Heaven’s Shadow

Chapter 115: By the Red Amber Ginseng

Half a month later, the fifty servant disciples who had arrived at Liu Xiangpu began to show differences in their spiritual power cultivation. Bai Cao Hall quickly divided them into two groups.

One group had forty people, while the other had ten.

In the smaller group, the disciples showed exceptional results in cultivating spiritual plants. The plants they cultivated grew much better than ordinary ones, with flowers blooming and fruits ripening one or two days faster than those of others. Most of the larger group showed average results.

Lu Chen was placed in the smaller but highly effective group. Despite having only one earth-element Five Elements Divine Pillar and only being able to manipulate earth spiritual power, the spiritual power he absorbed and used was exceptionally pure. The spiritual herbs he cultivated grew especially well, making him one of the best performers.

The forty servant disciples continued their work in the same place, while Lu Chen and the other nine were taken to another place in Liu Xiangpu called the “Herb Garden.”

Compared to the original Maple Garden, the spiritual herbs in the Herb Garden were of a noticeably higher grade. The garden contained almost no common two-pattern spiritual herbs; the few that appeared were among the most precious two-pattern materials. Additionally, half of the area was planted with three-pattern spiritual herbs.

The heritage of a prestigious sect with a five-thousand-year history was inadvertently revealed in such a place. Even Lu Chen, who had extensive experience, couldn’t help but be amazed when he saw this herb garden and thought about the even higher-grade areas deeper in Liu Xiangpu.

After arriving at the Herb Garden, Bai Cao Hall’s attitude towards the ten disciples began to change, showing a bit more appreciation. Due to the valuable spiritual herbs in the Herb Garden, they also treated Lu Chen and the others more carefully.

Unlike in the Maple Garden, where each person was assigned a plot of land with multiple plants, here, each person was instructed to take care of just one spiritual herb. Each herb had a dedicated person to explain the cultivation methods and precautions in detail.

In the end, even Yan Luo, a Jindan stage cultivator, appeared, personally instructing them and explicitly telling them that the spiritual herbs here were priceless, in some sense more valuable than the servant disciples themselves.

All the servant disciples listened quietly; no one argued or resisted.

Yan Luo softened her expression and kindly told everyone that although this was the case, if they took good care of these precious spiritual herbs, their gains would far exceed those in the Stone Plate Valley, greatly increasing their hopes of future success in cultivation.

Lu Chen stood among the crowd, looking at the smiling old woman with a crane’s hair, thinking to himself, “She really knows how to paint a good picture!”

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As the disciple with the purest spiritual power and the best cultivation results, Lu Chen was assigned a very precious three-pattern spiritual herb, the “Red Amber Ginseng.”

Even among three-pattern spiritual materials, Red Amber Ginseng was extremely rare. It had a peculiar nature, where only one Red Amber Ginseng could ever grow on an acre of land, never two simultaneously.

Moreover, on land with Red Amber Ginseng, only a special grass called “Ginseng Grass” would grow around it. No other trees or plants could survive there. Even if trees were deliberately transplanted near Red Amber Ginseng, they would wither and die after a short period.

This was a highly domineering spiritual plant, willing to seize the life of other plants to ensure its own growth space. However, because of its astonishing medicinal properties and extensive use in refining spiritual pills, wild Red Amber Ginseng had been almost entirely dug up over the years. Only a prestigious sect with deep heritage, like the Kunlun Sect, had the ability to cultivate it themselves.

When Lu Chen saw the Red Amber Ginseng, he noticed it in the center of an acre of green grassland. It was a striking spiritual herb with nine tiny red fruits on its spike.

The Red Amber Ginseng was taller than the surrounding grass called “Ginseng Grass,” standing out like a crane among chickens with an air of regality. Contrary to its domineering growth habit, the Red Amber Ginseng above ground appeared quite delicate and charming. It had green, tender stems and leaves over a foot tall, with red spikes bearing nine plump, bright red fruits that looked so tempting they made one want to take a bite.

Lu Chen gazed at the red fruits for a while, then placed his hands on the soil around the Red Amber Ginseng and began to breathe slowly.

A bright yellowish-brown light emanated from the soil, causing the soil particles to tremble slightly before obediently moving toward the Red Amber Ginseng under Lu Chen’s control. Meanwhile, beneath the surface, invisible to the naked eye, the earth’s spiritual energy was continuously flowing toward the roots of the spiritual herb.

The Red Amber Ginseng above ground began to sway in the wind, seemingly overjoyed, its stems and leaves dancing. After a while, the red fruits on its spike appeared even more vibrant.

Lu Chen withdrew his hands, exhaled, and stood up to walk around the area, appearing quite relaxed. Not far from his plot of land, about ten meters away, other plots were tended by servant disciples cultivating different spiritual plants.

