"Spiritual plants and beasts below the third rank..."
Lu Xuan muttered to himself as he looked over the spiritual field, his gaze settling on a Red Whiskered Carp resting with its eyes closed in the Spiritual Spring Pool.
The Red Whiskered Carp was a low-ranked spiritual beast, and Lu Xuan planned to use it for an experiment first.
He used his spiritual energy to wrap around one of the carp and pulled it out of the water. Before the carp could react, he placed it into a bag.
As he focused his mind, he could see the carp floating in a dark blue bag, shaking its head and tail, its two thin red whiskers flailing about.
With a loud thud, the Red Whiskered Carp flew out of the bag and splashed back into the water, waking up the other two carp.
The three startled carp stared at each other, confused about what had just happened.
"Hey little guy, come here for a moment."
Lu Xuan called over a Cloud Stepping Leopard that was eager to jump in nearby.
The young leopard glanced coldly at Lu Xuan, its thick paws silently padding across the ground as it walked over gracefully.
"Let’s see how you do in there. You'll be out in no time."
The Cloud Stepping Leopard nodded slightly.
Lu Xuan placed it into the bag, and after a moment, took it out again.
"Aw..."
As soon as it landed, the leopard let out a soft cry, clearly not in a good mood. Its voice was much more delicate than usual.
Lu Xuan focused on it and quickly understood why. The leopard was reminded of its past experience of being caught and kept in a cage while it was in the dark bag.
"Don't worry, when we go out, I'll try to keep you outside. Unless absolutely necessary, I won’t put you back in the bag."
Lu Xuan reassured it.
"Aw~~" The leopard chirped happily, its voice blending in a way that felt a bit off due to its naturally coarse tone.
A night passed.
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Lu Xuan got up and went to the spiritual field where the Blood Jade Ginseng grew. He separated the remaining ginsengs that were huddled together.
He then inspected the spiritual field again, tending to each plant's needs in various ways.
"Hmm?"
Finally, when he reached the edge of the Spiritual Spring Pool, Lu Xuan couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp.
He saw a fist-sized white light orb quietly floating on the water's surface, reflecting different shades of light as the ripples moved.
"This is... one of the Red Whiskered Carps has reached maturity?"
A look of excitement appeared on Lu Xuan's face as he spoke to himself.
He scanned the area and quickly locked onto the mature Red Whiskered Carp.
"Go, catch it from the pool."
He pointed to the plumpest carp and instructed the Cloud Stepping Leopard.
The leopard leaped gracefully, its back paw lightly touching the water's surface as it grabbed the carp by its thin red whiskers.
The carp was pulled out of the water, and just when it thought it would fall back into the pool as usual, a red needle pierced its head, taking it to the kitchen.
"Get the pot ready!"
"The day it matures is the day it goes into the pot. After eating so much of my spirit rice, it’s time to repay me."
Lu Xuan rolled up his sleeves and picked up the white light orb that was floating in the pool.
[You have harvested one Red Whiskered Carp and obtained a second-rank artifact, Red Scale Armor.]
A thought flashed in his mind, and a piece of red inner armor appeared in his hand. The surface was covered in scales like those of a fish, providing strong protection.
Lu Xuan stored the second-rank Red Scale Armor in his storage bag and hurried to the kitchen.
The Silver Splitting Blade broke down into over ten silver shards, and in just a few breaths, he cleaned the scales off the freshly caught Red Whiskered Carp.
He gathered the two thin red whiskers and many scales together.
Since the Red Whiskered Carp was a low-ranked spiritual beast, the materials from its whiskers and scales wouldn’t fetch much spiritual stone. However, Lu Xuan had never been one to waste anything, so he collected everything into his storage bag.
After working for a while, a steaming pot of fresh fish was placed on the table.
Lu Xuan picked up a piece and immediately, an incredibly fresh and rich flavor filled his mouth.
As soon as it hit his stomach, a warm sensation spread through his limbs, making him feel cozy all over.
"I’ve raised you for so long, I’ve grown a bit attached, it’s hard to let go..."
Tears of sadness rolled down Lu Xuan's cheeks as he remembered how small the Red Whiskered Carp was when he first bought it and how he had nurtured it to maturity. He couldn’t help but feel heartbroken and grabbed a large piece of fish meat, turning his sorrow into appetite.
The delicious meal was in front of him, while the Cloud Stepping Leopard maintained its elegant demeanor, quietly lying at Lu Xuan's feet, continuously making soft sounds, hinting for more fish meat and bones.
Unable to resist its pleading cries, Lu Xuan quickly stuffed a large piece of fish meat into its mouth.
...
"Senior Sister."
Wang Chong'an gently knocked on the door and called softly.
With a creak, the door opened, and a girl in red peeked out.
"Wang Junior Brother, what’s the matter?"
"I searched the market and found a few types of spiritual fruits suitable for your spiritual beast. Here, take a look and see if the Red Eyed Monkey is interested."
The handsome young man, Wang Chong'an, smiled warmly, making one feel like they were basking in spring sunshine.
"Thank you, Wang Junior Brother."
The girl in red took the plate of fruits from Wang Chong'an and went inside. A moment later, she came back out, looking a bit helpless.
On the plate were several spiritual fruits with bite marks on them, but they were just small nibbles, showing that the four-eyed Red Eyed Monkey had little interest in them.
"It still won't do. The Red Eyed Monkey has been eating the fruits cultivated by the sect for a long time and has become picky, with high demands for the types and quality of fruits."
"Among these fruits, although there are some it can eat, their quality is just average. It took one bite and refused to eat anymore."
"The Red Eyed Monkey is a rare beast and naturally looks down on those ordinary wild fruits grown by spiritual plant cultivators in the market. I’ll ask around for you again and find its favorite fruits as soon as possible."
Wang Chong'an said with a smile. He knew that this girl in red was exceptionally talented and came from a distinguished background. The four-eyed Red Eyed Monkey she raised would be very useful for tracking malevolent spirits in the market and for later exploring secret realms, so he was dedicated to meeting the needs of both her and her beast.
"It will eat anything when it gets hungry enough."
The girl in red looked at the four-eyed Red Eyed Monkey in the room and said with a hint of frustration.
"Senior Sister, don’t worry about this for now. There are many talented young people from various forces in the market who have admired the sect's disciples for a long time and want to make friends. Why don’t you come with me to relax a bit?"
"Okay."
The girl in red agreed without hesitation.
The three of them arrived at a quiet garden, where the eaves were curved and the water flowed gently. More than ten young men and women were waiting in a pavilion, each with an extraordinary presence.
He Yuntong, the granddaughter of the Hundred Herbs Hall's foundation pill master, was among them, standing quietly in the corner with her head bowed.
(End of Chapter)