Chapter 277: An Old Acquaintance
Chapter 277: An Old Acquaintance
Lu Chen bid farewell to Shen Ye, his arms laden with spoils, and returned to his cave abode.
Inside, twenty-two Sword Grass Spirit Seeds lay on the wooden table.
At first glance, they resembled tiny flying swords, but upon closer inspection, one could discern their true nature.
The second-grade Sword Grass Spirit Seeds were a grayish-black and slender like swords.
The third-grade Starry Sword Grass Spirit Seeds, however, had tiny, invisible specks of starlight on their surfaces. When Lu Chen infused his spiritual sense into them, it felt as if he were entering a vast night sky, filled with twinkling stars. The starlight was sharp, as if it could pierce his spiritual sense.
The fourth-grade Sword Qiao Spirit Seeds had a bizarre form. Numerous tiny branches sprouted from the spirit seeds, and at the ends of these branches perched dozens of tiny owl-like creatures, no larger than grains of rice. They had no legs, their bodies merging seamlessly with the branches. Their wings were spread, resembling thin, hair-like swords.
He buried the Starry Sword Grass and Sword Qiao Spirit Seeds into the spirit soil, and soon gained detailed information about these two unique spirit plants.
Starry Sword Grass, a third-grade spirit plant, cultivated with starlight sword qi. Upon maturity, the sword grass contains minute stellar power that can be used directly or refined into a corresponding third-grade flying sword.
Sword Qiao Sword Grass, a fourth-grade spirit plant, nurtured with the stimulation of thousand-owl sword qi. Once mature, the spirit plant can differentiate into numerous sword intents resembling ancient, fierce owl-like birds. The sword artifacts possess a degree of sentience and can be used as a lifebond flying sword or a sacrificial magic treasure.
"The Sword Grass truly lives up to its reputation as the core secret of the Tianjian Sect's Sword Hall," Lu Chen marveled to himself. He was delighted by the wondrous nature of the third and fourth-grade sword grass seeds, as it meant that the rewards he would gain upon their successful cultivation would be substantial.
After learning about the peculiarities of the two high-grade sword grass spirit seeds, Lu Chen did not rush to plant them.
Both the Starry Sword Grass and the Sword Qiao Sword Grass required corresponding sword qi for their cultivation. At the very least, he needed to have a rudimentary grasp of the respective sword techniques before attempting to nurture them.
He pressed the jade slip imprinted with the refinement method of the second-grade Sword Grass Spirit Seeds against his forehead, infusing his spiritual sense into it. Instantly, a flood of information surged into his consciousness.
Timing for condensing the Sword Grass Spirit Seeds, handling techniques, methods of harvesting, and storage procedures—all of this knowledge filled his mind.
Lu Chen stood quietly for a long while, absorbing all the information that had flooded his brain.
Subsequently, he absorbed the contents of the other two jade slips, gaining a basic understanding of the third-grade Starlight Sword Technique and the fourth-grade Thousand-Owl Sword Technique.
As for the remaining twenty second-grade Sword Grass Spirit Seeds, he planned to use some for normal cultivation and place the others into the Yang Xuan Sword Sheath, nurturing them further with Xunlei sword lightnings to eventually give birth to third-grade Wind-Thunder Sword Grass Spirit Seeds.
"It's a pity that transforming second-grade Sword Grass Spirit Seeds into third-grade Wind-Thunder Sword Grass Spirit Seeds requires a large amount of Xunlei sword lightning and a considerable amount of time." Lu Chen couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed at the prospect.
Nevertheless, it was imperative to obtain as many Wind-Thunder Sword Grass seeds as possible. Not only would it lead to more substantial rewards, but it would also provide Lu Chen with a large number of experimental subjects to explore and discover the method for condensing Wind-Thunder Sword Grass Spirit Seeds.
Only then would he be able to systematically cultivate Wind-Thunder Sword Grass on a large scale, rather than merely relying on chance mutations within the Yang Xuan Sword Sheath.
