29: Flying on a crane, an invitation

[Level 1 Buildings: Cultivation Chamber, bedroom, formation chamber]

[Level 2 Buildings: Immortal Cave, Chicken Coop, Spirit Field]

"I'm still missing Tonghui Grass, soul nurturing jade, and a heaven formation stone to upgrade those three Level 1 buildings."

The heaven formation stone was easy enough to handle; it was just a matter of Spirit Stones.

Ruyi Pavilion had them clearly priced at two hundred Spirit Stones a piece; three would be six hundred.

Though it would hurt his wallet, at least there was a clear path to getting them.

Moreover, the current functions of the [formation chamber] were sufficient for now. He wasn't in a hurry to comprehend Tier 2 formations; he just needed a bit more time to be fully confident in pushing his Formation skills to the Tier 1 Peak grade.

Between the [Cultivation Chamber] and the [bedroom], the former naturally had higher priority.

"Tonghui Grass... where can I find that?" Lu Xian frowned.

He only knew the name, but even after flipping through the entire "Detailed Record of a Thousand Grasses," he hadn't seen a single mention of it.

Lu Xian even began to doubt if it was actually a Tier 1 Spiritual Plant.

But on second thought, according to the upgrade patterns of previous buildings, the grade of the required Materials shouldn't exceed his own Realm by too much, which put him slightly at ease.

That left only two possibilities: either Tonghui Grass was an extremely rare, unrecorded niche Spiritual Plant, or it had long since gone extinct over the ages.

The latter would be a disaster for Lu Xian.

It would mean his [Cultivation Chamber] would be permanently stuck at Level 1, unable to progress an inch!

"No, I can't scare myself. I should ask my well-informed Fellow Daoists first."

Lu Xian took out his quasi-immortal jade token and posted a thread on the Nine Heavens Dao Discussion:

「Shocking! Top 10 Tier 1 Spiritual Plants: Purple Marrow Stems only rank 7th, the top spot is actually this!」

「Han Tianzun: I have observed three thousand types of Spiritual Plants, and the champion is none other than 'Tonghui Grass'. Fight me if you disagree!」

Lu Xian nodded, feeling satisfied with this.

Sure enough, even though the Dao Discussion area was full of discussions about Foundation Establishment Immortal Caves, his post still stirred up a huge wave, quickly attracting a lot of attention.

「A certain Li: What is Tonghui Grass? How dare you rank it first! The Moon Dew Orchid is the undisputed number one!」

「Spirit Bird are Tasty: Does Tonghui Grass go well with Jade Marrow Chicken? How does it taste?」

「A certain Chen: Han Tianzun? Daring to call yourself a Heavenly Emperor, higher than the Heavenly Dao? Does the Han Family not want to live anymore?」

「A certain Zhang: Spirit Bird, come out and duel me!」

「...」

Although there were many messages, none contained substantive content about Tonghui Grass.

Just as Lu Xian was feeling disappointed, he suddenly saw a new reply:

「Qiongyao Workshop: Fellow Daoist, Tonghui Grass is a name from several thousand years ago. Its effect is merely to make one's senses momentarily sharp after consumption, and its medicinal properties conflict with the vast majority of Spiritual Plants. It's truly the most useless of the useless and was phased out long ago. Nowadays, there's a similar herb in the wild called 'awareness grass'. Stop clickbaiting and move along...」

After reading it, the corners of Lu Xian's mouth curled up slightly.

I knew it, how could it not be found? My Fellow Daoists are indeed knowledgeable.

He sent a message to Du Qinghong: 「Han Feiyu: Brother Du, help me acquire a stalk of awareness grass in the city.」

This time, Du Qinghong didn't reply instantly.

He was likely busy handling the sales of that batch of spirit eggs and Spirit Bird.

Lu Xian put away the jade token and stepped into the backyard.

As soon as the Azure Firmament Feathered Crane in the Chicken Coop saw him, it craned its neck and cried out:

"Tastes bad! Tastes bad! Tastes bad..."

"To think the dignified Crane Heavenly Emperor has fallen so low as to eat mundane food. It truly brings tears to those who hear it and sorrow to those who see it. Wait while this seat fetches some spirit grain."

Lu Xian teased as he let it out of the Chicken Coop.

He then took out a pound of spirit grain from his Storage Pouch and poured it into the prepared jade trough.

Crane Heavenly Emperor pecked fiercely several times, sweeping it all away like clouds before the wind.

Looking at its broad back, Lu Xian suddenly had an idea and ordered, "Crouch!"

The crane was extremely obedient; its legs bent slightly as it lowered its body.

Lu Xian leaped lightly and landed steadily on the crane's back: "Take off."

Crane Heavenly Emperor spread its wings and, with a slight flap, rose with the wind!

"Outwards, full speed!" Lu Xian ordered again.

"Skree—!"

With a clear, long cry, Crane Heavenly Emperor turned into a green shadow and charged straight out of the Shantytown!

Its speed was actually more than double that of his sword flight!

The mountains and rivers below rapidly shrank, turning into a flowing scroll. The biting gale hit his face, yet it only made him feel incredibly refreshed and exhilarated.

