Illusory Mist Luo Fruit

Chapter 40: Illusory Mist Luo FruitLu Xuan rewarded the Cloud Stepping Lynx for a while before taking the smoke-shaped Special Spirit Seed of Mist out of his Storage Bag.

He found an empty patch in the Spirit Field and cast the Earth Guidance Art. The Spirit Soil split open at just the right spot, taking the Mist Spirit Seed inside.

His mind then focused on the seed within the Spirit Soil.

A thought surfaced in his mind.

"Illusory Mist Luo Fruit, Third Grade Spirit Plant. Once mature, the Spirit Fruit can accelerate the Cultivation Speed of Illusion Arts after consumption while also enhancing the power of spells."

"It can also be used to raise Demonic Beasts with related abilities, or to refine certain special pills."

"During its growth, the Spirit Plant will continuously give rise to mist. After accumulating for a long time, it may even form a Low-Grade Illusionary Realm. The Spirit Plant will hide within the Illusionary Realm, making its location difficult to discern."

"I'm right in front of you. Why can't you find me?"

Detailed information and its current state flashed through Lu Xuan's mind.

"A Third Grade Spirit Plant! I've struck it rich this time!"

After digesting the information that had appeared in his mind, Lu Xuan was overjoyed.

Third Grade—that meant it had entered the realm of Foundation Establishment.

So far, the best Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field were two Second Grade ones: the Sword Grass and the Dark Marrow Mushroom.

The other Spirit Plants, such as the Blood Jade Ginseng, Red Cloud Pine, and Pure Snow Lotus, were all First Grade. There were even dozens of No Grade Spirit Firefly Grass.

The two Second Grade Spirit Plants had been obtained in the same way as the Illusory Mist Luo Fruit: they were Unknown Spirit Seeds he had picked up, then successfully planted with the help of the information revealed by their current states.

Without this miraculous ability, even if he obtained an Unknown Spirit Seed, he could only grope blindly, completely ignorant of the proper method.

After planting the Illusory Mist Luo Fruit Spirit Seed, Lu Xuan's spiritual sense detected wisps of extremely faint mist seeping out from within the seed, nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.

"Once it grows a little bigger and produces more mist, it'll probably start playing hide-and-seek with me. But I can see a Spirit Plant's current state, so I don't need to worry about losing track of it."

Lu Xuan cast the Spirit Rain Technique on the Spirit Seed and thought to himself.

After planting the Illusory Mist Luo Fruit Spirit Seed and learning its characteristics, Lu Xuan went to the other areas of the Spirit Field to inspect the growth of each Spirit Plant.

Within the fine red pine needles of the Red Cloud Pine, the five Pine Nuts had grown another bit larger. Their ripening drew closer and closer.

Lu Xuan held considerable expectations for this First Grade Spirit Plant. The Spirit Plants that had matured previously, whether the Spirit Firefly Grass or the Eclipse Moon Fruit, had all been No Grade Spirit Plants. He wondered what kind of Light Orb reward a First Grade Spirit Plant could bring.

The Sword Grass and Dark Marrow Mushroom were growing well too, though they still had quite a while before maturity.

The Spirit Soil around the Sword Grass had been plowed into numerous tiny furrows by its sword intent, and that sword intent had grown even sharper.

The dark-red mycelia extending from the Dark Marrow Mushroom had wrapped the decaying Spirit Tree tightly. Its speed of absorbing nutrients from the rotten wood was clearly faster than before. Lu Xuan estimated that he would have to replace the rotten wood again before long.

The Pure Snow Lotus stood proudly in the Spirit Spring Pool. Several lotus leaves, white as jade, were no longer as tender as when they had first sprouted. Without him realizing it, they had already quietly unfurled.

After more than a dozen Spirit Firefly Grass matured at the beginning, they suddenly entered a period of rapid maturation.

Lu Xuan took a look and harvested ten fully mature Spirit Firefly Grass.

The remaining dozens could also be harvested, but they had not fully matured. Afraid that this would affect the Light Orb rewards, Lu Xuan left them for the time being.

Among the ten Spirit Firefly Grass, two were Perfect Grade. Of the remaining eight, five were Good Grade and three were Superior Grade.

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, obtained Six Months of Cultivation."*2"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, obtained Nine Months of Cultivation."

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, obtained One Year of Cultivation."

Four White Light Orbs among the ten brought Cultivation rewards.

