Chapter 64: Beyond Saving, Might as Well Wait for Death
Chapter 64: Beyond Saving, Might as Well Wait for Death
Upon returning to the main hall of the Hundred Grass Hall, Lu Chen approached Elder He.
"Elder He, I've harvested all one hundred Spirit Glowworm Grass seeds from the last batch. Could you please get me some more?"
"This time, I'll need one hundred and twenty," Lu Chen added after a brief pause.
Although Spirit Glowworm Grass was ungraded and worth much less than the other spiritual plants in the spirit fields, with the white light orbs it produced offering smaller cultivation rewards, it was the only option for now.
As a result, Lu Chen intended to continue cultivating it and even slightly increase the yield.
However, limited by the size of his spirit field and the fact that his refined cultivation method consumed more spiritual energy, he couldn't plant as many as he wanted. One hundred and twenty was already the maximum number he could manage after his breakthrough.
The thin and elderly He nodded and went inside, returning with one hundred and twenty slender, desiccated spirit seeds, which he handed to Lu Chen.
As with their previous arrangement, the price was two to three percent cheaper than the market rate. Lu Chen paid thirty-six spirit stones for the one hundred and twenty Spirit Glowworm Grass seeds.
"Elder He, there's something I'd like to ask of you," Lu Chen said eagerly after handing over the spirit stones.
"From that sneaky look on your face, I can tell it's nothing good. Go on," Elder He sighed, already accustomed to Lu Chen's schemes.
"Just now, numerous spirit plant cultivators gathered here, and Dan Master He Zongguang warned us about evil insects infiltrating and contaminating the spirit plants. He even brought out two contaminated specimens," Lu Chen explained.
"As one of the elders of the Hundred Grass Hall, could you please give me those two contaminated spirit plants?" Lu Chen requested.
"What do you want those for? They're not something to be taken lightly!" Elder He said, his expression turning serious.
"I have an idea, albeit not fully formed. I want to take them back and experiment to find out how they became contaminated and if there's a way to fix it," Lu Chen replied.
"Are you crazy?! Bringing two diseased spirit plants into your own spirit field, aren't you afraid they'll infect the rest of your plants?" Elder He exclaimed, his face contorting in surprise.
"Elder He, rest assured. I wouldn't ask for them if I didn't have some confidence in handling the situation. At the very least, I won't let the plants I've cultivated be contaminated," Lu Chen assured him solemnly.
Seeing Lu Chen's determination, Elder He reluctantly retrieved the two diseased spirit plants from the inner room.
"Do as you wish, but be cautious. Don't let your spirit plants get infected, or all your hard work will be for nothing, and you might even have to give up your cultivation. You've been warned," Elder He cautioned.
"I will," Lu Chen replied, taking the diseased spirit plants. Instead of placing them in his storage bag, he wrapped them in a cloth bag and hurried back to his courtyard.
As he opened the courtyard door, a black shadow flitted past from the crack. Cloud-Stepping Lynx sat motionless, its eyes fixed on the three-tailed red-whiskered carp in the spirit spring. Only the tufts of grayish-white fur on its pointed ears twitched slightly, sensing Lu Chen's presence.
"I'm back!" Lu Chen called out, pretending not to notice the lynx waiting by the door.
The Cloud-Stepping Lynx turned its head gracefully at the sound of Lu Chen's voice, its pair of emerald green eyes giving him a detached glance before returning its attention to the carp in the spring.
Lu Chen's consciousness reached out to the lynx, sensing its inner joy, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
In the distance, the grass golem with the lump of grass on its head continued its tireless patrol of the spirit field. The two new legs it had recently acquired were functioning well, supporting its large head as it walked with steady steps.
Once he confirmed that the fog had completely enclosed the empty space, Lu Chen took out the two diseased spiritual plants and, using the Earth-Drawing Technique, placed them into a fissure in the spirit soil.
He then manipulated the spirit soil to tightly surround the roots and stems of the plants.
After completing these tasks, he focused his mental energy on the Blood Jade Ginseng, the plant with the area of grayish-white gravel.
As expected, a thought emerged in Lu Chen's mind.
"It has inhaled an excessive amount of polluted turbid spiritual energy, resulting in unknown changes. It requires hundred-year spirit milk to be dripped onto the contaminated areas to restore its vitality."
"Hundred-year spirit milk?"
Lu Chen abruptly pulled the diseased Blood Jade Ginseng out of the spirit soil.
"It's beyond saving. Might as well wait for death!"
He was joking, of course. To save a first-grade Blood Jade Ginseng, something as rare as hundred-year spirit milk was needed? Spirit milk was already scarce, let alone the century-old variety.
Lu Chen instantly weighed the pros and cons. Without hesitation, a golden sword qi coiled around the diseased Blood Jade Ginseng, slicing it into over ten small segments. Immediately after, a fireball technique landed on the severed plant, turning it into black ash within a few breaths.
"It looks like my deduction is feasible. Transplanting growing spiritual plants into my spirit field allows me to grasp their instantaneous states. However, since I didn't plant and nurture them myself, there's a high possibility that there won't be any light sphere rewards. And even if there are, they probably won't yield anything valuable."
"Nonetheless, this is a capability worth exploring. If used well, it can bring significant benefits."
Lu Chen thought to himself as he focused his mental energy on the other plant with blood-colored leaves.
The roots and stem of this spiritual plant were minuscule, with the blood-colored leaves occupying most of its form.
A thought flashed through Lu Chen's mind.
"Blood Spirit Leaf, a first-grade spiritual plant, with its leaves infested by mutated Black Bud Worm larvae."
"It is necessary to cut and purify the leaves to remove the mutated worm silk. Then, clear out the mutated larvae inside the leaves, and finally, water it with spirit spring water. It will take some time before it fully recovers."
"This one is worth saving."
Lu Chen thought to himself. Although restoring the Blood Spirit Leaf was a tedious process, and the eventual rewards might not be substantial, he intended to use it as an experiment to gain relevant experience.
He manipulated his spiritual energy, and a delicate golden sword qi, as thin as a strand of hair, shaved off the countless black fuzz on the leaf's surface.
The innumerable tiny black fuzz fell to the ground, bouncing slightly as they made their final struggles.
After clearing the black fuzz, the leaf still had large and small moldy patches, making it look extremely unsightly.
Lu Chen controlled the golden sword qi to cut off the moldy parts. Then, he carefully inserted it into the leaf's interior and, with the aid of the instantaneous state, used his spiritual sense to pluck out several thin black larvae through the sword qi.
As soon as the larvae were extracted, they transformed into black lines, attempting to attack Lu Chen.
Before they could get close, Lu Chen sliced them into countless fragments, and a fireball technique reduced them to black ash.
After dealing with the mutated Black Bud Worms, Lu Chen, out of caution, took out an Exorcising Evil Talisman. A faint pure spiritual light swept over the Blood Spirit Leaf, cleansing any residual evil aura.
(End of Chapter)
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