Chapter 143: The Spirit Crane's Breeding Problem
Chapter 143: The Spirit Crane's Breeding Problem
The Manual of Insects contained records of hundreds of exotic insects: Ironfire Ants, White Jade Mantises, Six-Winged Centipedes... Most of the insects listed were of the first or second rank, with only a handful being of the third rank, suitable for Qi Refining cultivators.
Among the insects mentioned was the Wood Toxic Toad that Lu Chen had encountered in his Spirit Plant Garden—a creature that feasted on other spiritual insects and beasts, particularly the Patterned Worm. It could change its form and color to match its surroundings, making it a master of concealment. Its venom was extremely potent, and a fully matured Wood Toxic Toad's poison was even capable of threatening a Qi Refining cultivator.
Lu Chen quickly skimmed through the manual, gaining insight into the breeding methods, propagation techniques, and control skills for various demonic insects.
"This manual might be considered a niche choice for ordinary cultivators, who would likely prefer more conventional techniques and spells. However, it will be of great use to me. If I succeed in cultivating these spirit insects, I should be able to obtain Orb rewards as well."
"Spirit insects generally have shorter life cycles than spirit beasts, and many varieties are bred on a large scale, resulting in greater numbers and, consequently, more Orbs as a reward."
With these thoughts in mind, Lu Chen decided to seek out insect eggs or larvae to begin his own cultivation attempts when the opportunity arose.
He then proceeded to take inventory of his gains from the recent pest control endeavor.
In terms of spirit stones, he had received five hundred from the Zhang family head, plus an additional amount from the cultivator's storage bag, totaling around six hundred spirit stones.
Additionally, Yao Qing had rewarded him with forty Sword Seals for completing the task, along with the Manual of Insects and several low-grade pills and magical artifacts.
"The fish pond explosion was quite the experience, and the task itself was relatively easy with generous rewards," Lu Chen mused to himself, quickly catching and adjusting his mindset to prevent complacency. "However, I must not become careless. There could be a hidden dragon lurking in that pond. It's best to remain within the sect, cultivating my spirit plants and beasts."
He put away the manual and made his way to the spirit field.
The spirit plants had fared well in his brief absence, with the most noticeable change being the numerous sword marks on the spirit soil between the two Sword Grasses, testifying to their frequent clandestine duels.
"This is a good way to keep them active and promote growth," Lu Chen noted with satisfaction. After a thorough inspection that revealed no damage to the Sword Grass plants, he decided to maintain the status quo and refrain from transplanting one of them elsewhere.
At the Sword Gourd's location, the flying sword he had placed there had once again been reduced to a rectangular piece of scrap metal, fit only to serve as a support for the gourd's vine.
"Fortunately, that cultivator's storage bag contained a couple of flying swords that will serve as excellent nourishment for the Sword Gourd," Lu Chen remarked as he retrieved one of the swords from his own bag and placed it beneath the gourd's lush green vine.
The two hundred newly planted Spirit Firefly Grasses were thriving, their vibrant green hues a delight to behold.
Despite Lu Chen's less meticulous cultivation methods, the spirit plants were flourishing exceptionally well in the sect's rich spiritual energy environment, which was akin to a dimensional downgrade for the non-ranked spirit plants.
In the spirit field, the third-rank Misty Smoke Net Fruit and the second-rank Copper-boned Bamboo, both planted during his visit to Lin Yang Bazaar, had entered their maturity phase. Lu Chen estimated that it wouldn't be long before he could harvest several more Spirit Orbs.
He was particularly eager to see the Orb reward for the third-rank Misty Smoke Net Fruit.
He carefully tended to the second-rank Flowing Light Wood, meticulously arranging the spiritual energy lines on its branches and leaves to ensure they didn't affect the quality of the spirit plant.
Afterward, he turned his attention to the Dragon Vine, taking out a bottle of a new type of dragon blood and pouring it over the pitch-black vine, which writhed like a poisonous snake.
"Excellent," Lu Chen thought with satisfaction as he beheld the slowly undulating vine.
The Dragon Vine's growth rate was slightly slower than that of the Misty Smoke Net Fruit, but it had entered a rapid growth phase, with noticeable increases in both thickness and length.
Near the spirit spring, beneath the strange rocks, the remaining two Iron Claw Crabs had matured fully. Lu Chen collected the two white orbs that appeared, which were, as expected, Crab Spirit Paste as a reward.
He stored the paste away and temporarily kept the crabs, thinking, "First, the Copper-boned Bamboo still needs a large amount of copper and iron fragments. Before it matures, I'll need all the labor I can get to utilize those large claw-like pincers. Second, it's best to cook the Iron Claw Crabs fresh. I'll just keep them in the spirit spring and take them out whenever I feel like having a meal."
The two crabs, hiding under the giant rock, were unaware that Lu Chen had already decided their fate. They continued to brandish their cyan-black pincers proudly, their eyes protruding rebelliously.
With a soft laugh, Lu Chen scooped a large cup of icy spirit well water and entered the cavern, where the chill was biting. He poured the water onto the Yin Poplar tree.
After ensuring that all his spirit plants were well taken care of, Lu Chen made his way to the stone house by Thousand Dragon Lake.
During his absence, he had asked a fellow disciple to help feed the dragon-serpent giant pythons. Fortunately, all the pythons had been tamed by Lu Chen, and there were no issues during their feeding.
Lu Chen took out a frozen spirit fish as a token of gratitude and took back the responsibility of caring for the dragon-serpent giant pythons.
Days passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Chen soon settled back into his usual routine.
Each day, he would come to Thousand Dragon Lake, bringing a large amount of demon beast meat to feed the dozens of dragon-serpent giant pythons.
Back in his cave abode, he spent most of his time cultivating spirit plants. In his free time, he practiced his cultivation techniques, light body art, and browsed through cultivation manuals about spirit plants and beasts.
Occasionally, when he felt like it, he would take out his pill furnace and refine a batch of Pei Yuan Pills. After absorbing a lot of pill recipes, his success rate in refining these pills had become extremely high, and he could do it effortlessly, giving him the illusion of being a pill-concocting master.
One day, as usual, he came to the Hall of Miscellaneous Affairs to check if there were any suitable tasks for him.
He automatically ignored tasks such as exploring secret realms and hunting down evil cultivators, focusing instead on tasks within the sect related to cultivating spirit plants and beasts.
Such tasks were not common, as cultivating spirit plants and raising spirit beasts were generally considered less important in the world of cultivation.
Not only were they less esteemed than pill concoction and treasure forging, but even talisman making and array formation were considered more crucial.
Occasionally, similar tasks would appear, but they were often taken by other cultivators.
Lu Chen searched for a while before finding a suitable task involving spirit beasts.
Task Content: Spirit Crane Breeding Problem. The Spirit Cranes of the Beast Taming Hall are facing a population decline crisis, with their birthrate reaching its lowest point in nearly a century. Seeking a cultivator capable of resolving this issue.
Task Reward: Depending on the number of Spirit Crane births, a certain number of Sword Seals will be rewarded. The more Spirit Cranes that enter the breeding phase, the greater the additional rewards.
"A Spirit Crane breeding problem? I thought those cranes were all over the place in the sect. How did they end up with a population decline?" Lu Chen wondered, his spiritual sense gently brushing against the task information on the light screen. Immediately, detailed information about the task flowed into his sea of consciousness.
(End of Chapter)
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