Lu Chang'an meditated and Cultivated for nearly two hours straight.
"Lu Chang'an, come in," a voice called from inside the room.
Lu Chang'an stood up and pushed the door open, a rich aroma of Medicinal Pills wafting towards him.
The room was simply furnished, with a square eight-immortal table in the center, where a middle-aged man in a green robe sat, reading a book.
This person was Lu Chang'an's third uncle, Lu Huocheng, the third-ranked Disciple of the Lu Family's second generation.
"Nephew greets Third Uncle," Lu Chang'an respectfully saluted.
He genuinely respected this Third Uncle from the bottom of his heart.
Because Lu Huocheng was a legendary figure in the Lu Family!
Lu Huocheng was a Five Spiritual Roots Cultivator, just like Lu Chang'an. At 42 years old, he had already reached the Eighth Level Qi Refinement cultivation, and was one of the only four Late Qi Refining stage Cultivators in the Family.
If nothing unexpected happened, he should be able to Cultivate to Qi Refining Perfection by the age of fifty, making him the only one in the current Lu Family with a chance to achieve Foundation Establishment!
Lu Huocheng's cultivation efficiency among Five Spiritual Roots Cultivators could only be described as terrifying!
Years ago, the Lu Family planned to train an Alchemist, so they sent three second-generation Cultivators to be apprentices under Dan Master Ge Yi of the Beast Taming Zhou Family.
At that time, Lu Huocheng was only twelve years old, and no one was optimistic about him.
Yet, he was the most promising, succeeding in advancing from an Alchemy apprentice to a First-Order Low Grade Alchemist in less than two years.
It cost the Lu Family less than a thousand Spirit Stones to train Lu Huocheng into a First-Order Low Grade Alchemist.
It's worth noting that ordinary Cultivators usually need nearly two thousand Spirit Stones to become a First-Order Low Grade Alchemist by piling up large amounts of Spirit Medicine and Immortal Plants.
Lu Huocheng, who became a First-Order Low Grade Alchemist at fourteen, had a smooth cultivation path.
At the age of twenty-four, he became a First-Order Medium Grade Alchemist, and his cultivation also reached Qi Refining Sixth Level Perfection.
It was a pity that a Qi Refining Cultivation Family like the Lu Family simply couldn't acquire the Legacy of a One-star Upper Grade Alchemist, so Lu Huocheng's Alchemy Dao couldn't continue.
Even so, with his identity as a First-Order Medium Grade Alchemist, Lu Huocheng, at 42 years old, had successfully Cultivated to Eighth Level Qi Refinement, and was also the wealthiest Cultivator in the Lu Family, generating over two hundred Spirit Stones in annual income for the Family.
"Family rules state that every Cultivator who Breakthroughs to the Qi Refining Middle Stage can have a month's vacation. Lu Chang'an, why did you come to the Spirit Medicine Garden so early?"
Lu Huocheng closed the book in his hand and looked up with some curiosity.
"I dare not conceal it from Third Uncle. I came so early because Big Brother discovered a nest of Golden-haired Rats in the mountains and asked me to help catch them, but to capture these beasts, we need Earth Spirit Flower as bait."
Lu Chang'an said sincerely; there was nothing to hide about this.
As an Alchemist, Lu Huocheng was the wealthiest person in the Lu Family and wouldn't be envious of Lu Chang'an's small windfall. Given his status, he wouldn't spread this matter around and cause trouble for Lu Linchuan.
"Earth Spirit Flower?" A hint of helplessness flashed across Lu Huocheng's face: "The Earth Spirit Flowers in the Family's Spirit Medicine Garden just matured recently and have all been sold to the Beast Taming Zhou Family. Now there are only some young saplings in the Spirit Medicine Garden."
"It seems I can only buy them at the Town," Lu Chang'an sighed, a hint of regret on his face.
However, Lu Chang'an remained calm inwardly.
Young saplings were enough; he just needed to take them into the Spirit Pearl Space and ripen them.
"Mm." Lu Huocheng nodded: "Since you're here today, I'll also tell you about your duties in managing the Spirit Medicine Garden.
