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Chapter 58: Red Line Needle
Chapter 58: Red Line Needle
The second Red Cloud Pine cone was plucked.
It, too, was of superior quality.
Lu Chen stored it in his storage bag and turned his gaze toward the faintly flickering white light sphere on the Red Cloud Pine.
The sphere transformed into countless specks of light that surged into his body, and a thought flashed through his mind.
"Harvesting one Red Cloud Pine cone rewards a second-grade magical artifact, the Red Line Needle."
A slender red needle appeared in Lu Chen's hand.
The needle was about three inches long and extremely lightweight, feeling almost nonexistent as he pinched it between his fingers.
Lu Chen infused it with a strand of spiritual energy, and with a nudge of his spiritual sense, the needle vanished from his hand with a soft whoosh.
Following a faint sensation, he located the needle embedded in the wall, having completely penetrated the thick stone.
With his spiritual sense in control, the Red Line Needle flew out of the wall and danced around him at incredible speed, leaving countless red line afterimages in its wake.
"A needle-type magical artifact is quite rare. This Red Line Needle is exceptionally stealthy, slightly faster than the Rending Silver Blade, and its piercing capability is terrifying. It's the ultimate tool for sneak attacks."
Due to its minuscule size, Lu Chen placed the needle in a jade box before storing it in his bag.
"Both Red Cloud Pine cones were of superior quality. One yielded a copy of the 'Basic Talisman Compendium,' which records the refining methods for dozens of common first-grade talismans, while the other gave me a second-grade needle-type magical artifact, the Red Line Needle."
"As expected of a first-grade spirit plant, its rewards are far more generous than those of the Spirit Glow Grass and Moon Eroding Fruit, which have no grade."
Lu Chen couldn't help but marvel.
With his current cultivation at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, the first-grade talisman yielded by the Spirit Glow Grass was useful, but the ungraded techniques were somewhat lackluster. However, for now, it was the only spirit plant that could provide cultivation rewards.
Therefore, until he discovered new spirit plants that could offer cultivation benefits, he would need to continue cultivating large quantities of Spirit Glow Grass.
After harvesting the two mature Red Cloud Pine cones, Lu Chen approached the Grass Puppet.
The Grass Puppet had its limbs severed by the masked cultivator the night before, leaving only its massive head and the gray grass body below, giving it a bizarre appearance.
At that moment, thick gray grass was extending from the large gray grass tumor on its head, gathering at one of its arms and slowly weaving a replacement.
It truly embodied the phrase 'unbroken will despite disability.'
Unfortunately, its progress was painfully slow, and after all this time, it had only managed to weave a small section at the shoulder.
Usually, Lu Chen only fed it spirit remnants, but today he was feeling generous. He took out a spirit stone from his storage bag and inserted it into the grass tumor on the Grass Puppet's head.
"You performed well last night. Here's a spirit stone as a reward. Once you've woven your limbs, continue guarding my spirit fields."
"Guard the spirit fields! Guard the spirit fields!"
With his consciousness focused, Lu Chen sensed the deep-seated obsession within the Grass Puppet.
"What a model employee for a spirit planter..."
With the spirit stone providing spiritual energy, a few more strands of gray grass extended from the gray tumor, but the speed remained slow.
Lu Chen had no choice but to leave it to heal by itself.
Just as he turned to leave, a coarse, grinding roar emerged from under his feet.
"Roaar~"
Lu Chen looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Cloud-Stepping Lynx cub walking past him, its four thick, cloud-like paws padding softly.
Its gait was elegant, and its demeanor calm, but its emerald green eyes held a hint of disdain as it looked at Lu Chen.
Already well aware of its true identity, Lu Chen found the cub's attitude amusing.
"Alright, alright, you did well last night, too. I'll give you two extra strips of Spiked Boar jerky at noon as a reward."
The Cloud-Stepping Lynx acted as if it hadn't heard, continuing its leisurely pace, but the slight trembling of the tiny tufts of grayish-white fur on its pointed ears betrayed its inner excitement.
