You Cultivate, I Farm

Lu Xuan stored the myriad symbols of the second-grade sword qi in his storage bag, contentedly returning indoors.

The cloud-stepping lynx cub with its bright green eyes stared at Lu Xuan, who grinned back. Its ears twitched before it settled on the ground.

Even without focusing his mind, Lu Xuan could guess what the lynx cub was thinking. He walked over, rubbing its thick fur-covered head.

"Ah..."

It emitted another strained sound, struggling to produce a clear tone.

Unfortunately, its innate limitations made it tough for it to achieve a refined sound, no matter how hard it tried.

Amused, Lu Xuan sliced a piece of dried spiny porcupine meat from the kitchen, tearing it into small strips and placing it in front of the lynx cub.

"The reward from the Pure Snow Lotus of impeccable quality is quite impressive. It seems my path of meticulous cultivation is on the right track."

"I wonder if high-grade spirit plants like the Crimson Cloud Pine or Sword Grass can reach impeccable quality. If they can, the rewards would be even more substantial."

"The possibility should be lower than that of the Pure Snow Lotus since cultivating them requires more complex conditions, making it difficult to achieve perfection."

"Let's do our best."

For the next few days, Lu Xuan stayed at home, nurturing spirit plants and raising the red-whiskered carp and the cloud-stepping lynx cub.

The lynx cub maintained a haughty demeanor in front of Lu Xuan, but its true feelings occasionally leaked through the façade, revealing its actual thoughts.

After four mature Pure Snow Lotus plants, as if triggering a chain reaction, five more matured after a few days.

This batch was slightly inferior in quality compared to the first one. Among the five, one was of good quality, three were of superior quality, and only one was of impeccable quality.

"Harvested one Pure Snow Lotus, gaining nine months' worth of cultivation."

Lu Xuan picked up the white light mass appearing on the ground. Instantly, two thoughts flashed through his mind.

A profound surge of spiritual power surged within him out of nowhere, coursing through his body.

With closed eyes, he practiced his techniques, striving to control the sudden surge of power within him.

Once the power settled, Lu Xuan opened his eyes, a divine brilliance shining within them.

After adding another year and a half of cultivation, he felt that the spiritual power within him had reached the peak of the fourth layer of Qi cultivation.

From here on, diligent practice coupled with the maturation of a few more Pure Snow Lotus plants would smoothly propel him to the fifth layer.

"Harvested one Pure Snow Lotus, obtained a first-grade Expelling Evil Talisman."

A talisman that imprisoned malevolent spirits materialized in Lu Xuan's hand.

He stored it in his storage bag, commencing a new accumulation of talismans.

"Harvested one Pure Snow Lotus, gained mastery in Wood Growth Technique."

The white light mass entered his mind, granting him an experience packet of Wood Growth Technique.

Instantly, insights into the principles of Wood Growth Technique, the process of its application, control of spiritual power, flashed through his mind.

Lu Xuan's understanding and mastery of this technique became more profound.

From novice to adept in Wood Growth Technique.

Approaching the Crimson Cloud Pine, Lu Xuan manipulated his spiritual power, guiding a faint green essence into the slender pine needles.

In an instant, he sensed a faint gathering of wood-based spiritual power around the Crimson Cloud Pine, brimming with vitality, assimilating into the plant.

Concentrating on the Crimson Cloud Pine, although there seemed to be no apparent change, its immediate condition revealed the subtle influence of the wood-based spiritual power.

Experimenting with the newly acquired Wood Growth Technique, Lu Xuan then focused his attention on the last white light mass.

This particular light mass was the result of the only Pure Snow Lotus of impeccable quality, thus holding higher expectations for it.

"Harvested one Pure Snow Lotus, obtained a drop of Grass Spirit Essence."

A fleeting thought crossed Lu Xuan's mind.

Instantly, a drop of emerald liquid appeared in his hand.

Resembling a raindrop, about half the size of his thumb, semi-solidified, radiating a vigorous vitality throughout its body.

"Grass Spirit Essence, condensed and refined from a large amount of plant essence. It contains a rich plant-based aura, suitable for nourishing spirit beasts that consume plant-based aura or for refining related elixirs, integrating into artifacts, formations, puppets, and other related treasures."

"Grass Spirit Essence sounds promising, but how should I use it?"

Holding the quivering and potentially fragile essence, Lu Xuan fell into contemplation.

"I remember there's a ready-made grass puppet, crafted from special withered grass, precisely a treasure of the plant-based category."

Lu Xuan glanced at the grass puppet stationed in the corner.

He acquired it secondhand from the wandering market, rumored to originate from the renowned Thousand Mechanisms Sect, possessing straightforward behavioral patterns.

Alerting Lu Xuan to outsiders or demonic creatures invading the spiritual field, the grass puppet had even intercepted a fatal blow from Qin Ming, an intermediate Qi cultivation practitioner, once.

"I've been feeding you crushed spirits regularly, but today, let's try something different."

Lu Xuan approached the grass puppet, bending down and inserting the Grass Spirit Essence into the large dried grass lump on its head.

The once grayish lump swiftly turned green before his eyes.

"Hey, I've helped you dye this thing green."

Lu Xuan chuckled softly, noticing the grass puppet's lack of reaction, and proceeded to inspect the other spirit plants in the field.

Half a day later, he returned to the corner of the yard and found the green hue on the grass puppet's head had significantly faded. Moreover, after absorbing the Grass Spirit Essence, the grass puppet had undergone notable changes.

Originally, it remained quietly stationed in the corner of the spiritual field, only moving if any external intrusion occurred.

Lacking self-mobility and possessing no intelligence, it merely executed a few simple commands.

However, having digested the Grass Spirit Essence, Lu Xuan noticed a hint of faint intelligence. Surprisingly, it voluntarily turned its head to observe its surroundings.

When Lu Xuan ordered it to patrol the spiritual field, the grass puppet seemed to understand and moved at an extremely slow pace.

Simultaneously, the dried gray grass on it underwent more changes, becoming sturdier. It could instantly shoot out numerous grass ropes or coil and form a thicker and longer rope.

The only unchanged aspect remained its sluggish reaction time, acting on Lu Xuan's commands after a considerable delay.

"With the expanded area of the spiritual field, your task has become more demanding. Remember to patrol the field if you're free in the future."

Lu Xuan earnestly advised the grass puppet.

Unmoved, the grassy face on its unusually large head stared blankly at Lu Xuan.

As Lu Xuan departed, a faint hint of green light seemed to flicker within the gray grass, and soon after, the grass puppet ambled slowly within the spiritual field, its massive grassy head carrying a still-green lump.

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