Chapter 46
"Come down."
Lu Xuan returned to the courtyard with three young Pure Snow Lotus seedlings. He addressed the Cloud-Stepping Lynx cub perched on his shoulder.
The cub, with its emerald eyes, glanced coldly at Lu Xuan, then gracefully descended to the ground, heading straight for the Spirit Spring Pool.
In a corner of the spiritual field, Lu Xuan marked out a large area of vacant spirit soil. Employing the Earth Attraction Technique, three small pits appeared, where he gently placed the three young Pure Snow Lotus seedlings.
After planting the Pure Snow Lotuses, he focused his mind on these delicate seedlings.
"Only the purest water can yield the most exquisite tea."
"Using the Spirit Spring water for these seedlings will enhance their effects."
"The Pure Snow Lotus carries a serene aura among its leaves and branches. It's imperative to prevent any malevolent or impure entities from lingering around the seedlings for too long, as it could affect their normal growth."
A thought flashed through Lu Xuan's mind, instantly grasping the needs and precautions concerning the young Pure Snow Lotus seedlings.
"Watering with Spirit Spring water isn't difficult. Luckily, there's a pool of Spirit Spring in the courtyard, and there's a constant trickle from the earth's veins, more than enough to nourish the three young Pure Snow Lotus seedlings."
"As for malevolent or impure entities, I, Lu Xuan, am pure and righteous, naturally incapable of being tainted by such things."
"Hmm, in the future, I should try to limit the visits of Mr. and Mrs. Wang to the courtyard to avoid contaminating my tea plants."
After using a round of Spirit Rain Technique to thoroughly nourish the Pure Snow Lotus seedlings, Lu Xuan inspected the spiritual field to ensure the healthy growth of all the spiritual plants before returning to his house.
Back indoors, he sat at his desk, counting the Spirit Stones in his hand.
This time, the twenty-two Spirit Firefly Grass plants he brought fetched a total of seventy-seven Spirit Stones. Spending sixty Spirit Stones on the three young Pure Snow Lotus seedlings, coupled with a hundred Spirit Stones offered by three spiritual plant masters, earned him nearly a hundred and twenty Spirit Stones in total.
With what he had on hand, his wealth amounted to over two hundred Spirit Stones.
"Over two hundred Spirit Stones, coupled with the Spirit Firefly Grass entering the rapid maturation phase and the Crimson Cloud Pine about to mature, my wealth is about to experience a significant surge."
Lu Xuan looked at the small pile of Spirit Stones on the table, feeling quite pleased.
"Lu fellow, are you there? Your sister-in-law has prepared a sumptuous meal. How about joining me for a drink?"
From outside the courtyard, came the call from Wang Shan.
Lu Xuan wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the voice sounded somewhat excited.
As Wang Shan hesitated, Wang's concubine subtly withdrew her hand, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
"Well, my lord, why don't you bear a child for me then!"
Just as Wang Shan was about to refuse, he suddenly felt a strange longing from within, as if something were gestating inside him.
"Sure!"
The longing was so intense that it overwhelmed his thoughts, consciousness, and intuition, instinctively agreeing.
Before he could react, his abdomen gurgled, visibly swelling at an alarming rate. His limbs, chest, and back flesh rapidly shrank.
In a short while, his belly ballooned, Wang Shan's eye sockets sank, displaying a hint of madness. His body, except for his distended abdomen, withered, leaving only loose skin on bones.
"My lord, bear a child for me!"
Wang's concubine blushed, gazing at Wang Shan's enormous belly with fascination.
Simultaneously, in the Wang household's courtyard, a spirit wood tree trunk quietly split open, and a nearly translucent insect with six wings shot out from the crack.
The insect was about two inches long, with wings as thin as cicada wings, adorned with faint patterns.
At that moment, the patterns on its wings turned dark with the changes in Wang Shan's body, causing the six-winged insect to emit an uneasy, faint hissing sound.
Meanwhile, at the Enforcement Hall more than ten miles away.
Ling Peng, an advanced Qi cultivator, observed the equally uneasy six-winged insect before him, a solemn expression on his face.
"It's finally surfaced."
The peculiar insect in front of him was called the Six-Winged Harmony Insect. It possessed extreme concealment abilities. If it sensed a malevolent presence nearby, it would react, allowing another of its kind within a certain distance to perceive the anomaly, resulting in intense reactions.
The stronger the malevolent presence, the more pronounced the reaction.
Upon accidentally learning of a possible malevolent invasion on Wang Shan, Ling Peng discreetly investigated, but to no avail. Thus, he left a Six-Winged Harmony Insect in the Wang household to monitor their situation.
After several days of waiting, the malevolence finally emerged.
"Elder Brother, I might need your help. Judging by this insect's response, I'm afraid I might not be able to handle it alone."
He turned to a young cultivator beside him, bearing a lightning scar on his forehead, occasionally shimmering with electrical sparks.
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