"Cooperate? What do you want to cooperate with an old man like me for?" Steward He asked curiously as he handed over twenty-five Spirit Stones to Lu Xuan.
"There are around twenty to thirty Spiritual Plant Cultivators in Hundred Herbs Hall, which means there are more mutated spiritual plants behind them," Lu Xuan explained. "These plants have been invaded by strange bugs and polluted by murky spiritual energy, showing all sorts of bizarre symptoms. If we can’t find the problem, no matter how much time and effort we spend, we can only watch them wither and die."
"So I have a vague idea: instead of letting them wait to die, why not buy those mutated plants from the cultivators at a low price and try to save them?"
"I don’t know most of the cultivators in Hundred Herbs Hall, so I want you, Old He, to help connect me with them and find those mutated plants at a low price."
As the steward of Hundred Herbs Hall, the thin old man was responsible for buying and counting various spiritual medicines and plants. He had close ties with both full-time and freelance cultivators. Plus, he owed Lu Xuan a great debt of gratitude, so he wanted to take this opportunity to repay him.
"Buying mutated plants? I really don’t understand what you’re thinking. Most cultivators avoid mutated plants like the plague, while you want to seek them out. It’s puzzling," Steward He frowned.
"Are you sure you can control and treat those mutated plants? Aren’t you worried that your own plants will be affected and that you’ll lose money on the purchases?"
"I will definitely keep my own plants separate from those mutated ones, so they won't be affected," Lu Xuan replied. "As for buying the plants at a low price, I would like to get them for free, but that’s probably hard to achieve. After all, the cultivators have spent so much time and effort raising these plants. Even if they are mutated, they still hold on to some hope and are unlikely to just give them away."
"I can’t guarantee a hundred percent success rate in treating the mutated plants, but there’s a chance of profit," Lu Xuan added.
"Helping you connect with those cultivators is easy. Most of them probably want to get rid of those mutated plants, and if someone is willing to buy them at a low price, they’ll be happy to cut their losses," Steward He said, showing some interest. "But what do you consider low price? And what will my reward be?"
Steward He clearly had some interest now, looking around before pulling Lu Xuan into a corner.
"For the purchasing standard, I’d say about ten percent of the mature plant’s value, with some flexibility based on the degree of mutation and growth condition," Lu Xuan explained. "As for your reward, I’ll give you one Spirit Stone for each first-grade plant and four for each second-grade plant. How does that sound?"
Lu Xuan mainly wanted to buy first or second-grade mutated plants, as there were hardly any third-grade plants in the entire Hundred Herbs Hall. As for ungraded plants, they had very low value and no rewards, so they weren’t in his plans.
"One Spirit Stone or four Spirit Stones per plant..." Steward He pondered.
"Then I won't hold back. I promise to contact and persuade every cultivator in Hundred Herbs Hall," he said. "It’s not just for those few Spirit Stones, but I’m genuinely worried about the plants in their spiritual fields. After all, those plants belong to Hundred Herbs Hall or have priority rights."
"This concerns the hundred-year undertaking of Hundred Herbs Hall, so we can’t afford any negligence," the thin old man stated firmly.
"Exactly, for the hundred-year undertaking of Hundred Herbs Hall!" Lu Xuan quickly agreed.
The two exchanged smiles, understanding each other without needing to say more.
"Sit here for a while. I’ll go check if there are any mutated plants in the medicine garden," Steward He said, suddenly full of energy at the prospect of easily earning Spirit Stones.
Hundred Herbs Hall had several medicine gardens, and one of them was not far away, growing over ten types of spiritual medicines suitable for refining pills. Since Lu Xuan only had a free cooperation relationship with Hundred Herbs Hall, he couldn’t follow Steward He into the garden and had to wait quietly in the hall.
A medicine boy nearby, who was handling the spiritual medicines, quickly brought over a steaming cup of spirit tea and a small plate of spirit fruits. The spirit fruits were about the size of a fingertip, light purple, and looked ordinary, but tasted incredibly sweet and delicious. Lu Xuan tossed a few into his mouth and quickly ate most of them.
In a large medicine garden.
The garden was dozens of times larger than Lu Xuan’s small courtyard, with a mountain towering several dozen meters high and a small river of flowing spiritual energy winding around its base.
At this moment, a white energy shield covered the entire garden, with spiritual energy flashing across its surface from time to time.
Steward He took out a wooden tablet inscribed with strange symbols, and the spiritual energy from the shield quickly gathered towards it. A crack wide enough for a person to pass through appeared rapidly.
Taking advantage of the gap before it closed, Steward He slipped into the garden. He looked around and quickly locked onto a nearby spiritual field.
Three spiritual plant cultivators were gathered around the field, engaged in a heated discussion, their faces filled with worry.
"How's the situation these past few days? Have you found any new mutated plants?" Steward He asked as he approached them.
"Under the full protection of a second-grade top-tier formation, we haven’t discovered any new mutated plants for now," one slightly plump cultivator replied. "But this can’t go on forever. Maintaining a second-grade formation day and night to protect such a large area of the garden costs a significant amount of Spirit Stones."
"What about the mutated plants we found earlier? Have you found a solution?" Steward He nodded, looking at the three.
"Those mutated plants have been isolated, but their condition is worsening, and we can’t figure out the cause of their mutation. We can only rely on luck," one of the cultivators said.
"That’s unavoidable. In the past, the market had foundation-building cultivators and third-grade formations for protection, so such situations never occurred. It’s hard to react to it now," another added. "Plus, the way the evil spirits invade is unpredictable, making it hard to defend. Just being able to hold on is already quite good."
The three cultivators looked deeply concerned as they spoke.
"I have a friend who is also a spiritual plant cultivator. You might know him. He wants to buy some of the infected plants at a low price to find a way to break the mutation," Steward He suggested.
The three cultivators' eyes lit up, their thoughts immediately sparking. The only reason they were reluctant to part with those mutated plants was that they didn’t want their previous efforts to go to waste. Now that they heard someone wanted to buy them, even at a low price, it gave them a new option.
(End of Chapter)