Chapter 26: Weaving Grass
Chapter 26: Weaving Grass
After obtaining the three-tailed red-whiskered carp fry, Lu Chen returned to his courtyard.
At the edge of the spirit spring, the red-whiskered carp in the bag seemed a little listless after the bumpy journey, its fine red whiskers drooping powerlessly on either side of its head.
"Time to give you a luxurious new home!"
Lu Chen released the three-tailed red-whiskered carp into the spirit spring, a hint of sourness in his voice.
If only the spring were larger and the water deeper; he would have loved to soak in it himself.
The red-whiskered carp fell into the spring and initially seemed a little disoriented, but soon regained its vigor under the stimulation of the faint spiritual energy in the water.
It swam around in the spring, its two fine red whiskers floating gracefully.
Lu Chen watched with anticipation, his mind focusing on one of the carp's bodies.
"Red-whiskered carp fry, a spirit beast with no rank. It is quite satisfied with its new environment and would be even happier if some spirit rice fell into the spirit spring."
A thought flashed through Lu Chen's mind.
"Great!"
Lu Chen couldn't contain his excitement and clenched his fist tightly.
Since he could see the carp's current state, it was highly likely that the white light orbs would appear when they matured.
Lu Chen gazed at the three-tailed red-whiskered carp swimming freely in the spirit spring, as if he could see them nurturing precious treasures for him.
"Looks like I can raise more spirit birds and beasts in the spirit fields or spring."
He made a silent decision.
Recalling the real-time status of the red-whiskered carp that had appeared in his mind, he couldn't help but laugh.
"These three little guys are hoping for spirit rice to fall from the sky. If it does fall, it'll land in my mouth first. For now, enjoy the spirit spring, which doesn't require spirit stones!"
He left the spring and began inspecting everything in the spirit fields.
In the spirit field where the Blood Jade Ginseng was located, Lu Chen's spiritual sense detected that the positions of twenty Blood Jade Ginseng seeds had shifted, with several pairs drawing closer together.
Lu Chen quickly manipulated the Earth-Drawing Technique through the spirit soil to return them to their original positions, maintaining a relatively safe distance between them.
A hundred Spirit Glowworms had already started to sprout new shoots. The tender, slender green shoots were sparsely distributed in the spirit soil, conveying a vibrant, upward-striving growth state to Lu Chen.
The spirit field was divided into several areas, one of which was a slightly more lush spirit field where transplanted spirit plants were cultivated.
Among them, the second-grade Sword Grass occupied a large area of spirit soil by itself. Occasionally, strands of sword intent shot out from its straight, sword-like body, so no other spirit plants could grow nearby.
The flowers of the first-grade Scarlet Cloud Pine were even more vibrant, with bright red needle-like leaves and beautiful blooming buds.
Another second-grade spirit plant, the Dark Marrow Mushroom, remained nestled among the decaying wood, its dense crimson mycelium absorbing the decaying spiritual energy within.
In the corner of the spirit field, the Grass Puppet leaned against the wall, quietly familiarizing itself with its new surroundings.
The large hole in its chest was still there, highly noticeable.
Lu Chen approached it and reluctantly took out a spirit stone.
Usually, to maintain the Grass Puppet's functions and guard the spirit field, one only needed to provide it with a shattered spirit stone.
However, if he wanted it to activate its self-healing abilities, a tiny fragment of a spirit stone wouldn't be nearly enough.
He pushed the spirit stone into the gray grass tumor on the Grass Puppet's head.
Then, a weak spiritual power fluctuation emanated from the large tumor composed of intertwined gray withered grass.
Immediately after, two withered gray grasses floated out from the head, one on the left and one on the right, like willow fluff in the wind. They slowly drifted to the gaping hole in its chest.
Starting from the edges of the hole, the two gray grasses wove together in a crisscross pattern, slowly filling the large hole in its chest.
Lu Chen couldn't bear the slow weaving motion, so he ran to another part of the spirit field and cast a round of Spirit Rain Technique, then released the Earth-Drawing Technique and Metal-Gold Sword Technique according to the spirit plants' needs.
Lu Chen could clearly sense that the Grass Puppet's massive head had shrunk slightly.
"It's good that you're healed. I still need you to help guard my spirit fields."
Even though his spirit fields were now protected by a first-grade defensive formation, Lu Chen had grown accustomed to the silent presence of the Grass Puppet standing guard in the corner, and he was willing to spend a spirit stone to heal it.
After all, he had spent less than three spirit stones when he bought this second-hand Grass Puppet.
After inspecting his spirit fields, Lu Chen opened the formation and headed into the loose cultivator's market.
Taking advantage of this opportunity to move to a new home, he planned to invite Xu Wan, Zhang Xiuyuan, and He Guanshi from the Hundred Grass Hall to his home as guests, to express his gratitude for their previous care and concern.
Therefore, he went to the market to buy some spirit rice, spirit beast meat, and prepare a sumptuous feast.
There was a specialized spirit rice shop in the market that sold several types of spirit rice. The lowest price was thirty shards per catty, and the most expensive was a type called Blood Tooth Rice, which was forty spirit stones per catty.
It was said that there were even more expensive varieties, exclusively supplied to the core members of the clan in the market town. Even if a loose cultivator had abundant spirit stones, there was no way to obtain them.
After much consideration, Lu Chen finally bought ten catties of spirit rice at thirty shards per catty and another two catties of better-quality spirit rice at fifty shards per catty, spending a total of four spirit stones.
After buying the spirit rice, he went to the stall selling spirit beast meat and purchased two catties of Spine Boar meat and three catties of Barbarian Bull meat.
He also bought over a catty of Jade Spirit Leaves, which were a vibrant emerald color. They could be stir-fried and eaten, crisp and delicious, and could enhance the spiritual energy within low-level Qi Cultivators.
Finally, he bought some non-spiritual but extremely tasty food before returning home with his arms full of packages.
With so many ingredients, he had spent nearly ten spirit stones, a significant sum for the usually frugal Lu Chen.
Back at home, he began to prepare the ingredients for dinner.
As evening approached, Lu Chen had finished his preparations and estimated that He Guanshi and the others would be arriving soon.
Soon enough, he heard He Guanshi's energetic voice outside the courtyard.
"Lu boy, open the door quickly! I'm here to mooch a meal!"
Lu Chen opened the courtyard door and saw the slender elder holding a jar of wine.
"This Yellow Brew Wine is a ten-year spirit brew with a rich and mellow flavor. It can nourish the physical body. Let's drink a few cups together later."
He Guanshi raised the jar of wine in his hand.
"You sly boy, quietly renting such a large courtyard. No wonder you boldly asked for so many Spirit Firefly Grass and Blood Jade Ginseng seeds."
He gazed at the expansive spirit fields, filled with emotion.
"Old He, find yourself a place to sit. I'll go prepare dinner," Lu Chen said, before turning towards the kitchen.
Before he could start cooking, Zhang Xiuyuan's loud voice rang out again.
"Little Lu Uncle, I'm here with my mother!"
Lu Chen opened the door to greet them, and the clumsy Zhang Xiuyuan jumped in, hugging his leg.
"Congratulations on your new home, Little Lu Uncle! From now on, I'll be clinging to your leg!"
Behind him, Xu Wan carried a bamboo basket filled with spirit fruits and smiled gracefully.
(End of Chapter)
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