He buried ten Sword Grass Spirit Seeds into the spirit soil, infusing them with various thin strands of sword qi to stimulate their successful gestation.
After inspecting his spirit fields, Lu Chen left the Inner Sect and made his way to Baili Jianqing's cave abode.
Ever since Lu Chen had been promoted to an inner disciple, the two of them had far fewer opportunities to meet. It was only during Lu Chen's occasional excursions outside that they could gather and spend time together.
"Brother Lu!"
A youth with delicate features poked his head out from the door crack. Upon seeing Lu Chen, his slender eyes curved into thin slits, filled with delight.
Lu Chen entered the courtyard and placed some Blazing Flame Fruits and Icy Roselle Fruits on the table.
"These are spirit fruits that I cultivated myself. They taste pretty good; give them a try."
"Wow! Thank you, Brother Lu!"
Baili Jianqing exclaimed with joy as he sensed the rich spiritual energy emanating from the two spirit fruits.
Due to his cultivation needs, he often consumed second-rate pills, but second-rate spirit fruits were a rare treat. After all, he wasn't yet at the stage where he could casually snack on such delicacies.
"How's your cultivation going lately? It seems like your progress has been remarkable."
Lu Chen sat down and asked Baili Jianqing.
"Not long ago, I entered the perfect Qi Refining stage and am now preparing to attempt foundation establishment. I even specially requested a large sum of funds from my family's elder for this purpose."
Baili Jianqing chuckled.
"Remember to adjust your state to its optimal condition. Only when your spiritual power, spiritual sense, and physical body are in perfect harmony can you break through in one go," Lu Chen advised, sharing his own breakthrough experiences. He had a favorable impression of Baili Jianqing.
The two had known each other even before joining the Celestial Sword Sect, and their relationship was quite harmonious and natural. Over the years, Baili Jianqing had become one of Lu Chen's closest friends within the sect.
"When I break through to the foundation establishment stage, it will be my turn to bring you along, Brother Lu!"
Baili Jianqing's impression of Lu Chen was still that of a diligent researcher of spirit plants, and he boldly made this promise despite not having broken through himself.
Lu Chen smiled faintly.
"By the way, I brought you a sword grass plant this time. It's of decent quality and even has an attached fire attribute."
He took out a scarlet sword grass plant from his storage bag and handed it to Baili Jianqing.
"Haha, I didn't expect you to remember, Brother Lu!"
Baili Jianqing took the sword grass, infused it with his spiritual power, and performed a sword maneuver.
The scarlet sword grass emitted a burst of sword qi, and the invisible sword blade was coated with a thin layer of fire-attributed spiritual power, radiating a scorching heat that could be felt from a distance.
"Thank you, Brother Lu. I really like this sword grass," Baili Jianqing said sincerely as he faced Lu Chen.
Every sword grass plant was inherently a sword artifact, and among artifacts of the same grade, they were considered top-notch. As far as Lu Chen knew, the second-rate sword grass was one of the main artifacts for many inner sect disciples in the early stages of foundation establishment.
The two friends, who hadn't seen each other in a long time, chatted happily, envisioning a beautiful future on their cultivation path.
Sword Hall.
A middle-aged cultivator with an aura as deep as an abyss strode forward, his face so gloomy that it seemed about to drip with water.
Wherever he passed, the Sword Hall disciples he encountered greeted him with soft voices and quickly lowered their heads to avoid him.
"Junior Brother Shen, I just learned that the remaining fourth-rate Sword Qiao spirit seed has been taken by someone else?"
"It's said that it was taken by a foundation establishment stage disciple who has just joined the inner sect?"
The middle-aged cultivator spoke in a low and measured tone to the elegant Shen Ye, his entire body trembling with a terrifying energy.
Shen Ye's back straightened, and the deep black sword case behind him trembled slightly, blocking the oppressive aura emanating from the middle-aged cultivator.
However, Shen Ye's expression remained unchanged, as if he wasn't affected in the slightest. He slowly raised his head and replied calmly, "That's right. I strongly advocated for it, and even Senior Brother Murong had no objections."
(End of Chapter)
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