Frost Armor Technique

After Zhang Hong left, Lu Xuan did not delay. Taking all his belongings with him, he prepared to go out and seek a way to deal with the Black Sprout Insect Larvae.

Before leaving, he took out a tiny stone the size of a fingernail and came before the Grass Puppet.

The little stone was pure white and carried faint fluctuations of Spiritual Power. It was precisely a small piece of Fragmented Spirit Stone, split from a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and was widely used among Qi Refining Low Stage cultivators of Lu Xuan's level.

"Once you've eaten and drunk your fill, watch the house properly for me!"

He stuffed this small piece of Fragmented Spirit Stone into the Gray Grass lump on the Grass Puppet's head and gave it an earnest, heartfelt instruction.

With the Spiritual Power replenishment from the Fragmented Spirit Stone, the Grass Puppet emitted an extremely faint spiritual glow all over its body, as though it had become a little more motivated.

Although he was not very reassured by this slow-witted house-watching puppet, Lu Xuan had no other option. He could only hope that while he was out, the Spirit Plants in the courtyard would remain safe and sound.

After going out, Lu Xuan walked quickly along the bluestone road.

The courtyard where he lived was located in the North District of Vast Forest Market. Most of the people there were Qi Refining Low Stage cultivators like him, all carrying dreams of breaking through themselves and changing their fates, packed densely into one tiny area.

As for the center of the market, it was the private territory of those great clans and major powers. On ordinary days, Lu Xuan rarely had the chance to go there.

Having not gone out for a while, he was slightly unused to it. Looking at everything before him, it felt both familiar and strange.

A Deep Yellow Paper Bird about half a zhang long carried a cultivator as it slowly drifted past at low altitude. Its body was covered with bristles of varying lengths, making it clear that it had been used for many years.

Immediately after, a Multi-legged Mechanical Beast swept over Lu Xuan's head. He could see twenty or thirty cultivators seated on it.

The Multi-legged Mechanical Beast was a common means of transportation in the market. One only needed to pay several dozen Fragmented Spirit Stones to reach the center of the market in a short amount of time.

There was no Air Restriction Formation around the outer edges of the market. There were many Spirit Beasts and flying Magic Tools like these, and in the higher reaches of the sky, a streak of sword light would occasionally flash past at great speed.

Sword light was formed by a cultivator controlling a Flying Sword, meaning the cultivator was at least at Qi Refining High Stage. To the current him, that was an existence he could gaze at but never reach.

Lu Xuan could not help but reveal a trace of envy. Riding a sword through the blue heavens, roaming unhindered across heaven and earth—for him, whether in his previous life or this one, it was a distant dream.

He gathered his thoughts, quickened his pace, and after a short while arrived at a gathering place for cultivators in the North District.

There were quite a few shops and stalls in the gathering place. Although it could not compare to the central area in any respect, for a Qi Refining Low Stage cultivator like him, it was already more than enough.

Lu Xuan weaved through the flow of people and soon found a Middle-aged Cultivator in a corner.

The Middle-aged Cultivator was also at Qi Training Stage 2. He had a thin build, with little flesh on his face, making his cheekbones jut high.

A pair of parted, eight-shaped mustaches sat above his upper lip, and his eyes rolled about as he swiftly swept his gaze over the cultivators coming and going.

Lu Xuan knew his surname was Huang and that he lived not far from his own courtyard. He had long mingled around the gathering place and knew all sorts of back-alley news in the North District like the back of his hand.

Only, if one wanted to ask him about anything, one had to pay a certain reward.

Sensing Lu Xuan's gaze, the eight-shaped mustache above the middle-aged man surnamed Huang's lips curled up slightly. He squeezed out a smiling face and went to meet Lu Xuan.

"Little Daoist Friend Lu, long time no see. I wonder how I might be of help to you?"

Lu Xuan returned the smile.

"There is indeed something I need to ask Huang Shixiong about."

"I've heard Shixiong has an extremely wide network and is familiar with cultivators of every cultivation stage in the North District. Could you introduce a few to me?"

"There are a few requirements. First, they must be cultivators at Qi Training Stage 4. Second, they must be proficient in spells with strong killing power that can be controlled precisely, or possess similar Magic Tools."

"Lastly, they must be limited to the North District, and they must be findable immediately."

Lu Xuan said this to the middle-aged cultivator surnamed Huang while handing over a handful of Fragmented Spirit Stones.

He did not expect to be able to find a cultivator with a higher cultivation level. Although such a person might be able to deal with the Black Sprout Insect Larvae faster, the reward for hiring a cultivator at Qi Refining Stage 5 would be more than twice that of one at Qi Training Stage 4.

