Chapter 25: Red-Whiskered Carp
Chapter 25: Red-Whiskered Carp
When Lu Chen left the Hall of Hundred Herbs, He Guanshi had instructed him to keep the Blood Jade Ginseng plants as far apart as possible when cultivating them, to prevent them from entangling and affecting each other's growth.
It was only after planting the spiritual seeds of the Blood Jade Ginseng that he understood the reason behind this caution.
Spiritual seeds or spiritual herbs could slowly move within the spirit fields. If they were too close, they would attract each other and, if left entangled for too long, would start draining each other's vitality until one prevailed and the other withered away.
Of course, spiritual gardeners would usually prevent such extreme situations. Once they noticed the roots of the herbs entwining, they would find a way to separate them.
"Attracted to each other, then entwined in a loving embrace, only to have me, the heartless parent, tear them apart." Lu Chen sighed.
Fortunately, he had plenty of time on his hands to ensure that no two Blood Jade Ginseng plants ever touched.
"I suppose these Blood Jade Ginseng don't have distinct male and female forms?" He shook his head, dismissing the image of entwined ginseng plants from his mind.
After planting twenty Blood Jade Ginseng spiritual seeds, Lu Chen cast the Spirit Rain Technique to nourish them. Thin strands of spiritual rain seeped into the soil, greedily absorbed by the blood-red spiritual seeds that resembled jade.
Next, he planted a hundred Spirit Firefly Grass seeds, which resembled dried tea leaves. He used the Spirit Rain Technique again to provide them with nourishment.
The new spirit field was about ten times larger than the previous one. Even after planting a hundred Spirit Firefly Grass seeds and twenty Blood Jade Ginseng seeds, half of the area was still vacant.
Lu Chen planned to cultivate Red Cloud Pine, Dark Marrow Ginseng, and Sword Grass in the remaining space. If he came across any other interesting spiritual seeds, he would also try to buy and plant them.
"How can I make the most of this spirit spring?" he wondered, gazing at the shallow spring within the spirit field.
The water from the spirit spring was usually used to aid in pill refining, brewing, and tea making. Cultivators would also directly consume it to gain a slight boost in spiritual energy.
However, this seemed rather insignificant to Lu Chen now, given the cultivation rewards he received from the Spirit Firefly Grass. That tiny bit of spiritual energy barely registered in his eyes.
"Aquatic spiritual plants are rare but not non-existent. I should look for some in the market or at shops," he mused.
"This spirit spring covers a fairly large area, and it's unlikely I'll find enough aquatic spiritual plants to fill it. It would be a waste to leave it like this."
"Perhaps I could rear some spiritual fish?"
The idea suddenly popped into Lu Chen's mind and grew more appealing by the second.
"Planting spiritual herbs in the spirit field brings light orbs as rewards. I wonder if the same would apply to raising spiritual beasts?"
The thought excited him.
"Even if it doesn't work, I won't lose out. Spiritual fish raised in the spirit spring would still fetch a good price. But if it does work, then I'll strike it rich."
"I have to try it."
His resolve strengthened.
He opened the formation and left the courtyard.
First, he returned to the old courtyard. In the spirit field there, ten Spirit Firefly Grass plants were nearing maturity.
He harvested them and waited for two days, helping Xu Wan transplant two Eclipsing Moon Trees to her home during that time. Once he was done, all the Spirit Firefly Grass had fully matured.
Out of the ten Spirit Firefly Grass plants, six were of good quality and four were of superior quality. Lu Chen attributed the lack of higher-quality plants to insufficient spiritual energy in the spirit field.
Among the ten white light orbs that appeared, four granted him cultivation rewards ranging from several months to over two years, further stabilizing the spiritual energy within his body.
Three other light orbs contained first-grade talismans, while the remaining three held technique experience packets—two for the Earth-Drawing Technique and one for the Glowing Golden Sword Technique—deepening Lu Chen's understanding of these two techniques.
After absorbing all ten of the white light orbs, Lu Chen looked around at the now somewhat empty courtyard and turned to leave.
He made his way to the loose cultivator's market and, upon finding very few stalls selling young spirit beast cubs or eggs, he located a spirit beast shop.
The shop had all sorts of young spirit beasts—ones that flew in the sky, ran on land, and swam in the water—a veritable menagerie.
Most of them were spirit pets, with gentle and docile appearances and low aggression. It was said that the shop owner was a relative of an inner disciple of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect and was highly skilled in the art of beast taming.
"Welcome, fellow Daoist. How may I assist you today?"
A graceful young woman approached Lu Chen as he surveyed the shop, offering a friendly greeting.
"I'm looking to buy one or two fish-type spirit beasts. Do you have any recommendations?" Lu Chen asked, getting straight to the point.
"For fish-type spirit beasts, you can take a look over here."
"This is the Red-Whiskered Carp, a beast with no rank. It has high ornamental value, and when raised to maturity, it can be cooked. Its meat is delicious, and the two red whiskers near its gills can be used as refining materials."
"The Red-Whiskered Carp is not picky about its environment and can survive in ordinary spirit springs. Of course, if you feed it spirit rice, it will mature much faster."
"This is the Shadow Arrow Fish, also a beast with no rank. Its body is shaped like an arrow, and it swims with incredible speed. When feeding it, you'll need to provide it with blood and meat essence."
"This is the Black Water Python, a first-rank demon beast that can live on land and in water. It has a highly aggressive nature, and its size can vary greatly, sometimes reaching up to six zhang in length."
"As for other aquatic demon beasts, they tend to have wild and untamable natures, and there's a chance they could injure their owners. They aren't very suitable for someone like you to raise."
The graceful female cultivator introduced Lu Chen to the various common water-type spirit beasts in the shop, subtly implying that with his current cultivation level of the second layer of Qi Refining, he could, at most, handle a beast like the Black Water Python.
Lu Chen pondered for a moment before deciding against the Shadow Arrow Fish and the Black Water Python.
Feeding the Shadow Arrow Fish required blood and meat essence, and Lu Chen himself rarely had a decent meal, so how could he afford to spare any extra demon beast meat to feed it?
As for the Black Water Python, Lu Chen immediately dismissed the idea when he heard that it could grow up to six zhang long.
Even half of its body wouldn't fit in his spirit spring, so how would he raise it? Moreover, this was an experimental phase, and he wasn't sure if the white light orbs would appear.
Thus, Lu Chen preferred to choose a spirit fish with a shorter maturation cycle and a lower price.
"How much for this Red-Whiskered Carp?" He asked, pointing at a carp fry in the pond.
True to its name, the Red-Whiskered Carp had two thin, red whiskers near its gills, longer than its body, that swayed like ribbons as it swam.
"For the Red-Whiskered Carp fry, it's one spirit stone per fish," the graceful young woman replied.
"It's also unranked, yet more expensive than the Spirit Firefly Grass seeds and Eclipsing Moon Tree saplings," Lu Chen noted, comparing the prices out of habit.
"I'll take three, a little cheaper please—eighty fragments per fish?" Lu Chen bargained, as was customary.
"If you want to buy three, I can give them to you for two spirit stones and eighty fragments each. That's the lowest price I can offer," the young woman said.
"Two spirit stones and sixty fragments, and I'll take them now," Lu Chen countered.
"Seventy, and that's my final offer," the young woman said firmly.
"Alright, deal!" Lu Chen agreed, satisfied.
(End of Chapter)
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