"Gold Metal Swordplay"

"Gold Metal Swordplay"

After learning from the Huang Surname Cultivator about the three Qi Training Stage 4 cultivators, Lu Xuan seized the time to visit them one by one, and in the end chose Qin Ming, who excelled at Ice Element Techniques.

No other reason—he was cheap.

Among the three, that Soaring Cloud Fairy asked the highest price, opening her mouth with ten Spirit Stones, which scared Lu Xuan off on the spot. Next was Li Xu, who excelled at Sword Qi Turns to Silk, and asked for nine Spirit Stones. The cheapest was Qin Ming, who only needed seven Spirit Stones.

Lu Xuan naturally chose Qin Ming without the slightest hesitation, and on the road, after wearing his tongue out, he haggled Qin Ming's payment down by fifty Fragmented Spirit Stones, saving half a Spirit Stone.

But this cheapness was only relative to the other two cultivators. One had to know that the courtyard with a Spirit Field that Lu Xuan rented cost five Spirit Stones a month.

In such a short while, he had spent more than a month's worth of expenses. How could Lu Xuan not feel his heart ache!

Fortunately, the matter of the Black Sprout Insect Larva had been resolved smoothly. He could only hope that the White Light Orbs from the Spirit Firefly Grass that returned to normal would bring him generous rewards.

He gathered his mind on the Spirit Firefly Grass that had been eroded by the thin black lines, and a thought flashed past.

"A sudden shudder. I feel so empty, as if something has vanished from inside my body. I urgently need nutrition."

What the hell kind of state was that? Lu Xuan grumbled. Spiritual energy surged within him, and threads of Spirit Rain fell on the Spirit Firefly Grass's emerald leaves, seeping inside.

Only after three consecutive Spirit Rain Techniques did that Spirit Firefly Grass, whose vitality had been damaged, recover by more than half.

Lu Xuan took the opportunity to patrol the Small Courtyard, learned the immediate state of the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass and the two Eclipse Moon Trees, and only after confirming there were no problems did he feel at ease and enter the house.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Lu Xuan had no time to wash up. He hurried over to that Spirit Firefly Grass, pinched the leaf, and flipped its underside up.

The black lines that had haunted it like lingering ghosts over the past few days finally no longer appeared.

He let out a long breath, and a faint smile appeared on his face without him realizing it.

After one round of Spirit Rain Technique, Lu Xuan carefully looked over the spirit plants in the Spirit Field and discovered that the Progress Bars beneath three more Spirit Firefly Grass had already completely filled.

His mind focused on them.

"Ordinary Grade Spirit Firefly Grass ×2."

"Good Grade Spirit Firefly Grass."

"Mm? Good Grade Spirit Firefly Grass?"

Lu Xuan noticed the slight differences between the three Spirit Firefly Grass.

After he harvested the first Spirit Firefly Grass, this farming cheat had appeared, so he did not know what grade that first Spirit Firefly Grass had been when it matured.

He carefully picked the Spirit Firefly Grass filled with faint fluorescence. Three White Light Orbs quietly appeared where they had been, flickering slightly, as if enticing Lu Xuan to pick them up.

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass. Obtained Three Months Cultivation."

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass. Obtained Three Months Cultivation."

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass. Obtained spell: Earth Guidance Art."

The instant he picked up the light orbs, Lu Xuan felt the spiritual energy inside his body suddenly skyrocket.

The wildly surging Spiritual Power rampaged through his meridians. Once it settled, Lu Xuan sensed that his cultivation had broken through to Qi Training Stage 3 as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

After many days of bitter cultivation, plus a little help from three White Light Orbs, he had finally succeeded in breaking through to Qi Training Stage 3.

Lu Xuan thought with relief.

At the same time as his Spiritual Power surged, an incantation art called the Earth Guidance Art also appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

Understanding dawned in his heart, and he learned a great deal of information about the Earth Guidance Art.