A distance of a hundred miles took only half an hour.

Moreover, the flight altitude was extremely high, nearly a thousand yards from the ground, making it difficult for ordinary Cultivators to notice.

An hour later, Crane Heavenly Emperor sent a weary thought.

By now, they were over two hundred miles away from Azure Cloud City.

Lu Xian sat leisurely on the crane's back and personally fed it a pound of spirit grain as a supplement.

"Return."

After two hours total, night fell.

Lu Xian jumped down from the crane's back, a joy he couldn't hide in his eyes.

Two hundred miles for just one pound of spirit grain—this was simply invincible.

He patted the top of the crane's head and said, "Go back and rest."

After saying that, he scattered another handful of spirit grain.

Crane Heavenly Emperor gave a happy cry and walked back into the Chicken Coop to enjoy its meal.

"I'll ride the crane whenever I go far from now on; I'll be one step ahead of everyone when running away... Unless I can learn a high-grade sword escape technique, I probably won't be able to beat this big guy..."

Lu Xian muttered to himself.

He was looking forward to it more and more. If even the [Chicken Coop] could hatch such a miraculous Spirit Bird, what kind of surprises would the yet-to-be-unlocked [livestock pen] bring?

He even began to fantasize that one day, he would only need to sit in the back while a few powerful Spirit Beasts under his command wiped out all enemies!

He wouldn't even have to lift a finger during a fight outside.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Xian looked at the sky. "Since it's come to this, I'll sleep first. Tomorrow's matters can wait until tomorrow."

...The next day.

In the morning, Lu Xian woke up from his bed. The steady growth of his Divine Sense was exciting; he wondered when it would reach the Foundation Establishment level.

He suddenly remembered that the Spiritual Plants he bought yesterday hadn't been planted yet.

In the Spirit Field, that soul settling tea tree stood all alone; it was time to find it a companion.

Coming to the edge of the field, Lu Xian took out the star stamen grass and the Fire Vein Ganoderma seedlings.

The star stamen grass didn't have high environmental requirements, so he just found an empty spot and planted it.

As for that Fire Vein Ganoderma, logically, it needed to be planted in soil with strong earth fire or rich fire Spiritual Qi.

Lu Xian specifically chose the furthest corner in the southwest of the Spirit Field and carefully planted it.

The moment it entered the soil, the Fire Vein Ganoderma burst with vitality!

It was shaped like an umbrella-like lingzhi, its entire body crimson like glowing iron. Faint fire-patterned veins appeared on the cap, as if lava were flowing within.

"It seems the [Spirit Field] isn't restricted by the environmental needs of the Spiritual Plants. The 'can plant Tier 2 Spiritual Plants' in the description means that no matter what kind of plant it is, as long as a breath of life remains, it can grow here!"

"Domineering, just the way I like it!"

The corners of Lu Xian's mouth turned up.

The [Spirit Field] and [Chicken Coop] were currently his two biggest sources of income; it was truly 'making money while lying down'.

Although the [formation chamber] could also generate income, it required him to do it personally, consuming mental energy to make Formation Plates, which was too tiring.

How could that be faster than feeding chickens every day and casting a bit of Minor Cloud and Rain Art for Spirit Stones?

Thinking of Spirit Bird, Lu Xian couldn't help but look inward at himself, his brow furrowing slightly.

The third transformation of his blood and Qi was taking a long time to complete. The Spirit Devouring Bone Transformation Scripture was stuck at the Peak of the sixth layer, unable to reach the Realm of Perfection.

If he could completely finish this transformation, his Physical Body strength would be close to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!

At that time, even if he didn't dare say he was invincible within the Qi Refinement Stage, even a true Great Perfection of Qi Refining Cultivator of the same level wouldn't dream of easily killing him!

"I must speed up... I'll try eating a few more Spirit Bird to see the effect. If that doesn't work, I'll have to build the [livestock pen] as soon as possible and switch to eating Yao Beast meat."

Lu Xian immediately picked up three Jade Marrow Chickens.

After a round of expert slaughtering, plucking, marinating, and deep-frying, followed by a generous sprinkling of chili, the aroma soon filled the air.

Out of the pot.

Lu Xian never mistreated his own tongue, but looking at the chicken on the plate, he still couldn't help but frown.

Eating it every day, even with different variations, he was truly getting tired of it.

Unfortunately, for now, only this was easy to obtain and contained blood and Qi.

He couldn't exactly munch on soul settling tea leaves, could he? That stuff had almost no benefit for blood and Qi growth.

Closing his eyes, Lu Xian polished it off in a few bites.

The warm current inside his body was weak. As he circulated the Spirit Devouring Bone Transformation Scripture, the blood and Qi refined were only a few meager strands.

This was because his physique had become stronger.

Now, a single strand of blood and Qi was over a hundred times stronger than when he had first started.

However, these few strands of blood and Qi were still a drop in the bucket for the third transformation.

"I can't delay any longer. Build the [livestock pen]!"

Lu Xian stood up abruptly.