When Lu Xuan departed from the Hundred Herbs Hall, Steward He had given him instructions. While cultivating the Blood Jade Ginseng, he needed to keep them apart, preventing their entanglement to avoid hindering each other's growth.
Only after planting the Blood Jade Ginseng's spirit seeds did he grasp the exact reason behind it.
The spirits or ginseng could slowly move around in the spiritual field. If they drew too close, they'd be attracted to one another, entangling and plundering each other's vitality until one withered, defeated by the other.
Of course, a spiritual botanist wouldn't let such extreme situations occur. Upon noticing entangled roots, they'd find ways to separate them.
"Being drawn to each other, entwining, and sapping vitality until I separate them. It feels like separating lovers, and I'm the heartless parent," Lu Xuan couldn't help but sigh.
Thankfully, he had plenty of time to ensure the Blood Jade Ginseng wouldn't come into contact with each other.
"These ginsengs don't have a gender, right?" He shook his head, clearing the image of entangled Blood Jade Ginseng from his mind.
After planting twenty Blood Jade Ginseng spirit seeds, Lu Xuan used the Spirit Rain Technique to nourish them. Threads of spiritual rain seeped into the soil, greedily absorbed by the jade-like blood-red spirit seeds.
Next, he planted a hundred seeds of withered Firefly Grass, providing them nutrients with the same technique.
The new spiritual field was ten times larger than before. After planting a hundred Firefly Grass seeds and twenty Blood Jade Ginseng seeds, there was still a small area left.
Lu Xuan planned to grow Crimson Cloud Pine, Dark Marrow Fungus, and Sword Grass there. If he found other excellent spirits, he'd buy and experiment with them.
"How can I make the most of this spiritual spring?" He pondered, gazing at the shallow spring in the spiritual field.
Normally used for alchemy, brewing, tea making, or directly consumed by cultivators to slightly boost their spiritual energy, it felt insignificant to Lu Xuan, given the rewards from Firefly Grass.
"For water-based spirits, though rare, they do exist. I should try searching at the market or shops."
"The spring's area isn't small, but finding numerous water-based spirits might be a challenge. It'd be a waste if left unused."
"Perhaps I can raise a couple of spirit fish?" Suddenly, an idea sparked in Lu Xuan's mind, growing stronger.
"Growing spiritual medicine brings light orbs as rewards. Would nurturing spirit beasts bring rewards too?"
The thought excited him. "Even if it doesn't, I won't lose. Spirit fish raised from the spring could fetch a good price. If it does, then it's a huge gain."
"I must try it," his conviction solidified.
He activated a formation, exiting the courtyard. Returning to his old courtyard, he harvested ten nearly mature Firefly Grass plants. After waiting two days and helping Xu Wan transplant two Lunar Erosion Trees, all the Firefly Grass matured.
Among the ten, six were of good quality, and four were top-notch. Perhaps due to insufficient spiritual power in the field, he hadn't yet grown the highest quality plant.
Among the ten white light orbs, four granted him cultivation for varying months, totaling over two years, stabilizing his inner spiritual energy.
Three orbs contained first-grade talismans, while the other three were experience packets. With a deeper understanding of two techniques, Earth Attraction and Metal Sword Art, Lu Xuan felt their potential in combat.
If he unleashed Earth Attraction fully, it could induce seismic vibrations, a formidable attack. As for Metal Sword Art, even against Qin Ming's defense, Lu Xuan believed he could land a fatal blow.
After absorbing all ten white orbs, Lu Xuan glanced at the somewhat empty courtyard and departed.
In the freelance market, he scoured the area, finding few stalls selling young spirit beasts or eggs. Eventually, he arrived at a spirit pet shop.
The shop displayed various young spirit beasts, flying, running, swimming - a comprehensive array. Mostly docile with low aggression, the shop was reputedly run by a knowledgeable member of the Beast Mastery Sect.
"Hello, how may I assist you?" A graceful young woman greeted Lu Xuan as he glanced around.
"I'm interested in buying a couple of fish-type spirit beasts. Do you have any recommendations?" Lu Xuan cut to the chase.
"For fish-type spirit beasts, please follow me." The woman directed him.
"This is the Red Whiskered Carp, a beast of no rank. It's prized for its ornamental value and can be cooked when mature, with its delicious flesh. Additionally, the two red whiskers near its gills can serve as materials for refining."
"The Red Whiskered Carp doesn't demand high growth conditions and can thrive in a common spiritual spring. However, feeding it some spirit rice would make its maturity easier."
"This is the Black Arrow Fish, also a rankless beast. Arrow-shaped with incredible speed, it requires consuming a certain essence of blood and flesh for regular feeding."
"As for the Blackwater Python, it's a first-grade beast, amphibious, highly aggressive, and can change sizes drastically, reaching up to about twenty meters in length."
"Regarding other aquatic beasts, due to their wild nature, they might harm their owner and aren't suitable for your cultivation level," the elegant woman diplomatically assessed Lu Xuan's second-level Qi cultivation, suggesting that at best, he could handle a Blackwater Python.
Lu Xuan pondered briefly and ruled out the Black Arrow Fish and Blackwater Python.
Feeding the Black Arrow Fish would require flesh and blood essence, something he scarcely had for himself, let alone to feed a spirit beast.
Regarding the Blackwater Python, hearing it could grow up to twenty meters made him immediately discard the idea. His spiritual spring couldn't accommodate even half of its size, let alone how experimental this phase was; he didn't know if white orbs would appear.
Hence, Lu Xuan leaned towards choosing mature, shorter life cycle, and affordable spirit fish.
"How much for the Red Whiskered Carp?" He pointed at a young carp in the water.
"The Red Whiskered Carp's younglings are one spirit stone each," the graceful lady replied.
"For similar rankless beasts, they're pricier than Firefly Grass spirit seeds or Lunar Erosion Tree saplings," Lu Xuan noted.
"I'll buy three. Could you offer a discount? Eighty broken spirits for one?" Naturally, he negotiated the price down.
"If you're purchasing three, I can agree to sell at the price of two spirit stones or eighty broken spirits each, which is the lowest offer," she proposed.
"Two spirit stones for sixty broken spirits each, and I'll take them immediately."
"Seventy, I can't go lower than that."
"Alright, deal!" Lu Xuan agreed, satisfied.
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