Chapter 396: "Divine Genesis Scripture"
With a hiss of astonishment, Lu Xuan couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
"The evil spirit contained within is comparable to a Nascent Soul powerhouse!"
He hadn't expected that such an inconspicuous dark red stone would conceal such a terrifying evil spirit.
"No wonder it can influence the spiritual plants of the entire blessed land, causing them to undergo aberrations."
Recalling the fleeting thought in his mind, he couldn't help but feel emotional.
"Should I tame this evil spirit myself?"
Lu Xuan found himself in a dilemma.
He only had two choices: one was to hand it over to the sect for disposal, and the other was to secretly hatch the evil spirit and keep it for himself.
Of course, there was another method, which was to deal with the evil spirit outside the sect, but it was hard to gain the trust of other cultivators since they didn’t have his unique abilities. Moreover, the catastrophe the evil spirit could cause was too significant, and as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was difficult for him to ensure it wouldn't lead to disaster.
Lu Xuan looked at the ordinary-looking dark red stone at his feet, thinking to himself.
"I've raised demonic beasts and spiritual plants before, but I've never had the experience of nurturing an evil spirit."
"After all, a disaster-level evil spirit that can grow to the Nascent Soul level and is in a gestational state could yield an incredibly generous light orb once matured."
"I'd miss out if I passed up this opportunity!"
"The more he thought about it, the more tempted he became. Clenching his teeth, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes.
"It's just a disaster-level evil spirit. No matter how exceptional your talent or how rapid your growth, can you surpass me, who possesses light orbs?"
"The hatchling is still unknown how far off, starting from a lower base and growing slower than me, shouldn’t I easily control you?"
The more he thought about it, the more he saw the feasibility of nurturing this Flesh Spirit Deity.
"As a cultivator of the righteous path, it is my responsibility to control such a powerful evil spirit. If it falls into the hands of evildoers and brings calamity to the cultivation world, it would be my great sin."
With that thought, Lu Xuan unhesitatingly stored the dark red stone in his Gluttonous Insect Pouch, planning to find an opportunity to hatch it.
He arrived at the spiritual field, his spiritual sense sweeping across the entire cave dwelling.
"Returning with light orbs to collect is not bad at all."
A smile appeared on Lu Xuan's face as he materialized next to three Sword-Nurturing Gourds.
During his time in the blessed land, the last four greenish-blue gourds had matured on the vines.
The gourds emanated a clear sword chime, with faint sword intent occasionally leaking out, swirling around the gourds like fish.
Lu Xuan carefully picked the four mottled greenish-blue gourds.
Quietly, four white light orbs emerged at the gourds' previous positions, flickering slightly as if beckoning Lu Xuan to collect them.
Lu Xuan brushed his hand over the surface of the light orbs, and countless orbs eagerly surged into his body.
【Harvested a third-grade Sword-Nurturing Gourd, gained a fourth-grade Falling Star Sword Talisman.】*2
【Harvested a third-grade Sword-Nurturing Gourd, gained a fourth-grade Grand Sun Sword Talisman.】
【Harvested a third-grade Sword-Nurturing Gourd, gained a fourth-grade Dragon Elephant Sword Talisman.】
Four talismans appeared in Lu Xuan's hands, two of them with sword qi shining like meteors, brilliantly dazzling for that moment of sublimation; one filled with tremendous sword qi, surrounded by the phantom of a flood dragon and guarded by a towering giant elephant at its core, bursting with sword qi; and the last with the grand sun hanging high, infinite sword qi radiance scattering, captivating the soul.
"Four sword talismans."
"Having used one in the blessed land and now replenishing four upon returning, they’re simply inexhaustible."
Lu Xuan looked at the increasing number of fourth-grade sword talismans in his storage bag and thought complacently.
"The three Sword-Nurturing Gourds have fully matured. I should take the opportunity to visit the Agricultural Hall and buy some more gourd spiritual seeds."
For Lu Xuan at his current level, fourth-grade sword talismans were still a powerful offensive tool. Even if his cultivation level increased later on, accumulating a number of sword talismans would remain a tremendously fearsome force.
The high cost-effectiveness of these spiritual plants made him decide
to acquire a few more Sword-Nurturing Gourd seeds.
"Also, I should claim the sect benefits for advancing to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Every bit saved is beneficial."
He had already broken through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment in the boundless sea. Upon returning to the sect, to avoid attracting attention, he deliberately concealed this fact and only revealed it years later. Thus, the benefits for the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment had been delayed until now.
With this in mind, Lu Xuan floated in front of four Spirit Nurturing Pines.
Among the pines, one had matured, yielding a special treasure from the light orb – a Spirit Nurturing Tablet.
Lu Xuan's consciousness focused on the remaining three Spirit Nurturing Pines, noticing that a semi-transparent progress bar under one of them was completely filled.
The pine waves rustled, expressing its affection towards Lu Xuan.
At the top of the pine, a cyan pine cone, shaped like a pagoda and occasionally flashing with spiritual light, emerged.
The scales of the pine cone resembled layers of translucent green jade, brimming with vitality and intricately layered, seemingly in tune with Lu Xuan's thoughts.
Lu Xuan held his breath and carefully picked the cyan pine cone.
A thought flashed through his mind.
【Spirit Nurturing Pine Cone, a fourth-grade spiritual fruit, cultivated and communicated with by a spiritual plant master using spirit stones. Consuming it can enhance a cultivator's spiritual sense to a certain extent.】
"A spiritual fruit that can enhance spiritual sense."
With the Spirit Nurturing Tablet continuously nourishing and strengthening his spiritual sense in his sea of consciousness, Lu Xuan was not in a hurry to consume the spiritual fruit. He stored it in a beautifully crafted jade box and placed it inside his Gluttonous Insect Pouch.
Looking up at the top of the Spirit Nurturing Pine, he noticed a white light orb flickering slightly.
He reached out to gently touch the light orb, which exploded with a bang, turning into countless light points that condensed into the pattern of a jade book, before surging into Lu Xuan's body.
【Harvested a fourth-grade Spirit Nurturing Pine Cone, gained a fifth-grade technique "Divine Genesis Scripture".】
Thoughts flashed through Lu Xuan's mind, followed by a flood of information pouring into his sea of consciousness.
【"Divine Genesis Scripture", a fifth-grade technique. Upon achieving minor accomplishment, it can be used with a special method to nurture and refine the spiritual sense, making it continuously grow stronger and purer.】
The influx of information overwhelmed Lu Xuan momentarily, leaving him standing still for a long time before he slowly regained clarity.
"A fifth-grade technique, capable of cultivating to the Core Formation Realm. What's even more precious is that the 'Divine Genesis Scripture' is a technique for cultivating spiritual sense."
"Physical cultivation and magical techniques are quite common, but techniques for cultivating spiritual sense are extremely rare."
Lu Xuan thought to himself.
Having cultivated many spiritual plants and collected hundreds to thousands of white light orbs, only a few related to spiritual sense were among them.
Previously, the fourth-grade Earth Fire Heart Lotus, with its seeds consumed over a long period, could enhance spiritual sense.
Additionally, the Spirit Nurturing Tablet and the recently acquired "Divine Genesis Scripture" were also related to spiritual sense.
"Both items related to spiritual sense were obtained from mature Spirit Nurturing Pine light orbs. Unfortunately, I only found four spiritual seeds in the Blessed Land of Yue Moon."
Lu Xuan looked at the remaining two nearly mature Spirit Nurturing Pines with a hint of regret.