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Chapter 641: The Century-Old Yin Mulberry and the Taiyin Wooden Box
Chapter 641: The Century-Old Yin Mulberry and the Taiyin Wooden Box
"Accept this Foundation Establishment Pill as a token of our first meeting. I will also provide you with spirit stones regularly as payment, and if you perform well, there may be other treasures in store for you."
Having found the perfect tool to cultivate the Nine Confucian Trees in Hong Qinghai, Lu Chen was in high spirits. After establishing an agreement, he took out a Foundation Establishment Pill and rewarded Hong Qinghai.
While Hong Qinghai recited poetry and articles, Lu Chen focused on cultivation, aiding the spiritual plant in absorbing the literary essence. Although this might affect the rewards from the light group, Lu Chen didn't mind. Having a mature Six-Product Nine Confucian Tree would be fantastic.
"Thank you, senior. I will do my best and live up to your expectations!"
Hong Qinghai's hands trembled slightly as he accepted the Foundation Establishment Pill, making a promise to Lu Chen.
Lu Chen temporarily arranged for Hong Qinghai to stay at the Hailou Merchant Group's branch and then went alone to a miscellaneous goods store.
"Senior Lu!"
When Wen Qian saw him, a sincere and enthusiastic smile appeared on his face.
"How's business?"
Lu Chen glanced at the wooden racks in the house and noticed that the number of treasures on display had diminished significantly.
"Business is booming. The treasures you provided are very popular among cultivators, and several types have even caused a frenzy among Foundation Establishment cultivators."
"The Foundation Establishment Pills sold the fastest, followed by the Fourth-Grade Detergent Pills and Second-Grade Spirit Infusion Pills. About half of the Beast Spirit Pills remain," Wen Qian reported.
"The Sword-Nurturing Gourd, with its excellent quality and reasonable price, also sold out quickly."
"As for the sword talismans, I've had countless Foundation Establishment cultivators trying to get their hands on a Fourth-Grade sword talisman through personal connections."
"Just handle it as you see fit, as long as the prices remain unchanged and it doesn't cause me any trouble," Lu Chen said casually.
After a moment's thought, he took out some more Foundation Establishment Pills, sword talismans, and other treasures from his storage bag and placed them on the wooden racks.
"I'll be taking away most of the spirit stones we've earned during this period," he announced.
"Of course, senior. Here's the ledger," Wen Qian said, quickly handing over the account book. Lu Chen flipped through it briefly before instructing, "Get me two thousand eight hundred medium-grade spirit stones."
Wen Qian nodded and immediately retrieved a pile of vibrant medium-grade spirit stones from his storage bag.
With a slight movement of his spiritual power, Lu Chen swept the spirit stones into his storage bag, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
"This shop is making spirit stones faster than I expected!"
In just about half a month, they had generated nearly three hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones in profits, equivalent to the value of two low-grade magical artifacts.
"More importantly, I hardly spent anything. The biggest expense turned out to be the shop's monthly rent, which exceeds ten thousand spirit stones."
"You could definitely say that this venture is extremely profitable."
Most of these treasures came from the light group's rewards, with only a small portion being pills that he refined himself. However, his master-level pill refining skills were also a result of the pill formulas and experience packages obtained from the light group.
"I wonder how many spirit stones it would take to buy a secret realm. If we keep making profits like this, I might be able to inquire about the price."
The thought crossed his mind. After reaching the Golden Core stage, he would have sufficient spiritual energy and a robust divine soul to support his decision to expand spiritual plant cultivation. However, the spiritual fields in his cave abode within the Thunderfire Planet Cave were somewhat limited, prompting him to consider acquiring another secret realm.
"I'll ask around at the merchant group once I've saved up enough spirit stones," he thought to himself, his gaze falling on Wen Qian, who stood quietly with his head lowered.
"You've done well. Keep up the good work, and if we continue on this path, I'll increase your compensation," Lu Chen said, dangling a metaphorical carrot in front of Wen Qian before leaving with the spirit stones.
