Chapter 667: The Soul-Devouring Fungus
Chapter 667: The Soul-Devouring Fungus
Lu Chen arrived at a Tiger-Panther Grass, its leaves speckled with numerous dark spots, and inspected every inch of the spiritual herb with great attention.
Standing beside him, the skinny cultivator couldn't help but murmur, "Even Wood Elder couldn't pinpoint the cause of the herb's ailment. What makes this Ling Zhi loose cultivator, who has only recently formed his Golden Core, so confident?"
"Let's look at it from another perspective," the tree monster replied in its deep, hollow voice. "For Lu Daoist to have attained the early stages of Dan formation and become a guest advisor to the Chamber of Commerce, personally appointed by the Spirit of the Treasure Pavilion, his mastery of spirit herb cultivation must be profound."
Hearing this, Zhang Jiuzong, standing next to the tree monster, nodded slightly, his tone confident. "When Lu Daoist was examining the Tiger-Panther Grass just now, he seemed to have some clues. Given enough time, he might be able to identify the problem with the spiritual herb."
"Delusional," Han Song shook his head, his gaze casually scanning the surrounding area.
After a moment, when Lu Chen felt the time was right, he unleashed the Earth Drawing Technique, a skill he had honed to the point of perfection, and yanked the Tiger-Panther Grass out by its roots.
"Why did you do that, Lu Daoist?" Zhang Jiuzong asked, puzzled.
"Often, when spiritual herbs exhibit abnormalities, the changes originate from the roots deep within the spirit soil," Lu Chen explained casually. "To ensure that my spiritual senses haven't missed anything, I need to examine the root system thoroughly."
He pretended to scrutinize the roots for a while before replanting the Tiger-Panther Grass back into the spirit soil.
"That spiritual herb is already in its dying phase. By doing that, you're only accelerating its demise," the skinny cultivator remarked coldly as he watched Lu Chen's actions.
Lu Chen paid no heed to the disdain in the other man's words. He stood up, his mind focused solely on the herb before him, its shape resembling that of a tiger and a panther.
Immediately, detailed information about the Tiger-Panther Grass appeared in his mind.
Tiger-Panther Grass: A fifth-grade spiritual herb that requires the absorption of demonic beast spirit essence during its growth. When mature, it can be used as a primary ingredient for high-grade body-forging pills or directly applied to temper one's body.
Infested by the Soul-Devouring Fungus, its vitality is fading.
Soul-Devouring Fungus: A peculiar fungus, restrained by extremely yang and robust spiritual power like lightning and fire. It occasionally generates in areas containing a large number of demonic beast carcasses and is extremely rare. It is invisible and colorless, easily attracted to demonic beast spirits.
When parasitic within the Tiger-Panther Grass, as the spiritual herb digests the demonic beast spirits, the Soul-Devouring Fungus covertly seizes the vitality stored within the grass, causing the gradual formation of dark spots until the herb perishes completely.
"Soul-Devouring Fungus... What a peculiar fungus," Lu Chen thought. "Going by its description, its method of invading spiritual herbs is rather unusual and bizarre, but its strength isn't formidable."
"I wonder if it occurred naturally in this blessed land or if someone introduced it here," he mused to himself.
"Lu Daoist, have you discovered something?" Zhang Jiuzong asked anxiously, seeing Lu Chen's expression.
These dozen or so Tiger-Panther Grass plants were invaluable. If they all withered and died, it would be a tremendous loss.
More importantly, if they couldn't identify the cause of the spiritual herb's ailment, it would mean that the value of this blessed land, capable of cultivating a large number of fifth-grade spiritual herbs, would diminish greatly. The Chamber of Commerce would hesitate to cultivate Tiger-Panther Grass here in the future.
"I've made some discoveries," Lu Chen said calmly. "I seem to recall reading about similar cases in a fragmented ancient text, but I can't be certain."
"Oh? Lu Daoist, have you identified the strange entity infesting the Tiger-Panther Grass?" The tree monster asked in surprise.
"Then how do we eradicate this so-called Soul-Devouring Fungus?"
Zhang Jiuzong's heart was slightly swayed, and he found himself believing Lu Chen's words.
"This type of fungus fears the power of lightning and fire. Without damaging the spiritual herb, one can use lightning and fire techniques to force it out."
Lu Chen explained in a deep voice.
"Therefore, a certain level of proficiency in lightning and fire techniques is required, and the technique's grade shouldn't be too low, or it won't pose a threat to the fungus."
"Also, there's one more thing to keep in mind. The black spots on the spiritual herb have already caused necrosis, and those parts cannot be restored to normal. They must be directly cut off."
"In doing so, while the quality of the mature spiritual herb may be slightly compromised, we can still salvage most of it."
"Very well, thank you for your advice, Fellow Daoist Lu," Zhang Jiuzong said solemnly.
He stood before the Tiger-Panther Grass, hesitated for a moment, and then turned to Lu Chen.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, Brother Han and I are not adept at lightning and fire techniques. The few techniques we know are from our Foundation Establishment days. Additionally, we lack understanding when it comes to spiritual herbs. Would you be able to take our place and force out the Soul-Devouring Fungus?"
"I usually focus all my attention on spiritual herbs..."
"Fellow Daoist Lu, if you can get rid of those strange fungi, I'll take it upon myself to entrust the Chamber of Commerce's fifth-grade spiritual herbs to you for cultivation. Your remuneration will also be increased significantly."
"Furthermore, when it comes to the secret realm under the Chamber of Commerce's control, you will be included in the selection process."
Zhang Jiuzong interrupted Lu Chen directly.
"I happened to have practiced a fire manipulation technique, so I'll reluctantly give it a try."
Lu Chen naturally changed the subject.
He had originally intended to only display his talent with spiritual herbs, but upon hearing that Zhang Jiuzong could decide the fate of many fifth-grade spiritual herbs, he immediately changed his mind and decided to utilize the Pure Yang True Fire, which he had mastered by observing the Pure Yang True Fire Manual, to deal with the Soul-Devouring Fungus.
He had intended to refuse, but Zhang Jiuzong's offer was simply too tempting.
"With so many fifth and sixth-grade treasures and techniques on the line, it won't hurt to show a little bit of my ability."
He thought cautiously.
Approaching the Tiger-Panther Grass, he visualized a one-legged golden crow in the depths of his sea of consciousness. The crow's body was engulfed in faint platinum flames, and his entire sea of consciousness was filled with a scorching aura.
With a slight stir of his consciousness, a wisp of platinum flame emerged from his fingertip and burned quietly.
Having studied the Pure Yang True Fire Manual for many years, Lu Chen had consistently practiced it. Coupled with his recent consumption of the rare and precious Clear Serenity Jadeite Tea Leaves, his comprehension had greatly improved, allowing him to effortlessly control the Pure Yang True Fire.
"Is that... Pure Yang True Fire?"
The tree monster asked, puzzled.
"Indeed. After years of bitter cultivation, it can be considered one of Lu's life-saving techniques."
Lu Chen replied truthfully, though he didn't disclose that he had an extra life-saving technique up his sleeve.
The Pure Yang True Fire was inherently a fire of extreme yang and strength, possessing an innate suppressing effect on evil and demonic entities, making it ideal for dealing with the elusive Soul-Devouring Fungus.
He controlled the wisp of Pure Yang True Fire and approached one of the Tiger-Panther Grass plants. The platinum flames separated into countless fine strands, as thin as hair, forming a tight web of fire that enveloped the spiritual herb.
(End of Chapter)
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