Chapter 57
Zhou Haiwen tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long while.
The thought of soon obtaining a method to cultivate perfect-quality spirit plants made him extremely excited, rendering him unable to calm down.
After Lu Xuan refused to impart the technique for cultivating perfect-quality spirit plants, Zhou Haiwen returned home, growing more and more resentful. His greed swelled, eventually leading him to enlist the help of a familiar cultivator, intending to directly seize the secret from Lu Xuan.
Even though his refinement of spirit plants had improved their quality, upon seeing Lu Xuan's achievements, he wasn't content with the slight progress. He desired to directly cultivate perfect-quality spirit plants.
"It's been more than an hour; he should be back soon."
Lying in bed, he estimated the time his friend might return.
But after waiting for a while, there was still no movement.
"What if something unexpected happened?"
Zhou Haiwen furrowed his brow, worrying.
"It couldn't be an accident. That kid is just a third-level Qi cultivator, with no time to cultivate spiritual power or techniques. Even if I went, I'd be extremely confident, let alone a fifth-level Qi cultivator with deeper cultivation and expertise in combat."
"Perhaps the delay occurred after dealing with him. After all, whether harvesting spirit plants or handling matters afterward, it all takes time."
"I hired him with the promise to let him have all the spirit plants as long as he hands over the scrolls or jade slips. He's not a spirit plant cultivator, so he shouldn't have the thought of swallowing the cultivation method."
The middle-aged cultivator Zhou Haiwen optimistically analyzed, envisioning himself obtaining the cultivation method, cultivating perfect-quality spirit plants, and gaining recognition from the Hundred Herbs Hall or even prominent market families...
A bright future lay ahead.
While lost in this reverie, his eyes suddenly lit up.
A brilliant sword aura swiftly arrived, about to pierce the lying middle-aged cultivator. But with a nimble turn, it swiftly redirected towards the cultivator's head at an incredible speed, penetrating it ruthlessly and leaving a bright golden light in his mind as the final scene.
Lu Xuan, light as a feather, floated into the room, taking the storage pouch from the middle-aged cultivator's waist.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
Then, two first-grade Explosive Flame Talismans were triggered, instantly setting ablaze the cultivator's corpse and the furniture in the room, eradicating all traces left by Lu Xuan's appearance and the hole caused by the sword technique.
After tallying his gains, Lu Xuan focused on the array outside the courtyard.
The intrusion of the masked cultivator made it more urgent for him to change the array.
With his cultivation advancing rapidly and the increasing number and quality of spirit plants in the spirit field, the first-grade array left behind wasn't quite sufficient. Against mid-level Qi cultivators, the protection of a first-grade protective array was limited. Adding something like a second-grade Expelling Evil Talisman would effortlessly break the array.
Having over three hundred spirit stones in hand, he had enough to acquire a second-grade protective array.
Unknowingly, dawn broke, but Lu Xuan didn't rest. Instead, he went to the spirit field to check the state of the spirit plants.
Luckily, the skirmish with the masked cultivator last night hadn't affected the spirit plants in the field.
Lu Xuan made a round, and the condition of all the spirit plants was good. Especially the Dark Marrow Fungus seemed to have grown more, perhaps due to a special fertilizer added to the spirit soil, as there were more dark red mycelia spreading.
Among the thin red pine needles of the Crimson Cloud Pine, two pine seeds had fully matured.
Lu Xuan harvested the first one; the pine seeds were of superior quality, slightly better than the first pine seed he had harvested previously.
A white light orb appeared at the spot where the Crimson Cloud Pine seed was harvested.
Lu Xuan absorbed it, and the orb transformed into numerous dots of light surging into his body.
A thought flashed in his mind.
"Harvested one Crimson Cloud Pine seed, obtained a volume of 'Comprehensive Collection of Basic Talismans.'"
Countless pieces of knowledge about talism
ans flooded into Lu Xuan's sea of consciousness, nearly bursting his head.
It contained the methods of crafting dozens of common first-grade talismans, the types of materials required, handling procedures, and the drawing of runes.
"The rewards after the maturation of first-grade spirit plants are truly different. I remember that a perfect-quality Spirit Fireflies Grass would yield a formula for a first-grade spirit replenishing pellet, while a Crimson Cloud Pine seed directly provides a volume detailing the creation of dozens of first-grade talismans."
Lu Xuan compared and eagerly looked towards the other matured Crimson Cloud Pine seed.
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