https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-67-For-the-Century-Long-Legacy-of-the-Hundred-Grass-Hall/12543745/
Chapter 68: A Huge Profit
Chapter 68: A Huge Profit
"Here, these are the ten mutated spirit herbs I got for you from a nearby herb garden."
In the main hall of the Hundred Herbs Hall, Lu Chen was leisurely sipping tea when He Guanshi arrived, carrying two cloth bags in his hands.
One of the bags contained a spirit tree as tall as a person, with its upper half exposed. Its smooth trunk was covered in dark insect holes, from which wafted tendrils of faint black mist.
"Luck was on our side. Nine of them are first-grade, and one is second-grade. This white-veined wood is the second-grade one. Its owner tried many methods, but none worked, so they had to sell it to me."
He Guanshi placed the bags at Lu Chen's feet and opened them. The roots of all ten mutated spirit herbs were wrapped in spirit soil to prevent the loss of their dwindling vitality.
"Considering that you'll want to turn them into spirit stones as soon as you cure them, I chose those that are close to maturity."
"I didn't get too many because I was afraid that if you got lucky and successfully cured one, you might get carried away and lose your calm. So, let's see how it goes with these ten first."
"Once we confirm that you truly have the ability to cure mutated spirit herbs, I'll help you look for more."
"Thank you, Elder He," Lu Chen said sincerely, understanding the older man's concern about him straying down the wrong path and wasting spirit stones.
The ten mutated spirit herbs they had bought were extremely cheap, costing only forty-seven spirit stones. Including the thirteen spirit stones to be paid to He Guanshi as a fee for his services, Lu Chen had spent a total of sixty spirit stones.
Normally, spirit herbs lose their vitality quickly once they are dug out of the spirit soil, and mutated spirit herbs are even more delicate.
Without delay, Lu Chen hurried back to his courtyard. After a quick word to the Grass Puppet and the Cloud-Stepping Lynx, he didn't even bother to go into the house and instead went straight to his spirit field.
Out of caution, he activated the Mist Concealment Array, enveloping the area in thick mist to isolate a blank section of the spirit field from the other spirit herbs, preventing any risk of intrusion or contamination.
Then, he planted the ten mutated spirit herbs.
Focusing his mental energy on the spirit herbs, he quickly learned their detailed conditions and the solutions.
"This one can't be cured. It's beyond help; it's waiting to die."
Lu Chen pulled out a spirit herb with a root system covered in ashen-gray tumors. The Red Line Needle transformed into a red thread, piercing and popping each tumor, from which dripped yellow-black pus with a putrid stench.
Lu Chen casually cast a Fireball Spell, incinerating the spirit herb into black ash.
"This one needs hundred-year milk. It's hopeless."
"This first-grade spirit herb needs the spiritual power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Ridiculous!"
"What the heck is this?"
On the broad leaf of a Blood Spirit Herb, a blurry, venomous human face suddenly appeared. Before Lu Chen could react, the face vanished soundlessly, as if it had been his imagination.
"Stop playing tricks!"
Lu Chen took out a Thunderfire Bead from his storage bag. Instantly, thunder and fire surged out, engulfing the Blood Spirit Herb in flames and lightning, reducing it to ashes.
Afterward, he took out an Exorcism Talisman and, together with the vigilant Cloud-Stepping Lynx, ensured that there were no evil traces left in the spirit field.
Out of the ten mutated spirit herbs, Lu Chen directly destroyed four. Some were beyond salvation, incurable, while others had conditions for healing that were too demanding, where the loss outweighed the gain. Thus, he discarded them without hesitation.
As for the remaining six, they were primarily afflicted by mutated demon insects. These insects, tainted and warped by evil influences, differed greatly from their uncorrupted counterparts in both form and the way they invaded the spirit herbs. Without experience and the ability to identify them, ordinary spirit herb gardeners would struggle to address the issue at its root.
After a few days, the alien factors in all six spirit herbs were eliminated, but the herbs themselves had suffered severe damage, and restoring them to their normal state would be challenging.
The second-grade White-Veined Wood still needed some time before it could mature again.
Lu Chen looked at the six restored spirit herbs with a satisfied expression.
Then, he proceeded to inspect his spirit field.
The 120 stalks of Spirit Glowgrass he had planted had already grown to about two inches tall. Their leaves were slender and a delicate green, emitting a faint, alluring glow.
The first-grade Sword Grass and Dark Marrow Reishi were approaching maturity, and Lu Chen was in no rush to harvest them, wanting to maximize the reward of the white light orbs.
In the area where the top-grade Blood Jade Ginseng was located, Lu Chen noticed that as it drew closer to maturity, it seemed to become more agitated and eager, its instinct to seize the surrounding spiritual energy from its kin growing stronger.
If he wasn't careful, two or three, or even more, Blood Jade Ginseng would entangle their roots, desperately absorbing each other's spiritual energy.
Lu Chen had to devote more attention to them.
Using the Earth Drawing technique to separate them, he then brought the five mutated spirit herbs, which were now eight or nine parts cured, to the Hundred Herbs Hall.
As for the second-grade White-Veined Wood, it still had some time before it matured, so Lu Chen planned to leave it in the spirit field to nurture it further.
"Lu, my boy, come over here!"
In the Hundred Herbs Hall, Elder He spotted Lu Chen from a distance and called out to him.
"So, how did it go? Out of those ten mutated spirit herbs, how many did you manage to cure? Did you take a loss?"
"Relax, I know what I'm doing. How could I possibly take a loss?"
Lu Chen smiled and took out the five somewhat ugly-looking spirit herbs from his storage bag.
"That's true. You only know how to profit, when have you ever lost money?"
Elder He thought back to Lu Chen's past antics and couldn't help but chuckle.
The sight of the five spirit herbs on the counter eased his worries considerably.
"To have a success rate of over half, your skills are already superior to most spirit herb gardeners in the Hall."
"No, I should say that at the very least, in this aspect, you've surpassed all spirit herb gardeners."
"After all, many of the mutated spirit herbs they cure are of a milder condition. Those ten you bought were already attempted by them before they ended up in your hands."
The elderly man with a slender build sighed.
"To be able to cultivate perfect quality Spirit Glowgrass and cure mutated spirit herbs as well, you were truly born to be a spirit herb gardener."
Although the five spirit herbs had returned to normal, due to the previous damage and Lu Chen's short cultivation time, their quality was only inferior and ordinary.
Elder He appraised each spirit herb and, in the end, the five top-grade spirit herbs earned Lu Chen 120 spirit stones.
With a cost of sixty spirit stones for the ten mutated spirit herbs, minus the expenses for the time and spiritual energy spent, as well as the Exorcism Talismans used, Lu Chen still made a considerable profit of several dozen spirit stones.
Not to mention, he still had the second-grade White-Veined Wood in his spirit field, which would bring him even more spirit stones once it matured.
Lu Chen weighed the spirit stones in his hand and tucked them away in his storage bag, satisfied.
(End of Chapter)
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