After tending to the Grass Puppet and the Cloud-Stepping Lynx, Lu Chen took out a handful of spirit rice and tossed it into the Spirit Spring Pool. The three Red-Whiskered Carps vied for the rice, creating ripples in the water that gently swayed the snowy leaves of the Pure Snow Lotus.
He also ruthlessly separated a group of Blood Jade Ginseng roots that had entangled with each other. One root was surrounded by eight others, intertwining from all sides.
"To handle eight roots at once, I salute you, King of Ginseng."
Lu Chen used his spiritual energy to gently isolate them, protecting the central root from being drained dry by the others.
He then struck the Sword Grass with a sword technique, nourishing it with sword qi.
The mist emitted by the Illusion Smoke Fruit had grown denser, obscuring his spiritual sense. He could only grope around slowly, extending his consciousness in all directions until he finally located the fruit.
For those plants in a rapid growth phase, he supplemented them with the Wood Birth Technique to hasten their development.
It was simple yet tedious, busy yet fulfilling work.
By the time he finished, half a day had passed. Lu Chen returned to the shelter of the eaves, gazing out at the thriving spirit plants in his fields. He wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and smiled with satisfaction.
He looked every bit the part of a dedicated Spirit Planter, giving no hint of the deadly combatant who had slain two Qi Refinement cultivators just a short while ago.
After a brief rest, Lu Chen decided to pay a visit to the Loose Cultivator's Market to search for a good second-grade defensive formation and some serpentine demon beast blood.
He would also stop by the Hundred Herbs Hall to observe any reactions to the death of the Zhou clan Spirit Planter.
As he set out, he adjusted his Aura-Concealing Technique, revealing only the level of spiritual energy befitting a fourth layer Qi Refinement cultivator.
It was prudent to maintain the facade of a cultivator who had progressed from the lower stages of Qi Refinement to the middle stages, thus avoiding unnecessary complications.
When he had first rented this plot of spirit fields, he had presented himself as a third layer Qi Refinement cultivator. In less than a year, he had seemingly broken through to the fourth layer, which, while considered rapid progress among loose cultivators, was still within the realm of plausibility.
However, he dared not reveal his true cultivation level of the sixth layer.
The difference between the third and fourth layers was significant, but the gap between the third and sixth layers was immense and would undoubtedly raise suspicions. A discerning eye would recognize that something was amiss, inviting unwanted scrutiny and covetousness from fellow cultivators.
Inside the Hundred Herbs Hall, everything appeared normal. The death of the Zhou clan Spirit Planter had not caused much of a stir.
Only occasionally did he overhear the herb-processing apprentices casually mention it in passing.
This was understandable. Although the market was patrolled by Enforcement Hall cultivators, it was still common for cultivators to meet mysterious ends, especially in the outer reaches of the market where all manner of characters mingled. A cultivator one knew might vanish or perish without a trace, and such occurrences were often taken in stride.
Moreover, the Zhou clan Spirit Planter, like Lu Chen, had opted for the second type of cooperation with the Hundred Herbs Hall, forgoing their protection. Thus, the apprentices of the Hall felt little connection or empathy, their primary concern being their own safety.
Lu Chen sat for a while before He Guan, the manager, emerged from within.
"Lu boy, are you here to turn in more Spirit Firefly Grass so soon?"
"Not this time. I was just passing by on my way to the market and thought I'd drop in to pay my respects."
"In that case, I plan to wait until all the Spirit Firefly Grass matures before selling it to the Hall. However, next time, I may want to obtain more Spirit Firefly Grass seeds from you."
"A hundred Spirit Firefly Grass plants aren't enough for you? If you want more, can your meager spiritual energy even handle it?"
Lu Chen smiled but remained silent, bringing the teacup to his lips for a small sip.
The thin, elderly man studied him, a guess forming in his mind. He swept his spiritual sense over Lu Chen's body and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"You've broken through to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement?"
(End of Chapter)
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