Chapter 64
Upon returning to the main hall of the Hundred Herbs Hall, Lu Xuan approached Steward He.
"Old He, the hundred Firefly Grass seeds I planted last time have all been harvested. Could you trouble yourself to get me some more?"
"This time, it's a hundred and twenty," Steward He replied.
Lu Xuan paused briefly before continuing, "Although Firefly Grass has no grade and its value is lower compared to other spiritual plants in the spiritual field, the rewards it generates, the white light orbs, are also lesser. But I have no choice; as of now, it's the only plant that grants cultivation rewards."
Therefore, not only did Lu Xuan not cease cultivation, but he also aimed to slightly increase the yield. However, due to the limited area of the spiritual field and the need for more refined cultivation, he couldn't plant more than a hundred and twenty after breaking through in cultivation.
The lean old man nodded, stepped into the hall, and fetched a hundred and twenty slender, withered Firefly Grass seeds for Lu Xuan.
Still maintaining their cooperative pricing, it was cheaper by twenty to thirty percent than the regular purchase. Thirty-six spirit stones were spent by Lu Xuan for the hundred and twenty Firefly Grass seeds.
"Old He, there's something I'd like to ask of you," Lu Xuan said eagerly after handing over the spirit stones.
"Your shifty look tells me it's no good news. Spit it out," Steward He, accustomed to Lu Xuan's ways, sighed and spoke.
"Just now, all the spiritual plant cultivators of the Hundred Herbs Hall gathered. Elder He warned us to be cautious of spiritual plants being contaminated by evil insects, and he brought out two contaminated spiritual plants."
"As one of the officials of the Hundred Herbs Hall, could you hand over those two contaminated spiritual plants to me?"
"What do you want with those things? They're not something to toy with!" the lean old man cautioned seriously.
"I have an immature idea. I want to take them back for experiments, to see if I can find the cause of contamination and a way to resolve it."
"Are you out of your mind?! Bringing two contaminated spiritual plants into your own spiritual field, aren't you afraid they'll contaminate your plants?" Steward He's expression changed, reprimanding Lu Xuan.
"Old He, rest assured. Since I want to take them back, I'm confident I won't allow the possibility of contamination to the plants I've cultivated." Lu Xuan responded solemnly, understanding the elder's concern.
Seeing Lu Xuan's determination, Steward He reluctantly fetched the two contaminated spiritual plants from the inner room.
Lu Xuan quickly assessed the situation; without a second thought, golden sword energy encircled the infected Blood Jade Ginseng, cutting it into over ten small segments. Subsequently, a fireball technique landed on the severed parts, reducing them to ash after a few breaths.
"It seems my speculation is feasible. Transplanting cultivated plants into the spiritual field allows real-time monitoring. However, due to not being personally planted, it's highly unlikely for rewards like light orbs to manifest. Even if they do, they likely won't yield anything valuable."
"Nevertheless, this ability itself is worth exploring deeper. If used well, it can bring significant returns," Lu Xuan thought to himself, refocusing on another plant, a blood-red leaf.
The stem of this plant was tiny, with the blood-red leaf dominating most of its area.
Another thought flashed in Lu Xuan's mind.
"Blood Essence Leaf, a top-quality spiritual plant. The leaf contains mutated black-threaded insect larvae."
"Needs cutting off the infected threads on the leaf, then removing the larvae inside the leaf, followed by watering with the spiritual spring. Only after some time can it completely recover."
"This plant can be salvaged."
Although the restoration process for this Blood Essence Leaf was complex and the eventual gains wouldn't be significant, Lu Xuan was using it primarily for experimentation, aiming to accumulate related experience.
He maneuvered his spiritual power, a fine golden sword energy akin to a strand of hair, slicing off numerous black mold spots on the leaf's surface.
Countless tiny hairs fell to the ground, wriggling slightly in their last struggles.
After clearing the black mold, the leaf still had several large and small areas of mildew, appearing extremely unsightly.
Controlling the golden sword strands with caution, Lu Xuan severed the moldy sections. Then, with meticulous care, he probed the inside of the leaf, aided by real-time monitoring, and removed a few thin black larvae with his spiritual awareness controlling the sword energy.
As the larvae emerged, they instantly turned into black lines, attempting to attack Lu Xuan.
Without waiting for them to approach, Lu Xuan cut them into countless pieces, followed by a fireball technique that turned them all into black ash.
After dealing with the mutated black-threaded insects, as a precaution, Lu Xuan activated a purification talisman, a faint and pure spiritual light scanning around the Blood Essence Leaf, cleansing any potential remnants of evil energy.
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