A Secret Not Passed On

"A Second Grade Spirit Plant?"

Hearing what the Gaunt Old Man said, Lu Xuan could not help sitting up straight, his expression turning solemn.

"That's right. Second-grade Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings. Once mature, the tea leaves picked from them have the effect of clearing the mind and sharpening wisdom. To a certain extent, they can resist the intrusion and contamination of many types of Evil Spirits, and are extremely popular among Qi Refining Middle Stage and high-stage cultivators."

"I have six seedlings in my hands. Three of them have to be given to the other Spirit Plant Masters in the hall. As for the remaining three, if you're willing, I can give them to you at a low price."

"Of course I'm willing."

Lu Xuan agreed at once.

"Many thanks, Old He, for leaving such an opportunity to me."

He rose and bowed in thanks to the Gaunt Old Man.

"You fought for this yourself. If I hadn't seen that you could steadily grow high-quality spirit plants, I wouldn't be handing them to you."

Manager He looked at Lu Xuan, a trace of satisfaction showing in his eyes.

"There's still one small matter to confirm before I give them to you."

"Can the spiritual energy concentration and area of the Spirit Field you have still keep up? Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea is rather domineering. It does not allow other spirit plants around it, and its demand for spiritual energy is also quite high."

"No problem."

Lu Xuan answered with ironclad certainty.

There was still a small half of empty space left in the Spirit Field in his yard. Planting three Second Grade Spirit Plants should not be much of a problem. The spiritual energy was also much denser and purer than in that first Spirit Field, and there was also a Spirit Spring for irrigation.

More importantly, he could grasp the spirit plants' condition at any time, make subtle adjustments according to their needs, and satisfy them to his heart's content.

With all these factors added together, planting three Second Grade Spirit Plants was naturally nothing difficult.

"Good that there's no problem. Wait here a moment. I'll be right back."

Inner Courtyard of Hundred Herbs Hall.

Inside a spacious, bright room, three Spirit Plant Masters sat on wooden chairs, shifting about from time to time, clearly not in a calm state of mind.

"Why is this Manager He so stubborn? Three Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea seedlings, and he just keeps clutching them tight without letting go."

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, stay calm. There aren't many people in Hundred Herbs Hall more suited than us to plant Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea."

"Exactly. We've worked with Hundred Herbs Hall for many years, and each of us is rich in experience when it comes to cultivating spirit plants. If he doesn't hand them to us, who else can he hand them to? That Manager He is only holding out for a better price, wanting to get some benefits."

The three of them comforted one another, took a sip of the spirit tea in their cups that had already gone cold, and forced themselves to settle down.

Before long, Manager He entered the room.

"Old He!" the three of them rose at the same time and greeted him warmly.

"The three of you should go back. I told you long ago that suitable candidates have already been found for the Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea. Why make things difficult for me?"

Hearing this, the three men's expressions stiffened.

After a long while, a dark-skinned Middle-aged Cultivator asked Manager He, "May I ask which Spirit Plant Master Manager He intends to hand the Clear and Wonderful Spirit Tea to? Could it be Old Shen of the West District? Though he is experienced and seasoned, he is already old and weak. I fear it will be difficult for him to successfully grow the spirit tea."

"No. It's a Youth, not yet twenty years old, in the prime of youth and strength."

"Pfft!"

A cultivator beside him could not help spraying out the cold tea he had yet to swallow.

"Old He, could it be that age has muddled your head? You're handing such important Second Grade Spirit Plants to a Youth under twenty?"

"Wouldn't that be like meat tossed to a dog, gone without return, wasting three Second Grade Spirit Plant seedlings for nothing?"

Hearing this, the Gaunt Old Man gave a cold laugh.

"You three have cooperated with Hundred Herbs Hall for quite some time. Can you tell me how many years you have been planting spirit herbs?"

"Twenty years."

"I'm two years fewer. Eighteen years."

"This unworthy one has already done so for twenty-five years."

The last cultivator spoke with a smile, somewhat self-satisfied.

"Then when planting Spirit Firefly Grass, which Hundred Herbs Hall has the greatest demand for, how many high-quality mature spirit grasses can you obtain?"

"I once made a rough count. Of the Spirit Firefly Grass I grew, about thirty percent were Common quality, roughly fifty percent were Good Grade, and the remaining twenty percent were Superior Grade."

The results the other two gave were almost the same as his.

"What about Perfect Grade?"

Manager He asked leisurely.

"How could Perfect Grade possibly be that simple? The requirements for both the Spirit Plant Master and the spiritual energy of the Spirit Field are too high. For a Rogue Cultivator Spirit Plant Master, it's completely something that can only be stumbled upon by fortune, not sought."

"Is that so?"

The Gaunt Old Man curled the corner of his mouth.

"But that Youth has been in contact with planting spirit plants for less than three years. Among the Spirit Firefly Grass he brought over recently, fewer than forty stalks in total, the lowest were Good Grade, and there were even eight stalks of Perfect Grade."

"How is that possible?!"

The dark-skinned Middle-aged Cultivator blurted it out, his tone shocked.

"How is it not possible? I personally inspected every stalk of Spirit Firefly Grass. Are you saying there's something wrong with my eye for quality?"

Manager He's brows furrowed slightly, his words sharp.

The dark-skinned Middle-aged Cultivator's lips moved a few times, but in the end, he still did not speak up to refute him.

What Manager He said was far too unbelievable for him. He himself was a Spirit Plant Master who had been planting for more than twenty years, and he knew full well how rare it was to grow a spirit plant of Perfect Grade.

Yet that youth, with a mere thirty-some stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass, had actually produced eight of Perfect Grade. How could he accept that all at once?

But Manager He spoke with such certainty and confidence that he had no choice but to believe him.

The three looked at one another, each seeing the doubt and helplessness in the others' eyes.

"Might Manager He be willing to introduce that young Spirit Plant Master to us?"

One of them lowered his head and asked.

"He's inside Hundred Herbs Hall right now. If you have any doubts, you can go and take a look yourselves."

Seeing the three men's attitudes, Manager He knew they already mostly believed it, and so the thought came to him to introduce Lu Xuan to them, letting him get to know a few more fellow Spirit Plant Masters.

When the three heard this, they hurried into the main hall and immediately noticed the handsome youth standing leisurely by the edge of the wooden cabinet, calm as an old god.

"May I ask if you are Daoist Lu Xuan?"

The dark-skinned Middle-aged Cultivator came beside the youth, cupped his hands, and asked.

"That's right. That would be me."

Lu Xuan returned the salute and said.

"As expected, a dragon and phoenix among men. For you to grow Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass is only natural."

The Middle-aged Cultivator swept his gaze over the wooden cabinet and immediately saw more than twenty stalks of Spirit Firefly Grass of excellent quality. The last trace of hesitation in his heart vanished without a trace.

"You flatter me, you flatter me. It was merely luck. I still need to ask all you fellow Daoists for guidance on how to grow spirit plants."

When everyone lifts the flower sedan, it rises; Lu Xuan replied politely in kind.

The three exchanged a look, and a bitter smile appeared at the corners of their mouths.

"Daoist Lu, please don't make fun of us. You're a Spirit Plant Master who has grown Perfect Grade spirit plants. Where would you still need to ask us for guidance?"

One of them hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice.

"Daoist Lu, forgive my presumption, but how exactly did you grow Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass?"

"How to grow Perfect Grade Spirit Firefly Grass?"

Lu Xuan looked troubled. The thumb and forefinger of his right hand gently rubbed together, and in the end, it turned into a sigh.

"This is a secret not passed down to outsiders. It truly isn't very convenient to tell others."