https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-13-Little-Uncle-Lu-Do-You-Want-Spirit-Stones-/12543680/
Chapter 12: Sword Grass
Chapter 12: Sword Grass
Upon returning home, Lu Chen took out the withered spirit seed from his pocket and examined it carefully.
The dry seed was long and slender like a sword, with a grayish-black hue. Perhaps due to its diminished vitality, it appeared slightly shriveled.
Although Xu Wan had already informed Lu Chen that she and Zhang Hong had attempted to cultivate another identical seed without success, Lu Chen was confident in his ability to nurture it.
After all, if he could successfully plant this withered seed, he would be able to understand its subtle needs through real-time feedback and make up for any deficiencies, greatly increasing his chances of success.
Wasting no time, Lu Chen found a small patch of empty space in his spirit field and manipulated the earth with his Earth-Drawing Technique, creating a delicate fissure just large enough to accommodate the sword-like seed.
After burying the seed, Lu Chen continued to manipulate the earth, gathering the faint spiritual energy from his spirit field and channeling it towards the seed.
The Earth-Drawing Technique had undergone a qualitative change after absorbing several experience packets, allowing Lu Chen not only to alter the terrain within a localized area but also to slightly influence the flow of spiritual energy in his spirit field.
As the faint spiritual energy from the soil integrated with the seed, Lu Chen's consciousness trembled with anticipation.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Sword Grass, a second-grade spirit plant. Once mature, its blades resemble sharp and resilient swords, making it an innate material for refining flying swords."
"It feels parched, craving a drenching spiritual rain to quench its thirst!"
Dismissing the thought, Lu Chen's heart filled with joy.
Just as he had expected, planting this seed not only granted him insight into the corresponding spirit plant but also revealed the seed's precise needs.
Without hesitation, he manipulated the spiritual energy within his body, and above the withered seed, a misty vapor appeared, soon followed by a gentle spiritual rain that permeated the soil.
The Sword Grass seed, parched for so long, greedily absorbed the nourishing rain.
After a round of spiritual rain, Lu Chen probed the seed with his spiritual sense and found that it was still in a withered state.
"More, I need more. The more water, the better."
"A mere second-grade spirit seed, and my cultivation at the third layer of Qi Refinement is not enough to satisfy you?"
Lu Chen scoffed, his mastery over the Rain Technique allowing him to effortlessly summon another round of spiritual rain.
"More, I still want more!"
Lu Chen coldly huffed, determined to saturate the seed.
...
After seventeen rounds of the Rain Technique, Lu Chen gritted his teeth and once again manipulated his spiritual energy.
The spiritual energy above the seed stirred, but soon faded without a single drop of spiritual rain falling.
"It's gone. There's truly not a drop left."
He stood up shakily, feeling dizzy and lightheaded from the negative effects of overusing his spiritual energy.
Despite his stabilized cultivation at the third layer of Qi Refinement, which was much more robust than before, even his abundant spiritual energy couldn't withstand such continuous and relentless usage.
Focusing his consciousness on the Sword Grass seed, he heard its yearning.
"More, I need more..."
Lu Chen shivered and quickly moved away, fearing the seed's insatiable thirst.
However, the repeated nurturing with the Rain Technique hadn't been in vain. He sensed that the seed in the soil had plumped up considerably, brimming with vitality.
Over the next two days, Lu Chen focused his attention on this second-grade Sword Grass seed, tending to it in addition to his basic care for the other spirit plants.
After countless rounds of the Rain Technique, the real-time status of the spirit seed finally changed.
"Sword Grass, a second-grade spirit plant. Requires a certain amount of spiritual energy during cultivation, as well as periodic nurturing with sword qi to stimulate its growth."
"It needs sword qi nurturing. Indeed, a second-grade spirit plant has demands beyond the ordinary. I suspect that the main reason for Zhang Hong's failure was their inability to provide sword qi stimulation, as spirit seeds are typically delicate and fragile, and one would rarely think to expose them to sword qi."
He channeled his spiritual energy, and with his mental control, a faint golden sword qi deftly emerged from his fingers, penetrating the soil of the spirit field and striking the Sword Grass spirit seed.
In that instant, Lu Chen thought he heard a faint sword cry from the seed within the soil, and then the golden sword qi seeped into the seed, leaving a shallow golden pattern on the greyish-black surface.
He repeated the process, sending out three more strands of golden sword qi to leave their mark on the seed. Satisfied that the sword qi was sufficient, he stopped.
He would have to wait for the golden patterns on the seed to fade before he could nourish it with new sword qi.
"Finally, the planting was successful, and it's now in the growth stage."
"I wonder what kind of light sphere reward a second-grade spirit plant will bring..."
Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief as he sensed the subtle changes in the Sword Grass spirit seed through his spiritual awareness.
The more he experienced, the more he realized the importance of being able to monitor the real-time status of his spirit plants.
"Perhaps I can go to the market or look for unknown spirit seeds at the loose cultivators' stalls?"
"While they don't appear often, there are indeed wild spirit seeds out there."
"They naturally occur with a certain probability when spirit plants mature, but they can also be obtained from other cultivators or demons. Not to mention the various secret realms where all sorts of strange things can be found."
"Perhaps other cultivators also have some unknown spirit seeds. For them, it's challenging to assess the value and successfully cultivate the seeds if they don't know the type."
"But I'm different. I can understand the cultivation conditions and have a high chance of success as long as I can meet those conditions. Plus, I get the light sphere rewards."
The more Lu Chen thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. However, the thought of his dwindling supply of spirit stones quickly brought him back to reality.
"At the end of the day, buying unknown spirit seeds is a gamble. While I may have a higher chance of winning, it's not a sure bet. More importantly, I don't have enough spirit stones to participate."
After all, buying wild spirit seeds was a risky endeavor. First, there was no guarantee that they could be successfully cultivated. Second, one wouldn't know their grade; it might be a first or second-grade seed, but it could also be ungraded and thus a potential loss.
"I'll wait until Zhang Hong and the others return from their secret realm expedition. The spirit seeds from the secret realm are more likely to be of higher grade, and there will be more varieties circulating in the market."
In Lu Chen's memory, he rarely saw stalls selling wild spirit seeds in the marketplace during his usual strolls. Even if there were any, they mostly offered familiar varieties, and unknown spirit seeds were almost never seen.
He decided to let things take their course. For now, he would focus on accumulating knowledge about spirit plants, keep an eye out in the marketplace, and try to acquire unknown spirit seeds if he had enough spirit stones.
For the moment, the spirit plants in his yard required his attention.
The twenty Spirit Glowworms were thriving, their leaves luxuriantly stretching out after being thoroughly nourished by the spirit rain, with specks of glowing light resembling twinkling stars reflecting in the daylight.
The Red Cloud Pine had grown about two inches taller, its fine red needle-like leaves even denser, resembling a porcupine under the stimulation of the Fireball Technique.
As for the Moon-Eclipsing Fruit, it had entered a rapid maturation phase.
(End of Chapter)
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