Chapter 165
Chapter 165
"This is it."
Not long after, the gentle female cultivator led Lu Xuan and the others to a spiritual field.
The field was enclosed by a tight fence. As the female cultivator approached, the fence automatically opened, revealing a narrow path.
Dozens of spiritual plants grew within the field.
The plants were wrist-thick, about half a person's height, with a pale red hue. Their trunks bore many dark red patterns, as if the entire tree had been scarred.
"This is the incineration wood I want my nephew to cultivate. It's a second-grade spiritual plant. It naturally bears intricate patterns, and both the bark and leaves are excellent materials for crafting fire-based talismans," the gentle female cultivator introduced to Lu Xuan.
"Are these spiritual plants cultivated from stimulated seeds?" Lu Xuan asked curiously.
"Yes, a total of thirty-six plants. Some seeds became useless directly after planting, failing to produce the spiritual plants."
"The elimination of seeds during stimulation and then discarding some of the cultivated plants leads to a high failure rate."
"No wonder there's no information about improving the quality of spiritual plants in the Lin Yangfang Market. Only sects with profound foundations would have such resources," Lu Xuan mused inwardly.
The words of the gentle female cultivator were like a bucket of cold water on Lu Xuan's plans. They cooled down his enthusiasm considerably.
"Currently, the most suitable for improving the breed of spiritual plants is the Firefly Grass. It's only a low-grade spiritual plant, and since you have the means to condense spiritual seeds, there's no need to worry about the seed source."
"Moreover, Firefly Grass involves one's own cultivation. If there's a chance, I'll give it a try."
As he observed the growth of the incineration wood with the gentle female cultivator, Lu Xuan quietly made up his mind.
"For the next period, I'll trouble my nephew to take care of the cultivation of these incineration woods on my behalf," the gentle female cultivator said softly after walking through the field.
"As for the reward, it won't disappoint you, nephew."
"Please don't worry, Aunt. I'll treat these incineration woods as if they were my own spiritual plants," Lu Xuan hastily assured.
"In that case, I'm relieved." The gentle female cultivator smiled, and the faint floral scent around her grew stronger.
"By the way, Aunt, I have a request. Do you have any incineration woods in your spiritual field that were planted around the same time as these variant ones? I'd like to compare them under similar cultivation conditions to see how their growth differs," Lu Xuan inquired.
"There are some planted around a similar time. How many does my nephew need?" The gentle female cultivator's eyes brightened, seemingly moved by Lu Xuan's suggestion.
"Ten would suffice."
"Alright, I'll immediately have someone transplant ten regular incineration woods here for you."
The gentle female cultivator left with Yao Qing, leaving Lu Xuan in the spiritual field. Nearby were simple wooden houses where cultivators could practice and rest.
After a brief practice session, a cultivator arrived with ten regular incineration woods. Together, they planted them in the field. Once the cultivator left, Lu Xuan carefully surveyed the surroundings. He noticed that each field was concealed by a fence formation, ensuring privacy between them. Satisfied, he began his inspection.
He went through a routine of casting beneficial spells—Rain of Spirits to enhance the plants' absorption of spiritual energy and Wood Growth to hasten their growth. These spells were generally harmless and beneficial to most spiritual plants.
The next day, Lu Xuan arrived early at the spiritual field. He took the instructions from the Senior Uncle to heart.
He realized that in the six months since he joined the sect, his abilities in cultivating plants and nurturing spirit beasts had gained attention. The Chief of the Agricultural Hall had left him two Sword Grass and promised to elevate him to an inner disciple once successfully cultivated. Following that, he had helped a mid-level foundational cultivator solve a problem with the Moonscale Python under Huang Yuan's recommendation. And now, Yao Qing had introduced him to cultivate variant spiritual plants.
He naturally welcomed these changes. The stronger the cultivators he encountered, the easier it would be for him to acquire high-grade spiritual seeds or young spirit beasts, leading to more substantial rewards.
Yesterday, while planting the ten transplanted incineration woods with the cultivator, he had already gathered a clear understanding of them.
The cultivation methods were somewhat similar to the Crimson Cloud Pine he had planted before, requiring fire-based spiritual energy for nurturing, though in larger quantities.
Approaching a variant incineration wood, Lu Xuan extended his senses into the soil, employing Earth Attraction technique to gather the minute roots hidden within the soil. Then, using a large clump of soil, he wrapped all the roots, transplanted them, and re-planted them.
This extra step was to understand the true nature of each variant plant.
Guided by the Earth Attraction technique at the grandmaster level, the roots were completely undamaged, creating a baffling sense that the plants were both in and out of the ground.
With each transplant, a piece of information flashed in his mind.
"[Incineration Wood (Damaged), Second-grade spiritual plant. Used for crafting second-grade fire-based talismans. Due to damage to the spiritual seeds, the maturation period of the plant is extended, making it difficult to obtain high-quality materials after maturation.]"
"The information differs from what I saw yesterday. It seems the stimulation of the spiritual seeds had a reverse effect," Lu Xuan deduced and recorded this damaged incineration wood.
Continuing, he repeated the process for the second incineration wood.
The information obtained was no different from the regular incineration wood.
The third one was identical to the regular variant.
With the fourth one, new information appeared.
"[Incineration Wood (Variant), Second-grade spiritual plant. Bears natural intricate patterns on bark and leaves, excellent materials for second-grade fire-based talismans. The variation in spiritual seeds slightly improves the quality of the plant after maturation.]"
"This one's a variation, but not a complete one. Still, any enhancement to the plant's quality is good. Higher-quality materials can slightly increase the success rate of crafting talismans," Lu Xuan continued, perceiving the detailed information of each incineration wood.
The information divided these incineration woods into three categories—damaged, regular, and variant. Up to the fourteenth, he finally saw one with different information.
"[Incineration Wood, Third-grade spiritual plant. Rich in fire-based spiritual energy, with intricate natural patterns, superior materials for crafting third-grade fire-based talismans.]"
"Not easy. Finally, I've seen a successfully improved third-grade incineration wood," Lu Xuan couldn't help but show a hint of relief.
The success rate in improving the breed of spiritual plants amazed him. Out of twelve, only one became a third-grade incineration wood. If these eliminated seeds were considered, the probability seemed terrifyingly low.
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