As soon as Lu Xuan opened the courtyard gate, the Cloud Stepping Leopard, which had been resting on his shoulder, jumped down and hurried to the Spiritual Spring Pool, staring intently at the lone Red Whiskered Carp in the water.
Lu Xuan looked around the Spiritual Field, everything seemed normal. The Straw Puppets were diligently patrolling the entire area.
He walked over to the spot where he had previously cultivated the mutated Spiritual Plants and took out the five Copper Bone Bamboo seedlings.
Using the Earth Summoning Technique, the structure of the Spiritual Soil changed quietly, revealing a crack that fit perfectly with the roots of the Copper Bone Bamboo seedlings, with no gaps at all.
After planting all five seedlings, Lu Xuan focused his mind on the purple-red bamboo, and immediately, information about the Copper Bone Bamboo flooded into his consciousness.
[Copper Bone Bamboo, a second-grade Spiritual Plant, is very tough and can be used to make artifacts, especially suitable for crafting flying swords. It can also be used as material for certain special pills.]
[Adding copper and iron ore during the cultivation process will speed up the growth of the Copper Bone Bamboo. The effects of Spiritual Ore are even better; the smaller the ore, the faster the bamboo absorbs and digests it.]
[As for the Copper Bone body, how can it break through itself and grow taller?]
"It needs copper and iron ore, and Spiritual Ore works even better."
"Although the cultivation conditions are a bit strange, the difficulty is not high. It's much easier than the third-grade Flood Dragon Vine."
Copper and iron Spiritual Ore are quite common in the scattered cultivator market, and they aren't very expensive.
Lu Xuan first used the Spirit Rain Technique, causing droplets of spiritual energy rain to fall, which merged into the Spiritual Soil near the Copper Bone Bamboo, allowing the roots to absorb it.
He planned to let the Copper Bone Bamboo adapt to the Spiritual Soil environment first, and after a few days, he would go buy some Spiritual Ore to speed up the cultivation.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Xuan was inspecting the Spiritual Field when he heard Wu Wenjing calling from next door.
"Lu Dao Friend, come over for a drink!"
Lu Xuan shook his head and smiled, taking a piece of dried monster meat from the kitchen. He brought the Cloud Stepping Leopard with him and went to Wu's place.
"Wu Dao Friend, is there something on your mind?"
After a few cups of warm spirit wine, Lu Xuan noticed that the older man seemed distracted, his gaze wandering, and asked.
"Do you know what's been happening in the market recently?"
"I've been at home taking care of my Spiritual Plants and haven't gone out these past few days."
Lu Xuan shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"You really are out of touch with the outside world, completely focused on your Spiritual Plants..."
Wu Wenjing sighed and continued, "There's news that the group of cultivators from the Wang family who are exploring the secret realm has already reached the core area, but the restrictions are tough to break. So, they've invited other families in the market to get involved."
"The outer areas of the secret realm are now open to the public, and many scattered cultivators are eager to enter the new secret realm to seek opportunities."
"So, you don't want to be left out and want to dive into the chaos?"
Lu Xuan looked at Wu Wenjing, half-smiling.
"That's right, I do feel a bit tempted."
Wu Wenjing forced a smile.
"The monsters and evil spirits in the outer area have been mostly cleared out during the Wang family's exploration, and it's also the time with the most resources, so many cultivators want to check it out."
"Anyway, I have no plans to go."
Lu Xuan could tell that Wu Wenjing seemed to want to invite him to join in exploring the outer secret realm, so he directly stated his stance.
"Even if there aren't many monsters and evil spirits left, do you really think you can snatch resources from other cultivators?"
"You've experienced much more than I have, so you should know that sometimes fellow cultivators can be scarier than monsters."
Hearing this, Wu Wenjing's old face turned pale and then flushed, and after a long time, he let out a deep sigh.
"Thank you for the reminder, Lu Dao Friend. I was being foolish."
"For decades, I've managed to keep my mind calm and not think about treasures, but when faced with such an opportunity, I can't help but fantasize."
"With my time running out, I just can't let go."
Lu Xuan fell silent, unsure how to persuade him. He understood the situation of the Wu cultivator; a Qi Refining cultivator's lifespan is just over a hundred years, and no one can accept getting closer to death bit by bit.
If they see even a glimmer of hope to change their fate, it's like a drowning person grabbing onto a lifeline, using all their strength to try to break free.
He secretly hoped that his cultivation of Spiritual Plants would yield the reward of the White Light Orbs; otherwise, he might end up like Wu Wenjing, drifting in the sea of cultivation, unable to withstand any storms.
"It's better to stay quietly in the market. I'm old and weak now, not what I used to be. I've fallen behind in combat skills, and if I really go to the secret realm, any random cultivator of the same level could easily deal with me."
The old man said with a bitter smile, his eyes dim.
Lu Xuan remained silent and raised his cup.
Wu Wenjing clinked his cup against Lu Xuan's and looked at him.
"Sometimes I really don't know how to evaluate you. Clearly young, yet you act more like an old man than I do."
"Such a good opportunity, and you can still keep your calm, not swayed at all. You're much steadier than I am."
"Haha, being desireless is just like that."
"I'm content to be an ordinary Spiritual Plant Cultivator."
Lu Xuan maintained his persona well.
After they finished eating and drinking, Lu Xuan returned home and continued to tend to his Spiritual Plants, carefully monitoring their conditions and providing meticulous care.
Another five days flew by.
During these days, Lu Xuan bought a pound of ungraded ore from the scattered cultivator market to test mixing it with the Copper Bone Bamboo and see what effect it had.
Meanwhile, from the nine Blood Jade Ginseng plants he had left, five matured, three of good quality, and two of superior quality.
The five White Light Orbs that appeared also brought rewards.
[Harvested one Blood Jade Ginseng, received one second-grade Blood Essence Pill.] *3
[Harvested one Blood Jade Ginseng, received one second-grade secret technique, Blood-Burning Arrow.] *2
From the five orbs, Lu Xuan got three second-grade Blood Essence Pills, which he stored in his bag, waiting for the right moment to use the Blood-Burning Arrows.
After absorbing the two Blood-Burning Arrow experience packs, his understanding of the technique improved further.
Reluctant to waste his blood essence, although Lu Xuan hadn't used it yet, he felt that the speed and power of the technique had increased significantly.
As for the remaining four Blood Jade Ginseng plants, he planned to try cultivating them into Blood Jade Ginseng Spirit Seeds.
In the cultivation world, when Spiritual Plants naturally mature, if they aren't harvested, they continue to grow for a while. Some will wither away and merge back into the earth, while others will gather the essence of the plants and condense into Spirit Seeds.
These naturally formed Spirit Seeds vary in quality and quantity and may not always lead to successful cultivation.
However, the methods developed by cultivators over many years can condense more Spirit Seeds while ensuring their quality, allowing most of them to be successfully planted.
Lu Xuan kept the four Blood Jade Ginseng plants to test whether the seed condensing method passed down from the Hundred Herbs Hall would work.
(End of Chapter)