"As long as the hall can provide me with enough second and third-grade spirit seeds, I will naturally devote myself to cultivating spiritual plants," Lu Xuan replied practically.
Everyone can talk big, but if he could get his hands on some rare spirit seeds, his attitude toward cultivation would speak for itself. After chatting for a while, Lu Xuan found an excuse to take his leave. Before he left, he said goodbye to Steward He and headed to the scattered cultivator market.
There were more cultivators in the market than before. Some looked hurried and tired, clearly just back from the wild. Various materials from spirit beasts and new types of spiritual plants and medicines were on display at the stalls.
While looking for any unknown rare spirit seeds, Lu Xuan listened intently to the discussions among the passing cultivators. From their words, he learned that a large group of scattered cultivators had just returned from exploring a new secret realm.
"I wonder if Brother Zhang is back this time?" Lu Xuan thought to himself, recalling how kind Zhang Hong's family had been to him. He had originally planned to buy an alchemy furnace at the Wanbao Building to prepare for future alchemy, but after hearing this news, he changed his route and headed to the northern district where scattered cultivators gathered.
Since moving out of the northern district, Lu Xuan had rarely returned. The only family he was familiar with was Zhang Hong's. When Zhang Hong was away, it was inconvenient for him to visit. Zhang Xiuyuan had come to play a few times, but after the evil spirits invaded and mutated cultivators started appearing, his mother, Xu Wan, restricted his movements, and he hadn't seen Zhang Xiuyuan in months.
In the market, Lu Xuan bought several pounds of spirit beast meat and brought it to the Zhang family's courtyard. He knocked on the door, and it opened a crack to reveal Zhang Xiuyuan's curious face.
"Uncle Lu, you’re here?!"
“Dad! Mom! Uncle Lu is here!”
The moment Zhang Xiuyuan saw Lu Xuan, he shouted in surprise, remembering their deep friendship formed while dealing with pests together.
"Xiao Yuan, you’ve grown so tall!"
After a few months, Zhang Xiuyuan had shot up and was now slightly taller than Lu Xuan's shoulder. Lu Xuan smiled as he entered the courtyard and saw Zhang Hong and his wife coming out to greet him.
"Brother Zhang, Sister-in-law, it’s been a while!"
Seeing familiar faces filled Lu Xuan with joy, and he greeted them with a smile. They responded in kind.
"Little Brother Lu, it’s great to see you! I heard from Xiao Yuan that you moved away. I was just thinking about you, and here you are!"
Zhang Hong grabbed Lu Xuan's arm enthusiastically and pulled him inside.
"Brother Zhang, what happened to your arm?"
Lu Xuan noticed something was off with Zhang Hong's arm; it looked much smaller beneath his sleeve.
Zhang Hong forced a smile, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed an arm that looked dried up like an old tree, with flesh withered and even a section showing gray bone.
"I had bad luck while exploring that new secret realm and ran into a sneaky evil spirit. I lost a chunk of my arm’s flesh because I wasn’t careful."
"Fortunately, I survived and can see you again."
"Will you be able to recover? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Lu Xuan asked with a serious expression.
"After resting for a while, I should heal about seventy to eighty percent. As for a full recovery, that might be a bit difficult."
Zhang Hong replied optimistically.
Lu Xuan nodded. Unfortunately, the Blood Essence Pills he recently obtained were mainly for quickly restoring vitality and wouldn't help much with injuries that needed new flesh to grow.
"Even though I got seriously injured this time, it was a blessing in disguise. I broke through to the fourth level of Qi Training."
"I was hoping to show off to you when I saw you again, but it turns out you’ve been in the market and have leveled up even faster than me, reaching the fourth level of Qi Training as well."
The two sat at a table, sipping tea and chatting. Xu Wan was in the kitchen with Zhang Xiuyuan preparing dinner, while the Cloud Stepping Leopard walked slowly in the Zhang family's spiritual field.
"The quality of the spiritual plants I’ve been growing lately is pretty good, and I’ve established a certain partnership with the Hundred Herbs Hall, so I’ve earned quite a few spirit stones."
"Previously, I couldn’t cultivate too many spiritual plants due to a lack of spiritual energy. After realizing this, I used almost all my spirit stones to buy pills to boost my cultivation and broke through to the fourth level of Qi Training in a short time."
Lu Xuan casually made up a story. After all, whether it was the cultivation rewards from the White Light Orb or the boost from taking many pills, it was all thanks to external help, so he found an easier excuse to explain it.
After a hearty meal, Lu Xuan and Zhang Hong sat in the courtyard while Zhang Xiuyuan played with the Cloud Stepping Leopard nearby.
The Cloud Stepping Leopard looked cold, its green eyes devoid of any emotion, ignoring Zhang Xiuyuan’s teasing but staying close to him nonetheless.
In the courtyard, Lu Xuan had left two Corrosive Moon Trees planted on either side, now lush and green, with silver-white fruits that looked like crescent moons peeking through the thick leaves.
"After returning from the new secret realm, I’ve had some different thoughts after narrowly escaping with my life," Zhang Hong began to speak.
"I used to think that even if exploring secret realms was risky, I wouldn’t run into danger, always hoping to gain various opportunities."
"But reality always hits you hard. As I explored deeper into the new secret realm, the dangers increased. I witnessed an entire team being wiped out by an evil spirit from a distance."
"More than ten cultivators, including several at the mid Qi Training stage, were easily killed by a mysterious evil spirit."
A hint of fear flashed in Zhang Hong's eyes as he took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Maybe in the future, I’ll be like you, Little Brother Lu, and become an honest spiritual plant cultivator, living a stable life with my wife and children."
"It’s a good time to rest and heal, and to think clearly about the path ahead."
Lu Xuan said. He didn’t try to persuade Zhang Hong on what to do; every choice had its pros and cons.
"Brother Zhang, why don’t you tell me about the situation in the secret realm? I might not want to go out and take risks, but I’m still curious to hear about it."
"Sure, it’s always good to understand more about evil spirits."
The two spoke quietly, and at some point, the wind began to blow in the courtyard, rustling the leaves of the Corrosive Moon Trees.
...
In the center of the market, at the Wang family residence.
On top of a tall building, the head of the Wang family looked down at the entire Linyang Market Town, silent and contemplative.
"Chong An, what are those two sect companions you brought doing now?"
A handsome young man standing quietly behind him stepped forward and replied respectfully.
"With the help of the two senior brothers, we’ve mostly cleared out the evil spirits and mutated cultivators in the market. However, the mysterious evil spirit hasn’t been found yet. I don’t know if it’s hiding too well or if it has returned to the secret realm."
"You don’t need to worry about that. Just make sure to treat them well."
"When the formation at the center of the secret realm is broken, we’ll find an opportunity to take them into the secret realm and use their strength to clean out the evil spirits inside."
"Understood."
The young man replied in a deep voice.
On the tall building, the wind howled, and his dark robe fluttered in the breeze.
(End of Chapter)