Chapter 10: Silver-Splitting Blade
Chapter 10: Silver-Splitting Blade
The rental fee for the yard spirit field was five spirit stones per month, paid every six months, and the next payment was due in less than a month.
With most of his spirit stones about to be spent, and the spirit plants in the field still some time away from maturity, Lu Chen decided to save the remaining stones for future needs.
The spirit field was already maximized, and even if he had enough spirit stones, there would be no room to plant new spirit seeds. So, he returned home with just over fifty spirit stones in hand.
Upon arriving home, he shut himself in, almost secluded from the outside world, focusing solely on nurturing his spirit plants.
After several days, the silver-white fruits on the two Eclipsing Moon Trees grew rounder and fuller, like full moons hanging from the branches.
They were almost ready to enter the maturation stage.
Lu Chen quickly counted the fruits; there were about forty-two Eclipsing Moon Fruits.
Based on his understanding of market prices, each fruit was worth around one spirit stone, with little fluctuation.
However, due to his meticulous care, the dozens of fruits were of decent quality. Lu Chen estimated most to be of good quality, with a few even reaching excellent standards.
"Little Lu, are you home?"
One day, a familiar childish voice called out from outside the courtyard.
Lu Chen opened the gate, and a lively seven-year-old boy with a resemblance to Zhang Hong squeezed through the door. This was Zhang Hong's son, Zhang Xiuyuan, who often visited Lu Chen due to their close age gap.
"I thought you weren't home! You always keep the door closed. I haven't seen you in a while!" Zhang Xiuyuan complained as he jumped and hugged the Grass Puppet.
"Little Grass, long time no see, I missed you!" The Grass Puppet was hugged tightly, and despite sensing an outsider in the yard, it still extended a gray grass rope towards Lu Chen, dutifully guarding the spirit field.
"Alright, alright, your little friend's head is going to fall off if you hug him any tighter." Lu Chen laughed, seeing the gray grass tumor on the Grass Puppet's head about to fall off, and spoke to the overly enthusiastic Zhang Xiuyuan.
The two returned to the house.
Zhang Xiuyuan slumped into a wooden chair, staring blankly at the spirit plants in the yard.
"It's still more comfortable at your place, Little Lu. I don't have to practice cultivation techniques or study spirit herbs and spirit minerals."
Lu Chen couldn't help but chuckle, reminded of the children from his previous life who struggled with their studies.
"By the way, have you heard anything from your father?" he asked Zhang Xiuyuan.
"It's too early for that. The journey there alone takes half a month!"
"But my dad is so strong. He'll definitely kill lots of demons and bring back lots of treasures for me." Zhang Xiuyuan's eyes lit up with admiration as he spoke of his father, who seemed larger than life in his eyes, capable of weathering any storm.
Lu Chen nodded and chatted with the boy a little longer before heading out to the spirit field to check on the plants' growth.
Whether it was the progress bars, instant status, or the white light orbs that appeared after maturation, only Lu Chen could see them. So, he wasn't worried that Zhang Xiuyuan would notice anything unusual about the spirit field.
"Little Lu, you seem busy with the spirit field. Do you need any help?" Zhang Xiuyuan asked after resting for a while, seeing Lu Chen still hard at work.
"No, no, don't touch anything. I can manage by myself," Lu Chen quickly replied, half-jokingly. He knew that one of the factors influencing the reward orbs was his own participation in the cultivation process.
If Zhang Xiuyuan's help affected the richness of the orbs, it would be a loss rather than a gain.
With each question, Zhang Xiuyuan's expression grew more and more somber, and after Lu Chen finished, he waved his hand dismissively and ran out.
"I'm never coming here to play again!"
"Hahaha!"
Lu Chen laughed mercilessly.
He didn't try to appease the child, knowing that his temper flared up and faded quickly. He was sure that it wouldn't be long before Zhang Xiuyuan came back to play with him again.
True to his word, Zhang Xiuyuan didn't visit for the next three days, and Lu Chen enjoyed his peace, tending to his spirit plants daily—the Luminous Grass and the Red Cloud Pine—and watching the Eclipsing Moon Fruits ripen day by day.
Finally, with his full concentration, Lu Chen discovered that the four Eclipsing Moon Fruits had reached their peak of maturity.
All four fruits were of good quality, a testament to his careful care over the past days.
He carefully plucked them and placed them into a specially crafted container.
Then, his gaze was drawn to the four white light orbs floating above the Eclipsing Moon Trees.
The orbs flickered with specks of white light.
As Lu Chen absorbed the first one, a thought flashed through his mind.
"Harvested one Eclipsing Moon Fruit, obtained a first-grade artifact, Silver-Splitting Blade (Incomplete)
."
A slender object appeared in Lu Chen's hand.
"A first-grade artifact!"
Lu Chen was astonished and carefully examined the object in his hand.
It was a slender, thin strip, as thin as a finger, with an irregular shape. The part he was holding felt icy cold, and the edges looked incredibly sharp.
Lu Chen controlled the thin strip with his spiritual sense and willed it to move.
The strip transformed into an almost invisible silver light and pierced deeply into the stone wall.
"What astonishing power! It truly lives up to its name as a first-grade artifact. But what does this 'Incomplete' mean?"
"Is this artifact not whole? But it feels so powerful even in this state..."
Lu Chen was puzzled as he looked at the remaining three white light orbs.
"Harvested one Eclipsing Moon Fruit, obtained a first-grade artifact, Silver-Splitting Blade (Incomplete)
."
"Harvested one Eclipsing Moon Fruit, obtained a first-grade talisman, Clarity Talisman."
"Harvested one Eclipsing Moon Fruit, obtained a first-grade artifact, Silver-Splitting Blade (Incomplete)
."
The Clarity Talisman could help cultivators maintain a clear state of mind for extended periods, preventing them from being influenced by evil spirits. It was a valuable auxiliary talisman.
As for the other two white light orbs...
Lu Chen stared at the three silver-white strips in his hand, momentarily stunned.
Each of the three strips had a unique shape, but they all shared the same sharp edges, living up to their reputation as first-grade artifacts.
Moreover, Lu Chen also discovered that he could control all three fragments of the Silver-Splitting Blade simultaneously.
Normally, with his current cultivation level at the third layer of Qi Refinement, it would be extremely difficult for him to control three first-grade artifacts at once.
"Could it be that these three irregular strips originated from the same artifact? Perhaps the Silver-Splitting Blade will only be complete when all the pieces are assembled together?"
Lu Chen compared the edges of the strips, and his guess seemed more plausible.
"I wonder how many pieces are needed to reassemble the complete Silver-Splitting Blade."
"I hope that the remaining thirty-eight Eclipsing Moon Fruits will yield as many Silver-Splitting Blade fragments as possible."
"Even though these fragments are useful, who wouldn't want a complete artifact instead of a broken one?"
Lu Chen gazed at the Eclipsing Moon Fruits hanging on the tree like jade plates and couldn't help but think about it.
(End of Chapter)
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