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Chapter 858: The First Time for the Hollow Silkwood
Chapter 858: The First Time for the Hollow Silkwood
"After years of cultivation, coupled with the small boost in cultivation base from the spheres of light, I've finally succeeded in breaking through to the late Core Formation stage."
Lu Chen's lips curved upwards in satisfaction.
"It took me almost four decades to advance from the initial Core Formation stage to this point."
"Including the three decades it took to get to the second layer of Qi Refining and up to the Core Formation stage, it's only been a short seventy years to reach the late Core Formation stage from being a small, solitary cultivator."
A myriad of emotions filled his heart.
"This rate of progress is nothing to scoff at, even when compared to those with innate Dao bodies or the reincarnated greats."
The path of cultivation, from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, and then to Core Formation, and even beyond, each breakthrough presented countless challenges.
But for Lu Chen, everything seemed to come so naturally.
It was as if breaking through was as simple as eating and drinking water.
"To have reached this stage today is due not only to my diligent cultivation but also to the slight assistance from the spheres of light."
He thought to himself, a bit shamelessly.
"Once I've digested and absorbed this, I can start contacting the Treasure Pavilion's artifact spirit senior."
"I think about that incomplete Cave Heaven day and night."
"Of course, it's not just for that. I also miss the artifact spirit senior, as it's been a long time since I last saw them."
"Additionally, I should also start preparing for the next stage—the Nascent Soul."
Lu Chen made his plans in his mind.
He intended to approach this from two angles.
Firstly, he would collect rare treasures that could increase the probability of successfully forming a Nascent Soul. Perhaps among the many high-grade spirit plants he was cultivating, there would be one or two that could provide what he needed.
Secondly, in the event that he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, he needed to consider how he would continue to increase his cultivation base.
It was foreseeable that after the Nascent Soul stage, the cultivation base bonuses from the Firefly Grass would decrease significantly, so finding a new alternative was of utmost importance.
However, Lu Chen speculated that the Fifth-grade Prime Spirit Ginseng currently growing in his spirit fields might perfectly replace the Ice Firefly Grass.
With these thoughts in mind, he finally turned his attention to the remaining treasures.
Among the eighty-plus spheres of light, over twenty brought cultivation base bonuses, propelling Lu Chen's cultivation base forward by more than sixty years.
After refining the Seventh-grade Ruby-Red Phoenix Bones, his root bone had improved significantly, so these sixty-plus years of cultivation base had an even greater impact on him.
From the remaining sixty-odd spheres of light, he obtained twenty-four Fourth-grade Icy Marrow Pills, twenty-eight vials of Fourth-grade Icy Marrow Elixir, and nine experience packages containing the recipe for the elixir.
After absorbing the experience packages, Lu Chen's skill in brewing this Fourth-grade spirit brew improved even further. His success rate was now terrifyingly high, and the quality of the brew was noticeably better than other Fourth-grade spirit brews on the market.
The remaining two dozen or so Ice Firefly Grass plants would naturally be used to condense spirit seeds, ensuring he could steadily obtain cultivation base bonuses.
After breaking through to the Core Formation stage, Lu Chen did not become complacent. Instead, he continued his routine of inspecting his spirit fields, carefully examining each and every spirit plant.
Along the way, he encountered the grass puppet with the arrow vine draped over its shoulder. Lu Chen took out a Spirit Absorbing Grass Pearl from his storage bag and stuffed it into the gray lump on the grass puppet's large head.
Watching the grass puppet's body rapidly turn green, Lu Chen continued on his way, content as he inspected the rest of the spirit plants.
In a relatively remote spirit field.
The pink miasma shrouded the place, and the Demon Ghost Vine extended countless grayish-white tendrils that wriggled incessantly.
"After bearing fruit multiple times, the Bewitching Immortal Peach is taking longer to ripen and producing fewer peaches. I suppose it's reaching its limit."
Lu Chen gazed at the pale pink immortal peaches that were barely visible within the pink miasma and couldn't help but sigh.
After all, the Bewitching Immortal Peach was only a Third-grade spirit plant, and having harvested it multiple times, it couldn't continue indefinitely.
