You Cultivate, I Farm

Lu Xuan neatly packed up the ordinary second-grade defensive array set up on the outskirts of the small courtyard and retrieved the Cloudy Illusion Array Plate from his storage pouch.

On the array plate, clouds swirled, illusions rampant.

Finding a suitable spot, Lu Xuan manipulated his spiritual power into the array plate, seamlessly integrating it into the ground.

Soon after, milky clouds rose from all sides of the courtyard, illusions swiftly appeared and instantly vanished.

To an outsider, the courtyard appeared strangely detached and unreal. Anyone attempting to forcefully intrude would fall into the Thousand Illusion Cloudy Mist Array, harassed and tormented by endless illusions upon approaching.

With the array in place, Lu Xuan felt considerably at ease. With this, even a later-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would struggle to breach it for quite some time.

Moreover, in Sword Gate Town, few Foundation Establishment cultivators lingered long-term. Most were at the Qi Cultivation Realm, providing ample protection for the various spiritual plants in the courtyard.

"Upgrading from a second-grade to a fourth-grade array is like trading a peashooter for a cannon. Thanks to the Cloudy Mist Array brought by the Mirage Fruit, I'm grateful." Lu Xuan inwardly appreciated the Mirage Fruit and felt an increased urgency to cultivate higher-tier spiritual plants.

He ventured into the spiritual field and found an empty area, extracting the Venomous Shuttlewood spiritual seed from his storage pouch.

Channeling his spiritual energy, Lu Xuan effortlessly altered the structure beneath the refined soil, fitting the seed snugly into a crevice.

As he placed the Venomous Shuttlewood seed, a familiar thought flashed in his mind.

"[Venomous Shuttlewood, a third-grade spiritual plant...]"

"The spiritual aura here in Sword Gate Town is much different from within the sects. The murky spiritual power suits the growth of Venomous Shuttlewood and a few other gloomy spiritual plants, complementing each other perfectly."

"Compared to them, the Venomous Shuttlewood, which thrives on toxins, isn't as remarkable."

After planting the Venomous Shuttlewood, he inspected the growth of the spiritual plants in the courtyard.

Five Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms, fueled by abundant resentment, exhibited excellent growth. Their eerie patterns seemed much brighter than before, almost as if they were smiling at Lu Xuan.

In the yard, less than ten lingering resentful spirits seemed to sense the danger in the area around the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms, refraining from approaching for a long time.

Suddenly, the eerie face on one of the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms silently changed. Several resentful spirits nearby seemed to have detected something delectable as they swarmed around that particular mushroom.

The remaining spirits roamed around, seemingly waiting for their chance to join in.

About half a moment later, satiated, the pattern on the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushroom changed again. The surrounding resentful spirits scattered, visibly thinner.

"This is the outcome of low spiritual intelligence and succumbing to temptation. They thought it was a perfect opportunity, but it was just a trap," Lu Xuan sighed, retrieving a second-grade Resentful Soul Bell artifact. After three releases within the artifact, the once-crowded spirits dwindled to less than a hundred.

Controlling the Resentful Soul Bell with his spiritual sense, Lu Xuan released fifty spirits.

The additional fifty spirits made the entire courtyard much colder, occasionally echoing with mournful wails.

"Being trapped inside the Resentful Soul Bell as a tool for cultivators, they can't even reincarnate after death."

"Instead of that fate, it's better to release you, nourish the spiritual plants, and let you transcend early, entering the cycle of reincarnation," Lu Xuan said compassionately, watching the numerous wandering resentful spirits in the yard.

After resolving the nourishment issue for the Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms, Lu Xuan approached the Thorny Bone Tree.

The long, white bones had increased significantly since his last inspection, densely piercing the skeleton Lu Xuan had left behind, protruding like budding bone flowers.

The previously left second-grade Purple Cloud Leopard bones had been mostly absorbed by the Thorny Bone Tree. A gentle touch caused tiny bone fragments to fall and pile on the ground.

Only the third-grade Barbaric Armor Bull bones remained relatively intact.

Finally, Lu Xuan approached the fourth-grade Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood.

On the withered branches resembling aged skin, dozens of eyes were either tightly shut or half-open, giving off a deeply eerie aura.

As Lu Xuan drew closer, the eyes seemed to notice him, all fixating their gaze on him.

The scrutiny of dozens of strange gazes made Lu Xuan feel uncomfortable.

A chilling, invisible airflow surged into his mind from the third-grade Pure Jade without Impurities on his chest, dispelling the discomfort instantly.

"This fourth-grade Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood is indeed eerie. Just facing the eyes on its branches gives off this discomfort," Lu Xuan recalled the warning he received when planting itprolonged direct contact might lead to a cultivator losing their mental clarity.

Clear-headed, he stood before the Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood. The previously placed Purple Cloud Leopard eyes had turned pale, devoid of any vitality. A light touch turned them to dust, and a pale, tiny tentacle swiftly retracted into one of the eyes.

Lu Xuan retrieved over ten eyes exchanged from completing tasks, kept relatively fresh due to the Life-Preserving Bag's ability to slow vitality loss.

Sensing something, the eerie eyes on the old, withered branches exerted effort to open simultaneously, staring fixedly at Lu Xuan with a hauntingly longing gaze.

"A fourth-grade spiritual plant exhibiting such wild behavior? Can they really sense emotional changes, or is it just this Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood that's unique?" Lu Xuan sighed inwardly, tossing over a dozen beast eyes toward the peculiar eye sockets on the branches.

Instantly, tiny tendrils shot out from the sockets, firmly attaching to the fresh beast eyes.

Among them, a pair of second-grade beast eyes were fiercely contested by several small tendrils, eventually shared by the two closest ones.

"Hmm? Two eyes sharing one sight? Is this what they mean by 'two eyes, one sight'?" Lu Xuan mused to himself.

After fulfilling the specific conditions for the various gloomy spiritual plants in the courtyard, Lu Xuan performed basic techniques like the Spirit Rain Art and Wood Growth Technique, ensuring their foundational growth.

Later, he left the courtyard, strolled through various stalls at the Blue Stone Plaza, bought necessities, and without lingering much, returned to his sect's cave residence.

As soon as he stepped in, the young Gale Falcon slammed into his head. Its light-blue wings fluttered incessantly, occasionally chirping melodiously, akin to a child in the house eagerly asking for treats from a returning parent.

"You glutton, you're plump and still only think about eating. Look at that little white bird from a few days ago, so elegant and composed," Lu Xuan scolded while retrieving spiritual fruits and wind attribute beast meat he had intentionally bought.

"And this is for you." He approached the Cloud-Stepping Lynx, appearing elegant but actually quite restless, placing the favored beast meat in front of it.

The Cloud-Stepping Lynx's emerald eyes remained unchanged, but the tufts of hair on its ears seemed to dance.

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