On top of that, the Spirit Firefly Grass had already been corroded quite severely. If he could not resolve it in time, his losses would not be limited to one stalk, or even several stalks, of Spirit Firefly Grass. There were also those White Light Orbs with unknown rewards that appeared when the Spirit Firefly Grass matured.

That was why Lu Xuan, who had always been frugal, had painfully paid out so many Fragmented Spirit Stones and had even required the cultivator at Qi Training Stage 4 to be findable immediately. Everything was for the sake of resolving the Black Sprout Insect Larvae as quickly as possible.

The Middle-aged Cultivator took the Fragmented Spirit Stones Lu Xuan handed over, and the smile on his face instantly became much warmer and more natural.

"There are indeed quite a few cultivators at Qi Training Stage 4 in the North District, but there aren't many who can satisfy your other conditions, Little Daoist Friend Lu."

"As far as I know, there are three nearby."

"The first is Soaring Cloud Fairy. Her cultivation is rather profound, and she has a set of Red Cloud Needle Magic Tools that she uses to superb perfection, satisfying both requirements of strong killing power and precise control."

"There is also Daoist Friend Qin Ming. He has quite deep attainments in Ice Element Techniques. His killing power may be slightly lacking, but in terms of control, he stands head and shoulders above the rest."

"Lastly, there is Daoist Friend Li Xu. He is obsessed with the sword path and has the ability Sword Qi Turns to Silk, which also meets your requirements, Little Daoist Friend Lu."

He told Lu Xuan the addresses of the three cultivators at Qi Training Stage 4. Seeing Lu Xuan nod to indicate that he had remembered them, he said with a beaming smile:

"Why don't I accompany Little Daoist Friend Lu on this trip and take you to visit these three fellow Daoists?"

"I appreciate Huang Shixiong's kindness, but I won't trouble Shixiong any further."

Lu Xuan knew perfectly well that this would be an additional price. He cupped his fists in thanks, then turned and left.

He was not worried that the Middle-aged Cultivator would deceive him. After all, this was the man's livelihood; he could hardly smash his own rice bowl.

In the courtyard.

On the back of the Spirit Firefly Grass corroded by black, threadlike lines, a thin layer of ice frost spread rapidly with a bone-piercing chill.

Sensing the piercing chill rapidly closing in, the Black Sprout Insect Larva twisted its fine threads, about to tear itself free from the leaf.

But its struggle could not keep up with the spread of frost, and one black thread after another was frozen in a thin layer of ice.

The snowflake-like frost solidified in an instant, turning hard. With a crack, the shallow layer of ice shards broke apart and fell together with the Black Sprout Insect Larva.

A fair, tender palm reached out and caught all the shattered ice.

"Wow, Senior Brother Qin truly lives up to his name. Your Frost Armor Technique is so masterful it's practically divine. I'm impressed."

Lu Xuan looked at the Spirit Firefly Grass leaf, completely undamaged beneath the frost, and cried out in half-genuine, half-feigned amazement.

The owner of that fair, tender palm was a plump cultivator, who cheerfully stuffed the shattered ice into his robes.

"I have not failed you. I dealt with the Black Sprout Insect Larva without freezing the Spirit Plant's leaf."

"I also checked the nearby Spirit Firefly Grass for you, Daoist. I didn't find any traces of Black Sprout Insect Larvae, so you can rest easy for the next while."

"It's just that, after taking a look around your courtyard, Daoist Lu, the defensive strength around this small Spirit Field of yours seems rather weak. In the future, it may still be affected by similar incidents."

The plump cultivator reminded Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan waved his hand.

"We'll talk about future matters in the future. This time's payment is..."

"Six Spirit Stones and fifty Fragmented Spirit Stones, just as we agreed before."

A single Spirit Firefly Grass was worth far less than six Spirit Stones. The reason the payment was so high was mainly because it was to resolve the Insect Pest problem in the Spirit Field, and also because Qin Ming had a cultivation level at the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

A harmless-to-man-and-beast smile appeared on the plump cultivator's face.

Lu Xuan took out fifty Fragmented Spirit Stones, counted them twice, then dug six Spirit Stones out from his waist one by one, turned his head aside, and handed them to the plump cultivator.

"Many thanks, Daoist Lu."

The plump cultivator Qin Ming accepted the Spirit Stones and left the courtyard.

Lu Xuan felt the Spirit Stones getting farther and farther away from him, his heart aching terribly. He could not help but spit inwardly.

"Profiteer!"