Chapter 491: The Confidence of a Sword Genius
Chapter 491: The Confidence of a Sword Genius
Forty-seven fourth-grade Sword Talismans, including eleven Roaring Sea Sword Talismans, twelve Falling Star Sword Talismans, nine Dragon Elephant Sword Talismans, and the most numerous, the Great Sun Sword Talismans, with a total of fifteen.
Lu Chen's collection of Sword Talismans had just expanded severalfold, reaching a staggering sixty talismans.
"A single fourth-grade Sword Talisman can seriously injure or even slay a mid-to-late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. With sixty of them... Well, even if there's a huge gap between the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment stages, anyone who crosses my path will have to think twice."
He felt his offensive power surge exponentially.
While other sect disciples treasured and coveted fourth-grade Sword Talismans, treating them as rare treasures, Lu Chen now possessed so many that they seemed commonplace to him. It was no wonder that his confidence had swelled considerably.
He had ten Sword-Nurturing Gourds left, which he intended to use for condensing spirit-seeds. Following the seed-condensing technique he had long since memorized, Lu Chen channeled his spiritual energy along a special route into the gourds.
Through his spiritual sense, he perceived the rampant, minute sword energies within.
Carefully, Lu Chen guided the sword energies inside the gourds, merging them with the gourds' vitality.
The fusion process was intricate and complex, but his enhanced spiritual sense, nurtured by the Spirit Nurturing Plaque and his cultivation of the Divine Derivative Technique, gave him an edge that most Foundation Establishment cultivators lacked, ensuring his success.
A faint, greenish light appeared within each gourd—a minuscule speck of light surrounded by countless minuscule sword energies dancing around it, with one or two silently merging into the light from time to time.
"The most difficult step is done. Now, I just need to nurture the spirit-seeds from these lights in the Sword-Nurturing Gourds. One mistake and all my efforts will be for naught. I guess I'll have to visit this secret realm quite often from now on."
Lu Chen retracted his spiritual sense, deep in thought.
He repeated the process, creating preliminary spirit-seed formations in the remaining nine Sword-Nurturing Gourds.
Next, he turned his attention to the second-grade spirit plants—the Fiery Flame Fruits and the Ice Bellflowers. Due to having only five of each, the number of spirit fruits was limited, so he decided to use them all for condensing spirit-seeds instead of harvesting any.
"It's a shame that condensing spirit-seeds skips the step of obtaining the light orbs, even though it saves a lot of spirit stones and sword seals."
"But this small sacrifice is worth it for the greater gains later on. Losing the light orb rewards for some second and third-grade spirit plants is acceptable."
Lu Chen thought to himself, though he knew that if it were fourth-grade spirit plants, the trade-off would be much harder to accept.
He arrived in front of the small hill engulfed in flames and took out the Yuanjing Fire Crystal. His palm turned a lustrous jade color, and with a firm squeeze, tendrils of scarlet flame shot out like fiery snakes, writhing wildly in the air.
The Charcoal Phoenix Wood, immersed in the flames, sensed the presence of the Yuanjing Fire and responded by illuminating the dark golden cracks along its middle.
"Cheep!"
A crisp phoenix cry rang out.
A pair of dark golden phoenix shadows flew out, transforming into streams of light that directly grasped one of the fiery snakes. In just a few moments, they devoured the entire stream of fire.
"This Phoenix Wood is sixth-grade, and with the Red Lotus Flames it had during its early growth, along with the strange fire from this small hill, and now the near-fifth-grade Yuanjing Fire, I estimate it won't have any problems growing for a long time to come."
Lu Chen murmured to himself as he observed the Phoenix Wood.
After nurturing the Phoenix Wood, he proceeded to inspect the detailed status of the other spirit plants in the secret realm.
The fifth-grade Pure Jade Tea had grown delicate jade-like leaves. As he drew closer, a refreshing aroma filled his nostrils, making him feel refreshed and invigorated.
The Vajra Bodhi Tree, nourished by the Buddhist magic artifact, the Demon-Subduing Spike, was growing much better than before, with Vajra illusions appearing from time to time, resembling an angry deity subduing demons.
As for the Mind Ape Fruit, it hadn't been planted for very long, and due to its high grade, it hadn't yet sprouted or taken root. However, Lu Chen estimated that it wouldn't take much longer.
Nurtured by the Thunderous Stone, the Falling Thunder Trees emanated a brilliant lightning aura, their gnarled forms brimming with thunderous might, signaling their progression towards maturity.
"High-grade spirit plants are all within the incomplete secret realm. I wonder what kind of light orbs a fifth-grade spirit plant will yield."
Thus far, none of the fifth-grade spirit plants had matured, and Lu Chen's curiosity was piqued, anticipating the rewards that awaited him.
After tending to the spirit plants and condensing their spirit-seeds, Lu Chen returned to his cave abode.
"With over forty Sword-Nurturing Gourds, the number is simply too excessive, and I must find a way to manage them."
Lu Chen held a cyan Sword-Nurturing Gourd in his hand, causing the sword energies within to riot as if they could burst out at any moment.
The third-grade Sword-Nurturing Gourds held little value for him at his current stage, but they would be highly prized by inner sect disciples. For cultivators at the early Foundation Establishment stage, these gourds were akin to powerful third-grade magical artifacts.
"I'll give some away, sell some, and keep a couple as mementos."
"The Sword-Nurturing Gourd is such a magnificent spirit plant, and now that I've mastered the art of seed condensation, I can experiment with inducing and improving the seeds once I have a larger quantity."
Lu Chen's eyes lit up with a sudden idea, which he quietly noted.
"However, I can deal with them gradually. Before that, there's one more matter I need to address."
He took out the fourth-grade Sword Thousand Owl, a peculiar sword grass with branches and leaves resembling a chaotic cluster of swords. The sword intents converged to form owl-like birds, their lower halves seamlessly merging with the branches, and their long, slender feathers dripping with a subdued sharpness.
"I ought to pay a visit to the Sword Hall, deliver this fourth-grade Sword Thousand Owl to Senior Brother Shen Ye, and see if I can scrounge some new sword grass seeds along the way."
Due to their rarity, sword grasses produced excellent light orb rewards, and with Lu Chen's reputation as a sword hall disciple and his renowned prowess in cultivating sword grasses, obtaining additional sword grass seeds would be a breeze.
He summoned the plump bird and rode it swiftly towards the Sword Hall.
As soon as they landed in the jade square in front of the Sword Hall's grand hall, a fellow sword hall disciple approached and took the wind falcon, making arrangements for its care.
"Thank you for your hard work, Brother."
Lu Chen smiled and nodded.
"It's no trouble at all, Brother Lu. It's my duty."
The sword hall disciple, with a straight-laced appearance and a longsword on his back, replied promptly.
Standing at the entrance of the grand hall, Lu Chen watched the bustling crowd of sword cultivators coming and going, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
"Sword Hall, your sword genius has returned!"
He mused dramatically to himself, his confidence brimming.
Usually, due to his exceptional ability with spirit plants, his skill in cultivating sword grasses was unparalleled among the sword hall disciples, leading Shen Ye and the others to believe that he was a sword genius.
After all, proficiency in sword techniques was a prerequisite for successfully cultivating sword grasses.
However, Lu Chen was well aware of his limitations. His success in cultivating sword grasses relied more on his understanding of their detailed states and the absorption of sword intent experience packages. In terms of innate talent for the sword path, he was rather ordinary and would have to exert several times the effort compared to others to cultivate high-grade sword grasses.
But now, things were different. With the acquisition of the Clarity Sword Heart, he could truly be considered a sword genius.
(End of Chapter)
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