When Lu Chen looked over, he saw those disciples working diligently and carefully, not daring to be distracted.

Lu Chen smiled, shook his head, and then lay down on a flat spot in his plot.

The ground around the Red Amber Ginseng was covered with soft, green Ginseng Grass, resembling a green carpet, making it quite comfortable for Lu Chen to lie down. He closed his eyes and relaxed for a while until he suddenly felt the light dim as a shadow fell over him.

A voice followed, pleasant yet tinged with anger, saying, “Who are you, daring to be so lazy? The Red Amber Ginseng is a rare spiritual material. What would you do if something happened to it? What punishment would you deserve?”

Lu Chen opened his eyes to see a figure standing beside him, blocking the sunlight. He couldn’t clearly see the person’s face, but in that moment, he noticed the beautiful, flame-like cloak on the person’s shoulders.

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Lu Chen sat up and then stood, dusting himself off before looking at the woman in front of him.

She was a remarkably beautiful woman, her features as delicate as a painting, her skin fairer than snow. She carried a long sword on her back, its sheath simple yet exuding a faint, sharp aura, indicating it was no ordinary item, perhaps even a famous ancient sword.

Now closer, Lu Chen could see more clearly the bright red feathers on her cloak, the same red feathers he had seen by the sinkhole behind the small village.

Su Qingjun.

He smiled, took a step back, and calmly and politely said, “Greetings, Senior Sister Su.”

Su Qingjun frowned slightly in surprise and asked, “You recognize me?”

Lu Chen’s expression remained unchanged as he replied, “Senior Sister, you are renowned in the Kunlun Sect. Everyone knows you.”

Su Qingjun snorted but said nothing more. She just looked at Lu Chen and said, “You are one of the servant disciples assigned to cultivate the Red Amber Ginseng. How dare you be so negligent with such an important spiritual material? Aren’t you afraid that the masters of Bai Cao Hall will see you and severely punish you?”

Lu Chen was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “If I recall correctly, Senior Sister Su, you are not under Bai Cao Hall, are you?”

“Correct. Why do you ask?”

Lu Chen sighed and said, “I was indeed assigned to cultivate this Red Amber Ginseng. However, I don’t believe I did anything wrong. Perhaps Senior Sister Su just found it unpleasant to see me lying down resting?”

Su Qingjun’s face darkened, her dislike for this man growing. However, as she looked at his face, she suddenly felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if she had seen him before, though she couldn’t immediately recall when or where.

She couldn’t be bothered to think too much about it and coldly said, “I’m not part of Bai Cao Hall, so I naturally won’t meddle, but this Red Amber Ginseng is the best-growing and soonest to mature in the Herb Garden. I have great use for it, so I cannot allow you to carelessly ruin it.”

“Oh,” Lu Chen finally understood and said, “So this Red Amber Ginseng is reserved for you?”

Su Qingjun’s first instinct was to nod, but she suddenly felt that there was something off about his words, something that made her uncomfortable, though she couldn’t pinpoint it. This made her even angrier. With a cold face, she said, “Don’t talk back to me. I just ask you, since Bai Cao Hall assigned you to cultivate this Red Amber Ginseng, how can you not work diligently? If the medicinal properties deteriorate or the efficacy is lost, wouldn’t that be your fault?”

Lu Chen thought for a moment and said, “Senior Sister Su, what exactly do you want?”

Su Qingjun replied, “Work hard and take good care of this Red Amber Ginseng, or I won’t let you off easily!”

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s strange. How do you know I haven’t been working hard or taking good care of this Red Amber Ginseng?”

As he spoke, he looked at Su Qingjun with a half-smile, a peculiar look in his eyes.

Su Qingjun was a very clever woman. Hearing this, she started to feel something was off. She was usually focused on her cultivation and not well-versed in the cultivation of spiritual herbs. The Red Amber Ginseng was an important spiritual material she needed today, but aside from its medicinal properties, she knew nothing about how to cultivate it. Seeing Lu Chen’s seemingly fearless attitude, Su Qingjun began to suspect she might have said something wrong.

However, she was always accustomed to being aloof. People admired her for her exceptional talent and beauty, and most people were accommodating towards her. Rarely did anyone speak to her so directly.

At this moment, Lu Chen didn’t wait for Su Qingjun to think further and added, “By the way, Senior Sister Su, you mentioned you wouldn’t let me off easily. What do you mean by that?”

(Note: The double voting period for monthly tickets is about to end. There’s a tight chase behind. I hope everyone can cast some votes for me. Tomorrow is the last day of double voting. I’ll work hard and strive for three updates.) (To be continued.)

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