Chapter 2: Pest Infestation

A thought flashed through Lu Xuan's mind, and he felt a strange sensation emanating from within his body.

The originally calm and peaceful spiritual energy suddenly surged, darting through his meridians.

After half a moment, the uncontrollable spiritual energy gradually calmed down.

Lu Xuan carefully sensed the changes within his body, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.

His cultivation had increased significantly, equivalent to three months of arduous practice. He was now just a step away from breaking through to the third level of the Qi Condensation stage.

"Having been here for so long, the golden finger has finally arrived."

Lu Xuan was overjoyed. In his previous life, both his mental and physical abilities were average, and the body he now occupied had ordinary qualities and background. Without any external help, he wouldn't know how to survive in the cultivation world.

A piece of information surged in his mind, and he understood everything about the white light orb.

For any spiritual plants or herbs he personally planted and cultivated, he would receive a white light orb as a reward after harvesting them. From the white light orb, he could obtain various things such as cultivation, magical artifacts, cultivation techniques, and elixirs.

The richness of the reward was influenced by many factors, including his involvement in the growth process, the type and grade of the spiritual plant, and its quality at maturity.

The light orb was only visible and touchable by him; others could not see it. He would not receive a light orb reward if he harvested a spiritual plant he did not personally plant.

"In other words, as long as I successfully plant a spiritual plant, I can not only get the plant itself but also an additional light orb reward?"

"Isn't that double the harvest and double the joy?"

Lu Xuan looked at the thriving spirit fire grass and the moon-eroding tree in the soil, as if he could see white light orbs twinkling at him.

"I, Lu Xuan, have achieved today's success thanks to my consistent efforts in cultivation and diligent care of the spiritual plants."

Lu Xuan couldn't help but think.

He felt that since the appearance of the white light orb, the numerous spiritual plants in the spirit field had also undergone mysterious changes.

Lu Xuan's mind became clear, and he focused his spirit on a spirit fire grass at his feet.

A barely visible progress bar appeared above the spirit fire grass, almost full, indicating that the plant was about to enter the fully mature stage.

A piece of information flashed through Lu Xuan's mind.

"Just been nourished by the spirit rain, feeling very satisfied, but the roots of the neighboring plant are too large and long, causing some compression."

What is this, the real-time status of the spiritual plant?

Lu Xuan, puzzled, focused his spirit on the neighboring spirit fire grass.

The progress bar was also almost full, and the same information flashed through his mind.

The neighboring spirit fire grass was growing quite well, but it also felt that the roots of the neighboring plant were too large and long, occupying its growth space.

"There's nothing I can do about it. The spirit field is only so big, so you'll have to make do with overlapping roots."

Lu Xuan sighed.

Whether it was the growth progress bar or the real-time status, both were very helpful to him, allowing him to understand the growth needs of the spiritual plants and adjust the details to make them mature faster and better.

Looking at the nearly full progress bar, he wished he could immediately cast the spirit rain spell to hasten the maturation of the spirit fire grass.

However, he also understood the principle of moderation. Appropriate nourishment was greatly beneficial to the spiritual plants, but frequent nourishment would be like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

Even if they matured, poor quality would affect the reward from the white light orb.

Thinking of this, the idea of hastening the maturation of the spirit fire grass and obtaining the light orb reward immediately dissipated.

Just as he was about to return to his room, he thought of something and turned to the west side of the yard.

Since he could know the real-time status of the spiritual plants, perhaps the truth about the spirit fire grass infested by black threads would also be revealed.

He held his breath and focused his spirit on the spirit fire grass tightly wrapped by black threads.

The progress bar was similar to the previous two, almost full.

A piece of information surged into Lu Xuan's mind.

"The spirit fire grass infested by black bud worm larvae is in a worrying state. If not handled promptly, the life force within it will be completely drained by the black bud worm, turning it into withered grass."

"Black bud worm larvae..."

Lu Xuan muttered, feeling a bit relieved.

Knowing the origin of the black threads made things much easier. At least he wouldn't be like a headless fly, without a direction to solve the problem.

The name sounded familiar to him, so he hurriedly returned to his room and pulled out a thick book.

"Common Harmful Demon Insects and Their Solutions."

The book recorded over a hundred common demon insects that could harm spiritual plants during cultivation, along with the author's suggestions for handling them.

Lu Xuan flipped through the pages and quickly found detailed information about the black bud worm.

"Black bud worm, adult form as thick as a little finger, swift and agile, fond of eating the leaves of spiritual plants."

"When laying eggs, they stay on the spiritual plants. After hatching, the larvae grow by absorbing the life force of the spiritual plants. Once the life force is depleted, they leave to find the next target."

"Solution: Adult black bud worms can only be safely handled by cultivators at the third level of the Qi Condensation stage who are skilled in offensive spells."

"Larvae and eggs are extremely difficult for low-level cultivators to detect unless they have sharp spiritual senses."

"Due to the small size of the larvae and their connection to the spiritual plants, handling them can easily damage the plants. Therefore, deep expertise in certain specific spells and precise control are required to solve the problem."

Lu Xuan closed the book and closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"To avoid damaging the spiritual plants infested by larvae, the spell used must meet two conditions."