The Earth Guidance Art was similar to the Spirit Rain Technique. Both were among the several low-level techniques essential to Spirit Plant Masters. After cultivating it successfully, one could draw out and control changes in the structure of soil, and could also alter the concentration of Spiritual Power within the soil, allowing spirit plants to grow better.

For the current Lu Xuan, it could be said to be quite practical.

He activated the incantation art. The gray-black soil in the Spirit Field, under the control of his Spiritual Power, rose slightly, subtly adjusting the positions of the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass roots and stems in small ways, making their distribution more reasonable so they were no longer either leaving a large empty patch or crowding together.

"I originally thought all the White Light Orbs brought by Spirit Firefly Grass would be Three Months Cultivation. Now it seems that spirit plants of the same species can still produce different light orb rewards.

That mature Good Grade Spirit Firefly Grass brought the spell Earth Guidance Art."

"Looks like the remaining twenty or so Spirit Firefly Grass, as well as the two Eclipse Moon Trees, all need to be tended even more carefully. Improving their grade at maturity is the same as improving the rewards from the White Light Orbs."

Lu Xuan thought to himself.

The courtyard was not large. The two Eclipse Moon Trees took up a small half of the area, while the remaining region was planted with a total of twenty-four Spirit Firefly Grass. He had harvested twice, four plants in total, leaving twenty plants that were about to mature.

Although Spirit Firefly Grass took up very little space, the roots and stems beneath the soil covered an extremely broad area. Even planting just over twenty stalks was already the result of maximizing the use of the Spirit Field's soil.

Judging by the reward brought by the Good Grade Spirit Firefly Grass, when cultivating spirit plants, it was best to improve their appearance as much as possible when they matured.

This way, he could both sell them for more Spirit Stones and obtain better light orb rewards, killing two birds with one stone.

Now that he could understand the spirit plants' immediate state, and also had the assistance of the Earth Guidance Art and the Spirit Rain Technique, Lu Xuan was brimming with confidence about this.

He prepared to change his usual planting method.

Previously, every day, he would cast the Spirit Rain Technique at intervals to nourish the spirit plants. During breaks in his cultivation, he would also come to the Spirit Field from time to time to check if any Strange Insects had attacked.

For a low-level Spirit Plant Master like him, this was already a relatively reasonable method of cultivation.

After being able to understand the state of the spirit plants in real time, he planned to change large-scale Spirit Rain Technique into localized, meticulous casting. Whenever he noticed which Spirit Firefly Grass had a need, he would satisfy it, doing his utmost to cultivate spirit plants with the best possible appearance.

As soon as the thought occurred to him, he acted on it. According to the subtle differences in each stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass's needs, he cast the Spirit Rain Technique and the Earth Guidance Art over and over again, not stopping until the Spiritual Power in his body was exhausted.

Looking at every glossy, vibrant green stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass in the Spirit Field, the utterly exhausted Lu Xuan revealed a gratified smile.

As for having no time to cultivate today? He said that was no longer important. Right now, he only wanted to farm quietly and peacefully.

After two such exhausting days, five mature stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass lay before Lu Xuan.

However, probably because they had been planted for too long, a few short days of meticulous nurturing were unable to bring about any qualitative change.

Among the five stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass, three were of Common quality, while two were of Good Grade.

The three Common stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass brought Lu Xuan Spiritual Power equivalent to what he would usually accumulate over nine months of cultivation.

As for the other two Good Grade stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass, one likewise yielded the Earth Guidance Art.

After Lu Xuan absorbed it, he felt that he had gained a deeper understanding of this spell. The time needed to activate it was shorter, and his control over changes in the soil became even more precise and effortless.

"Looks like if the reward from a Light Orb is the same spell, absorbing it will increase my comprehension of it. It's basically an experience bar."

Lu Xuan pondered this, and immediately afterward, the Light Orb reward brought by the other Good Grade Spirit Firefly Grass appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

"Gold Metal Swordplay!"