https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-153-The-Underworld-Package-The-Invisible-Winged-Cicada/12543989/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-155-Stay-True-to-Your-Beginnings/12543991/
Chapter 154: Adventure? Impossible
Chapter 154: Adventure? Impossible
Outside the small courtyard.
Two Cultivation practitioners in the middle stage of Qi Refining looked up at the formation shrouding the entire courtyard and whispered to each other.
"The owner of this courtyard is too mysterious. He's always activating a second-rate defensive formation, wasting so many spirit stones for nothing."
"Who knows what his background is? He's like a dragon that never shows its tail, never seen nor heard."
"Hey, do you think it's possible that the owner is already dead in some secret realm, which is why no cultivators have ever been seen entering or leaving?"
"In that case..."
One of the cultivators raised his eyebrows at his companion, a meaningful glance passing between them.
"Be careful with your words! It's best not to entertain such thoughts!"
"We're right under the nose of the Celestial Sword Sect. For all we know, this courtyard could be connected to one of their disciples. If we accidentally offend him, our lives might be at stake."
His companion glanced around cautiously, offering a word of warning.
Just as the pair turned to leave, a clear voice called out from behind them.
"Fellow daoists, you've been lingering in front of my courtyard. Could it be that you're waiting for me?"
The two cultivators' hearts skipped a beat as they turned to see a handsome young cultivator smiling at them.
What shocked them even more was the robe the young man wore—the standard uniform of an outer disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect.
"Please don't misunderstand, fellow daoist. My companion and I live not far from your courtyard. We just happened to pass by and saw you returning," one of them explained, his expression slightly flustered.
"Is that so? I thought you two were up to no good, plotting something against my courtyard," Lu Chen said, his smile tinged with sarcasm.
"Absolutely not! We would never dare!" the cultivator replied emphatically.
"My companion and I come from respectable families. We stayed in Jianmen Town specifically to serve the Celestial Sword Sect disciples from our clans."
"Our young master is currently a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refining realm. Perhaps you even know him."
"I see. It seems I've overthought this," Lu Chen said with a nonchalant smile.
"This courtyard is just a temporary residence for me in Jianmen Town. As I dislike interacting with strangers, I set up this formation for protection."
"I'm currently preparing to breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm, so my visits here will be even less frequent."
Lu Chen offered a casual explanation, giving the two cultivators a plausible reason that also served as a subtle warning.
"We wish you a swift breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm, fellow daoist!" the pair said together, bowing their heads respectfully.
"If you don't mind, fellow daoist, we would be happy to keep an eye on your courtyard and ensure that no petty thieves dirty your residence."
Hearing that Lu Chen was about to attempt the Foundation Establishment, the two cultivators quickly changed their address and even offered to help watch over his courtyard.
"Very well, then I'll trouble the two of you. If my courtyard remains undisturbed, I'll make sure to reward you handsomely," Lu Chen said, giving them a promise that seemed like a carrot on a stick.
He looked deeply into their faces as if committing their features to memory, then opened the formation and stepped into the courtyard.
As soon as Lu Chen's figure disappeared from view, the two cultivators, feeling guilty, wiped the cold sweat from their brows, exchanged glances, and hurried away.
"Why did you promise to watch over that Celestial Sword Sect disciple's courtyard?" one of them asked, sounding displeased.
"Didn't you see that he was already suspicious? To dispel his doubts, we had to resort to this," the other replied.
"From now on, we must be extra vigilant. If a cultivator really breaks through the formation and enters the courtyard, we'll be in deep trouble."
...
Lu Chen entered the small courtyard, and everything within was as it should be. There were no signs of disturbance near the formation.
"When I have the means, I should upgrade the protective measures for the spiritual fields in the courtyard." Lu Chen thought to himself.
"Although the courtyard is located in Jianmen Town, not far from the Celestial Sword Sect, there are rarely any evil cultivators or demons around. It's much safer here than in Linyang Fang City."
"However, I must not become complacent. After all, I'm cultivating a third-grade Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom, Thornbone, and a fourth-grade Hundred-Eyed Weirdwood. If something happens to them, I won't even have time to cry over the loss."
As he stepped into the spiritual field, chilly winds brushed past him, carrying with them over a dozen wandering souls drifting aimlessly in the air.
The five Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms below looked healthy and vibrant. Upon closer inspection, the ghostly faces on their surfaces seemed to wear eerie smiles, indicating that they had been well-fed recently.
"Their absorption of souls and resentment is getting faster. Last time I left fifty souls here, and they were almost all devoured!" Lu Chen marveled, taking out a second-grade Soul Bell artifact and releasing another fifty souls from within.
"If I keep this up, the Soul Bell will just be a bell soon. I need to find a way to get my hands on some new souls."
He approached the Thornbone, and in the time he had been away, the pale, slender bone had grown even more spikes, resembling layers of fine, sharp teeth that were deeply embedded in the third-grade Savage Bone Bull's skeleton, absorbing its marrow.
"It's not ideal to keep it fed with the same skeleton. Today, I'll give you a change of taste." Lu Chen tossed the Purple Cloud Leopard's skeleton and another second-grade demon beast skeleton near the Thornbone.
After discarding the skeletons, he made his way over to the bizarre little tree covered in eyes.
The demon beast eye he had left on the tree last time had lost all its vitality and turned ashen. With a gentle touch, Lu Chen reduced it to a pile of powdery ash.
A slender, semi-transparent tendril reluctantly withdrew from the ashen eye, retreating back into a half-opened eerie eye that now occupied a large portion of the tree.
That eye, having absorbed the essence of the demon beast eye, was now mostly open, revealing a faintly discernible crimson iris. Staring into it for too long induced a slight dizzy spell.
Lu Chen took out a pair of Purple Cloud Leopard eyes and slowly brought them towards the Hundred-Eyed Weirdwood.
The closest eyes to the Purple Cloud Leopard's eyes sensed the arrival of fresh food and struggled to open, shooting out several translucent tendrils like gecko tongues at incredible speed.
In the end, the two eyes were snatched by the fastest tendrils and pinned to the tree, unmoving.
The remaining eyes, having failed to claim the Purple Cloud Leopard eyes, slowly closed, their disappointment palpable to Lu Chen.
"A pair of Purple Cloud Leopard eyes isn't enough to satisfy this Hundred-Eyed Weirdwood. I need to find a way to get more and higher-grade demon beast eyes." Lu Chen thought to himself. The stalls in the Qingshi Plaza rarely sold fresh demon beast eyes, so he decided to take the initiative and search for them himself.
"To obtain more fresh demon beast eyes, I'll naturally have to venture out, hunt more demon beasts, and then carefully preserve the eyes to feed the Hundred-Eyed Weirdwood."
"But adventure? That's impossible. I'll never go on an adventure in this lifetime. I don't know how to cultivate, I just grow spiritual herbs to maintain my cultivation."
(End of Chapter)
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