Chapter 102: Orchids
Foggy Hidden Ravine searches for the source, clear pools and shadows descend to the mortal world.
Four stems of jade grass embrace blue brocade, five clusters of green leaves adorn vermilion.
In the bamboo forest, dew is cold, birds cry; mountain mists are light, recalling the Azure Phoenix.
The ancient pavilion, mossy green, has not been visited in a long time; the east wind each year cherishes the passing years.
Standing within the small pavilion, Li Changsheng gazed down at the entire valley.
Along the way, he saw many kinds of orchids in the valley: Jade Leaf Orchid, Dendrobium, Four Rhyme Orchid, Heart Orchid…
It was also his first time realizing that there were so many types of spirit plants and precious herbs among orchids.
Retracting his gaze, Li Changsheng looked around the small pavilion:
The pavilion was over ten feet tall, entirely made of lustrous, translucent jade. Inside was a stone table, with several round stools standing beside it, seamlessly integrated with the pavilion. It was likely carved from a single piece of jade.
Such a large piece of jade, though rare, was merely a mortal material, containing not the slightest trace of spiritual energy.
Li Changsheng sat on a round stool and examined a jade slip and a jade box placed on the stone table.
A sweep of his spiritual sense over the jade slip quickly allowed him to grasp its recorded contents.
The valley where he was located was named Empty Valley, taking its name from “empty valley, secluded orchid,” and was specifically for cultivating orchid-type spirit plants and precious herbs.
Currently, there were fifteen kinds of orchids, totaling four hundred and twenty plants, all of which were orchid-type spirit plants ranked as Second Grade.
These four hundred and twenty orchid plants were arranged in a staggered manner throughout the valley, differing in their growing environments, cultivation requirements, and many other conditions.
Li Changsheng needed to find each one and, according to the cultivation methods recorded in the jade slip, carefully tend to them using the spirit materials and precious ingredients in the jade box, until someone came to inspect them half a year later.
As for those seven hundred contribution points, they were not so easily earned.
During the inspection half a year later, if even one orchid died, two contribution points would be deducted.
If all four hundred and twenty orchids died, Li Changsheng might receive no contribution points at all and would even incur a massive contribution debt.
Of course, as long as one was not irredeemably foolish and simply followed the jade slip step by step, fully utilizing the materials in the jade box, not many orchids would die.
However, Li Changsheng’s goal was not just to care for these four hundred and twenty orchids perfectly.
His objective was the special reward: to research a method for spirit plant metamorphosis and obtain the Seed Condensation Method.
The orchids in this Empty Valley, with the lowest grade being Second Grade Lower, would fetch at least a Seed Condensation Method worth one hundred thousand contribution points as a special reward if Li Changsheng could obtain it.
Such immense profit was why Li Changsheng’s mind wandered, leading him to undertake this task alongside farming and cultivating the Nine-Nine Divine Forging Art.
However, even with the game’s golden finger, Li Changsheng still felt somewhat uncertain.
The method for spirit plant metamorphosis referred to improving the grade of a spirit plant through special cultivation techniques.
Previously, the management plan for the Flame Spirit Peach, despite its immense risk, had undergone rebirth from flames and metamorphosed into a First Grade Perfection Raging Flame Spirit Peach. This could also be considered a spirit plant metamorphosis method.
But it was only with the game’s golden finger prompting him that Li Changsheng dared to use Earth Fire to burn the Flame Spirit Peach.
Ordinary Spiritual Plant Farmers would not so easily find a metamorphosis method.
They would need at least a large amount of trial and error, and extensive comparison through a massive number of experimental subjects before they could gain even a sliver of an idea for spirit plant metamorphosis.
Only after experiencing countless failures might they be able to develop a complete metamorphosis pathway.
The reason Li Changsheng felt uncertain was that the golden finger only provided management methods when the spirit plant was in a poor state.
However, a management plan did not equate to a spirit plant metamorphosis method.
The metamorphosis of the Flame Spirit Peach he encountered before was purely a fluke, mere luck.
Forget it! Whether it succeeds or fails depends on the specific orchids, Li Changsheng reassured himself in his heart.
He refined the jade box containing the cultivation materials with a simple process.
Upon opening it, the space within the jade box was surprisingly vast. It was divided into numerous small grids, each about ten feet square, containing different materials.
Hanging the jade box at his waist, Li Changsheng held the jade slip and walked into the Empty Valley, preparing to check on the orchids.
Crossing streams and climbing giant rocks, Li Changsheng was fortunate to be a cultivator with a well-developed body refining practice, possessing a light and agile physique, which allowed him to traverse the Empty Valley.
In a short while, Li Changsheng’s steps halted.
Beside a large, recumbent boulder, bloomed several small flowers with tender green petals and white stamens.
The leaves of the flowers were sturdy and upright like swords, yet their temperament was gentle and ethereal, elegant and pure. In this silent, secluded Empty Valley, adorned with a few drops of cold dew, they grew in isolation from the world.
Based on the introduction on the jade slip, Li Changsheng identified this orchid as the Sword Orchid, a Second Grade Upper Grade orchid among the fifteen types.
The spirit materials harvested from this Sword Orchid after it matures could help cultivators cultivate Sword Qi and refine Sword Intent. It was a spirit herb orchid continuously cultivated by the Ancient Sword Pavilion.
Cultivating this Sword Orchid required no other materials, only a wisp of Sword Qi.
The jade box contained a minor spell for condensing a wisp of Sword Qi, which Li Changsheng could learn, but it was unnecessary.
Li Changsheng flicked his index finger, shooting out an almost invisible Golden Spirit Sword Qi. Before it landed, it was absorbed by the orchid.
If he hadn’t constantly focused his magical power in his eyes, he probably wouldn’t have seen a golden thread appear on a single leaf of the Sword Orchid, slowly dissipating.
After “watering” this Sword Orchid, Li Changsheng continued forward and, on a giant rock embedded in the soil, found a Dendrobium.
The small, light purple flowers resembled a golden hairpin, adorning the thick, spreading leaves.
This was a Second Grade Middle Grade orchid with an Earth element. The entire plant emitted an Earth element spiritual power halo, its roots strong and firmly anchored within the moss-covered, cracked giant rock.
Li Changsheng took out a lump of yellowish-brown mud from the jade box. This was a First Grade spirit material – Jade Spring Mud. He stuffed it into the cracks of the giant rock to serve as fertilizer for the Dendrobium.
…
Walking rapidly through the Empty Valley, Li Changsheng’s gaze was sharp and his movements quick, as he continuously tended to one orchid after another.
Every time he completed the cultivation of an orchid, detailed information about that orchid would appear on the game screen.
It was a pity that because these orchids were not planted by Li Changsheng, nor were they grown in the spirit fields bound to the game screen, there were no progress bars or light spot rewards.
There was only detailed information for Li Changsheng to reference.
However, this saved Li Changsheng a great deal of effort; he knew which orchid had a problem just by touching it.
The detailed introduction list provided management plans, which further allowed Li Changsheng to promptly identify and rectify issues, saving the problematic orchids and preventing contribution point deductions after half a year.
It took approximately one morning, and Li Changsheng had mostly finished tending to the orchids in the Empty Valley. Of the four hundred and twenty orchids, only the last one remained to be tended to.
