“Let’s talk inside,” Lu Chang’an invited.
The two entered the house.
Lu Chang’an brewed a pot of Spirit Tea, poured a cup for his elder brother, and they both sat down.
“Elder Brother, I’ve never hunted Yao Beasts in the mountains before, and while I’ve heard of Golden-haired Rats, I don’t know how to catch them. You’ll have to explain it clearly to me, so my inexperience doesn’t ruin things.”
Lu Chang’an said earnestly.
This was at least twenty Spirit Stones of unexpected wealth, definitely worth preparing well for.
“If it were before, I wouldn’t know how to catch Golden-haired Rats either.”
Lu Linchuan recalled something pleasant, a smile appearing on his face: “Fortunately, Miss Zhou is kind and doesn’t treat me as an outsider. This time, on the way into the mountains, she taught me many methods for hunting and capturing Yao Beasts.”
“Does the Young Miss of the Beast Taming Zhou Family still need to personally enter the mountains to hunt and capture Yao Beasts?” Lu Chang’an asked in surprise.
As a native Cultivator of this generation, Lu Chang’an naturally knew Miss Zhou.
She was the direct granddaughter of the Beast Taming Zhou Family’s only current Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, of noble status, and more importantly, her Spiritual Root Aptitude wasn’t bad; she was a Three Spiritual Roots Cultivator.
Her appearance was also exceptional, renowned as the most beautiful female Cultivator within a hundred miles.
He heard that besides her Family’s ancestral Beast Taming techniques, she was also an Alchemist!
In the cultivation world, all types of Cultivators would Cultivate at least one immortal cultivation skill to earn Spirit Stone resources.
Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Formation, Puppet, Talisman Making, Spirit Plant Cultivation, Beast Taming… these were called the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation, with Alchemists being the most respected among them.
If Lu Chang’an’s Spirit Pearl hadn’t undergone its transformation, then compared to Miss Zhou, he would truly be like heaven and earth.
“The Zhou Family is a Foundation Establishment Family with a Legacy of nearly a thousand years; they naturally understand that flowers in a greenhouse are prone to withering prematurely. The Young Miss goes into the mountains for training once every year, and I was chosen to accompany her this time.”
Lu Linchuan sighed, “What truly surprised me was that the Young Miss didn’t deliberately distance herself because of my status; instead, she actively helped me integrate into the Zhou Family’s circle. She’s too kind.”
Lu Chang’an nodded.
A Core Disciple diligently cultivated by a Foundation Establishment Family with a Legacy of nearly a thousand years—whether in cultivation or conduct, there was nothing to fault.
“So how do we catch Golden-haired Rats?” Lu Chang’an looked at his elder brother curiously.
“Use Earth Spirit Flowers!” Lu Linchuan chuckled: “I heard that this kind of Spiritual Plant is very attractive to Golden-haired Rats. As long as we get some blooming Earth Spirit Flowers, we can easily lure the Golden-haired Rats into the Formation I’ve set up beforehand.”
“Catching a turtle in a jar!” Lu Chang’an also smiled.
He could already predict that once the Golden-haired Rats fell into Lu Linchuan’s Formation, they would have no escape.
Lu Linchuan was a First-Order Low Grade Formation Master!
Although Formation Masters were not as revered as Alchemists, they were even rarer than Alchemists.
This was mainly because Formation, compared to other Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation, relied more on talent.
Without enough talent, one couldn’t even get started. Not only was it difficult to learn, but it was also hard to master.
It was like the subject of mathematics on Earth.
They say that when people are desperate, they can do anything, but not math problems; if you don’t know it, you just don’t know it.
“This Earth Spirit Flower is easy to get. Our Family’s Spirit Medicine Garden has them planted. Second Brother, I heard you’re going to be in charge of the Family’s Spirit Medicine Garden soon, so you can handle getting the Earth Spirit Flower.” Lu Linchuan said.
Lu Chang’an patted his chest and agreed: “Leave it to me.”
Lu Linchuan brought him such an opportunity to make a fortune; he couldn’t contribute nothing!
“Second Brother, you also understand the saying ‘delays are dangerous.’ My meaning is, without further ado, you’d best get at least one Earth Spirit Flower in the next few days.”
Lu Linchuan said.
“No problem, I’ll go to Lingyuan Mountain tomorrow.” Lu Chang’an nodded slightly, fully agreeing with Lu Linchuan.
…
Early the next morning, Lu Chang’an had a simple breakfast and set off on the road to Lingyuan Mountain.
“Lingyuan Mountain.”
