Linyang Market.
The day had just dawned, with the mists not yet dissipated, the entire market was veiled beneath a layer of gauzy white fog.
A small courtyard was encircled by blue-gray stone walls, the yard spanning about thirty feet in length and twenty feet in width, with most of the area being gray-black soil. Only the middle had a narrow path paved with bluestone.
In the gray-black soil, some low-grade spiritual plants were planted, which after a silent night of moisture from the fog, were bursting with vitality, lazily stretching out their tender green leaves.
With a creaking sound, the stone house at the end of the bluestone path opened, and a young man walked out.
The teenager was about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in a gray shirt, tall and handsome, with lively and clear eyes.
It was Lu Xuan, who had been here for quite a while since he crossed over.
Originally, he was just an ordinary young man on Earth, but unexpectedly, when he woke up, he unknowingly inhabited this teenager's body and became an insignificant Spirit Plant Master among the many beings in the Cultivation World.
After overcoming the initial confusion and fear, Lu Xuan gradually adapted to his new identity.
With a standard start, no parents, alone, ordinary talent, and cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, he relied on years of accumulation to rent a Spirit Field in the market, plant spiritual grass and spiritual medicine, and strive to survive in this dog-eat-dog, dangerous Cultivation World.
The thin layer of fog that came into the courtyard brought Lu Xuan, who had just woken up, a lot more alertness. He went around those spiritual plants, observing carefully.
There were about twenty or thirty spiritual plants, with a certain gap between each one, standing a feet tall, the thinned leaves shimmered with faint white fluorescent spots, decorating the white fog like stars.
These were the Spirit Firefly Grasses, a first-grade spiritual plant, which was relatively easy to cultivate. Once matured, they can be used as materials to refine several types of healing pills, and they have a wide range of applications in the Cultivation World.
Besides the Spirit Firefly Grass, there were two trees in the courtyard, both of which were Moon Erosion Trees.
Moon Erosion Tree was a first-grade spiritual plant, which under the careful nurturing of Lu Xuan, had grown well, even taller than his head. Hidden amongst its vibrant green leaves were dozens of silver hook-like fruits.
These fruits were called Moon Erosion Fruits, beginning like crescents when they formed and gradually growing larger until they turned into a full moon upon maturity.
Ripe Moon Erosion Fruits could be directly consumed, slightly enhancing the spiritual energy within a lower-rank Qi Cultivating Monk. They were also used to refine valuable pills like the Yuan Cultivating Pill.
The difficulty of cultivating the Moon Erosion Tree and its rarity were both slightly higher than that of the Spirit Firefly Grass, thus Lu Xuan invested the most into its cultivation.
The two types of spiritual plants were growing quite well, yet Lu Xuan's face revealed a hint of worry.
Quickly, he went to the western side of the courtyard, squatted down, using two fingers to hold the leaf of a Spirit Firefly Grass near the stone wall, carefully flipping it over.
As he anticipated, thin strands of faint black lines were on the back of the leaf, which would hardly be noticed if not for Lu Xuan's careful observation.
"Compared to yesterday, the amount of black lines has noticeably increased."
Lu Xuan secretly compared in his heart, looking at the Spirit Firefly Grass being eroded by the filament, he couldn't help but sigh.
He discovered the abnormal state of a Spirit Firefly Grass near the stone wall two days ago when caring for the spiritual plants. After a long search, he finally found these black lines on the back of the leaf.
The thin lines seemed to have fused with the Spirit Firefly Grass, sticking tightly together, making them extremely difficult to separate.
As a low-grade Spirit Plant Master of humble origin with inadequate knowledge, Lu Xuan had no idea about the origin of these black lines.
Unable to prescribe the right remedy, he had no choice but to use his inner spiritual energy to carefully separate the black lines from the back of the leaf.
Despite exhausting all his spiritual energy and mental power, he barely managed to clean it up, but when he inspected it the next day, the black lines appeared abruptly, and their numbers increased day by day.
"At this rate, in a day or two, this Spirit Firefly Grass will be overrun by the black lines, and it is very likely that they will spread to the nearby Spirit Firefly Grass."
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan fretted, standing still in a daze.
He had considered pulling out the Spirit Firefly Grass to prevent it from spreading the black lines to the others nearby.
However, after a brief consideration, he dismissed this idea.
