You Cultivate, I Farm

Chapter 154

Outside the small courtyard, two intermediate Qi cultivators looked up at the array that covered the entire space, murmuring quietly.

"The owner of this courtyard is too mysterious, always maintaining a second-grade defensive array, wasting so many spirit stones."

"I wonder who they really are. It's like the dragon showing its head but never its tail; we've never seen their figure."

"Ah, do you think it's possible that the owner of the courtyard has died in some secret realm somewhere, and that's why no cultivators have entered?"

"If that's the case..."

One of the cultivators raised an eyebrow at his companion, giving a meaningful look.

"Be cautious! It's better not to entertain such thoughts!"

"This is under the Sky Sword Sect. There might be a disciple of the sect behind this courtyard. If we inadvertently provoke them, our lives might be in danger."

His companion cautiously glanced around, advising him.

Just as the two were about to leave, suddenly, a clear voice came from behind them.

"Friends, standing in front of my courtyard, are you waiting for me by any chance?"

The two were startled, turning to see a gracefully dressed cultivator smiling at them.

What shocked them even more was the attire of the young manit was the standard outer disciple robe of the Sky Sword Sect.

"Please don't misunderstand. We happen to live not far from your courtyard and happened to pass by," one of them hastily explained to Lu Xuan.

"Is that so? Seeing both of you here, I almost thought you had ulterior motives for the things inside my courtyard!"

Lu Xuan looked at them, saying with a hint of a smile.

"Absolutely not!"

The cultivator replied firmly.

"We come from reputable backgrounds. We stayed in Sword Gate Town precisely to assist the disciples of our family's Sky Sword Sect at any time."

"Our young master is currently at the Intermediate Qi cultivation level. Perhaps you know him."

"I see. It seems I've been overly cautious."

Lu Xuan replied calmly.

"This courtyard is my resting place in Sword Gate Town. As I prefer not to interact with people, I've set up this array for protection."

"Moreover, as I'm preparing to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, my visits here have become even less frequent."

Lu Xuan explained casually, giving a reason that convinced the two intermediate Qi cultivators while also implying a sense of intimidation.

"Wishing you a quick breakthrough!"

The two lowered their heads and offered their wishes.

"If the elder doesn't mind, we can help keep an eye out here occasionally, to prevent any unwelcome visitors from dirtying your residence."

Hearing that Lu Xuan was about to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, the two changed their tone, even volunteering to watch over Lu Xuan's courtyard.

"Well, I'll trouble you then. If the courtyard remains undisturbed, there will certainly be generous rewards for you."

Lu Xuan painted a bright picture for the two intermediate Qi cultivators, casting a deep glance at them as if imprinting their faces in his mind.

Then, he opened the array and entered the courtyard.

Once Lu Xuan's figure completely disappeared, the two who felt uneasy raised their heads, wiped their foreheads, exchanged glances, and hurried away.

"Why did you promise to help that Sky Sword Sect disciple watch over his courtyard?"

When they had walked some distance away, one of them expressed dissatisfaction.

"Don't you see he's become suspicious? To dispel his doubts, we had no choice but to resort to this."

"We have to be more vigilant hereafter. If a cultivator really breaks the array and enters the courtyard, we'll be in deep trouble."

"It's fortunate we live relatively close."

"Living too close is what brought this trouble upon us today!"

...

Lu Xuan entered the courtyard, finding everything in its usual place, no trace of any anomaly near the array.

"If conditions permit in the future, I should upgrade the protection of the spiritual field in the courtyard."

"Although the courtyard is situated in Sword Gate Town, not far from the Sky Sword Sect, there are fewer evil spirits or rogue cultivators around, making it safer compared to the market in Linyang District."

"But I shouldn't get complacent. After all, the spiritual field here grows third-grade Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms, Thorny Bone Trees, and even fourth-grade Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Woods. If I accidentally cause damage, it'll be a loss I can't afford."

He pondered inwardly.

Entering the spiritual field, a chilling wind blew, and over ten resentful spirits roamed freely in the air.

The five Ghost-Faced Stone Mushrooms below grew remarkably well, their surface patterns resembling eerie smiles when examined closelya sign that they had been in a satiated state for some time.

"The speed at which they absorb resentful spirits and grievances is getting faster. Last time, leaving fifty resentful spirits, they were almost entirely devoured!"

Lu Xuan sighed, taking out a second-grade Resentful Soul Bell artifact and releasing another fifty spirits from within it.

"After a few more times, this Resentful Soul Bell will just be a 'bell.' Let's see if there's a chance to get more resentful spirits."

He approached the Thorny Bone Tree, noticing that over time, the long, pale bones had grown more and more bone spurs, resembling layers of fine, sharp teeth deeply embedded into the bones of a third-grade Savage Armored Bull, extracting its marrow thoroughly.

"It's not sustainable to keep preying on the same set of bones. Today, I'll give you a change in taste."

Lu Xuan tossed the bones of a Purple Cloud Leopard and another second-grade demonic beast under the Thorny Bone Tree.

After throwing the bones, he approached the peculiar small tree covered in pupils.

On its trunk, the previous demonic beast's eye that Lu Xuan had left had lost all activity, turning grey-white. As he gently touched it, the eye crumbled into powder and fell.

A translucent, tiny tentacle reluctantly emerged from the grey-white eye, retracting back into one of the half-opened eerie eyes.

After absorbing the essence from the demonic beast's eye, it had opened more than half, showing a faintly rotating dark red pupil inside, inducing slight dizziness if stared at for too long.

Lu Xuan took out a pair of Purple Cloud Leopard eyes, gently offering them to the Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood.

A few of the closest pupils sensed the arrival of fresh food, struggling to open their eyes. Several translucent, small tentacles shot out like a gecko's tongue, darting towards them.

Eventually, the two eyes were swiftly snatched by the two fastest tentacles, firmly stuck in the pupils, unmoving.

The remaining pupils failed to compete for the Purple Cloud Leopard eyes, slowly closing, conveying an unwillingness that Lu Xuan could perceive.

"A pair of Purple Cloud Leopard eyes can't satisfy this Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood at all. I'll need to find a way to obtain more and higher-grade demonic beast eyes."

Thinking to himself, he rarely found live demonic beast eyes at the stalls in the bluestone square. He decided to actively search for such items.

"To acquire more fresh demonic beast eyes, I'll have to venture out and hunt more demonic beasts and preserve their eyes. Then, I'll promptly feed them to the Hundred-Eyed Enigmatic Wood."

"But adventure? That's

 impossible. I'll never go on an adventure in this lifetime. I won't cultivate, only tend to these spiritual plants to sustain my practice."

"First, let's update with another chapter."

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