After exhausting the four young Iron Claw Crabs, Lu Xuan finally let them take a break. He tossed them into the Spiritual Spring Pool and threw in a handful of Spirit Rice as a reward.
"These Iron Claw Crabs are way more energetic than the Red Whiskered Carps. It's good to give them something to do to tire them out a bit," Lu Xuan thought with a smile as he watched the crabs lying still at the bottom of the pool.
He scattered some iron ore around the nearby Copper Bamboo, allowing the crabs to absorb it freely. Then he went over to four Blood Jade Ginseng plants he had kept for seeds. The outer layer of the ginseng looked like a thin skin, and it felt like it was about to burst as the ginseng grew larger.
Lu Xuan hurriedly peeled off the Spirit Seeds formed by the four Blood Jade Ginseng plants. After a little processing, he placed them in a special jade box. There were twenty-eight Spirit Seeds in total, each one plump and resembling blood jade.
However, Lu Xuan felt a bit disappointed that he didn't receive a light orb reward when he harvested the ginseng after the seeds formed. "It’s probably because a lot of the spiritual energy from the mature Blood Jade Ginseng was consumed during the seed formation, making it lose its effectiveness for normal harvesting, which is why there was no light orb reward," he guessed. Still, he was quite satisfied with getting twenty-eight Spirit Seeds.
What made him even happier was when he checked on the growth of the second-grade Dark Marrow Fungus and found it had fully matured. "After carefully nurturing it for over a year, I've finally succeeded in growing my first second-grade spiritual plant," Lu Xuan sighed with emotion. The growth cycles for spiritual plants vary: no-grade ones take a few months, first-grade ones about a year, and second-grade ones around two years.
He had planted the Dark Marrow Fungus and Sword Grass over a year ago in a small yard in the northern district of the market town. Since moving to the new yard and with his careful nurturing, the growth speed was accelerated to some extent, and it finally matured.
Among the dense dark red mycelium, the Dark Marrow Fungus was hidden, with thick, dark red liquid flowing through vein-like channels. Lu Xuan focused his mind on the mature fungus and immediately sensed its good quality.
"The spiritual energy concentration in the Spiritual Field is average. The Dark Marrow Fungus is extremely light-sensitive, making it hard to avoid light completely. Plus, it's difficult to obtain high-quality decayed spiritual wood. Given these conditions, it's quite impressive to cultivate a good second-grade spiritual plant," Lu Xuan reflected.
His spiritual energy passed through countless dark red mycelium, which seemed to respond to his presence, parting to reveal the Dark Marrow Fungus. Lu Xuan carefully harvested it and quickly placed it in a wooden box wrapped in black cloth, storing it in his storage bag.
The second-grade Dark Marrow Fungus could be used to refine certain body-strengthening pills or taken directly to enhance a cultivator's physique. Lu Xuan had yet to decide how to use it.
Right now, he was focused on the light orb reward that came from the Dark Marrow Fungus. With anticipation in his eyes, he looked at the spot in the wooden shed where the fungus was located, where a fist-sized white light orb was gently flickering.
He reached out and touched the surface of the orb. Instantly, countless tiny light points swirled like a galaxy, flooding into Lu Xuan's body. A thought flashed through his mind.
[Harvested one Dark Marrow Fungus, received a third-grade artifact: Hidden Spirit Cloak.]
As the thought passed, a garment as thin as a cicada's wing appeared in his hand. The cloak was dark gold, with nearly transparent threads that occasionally appeared on the surface and then vanished.
[Hidden Spirit Cloak, a third-grade artifact, can conceal and hide the cultivator's aura and spiritual energy. When activated, the cultivator can use the artifact to hide their form. The concealment lasts for a short time and consumes a lot of spiritual energy, allowing only slow movement. If attacked, the form will be revealed.]
"Third-grade artifact!" Lu Xuan felt joy in his heart. This was the second third-grade treasure he had obtained after the Pure Jade. Plus, its effects were even better.
Having raised his cultivation level to the seventh layer of Qi Refining in a short time with average talent, he naturally couldn't expose his true level in a familiar environment. As he encountered more high-level Qi Refiners, the risk of being discovered increased, so the Hidden Spirit Cloak was a perfect solution. As a third-grade artifact, it had entered the foundational stage, making it hard for even early to mid-stage foundation cultivators to detect him.
Lu Xuan quickly took off his clothes and put on the dark gold cloak, channeling his spiritual energy into it. Immediately, a powerful suction came from within the Hidden Spirit Cloak, causing a significant portion of his spiritual energy to vanish.
The transparent threads on the cloak suddenly began to move faster and faster. Moments later, Lu Xuan felt a thin layer of special substance cover his vision, giving the world around him an odd sense of detachment and unreality.
He approached the Spiritual Spring Pool and leaned over to look down. There, the four young Iron Claw Crabs lay quietly at the bottom of the pool, with the water clear and wisps of spiritual energy rising gently. His reflection was nowhere to be seen on the surface.
Nearby, the Cloud Stepping Leopard stood frozen, confused by Lu Xuan's sudden disappearance. Its green eyes showed a rare change of emotion, scanning the surroundings in bewilderment.
"Roar..." it called softly, its tone filled with urgency.
Lu Xuan quickly withdrew from his hidden state and stood in front of the Cloud Stepping Leopard, playfully tugging at the two tufts of gray-white fur on its ear tips. The leopard regained its graceful posture, casting a cold glance at Lu Xuan before walking to the side.
Lu Xuan reflected on his experience using the third-grade Hidden Spirit Cloak. "The artifact can conceal my entire body, but its range is limited to my immediate surroundings. The speed at which it consumes spiritual energy is quite fast. Using a third-grade artifact at the foundational stage with my seventh layer of Qi Refining is a bit of a stretch."
"However, the effect is quite good. It can hide my form, allowing me to avoid some risks." A slight smile appeared on Lu Xuan's face as he felt a strange familiarity with the act of hiding his form.
"What a transparent cultivation world..." he muttered, not immediately putting away the Hidden Spirit Cloak. Instead, he draped it over himself and covered it with a green shirt. The cloak was as light as a feather, and wearing it felt almost nonexistent.
"The second-grade Dark Marrow Fungus is now mature, and the second-grade Sword Grass should be ready soon too," Lu Xuan thought as he looked at the simple yet unassuming second-grade Sword Grass nearby.
The Sword Grass now resembled an ordinary sword, about three feet long, entirely black, standing straight with its tip pointing towards the sky.
"Almost there, almost there." Lu Xuan focused on the Sword Grass, watching the progress bar below it that was about to fill up, feeling very excited.
He took a stroll through the Spiritual Field. In the area of Spirit Firefly Grass, he found that one hundred and twenty Spirit Firefly Grass plants had entered a rapid maturation phase. After a careful search, he discovered fifteen fully matured Spirit Firefly Grass plants.
(End of Chapter)