The next day, Lu Xuan woke up early, feeling refreshed. After sneaking away with a Ghostface Stone Mushroom in the middle of the night, he started to slack off during the day.
Even though he had figured out how to identify normal Dragon Beard Grass and knew that the strands inside the grass would show noticeable changes under the alternating stimulation of ice and fire techniques, he didn’t want to reveal this information. Plus, Lu Xuan didn’t want to draw attention to himself. So, he blended in with the crowd, walking around and pretending to be busy while actually searching for more Ghostface Stone Mushrooms.
In the end, including the one he took last night, he found a total of five Ghostface Stone Mushrooms. This unexpected joy made him even happier during his break.
Among a pile of Dragon Beard Grass, he crouched down, holding a dark red strand in his hand, staring intently while checking various parts of the grass, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.
Suddenly, from the dense mass of Dragon Beard Grass, a dark red strand shot out quickly, aiming for Lu Xuan. He was prepared and summoned a first-grade Sword Qi Talisman with a flick of his hand.
With a quick surge of spiritual energy, the patterns on the talisman changed instantly, and a sharp sword qi shot out, slicing the attacking mutated Dragon Beard Grass in half.
“This mutated Dragon Beard Grass has an attack strength similar to a Qi Refining stage one or two cultivator. It’s not too much of a threat, but it’s hard to guard against, so I can’t let my guard down,” Lu Xuan thought to himself. There were so many Dragon Beard Grass around, and since he didn’t know which ones were mutated, he had to stay alert to avoid getting hurt.
Just as he was about to continue inspecting the Dragon Beard Grass in front of him, six or seven dark red strands suddenly shot out from the grass, like venomous snakes, racing toward Lu Xuan.
Staying calm, he summoned three first-grade Sword Qi Talismans at once. The three sword qis shot out in a triangular formation, cutting the six or seven dark red strands into pieces.
“Lu, you have quite a few Sword Qi Talismans on you!” A nearby Spiritual Plant Cultivator noticed the commotion and remarked in surprise.
Lu Xuan smiled. “I can’t help it. I’m not good at fighting, and I heard that unexpected things often happen in the secret realm. So, before we set out, I prepared quite a few talismans just in case.”
As an ordinary Spiritual Plant Cultivator, it was reasonable to prepare extra talismans out of fear of danger…
Lu Xuan’s spiritual sense entered his storage bag, looking at the pile of talismans inside, feeling a sense of gratitude.
The little incidents with the mutated Dragon Beard Grass happened from time to time, but Lu Xuan was well-prepared and didn’t suffer any consequences.
A day passed, and fifteen Spiritual Plant Cultivators managed to filter out dozens of Dragon Beard Grass through various methods.
In the camp, Li Jianfeng sat on a large rock, eyes closed, completely still like a statue. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and Wang Ruhai nimbly appeared in front of him.
“How’s the progress today?” Li Jianfeng pointed to a small pile of Dragon Beard Grass on the ground and said.
“The Spiritual Plant Cultivators have been trying various cultivation techniques and finally harvested these Dragon Beard Grass. However, we can’t guarantee that all of them are normal plants, nor can we be sure that there aren’t any mutated ones mixed in,” Wang Ruhai replied.
“A bunch of good-for-nothings, just trying to make a name for themselves!” A sense of irritation rose in Wang Ruhai’s heart, and he showed a hint of impatience in his eyes.
Originally, he thought that by inviting more than ten of the most famous Spiritual Plant Cultivators from the market, they could handle the Dragon Beard Grass well, bringing great profits to the Wang family, and he could benefit from it too. But things didn’t go as he had hoped. The identification, separation, and harvesting of normal Dragon Beard Grass were only slightly faster, but considering the massive expenditure of spiritual stones, it seemed quite unprofitable.
“It would be better to explore the secret realm more and hunt some spirit beasts,” he thought to himself.
Three days passed quickly, and Lu Xuan didn’t find any new Ghostface Stone Mushrooms. During this time, he used the invisibility of the Hidden Spirit Cloak to sneak out at night and took another Ghostface Stone Mushroom that was in a dormant state.
As for harvesting Dragon Beard Grass, he kept a low profile, with nothing outstanding about his performance. He only provided two or three strands of Dragon Beard Grass each day, most of which were normal plants, with the occasional mutated one mixed in.
One evening, after a long day, he returned to the camp. As he got closer to the camp, Lu Xuan suddenly felt a chill in his chest. The cold feeling grew stronger, and when he was just ten feet away from the camp, the icy sensation almost penetrated his bones.
Lu Xuan’s expression grew serious. He had been wearing a transparent jade talisman hanging from his chest, made from the perfect quality seeds of the Red Cloud Pine. This third-grade Pure Jade could help cultivators maintain clarity of mind and resist the invasion and pollution of evil spirits. Wearing it for a long time could slightly enhance a cultivator’s spiritual sense.
