In the end, Lu Xuan did not buy the few young colorful chickens.
Though he felt a strange sense of connection, the maturity period of two and a half years made him engulfed in hesitation and finally abandon the idea.
The main purpose of him raising spirit beasts was to get the white light group. Two and a half years was enough to mature a First Class or even a Second-Class spirit beast.
Using this time to raise these chicks seemed somewhat wasteful.
He left the stall and continued to wander around.
And finally, he made quite a significant discovery.
On one of the stalls, he found a very rare first-class spirit seed, the Pure Snow Lotus.
The Pure Snow Lotus, although it is of the First Class, is extremely rare, and it is widely acknowledged among the Spirit Plant Masters that its cultivation conditions are strict.
After maturity, the lotus seeds produced can maintain the mental clarity of the cultivator for a certain period of time, avoid being eroded by demon envoys, and is also a main ingredient for the second-class elixir, Spirit Bearing Elixir. The spirit-inspiring elixir refined from it can slightly enhance the spiritual sense of Qi-Cultivator.
Lu Xuan negotiated, and finally got the spirit seed, as white as jade, for the price of seven spirit stones.
The price for the same class of spiritual seeds is much more expensive than Red Cloud Pine and Blood Jade Ginseng, which shows the value of the Pure Snow Lotus.
Returning to his courtyard, he put the Pure Snow Lotus spirit seed into the Spiritual Spring Pool and operated his spiritual power. The Earth Pulling Technique, which had already reached the mastery realm, was used to incorporate the snow-white spirit seed into the spirit soil without changing the structure of the spring.
After successfully cultivating it, Lu Xuan focused on the spirit seed in the shallow layer of the spirit soil.
A thought flashed in his mind.
"Cold icy rain rhythmically hits the lotus..."
The reason why it is difficult to successfully cultivate Pure Snow Lotus is that, in addition to needing an environment similar to a spiritual spring, it also needs to be nourished by spirit rain carrying a chill. Only then can it grow smoothly.
Lu Xuan's Spirit Rain Technique, after having been cast countless times, had already reached a perfectly proficient level.
Yet imbibing it with a chill, was still somewhat difficult for him.
He had learned the Ice-Based Basic Technique when he first started cultivating. But, due to his average talent, he gradually gave up, mainly concentrating on practicing the Spirit Rain Technique and the Fireball Technique.
Later, he got the Earth Pulling Technique and the Golden Sword Technique from the white light group, but there was no Ice System Technique experience pack.
He conducted several experiments and finally managed to release a Spirit Rain Technique that carried a wisp of chill, which was sprinkled on the Pure Snow Lotus spirit seed.
Only after a few days of continuous practice did the success rate of casting the technique increase a bit. His spiritual sense sensed that the snow-white spirit seed in the Spiritual Spring Pool was undergoing subtle changes.
One day while Lu Xuan was cultivating his Spirit Plant, a semi-familiar voice came from outside his courtyard.
"Friend Lu, are you home?"
Lu Xuan racked his brain to recall only then did he remember the owner of the voice.
After reaching an independent cooperation agreement with 'Bai Cao Tang', he had visited it twice. Once to sell the remaining Spirit Firefly Grass, and another time to report on the growth status of his Spirit Plant.
During this time, he met with several Spirit Plant Masters, one of whom was the owner of the voice, Lei Fei, who was at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation. Since they lived fairly close to each other, they had spoken a few more words.
Lu Xuan opened the door and greeted them.
Upon seeing Lei Fei and another cultivator, whose disposition seemed somewhat gloomy, behind him.
"Hello Friend Lu, this person here is Li Qing, a good friend of mine for many years."
"This is Daoist Lu Xuan, who has excellent talent in planting spirit plants, and has established a cooperation relationship with 'Bai Cao Tang' at a young age."
Lei Fei introduced both of them to each other.
After greeting them, Lu Xuan invited both of them into the house.