You need to patrol the Spirit Medicine Garden twice a day, in the morning and evening. In your leisure time, you can Cultivate in the mountains, but you are not allowed to go down the mountain without my permission."
"Nephew understands."
"This is what you need to pay attention to after you officially take over the Spirit Medicine Garden. You are still on vacation now, so you can arrange your time as you wish," Lu Huocheng added.
"Nephew will take his leave first."
Lu Chang'an left the two-story building and then took a stroll around the Family's Spirit Medicine Garden.
The most precious Spirit Medicine in the Lu Family's Spirit Medicine Garden were two century-old Orchid Grasses, planted directly on a Spiritual Vein's Spiritual Eye.
The newly planted Spirit Medicine saplings were very easy to identify, and Lu Chang'an quickly found the location of the Earth Spirit Flower saplings.
"I'll pull one first and replace it later."
Although this behavior was self-theft, a single Earth Spirit Flower sapling was really not a big deal, and Lu Chang'an didn't pay too much attention to it.
Lu Chang'an returned to his small courtyard on Great Green Mountain with the Earth Spirit Flower saplings.
After closing the doors and windows, Lu Chang'an entered the Spirit Pearl Space and planted the Earth Spirit Flower saplings.
Earth Spirit Flower, similar to Golden Leaf Flower, also takes about ten years to mature.
This time, Lu Chang'an didn't wait inside the Spirit Pearl Space. Instead, he lit an incense stick outside and went in to check occasionally.
After ripening the Earth Spirit Flower, what surprised Lu Chang'an was that the Earth Spirit Flower actually bloomed and bore fruit.
Lu Chang'an obtained three Earth Spirit Flower seeds.
Since he had nothing else to do, Lu Chang'an ripened three more Earth Spirit Flowers overnight, obtaining ten more seeds.
"Bring all four of these Earth Spirit Flowers. I'll take out one first, and if it's not enough, I'll take them all out."
Early the next morning, Lu Chang'an headed to Lu Linchuan's residence on Great Green Mountain.
After getting married, Lu Linchuan mostly lived in a new residence within the Zhou Family's territory, but this time he naturally stayed on Great Green Mountain.
"Big Brother, I got the Earth Spirit Flower."
"You're really quick," Lu Linchuan chuckled.
"The Spirit Medicine Garden didn't have any, but Qinghe Town happened to have some," Lu Chang'an offered his prepared excuse.
"Second Brother, in the future when you go to Qinghe Town, it's best to visit our Family's shop more often and subtly indicate that you are a Cultivator of our Lu Family. This can save you some trouble," Lu Linchuan reminded him.
"Of course," Lu Chang'an nodded. He understood this principle; the main reason he didn't go last time was that selling Spirit Medicine then had to be kept secret from the Lu Family.
"Then let's set off." Lu Linchuan returned to the house and brought some seasonings.
Lu Linchuan led Lu Chang'an deep into the Yunmeng Mountain Range.
The mountain path was not easy to travel. Even though they were Qi Refining Cultivators, they couldn't fly, so they only covered about a hundred li in a single morning.
At mealtime, they would casually hunt some wild game in the mountains and barbecue it on the spot with the seasonings they brought.
At night, they would climb up a giant tree and rest on its branches, with one person keeping watch while the other rested.
After two days of advancing deeper into the mountains, Lu Chang'an and his brother finally reached their destination.
"The Spiritual Qi here is still quite abundant. Perhaps there's a First-Order Spiritual Vein deep underground," Lu Chang'an speculated.
"That's natural. Deep within the Yunmeng Mountain Range, there are Spiritual Veins everywhere. Not to mention First-Order, there are plenty of Second and Third-Order ones, but they are all Yao Beast territories."
Lu Linchuan said, "It's precisely because there's a Spiritual Vein here that the Golden-haired Rats can survive. Yao Beasts and Cultivators are the same; they must Cultivate in places with Spiritual Veins."
"This spot will do," Lu Linchuan found an open area. "I'll set up a First-Order trapping formation here."