After all, the origin of the black thin line was unknown, and Lu Xuan wasn't sure how it had infected the Spirit Firefly Grass. If pulling it out worked, it would be alright. But if the other Spirit Firefly Grass was still inevitably infected after it was removed, that would bring about a lot of regret.
"At present, the only solution is to find a professional, experienced Spirit Plant Master in the market to help resolve this."
"The few Spirit Stones that I painstakingly saved, which I originally planned to use to pay the rent of the Spirit Field after two months, now..."
Lu Xuan, being only a Qi Cultivation Second Layer Loose Cultivator, could not completely own a Spirit Field of his own.
The small Spirit Field in the courtyard had been leased from a Qi Practitioner Intermediate Level cultivator in the Market. It needed a hefty amount of Spirit Stones as rent every month.
"I will have to tighten my belt and live frugally for the next period."
He stood up, looking determined.
After the Spirit Plants had matured, they could be sold to shops and cultivators in the Market. The Spirit Stones acquired from the sale, apart from being used for rent and daily cultivation, would leave a bit spare.
However, if they were used to request for help from a senior Spirit Plant Master, Lu Xuan would need to pay a considerable amount.
Lu Xuan had made a decision. He looked around.
A black thorn fence surrounded the grey stone wall, filled with numerous sharp black thorns which provide some protection.
However, its defensive power was merely satisfactory and was only effective against honest persons. It wouldn't fend off villains let alone prevent those mysterious creatures that coveted Spirit Plants.
"After dealing with this matter, I will need to save some Spirit Stones to set up a protective array to prevent similar incidents from happening again."
"Relying on this Grass Puppet to guard the Spirit Field is utterly unrealistic."
Lu Xuan glanced at a Straw Man Puppet that was standing in the corner of the courtyard.
The Puppet was three feet tall and leaned against the courtyard wall. It was made of unknown dry straw. Its head was large and the body small, making it seem a bit deformed. On its big head, there was a tumor made of grey straw.
This Grass Puppet was a second-hand good that Lu Xuan bought from a stall in the Market. The vendor claimed that the Puppet, which originated from the Thousand Mechanism Sect in the Cultivation World, had a simple behavioural pattern and was often used to guard low-grade Spirit Fields.
If it felt the intrusion of cultivators or demonic beasts into the Spirit Field, the Grass Puppet would alert its owner. If it discovered anyone attempting to harm the Spirit Field and its Spirit Plants, it would also initiate an attack to restrain them.
However, the Puppet in the courtyard was not very reliable, possibly because it was second-hand. Its alert function worked intermittently, let alone launching an attack, which was not even to be considered.
Of course, this also had a lot to do with Lu Xuan himself. He rarely went out since his arrival here, had little contact with the outside world, and hence, no cultivators or demonic beasts entered the courtyard.
Lu Xuan, with irritation, glared at the Grass Puppet with the tumor. He stirred up his spiritual power, creating minor Spirit Rain above the Spirit Firefly Grass and the Moon Erosion Tree. The rain fell on their branches and leaves and drenched into them.
With the nourishment of Spirit Rain, Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field seemed to be more tender, clean, and totally dust-free. Their branches and leaves rocked lightly, displaying pure elegance.
This was the basic Spirit Rain Technique essential for all Spirit Plant Masters. It combined minuscule spiritual energy with water steam to interact with Spirit Plants, ensuring their smooth growth.
"Hmm? This Spirit Firefly Grass has entered its maturation period."
After irrigating all Spirit Plants, Lu Xuan found that on one Spirit Firefly Grass, little sparkling lights were shimmering, as if they were about to fall off from the leaf.
He quickly went back to the room and fetched a White Jade Box, carefully plucked the Spirit Firefly Grass and put it in the box.
The Jade Box could slow down the loss of spiritual power in the Spirit Plant to some extent, safeguarding its medicinal potency.
"What is this?"
When Lu Xuan was about to leave after closing the Jade Box, he suddenly found that where the Spirit Firefly Grass had been planted, a white light cluster the size of a fist was left. The light cluster was shining slightly, scattering specks of spiritual light.
Having been intrigued, Lu Xuan stretched out his hand and touched the white light cluster lightly.
In an instant, countless light points from the cluster flooded into his palm. An involuntary thought flashed through his mind."
"Harvested one Spirit Firefly Grass, gained Three Months of Cultivation Level."