"Friend Lu Xuan, the reason why we came is because we have a proposal for you. Both Li Qing and I want to invite you to the Southern Secret Realm together to look for Spiritual Medicines."
After a few polite exchanges, Lei Fei got straight to the point.
"Entering the Secret Land? With our cultivation level at the third layer of Qi cultivation, wouldn't that be very dangerous?"
Lu Xuan asked straight away.
Secret lands can either form naturally or be a legacy of the ancient times. They often contain various treasures, including spiritual medicines, cultivation techniques, and magic artifacts, but they often come with considerable risks, like mysterious and eerie evil spirits, terrifying demon beasts, and so forth.
Most spirit plants and spirit beasts need to grow in a pure or special spiritual energy environment, so it's rare to see them in ordinary fields.
Those secret lands left from the ancient times, every time they open, many rare treasures appear. This is why so many cultivators, like moths to a flame, ceaselessly rush into various secret lands to seek a slight chance.
For example, the newly discovered secret land has attracted many powers of various sizes in Linyang Market, as well as thousands of loose cultivators, all in search of an elusive chance.
The great sects of the cultivation world usually occupy their cave heavens, even generating small worlds. They don't need to fight to the death over minor cultivation resources like ordinary cultivators.
Seeing Lu Xuan worried about safety, Lei Fei explained.
"The danger in the Southern Secret Realm has been mostly cleaned up over the hundreds of years since its discovery. It's rare to encounter any."
"Moreover, we only plan to explore the outskirts of the secret land, not delve deep into it. We can't guarantee absolute safety, but usually, there won't be any problem."
"Although we are both spirit plant masters, we can't just settle for mediocrity. We should strive for what we can."
He tried to persuade Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, then asked further.
"Then this trip to the secret land would take up quite a bit of time, both on the road and inside the secret land, wouldn't that delay the cultivation of the spirit plants?"
"We have a flying boat magical tool for the journey, so it takes only one or two days to go back and forth. We may stay longer in the secret land as we may not necessarily be able to pick spiritual medicines in time."
"As for delaying the growth of the spirit plants, how significant could the impact be during this short period of time? You can continue planting when you come back."
Lu Xuan kept silent, but in his heart, he snickered quietly.
"It may not have a big impact on your spirit plants, but it might not be the case for mine."
"After being away for a few days, while the spirit plants may seem to grow normally, it is probably hard to get good quality or even superior quality spirit plants."
"I'm hoping to grow a spirit plant of perfect grade and see what kind of light cluster reward there will be!"
Lei Fei answered truthfully.
"I apologize, Thunder Fellow Daoist, I have always focused my energy on cultivating spiritual plants. I am not good at fighting, I don't carry magical talismans, and even my current cultivation level at the third layer of Qi cultivation is also piled up through consuming elixirs."
"So, for safety reasons, I will not go with the two of you to explore the Southern Secret Realm."
Lu Xuan declined politely.
"Alright, we respect your choice, Friend Lu."
Lei Fei, having been turned down, said despondently.
The two of them didn't stay long. They left the courtyard, planning to invite other cultivators.
"This Lu Xuan, he is too timid and cautious. He's at the third layer of Qi cultivation, but he's still worried about the dangers of going to a secret realm that's been developed for hundreds of years."
"Besides, what would delay his cultivation of spirit plants? He's just growing Spirit Firefly Grass, what could be delayed?"
As soon as he stepped out of the door, Lei Fei couldn't help but complain.
He originally thought that inviting a cultivator at the third layer of Qi cultivation would be almost certain, he didn't expect to be rejected by Lu Xuan, hence, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"Alright, if he doesn't want to go, he doesn't want to go. Let's invite other people."
"Although he is cautious, he is overly cautious. With his way of doing things, it's hard to get chances."
"He will only be an ordinary spirit plant master at the mercy of others for the rest of his life."
Li Qing glanced back at the courtyard where Lu Xuan lived, there was a hint of disdain in his tone.