Amidst countless faint thunderous lights, Lu Chen held the Thunderfire Token, protecting Hong Qinghai as they arrived at the cave abode.
Hong Qinghai perceived the powerful auras emanating from the spiritual beasts and remained still, unfazed as Fat Bird and Lihuo Jiao circled inquisitively around him.
"These are the spiritual beasts I've tamed. They aren't aggressive, so you needn't worry about interacting with them," Lu Chen assured.
"As for your task, it's simple. All you need to do is recite poetry and articles daily in the area I've designated for your residence."
"I have a spiritual plant with rather peculiar habits. It thrives in an environment rich in literary essence and yearns to listen to poems, articles, and Confucian classics. Your task is to fulfill its every need."
Lu Chen led Hong Qinghai to the spiritual field where the Nine Confucian Trees were planted.
"A book-loving spiritual plant? That is rather unusual," Hong Qinghai mused.
"You'll stay here from now on. Avoid the other spiritual fields that are restricted by formations," Lu Chen instructed.
With a graceful lift of his hands, Lu Chen manipulated the earth and stones with his expert earth-drawing technique, a skill at the Grandmaster level. In an instant, a stone cottage materialized beside the spiritual field.
To provide the Nine Confucian Trees with an optimal growing environment, Lu Chen had constructed Hong Qinghai's dwelling close by, ensuring that the trees could constantly absorb the essence of literature and flourish in an atmosphere rich in literary energy.
Days passed, and as Lu Chen approached the spiritual field, he heard the distant sound of someone reading aloud. The voice seemed to carry a faint yet determined strength.
Within the spiritual field, the Nine Confucian Trees swayed gently, their surfaces adorned with dancing black characters that pulsated in rhythm with the recitation. The trees exuded a vibrant vitality.
The ink on the characters had grown more intense, indicating that the trees had been well-nourished during this period.
Sensing the changes in the spiritual plants, Lu Chen cast spells like the Spirit Rain Technique to enhance their absorption of literary essence before quietly departing.
The area was also guarded by restrictive formation arrays, limiting Hong Qinghai's movements and preventing him from venturing into other spiritual fields without Lu Chen's permission.
As Lu Chen continued his inspection of the various spiritual fields, his gaze suddenly landed on a corner shrouded in dense yin energy. There, on a tall and ebony-hued huai tree, he noticed a faintly flickering globule of light.
"This spiritual plant... I think it's the Yin Huai Tree I planted many years ago. Why has a globule of light suddenly appeared on it?" Lu Chen's expression turned perplexed. It had been at least three decades since he had planted that tree, back when he had first entered the Sky Sword Sect.
However, due to the Yin Huai Tree's categorization as an aged spiritual plant with no set maturity timeline, coupled with its mere second-grade ranking, Lu Chen hadn't paid it much attention. He had left it to grow freely in a corner, only bringing it along during the sect's relocation because he had ample space in his Gluttonous Insect Pouch.
"I remember harvesting a globule of light from it a few years after planting, which yielded a Yin Spirit Pearl as a reward. But after that, there were no further harvests, and I almost forgot about it," Lu Chen thought to himself.
His gaze remained fixed on the half-meter-tall Yin Huai Tree, his mind filled with curiosity.
[Yin Huai Tree, a second-grade spiritual plant, has undergone a century of growth. It exudes a dense yin energy and can nurture and heal yin spirits. Its branches, when properly treated, can be used as a cultivation resource for yin-attributed techniques.]
"A century has passed already?" Lu Chen muttered in surprise. "I recall planting it for only three decades or so. The spiritual energy of this environment, combined with my Wood Birth Technique and other spells, must have accelerated its growth."
Lu Chen gently touched the globule of light on the tree's trunk. It shattered into countless minute specks of light that surged into his body.
[Harvested from a century-old Yin Huai Tree: a fifth-grade treasure, the Taiyin Wooden Box.]
(End of Chapter)
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