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Chapter 90: A Piece of Junk?
Chapter 90: A Piece of Junk?
"A third-grade Spirit Plant!"
Lu Chen almost exclaimed in surprise, quickly masking the joy on his face.
He never expected that this bizarre stone he had picked up in the secret realm would turn out to be a third-grade Spirit Plant in a dormant state after he casually planted it.
It was worth noting that among the spirit plants he had cultivated so far, only the Misty Smoke Rope Fruit and the Dragon Vine had reached the third grade, and even then, he had obtained them through unconventional means.
"The Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom, which feeds on vengeful spirits. Both its name and cultivation method sound rather eerie."
However, in the face of the third-grade classification, whether or not it seemed eerie was no longer important.
As he was about to put the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom into his storage bag, he suddenly paused and retracted his arm, feigning nonchalance as he glanced around.
There were over a dozen Spirit Planters in the vicinity, trying to identify normal Dragon Whiskers Grass, with three of them close to Lu Chen. Among them were two high-level Qi practitioners from the Wang family, including the scar-faced Li Jianfeng, who stood at a higher vantage point, overseeing the group.
Lu Chen was aware that these two were not only escorting the Spirit Planters but also keeping a watchful eye on them to prevent any theft of the second-grade Dragon Whiskers Grass growing on the mountainside.
With this in mind, Lu Chen ignored the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom in the crevice and walked away.
Using the pretext of searching for normal Dragon Whiskers Grass, he began scouring the area to see if he could find more of the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms.
To his surprise, he soon discovered two more, and upon attempting to cultivate them, he found that they were also in a dormant state, requiring vengeful spirits to awaken them.
Lu Chen felt that something was amiss.
"It doesn't make sense. The Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms aren't exactly well-hidden, and the Wang family's cultivators and Spirit Planters have been in this area for quite some time. They must have come across these mushrooms before, so why are there still some left?"
"There's only one possibility: the Wang family cultivators have no idea that these stones with eerie faces are actually something valuable!"
The over a dozen Spirit Planters present probably had no idea either.
The more Lu Chen thought about it, the more convinced he became, and an idea began to form in his mind.
"Huh? What's this? Why does it look so strange?"
He feigned surprise and plucked the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom from the crevice.
The nearby Spirit Planters, intrigued, turned to look, and Li Jianfeng, the scar-faced cultivator, also directed his gaze toward Lu Chen.
Lu Chen held the mushroom and leaped a few times to reach Li Jianfeng.
"Fellow Daoist Li, I found this peculiar object while identifying the Dragon Whiskers Grass. It seems to have an eerie face."
"The secret realm was discovered and cultivated by the Wang family, and the Dragon Whiskers Grass here also belongs to them. Therefore, I've decided to offer this find to the Wang family."
Li Jianfeng glanced at the mushroom in Lu Chen's hand and replied indifferently, "It's just a strangely shaped stone."
The Wang family cultivators had indeed noticed the existence of these eerie stones ever since they first entered this place.
At first, they thought they might be some kind of rare treasure, so they brought several stones back to the Wang family and spent a significant amount of time studying them. They even invited an expert from Wanbaolou, a cultivator specialized in appraising various treasures, but they found nothing out of the ordinary.
Moreover, the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms were different from typical spirit plants and seeds. When dormant, they emitted no spiritual energy fluctuations, appearing no different from the other stones on the mountainside.
As a result, the Wang family cultivators gradually lost interest and simply viewed them as oddly shaped rocks.
"I see. I thought it might be something valuable, but it turns out to be a piece of junk," Lu Chen said.
The surrounding Spirit Planters, who had been eavesdropping, continued their busy task of identifying the Dragon Whiskers Grass.
The entire afternoon passed slowly, with little progress made in finding an effective method to distinguish the normal Dragon Whiskers Grass from the mutated variety.
During this time, some of the Spirit Planters attempted to stimulate the plants using various cultivation techniques, causing a few of the mutated long whiskers to lash out in attack.
However, this method was not only spiritually draining but also unreliable in determining if there were any remaining mutated Dragon Whiskers Grass hiding among the normal ones.
As evening approached, the elegant scholar Wang Ruhai returned to the camp after being away for half a day. He carried the corpse of a wolf-like demonic beast.
"Any luck finding an effective solution?" he asked.
Li Jianfeng shook his head, his gaze falling on the demonic beast's corpse in Wang Ruhai's hand.
"I managed to take down a second-grade demonic beast while I was out. Also found a few first-grade spirit plants, so it was a decent haul."
Li Jianfeng nodded in response.
After the group of Spirit Planters, including Lu Chen, finished their task of separating the mutated and normal Dragon Whiskers Grass, they returned to the camp for dinner before retiring to their respective quarters.
Due to the short duration of their stay, the camp was rather rudimentary, serving only as a temporary resting place.
With the darkness making it difficult to distinguish the mutated plants and the danger of their attacks being greater at night, no cultivators remained on the mountainside. Only a single mid-stage Qi practitioner from the Wang family kept watch outside the camp.
While some of the Spirit Planters continued to discuss possible identification methods, others retired to their rooms to cultivate.
Lu Chen, after cultivating for a few cycles, took out the Cloud-Stepping Lynx to stretch its legs before retiring early to his wooden bed.
Late into the night, when all was quiet, Lu Chen suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes bright and alert.
He listened intently for a long while, but his spiritual sense detected nothing amiss.
Quietly, he began to circulate his spiritual energy, infusing it into the thin, dark golden Invisibility Cloak he wore underneath his clothes.
Instantly, the translucent silk threads within the cloak began to move silently and swiftly, causing Lu Chen's figure to fade from the wooden bed.
Moments later, he reappeared inside the room, a Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom in his hand, and a smile tugging at his lips.
"It cost me half my spiritual energy, but I managed to retrieve this so-called piece of junk!" he whispered to himself.
He let out a soft laugh and took out a Pei Yuan Dan (Primordial Spirit Pill)
from his storage bag, quickly replenishing his spiritual energy.
During the day, he had used Li Jianfeng's own experience as proof to dismiss the value of the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom, effectively discouraging any interest the cultivators present might have had in the strange stones.
He had wanted to pick it up then and there, but caution held him back. Now, under the cover of night, he utilized the invisibility capability of his Invisibility Cloak to acquire the mushroom without anyone knowing.
To avoid raising suspicions if all the mushrooms suddenly disappeared, he had intentionally only taken one that was relatively well-hidden.
He planned to gradually take the remaining mushrooms, and any others he might find, during their stay in this place.
"It wasn't easy getting my hands on just one, but considering its value as a third-grade spirit plant, it was well worth the effort and thought," he mused.
"However, as a mere ordinary and honest Spirit Planter, how am I supposed to find some vengeful spirits to awaken this Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom?"
Lu Chen pondered this dilemma, incorporating it into his plans. He decided that he would begin cultivating the mushrooms once they left the secret realm.
(End of Chapter)
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