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Chapter 55: Ambush
Chapter 55: Ambush
The Jagged Vine was a third-grade spirit plant, and Lu Chen certainly didn't believe that a small bottle of inferior Black-lined Serpent blood would be enough to satisfy its growth needs.
His main goal was to observe the changes in the Jagged Vine after bathing it in serpent blood.
The results were quite satisfying. Even though this bottle of Black-lined Serpent blood didn't quench its thirst, the Jagged Vine still underwent favorable changes and no longer looked as withered as before.
"Looks like I'll need to find a way to get my hands on larger quantities of serpent demon beast blood with a higher grade," Lu Chen mused as he gazed at the Jagged Vine, which still retained its black and red hues, sensing the noticeable boost in its vitality.
For the next three days, Lu Chen stayed put in his courtyard, devoting all his energy to cultivating spirit plants and nurturing spirit beasts.
The house was stocked with spirit rice, demon beast meat, and other common supplies, ensuring that he wouldn't have to worry about daily necessities for quite some time.
During these three days, thirteen out of the remaining thirty-nine Spirit Glowblooms reached full maturity.
Among them, five were of good quality, six were of superior quality, and two were of perfect quality.
With cultivation came harvest, and the thirteen white orbs of light brought Lu Chen thirteen rewards.
His cultivation base had increased by a total of two years, further solidifying his strength at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. Additionally, he acquired four first-grade talismans, three technique experience packets—Earth Drawing Art, Wood Birth Art, and Gengjin Sword Manual—and two Peiyuan Dan pill formulas, which he absorbed to augment his theoretical knowledge of refining the Peiyuan Dan pills.
On the Red Cloud Pine, two of the remaining four Red Cloud Pine cones were nearing complete maturity.
Of course, there was no harm in harvesting them now, as they appeared identical to the first cone he had plucked earlier.
However, Lu Chen, being able to perceive the subtle states of the spirit plants, knew that the cones had not yet reached their optimal maturity.
Picking them too early or too late would slightly affect the quality of the cones and, consequently, the rewards bestowed by the white orbs of light.
Thus, he could only harvest them at the most opportune moment.
Lu Chen decided to leave the two cones for now and planned to check on them again the next morning.
That night, as darkness fell, the world fell silent.
The spirit field was enveloped in a thin layer of spiritual energy, seemingly lulled to sleep by the descending twilight, with only the Grass Puppet patrolling the ridges of the spirit field, its slender gray grass legs trailing behind.
A figure, akin to a wisp of cloud and smoke, drifted to the front of the array.
The figure paused, and a cultivator clad in night-traveling robes, face obscured, gazed silently at the thin layer of spiritual energy shielding the field.
"This should be the place."
"I wonder what Zhou Daoist is thinking. He's only at the third layer of Qi Refinement, yet he dares to come alone without full confidence, even going so far as to spend spirit stones to hire me for this trip."
"Seems like spending too much time cultivating spirit plants has dulled his edge. Being surrounded by flowers and grasses every day has softened his resolve."
"However, according to him, this solitary cultivator of spirit plants is highly valued by the Hundred Herbs Hall, and his spirit field contains many rare and precious spirit herbs. Once we deal with him, all of it will be mine."
Several thoughts flashed through the figure's mind as they retrieved a talisman shimmering with spiritual light from their storage bag.
"To avoid alerting other cultivators and attracting the attention of the Enforcement Hall patrols, I'll have to use this second-grade Breaking Spirit Talisman."
There were generally three methods for cultivators to break through arrays.
One was to have a profound understanding of array formations and possess great expertise in that field, allowing them to dismantle the array from its root.
The second was to utilize specialized talismans, array-breaking artifacts, or similar tools to swiftly undo the array.
And the final method was to brute force their way through, regardless of the array's intricacies, by sheer power alone.
A first-grade array wouldn't be too challenging to break through forcefully with his cultivation at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement. However, doing so would create a significant ruckus and likely draw unwanted attention.
The second-grade Breaking Spirit Talisman in his hand could swiftly discern the flow of spiritual energy within first-grade or ungraded arrays, exposing their weaknesses and allowing him to effortlessly dismantle them, thus saving a significant amount of time.
The talisman glowed brightly as its spiritual energy merged with the thin layer of protective spiritual energy surrounding the spirit field. Soon, the spiritual energy shield began to shimmer, revealing intricate currents of energy flowing in an esoteric pattern.
The masked cultivator's eyes lit up as he quickly identified a flaw in the first-grade protective array.
After a few dozen breaths, he effortlessly passed through the array and entered the spirit field.
In the hazy twilight, a vast expanse of Spirit Glowblooms came into view, their slender leaves shimmering with starlike luminescence.
"There are about twenty to thirty mature Spirit Glowblooms here. Just these alone are worth far more than the Breaking Spirit Talisman I just used."
The masked cultivator moved with the agility of a swallow, weaving through the spirit field as he rushed toward the house in the distance, his eyes scanning the array of spirit plants on either side.
Since his target was merely a third-layer Qi Refinement solitary cultivator, he didn't consider him much of a threat, and his attention was mostly focused on the abundance of spirit plants, already viewing them as his possessions.
"There are about twenty first-grade Blood Jade Ginseng plants, and their quality seems quite good. I can exchange them for a substantial number of spirit stones from Zhou Daoist. After all, he only asked for the cultivator's collection of scriptures and jade slips."
"These three plants should be the second-grade Clearwonder Spirit Tea he mentioned. Hmph, from his earlier complaints, it seems he couldn't compete with this third-layer Qi Refinement solitary cultivator."
"Hmm, what's this?"
The masked cultivator slowed his pace, his attention captured by a particular spirit plant.
The plant was about two feet tall, pitch-black, and stood erect in the spirit soil like a sword. Strange sword intent lingered around the surrounding spirit soil, as if the plant itself were a sword cultivator.
Even without any experience in cultivating spirit plants, he could tell at a glance that this peculiar plant was exceptionally rare.
"And this vine looks like a dead snake at first glance."
The serpentine vine, the sword-like spirit plant, the multitude of Spirit Glowblooms, the Blood Jade Ginseng, and the three precious Clearwonder Spirit Tea seedlings...
"This trip is definitely worth it..."
The masked cultivator couldn't help but feel delighted. The solitary cultivator and spirit herbologist had far more spirit plants in his spirit field than he had anticipated, and their quality exceeded his expectations.
"Once I deal with that solitary cultivator, all of these will be mine."
He quickened his pace, and a short, pitch-black sword appeared in front of him.
The sword blade trembled slightly, as if it could shoot forward at any moment, piercing through the walls and impaling the cultivator inside.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, several thin grass ropes shot out from the spirit field behind him, wrapping around his wrists and arms like parasitic worms.
The pitch-black sword transformed into a beam of black light, encircling the grass ropes and slicing them into pieces.
Following the grass ropes, he then located the Grass Puppet and severed its gray grass limbs with a swift strike.
"It's just a grass puppet, albeit one with stronger offensive capabilities."
With the grass puppet disabled, the masked cultivator relaxed.
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(End of Chapter)
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