Chapter 172
One after another, clusters of light poured into Lu Xuan's body. Thoughts flashed through his mind as various talismans, elixirs, and treasures appeared in his hands. The spiritual power between his limbs and bones surged, inundating him with a myriad of alchemical formulas and technique experiences.
Lu Xuan slowly converted the increased spiritual power, absorbing it into his elixir field.
Forty-one white clusters of light had granted him nearly nine years' worth of cultivation. His inner spiritual energy became even more abundant and profound.
"I'm getting closer to attempting to break through the Foundation Establishment stage further."
"Yet, my aptitude is just too ordinary. Compared to those geniuses, the increase in my spiritual power over nine years is considerably less."
"I wonder when I'll encounter a spirit plant or light reward that can enhance my aptitude..."
Lu Xuan sighed inwardly, knowing well that aptitude-enhancing elixirs were incredibly rare treasures. With his current state of perfected Qi cultivation, it was challenging to come across such valuable items.
Among the remaining white clusters of light, most rewards comprised first-grade elixirs and talismans. Among them were two technique experience packs, one for Wood Growth Technique and one for Earth Attraction Technique. After absorbing them, Lu Xuan gained a deeper and more profound understanding of these two techniques.
Of course, he was still some distance away from reaching the level of freely manipulating techniques.
Moreover, the rewards from the six perfect quality plants were quite decent. There were two second-grade Myriad Sword Qi Talismans, three drops of first-grade rare herb essence, along with an experience pack for Foundational Nourishing Pill.
Lu Xuan summoned the Grass Puppet and inserted a drop of rare herb essence into the grayish lump on its enormous head. The lump, under the wash of abundant plant energy, visibly turned lush green at a rapid pace.
"Off you go, keep an eye on the spiritual fields."
After turning the lump on the Grass Puppet green, Lu Xuan waved at his longtime companion.
The Grass Puppet swayed its head gently, striding on its two thin, chopstick-like legs, its massive head patrolling the fields and furrows.
"As my cultivation advances, the rewards from the Spirit Light Grass are becoming less impressive."
"But I can't simply replace it. After all, up until now, only these white clusters have brought cultivation rewards. They're my lifeline."
"Perhaps I can try to modify it and see if I can obtain a variant Spirit Light Grass. Who knows, it might yield even greater cultivation rewards."
Lu Xuan thought to himself as he looked at the vacant part of the spiritual fields.
He possessed the condensed method of cultivating Spirit Light Grass seeds. Out of the five hundred seeds he had obtained earlier, after planting two hundred, he still had three hundred left.
With a multitude of seeds, he could boldly experiment without fearing losses.
He decided to split the modification process into two stages: first, experimenting with the seeds to induce variant strains, and second, modifying the growth environment or cultivation methods during the early growth stage of Spirit Light Grass to adapt a few plants, aiming to obtain superior strains.
There were still seventy-seven Spirit Light Grass plants left, nearly all entering the fully mature stage and unsuitable for further stimulation. Lu Xuan decided to start the experiments when the next batch of Spirit Light Grass sprouted.
"Besides modifying the Spirit Light Grass strains, I need to prepare for the Foundation Establishment stage."
"For Qi cultivation disciples attempting to break through, the sect provides additional privileges such as offering Foundation Establishment Pills at low prices, providing suitable secret realms for breakthroughs, and the protection of senior Foundation Establishment experts."
"Of course, in case of a failure in the first attempt, I also need to prepare myself."
"Lastly, I must swiftly gather the corresponding treasures to assist in practicing the 'Dragon Transformation of the Void'."
"I can't keep that essence of the Flood Dragon idling away, losing spiritual power for naught..."
Lu Xuan whispered softly.
Apart from these, his demand for rare, high-grade spiritual plants remained unchanged. He also needed materials like the remains of demonic beasts, eye pupils, demon insect eggs, and more.
Lu Xuan set his goals for the upcoming period, collected the mature Spirit Light Grass, and continued patrolling the fields.
Under the Sword Qi Gourd, a second-hand flying sword lay, allowing the verdant vines growing wildly amidst scrap metal to absorb the sword intent within it.
