You Cultivate, I Farm

After the gathering ended, Lu Xuan didn’t linger and bid farewell to Guo Bingqiu, returning to his cave abode.

Their cave abodes weren’t very far from each other, and in a short while, he arrived smoothly outside his own dwelling.

His Spiritual Sense swept around, and after confirming there were no abnormalities, he finally opened the Formation and entered the cave.

Once the Thousand Barrier Xuan Crystal Array was activated, the outside turmoil had little to do with him.

Lu Xuan stayed in his own small piece of heaven and earth, carefully nurturing each Spirit Plant.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, three months had passed.

In this period, he had gathered a lot of the latest news about the Evil Demons.

With the joining of numerous Loose Cultivators, the situation had improved slightly, and he hadn’t heard of any more instances of heavy casualties.

The treasures offered by Heavenly Star Cave, as he came to understand, had already been exchanged for a small portion, but the rarest ones remained, showing the difficulty of exterminating Evil Demons.

The three White Light Groups from the breakthroughs brought Lu Xuan a Sixth Grade Thousand Year Ancient Tree Heart, as well as the Experience Package formulas for two Fifth Rank Green Condensation Dew.

“All six Tree Maidens have grown to their full form, even faster than I had anticipated.”

“It’s time to make a trip to Green Wood Star Cave now. The mysterious Xuan Ji Tree Mother previously mentioned that as long as the Tree Maidens grow smoothly, I could seek a High-grade Spirit Seed from it.”

“As a Tree Spirit from the boundless forests inside Green Wood Star Cave, the Spirit Seed it offers shouldn’t be anything ordinary.”

A smile appeared on Lu Xuan’s face.

Although Evil Demons have appeared in many Star Caves to some extent, as long as he moves within a safe range and takes extra caution, the chance of encountering Evil Demons is minimal.

With that in mind, he summoned the Grass Puppet.

Compared to before, there were obvious changes on the body of the Grass Puppet.

Where once was a greyish body, spots of green could be seen, radiating a rich vitality that could be sensed within.

The piece of ancient wood inserted in its chest was now completely wrapped by grey-green grass rope. One end of the grass rope reached deep into the ancient wood, drawing in the grass and wood Spiritual Energy from the Light Cluster.

With the incessant absorption by the Thousand Year Ancient Tree Heart, its size had reduced significantly, making the piece of ancient wood sticking out less conspicuous.

“Watch over the cave abode well. If there are Cultivators or other beings that try to force their way in, you can go inside the Formation and use the Arrow Vine to eliminate them,” Lu Xuan instructed the Grass Puppet. Ṙ𝐚₦ǒ฿Ęs

The main function of the Thousand Barrier Xuan Crystal Array was protection and it wasn’t strong in combat. Should anyone invade, the Grass Puppet could enter the Formation and use the Arrow Vine to attack the intruders.

Although the Arrow Vine was only fourth grade, its attack range was extremely long, and dealing with Cultivators trapped inside the Formation was not a problem.

The Spiritual Intelligence of the Grass Puppet had markedly increased during this time; it had at least memorized the operational routes of the Formation, enabling it to move in and out freely.

After all was prepared, Lu Xuan left the cave abode, looking at the sky filled with fine lightning energy and couldn’t help but feel a sense of unfamiliarity.

“No sun or moon within the abode, indeed.”

He sighed, turning into a bolt of silvery-white lightning and shooting forth.

After entering Green Wood Star Cave, he took out the Communication Talismans of the familiar Cultivators Hermit Yu Lin and Wang Suihuai, in an attempt to contact them and catch up on old times.

Waiting for a moment, there was no response.

“Are they in seclusion cultivating, or have they too gone to hunt Evil Demons?” Lu Xuan wondered, and changed direction, heading towards the location where he had once obtained the Tree Maidens.

The boundless woods stirred up waves of greenery, with shades of green as far as the eye could see.

He activated the Wood Escape Technique and entered one of the towering trees that reached into the clouds.

Inside the giant tree, Lu Xuan was like a fish in water, speeding through.

A few breaths later, several streaks of green light appeared beside him, closely following on either side, their speed surprisingly not slower than his.

Lu Xuan immediately stopped, and the figures of several small tree maidens appeared, flapping their light cyan wings, flying around Lu Xuan.

They occasionally drew close to his side to gently sniff, then withdrew shyly, with a strong curiosity in their eyes.

“It looks like they’ve smelled the scent of their kin.”

Lu Xuan laughed, summoning the six small tree maidens from the Gluttonous Insect Pouch.

Confronted with several unfamiliar kin whose aura was clearly stronger than their own, the recently appeared tree maidens were somewhat cautious.

But after all, they shared the same origin, and soon became extremely close to each other, chirping and chattering, seemingly communicating about something.

“Having not visited for so many years, I wonder where that warm-hearted tree maiden has gone.”

Lu Xuan lamented.

After communicating with their companions, the tree maidens from the Green Wood Star Cave became very enthusiastic towards Lu Xuan, indicating him to follow behind.

Without any doubt, Lu Xuan, cloaked in verdant spiritual power, swiftly entered the depths of the giant tree.

Moments later, with a sound like a bubble bursting, he seemed to pass through a layer of thin, cicada wing-like translucent membrane, entering a world of green.

Above him was a vast green canopy, endless and boundless, beneath which countless huge roots and vines intertwined to form various bizarre landscapes, with who knows how many plant spirits frolicking within.

Lu Xuan wore a smile, calmly observing, waiting for the Xuan Ji Tree Mother to appear.

It wasn’t long before a faint green aura began to emerge from within the several tree maidens beside him.@@novelbin@@

Lu Xuan, not surprised, watched as countless plant spirits around displayed the same phenomenon.

Innumerable faint green auras gathered together, condensing into a humanoid green figure.

The figure towered dozens of feet tall, with countless varied-sized vines of different colors falling from the top, and the upper body had numerous arm-like branches interlacing heavily and extending all the way to the very end of the green canopy.

“I pay my respects to Elder Tree Mother!”

Lu Xuan hastily performed a salute.

“So it’s you, young friend.”

“These tree maidens are the ones you took from the Green Wood Star Cave back then, aren’t they? I didn’t expect them to grow so quickly; they are already fully developed.”

“Judging by their aura, they must have merged with a wood-related heavenly treasure.”

A voice gentle to the extreme reached Lu Xuan’s ears, making him feel incredibly peaceful in an instant.

It was the Xuan Ji Tree Mother hiding in the Green Wood Star Cave, mysterious in origin and unfathomable in power, rooted within the Star Cave, capable of splitting into thousands or merging into one, as she appeared now.

“I had the luck to come across a treasure item, which happened to be suitable for these little spirits, so I let them share it.”

Lu Xuan offhandedly mentioned that after he additionally divided two sections of the Thousand Year Ancient Tree Heart, he had given one to the tree maidens, while planning to reserve the other for the Demonic Vine.

“Young friend, you have been so considerate. Knowing that you’ve cared for and nurtured the tree maidens so well puts my mind at ease,” said the Xuan Ji Tree Mother, her soft voice filled with contentment.

“I had originally intended to let them return to the Tree Realm to grow freely, but now I’ve changed my mind.”

“Perhaps, staying by your side is more beneficial for their growth.”

“Of course, I have not forgotten the promise I made to you previously.”

“I have a high-grade Spirit Seed here, which I will grant to you, young friend. I hope you will continue as you have been, taking good care of them.”

As the Xuan Ji Tree Mother spoke slowly, her already gentle voice seemed to Lu Xuan like celestial music to his ears.