Chapter 275: Is it Not... Something?!
Chapter 275: Is it Not... Something?!
The ten Sword Grass Spirit Seeds that Shen Ye had given him, cultivating two plants with each of the four seasonal sword auras, totaled eight plants. For the remaining two, one was cultivated with the Red Flame Sword and the Yang Xuan Sword Sheath combined into the Red Flame Sword Aura. The other was an improved third-grade Wind and Thunder Sword Grass, cultivated with the Sun Lei Sword.
It would be quite some time before the Wind and Thunder Sword Grass matured, but the Red Flame Sword Grass was soon fully mature, and Lu Chen harvested a Red Flame Sword Intent from the white light group.
He laid out the nine sword grasses in order and decided to take them to the Sword Hall to give Shen Ye a report.
An hour later, Lu Chen arrived at the location of the Sword Hall.
He stood before an expansive sword array, its size immeasurable, and waited quietly.
His spiritual sense could not perceive the extent of the array's coverage, and the surface of the array was filled with countless sword auras dancing freely like schools of fish.
It appeared calm and ordinary, but if one dared to rashly intrude, countless sword auras would instantly envelop them.
Long ago, Lu Chen had used a communication talisman to get in touch with Shen Ye. Soon, a plain-looking young man emerged from the sword array. The young man was at the early stage of foundation establishment, his figure straight as a sword, confident and assertive.
"Are you Brother Lu?"
The young man's eyes fixed on Lu Chen, as if an invisible sword aura focused on him.
"Indeed, it is me. May I ask how I should address you, senior brother?"
"Just call me Senior Brother Li. Senior Brother Shen asked me to come out and receive you. Please follow me and do not stray, or the sword array might accidentally injure you."
Lu Chen nodded and followed Senior Brother Li into the sword array.
A colossal sword aura peak appeared before him, with various sword auras dancing wildly all around it.
The two of them arrived at a simple courtyard.
A gentle cultivator stood quietly at the gate, his back bearing a deep black sword case. The man himself resembled an unsheathed longsword, his aura restrained.
It was none other than Shen Ye, the head of the Agricultural Palace and a high-ranking member of the Sword Hall, whom Lu Chen had met several times and who held him in high regard.
"Senior Brother Shen," Lu Chen quickly greeted with a bow.
"Lu Chen, it's been a while," Shen Ye said with a gentle smile as the young cultivator quietly withdrew.
"Lu Chen, did you come here because the sword grasses I gave you earlier have been successfully cultivated?" Shen Ye asked after they exchanged a few pleasantries and caught up.
"Thankfully, with your guidance, Senior Brother Shen, the sword grass spirit seeds you entrusted to me have been successfully cultivated."
"Oh? Really? Please show them to me, Lu Chen."
A curious expression appeared on Shen Ye's face upon receiving Lu Chen's affirmative reply.
Lu Chen waved his hand, and nine sword grasses, shaped like sharp blades, flew out of his storage bag, arranging themselves neatly before the two cultivators.
"These are high-quality sword grasses, no doubt nurtured by the Summer Sword Aura from the 'Four Seasons Sword Manual'," Shen Ye said as he picked up the first sword grass, flicked it with his finger, and released an invisible sword aura. The sword grass reacted violently, shooting out numerous fierce and chaotic sword auras.
"Impressive," Shen Ye nodded in approval.
"All nine sword grasses are of excellent quality, Lu Chen. You have far exceeded my expectations." Shen Ye examined each sword grass carefully before turning to Lu Chen and speaking.
"I've spent a considerable amount of time and energy on spiritual plants, and with some good luck, I was able to cultivate these high-quality sword grasses," Lu Chen explained with a smile.
"However, Lu Chen, if I recall correctly, I gave you ten sword grass spirit seeds, but I only see nine sword grasses here. Did one of them fail to cultivate?" Shen Ye asked curiously, double-checking the number of sword grasses.
"Er... as for the other sword grass..." Lu Chen paused, considering how to respond.
"Losing a single Sword Grass is insignificant," Shen Ye said without hesitation.
"It's not that..." Lu Chen began.
"What?!" Shen Ye's tone suddenly rose, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Did you turn a Sword Grass into a third-grade spirit herb, Junior Brother Lu? Are you telling the truth?"
He instantly appeared in front of Lu Chen, his eyes piercing as he asked again.
"Yes, with my years of experience in cultivating spirit herbs, I can confirm that it is indeed a new type of third-grade Sword Grass," Lu Chen replied confidently.
"Let's return to the mountain." Without waiting for another moment, Shen Ye unleashed a rainbow light from the deep black sword case on his back, enveloping both of them, and in an instant, they disappeared from the courtyard.
In a daze, Lu Chen found himself back at the foot of his namesake peak.
"Please set up the mountain-guarding formation, Junior Brother Lu, and lead me to see that third-grade Sword Grass," Shen Ye said gently, his voice strained as he suppressed the urge to rush into Lu Chen's cave abode.
In front of the Wind and Thunder Sword Grass, Shen Ye closed his eyes, his spiritual sense carefully probing every minute detail of the Sword Grass. He released a thin stream of sword qi from his fingertip, striking the body of the Wind and Thunder Sword Grass.
At the point of impact, hundreds of tiny, deep black sword auras flew out, like a miniature hurricane that had been shrunk countless times. As the hurricane passed, one could faintly see flashes of lightning and hear rumbling thunder.
"It contains the power of wind and thunder..." Shen Ye's expression turned solemn as he confirmed, "Although I'm not sure how you cultivated it, Junior Brother Lu, it is indeed a third-grade Sword Grass."
A smile appeared on Shen Ye's face, his lips curving upward more and more. "Junior Brother Lu, you are truly a genius! I recall when you were still a Qi Refining cultivator, you accidentally obtained a Sword Grass spirit seed that had been left out. With no prior experience, you successfully cultivated it using your Mastery-level Metal Elemental Sword Art.
"When I learned of this, I suspected that you were not only a gifted Sword Cultivator but also inherently suited for cultivating Sword Grass. The fact that you brought nine well-grown Sword Grasses from the ten Sword Grass spirit seeds I gave you already exceeded my expectations. But now, you've given me an even bigger surprise!
"On your first large-scale attempt at cultivating Sword Grass, you've managed to improve and obtain a rare third-grade Sword Grass! This is truly astonishing and unprecedented!"
Even with the mental fortitude of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Shen Ye found it difficult to calm down. It wasn't because he was impulsive, but because Lu Chen's achievements had completely surpassed his imagination.
To cultivate nine high-quality mature Sword Grasses from ten Sword Grass spirit seeds was already an impressive feat, something that many Sword Cultivators in the Sword Hall who specialized in cultivating Sword Grass could not achieve.
Yet, Lu Chen had not only effortlessly accomplished this, but he had also improved and cultivated a third-grade Sword Grass! After all, the Heavenly Sword Sect was renowned throughout the cultivation world for their swords, and the Sword Grass was the very foundation of the Sword Hall.
Many third, fourth, and even fifth-grade sword artifacts were created by cultivating and refining Sword Grass.
Over the long history of the Sword Hall, obtaining a new variety of high-grade Sword Grass required generations of experimentation and countless failures before improvements could be made and a new Sword Grass cultivated.
Yet, Lu Chen, alone and in a short period, had achieved this! How could Shen Ye not be astonished and amazed?
(End of Chapter)
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