https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-182-Nurturing-the-Mystical-Sword-Sheath/12544018/
Chapter 181: High Cultivation, But Lacking Elsewhere
Chapter 181: High Cultivation, But Lacking Elsewhere
Lu Chen placed the ordinary Lingying Grass, which showed no signs of change after induction, back into its previous environment and continued his experiment.
After numerous rounds of trials, out of the remaining thirty Lingying Grass spirit seeds in the ancient well, nine displayed aberrant changes. From the twenty seeds in the pill furnace, five aberrant spirit seeds were selected.
The rest of the spirit seeds suffered irreversible damage, and when planted, they grew into low-quality spirit plants. Some of the spirit seeds were completely useless and failed to sprout at all.
The fourteen successfully mutated ice-attribute spirit seeds were planted by Lu Chen in a cold and damp cave, slightly separated from the other fifty Lingying Grass sprouts that had already taken root.
For the twelve fire-attribute spirit seeds, due to the limitations of the cave's spirit field, they could only be cultivated through conventional means. From time to time, Lu Chen would cast a low-level fire-attribute spell to nourish them with a gentle fire-attribute spiritual energy.
"In the end, the number of spirit seeds is limited, and the spirit field environment is average. Once I break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, I'll be able to refine more spirit seeds and figure out the conditions that make them more susceptible to mutation."
Lu Chen sighed as he gazed at the aberrant spirit plants in his field.
"However, the successful mutations are a good start.
When my cultivation breaks through, these mutated spirit plants imbued with ice or fire-attribute spiritual energy will have access to a large number of spirit seeds, and I'll be able to cultivate them on a large scale."
In the following days, Lu Chen did not take on any new tasks from the Hall of Miscellaneous Affairs, as he already had his hands full with two long-term assignments: raising the Flood Dragon magical beast and cultivating the Burning Origin Wood.
He focused his attention on observing and cultivating the mutated Lingying Grass, spending the rest of his time cultivating himself and preparing for his attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Time flew by, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
"Brother Lu, I've come to visit you!"
One day, a familiar voice called out from outside the courtyard.
Lu Chen instantly recognized Baili Jianqing's voice and opened the courtyard door with a smile. A handsome face with narrowed eyes entered his view.
"Jianqing, come in," Lu Chen invited.
"Hahaha, I knew it! You're such a homebody, Brother Lu. There's probably no one else in the sect as reclusive as you," Baili Jianqing said as he strolled into the courtyard, carrying a piece of demonic beast meat.
"Brother Lu, I brought you some demonic beast meat from that newly discovered secret realm. I thought you might like to try it. And while I'm here, I'll mooch a meal off you. I've been craving your cooking for a long time," Baili Jianqing said, unabashedly making himself at home in the small kitchen next door.
"Alright, I'll show you what I can do shortly," Lu Chen replied as he quickly prepared the demonic beast meat. He then stepped into the courtyard and watched Baili Jianqing playfully teasing the young Wind Falcon.
"So, you went to that newly discovered secret realm some time ago? How was it?" Lu Chen asked.
"Oh, the new secret realm? It was brimming with opportunities and treasures. Plus, we had a Foundation Establishment senior protecting us, so of course, we went," Baili Jianqing replied.
"I spent some time there and obtained several rare spirit herbs, two of which were third-grade. I'd say it was a pretty good opportunity," he continued.
"As for dangers, we only encountered one. A group of us accidentally stumbled upon a third-grade demonic beast, but we immediately contacted a nearby Foundation Establishment senior, who swiftly took care of the beast."
"The senior took the valuable parts of the beast for himself, but I got some scraps and quite a bit of demonic beast meat. That piece I just brought over is from the same beast," Baili Jianqing said, gesturing towards the kitchen.
"Brother Lu, with such a good opportunity, why didn't you go and explore the secret realm yourself?" Baili Jianqing asked curiously.
Lu Chen nonchalantly replied, his blade dancing in his hand, leaving trails of afterimages, "I was busy with my own matters."
The spirit field was located at the back of the courtyard, concealed by an array, which he had no intention of intruding upon.
After about an hour, Lu Chen emerged with five or six steaming dishes.
He took out a jar of spirit brew from the room, poured a cup for each of them, and they drank it in one go.
The spirit brew was robust and mellow, and Lu Chen picked up a piece of stir-fried demon beast meat and popped it into his mouth.
An exquisite, tender flavor exploded in his mouth, and a dense spiritual power flowed down his throat, permeating every part of his body, warming him from head to toe.
"As expected of a third-grade demon beast, its meat is truly exceptional."
Lu Chen marveled, and with his chopsticks, he swiftly picked up the second piece and devoured it whole.
"It's mostly thanks to your cooking skills, Brother Lu. My own attempts at cooking this meat fell far short of this."
Baili Jianqing narrowed his eyes, his face filled with satisfaction.
Lu Chen smiled but said nothing. Instead, he picked up two more pieces of demon beast meat and tossed them to the Cloud-Treading Lynx and the young Wind Falcon.
After they had eaten their fill...
"Jianqing, if I recall correctly, didn't you mention that your grandfather used to be an outer disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect? I assume you know quite a bit about how disciples of the sect break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."
"Grandfather did tell me quite a bit about the sect."
Baili Jianqing replied subconsciously, then paused as if he had realized something. His spiritual sense swept over Lu Chen's body.
"Holy crap!"
"Brother Lu, are you about to attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage?"
His narrowed eyes widened to an unprecedented degree, and his expression was filled with surprise.
"Fortunately, I've reached that stage, and I do intend to make a breakthrough soon."
Lu Chen smiled indifferently.
"I've only just broken through to the peak of Qi Refining, and I thought my cultivation was progressing fast enough. I never expected you to be quietly preparing for a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage!"
Baili Jianqing's expression turned slightly dull, and Lu Chen's rate of improvement had taken him completely by surprise.
"How can I quickly improve my cultivation? Please teach me, Brother Lu!"
Having snapped out of his daze, he looked at Lu Chen with admiration.
"I merely spent the time I would have used exploring secret realms and seeking opportunities on cultivation instead."
Lu Chen said calmly.
"Although I have a soft spot for cultivating spirit plants, it doesn't take up much of my time. For the rest of the time, I cultivate tirelessly day and night."
"Moreover, I mostly trade the spirit plants I cultivate for pills to improve my cultivation, so it's a two-pronged approach that has led me to where I am today."
"However, there is also a significant drawback to this approach; I have the cultivation but lack skill in other areas."
"I don't have time to practice those esoteric arts, nor do I have extra spirit stones to purchase protective talismans or powerful artifacts."
"If I were to encounter another cultivator at the same stage as me, I would likely be defeated within a few exchanges."
Lu Chen's expression was filled with regret, painting a picture of an ordinary spirit herbologist who focused solely on improving his cultivation to the detriment of other aspects.
"I see, not having matching arts, talismans, or artifacts to complement your cultivation is indeed less than ideal."
"However, once you successfully break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, Brother Lu, you'll have the time to make up for those shortcomings. At that point, you won't be any weaker than other cultivators at the same stage."
Baili Jianqing offered gentle words of comfort.
(End of Chapter)
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