You Cultivate, I Farm

Lu Xuan was busy preparing dinner, so he only exchanged a few words with Xu Wan before heading into the kitchen.

By the edge of the Spirit Spring,

Zhang Xiu Yuan peeked out, motionless, gazing at the leisurely swimming red-whiskered carp in the spring.

Sometimes, he reached out hesitantly, wanting to grab the two long red whiskers, but his courage fell short, and he quickly withdrew.

"This is the red-whiskered carp. They're harmless. Aren't their red whiskers beautiful?"

Steward He appeared by his side, introducing the origin of the red-whiskered carp to him.

"Beautiful. I didn't expect Young Master Lu to raise three such stunning spirit fish. Impressive!" the child exclaimed genuinely.

Behind him, Xu Wan nodded in quiet agreement.

Unlike her son Zhang Xiu Yuan, who cared only about the beauty of the red-whiskered carp, she saw and thought of much more.

With such a large spiritual field and a spirit spring, she found it hard to fathom the amount of spirit stones required.

She had little contact with Lu in the past, her impression mostly derived from her husband Zhang Hong occasionally mentioning him.

From Zhang Hong's accounts, Lu Xuan had average aptitude, a silent nature, not adept at socializing, but had a good heart, diligently cultivating and nurturing spiritual plants.

A decent, ordinary spiritual plant cultivator.

And now, first helping clear pests from their home, then guiding Zhang Xiu Yuan to earn spirit stones, coupled with the undisclosed nighttime conflict and the financial ability to rent such a courtyard, all these aspects momentarily perplexed her.

"Lu lad has changed quite a bit during this time. I never thought that the once silent, stubborn, and stingy lad would grow to this extent," the thin, elderly man beside them expressed, his face showing a trace of contentedness.

"Dinner's ready!"

Not far away, Lu Xuan's voice echoed.

"Braised Thorny Hogfish!"

"Stir-Fried Savage Beef!"

"Torn Jade Leaf Salad!"

Plates of dishes, complete with color, fragrance, and flavor, were brought to the table.

"Wow! Smells amazing!" Zhang Xiu Yuan exaggerated, leaving Lu Xuan lost in admiration.

Steward He and Xu Wan were more reserved but occasionally stole glances, showing their interest in the dishes before them.

Lu Xuan served each of them a bowl of steaming spirit rice and poured a bowl of amber-hued spirit brew for each.

"Thank you, Steward He, Sister Zhang, and Young Master Yuan, for celebrating my new home. Cheers!"

Steward He and Xu Wan offered their blessings, and they all drank together.

As the spirit brew went down, there was initially a hint of spiciness, followed by a rich warmth that spread through their limbs, comforting them.

*Gurgle!*

Putting down their cups, Zhang Xiu Yuan's stomach made a noise, amusing Lu Xuan and the others.

"Eat up, everyone, no need to be shy."

Both the spirit beast meat and spirit rice were worth their price, delicious and infused with a hint of spiritual energy.

The four of them indulged heartily, finishing all the food on the table.

After a brief rest, Xu Wan and her son bid farewell, leaving.

Steward He lived nearby and was considerably stronger than Xu Wan and her son, heading home alone.

Xu Wan and Zhang Xiu Yuan lived on the edge of the northern district, where it was bustling and diverse, so Lu Xuan escorted them back due to their limited strength.

By the time they returned home, it was late at night.

The night sky was draped low, stars scattered among the moon's radiance.

Lu Xuan removed the talismans and the fractured silver blade from his sleeve cuff, gazing at the night sky with increased expectations for his future.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Lu Xuan was already up.

After cultivating in bed for a week's cycle, he washed up and arrived amidst the faint mist in the spiritual field.

In the spirit spring, three red-whiskered carps formed a triangular shape as they swam in the pool.

Lu Xuan focused his mind on them.

A thought emerged in his mind.

"Drinking yesterday, drinking today, drinking every day, how can they grow?"

"Having the water from the spirit spring and still not being satisfied."

Lu Xuan scoffed, then dashed back to his room, clutching a handful of spirit rice.

Seemingly sensing the faint spiritual power emanating from the rice, the three red-whiskered carps noticeably sped up their swimming, following Lu Xuan's movements.

Lu Xuan sprinkled some, and instantly, the water surged and bubbled, six thin red whiskers resembling fine threads emerged and disappeared.

After a few breaths, the surface calmed down, and the three red-whiskered carps swam leisurely, their heads inclined toward Lu Xuan's direction.

Lu Xuan concentrated his mind on the red-whiskered carps.

"Begging you, give me more rice!"

A thought flashed through his mind, and he then sprinkled another handful of spirit rice.

The surface of the spirit spring surged again.

Lu Xuan poured all the spirit rice into the spring, and the red-whiskered carps ate every grain.

Satiated, the red-whiskered carps no longer circled around Lu Xuan but adopted a cold, indifferent demeanor.

Lu Xuan then proceeded to inspect the many spiritual plants in the field.

He adjusted the position of the Blood Jade Ginseng seedling that had shifted and supplied targeted amounts of spirit rain according to the needs of each Firefly Grass plant to maximize their nourishment.

Afterward, with his spiritual awareness at its peak, Lu Xuan meticulously searched every patch of spiritual soil.

"Found you."

Activating the Earth Attraction Technique, slight changes occurred in the soil, and a grey-white tiny bug was squeezed out.

He continued searching and found several differently shaped bugs, even uncovering a small, multicolored, vibrant insect from the soil.

These bugs lurked in the spiritual soil, and once they emerged, their larvae would feed on the branches and leaves of the spiritual plants, affecting their normal growth.

The origins of these bugs were diverse; some were eggs lurking in the soil, some were accidentally brought into the spiritual field, and there were also some mysterious insects with elusive tracks and incredible concealment abilities, able to penetrate protective arrays and infiltrate the spiritual field.

As a spiritual plant cultivator, it was essential to regularly check the spiritual soil of one's field. Before these bugs harmed the spiritual plants, it was necessary to eliminate the problem.

Due to the recent relocation of the new spiritual field and the subsequent busyness, Lu Xuan had only begun large-scale bug extermination today.

His spiritual awareness combed through the entire field, and eventually, Lu Xuan dug out seven larvae.

He took these bugs to the edge of the spirit spring, picked up a plump white worm, and tossed it toward the center of the spring.

A thin red whisker shot out like lightning, tightly coiling around the white worm, and delivered it into the fish's mouth.

"Wow, so quick!"

Lu Xuan found it quite amusing, watching the red-whiskered carp still relishing the larva.

The other

two carps, a bit farther away, also swam over, moving in sync with Lu Xuan's hand gestures.

Another larva fell.

Six thin red whiskers shot out simultaneously, competing for ownership of the larva.

Then, almost simultaneously, they retracted to the side of the red-whiskered carps' heads. One of them was fortunate enough to entangle the larva and delivered it into its own mouth.

Lu Xuan became playful, either tossing a larva high up or making fake moves to lure the red-whiskered carps' whiskers.

He remained a bit unsatisfied until the last larva was eaten.

"Ha-ha, those red whiskers beside their heads are like fishing lines. In a way, while people are fishing, aren't the fish also fishing for bugs? Quite interesting."

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