"Truly a disciple of the sect, generous with their offerings!"
Hearing the compensation offered by the girl in red, Lu Xuan couldn't help but admire her in his heart. The Red Cloud Pine seeds he gave to the Four-Eyed Red Ape were of high quality, much more valuable than regular pine seeds.
However, even the best seeds were just a type of spiritual plant material. They were cheaper than magical artifacts or pills of the same rank. Just exchanging for a magical artifact would earn him a good amount of spirit stones, not to mention he also received three first-grade cultivation pills.
But he wasn't very interested in magical artifacts or pills. His spiritual field had many first and second-grade spiritual plants, and any mature first-grade plant would yield rewards worth more than a magical artifact. As for cultivation pills, he already had two bottles in his storage bag, so he wasn't particularly interested.
"The magical artifacts and pills you offered are indeed valuable, but they are not what I need right now," Lu Xuan politely declined.
"I’m not fond of cultivation; I’m more passionate about growing spiritual plants. If you have suitable spirit seeds or techniques for cultivating spiritual plants, or related books, that would be perfect."
"Spirit seeds? Techniques?"
The girl in red lowered her head in thought. She usually focused on her cultivation and had never dabbled in spiritual plants, so she didn’t have any spirit seeds on her. The techniques she practiced were mostly combat-oriented, and she had never considered lower-level techniques for cultivating spiritual plants.
"Got it!"
She took out a dark yellow book from her storage bag.
"This book is 'Common Spiritual Plants and Their Handling Methods.' It contains information on over a hundred low-grade spiritual plants commonly found in the cultivation world, along with the corresponding harvesting techniques and storage methods."
"I was worried I might miss some spiritual herbs, so I kept it in my storage bag. I didn’t expect it to come in handy today."
The girl in red stuck out her tongue a bit shyly. Seeing Lu Xuan’s puzzled expression, she continued, "This book only contains basic knowledge and does not involve any sect secrets, so you can read it with peace of mind."
"Alright, thank you very much," Lu Xuan quickly replied. He came from a loose cultivation background and had almost no foundation in spiritual plants. He had reached this point mainly by managing the current state of his spiritual field and the extra rewards from the white light orb.
This book on spiritual plants was just basic material for sect cultivators, but it was very important for Lu Xuan as it would help fill in the gaps in his knowledge. The value of the dark yellow book couldn't be measured directly in spirit stones, but it was definitely worth much more than the Red Cloud Pine seed he had given away.
Once Lu Xuan took the dark yellow book, the girl in red felt relieved and shot a glare at the Four-Eyed Red Ape, which had snuck out to ask for spirit fruits. While chatting with Lu Xuan, she looked around curiously.
She was intrigued by Lu Xuan, who could cultivate high-quality Red Cloud Pine seeds.
Above the spiritual field in the backyard, a thick white mist spread out, blocking her spiritual sense from probing further.
"Lu Dao Friend, your mist formation is quite impressive; it can even block my spiritual sense."
She casually glanced at the misty concealment formation before retracting her spiritual sense. After all, the owner of the spiritual field, Lu Xuan, was right in front of her, so she couldn't be too rude.
"I have no choice; my cultivation is ordinary, and all my assets are in the spiritual field. To protect my property, I had to buy this second-grade defensive formation."
"Moreover, the recent outbreak of evil spirits in the market was another main reason I had to purchase it."
Lu Xuan said lightly.
"That's how it is in the market; cultivators' safety is not well guaranteed."
"But with your skills in cultivating spiritual plants, perhaps you could consider joining a sect."
"A sect can provide you with a safe environment to cultivate, a variety of spirit seeds, and rich spiritual energy. Those top sects even have blessed lands, perfect for a spiritual plant cultivator like you."
"I'm just a loose cultivator with ordinary talent; how could a sect take me in?"
Lu Xuan said self-deprecatingly. However, he couldn't help but feel a sense of longing for what the girl in red described.
In Linyang Market Town, there were only a few foundation-building cultivators, and growing third-grade spiritual plants was about his limit. With regular methods, he estimated he could only grow something like the Pure Wondrous Tea provided by the Hundred Herbs Hall. Higher-grade spirit seeds would require him to seek them out himself.
Only in a sect could he have the chance to obtain rare spirit seeds and grow higher-grade spiritual plants.
He then asked the girl in red about how to join a sect. After a conversation, the girl in red left with the satisfied Four-Eyed Red Ape.
Lu Xuan didn't take out the remaining four Red Cloud Pine seeds from his storage bag. Since the girl didn't have what he wanted, he planned to wait and see if he could get a better deal later.
He put the dark yellow book into his storage bag and began to inspect his spiritual field, carefully cultivating his spiritual plants.
"Lu kid? Are you home?"
Suddenly, a loud voice from Steward He came from outside the gate.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! What brings you here today?"
Lu Xuan replied with a smile, quickly going to open the door for the thin old man.
To Lu Xuan's surprise, Steward He was followed by He Yuntong, the granddaughter of the foundation-building alchemist.
"Dao Friend He," he greeted.
"Lu Dao Friend, I’m here to bother you today because I have a request," He Yuntong said with a smile. Lu Xuan noticed her attitude was much more sincere and warm than during their previous meetings.
"I wonder if there's anything I can help you with?"
"Lu kid, did you cultivate a good-quality Red Cloud Pine?"
The old man beside her put down the spirit tea in his hand and asked.
"That is indeed the case," Lu Xuan admitted.
"Do you still have good or high-quality pine seeds?"
He Yuntong quickly asked, her expression filled with anticipation.
After returning to the Wang family garden, she learned from others that the girl in red had exchanged a Red Cloud Pine seed from Lu Xuan.
Keeping that in mind, she returned to the Hundred Herbs Hall and had Steward He bring her to Lu Xuan's home, hoping to obtain another Red Cloud Pine seed to give to the girl in red and build a connection.
Seeing her eager expression, Lu Xuan thought for a moment and took out three Red Cloud Pine seeds from his storage bag.
"Two of these are high quality, and this one is actually perfect quality?"
He Yuntong's eyes widened in surprise.
The thin old man looked at Lu Xuan and showed a look of satisfaction.
"What do you want?"
He Yuntong quickly composed herself and asked Lu Xuan softly.
Lu Xuan took out the three Red Cloud Pine seeds, two high-quality and one perfect quality. Having been in charge of the Hundred Herbs Hall for a long time, she immediately understood that Lu Xuan wanted to make a deal with her.
"I want two methods for refining spirit seeds, one for Spirit Firefly Grass and the other for any first-grade spirit seed."
Lu Xuan said firmly, his tone resolute.
Since he couldn't get anything related to spiritual plants from the girl in red, He Yuntong might have what he was looking for.
From what he understood, the Hundred Herbs Hall had a lot of methods for refining spirit seeds, which was exactly what he had been yearning for.
(End of Chapter)