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Chapter 343: A Grand Purchase of Spirit Seeds
Chapter 343: A Grand Purchase of Spirit Seeds
After successfully cultivating the 5th-grade Dragon Carcass Grass spirit seed, Lu Chen returned to shore.
In the spirit fields, most of the currently cultivated spirit herbs were of high grade and in small quantities, leaving large areas of vacant space.
He found a spirit field and, using the Earth Drawing Technique, made subtle changes to the spirit soil structure before planting over two hundred Water Glowgrass spirit seeds.
The delicate, slender, pale blue spirit seeds absorbed the spiritual rain that seeped into the spirit soil, soaking it up greedily.
Subsequently, he transplanted the 3rd-grade Wind and Thunder Sword Grass and Starlight Sword Grass, as well as the 4th-grade Thousand Hawk Sword Grass, which he had previously planted on the island, into the spirit field.
"It's time to hand over this guard duty to the Office of Miscellaneous Affairs," he thought to himself.
However, before heading there, he decided to conceal his improved cultivation base, which had now reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
His progress had been a bit too rapid.
From reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, becoming an inner disciple, and now attaining the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, all within less than a decade—such speed would be considered astonishing and attention-grabbing even among the most talented direct disciples of the sect.
It was common for ordinary inner disciples to take several decades to achieve such progress.
If he presented his true cultivation level to his fellow disciples, he would have a hard time explaining his extraordinarily swift cultivation, and it might even bring him unnecessary trouble.
Previously, he had obtained the Concealment Art from the ball of light, and with the Invisible Spirit Cloak to hide his aura, it would be difficult for others to detect his true cultivation level unless they specifically probed for it.
Lu Chen summoned a tall and elegant spirit crane and rode it swiftly toward the peak where the Office of Miscellaneous Affairs was located.
Soon, he entered a spacious hall and found the middle-aged Huang Xiujing who had assigned him the guard duty.
"Brother Huang, I've completed my three-year guard duty on Kongming Island and have just returned from that sea area," Lu Chen said with a smile.
"Oh, it's Brother Lu. How was your time on Kongming Island? Did you encounter any dangers?" Huang Xiujing had a vague impression of Lu Chen.
"Aside from it being a bit remote, I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. The people and customs on the island are quite different from those in the sect," Lu Chen replied calmly.
"As for dangers, I rarely left the island, so it was hard for me to come across any dangerous situations," he added.
Lu Chen handed over his inner disciple identification badge to Huang Xiujing, allowing him to confirm the task information.
"Good, you've worked hard these past three years," Huang Xiujing acknowledged.
"As for your task reward, as agreed, you'll receive a subsidy of 320 sword marks per year for staying on Kongming Island. For the three years, you'll get a total of 960 sword marks. Please accept them, Brother Lu," he said.
"Thank you, Brother Huang," Lu Chen said as he accepted the nearly 1,000 sword marks with a smile.
After exchanging a few more words with Huang Xiujing about his experiences on Kongming Island, Lu Chen bade him farewell.
"With such a large number of sword marks, I really should spend some of them," he thought, feeling a growing desire to indulge in some shopping.
As an inner disciple and an official of the Sword Hall, he received a monthly allowance of sword marks, and with the recent addition, he now had no less than 3,000 sword marks in his possession.
"I can go on a grand shopping spree at the Office of Resources!" Lu Chen thought excitedly as he rode the spirit crane to the Office of Resources.
"Uncle Lu, over here!"
As soon as he entered the spacious hall, a familiar, weather-beaten face called out to him. It was Xia Chen, the old farmer-like cultivator.
Seeing a familiar face, Lu Chen felt a surge of warmth and made his way over to the old cultivator.
"Uncle Lu, it's been a while since you last came to the Office of Resources to buy spirit seeds," Xia Chen said.
"Let me trouble you, Brother Xia, to bring out the Spirit Seed Catalog. I'm here to select some high-grade spirit seeds this time."
With the successful cultivation of the Earthfire Heart Lotus, the Mystical Insect Vine, and the Hundred-Eyed Illusion Wood, a fourth-grade spirit plant in his small courtyard, Lu Chen decided to supplement his spirit field.
As for the third-grade spirit plants, the light spheres they produced were mostly third and fourth-grade treasures. With Lu Chen's current cultivation base at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, planting them now would result in underwhelming rewards by the time they matured in a few years.
Thus, Lu Chen planned to shift his focus gradually toward fourth-grade spirit plants.
Unless it was something like the Sword-Raising Gourd, which could produce fourth-grade sword talismans, or the Essence-Hiding Grass, whose recipes for Foundation Pills were valuable, he intended to minimize cultivating third-grade spirit plants.
"Please take a look, Master Lu."
The old farmer cultivator presented a thick jade catalog with both hands and said respectfully.
The catalog displayed simulated patterns of the respective spirit plants, along with basic information. If the pattern was illuminated, it indicated that the corresponding spirit seed was immediately available; if it was dim, it meant that it was out of stock and needed to be ordered, requiring a waiting period.
The higher the grade of the spirit plant, the more difficult it was to mass-produce its seeds.
There were about fifty types of third-grade spirit plants recorded in the catalog, while there were only around twenty types of fourth-grade ones.
Not a single fifth-grade spirit plant was listed.
"Brother Xia, I've always had a question. May I trouble you to clarify it for me?" Lu Chen asked.
"I didn't see any fifth-grade spirit plants in the catalog. Does that mean that the Office of Agriculture doesn't provide fifth-grade spirit seeds?"
"Master Lu, fifth-grade spirit plants are already in the realm of Pill Formation. Each one is extremely rare and exotic. The methods to refine their spirit seeds are also varied and require unique circumstances to obtain one or two of them."
"With the sect's capabilities, it's impossible to mass-produce fifth-grade spirit seeds."
"If Master Lu needs them, I suggest reaching out to other true inheritance masters within the sect to see if you can acquire some from them."
Xia Chen suppressed his astonishment and apologized, "I'm sorry, Master Lu. I didn't realize you already had the capability to cultivate fifth-grade spirit plants."
He recalled Lu Chen's previous purchases of various spirit seeds from him.
That young man, who had haggled over the price of second-grade spirit seeds, had astonishingly reached such heights in just over a decade!
"Is it too late for me to focus on becoming a Spirit Plant Master now?" Doubt crept into Xia Chen's heart.
"I understand. Thank you, Brother Xia, for the clarification," Lu Chen nodded slightly.
"In that case, let's start with some fourth-grade spirit seeds since there are no fifth-grade ones available."
As he flipped through the catalog, he pointed at the illuminated patterns of the fourth-grade spirit plants.
"I'll take two Earthfire Heart Lotus spirit seeds and one Mystical Insect Vine spirit seed since I have experience cultivating these."
Lu Chen first selected the varieties he was familiar with.
"And this Mayfly Grass spirit seed—I've never seen it illuminated before, so let's try one of those as well."
"Additionally, I'll take twenty second-grade Fiery Flame Fruit spirit seeds and twenty second-grade Ice Lotus Fruit spirit seeds."
"That should be all for now."
Lu Chen's tone was casual, as if fourth-grade spirit seeds were nothing out of the ordinary for him.
"Yes, yes, of course!"
The old farmer cultivator nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice and hurried into the inner hall with the large order.
Providing three different types of fourth-grade spirit seeds at once was not a decision that a mere Qi Refining cultivator like him could make.
(End of Chapter)
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