In the sky, a thousand feet high.
Lu Xuan closed the book he got from the girl in red, titled "Common Spiritual Plants and Their Handling Methods." He stretched and looked out the window.
Outside, thick clouds stretched endlessly, and in the distance, flashes of long lightning could be seen.
The Wanxiang Ship was flying steadily, without any bumps at all.
Even though the room was the lowest grade, Lu Xuan thought the experience was pretty good. At least he had his own private space and could enjoy the view of the high skies outside the ship.
It had been over half a month since he boarded the ship. During this time, he mostly stayed in his room reading and practicing.
He felt quite out of practice not cultivating spiritual plants for so long; it was like his bones were rusting.
Of course, the main reason was that after half a month of cultivation, he hadn’t made any progress. But when he was cultivating spiritual plants, he could directly see their growth and witness the white light orbs forming as the plants developed.
"Indeed, with my talent, I can’t expect to achieve much in cultivation," he thought.
He realized once again how mediocre he was in the path of cultivation. If he continued to practice like this on the Wanxiang Ship, who knows when he would break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining?
The Wanxiang Ship did not go directly from Linyang Market Town to Jianmen Town. It made several stops along the way to exchange resources between different floors and to accommodate cultivators who got off midway, as well as for the ship’s own supply and maintenance.
During this time, there had been no real dangers. They encountered two attacks from spirit birds, but the protective spiritual energy barrier around the ship held strong, and the cultivators from Wanbaolou on board took care of them easily.
"Half an hour later, the Wanxiang Ship will arrive at Jianmen Town. Please prepare if you are a cultivator heading to Jianmen Town, and do not forget your valuable artifacts."
As Lu Xuan’s thoughts drifted, a gentle voice sounded in his ear.
"What a surprise to have a Foundation Establishment cultivator announce my itinerary... I guess two hundred spirit stones wouldn’t be too much," Lu Xuan chuckled to himself, his eyes fixed on the view outside.
Half an hour later, the Wanxiang Ship landed in a spacious square.
Lu Xuan lightly jumped down to the ground and immediately felt a sense of reality beneath his feet.
Before him was a bustling market town, with a massive stone sword standing a hundred feet tall outside the town, its blade marked with various deep and shallow scars.
Cultivators passing by were naturally drawn to the stone sword. Many sword cultivators lingered beneath it, pointing their hands like swords, lost in thought.
As Lu Xuan reached the center of the town, he noticed that the cultivators here were more skilled, confident, and older than those in the market town.
He wandered around a bit and learned that there was still some time before the Tianjian Sect would start recruiting disciples, so he found an inn and booked a room for two spirit stones a day.
While waiting, he took the opportunity to check on the many spiritual plants and beasts in his storage bag. He let out the Cloud Stepping Leopard to stretch its legs. The plants and beasts looked healthy, which put Lu Xuan at ease.
...
"This is strange. In such a big market, I can’t find a single unknown spirit seed."
Lu Xuan grumbled as he returned to his room.
Since arriving in Jianmen Town, nearly twenty days had passed. During this time, aside from practicing and reading, he occasionally visited the market.
With the backing of the nearby Tianjian Sect, Jianmen Town had a deep foundation. Lu Xuan saw many spirit seeds in the market, mostly first and second grade, and occasionally even third-grade spirit seeds at some stalls.
This was something that would be almost impossible in Linyang Market Town, where third-grade spirit seeds were only found in well-known shops like Wanbaolou and were extremely expensive, making people hesitate to buy.
However, the problem was that the market here was too rich. Every time Lu Xuan discovered a spirit seed he didn’t recognize, he would ask the stall owner about it, hoping to find an unknown spirit seed like the previous Sword Grass or Dark Marrow Fungus. But every stall owner could provide detailed information about the types and grades of the spirit seeds, crushing his hopes.
For now, Lu Xuan didn’t consider buying any normal spirit seeds. He hadn’t even formally joined the Tianjian Sect yet, and he didn’t have a spiritual field. He suspected that once he joined the sect, he might get better spirit seeds at a more favorable price, so he wasn’t in a hurry.
"Brother Lu, you’re back from the market?"
Not long after he entered the room, a boy around his age walked in.
The boy had a handsome face, with narrow eyes that turned into slits when he smiled.
He lived next door to Lu Xuan and had a friendly personality. He also wanted to join the Tianjian Sect. Since they were similar in age, cultivation level, and goals, they gradually became friends.
After arriving in Jianmen Town, Lu Xuan revealed that he was at the eighth level of Qi Refining. He was worried he might not be able to hide it when being tested by the sect's cultivators, and he wanted to increase his leverage a bit.
The boy's name was Baili Jianqing. In their chats, Lu Xuan learned that his grandfather had practiced in the Tianjian Sect but hadn’t succeeded in becoming an inner disciple.
Under this influence, he admired and longed for the Tianjian Sect greatly, traveling a long distance to continue his grandfather’s unfinished path.
"In a few days, the Tianjian Sect will start selecting outer disciples. With our cultivation levels, becoming outer disciples is a sure thing," Baili Jianqing said, swinging his legs on the chair.
"I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. I heard there’s a spirit plant called Sword Grass in the Tianjian Sect, which is a natural sword artifact. It’s extremely rare for sword cultivators."
"My grandfather had one and treated it like a treasure. He only let me play with it a few times when I was little, and I haven’t seen it since I grew up."
"If I can enter the sect and get a Sword Grass, I would have no regrets in life."
Baili Jianqing was a sword cultivator, skilled in sword techniques, and he was very eager for the mysterious Sword Grass in the Tianjian Sect.
Seeing him like this, Lu Xuan couldn’t help but feel a bit playful. He smiled mysteriously and beckoned him over.
"Come here, let me show you my treasure."
With that, he pulled out a high-quality second-grade Sword Grass from his storage bag and waved it around.
"Wow! Sword Grass! The quality is so good!"
Baili Jianqing rushed over, grabbing the deep black Sword Grass.
"It really is a natural sword artifact, the sword intent is perfectly formed, completely natural, with no flaws at all."
Baili Jianqing gently wiped the sword grass, his eyes filled with a fervent glow, as if he had met his dream lover after decades of longing.
"Brother Lu, how about you sell me this Sword Grass at a high price? Or is there something you want? Anything below third grade is fine. Although my Baili family isn’t anything special in Jianmen Town, we still have a bit of a reputation here."
Lu Xuan reluctantly pulled the Sword Grass from Baili Jianqing's hands, putting it back in his storage bag.
"I have a few questions to ask you. If your answers satisfy me, I might be able to get you a high-quality Sword Grass after joining the sect."
Lu Xuan said with a smile.
(End of Chapter)