You Cultivate, I Farm

After capturing three Red Whiskered Carp juveniles, Lu Xuan returned to the courtyard.

Approaching the edge of the spiritual spring, the Red Whiskered Carps inside the bag seemed a bit listless after the bumpy journey, their fine red whiskers hanging weakly on both sides of their heads.

"Time for you to move to a deluxe new residence!"

Lu Xuan poured the three Red Whiskered Carps into the spiritual spring, his tone slightly sour.

If the spiritual spring were a bit larger and deeper, he would have considered soaking in it himself.

As the Red Whiskered Carps landed in the spiritual spring, initially uncomfortable, they quickly regained vigor under the faintly spiritual water's stimulation.

Swimming around in the spring, their two fine red whiskers floated leisurely in the water.

With a bit of anticipation, Lu Xuan focused his mind on one of the Red Whiskered Carp's bodies.

"Red Whiskered Carp juveniles, spirit beasts without rank, quite satisfied with the new environment. It would be even better if there were some spiritual grains dropping into the spring."

A thought flashed through Lu Xuan's mind.

"Not bad!"

Lu Xuan couldn't contain his excitement and clenched his fist.

Since he could observe the immediate state of the Red Whiskered Carps, it was highly likely that when they matured, they would emit white light clusters.

Looking at the three Red Whiskered Carps freely swimming in the spiritual spring, it seemed as though they were nurturing rich treasures for him.

"It seems I can raise more spirit birds and beasts in the spiritual field or spiritual spring."

He silently made a decision.

Recalling the immediate state of the Red Whiskered Carps in his mind, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"These three little fellows are thinking of spiritual grains falling from the sky. If they were to fall, it would be into my mouth first. Better drink some spiritual spring without the need for spirit stones!"

He left the spiritual spring, surveying everything in the spiritual field.

In the area where the Blood Jade Ginseng was located, Lu Xuan's spiritual awareness sensed that the positions of twenty Blood Jade Ginseng seeds had shifted, with several pairs getting closer to each other.

He quickly manipulated the earth energy technique, using the spiritual soil to return them to their original positions, maintaining a relatively safe distance.

A hundred Lunar Erosion Grasses had begun sprouting new shoots. The tender green, slender shoots sparsely distributed in the spiritual soil conveyed a sense of vigorous growth to Lu Xuan.

The spiritual field was divided into several areas. In one area with slightly denser spiritual energy, transplanted spirit plants were growing.

Among them, the second-grade Sword Grass occupied a large patch of spiritual soil. Occasionally, traces of sword intent would emanate from its straight, sword-like body, leaving no room for other spirit plants to grow nearby.

Inside the first-grade Crimson Cloud Pine's fine red needle leaves, several flower clusters became increasingly vibrant, blossoming beautifully.

On the other hand, the second-grade Dark Marrow Fungus, in association with decaying wood, had a dense network of dark red filaments absorbing its decaying spiritual energy.

In a corner of the spiritual field, a straw puppet leaned against the wall, quietly acclimating to its new environment.

Its conspicuous large hole in the chest remained.

Lu Xuan approached it, a little reluctant, and took out a spirit stone.

Usually, to maintain the straw puppet, a fragment of a spirit stone was sufficient to sustain its function and guard the spiritual field.

However, if he wanted it to self-recover, mere fragments of spirit stone wouldn't be nearly enough.

He inserted a spirit stone into the gray mass on the straw puppet's head.

Then, a weak spiritual fluctuation emanated from the giant tumor formed by interwoven gray, withered grasses.

Subsequently, two gray-black withered grasses drifted out from the puppet's head, floating slowly to the hole in its chest, resembling willow catkins in the wind, slowly filling the cavity.

Starting from the edge of the hole, the two gray grasses wove together in a cross shape, gradually filling the hole bit by bit.

Lu Xuan couldn't bear its slow weaving, so he ran to other parts of the spiritual field, casting a round of spiritual rain technique and using earth energy techniques and metal-element sword techniques based on the needs of the spirit plants.

Nearly an hour passed. When he returned to the straw puppet, the process of filling the chest cavity was finally nearing completion.

The last gap was filled by the two gray-black withered grasses, tied into a knot, and the remaining small pieces of withered grass fell to the ground.

Lu Xuan could distinctly sense that the puppet's enormous head had reduced in size.

"Recovered, and I still need you to guard the spiritual field."

Even though the spiritual field was protected by a first-grade defensive formation, Lu Xuan had grown accustomed to the straw puppet standing motionless in the corner and was willing to use a spirit stone to heal it.

After a thorough inspection of the spiritual field, Lu Xuan opened the formation and headed to the freelance market.

Taking this opportunity of moving to a new place, he planned to invite Xu Wan, Zhang Xiu Yuan, and Steward He from the Hundred Herbs Hall to his home to express gratitude for their previous care and attention.

Therefore, he arrived at the market, intending to purchase spiritual grains and beast meat to prepare a sumptuous meal.

There were specialized shops selling spiritual grains in the market, offering several varieties. The lowest price was thirty fragments of spirit stone per jin, while the most expensive was a type called Blood Fang Rice, full-grain and fragrant, costing four spirit stones per jin.

It was said that there were even pricier ones exclusively supplied to core members of prominent families in the city. Ordinary wandering cultivators, no matter how many spirit stones they possessed, couldn't access these.

After careful consideration, Lu Xuan eventually bought ten jin of the thirty fragments of spirit stone per jin spiritual grains and an additional two jin of the fifty fragments of spirit stone per jin grains, totaling four spirit stones.

After purchasing the grains, he went to the stall selling beast meat and bought two jin of porcupine meat and three jin of bull meat. He also bought a jin of Emerald Spirit Leaves from another stall. The leaves resembled jade and were delicious when lightly fried, adding a hint of spiritual energy to a low-level Qi cultivator's body.

Lastly, he bought some delicious but non-spiritual food. With all these ingredients, Lu Xuan returned home carrying large and small packages.

Having spent approximately ten spirit stones on these groceries, it was quite a lavish spend for the usually thrifty Lu Xuan.

Back home, he began preparing dinner.

Approaching evening, Lu Xuan had everything ready, estimating that Steward He and the others would arrive soon.

Soon enough, a spirited voice echoed from outside the courtyard, belonging to Steward He.

"Lu lad, open up! I'm here to freeload a meal!"

Lu Xuan opened the courtyard door to see the lean old man carrying a jug of wine.

"This Huang Qu wine has been aged for ten years, with a rich and lingering taste that nourishes the body. Let's have a few drinks together later."

Steward He raised the wine jug.

"You, little rascal, quietly rented such a large courtyard. No wonder you spent so many fragments of Lunar Erosion Grass seeds and Blood Jade Ginseng seeds."

He gazed at the spacious spiritual field, feeling emotional.

"Old He, find yourself a place to sit. I'll prepare dinner."

Lu Xuan instructed, entering the kitchen.

Before he could start cooking, Zhang Xiu Yuan's loud voice resounded.

"Little Uncle Lu, I'm here with my mother!"

Lu Xuan went to greet them. The straightforward Zhang Xiu Yuan jumped in, hugging his thighs.

"Congratulations, Little Uncle Lu, on moving in! From now on, I'll stick to you like glue!"

Behind him, Xu Wan smiled as she carried a bamboo basket filled with spiritual fruits.

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