He planned to use this opportunity to research the method of condensing the spirit peaches' seeds, hoping to improve this unique spirit fruit and turn it into a higher-grade spirit plant.
The herb, known as the Flying Thunder Herb, had silver-white roots that resembled strange, writhing legs, moving at an incredibly fast frequency and speed.
"The Flying Thunder Herb has escaped again. Where's the Thunder Dragon Turtle?" Lu Chen wondered aloud.
Before he could finish his thought, another flash of silver-white light zipped past.
The Thunder Dragon Turtle, its body crackling with thunderous energy, was hot on the trail of the sixth-grade Flying Thunder Herb.
While the Flying Thunder Herb possessed extraordinary speed and was nearing maturity, common sense dictated that it should be significantly faster than the Thunder Dragon Turtle, which was still in its juvenile form.
However, the Thunder Dragon Turtle was no ordinary beast. Its unique bloodline granted it innate mastery over the secret art of Thunder Escape, allowing it to easily keep up with the Flying Thunder Herb despite its slower growth rate.
After a few breaths, Lu Chen witnessed the Thunder Dragon Turtle grasping the silver-white herb in its jaws as it entered the restriction he had set up.
Lu Chen had casually cast the restriction to allow the Flying Thunder Herb to freely express its nature, giving it ample opportunity to attempt escapes.
After all, with the sixth-grade Myriad Barrier Spirit Crystal Formation and the vigilant Thunder Dragon Turtle watching over it, there was little chance of the herb ever escaping the cave abode.
Of course, one couldn't ignore the attraction that the two seventh-grade Ethereal Wood Blue Thunder Vines held for the Flying Thunder Herb.
"Even if I were to open the cave abode, the Flying Thunder Herb wouldn't be able to bring itself to leave those two Ethereal Wood Blue Thunder Vines behind," Lu Chen mused to himself.
"Hmm? Is that the Hollow Silkwood growing?"
As he stepped into the core spirit field, Lu Chen noticed significant changes in the Hollow Silkwood he had planted less than two years ago.
The tree, standing at less than three feet tall, suddenly exhibited faint cracks on its semi-transparent trunk.
The cracks spread silently, bulging slightly outward as if something within was trying to break free.
"Is this... the Hollow Silkwood's first molting? Does this mean that this peculiar spirit wood, capable of growth, has officially become a first-grade spirit plant?"
Lu Chen carefully observed the unusual spirit plant that he had acquired during the auction.
Typically, a spirit plant without a grade, when nurtured in the pure spiritual energy and fertile spirit soil of a cave abode, would mature within a month or two.
Yet, the Hollow Silkwood, in its molting to become a first-grade spirit plant, took over a year.
"Perhaps it's because the Hollow Silkwood is inherently a high-grade spirit plant, or maybe molting doesn't equate to maturity in the conventional sense," Lu Chen speculated.
As he was deep in thought, his spiritual sense detected a semi-transparent creature quietly emerging from the cracks. The original bark and trunk, now dry and brittle, fell to the ground and crumbled into countless fragments.
A white light cluster quietly appeared, gently flickering.
"Did it complete its first molting so silently?"
Lu Chen smiled and reached out to gently touch the white light cluster.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
The Hollow Silkwood has molted into a first-grade spirit plant, yielding a second-grade treasure, the Hidden Cicada Shell.
As the thought vanished, a huge, semi-transparent cicada shell appeared in Lu Chen's hand.
The cicada shell was incredibly inconspicuous, easily overlooked if one wasn't careful.
"When was the last time I obtained a second-grade treasure?" Lu Chen wondered.
As far as he could recall, it had been many years since he had last acquired a treasure of that grade. Holding the massive cicada shell, a whimsical thought crossed his mind.
He focused his mind on the shell, instantly gaining detailed information about it.
Hidden Cicada Shell, a second-grade treasure. Derived from the molted shell of a rare, low-grade spirit insect known as the Hidden Spirit Cicada, it possesses exceptional concealment abilities. It can be refined into cloth-like artifacts to enhance their stealth capabilities.
(End of Chapter)
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