Chapter 82
Chapter 82
In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
During these ten days, Lu Xuan mostly stayed in the courtyard, nurturing spirit plants and amusing himself with the cloud-stepping lynx.
Occasionally, he would visit the freelance market to purchase some daily essentials like spirit grains, demonic beast meat, and the copper and iron ores needed for the second-grade copper bone bamboo.
While at the market, he sensed a restless energy pervading the place. The opening of the new secret realm's peripheral area had made many cultivators more active-minded, resulting in increased prices for artifacts, talismans, and elixirs in the market.
However, this didn't affect Lu Xuan much. He led a simple yet busy life following his usual routine.
In the spirit field, four mature blood jade ginseng plants underwent a change.
Following the cultivation method he obtained from the Hundred Herbs Hall, Lu Xuan infused spiritual energy into the mature blood jade ginseng, secretly guiding the flow of spiritual energy within.
At this point, a faint red stem appeared at the top of the blood jade ginseng. At the tip of the stem, a cluster of red substance resembling jade stone formed. Through a thin red membrane on the surface, one could see several ginseng seeds inside.
The next step was to nurture these ginseng seeds carefully. When the time was right, he would use a special method to extract them. After processing, they could be used to cultivate new blood jade ginseng.
"I wonder if harvesting these ginseng seeds differently from the usual method will affect the rewards from the light orbs."
He pondered. When treating those diseased spirit plants before, since they weren't personally planted and had a shorter cultivation time, harvesting didn't yield any light orb rewards. He wasn't certain if refining the ginseng seeds would have a similar effect.
Near the blood jade ginseng, the spirit firefly grass occupied more than half of the spirit field, thriving with vibrant greenery and tiny luminous spots on its slender leaves, exuding a lively and appealing vibe.
Lu Xuan alternated between his spirit rain technique, wood growth technique, and earth attraction technique, nurturing the numerous spirit firefly grasses.
Having absorbed considerable experience and practiced multiple times daily, his mastery of the wood growth technique had reached a rudimentary level. It slightly accelerated the growth of low-grade spirit plants.
Based on his immediate observation of the spirit firefly grass's status compared to previous instances, Lu Xuan estimated that this batch would mature a few days earlier than expected.
Beside the spirit spring pool, the cloud-stepping lynx crouched, its emerald eyes fixed on the lone red-whiskered carp.
Although the red-whiskered carp had limited intelligence, witnessing its companions disappearing consecutively made it aware that the area outside the spirit spring pool wasn't entirely safe. It either lurked at the bottom of the pool or circled the pool's edge, relying on the pool's stony defenses.
Hearing Lu Xuan's approaching footsteps, the lynx's ears twitched slightly, and it turned to gaze at him.
Lu Xuan immediately understood its intentions, spotting a white light orb floating on the water's surface of the spirit spring pool, a smile forming on his face involuntarily.
"Time to get the pot ready."
As soon as he uttered the first word, the lynx darted forward. Its cloud-like paws lightly tapped the water's surface, deftly hooking the struggling red-whiskered carp with its fine red whiskers. Even before Lu Xuan could summon the red thread needle, it had already dashed into the kitchen with the carp.
Amused, Lu Xuan couldn't help but chuckle. This little guy had developed quite the appetite for red-whiskered carp. However, it was true that feeding demonic beast meat nurtured in the spirit spring and spirit grains was indeed effective.
He fished the white light orb from the surface of the spirit spring pool.
A thought flashed through his mind.
"[Harvested one red-whiskered carp, obtained a first-grade technique, Wood Wall Technique.]"
A technique appeared in his consciousness.
"The first-grade defensive technique isn't bad," Lu Xuan murmured to himself.
In the realm of cultivation, among items of the same grade, techniques, methods, and elixirs held the highest value, followed by formations, artifacts, talismans, and elixirs. Next in line were various demonic beast materials, spirit herbs, ores, and stones. And at the bottom were the spirit seeds.
Of course, this hierarchy wasn't absolute. Depending on their effects, utility, and quantity, the value could vary. For instance, materials from the same demonic beast could have vastly different prices.
The first-grade Wood Wall Technique, compared to the second-grade Crimson Scale Armor from the previous two red-whiskered carps and the second-grade Beast Spirit Pill, wasn't significantly weaker.
Suppressing the urge to use the spirit plants in his field for cultivation, Lu Xuan returned to the kitchen.
The cloud-stepping lynx had already placed the red-whiskered carp in the pot. Whenever the carp attempted to leap out, it would firmly pat it back with its paw.
Showing complete dominance, the carp, whether from fatigue or resignation, gradually ceased struggling, accepting its fate lying in the pot.
"Unnecessary extra effort; it hasn't been cleaned yet."
Lu Xuan pushed the lynx aside and took out the nearly lifeless red-whiskered carp. Using a fragment of the silver blade, he cut off its two fine red whiskers and scales, then gutted it, removing its innards.
Half an hour later, both man and beast sat nonchalantly, their faces displaying contentment.
The days of nurturing spirit plants were simple yet fulfilling and kept Lu Xuan engaged. He cherished this one-acre-three-part spirit field, patiently awaiting the plants' maturity.
Unbeknownst to him, the 120 planted spirit firefly grasses had reached their first maturity.
Lu Xuan carefully inspected the field, identifying the ten grasses that had entered complete maturity first.
Among these ten, four were of good and premium quality each, while two were perfect.
"My cultivation can finally experience a significant surge."
Lu Xuan sighed. During the days waiting for the grasses to mature, he would occasionally practice cultivation himself, but his progress was akin to that of a snail, which was difficult for him to endure.
"Spirit firefly grass, enhance my cultivation!"
A thought flashed in his mind.
"[Harvested one spirit firefly grass, obtained six months' worth of cultivation.]*3
[Harvested one spirit firefly grass, obtained nine months' worth of cultivation.]*2"
Five out of ten white light orbs contained cultivation rewards. Instantly, a vast amount of spiritual power surged within him, raging through his meridians and dantian.
When the spiritual energy settled, Lu Xuan was pleasantly surprised to find that the cultivation level he had stagnated at the sixth level of Qi cultivation for a long time had finally broken through to the seventh level.
"Finally promoted to the ranks of high-level Qi cultivators."
Feeling the profound surge of energy within him, Lu Xuan was filled with emotions.
Just over a year ago, he was merely a second-level Qi cultivator, an ordinary talent practicing a low
-tier cultivation method without the means to buy elixirs using spirit stones. He lived on the outskirts of a chaotic market, barely scraping by each day, always on edge.
To achieve such a breakthrough without these resources might have taken countless years, perhaps never attaining it until his time was up. He might have even perished unnoticed during an exploration of a secret realm, vanishing without a trace, leaving no ripples in the vast sea of existence.
Looking at the numerous thriving spirit plants in his field, he felt even more fortunate to have the guidance of the white light orbs.
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