Chapter 80: Copper-Bone Bamboo
Chapter 80: Copper-Bone Bamboo
In a quiet corner of the Spirit Fields, Lu Chen carefully harvested the mutated spirit herbs that had mostly recovered, placing them into his storage bag.
There were twelve first-grade mutated spirit herbs, along with four second-grade spirit herbs that he had acquired over time. These second-grade herbs were still some way from maturity.
Due to the absence of the white light orbs as rewards, and the fact that the spirit herbs themselves had been severely damaged, Lu Chen didn't bother trying to improve their quality. He would just wait for them to mature.
In his storage bag, he also had eleven first-grade Blood Jade Ginseng plants, and with them, he set off toward the Hundred Herbs Hall with his Cloud-Walking Lynx.
Upon seeing Lu Chen enter the hall, He Guan's face lit up with a hint of joy.
"Young Lu, do you have more spirit herbs that have matured?"
"Yes, some of the mutated spirit herbs that I acquired last time have recovered, and there are also over ten Blood Jade Ginseng plants that I bought from the Hall half a year ago that have matured, so I thought I'd come by and sell them."
"Of course, and I'm sure you also came to see this old man."
Lu Chen smiled and took a cup of spirit tea from a young attendant, offering his thanks.
"Worrying about me is one thing, but I know you're really here for the spirit stones," He Guan said with a laugh. "Now, let's see what you have."
Lu Chen first took out the twelve recovered mutated spirit herbs and placed them on the counter.
He Guan carefully inspected each one, finding them to be mostly of inferior and common quality, which fetched a slightly lower price than normal first-grade spirit herbs. Lu Chen earned nearly two hundred spirit stones for them.
"And here are the eleven Blood Jade Ginseng plants," Lu Chen said, his right hand sweeping over the counter as the ginseng appeared. Each plant was a delicate, translucent red, like blood-red jade, and they exuded a rich and pure spiritual energy.
"These are..."
The thin and elderly He Guan had handled spirit herbs for countless years, and with one glance, he could tell that these ginseng plants were extraordinary. He cradled them carefully in his palms, examining them closely.
"These are top-quality plants. It's rare to see such quality. Many spirit herb cultivators haven't even been able to cultivate Blood Jade Ginseng of this caliber."
"Good quality, indeed," Lu Chen agreed.
"And one of them is of perfect quality?" He Guan couldn't help but glance up at Lu Chen, who was lounging casually to the side, sipping his tea. He found it hard to imagine that this young man before him could cultivate perfect quality first-grade spirit herbs.
While Lu Chen had indeed brought several batches of perfect quality Spirit Glow Grass in the past, cultivating perfect quality first-grade spirit herbs was a much more challenging feat.
He Guan composed himself and began to organize and count the ginseng plants on the counter.
"Eleven Blood Jade Ginseng plants. Six of them are good quality, four are top quality, and one is perfect quality."
"Twenty-five spirit stones for good quality, twenty-seven for top quality, and thirty for perfect. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great. I'll leave it to you, Elder He."
Lu Chen waved his hand, indicating that he trusted the old man's judgment.
"A total of two hundred and eighty-eight spirit stones, then. Take it, young man."
He Guan quickly calculated the total and handed over the spirit stones to Lu Chen.
With a smile, Lu Chen accepted the small pile of spirit stones and placed them into his storage bag.
Including the two hundred or so spirit stones from the mutated spirit herbs, his net worth had now surpassed eight hundred spirit stones—a considerable sum for a wandering cultivator.
"I never realized you had such a natural talent for cultivating spirit herbs, young man. To be able to cultivate perfect quality first-grade spirit herbs is truly impressive."
"No wonder you obtained the Spirit Seed Refinement Technique from Young Mistress a few days ago. It seems you have quite the ambition," He Guan teased.
"What ambition? I'm just an ordinary spirit herb cultivator who spends his days tending to his herbs," Lu Chen replied with a chuckle.
"The only ambition I have is to cultivate even more and better spirit herbs."
"However, with your talent for cultivating spiritual herbs, even with average talent, you will still be highly sought after by many factions who will vie for your attention."
The two chatted casually for a while.
"After the young mistress and I returned to the Hall last time, she instructed me to prioritize you if there are any good spirit seeds or spiritual herb seedlings. You will be given the same level of consideration as the spiritual herb masters directly cultivated by the Hall," He Guan suddenly said to Lu Chen.
Lu Chen nodded to indicate his understanding. Spiritual herb masters who worked under the free cooperation model would naturally have less say in seed selection compared to those directly cultivated by the Hundred Herb Hall. With good seeds or seedlings, the former group would prioritize planting them in the Hall's medicinal gardens, only then would they consider selling them at a low price to the free cooperation-type spiritual herb masters.
According to He Guan, while Lu Chen's collaboration model with the Hall remained unchanged, he would now have more say in choosing the seeds and seedlings.
"Do you have any good recommendations, Elder He?"
"I have several top-quality first-rate spirit seeds in my possession. You can freely choose according to your needs."
"Also, I happen to have a few second-rate spiritual herb seedlings, known as Copper-Bone Bamboo. What do you think?"
Lu Chen lowered his head in thought. He didn't have much need for first-rate spiritual herbs at the moment. He already had over a hundred Spirit Glow Grass seedlings of low grade, and for the Blood Jade Ginseng, he wanted to try sowing the seeds himself. Additionally, with not much space left in his spirit field, he decided to focus on quality over quantity.
"Then I'll trouble you, Elder He, to get me those few second-rate Copper-Bone Bamboo seedlings."
Soon, the elderly man brought out five purple-red bamboo shoots. The surface of the small bamboo shoots gleamed with a metallic luster, and the joints protruded, revealing a dark golden color.
"This is the second-rate Copper-Bone Bamboo. It's an excellent material for refining magical artifacts, especially flying swords. It can also be ground into powder and added to certain special elixirs," He Guan introduced.
"If you were to buy Copper-Bone Bamboo seedlings elsewhere, you'd probably need forty to fifty spirit stones per seedling. But with your cooperation with the Hall, you can take them away for just thirty-five spirit stones each."
"Great, I'll take all five," Lu Chen said generously, his current wealth allowing him to make such a purchase without hesitation.
He handed one hundred and seventy-five spirit stones to He Guan and received the five second-rate Copper-Bone Bamboo seedlings in return.
The Hundred Herb Hall wasn't far from his residence, so Lu Chen simply carried the seedlings in a cloth bag to avoid attracting too much attention with the third-rate Living Pouch. He bade farewell to the old man and set off for home.
Wang Family:
"Father, according to the latest news from the new secret realm, our family's cultivators have begun to venture into the core area, but the restrictions within are extremely powerful, hindering their progress," a handsome young man, Wang Chong'an, reported to the family head.
"Also, a particularly troublesome type of evil spirit has appeared in the secret realm. They can disguise themselves by wearing the skin of deceased cultivators, making it hard to distinguish them from regular cultivators. This has caused a lot of unnecessary casualties," Wang Chong'an continued.
"It seems our family won't be able to monopolize the secret realm. Spread the word and invite other influential families from the city to join forces. Let them help break the restrictions within the secret realm, and they can have a share of the benefits," the family head instructed.
"As for those evil spirits, your two sect mates have spirit beasts that are adept at detecting and tracking them, right? Invite them to explore the secret realm with you and take the opportunity to eradicate those evil spirits," he added.
"Yes, I will do so at once," Wang Chong'an replied respectfully.
(End of Chapter)
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