Chapter 213 - 181: Maturity, Spiritual Qi

Chapter 213: Chapter 181: Maturity, Spiritual Qi

Xu Li carefully picked up a grass-green Crystal Stone. In the sunlight, the haze within it refracted a rainbow of brilliant colors, breathtakingly beautiful.

Moreover, he could feel a wisp of pure life essence from within. He didn’t even need to think to know this was the life essence extracted by Steward Li.

Xu Li snapped back to his senses. Staring at the distinct Crystal Stones in the jade box, he murmured, "This is really fertilizer?"

According to Steward Li, just burying it at the roots of the Concentration Flowers would speed up their maturation.

Xu Li closed the jade box and exclaimed in admiration, "As expected of Lord Steward, he’s incredible." Then, he immediately muttered with some disdain, "Not like that guy surnamed Yan. His fertilizer reeks to high heaven, and he’s so stingy he won’t even let you look at it."

Having spent months together, the three of them often worked in the fields side-by-side and had gotten to know each other well.

Yan Shaoyuan often captured snake beasts, and his method of using them to cultivate Spirit Plants was no secret.

Seeing how every single one of Yan Shaoyuan’s Water Spirit Flowers was brimming with spiritual charm, Xu Li was green with envy. He had invited him to dinner several times, hoping to ask about his method, but Yan Shaoyuan always just smiled and brushed him off.

"Hmph. Your lucky day."

Recalling Li Changsheng’s instructions, Xu Li muttered to himself, put away his own jade box, and turned to walk toward a small, nearby courtyard.

When he reached the courtyard gate.

Xu Li’s expression changed in an instant. He put on a wide grin and called out, "Senior Brother Yan, I’m here to deliver something to you!"

Yan Shaoyuan, who was busy in the kitchen, put down his knife, stood up, and came out. Opening the gate, he looked at Xu Li, who had become a great deal thinner, and a flicker of disdain crossed his eyes.

Recently, Xu Li had been frequenting the Independent Practitioner Marketplace.

And having been there once himself, he knew very well what was most abundant there.

Yan Shaoyuan sized him up, his gaze falling on the object in Xu Li’s palm. "Junior Brother Xu, what is this?" he asked, puzzled.

Xu Li, oblivious to his thoughts, held out the jade box to him and explained, "This is the fertilizer Steward Li sent over."

"Fertilizer?" Yan Shaoyuan was stunned for a moment, then looked at the jade box.

A smug look appeared in Xu Li’s eyes, as if he had developed it himself, and he proceeded to explain.

Yan Shaoyuan’s face showed surprise. "Fertilizer for cultivating Concentration Flowers?"

"That’s right."

Xu Li nodded and said cheerfully, "I still have to deliver some to Master Hao Lingzhi, so I won’t disturb you any longer."

With that, he turned and swaggered toward the other small courtyard.

Yan Shaoyuan paid him no mind. He reached out, opened the jade box, and looked at the grass-green Crystal Stones inside. The same expression that had been on Xu Li’s face now appeared on his.

"This is fertilizer?"

Then, he reached out and picked up a Crystal Stone. When he felt the pure life essence contained within, a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes.

He held it up to the sunlight to inspect it, popped it into his mouth to taste it, and finally, even tried probing it with his Spiritual Power.

After all that, he couldn’t figure out a thing.

’Is it really fertilizer?’ Yan Shaoyuan thought of his own formula, then looked back at the distinct, grass-green Crystal Stones in the jade box, his expression a mixture of shock and doubt.

「Meanwhile.」

Like Yan Shaoyuan, Hao Yuegui also had a surprised expression after receiving the jade box.

When she opened it, her eyes also filled with astonishment.

She was not as ignorant as Xu Li. Having been to the Cyan Yang Sect, she had seen Spirit Plant Masters cultivate Spirit Plants. Most of them, like Yan Shaoyuan, used flesh-and-blood methods. A rare few would use heavenly treasures to gradually alter the properties of a Spirit Field, thereby cultivating a Spirit Plant with matching attributes.

But this was the first time she had ever seen a cultivation method so pure, one that carried the fresh vitality of plants and trees.

It wasn’t that they doubted Li Changsheng; it was simply unprecedented.

Before long, all three of them headed to their Spirit Fields in unspoken agreement.

Seemingly afraid of mishaps, Yan Shaoyuan and Hao Yuegui only buried the Crystal Stones under ten of their Concentration Flowers, while Xu Li buried one under each of his.

It was only a matter of seven days, after all. They could afford to wait.

If it really was effective, it wouldn’t be too late to bury the rest then. They were just worried about potential accidents; they couldn’t bear the resulting losses.

For this, Xu Li viciously scorned the two of them in his heart.

’Not much skill, but full of petty schemes.’

He finished burying the grass-green Crystal Stones at the roots of all his Concentration Flowers, put away the jade box that was still half-full, and glanced at the other two who were inspecting their Spirit Plants. Then, he stealthily headed for a small path on the mountainside.

「A moment later.」

Yan Shaoyuan straightened up and looked around. Not seeing any sign of Xu Li, he instantly knew where the man had gone.

"He’ll get himself killed over a woman sooner or later..."

He gave a cold, contemptuous snort and turned toward his Spirit Field on the side of the mountain.

「Meanwhile.」

Under Li Changsheng’s supervision, with Big Smart and the swarm busy at work, the grass-green Crystal Stones were buried throughout the three acres of Concentration Flowers.

’Another half a month...’

Looking at the vibrant and thriving patch of Concentration Flowers, a smile touched Li Changsheng’s lips. He turned and returned to his small courtyard.

Back on the third floor.

Li Changsheng held the Yin Blood Jade, which had already turned a pale red, in his left hand, and the much lighter Talisman Bottle in his right. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began refining his first main Spirit Vein.

Waves of pain, like a surging tide, washed over him again and again.

After just one hour.

Li Changsheng could no longer bear it. His mind was in turmoil, and he could no longer keep calm.

There was nothing he could do; refining a Spirit Vein was simply too painful, especially as the process went on.

After resting for half an hour.

Li Changsheng lay on the soft couch, took out the jade slip that recorded the Blood Spirit Escape technique, and pressed it to his brow to study it.

「Days passed, one after another.」

The speed of his Spirit Vein refinement remained slow. Li Changsheng had asked Tan Hu and the others; to speed up the process, the only way was to refine Spiritual Objects of the blood, soul, and baleful-energy types, grinding them down bit by bit.

With no other choice, Li Changsheng asked them to keep an eye out for such Spiritual Objects.

Meanwhile, the Concentration Flowers, under his cultivation, were getting closer and closer to maturity.