You Cultivate, I Farm

In a corner of the spiritual field, Lu Xuan, having mostly healed the ailing spiritual plants, harvested and stowed them away in his storage pouch.

There were twelve ailing spiritual plants of first rank, along with an additional four of second rank obtained through previous purchases, still some time away from maturity.

Without the reward of the white luminous spheres and considering the severe damage to the plants, Lu Xuan didn't contemplate enhancing their quality further; once they matured enough, it would suffice.

Among the pouch's contents were eleven first-rank Blood Jade Ginseng plants. With his Cloud-Treading Lynx, Lu Xuan made his way to the Hundred Herbs Hall.

At the hall, upon seeing Lu Xuan, Steward He's face brightened.

"Lu lad, any matured spiritual plants again?"

"The ailing ones we bought last time have healed to some extent, and over a half year, the Blood Jade Ginseng from the hall has matured, so I've come to deal with them."

"Of course, primarily to see you, sir."

Lu Xuan smiled, accepting a cup of spirit tea from an apprentice and expressing gratitude.

"You think of me falsely; it's the spirit stones in my hand that are true. Come."

Lu Xuan first took out the twelve healed ailing spiritual plants and placed them on the counter.

Steward He appraised the quality of these plants one by one, mostly inferior to average quality. Their prices were lower than normal first-rank spiritual plants, earning Lu Xuan nearly two hundred spirit stones.

"There are also eleven Blood Jade Ginseng plants."

Lu Xuan gestured, and eleven perfectly translucent plants, resembling blood-red jade stones, emitting rich and pure spiritual energy, appeared on the counter.

"This is…"

The thin, elderly man who had handled spiritual plants for countless years immediately recognized the extraordinary quality of these Blood Jade Ginseng. Carefully cradling them in his palm, he examined them closely.

"Superb quality, rare to come by. Many plant cultivators haven't even managed such quality."

"Good quality, impressive."

"Is there one of perfect quality?"

Steward He couldn't help but glance at Lu Xuan, lounging nearby sipping his tea. It was hard to imagine this young lad cultivating a perfect first-rank spiritual plant.

Although Lu Xuan had previously brought several perfect-grade No-Rank Fireflies, growing a perfect-quality first-rank spiritual plant was a considerably higher challenge.

He collected himself, organizing the Blood Jade Ginseng on the counter.

"Eleven Blood Jade Ginseng plants: six are of good quality, four of superior quality, and one is of perfect quality."

"Twenty-five spirit stones each for good quality, twenty-seven for superior, and thirty for perfect. How does that sound?"

"Fine, sir, your decision prevails."

Lu Xuan waved, indicating the old man had the final say.

"A total of two hundred and eighty-eight spirit stones, lad, it's all yours."

Steward He quickly tallied and handed all the spirit stones to Lu Xuan.

With the addition of the two hundred or so spirit stones from the twelve first-rank ailing spiritual plants, Lu Xuan's wealth now surpassed eight hundred spirit stones. Among freelancers, this was considered substantial.

"I hadn't noticed before, but you have an innate talent for cultivating spiritual plants. To manage perfect-grade first-rank spiritual plants is impressive."

"It's no ambition, just an ordinary plant cultivator dedicated day and night to this path."

Lu Xuan chuckled.

"The only ambition I have is to cultivate more and better spiritual plants."

"Sigh, you're young yet giving up on cultivation, not engaging in sparring, seeking opportunities, solely focused on plants. I don't know whether to admire your single-mindedness or call it pure stubbornness."

The thin elder sighed.

"But with your skills in cultivating plants, even with average cultivation, many powers will vie for you, seeing you as a prized asset."

They chatted for a while.

"When I and the young mistress returned to the hall last time, she instructed me: if there are good spiritual seeds or plant saplings, prioritize you as on par with the hall's cultivators."

Steward He suddenly informed Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan nodded, understanding that in the freelance cooperation model, he wouldn't have the same planting rights as the hall's cultivators. If there were excellent seeds or saplings, the hall's gardens would take priority, only then would they be sold at a lower price to freelancers.

As per the old man's words, although the cooperation remained the same, Lu Xuan's rights over selecting seeds and saplings had increased slightly.

"Do you have any good recommendations?"

"I have a few first-rank spiritual seeds of excellent quality. You can freely choose as per your needs."

"Also, I happen to have several saplings of second-rank spiritual plants called Copper Bone Bamboo. What do you think?"

Lu Xuan pondered; he didn't currently need first-rank plants. With over a hundred low-rank plants like No-Rank Fireflies and his desire to try growing Blood Jade Ginseng himself, coupled with limited space in the spiritual field, he decided to focus on quality over quantity.

"Then, please, fetch those five saplings of second-rank Copper Bone Bamboo, sir."

Before long, the elder retrieved five purplish-red small bamboos, their surface gleaming metallic, with raised joints in a dark golden hue.

"These are the second-rank Copper Bone Bamboo, excellent materials for crafting artifacts, especially flying swords. When ground into powder, they can be added to certain special elixirs."

Steward He explained.

"If bought elsewhere, a sapling might cost around forty to fifty spirit stones. Due to our cooperation, you can have each for thirty-five spirit stones."

"Okay, I'll take all five."

Lu Xuan, with his newfound wealth, boldly declared.

He handed over a hundred and seventy-five spirit stones to Steward He, taking possession of the five saplings of second-rank Copper Bone Bamboo.

As the Hundred Herbs Hall wasn't too far from his residence, moving them wouldn't greatly affect the saplings' vitality. Furthermore, the third-rank Life-Sustaining Bag was more conspicuous, so Lu Xuan packed them directly into a cloth bag, bid farewell to the elder, and headed home.

At the Wang Family residence,

"Father, according to the latest news from the new secret realm, our clan's cultivators have begun reaching the core region. However, the prohibitions inside are extremely potent, slowing down our progress."

"And, a highly troublesome evil aura has emerged within the realm, able to inhabit the bodies of deceased cultivators, disguising itself and causing unnecessary casualties among our ranks."

The handsome youth, Wang Chong'an, reported to the patriarch of the Wang family.

"It seems difficult for our family to monopolize the secret realm. Spread the news, invite other powerful factions from the market to join in and help break the prohibitions, sharing the benefits."

"As for those malevolent entities, aren't the two spirit beasts your fellow disciples nurturing particularly adept at detecting and tracking them? Invite them to explore the secret realm and eliminate those entities."

"Yes." Wang Chong'an respectfully complied.

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