"First, it must have sufficient killing power, and second, the range of damage must be controllable."

Due to his humble origins and only being at the second level of the Qi Condensation stage, he currently only mastered two low-level spells.

One was the spirit rain spell, mainly used for cultivating spiritual plants, and the other was the fireball spell, used for self-defense.

However, he was not proficient in either spell and could not achieve precise control.

Moreover, neither spell seemed suitable for clearing the black bud worm larvae.

In the early stages of the spirit rain spell, it could only nourish the spiritual plants. Lu Xuan estimated that casting the spell would not harm the larvae but might even excite them...

As for the fireball spell, while it had sufficient killing power, casting it would result in the destruction of both the spirit fire grass and the larvae.

"It seems I still need to seek help in the market and spend some money to eliminate the disaster."

"At least I can target the problem and save a bit where I can."

Lu Xuan touched the slightly empty cloth bag at his waist and sighed.

...

"Little Brother Lu, are you at home?"

A loud voice came from outside the yard, accompanied by a knock on the door.

Then, a gray-black grass rope from the corner of the yard slithered over and lightly tapped Lu Xuan's knee.

It was the grass puppet in the yard, sensing that someone was about to intrude into the spirit field, warning Lu Xuan.

"If someone had been standing outside the door for a while and only warned me now, if they had any ill intentions, my home might have been robbed before I even noticed."

Lu Xuan looked at the retreating gray-black grass rope and couldn't help but hold his forehead.

The voice was familiar; it was one of the few cultivators he had met since coming to this world.

"Coming, Brother Zhang!"

He responded and went to the gate, opening it.

A tall, honest-looking cultivator walked in.

The visitor was named Zhang Hong, at the third level of the Qi Condensation stage, living next to Lu Xuan. He had a second-level cultivator partner and a six- or seven-year-old child. When Lu Xuan first arrived, Zhang Hong had given him a lot of guidance, helping him avoid many pitfalls.

"Brother Zhang, please come in and have a cup of hot tea."

Lu Xuan led Zhang Hong into the house.

Zhang Hong turned to look at the well-grown spirit fire grass and moon-eroding trees on both sides of the stone path and nodded.

"Little Brother Lu, you've taken good care of these two types of spiritual plants. It looks like you'll have a good harvest in a while."

"It's just so-so, can't compare to the spiritual plants in Brother Zhang's spirit field."

After Zhang Hong sat down, Lu Xuan poured him a cup of hot tea.

A few tender green tea leaves floated and spun in the teacup.

Zhang Hong didn't mind; he knew Lu Xuan's cultivation and background. Having a cup of tea with spirit tea was already quite courteous.

"Truly a fine Qingyu tea, drinking it feels like a gentle rain nourishing the heart. Only at Little Brother Lu's place can I enjoy such a good cup of tea."

"At home, my wife doesn't allow anything, it's no fun."

Zhang Hong savored the effects of the spirit tea, closed his eyes, and shook his head, thinking of the frustration at home, he couldn't help but pat his thigh.

"There's no way around it; my wife has to prepare for Little Yuan's future, so she has to be frugal."

"That's true."

Zhang Hong sighed.

"Sometimes, I envy you, Little Brother Lu, living alone without the pressure of supporting a family."

"You can live as you please, without arguing over trivial matters like tea, oil, and salt, and without worrying about whether your child will grow up healthy and smoothly, or what cultivation technique they will practice, or what sect they will join in the future."

"How carefree!"

"If Brother Zhang really became like me, you'd probably start thinking about how happy it would be to have a wife and children and a warm home."

Lu Xuan smiled and said.

"You young man, you understand so much at your age."

Zhang Hong just sighed and laughed, changing the subject.

"I came to tell you something this time."

"I learned from other sources that the Wang family in the market has obtained information about a secret realm. However, the secret realm is far in the wilderness, so they will recruit hundreds or even thousands of cultivators at the second level of the Qi Condensation stage and above to develop the secret realm in a few days."

"See if you have any interest. If you do, you can start preparing early."

"Developing a secret realm?"

Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, deep in thought.

"I'll go and take a look this time. Although the risks of a new secret realm are not small, the rewards will be proportional to the risks. Staying in the market and cultivating spiritual plants can hardly maintain the normal expenses of a family."

"As for you, Little Brother Lu, I personally suggest you go and take a look. With the Wang family's foundation cultivators leading the way, it's unlikely we'll encounter powerful demon beasts or spirits. Most importantly, you are still young. Being a spiritual plant cultivator is stable, but the resources you can obtain are limited, and your strength will improve slowly. Over time, your ambition will be gradually eroded, making it difficult to achieve further progress."

Zhang Hong looked at Lu Xuan, who was deep in thought, and offered his advice.

Lu Xuan nodded slightly. Indeed, what Zhang Hong said made sense. Developing a secret realm, although risky, was still within a controllable range. The appearance of a new secret realm often meant significant gains. Even if he only got a small share, it would take a long time to fully digest.

If it were before, he might have considered it.

But now, with the appearance of the white light orb, this slight possibility had vanished.

Going out on an adventure was mainly to obtain cultivation resources, which he could then exchange for elixirs