Lu Chang’an arrived at the foot of a mountain peak and looked up ahead.
It was a small branch of the Yunmeng Mountain Range, stretching for a thousand miles, with the mountain peak only a few hundred zhang high.
As the saying goes, a mountain does not need to be high; it is sacred if there is an Immortal.
This small mountain peak was imbued with Spiritual Qi, and the mountain top was even more filled with Immortal Qi, being the location of a First-Order Medium Grade Spiritual Vein, a treasure land for Cultivators to Cultivate.
For this treasure land, the Lu Family once had a major conflict with the Chen Family, a Qi Refining immortal cultivation Family affiliated with the Weapon Forging Wang Family.
The two sides fought to a draw and eventually shared this Spiritual Vein, with the Chen Family occupying the north side of Lingyuan Mountain and the Lu Family occupying the south side.
However, the Lu Family already possessed Great Green Mountain, a First-Order High Grade Spiritual Vein, as their habitat, so they transformed Lingyuan Mountain into an important industrial land for the Family.
On the southern mountainside of Lingyuan Mountain, the Lu Family had cultivated over a hundred mu of Spirit Fields for planting Spirit Rice, which could yield nearly forty thousand catties of Spirit Rice annually.
The Lu Family was an affiliated Family of the Beast Taming Zhou Family, and half of these forty thousand catties of Spirit Rice needed to be submitted to the Zhou Family each year.
The remaining twenty thousand catties of Spirit Rice satisfied the needs of the Lu Family Cultivators, with about fifteen thousand catties left over, valued at roughly five hundred Spirit Stones, making it a very important industry for the Lu Family.
At the most Spirit Qi-rich spot on the summit of Lingyuan Mountain, the Lu Family also cultivated a Spirit Medicine Garden.
Spirit Medicine was more valuable, but its growth cycle was much longer; even the fastest-growing Spirit Medicine usually took two or three years to harvest once.
Overall, the Lu Family’s income from the Spirit Medicine Garden was not significantly different from that of the Spirit Fields.
However, Spirit Medicine, especially aged Spirit Medicine, was a scarce resource in the cultivation world; sometimes, you couldn’t even buy it with Spirit Stones.
Any immortal cultivation Family with a proper Legacy would basically try to open up a Spirit Medicine Garden.
At the foot of Lingyuan Mountain, there was also a village with over a hundred households.
These hundred households were carefully selected mortal Family Disciples of the Lu Family, most of whom practiced martial arts and had relatively good skills, mainly responsible for various chores on Lingyuan Mountain and basic patrol security.
Although no Loose Cultivators or other Family Cultivators would come to Lingyuan Mountain to steal or cause trouble,
Lingyuan Mountain was a branch of the Yunmeng Mountain Range, and occasionally low-level Yao Beasts would emerge from the Yunmeng Mountain.
Numerous mortal Family Disciples patrolled daily, and their main duty was to quickly detect Yao Beasts when they appeared and then notify the Family Cultivators.
Lu Chang’an ascended the mountain, first going to the Spirit Field area on the mountainside to meet the Lu Family Cultivators responsible for planting the Spirit Fields.
They were from the same Family and both on Lingyun Mountain, constantly seeing each other, so naturally, they needed to maintain good relations.
“Spirit Medicine Garden. The Spiritual Qi here is significantly denser than at the foot of the mountain.”
Lu Chang’an climbed a section of bluestone steps and saw an open area at the summit. In the center of the open area was a crescent-shaped lake, and beside the lake stood a two-story building.
“Third Uncle might be refining Alchemy right now. If I rush in, I might disturb him.”
Lu Chang’an continued forward, stopping outside the courtyard of the two-story building, and called into the house: “Nephew Lu Chang’an has come to pay respects to Third Uncle.”
“Lu Chang’an, you’ve arrived so early. I’m currently refining Alchemy. You can sit in meditation and Cultivate for a while first.” A voice quickly responded from inside the house.
Lu Chang’an nodded, entered the small courtyard, sat on a futon, and began to Cultivate, but all the Spiritual Power gained from his Cultivation was poured into the Spirit Pearl.
Previously, Lu Chang’an had deduced that if he continued to infuse Spiritual Power into the Spirit Pearl, the area of the black fertile field within the Spirit Pearl Space might expand.
After this period of effort, Lu Chang’an found that reality differed somewhat from his deduction.
However, he hadn’t given up yet. The reason the Spirit Pearl Space hadn’t changed might be that it hadn’t reached the point where quantitative change leads to qualitative change.