Wave after wave of spiritual power surged violently within Lu Xuan's body. He circulated it at full speed, gradually bringing the surging power under control.

"Nearly three years of Cultivation added in one go. Farming really is intoxicating..."

Lu Xuan sighed leisurely.

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, obtained a First Grade Talisman, Sword Qi Talisman."*3"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, obtained a First Grade Talisman, Exorcism Talisman."

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, obtained the spell Wood Genesis Art."

Four Talismans appeared in Lu Xuan's hands one after another.

Although First Grade Talismans only had decent lethality against Qi Refining Low and Middle Stage cultivators and were difficult to threaten Qi Refining High Stage cultivators, as long as there were enough of them and the barrage was fierce enough, killing a Qi Refining High Stage cultivator was not impossible.

After absorbing the White Light Orb containing the Wood Genesis Art, Lu Xuan's understanding of it became deeper and more thorough. It was as if he had cast it hundreds of times in an instant, making it even easier and more natural to use.

The final White Light Orb had been left by a Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass.

Lu Xuan picked it up, and the Light Orb transformed into countless points of light that surged into his Sea of Consciousness.

At once, a thought emerged from his Sea of Consciousness.

"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, obtained a First Grade Qi Nourishing Pill Elixir Recipe."

"Another Elixir Recipe."

As Lu Xuan savored the information about the Elixir Recipe that had appeared in his mind, he instantly mastered its refining method.

The types and quantities of materials, their methods of preparation, control of the heat, the moment to remove the pill from the furnace...

Although he had yet to put it into practice, he already possessed rich experience in refining this First Grade Qi Nourishing Pill.

"Adding the Essence Nurturing Pill Elixir Recipe I obtained before, I now have two Elixir Recipes."

"If I absorb more Light Orbs containing Elixir Recipes and raise my refining skill to proficiency or even mastery, I can try refining them in my spare time."

Lu Xuan placed the ten harvested Spirit Firefly Grass in a Jade Box and put it into his Storage Bag.

At the current maturation rate of the Spirit Firefly Grass, he estimated that he would have to visit the Hundred Herbs Hall again in another two or three days.

After making one round through the Spirit Field, Lu Xuan planned to return to his room and cultivate.

Seeing this, the Cloud Stepping Lynx stopped teasing the Red-Beard Carp in the Spirit Spring Pool. Its four cotton-soft paws lightly touched the ground as it followed elegantly behind Lu Xuan.

"Fellow Daoist, may I ask whether you're home? We're Enforcers from the Marketplace."

"Recently, Evil Spirits have appeared throughout the Marketplace. To maintain order, we're conducting a routine inspection. We hope Fellow Daoist can understand and cooperate."

Not long afterward, a voice rang out from beyond the courtyard.

"Market City Enforcers have come to inspect?"

Knowing it would be difficult to refuse, Lu Xuan opened the courtyard gate with a puzzled expression.

Three cultivators stood outside the courtyard. Each wore a solemn expression. One was at Qi Refining Stage 5, while the other two were at Qi Training Stage 3.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist."

The Qi Refining Stage 5 cultivator was clearly the leader of the three. When he saw Lu Xuan come out, he greeted him.

Lu Xuan nodded in acknowledgment, his expression guarded.

"May I ask how you intend to conduct the inspection?"

"We'll use a Magic Tool to search the courtyard where Fellow Daoist resides. At the same time, we'll release an Exorcism Spell on you. We ask Fellow Daoist for your understanding."

A Qi Training Stage 3 cultivator behind him explained.

"Releasing an Exorcism Spell is fine, but thoroughly searching the residence would be rather inconvenient. After all, no one wants their privacy casually violated."

Lu Xuan tactfully refused. He had no objection to having a spell cast on himself, but he was unwilling to let them search his residence. After all, he did not want outsiders to see those rare Spirit Plants in his Spirit Field.

If there truly were Evil Spirits, the spell would be enough to detect them. There was no need to search the house at all. Lu Xuan was certain that the major Lineages and powerful factions in the Marketplace, and even Wang Shan next door, would never enter a residence to conduct a detailed search.

"The helplessness of a Rogue Cultivator..."

"If push comes to shove, I'll have no choice but to use that method."

Lu Xuan sighed inwardly and reached a finger toward his sleeve.

The three men reacted as if facing a great enemy.