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Chapter 546: The Black Market
Chapter 546: The Black Market
Lu Chen circled the formation that enveloped the entire courtyard when he arrived outside, scrutinizing it to ensure nothing was amiss before entering.
The formation he had set up was merely a common third-grade protective formation. The fifth-grade Illusory Five-Element Annihilation Formation he had used before was left behind in Jianmen Town, safeguarding the Yin Estate.
There was nothing of value in this courtyard in Black Star City; it merely served as a simple protective measure.
Entering the small courtyard and deactivating the formation, Lu Chen finally relaxed.
"Hunting demonic beasts is still not as enjoyable as staying in the sect and farming."
He felt somewhat nostalgic for his simple yet fulfilling farming life back in the sect.
"While I harvested a lot of demonic beast flesh and made over two hundred middle-grade spirit stones, farming is still more cost-effective."
After resting for half a day, the itch to farm became too strong. He went to the courtyard, took out a pile of Earth Spirit Soil from the Gluttonous Insect Pouch, and spread it evenly over the surface of the spirit field.
Then, he took out the more than two hundred Water Glowgrass spirit seeds he had brought.
He performed the Earth Drawing Technique, causing subtle changes in the structure of the spirit soil as slender cracks appeared.
Lu Chen placed a slender, deep blue spirit seed into each crack, and the spirit soil flowed gently to cover them.
He repeated this process, planting all the Water Glowgrass spirit seeds, before circulating his spiritual energy. Clouds billowed above the spirit field, and soon, a light drizzle of spirit rain fell, soaking into the spirit seeds.
His consciousness focused on the spirit seeds beneath the layer of spirit soil, and thoughts emerged in his mind.
Water Glowgrass, a second-rate spirit plant...
"Finally, I have something to keep me busy."
"I can't help it if my talent is lacking. Since I can't cultivate, I might as well grow spirit plants to maintain the appearance of a cultivator."
A smile curved Lu Chen's lips as he felt immense satisfaction watching the more than two hundred Water Glowgrass spirit seeds slowly absorbing the faint spiritual energy from the spirit rain.
After giving the Water Glowgrass spirit seeds initial nurturing, he took out four Arrow Vines from the Gluttonous Insect Pouch.
"Thankfully, I have this spatial treasure, the Gluttonous Insect Pouch, to maintain the vitality of spirit plants. Otherwise, leaving them unattended for a while would definitely cause some damage, and if it affected the light sphere's rewards, there wouldn't be time for regrets."
Lu Chen chuckled to himself.
Arrow Vines were not demanding in terms of their growing environment, and their cultivation conditions were relatively simple. Moreover, they were all in a rapid growth phase, which was why he had brought them out from the sect.
One of the four Arrow Vines had progressed the fastest and had already entered the mature stage, while the other three, planted later and not started from seedlings, were a bit slower.
Lu Chen performed the Instant Arrow Technique, shooting streams of spiritual energy into the Arrow Vines. Immediately, the small arrows that had been drooping powerlessly along the vines straightened, brimming with a vigorous upward force.
Lu Chen then cast various foundational spirit plant techniques before returning to the house to cultivate the Divine Derivative Scripture and the Purgatory Eye Technique among other techniques.
Soon, ten days passed. As he had just returned to the city, the Black Star City had not yet assigned him any new tasks, giving him some breathing room.
Lu Chen was delighted with this arrangement and spent his days cultivating spirit plants in the small courtyard, occasionally going out to meet up with Sun Yunming and the others.
On this particular day, as he was casting the Spirit Rain Technique on the Water Glowgrass shoots that had just sprouted, a talisman flew into the courtyard.
"Brother Lu, come and join us! A few senior brothers have returned from outside the city, and it's a rare opportunity to get together."
A slightly familiar voice echoed from the talisman, and Lu Chen recognized it as belonging to a fellow sect member, a cultivator in the middle stages of the Foundation Establishment stage, with whom he had some acquaintance during their journey here.
"Look who's here, our sect's most talented Spirit Herbologist!"
"Greetings, Brother Lu."
"Brother Lu has arrived?"
The group warmly greeted Lu Chen, whom they all recognized as a skilled spirit herbologist. Almost everyone hoped to befriend him, as they all desired a high-quality Sword Grass, and Lu Chen might be the one to help them cultivate it.
"You flatter me, fellow disciples," Lu Chen replied humbly, returning their greetings with a polite bow.
After exchanging pleasantries, he quietly took a spot in the corner of the courtyard.
"Brother Lu, where have you been lately?" asked a stout young cultivator as he approached.
"Brother Guo, I took on a task to clear demonic beasts outside the city and had been staying in the outskirts for a while," Lu Chen explained, recalling the young man's name.
"No wonder we haven't seen you around Black Star City. Some fellow disciples even asked me about your whereabouts!"
"Oh? Which brother was so concerned about me?" Lu Chen's interest was piqued.
"It was Brother Zhou Qi. He was probably worried about your identity as a spirit herbologist and the dangers you might encounter," the young man replied without hesitation.
"Thank him for his concern," Lu Chen nodded.
"I'm just glad you're back safe, Brother Lu. After all, the situation is rather grim these days, and we often hear news of senior disciples perishing," the young cultivator said, his face clouded with worry.
"Indeed, but rest assured that I am cautious by nature," Lu Chen chuckled. "Despite my lack of combat experience and powerful artifacts, I would never put myself in harm's way."
After spending half a day socializing with his sect members, Lu Chen returned to his courtyard.
"Now that I have some free time, I might as well check out the black market that Sun Yunming mentioned. Who knows, I might find some unknown spirit seeds there."
The idea suddenly occurred to him, and he became intrigued by the thought of exploring Black Star City's black market.
"Black Star City is located near the Black Devil Abyss, an area infested with demonic beasts and evil spirits. Naturally, there will be all sorts of strange and wonderful things, and perhaps even some mysterious unknown spirit species."
The more Lu Chen thought about it, the more convinced he became. He sent a message to Sun Yunming via a transmission talisman, seeking information on how to gain entry and the exact opening times.
When the time came, he found an isolated spot, used the Void Nightmare Eyes to ensure no one was spying on him, and donned the Thousand Souls Guise, transforming himself into an ordinary-looking cultivator at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment. He then made his way to the black market's location.
The black market was hidden within a ruined section of Black Star City, surrounded by crumbling walls that still bore traces of powerful array formations.
Occasionally, cultivators could be seen entering the ruins, mostly at the Foundation Establishment stage, with a sparse one or two at the high-stage of Qi Refining. They would produce a jade seal, enter through the broken walls, and disappear into the well-concealed array formation.
Most cultivators masked their cultivation and appearance with techniques and artifacts, but Lu Chen's False Vision Technique allowed him to discern their spiritual power and cultivation levels.
"They're all quite cautious," Lu Chen thought to himself. "Looks like I've come to the right place."
(End of Chapter)
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