He had never taken it off since he got it, and until now, he hadn’t experienced any abnormal state, but now he felt this bone-chilling cold.
He hesitated for a moment, pretending to be wandering around, and turned to move away from the camp. As he got further away, the icy feeling in his chest faded significantly, leaving only a slight cool sensation.
“There’s probably an evil spirit inside the camp. I wonder how it got in and what its strength is,” Lu Xuan thought, feeling the sword energy of the Xun Lei Sword Pill swirling in his dantian, expanding and contracting.
After being nourished with spiritual energy daily and transforming into sword qi, the black wind howled inside the sword pill, and arcs of electricity jumped, making the sword qi sharper and more pronounced.
This gave Lu Xuan some reassurance. With the deadly Xun Lei Sword Pill, the Master-level Gengjin Sword Art, numerous second-grade talismans, the third-grade Hidden Spirit Cloak, Pure Jade, second-grade Red Cloud Needles, Red Scale Armor, and the Blood-Burning Arrow Technique, he felt confident enough to protect his life even against a tricky evil spirit.
Staying outside the camp for too long wasn’t a solution. After a moment of thought, Lu Xuan slowly followed a Spiritual Plant Cultivator who was finishing up late, returning to the camp together.
He went through his usual routine, ate normally, and after dinner, he visited a few Spiritual Plant Cultivators’ homes to chat and ask about spiritual plant knowledge.
“I can basically confirm that there’s something among the Wang family people, but I don’t know if it’s hiding in the house or has already invaded the cultivators’ bodies,” Lu Xuan thought as he returned to his room.
His earlier wandering was intentional, using the strength of the cold from the Pure Jade to adjust his position, gradually narrowing down the area, ultimately determining that the evil spirit was among a few people from the Wang family.
“While everything seems normal, I must find the trace of the evil spirit as soon as possible,” Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, then took out the Cloud Stepping Leopard from his storage bag.
The Cloud Stepping Leopard landed on the ground, its grayish-white fur on the tips of its ears trembling as it softly called out, “Awo~”
“Wait a moment, I’m going to a place where an evil spirit is hiding. See if you can find it. If you can, just call softly. When you get close, let your ear fur droop down, understood?” Lu Xuan instructed.
The Cloud Stepping Leopard nodded gently, indicating it understood. It leaped onto Lu Xuan’s shoulder, and he took it into the house where the Wang family lived.
“Awo~” The Cloud Stepping Leopard’s green eyes scanned the area, and it let out a soft call, making Lu Xuan realize it had detected traces of the evil spirit.
He walked over, smiling and greeting the Wang family cultivators he encountered. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the grayish-white fur on the tips of the leopard’s ears drooping down.
Looking up, he saw Wang Ruhai smiling at him, while Li Jianfeng stood silently behind him.
The Cloud Stepping Leopard let out a soft whimper, its fur standing on end, arching its body, and its green eyes fixed on the smiling Wang Ruhai.
“Lu, is this your spirit beast?” Wang Ruhai asked.
“Indeed, it’s still in its juvenile stage. I was worried, so I brought it along in the spirit beast bag,” Lu Xuan said, his Xun Lei Sword Pill spinning in his dantian, sword intent surging, but his face wore a warm smile.
“This leopard has been kept at home since it was small, so it’s a bit shy. Please forgive it if it seems a bit overreactive, Wang and Li friends,” he added.
“Here are some spirit fruits. They’re fragrant and sweet; you two can give them a try,” Lu Xuan said, taking out more than ten thumb-sized green spirit fruits and handing them to the two.
“Great!” Wang Ruhai smiled as he took the green spirit fruits and handed a few to Li Jianfeng behind him.
Lu Xuan felt that Wang Ruhai’s smile seemed to fit the phrase “a smile that doesn’t reach the eyes.” It looked as if his skin was moving without his muscles being involved.
He smiled as he watched Wang Ruhai and Li Jianfeng eat the spirit fruits, feeling a bit of anticipation in his heart.
Earlier, after planting the Dragon Beard Grass he had picked in the wild, he could sense the detailed state of the grass. So, he wondered if raising spirit beasts would allow him to do the same. What about raising evil spirits?
After the two swallowed the spirit fruits, Lu Xuan focused his mind.
There was nothing unusual about Li Jianfeng. But when he focused on Wang Ruhai, a thought surged into his mind.
[Hiding in a skin bag, a variant evil spirit, its true form is a strange skin bag. After invading and polluting a cultivator, it can occupy the cultivator’s body, retaining most of its habits, and loves to collect cultivators’ skin bags.]
(End of Chapter)