Chapter 73: Stirring Winds
Chapter 73: Stirring Winds
"As long as the sect can provide me with sufficient second and third-grade spirit herbs, I'll wholeheartedly cultivate them," Lu Chen replied pragmatically.
After all, anyone could make empty promises, but as long as he obtained the rare and precious spirit herbs he desired, his dedication to their cultivation was a given.
The two chatted for a while before Lu Chen found an excuse to bid farewell.
Before leaving, he bade a brief goodbye to He Guanshi and made his way to the loose cultivators' market.
The market was bustling with significantly more cultivators than before. Among them were some who hurried with weary expressions, clearly having just returned from the wilderness.
Various new types of demonic beast materials, spirit plants, and elixirs were on display at the stalls.
Lu Chen browsed for unknown rare spirit herbs while also eavesdropping on the conversations of passing cultivators.
From their discussions, he learned that a large group of loose cultivators who had gone to develop a new secret realm had recently returned to the market.
"I wonder if Brother Zhang is back this time?" Lu Chen muttered to himself, remembering the Zhang Hong family who had once taken such good care of him.
He had originally planned to buy a pill furnace from Wanbao Building to prepare for future pill refining, but upon hearing this news, he changed his route and headed towards the northern gathering place of loose cultivators.
After moving out of the northern outskirts, Lu Chen rarely returned there.
The only people he was familiar with were the Zhang family. With Zhang Hong away, he didn't want to intrude, but Zhang Xiuyuan, his son, had come to visit him a few times initially.
However, after the appearance of the aberrant cultivators and the occasional mutated cultivator, his movements were restricted by his mother, Xu Wan, and it had been months since they last met.
Lu Chen bought several pounds of spirit beast meat in the market and carried it to the Zhang family's courtyard.
As he knocked on the door, the gate opened a crack, revealing Zhang Xiuyuan's curious face.
"Little Uncle Lu, is that you?"
"Dad! Mom! Little Uncle Lu is here!"
Seeing Lu Chen, Zhang Xiuyuan, with whom he had once partnered to exterminate insects and formed a deep bond, exclaimed in delight.
"Look how tall you've grown, Little Yuan!" Lu Chen remarked, surprised at how much the boy had shot up in just a few months. He now barely exceeded Lu Chen's shoulders in height.
With a smile, Lu Chen entered the courtyard and saw Zhang Hong and his wife approaching to greet him.
"Brother Zhang, Sister-in-law, long time no see!" Lu Chen called out cheerfully, his heart filled with joy at the reunion.
The couple echoed his sentiments.
"Brother Lu, it's good to finally see you again. Little Yuan told us you had moved away, and I've been thinking about you ever since. I never expected you to come by!" Zhang Hong exclaimed as he grasped Lu Chen's arm warmly and pulled him towards the house.
"What happened to your arm, Brother Zhang?" Lu Chen asked, noticing the abnormality on Zhang Hong's arm; the sleeve hid a noticeably thinner limb beneath.
Zhang Hong let out a bitter laugh and rolled up his sleeve, revealing an arm as withered as an old tree. The flesh on his arm had atrophied, and a section of grayish-white bone was exposed.
"I had bad luck during the development of that new secret realm. I encountered a sneaky aberrant cultivator, and before I knew it, he had sucked out the flesh and blood from one of my arms," Zhang Hong explained.
"Fortunately, I managed to keep my life and am able to see you again, Brother Lu," he added, a hint of relief in his voice.
"Can it be healed? Is there anything I can do to help?" Lu Chen asked gravely.
"I should recover most of my strength after some rest and recuperation, but a full recovery might be difficult," Zhang Hong replied optimistically.
Lu Chen nodded. Unfortunately, the Blood Marrow Pills he had recently acquired were primarily for restoring qi and blood, and they wouldn't be very effective for injuries that required regeneration of flesh and muscle.
"Although I was severely injured during the development of the secret realm, I guess you could say it was a blessing in disguise. My cultivation broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement."
"Previously, due to the limitations of my spiritual power, I couldn't cultivate too many spirit plants. But after some soul-searching, I used almost all my spirit stones to buy pills to improve my cultivation, which helped me break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement in a short period," Zhang Hong replied.
Lu Chen casually made up an excuse; after all, whether it was the cultivation improvement brought about by the white light group or the consumption of a large number of pills, it was a means of borrowing external forces, so he chose a more easily acceptable reason.
After a satisfying meal, Lu Chen and Zhang Hong sat in the courtyard, with Zhang Xiuyuan playing with the Cloud-stepping Lynx by his side. The lynx's expression was cold, its emerald green eyes devoid of emotion. It ignored Zhang Xiuyuan's teasing but maintained a close distance.
In the courtyard, the two Moon-Eroding Trees that Lu Chen had given them were planted on either side, their branches lush and bearing silver-white, crescent-shaped fruits that peeked through the dense foliage.
"After returning from the new secret realm and narrowly escaping with my life, I've had some different thoughts," Zhang Hong began.
"Before, I always thought that even if there were risks in exploring realms, I wouldn't encounter them. I fantasized about gaining all sorts of opportunities," he continued. "But reality always hits you in the face. As we ventured deeper into the new secret realm, the dangers increased, and I witnessed a whole team of cultivators being slaughtered by an aberrant cultivator in the distance."
"There were over a dozen cultivators, including several mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, and they were all easily killed by a single aberrant cultivator of the Guile level," Zhang Hong said, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes as he recalled the incident. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Maybe I'll be like you, Little Brother Lu, and become an honest and diligent spirit herbologist, living a peaceful life with my wife and children," he said. "It's time to take a break, heal my wounds, and think carefully about the future."
Lu Chen nodded in agreement, not offering any advice but respecting Zhang Hong's choices. "Brother Zhang, why don't you tell me more about the situation in the secret realm? I don't want to venture out on adventures, but I'm curious to hear about it."
"Sure, it's always good to be more knowledgeable about aberrant cultivators," Zhang Hong agreed, and the two men spoke in low voices as a wind picked up in the courtyard, rustling the leaves of the Moon-Eroding Trees.
...
In the center of the market, in the Wang Family's compound, the patriarch stood atop a towering building, overlooking Lin Yang Market in silence.
"Chong'an, what are the two sect companions you brought up to lately?" A handsome young man stepped forward and asked respectfully.
"With the help of the two senior brothers and sisters, we've almost finished dealing with the aberrant cultivators, mutated cultivators, and other issues in the market. However, we haven't been able to find the trace of that Guile-level aberrant cultivator; it's either extremely good at hiding or has returned to the secret realm," came the reply.
"You don't need to worry about that. Just make sure to treat them well," the young man said.
"Once the central formation in the secret realm is broken, we'll find a way to bring them there and use their strength to clear out the aberrant cultivators inside," he added.
"Yes," the young man acknowledged with a deep voice.
On the high tower, the wind howled, causing the dark blue robes to flutter noisily.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
