You Cultivate, I Farm

"Finally, home."

Lu Xuan stood before the gate of his family's courtyard, overwhelmed with emotions.

"Luckily, there are kind souls in the cultivation world who brought me back to the market."

After encountering the initial three cultivators, he encountered two more groups, each generously insisting on giving him their storage pouches.

It wasn't until the fourth encounter with two cultivators that they agreed to bring Lu Xuan back to Lin Yangfang Market.

During the return journey, without the second-grade Iron Feathered Eagle for transportation, their pace slowed significantly, taking four to five days to reach the market.

With a creak, the gate opened, emitting a familiar spiritual aura in the courtyard. Lu Xuan took a deep breath, feeling at peace.

"Lu Dao You, you're finally back."

From a distance, Wu Wenjing called out, squinting to observe Lu Xuan.

"I heard you went to that new secret realm; I was worried I'd lose a drinking buddy! Glad you're back safe and sound."

The elder chuckled.

"I had no choice. A cultivator from the Wang family invited me, and I couldn't refuse."

Lu Xuan shrugged.

"There were some minor incidents in the secret realm, but luckily, everything turned out fine, and I made it back."

"Oh, by the way, Wu Dao You, during my absence, did anyone visit the area outside my courtyard?"

Wu Wenjing shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

"A young man surnamed Zhang came by to play, and the steward from Hundred Herbs Hall stopped by almost every day. Other than that, I haven't seen anyone else."

"Alright, thanks a lot, Wu Dao You. Let me tidy up and I'll come over for a drink."

Lu Xuan remembered Zhang Xiuyuan and Steward He as he spoke.

Entering the courtyard, he didn't rest but headed straight for the spiritual field.

Inside, a mist lingered.

The grass puppet sensed an intrusion and turned its large grey head towards Lu Xuan. After recognizing his aura, it paused, took a few breaths, then resumed patrolling the field, its steps seemingly lighter.

Lu Xuan scanned the field, everything seemed normal, putting his mind at ease. He then approached the Spirit Spring pool.

In the crystal-clear pool, four first-grade Iron-Clawed Crab juveniles occupied different corners, blowing transparent bubbles.

Without feeding for over ten days, Lu Xuan noticed their abdomens had flattened.

The most rebellious one, with a bulging eye on its head, noticed Lu Xuan leaning in and lifted its large dark claws, exhibiting an arrogant demeanor.

"Excellent. You're still the same Iron-Clawed Crab as before, not a hint of change."

Lu Xuan gazed at the defiant crab with immense satisfaction.

At the center of the Spirit Spring pool, surrounded by mud and stone walls, the Pure Snow Lotus had quietly grown a white, jade-like pod over the past ten days, hinting at the embryonic form of a lotus seed within.

"What an unexpected delight."

Lu Xuan focused on the Pure Snow Lotus, seeing the progress bar almost reaching completion, filling him with joy.

Before leaving the spiritual field, Lu Xuan harvested all the Spirit Firefly Grass and placed the third-grade Illusory Smoke Fruit and Dragonvine in the Life-Sustaining Bag. Aside from the Pure Snow Lotus, he only had three second-grade Clear Spirit Teas and five Copper Bone Bamboos.

Moreover, tucked away in a corner were the four second-grade distorted spiritual plants he had acquired earlier.

After neglecting them for over ten days, both the Clear Spirit Tea and Copper Bone Bamboo didn't seem in great shape. Lu Xuan hurriedly fetched some Spirit Spring water to pour on the roots of the tea and sprinkled some fine iron dust around the bamboo.

Once he tended to the spiritual plants, Lu Xuan opened the Life-Sustaining Bag, and the Cloud-Stepping Lynx leaped out, landing gracefully on the ground.

"Roar…"

It stretched its limbs, letting out a gentle growl.

Most of its time in the secret realm had been spent inside the Life-Sustaining Bag, almost causing its joints to rust.

Lu Xuan then retrieved the Illusory Smoke Fruit and Dragonvine from the bag. Despite their time inside, both showed little decline in vitality.

Placing them back in the spiritual field, Lu Xuan focused his consciousness on these two third-grade spiritual plants.

The Illusory Smoke Fruit rapidly emitted white smoke from within, expanding and concealing the fruit in a misty haze.

As for the Dragonvine, Lu Xuan sensed its intense longing for serpent blood along its vines. He hastily poured some Azure Python blood onto the black vines.

The vines greedily absorbed the red-green mixture, and soon, the previously withered vines began to revive, slithering like a poisonous snake. Patterns of red and green surfaced on its vines, adding a peculiar allure.

After nurturing the spiritual plants, Lu Xuan returned to the house, taking stock of his gains from this expedition.

Though the trip was for identifying and separating spiritual plants for the Wang family, despite unexpected events, the rewards were plentiful.

Among them, the most significant was obtaining five dormant Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms. Getting five third-grade spiritual plants meant awakening them with refined Yin Soul Resentment.

Their eerie appearance and cultivation methods didn't bother Lu Xuan much.

After experimenting with feeding spirits to the Illusory Smoke Fruit and uncovering its true nature, Lu Xuan wasn't concerned about cultivating such peculiar plants. If given the chance, he might even consider raising a little spirit.

Additionally, there were dozens of pre-sorted Dragon Whisker Grass plants, likely harboring several mutated plants. He also needed to separate the abnormal strands from the normal ones.

Lu Xuan had a method to swiftly identify and isolate normal Dragon Whisker Grass.

Second-grade spiritual plants could fetch quite a sum in spirit stones.

Regarding spirit stones, he received a hundred from the Wang family, over two hundred from Li Jianfeng's pouch, and a total of over two hundred from several other cultivators. Lu Xuan's wealth was now close to surpassing a thousand spirit stones.

Furthermore, there were two second-grade artifacts, several pouches, various first-grade talismans, pills, a heap of low-tier beast materials, and spiritual herbs.

There was also the peculiar scabbard that seemed drawn to his Dao Center's Xun-Lei Sword Pill but had remained inactive these past few days.

However, if it attracted the interest of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator and a Dao Initiation stage cultivator simultaneously, it might be an extraordinary treasure.

Lastly, there was the supposedly prestigious Green Cloud Token left by the aloof female cultivator, allowing easy entry into the Sky Sword Sect.

"No wonder many independent cultivators are keen on exploring secret realms and competing for opportunities. The benefits are enormous."

"However, it also harbors considerable risks. Incursions of malevolent spirits, tracking, and unscrupulous cultivators scheming— a misstep could lead to danger."

"It's better to peacefully cultivate spiritual plants."

Lu Xuan couldn't help but sigh.

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