Having accomplished his objectives outside, Lu Xuan recalled the spiritual plants in his courtyard without lingering and headed straight back home.
Inside his house, he eagerly retrieved a formation plate stained with a dark red blotch. Engraved within was a basic defensive formation that, once activated, could protect a certain area and serve as an alert against intruders.
Taking a moment to steady his breath, Lu Xuan calmed his mind and circulated his spiritual energy. Following the instructions of the wandering stall owner, he slowly infused the plate with his energy.
The plate, stimulated by his energy, shimmered faintly with white light. After absorbing enough spiritual energy, the faint light instantly expanded hundreds, even thousands of times, enveloping the entire courtyard.
The faint white light swayed gently, resembling a layer of egg white.
Lu Xuan continued adjusting, controlling the plate. The ethereal aura around the courtyard kept changing according to its shape, gradually fading away until outwardly, there seemed to be no hint of anything unusual.
As the master of the formation plate, he could keenly sense the presence of the protective aura.
The shield possessed a defensive capability, capable of repelling external threats. As long as Lu Xuan remained at home, he could detect any attempts to breach the spiritual shield immediately.
With the successful setup of the defensive formation, Lu Xuan finally let go of the constant worry he had been carrying.
At this moment, he felt utterly secure, no longer anxious about the spiritual plants in his courtyard falling victim to malevolent individuals or demonic creatures, thus impacting the reward from the white light cluster.
After a brief rest, Lu Xuan, carrying the Firefly Grass seeds and a bag containing young Crimson Cloud Pine saplings, arrived at the spiritual field.
The field had a vast empty area after harvesting nine Firefly Grass plants.
Lu Xuan gestured and took out ten Firefly Grass seeds, estimating their future growth area.
With his spiritual energy surging, the soil in the field slightly bulged. Controlled by his Earth Attraction Technique, ten moderate cracks emerged.
The Firefly Grass seeds, akin to withered tea leaves, were placed one by one into the cracks before being covered with a shallow layer of spiritual field soil.
Threads of spiritual raindrops seeped into the soil, nurturing the Firefly Grass seeds within.
Lu Xuan concentrated his mind on the seeds, sensing a wave of joyous enthusiasm and upward growth.
Influenced by this emotion, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Little ones, grow well and quickly break through the soil to witness this magical world."
He intended to plant the remaining ten Firefly Grass seeds after the other fifteen matured.
Then, he retrieved the young Crimson Cloud Pine sapling, which had been in the bag for half a day, looking a bit more lively.
Lu Xuan quickly controlled the field's soil, burying the sapling's roots and stems.
After planting, he cast the Spirit Rain Technique once more. Under the ample nourishment of the spiritual rain, the sapling rejuvenated.
Channeling his spiritual energy, a fist-sized fiery red ball appeared in front of him.
The fireball traced an arc, flying toward the Crimson Cloud Pine sapling.
Just as it was about to touch the sapling, the crimson fireball silently disintegrated into hundreds of tiny flames, merging into the sapling's branches, needles, and other parts.
Under the nourishment of numerous flames, the initially ash-gray branches of the Crimson Cloud Pine revealed a faint red hue, exuding a mild sensation of warmth.
Countless needle-like branches stood erect, making the entire Crimson Cloud Pine resemble an excited porcupine, quite amusing.
Watching the sapling in its stimulated state, Lu Xuan couldn't help but chuckle.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three days, Lu Xuan stayed at home, devoting most of his time to caring for and nurturing the plants, practicing Earth Attraction Technique, and the Golden Sword Technique.
The cultivation technique he practiced was called the "Elemental Refinement Technique," a widely known method that had no remarkable features, with an extremely slow absorption rate of spiritual energy.
Nevertheless, for both the past and present Lu Xuan, its affordability remained its greatest advantage.
After practicing the Earth Attraction Technique and the Golden Sword Technique for a few days, he became more proficient. At least, the speed of unleashing the sword technique increased considerably.
However, if he were to encounter a real opponent, this slight improvement would not make much of a difference because the outcome remained the same:
The sword technique would collapse before it was fully executed.
"Every time this happens, I can't help but miss that white light cluster, eagerly anticipating the appearance of another experience bar."
Lu Xuan sighed and walked into the courtyard.
Thanks to his meticulous care over the past few days, four Firefly Grass plants had fully matured, leaving eleven more about to mature.
The additional days of careful nurturing had increased the probability of obtaining high-quality Firefly Grass. Among the four plants, three were of good quality, while one was ordinary.
The ordinary Firefly Grass still granted three months of cultivation.
As for the three good-quality Firefly Grass plants...
Lu Xuan picked up three faintly shimmering white light clusters from the soil.
"Harvest one Firefly Grass and receive a top-grade technique, 'Golden Sword Technique.'"
"Harvest one Firefly Grass and gain six months of cultivation."
"Harvest one Firefly Grass and acquire a top-grade talisman, 'Sword Qi Talisman.'"
Several thoughts flashed through Lu Xuan's mind as the rewards of the three white light clusters were revealed.
After absorbing the light cluster containing the Golden Sword Technique, Lu Xuan gained a deeper understanding of the technique, increasing its speed and power by about twenty percent.
"Ordinary-quality Firefly Grass grants three months of cultivation, while good-quality grants six months. This is indeed an unexpected delight."
Lu Xuan sighed with emotion but then focused on a quietly emerging talisman in his hand.
The talisman had a dark yellow hue, with enigmatic and obscure runic patterns on the edges. In the center, a faint sword qi was highlighted on the talisman, seemingly ready to burst forth.
"Sword Qi Talisman, a top-grade talisman, a single-use item equivalent to a mid-level Qi refining stage swordsman's full-powered strike, immensely lethal."
"A top-grade talisman... This is a significant jackpot."
Although a one-time use item, swordsmanship had always been renowned for its lethal abilities, and this Sword Qi Talisman was akin to a mid-level swordsman's full-powered strike, its attacking prowess remarkable.
For a third-layer Qi refining stage cultivator like Lu Xuan, it was quite an impressive ace up his sleeve.
Satisfied, Lu Xuan looked forward even more to the remaining eleven Firefly Grass plants.
The ten Firefly Grass seeds planted three days ago had all broken through the soil, revealing new shoots.
The tender green leaves were extremely narrow, with faint specks of fluorescence as small as dust particles, almost imperceptible without close observation.
"For these Firefly Grass plants entering a rapid growth phase, they have a strong demand for spiritual energy. Can a mere amateur spiritual plant cultivator like you satisfy them?"
Lu Xuan sneered inwardly at the thought forming in his concentrated mind.
"I'm going to score ten out of ten!"
The growth of the Crimson Cloud Pine was slightly slower. It had grown about an inch, and whenever Lu Xuan stimulated it with his Fireball Technique, the fine red pine needles would stand on end, returning to their natural state only after complete digestion.
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