Chapter 453: Seeds Before the Mother
In Jianmen Town, Lu Xuan glanced at the plaque of the Myriad Treasures Tower and stepped into the hall. His face was covered with a layer of thin, cicada-wing-like light gray mask, transforming him into an ordinary-looking middle-aged cultivator. This mask was a fourth-grade artifact obtained from the ghost-faced mushroom luminous orb, the Thousand Faces of Deception, capable of altering a cultivator's appearance and aura.
"Esteemed guest, this way please."
Upon entering the hall, the amiable and portly master of the Jianmen Town branch of the Myriad Treasures Tower, sensing the surging spiritual power within Lu Xuan, came forward to welcome him.
Lu Xuan followed the old man to the third floor of the Myriad Treasures Tower.
"What can this humble one do for you?" asked the portly old man with a smile after a graceful maid served spirit fruit and spirit tea.
"I have quite a few pills I'd like to sell. Does the Myriad Treasures Tower buy them?" Lu Xuan asked, his voice hoarse.
Having reached the master level in concocting the Primordial Essence Pill and Spirit Nurturing Pill, Lu Xuan, not wanting to draw too much attention, had only brought out less than thirty percent of his stock at the Pill Hall previously and decided to discreetly sell the rest.
"Oh? May I take a look?"
Nodding, Lu Xuan lightly waved his hand, and more than ten bottles of pills appeared before the portly old man.
"First-grade Primordial Essence Pills, second-grade Spirit Nurturing Pills, both of excellent quality."
Lu Xuan had specifically selected the best quality pills for sale, so those laid before the old man were of the highest caliber.
After appraising all the pills, the old man offered a price slightly higher than that of the Pill Hall, to which Lu Xuan had no objections.
In the end, the pills were sold for a total of over eight thousand spirit stones.
Money and goods exchanged, the portly old man personally escorted Lu Xuan out of the Myriad Treasures Tower.
"If you have more pills of the same quality, the Myriad Treasures Tower welcomes you to sell or exchange them," he said, reluctantly parting with Lu Xuan.
Having such a capable alchemist at hand, it was natural to curry favor with him.
"Should I have more pills, I will consider the Myriad Treasures Tower first," Lu Xuan responded indifferently.
He had not expected that concocting pills at the master level could be so profitable; the two types of pills, after deducting the cost of the spiritual herbs, brought him several thousand spirit stones in total.
Enough to buy several fourth-grade spirit seeds.
"It's a pity the grade of the pills is still low. Making lower-grade pills is time-consuming and somewhat detracts from farming."
"If the high-grade pill formulas I open yield enough experience, I could achieve financial independence through pill concocting, elevating it above cultivation."
He sighed inwardly.
While the profit margin for pills was vast, unfortunately, his expertise was only in two lower-grade pill formulas. Plus, his alchemy skills came entirely from luminous orb rewards, so farming remained his top priority.
He found a secluded corner, and with a flicker of spiritual power, the Thousand Faces of Deception on his face subtly changed, instantly transforming him into a young man with a simple appearance.
Entering a new netherworld courtyard, Lu Xuan walked around the fourth-grade Thousand Illusions Cloud Smoke Formation, collected the formation plates and flags, and then took out the Annihilation Five Elements Formation flags and plates, arranging them around the courtyard.
Faint Five Elements spiritual power flowed, with numerous Five Elements spirit beast phantoms flashing by and merging into the formation.
"Upgrading from a fourth-grade formation to a fifth-grade formation enhances both the defensive and offensive capabilities of the formation. Coupled with the ever-present Void Nightmare Eye, the security for the many netherworld spirit plants in the courtyard has greatly improved."
Lu Xuan passed through the grand formation and entered the courtyard. A cold wind greeted him, chilling his aura instantly.
He felt something unusual under his feet and looked down to find a giant blood-red hand emerging from the spiritual soil, wrapping around his calf and frantically draining him, causing his blood to churn.
Perhaps due to hunger, the Blood Spirit Palm Ginseng's giant hand appeared somewhat withered.
"Poor thing, you've become all skin and bones."
Lu Xuan hurriedly took out three bottles of Flood Dragon essence blood from his storage bag and poured them all over the increasingly large blood-red hand.
The hand, with finger-like branches, instantly filled with vitality, twisting and changing, greedily absorbing the Flood Dragon essence blood.
Lu Xuan then approached another bloodth
irsty tenant, the Blood Woe Flower.
Sensing the blood scent in the courtyard, countless slender blood vessels on the hollow blood orb slowly writhed, speeding up as if they were about to burst forth and envelop the entire courtyard.
Lu Xuan sprinkled five bottles of Flood Dragon essence blood on the slender blood vessels.
Peering through the layers of blood vessels, he could see an infinite sea of blood inside the blood orb.
A blood-red flower stood proudly in the blood sea, blooming and withering in an instant, rooted in the sea of blood as if ready to break through the countless blood vessels at any moment, showcasing its enchanting and sinister beauty to the world.
"The fifth-grade Blood Woe Flower has entered its maturation phase. It seems I need to make a trip to the Thousand Dragon Lake and check on the Flood Dragon juveniles."
"I wonder if there's a chance to examine that old Dragon Turtle."
Lu Xuan felt a bit carried away and quickly took a deep breath to adjust his attitude, discarding the impractical thought from his mind.
He then took out demonic beast meat collected from various stalls and shops and buried it around the roots of the Aberrant Longevity Peach tree.
The peach tree already bore small spirit fruits, full of milky fragrance, like newly nurtured life, exuding a tempting aroma.
The Filth-Eating Grass had lost its distinct shape, becoming a mass of vile substance thriving in the netherworld courtyard.
The eighteen Parasitic Yin Threads had also taken root, resembling eighteen intertwined slender arms, no longer bearing the terrifying appearance seen in the secret realm.
As they fed on flesh and blood, the eighteen arms seemed to share a consciousness, evenly dividing the flesh and blood for consumption.
After feeding the Parasitic Yin Threads, Lu Xuan approached the Holy Infant Fruit mother plant buried in the Dark Decay Soil.
Due to not feeding the mature progeny to the mother plant in time, driven by instinctual needs, two grey-black tumors on the withered grey-black body of the mother plant contracted and expanded, revealing two tiny grey-black infant embryos inside.
"Not bad, birthing two new Holy Infant Fruit progeny seeds."
Lu Xuan commended his earlier decision.
As long as the Holy Infant Fruit mother plant's needs were unmet, it would continue to produce new progeny seeds, waiting for the progeny to mature for harvest.
Unexpectedly, Lu Xuan ruthlessly harvested it instead.
The mature Holy Infant Fruit progeny remained in the Gluttonous Insect Pouch, leaving the mother plant unsatisfied, hence inducing the birth of two new progeny seeds.
Lu Xuan carefully cut the two tumors, and for a moment, it seemed as if two grey-black phantoms screamed past.
The embryo-like seeds inside the tumors slowly became visible.
Surveying the courtyard, with limited space in the spirit field, Lu Xuan planted them near the Holy Infant Fruit mother plant.
"This seems somewhat cruel."
"The mother plant quietly awaits the growth of its progeny, only to helplessly watch them be harvested by others upon maturity."
"Hmm, this plot sounds vaguely familiar..."