Qi Training Stage 4

"Little Uncle Lu, I found out."

"The Insect Pest at his house was dealt with by that Plump Cultivator. He didn't have much of an impression of the larva corpses after the cleanup. They were probably taken away by the cultivator."

Before long, Zhang Xiuyuan came running out, panting for breath. His words made Lu Xuan's heart tighten.

"Keep investigating!"

He exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi and said firmly.

They found two more Rogue Cultivators, but the answers they got were still the same.

After Qin Ming dealt with the Insect Pest, he had casually taken the larva corpses away.

In an instant, thoughts surged madly through Lu Xuan's mind. A thread emerged, growing clearer and clearer.

"Why is it that, though they're all Qi Training Stage 4 cultivators, Qin Ming's fee is ten or even twenty percent lower than Soaring Cloud Fairy's and Sword Cultivator Li Xu's?"

"Why did he casually take away the larva corpses after dealing with the Black Sprout Insect Larvae?"

"Why don't I, a Qi Training Stage 2 cultivator, even have the right to earn that bit of Spirit Stone?"

"Because those Black Sprout Insect Larvae were released by Qin Ming himself!"

"He released adult Black Sprout Insects into Rogue Cultivators' Spirit Fields, letting them quietly lay eggs, borrowing the vitality of the Spirit Plants in the Spirit Fields to nurture and nourish the Black Sprout Insect Larvae. Once the larvae grew, he used the pretext of clearing out the Insect Pest to retrieve them."

"That also explains why, despite having the same cultivation level, hiring Qin Ming costs far less than hiring other Qi Training Stage 4 cultivators."

"He's best at Ice Element Techniques, so he can separate the Black Sprout Insect Larvae without harming the Spirit Plants."

"Likewise, he can freeze only the larvae rather than freeze them to death. After taking the larvae out, he can thaw them again."

"This way, he can earn Spirit Stones and easily take back the larvae parasitizing the Spirit Plants—killing two birds with one stone."

Lu Xuan suddenly saw the light, and also understood why Qin Ming had been so aggressive.

Not only had he earned Qin Ming's Spirit Stones, he had also killed the Black Sprout Insect Larvae Qin Ming had been raising as parasites.

More importantly, he was only a small Qi Training Stage 2 Rogue Cultivator.

"So that means the Black Sprout Insect Larvae I dealt with before, and the adult insect I killed in the middle of the night, were all secretly put into my Spirit Field by him."

Thinking of this, Lu Xuan couldn't help grinding his teeth.

In other words, not only had he used his Spirit Plants to help Qin Ming raise larvae, he had also spent Spirit Stones to hire him to take the grown larvae back...

If not for the appearance of the White Light Orbs, allowing him to buy a Protective Array in time and obtain the Gold Metal Swordplay, his Spirit Field would only have suffered Insect Pests again and again, until he, this small Rogue Cultivator, was swallowed alive and flayed to the bone.

"Sure enough, the weak only ever bare their blades at those weaker than themselves."

However, if Qin Ming thought he could pinch and knead Lu Xuan however he liked just because Lu Xuan was weak, then he was dead wrong.

The corner of his mouth pulled up ever so slightly, and his eyes shone bright.

After returning home, Lu Xuan immediately walked along the courtyard wall, carefully inspecting every part of the Protective Array.

The Grass Puppet sensed its master's aura and stretched out a gray straw rope, following behind him like a small snake.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the array, Lu Xuan came to the Grass Puppet's side, took out a Fragmented Spirit Stone, and stuffed it into the huge lump formed from Gray Grass on its head.

"The gap in strength on the surface is huge, and there's no small conflict of interest between us. From the look of it, that Qin Ming probably won't let me off."

"As it happens, I don't want to let him off either."

"It's just that although my cultivation, techniques, pills, talismans, and the like have all improved greatly recently, Qin Ming is still Qi Training Stage 4. I don't know what my odds of victory are if we fight now."

"The urgent priority is to work hard on improving my own strength. I'll put clearing Insect Pests aside for now, so he won't catch any opening."

Lu Xuan pondered this and decided to stay at home for the time being, improving his strength while also preparing for the possibility that Qin Ming might break into his home.

Over the next few days, he stayed at home in peace to cultivate his Spirit Plants, and also instructed Zhang Xiuyuan not to go out carelessly.

The remaining fourteen Eclipse Moon Fruits had all fully ripened after the last harvest. Among them, twelve were Good Grade, and two were Superior Grade.

Lu Xuan picked up the fourteen faintly shimmering White Light Orbs.

