on the other Blood Spirit Leaf.
This plant had a very small root area, with the blood-colored leaves taking up most of its space.
A thought flashed through Lu Xuan's mind.
"Blood Spirit Leaf, a first-grade spiritual plant, has mutated black bud worm larvae in its leaves."
"It needs to cut and purify the mutated silk on the leaves, remove the mutated larvae inside, and finally water it with spiritual spring water. After some time, it can fully recover."
"This one can still be saved."
Lu Xuan thought, even though the recovery process for this Blood Spirit Leaf would be troublesome, and the yield might not be much, he was mainly using it for experimentation to gain relevant experience.
He channeled his spiritual energy, and a thin golden sword energy, as fine as a hair, sliced through the many black hairs on the leaf's surface.
Countless tiny hairs fell to the ground, bouncing slightly as they struggled to survive.
After clearing away the black hairs, the leaves still had many small moldy spots that looked quite ugly.
Lu Xuan controlled the golden sword thread to cut away the moldy parts and carefully probed inside the leaves. With the aid of his spiritual sense, he used the sword energy to pull out a few thin black larvae.
As soon as the larvae emerged, they turned into black lines, trying to attack Lu Xuan.
Before they could get close, Lu Xuan sliced them into countless pieces, and a Fireball Technique fell, turning them all to ash.
After dealing with the mutated black bud worms, Lu Xuan, being cautious, summoned an Evil Dispelling Talisman, sending a pure spiritual light to sweep around the Blood Spirit Leaf, clearing away any lingering evil energy.
(End of Chapter)