He cast an ice elemental technique on the second-grade Ice Chi Fruit, letting it soak in the icy spell, meticulously grooming the spiritual patterns on the Flowing Light Wood, and providing ample cold spring water to the Yin Locust Tree in the cave...
Days went by in such a busy yet simple manner.
...
At Thousand Dragon Lake,
"Junior Brother Lu, have you arrived?"
"Was there any issue with the Flood Dragon's blood essence you checked last time?"
"Thanks again for helping clear out those Hidden-Scale Fish last time," after dealing with the Hidden-Scale Fish parasitizing the Flood Dragon Python, Lu Xuan's reputation among the practitioners who raised Flood Dragons had risen.
As he entered the stone room, warm greetings surrounded him.
"Senior Brothers, rest assured, after meticulous checks day and night during this period, I found no issues with the blood essence extracted from the Flood Dragon," Lu Xuan calmly stated.
Upon hearing this, the tense and rigid bodies of the crowd relaxed slightly due to their nervousness.
"Junior Brother Lu, do you have some time? If you do, please come by. I need to discuss something with you," Huang Yuan, a senior with a determined and mature face, entered and spoke beside Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan was a bit puzzled but followed Huang Yuan into a room.
Inside the room, there was emptiness, only the two figures of Lu Xuan and Huang Yuan.
"Since we parted last time, I wasted no time in reporting the matter of the Hidden-Scale Fish parasitizing the Flood Dragon at the bottom of Thousand Dragon Lake to a senior brother."
"The senior brother quickly dispatched someone to dive into the lake and used special tools to clear out the Hidden-Scale Fish fry within Thousand Dragon Lake."
Huang Yuan slowly informed Lu Xuan.
"Clearing out the Hidden-Scale Fish fry was fine, but is there any other issue?" Lu Xuan asked in confusion.
"There is one issue. Although the senior brother who came did clear out the fry in the lake, he didn't help deal with the Hidden-Scale Fish parasitizing the bodies of the Flood Dragons!"
"Since those Hidden-Scale Fish have incredible hiding abilities, they've almost merged with the bodies of the Flood Dragon Pythons, making it much harder to detect their traces compared to finding fry at the lake's bottom."
"With nearly a thousand first and second-grade Flood Dragon Pythons in Thousand Dragon Lake, if every one of them needs to be checked, it'll be too troublesome. Thus, the senior brother informed us of the method to deal with it and left directly."
"However, the efficiency of the outer disciples inspecting is too low, and there might be omissions. Eventually, it could result in substantial losses."
"Other disciples from different water areas found me and asked if you could help deal with the Hidden-Scale Fish parasitizing the Flood Dragon Pythons in the breeding
grounds."
Lu Xuan nodded lightly, understanding the situation. He pondered for a while before asking,
"Senior Brother Huang, we've known each other for quite some time, and we've developed a certain bond. I dare to ask, does that senior brother genuinely find it troublesome, or is he bargaining, seeking greater benefits by feigning retreat?"
Lu Xuan asked in a serious tone, considering his willingness to help but worried about the latter scenario, which might offend the senior brother in charge of Foundation Establishment.
"Don't worry about that, Junior Brother. I know this senior brother quite well. He genuinely finds it troublesome rather than having ulterior motives. I can vouch for this with my life."
Huang Yuan understood Lu Xuan's concerns and hurriedly explained.
"In that case, I'm reassured."
Lu Xuan smiled. There was an opportunity to expand his market; why not take it?
"In terms of compensation..."
Huang Yuan looked at Lu Xuan, speaking softly.
As those from other water areas weren't like practitioners within the same area, and due to some camaraderie, he couldn't assure them of Lu Xuan's fee for checking the Flood Dragons.
"Same as before should suffice. Besides, I can also periodically conduct blood tests on the Flood Dragon Pythons they breed."
"After all, we're all from the same sect. Mutual assistance is a given."
Lu Xuan's lips curved up.
"However, I hope Senior Brother and the others can understand that while I give up my own cultivation time to check and take blood, facing numerous fierce Flood Dragons can be somewhat stressful. Breaking their natural defenses is also quite laborious. Thus, I have to charge some spirit stones as compensation for my efforts."
He spoke earnestly to Huang Yuan.
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