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Chapter 110: Laughing Even in Death
Chapter 110: Laughing Even in Death
Lu Chen tended to the Monkey-Faced Orchids with utmost care, specifically selecting six of them and secretly assigning them numbers. He fed these marked orchids to different spirit insects and recorded their changing expressions over time, diligently searching for patterns.
Three days later, under Lu Chen's adjusted cultivation methods, all six Monkey-faced Orchids maintained a constant smile or laughter throughout the day.
"I must say, you seem to be quite comfortable here," Lu Chen remarked to the orchids.
Feeling pleased with his discovery, Lu Chen decided to share his findings with Senior Sister Yao.
The beautiful woman lived alone in a small courtyard with three elegant wooden houses and a small garden filled with rare and exotic flowers.
"Senior Sister Yao, are you there? I have a matter to discuss with you," Lu Chen called out as he knocked on the door.
"Come in, Lu Chen. What is it that you need?" Senior Sister Yao emerged from the house with a smile, her curiosity piqued.
"I've made an interesting discovery while cultivating the Monkey-Faced Orchids, and I believe it may slightly improve their quality. That's why I've come to report it to you," Lu Chen explained.
"Oh? What have you found?" Senior Sister Yao asked, a hint of skepticism mixed with curiosity flashing in her eyes.
"After observing and studying them for some time, I've noticed a correlation between the expressions on the orchid's petals and their internal state. By adjusting our cultivation methods according to their expressions and trying to meet their needs, we may be able to enhance the quality of these spiritual plants," Lu Chen said in a low voice.
"Previous cultivators of the Monkey-Faced Orchid had suspected as much, but in the end, they found no underlying secrets, and so they resorted to conventional cultivation methods, ignoring those peculiar expressions," Senior Sister Yao replied.
"Could you elaborate on the secrets hidden within their expressions, Lu Chen?" Senior Sister Yao asked, noticing his furrowed brow as he pretended to ponder.
"If your method proves effective, I will surely report it truthfully to the Foundation Establishment cultivator backing our medicinal garden," she assured him, sensing his hesitation and concern.
If they could truly enhance the quality of the numerous second-grade Monkey-Faced Orchids in the garden, she would be just as rewarded as Lu Chen when reporting their findings to the Foundation Establishment cultivator. As the garden's manager, her contribution would be significant.
Therefore, there was no reason for her to keep Lu Chen's cultivation method a secret.
"You're too kind, Senior Sister Yao. I'm just organizing my thoughts," Lu Chen replied.
"The secret lies in the delay of their expressions. It's quite easy to misinterpret their reactions," Lu Chen explained. "There are two main factors influencing their facial expressions. Firstly, and most importantly, it's the spirit insects' preferences. The difference in their tastes will cause the Monkey-Faced Orchids to react with an expression after half an hour."
"The other factor is the Spirit Rain Technique. The amount of spiritual rain slightly affects the expressions on the orchid's petals, and this effect becomes noticeable after an hour or so."
"By observing and understanding these patterns, we can keep the orchids in a constant state of satisfaction, thus improving the quality of the plants."
"I see," Senior Sister Yao nodded, enlightenment dawning on her. The secret hidden in their expressions was quite simple, but without Lu Chen's insight, they might never have uncovered it.
"It seems that you indeed possess an exceptional talent for cultivating spiritual plants, Lu Chen," she couldn't help but admire.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll cultivate the Monkey-Faced Orchids in the spirit field according to your method. I believe your discovery will bring us pleasant surprises," Senior Sister Yao decided without hesitation.
"I disagree!" A plain-looking man named Yan Ping, his face reddening with agitation, interrupted from outside the wooden house. "The Monkey-Faced Orchid is a second-grade spiritual plant of immense value, and we have so many of them. How can we casually change their cultivation method as if it's a child's play?"
"Let's just stick to the original way of cultivating them. I strongly object to making any rash changes!" Yan Ping insisted.
"Lu Chen, there are many spirit plant cultivators in the Sky Sword Sect, and quite a few of them have tended to the Monkey-Faced Orchid. There are even Foundation Establishment cultivators among them," Yan Ping argued.
"None of them discovered the secret behind the orchid's expressions, yet now you, an outer sect disciple who recently joined the sect, claim to have figured it out. Aren't you being a bit too confident?"
"I've been taking care of these Monkey-Faced Orchids for a long time. You suddenly come along and suggest changing their cultivation method. If anything goes wrong, how will you take responsibility if the Foundation Establishment cultivator holds you accountable?" Yan Ping's chest heaved, revealing his inner turmoil.
Lu Chen fell silent. Yan Ping's words did hold some truth.
While Lu Chen was absolutely certain that he could improve the quality of the orchids, from Yan Ping's perspective, it seemed a bit hard to believe.
If the changes proved effective, Lu Chen wouldn't gain much credit, but if something went wrong, he would likely bear the brunt of the blame since Yan Ping had been cultivating and nurturing the Monkey-Faced Orchids for so long.
Amidst the silence, the beautiful woman stepped forward and spoke, "Senior Brother Yan's concerns are valid. After all, he has invested a lot of effort into these orchids, and any changes to the cultivation methods must be done with his consent."
"As for the method that Lu Chen mentioned, it's still in the experimental stage. So, I suggest we divide the nearly one hundred Monkey-Faced Orchids in the spirit field into two groups. One group will be cultivated using Senior Brother Yan's conventional method, and the other group will follow Lu Chen's approach."
"What do you two think of this suggestion?"
Lu Chen and Yan Ping nodded in agreement after a brief moment of eye contact.
In the blink of an eye, two months passed, and the Monkey-Faced Orchids in the spirit field entered the maturity stage.
During these two months, Lu Chen and Yan Ping had each diligently cared for their respective groups of orchids.
After their disagreement, the relationship between the two had become somewhat distant, and they only exchanged brief greetings when they happened to cross paths, without any further interaction.
Lu Chen didn't mind this and instead focused all his attention on cultivating the orchids.
When the Monkey-Faced Orchids reached the maturity stage, Senior Sister Yao didn't wait for the progress bar to fill up like Lu Chen had done previously. Instead, she directly plucked the petals from all the orchids.
The petals from the orchids cultivated by Lu Chen and Yan Ping were piled separately.
Lu Chen's stack displayed nothing but smiling expressions, and the gathering of over fifty smiling faces gave off a rather eerie impression.
"You'll be smiling even in death; at least I fulfilled all your subtle wishes during this time," Lu Chen remarked with a sigh as he glanced at Yan Ping's orchids, which exhibited a variety of expressions, creating a stark contrast.
"You two have worked hard during this period. I'll take care of tallying the mature Monkey-Faced Orchids," Senior Sister Yao said with a smile.
Lu Chen and Yan Ping nodded. Yan Ping's expression was solemn, as his rich experience in cultivating the orchids allowed him to discern the subtle differences in quality between the two groups.
"Senior Brother Yan, you harvested fifty-five mature Monkey-Faced Orchids. Among them, thirty-eight are of ordinary quality, fourteen are of good quality, and the remaining three are of superior quality," Senior Sister Yao reported with a calm expression. The quality of these orchids was largely in line with Yan Ping's expectations.
However, when he laid eyes on the over fifty orchids cultivated by Lu Chen, a torrent of emotions washed over him, and he struggled to maintain his composure.
(End of Chapter)
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