"Harvested one Eclipse Moon Fruit, obtained First-grade Magic Tool Split Silver Blade (incomplete)." *3 "Harvested one Eclipse Moon Fruit, obtained First Grade Talisman." *6 "Harvested one Eclipse Moon Fruit, obtained one Essence Nurturing Pill." *3 The rewards opened from the twelve Good Grade Eclipse Moon Fruits were within Lu Xuan's expectations.

The three silver-white Split Silver Blade fragments filled in the last gaps in the blade.

A thin sword blade appeared before Lu Xuan's eyes. The blade was a faint silver-white, extremely well hidden whether by day or by night.

He controlled the Silver-White Sword with his Spiritual Power, making it dance freely through the air. The blade was extremely fast, and also incomparably sharp.

Lu Xuan took out a section of rotten Spirit Tree to test it. The blade passed through as if meeting nothing, slicing the sturdy Spirit Tree cleanly at the root like tofu.

With a thought, the Silver-White Sword swiftly circling around him suddenly split into dozens of silver-white thin pieces of different shapes, like a swarm of silver butterflies, flying rapidly around Lu Xuan.

Immediately after, the dozens of silver-white thin pieces drew together, fitting so tightly not a crack showed, forming a complete and flawless short sword blade.

"Finally, all the Split Silver Blade fragments have been collected successfully."

Lu Xuan let out a breath of relief. In its complete state, the Split Silver Blade was several degrees sharper, and at the same time could instantly split into dozens of fragments.

Previously, while it had still been incomplete, although Lu Xuan could control all of the fragments, there had still been a faint sense of sluggishness.

But now, even though there were more fragments, controlling them was smooth and natural, incomparably silky.

"The greatest value of this First-grade Magic Tool, the Split Silver Blade, lies in its ability to split into fragments."

"If it attacks in blade form, it only counts as a decent First-grade Magic Tool. But if, in the middle of Combat Arts, it suddenly splits into numerous fragments and attacks the opponent, then its value instantly rises by two levels."

Lu Xuan controlled the Silver-White Sword, making it whirl through several sword flourishes, unable to put it down.

This was also his best means at the current stage for dealing with Qin Ming.

All six talismans were First Grade Talismans; no new types of talisman had appeared.

Lu Xuan carefully put them away. A First Grade Talisman already had the ability to injure a Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator. If there were enough of them...

All fear came from insufficient firepower! Looking at the many talismans he had collected during this time, Lu Xuan felt a little more at ease.

Aside from that, there were also three First Grade Essence Nurturing Pills.

The two Superior Grade Eclipse Moon Fruits had yielded, from their Light Orbs, two pill recipes for the First Grade medicinal pill Essence Nurturing Pill.

After Lu Xuan absorbed them, he felt that he possessed extremely rich theoretical knowledge in refining Essence Nurturing Pills.

It was as if, though he had never done it in practice, he had already watched countless films, and his theory was exceptionally solid.

Over the next ten or so days, the wind was calm and the waves still; not a single ripple arose.

Qin Ming seemed to have already thrown Lu Xuan to the back of his mind.

Lu Xuan, however, did not dare grow careless and guarded himself cautiously every day.

Each day, aside from going to the courtyard to tend to the Spirit Plants, he remained inside the house the entire time, doors shut and never going out.

The Spirit Firefly Grass in the Spirit Field had already been planted for quite some time. Under his meticulous, all-encompassing cultivation, over these ten days, Spirit Firefly Grass successively entered maturity.

Lu Xuan harvested six stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass, four of which were Good Grade and two Superior Grade.

From the moment the Spirit Firefly Grass Spirit Seeds were planted, Lu Xuan had used their real-time status to provide them with the best cultivation conditions. Effort would bring returns, and the probability of Superior Grade appearing had also increased quite a bit.

Among them, three of the six Light Orbs that opened up rewarded him with several months of cultivation.

"Harvest one stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass, obtain Six Months of Cultivation." *2 "Harvest one stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass, obtain Nine Months of Cultivation."

The thought flashed past, and Spiritual Power inside Lu Xuan's body surged wildly, rampaging madly through his meridians.

As if breaking through a nonexistent barrier, the Spiritual Power gradually calmed down.

"I've finally broken through to Qi Training Stage 4."

A gratified smile appeared on Lu Xuan's face.

After breaking through to Qi Training Stage 3 some time ago, Lu Xuan had been cultivating diligently all along. Coupled with the three newly appeared Light Orbs, which brought nearly two years of cultivation, he broke through in one go and became a Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator.