Chapter 5: Heavenly Material Earth Treasure Seed

Lying on the bed, Li Xuan suddenly recalled that today's settlement hadn't been done, so he spoke to the system.

"System, perform today's settlement," Li Xuan said, his speech a bit fast and hurried.

The system settles once a day; if it isn't prompted each day, a settlement session is wasted. Although Li Xuan's strength is weak now and the points earned are few, even a mosquito‑leg share is still meat.

As Li Xuan's words fell, the familiar blue Light Screen reappeared, with lines of messages scrolling rapidly.

【Opening today's point settlement…】

【soul power Level 10, earned 10 points!】

【……】

【No other bonus items detected… no additional points earned】

【Congratulations Host, today you earned 10 points, total 26 points】

"Not bad, 26 points; hope I can afford tomorrow's discounted goods," Li Xuan closed the system, then lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, beginning to recall what else he hadn't done today.

As he kept thinking, Li Xuan gradually fell asleep.

……

Early the next morning, when the first ray of sunlight streamed into the room, Li Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

Now Li Xuan's soul power level has reached ten, so cultivation is of little use now.

Li Xuan went to the Courtyard, performed a full set of broadcast calisthenics, then stopped, took out a bottle of mineral water and began drinking.

Suddenly Li Xuan heard the sound of wheels in the distance, quickly tossed the water bottle aside, and looked up to see Lin Mo approaching on a carriage from afar.

"You kid did well; after taking my whip, you fully recovered in two days. Looks like next time you'll have to sell some more effort," Lin Mo stared at Li Xuan like a venomous snake, a slight curl at the corner of his mouth, his voice low as he spoke.

Before Li Xuan could reply, a fist‑sized cloth bag was thrown at his feet.

"These are the seeds you need to cultivate this month," Lin Mo said, then turned his head and left.

Watching Lin Mo come and go in a hurry, Li Xuan raised an eyebrow in surprise, staring at Lin Mo's retreating back.

According to this perverse habit, under normal circumstances this would have taken an hour or two of self‑mockery; today it's not normal.

But Li Xuan isn't perverse, nor does he like being scolded; he bent down and picked up the bag of seeds at his feet.

In the Flower Sea, during farming breaks, Chrysanthemum Douluo hands some seeds to Flower Slaves to cultivate plants.

Usually a hundred seeds are issued each time; growing ninety plants counts as passing, over ninety‑five counts as excellent and earns a reward.

Flower Slaves who produce fewer than eighty‑five plants are killed on the spot and used as flower fertilizer in the Flower Sea.

Thus cultivating plants has become an extremely terrifying matter now.

However, Li Xuan now has the side job of a herbal farmer, so planting some plants is a piece of cake; he bent down, picked up the seed bag that had fallen on the ground, tucked it into his chest, and left his little Courtyard to head to the Canteen for a meal.

Meal time was near, and Li Xuan didn't have time to check each seed in the bag one by one, so he had to inspect them while eating.

After arriving at the Canteen, these Flower Slaves sat in small groups, eating while swapping the seeds in their hands.

In the Flower Sea, these Flower Slaves are only familiar with the flowers they're responsible for and know little about others, so whenever seeds are distributed they privately exchange some to ensure germination rates.

Suddenly, Li Xuan heard the people around him chatting.

"Sigh, I heard this year the Chrysanthemum Douluo obtained an extremely special flower seed, its cultivation difficulty is very high,"

"That's a nightmare; anyone who encounters that plant is basically waiting for death,"

"Exactly, it's said to be an orchid seed; be careful when we exchange later,"

"Right, but we must never let that seed end up in our hands,"

……

After hearing those people, Li Xuan's heart gave a sudden thump.

Remembering Lin Mo's demeanor this morning, Li Xuan felt that the damned seed was now on him.

Li Xuan shoved a few bites of Steamed Bun into his mouth, then opened the seed bag Lin Mo had thrown to him.

As the seeds were taken out one by one, Li Xuan's hand suddenly stopped; at that moment he was holding an orchid Seed. Normally orchid seeds are tiny and orchids propagate by division, but on Douluo Continent the plants haven't undergone special artificial selection, so they still retain seeds for reproducing the next generation.

This seed was as large as a soybean, entirely purple, crystal‑clear, giving a profound impression; its whole surface was icy cold, making one feel very uncomfortable.

"Damn Lin Mo, this guy is trying to kill me!" Li Xuan muttered irritably, then used Medicine Appraisal Technique.

【Plant: Dark Realm Ghost Orchid】

【Quality: Heavenly Material Earth Treasure】

【Cultivation: 0 years】

【Description: One of the top Heavenly Material Earth Treasures; after sprouting it must absorb resentful qi to grow, blooms after a hundred years, its petals, when ingested, greatly boost spiritual power, while other branches are highly toxic and require growth in places rich in yin qi】

"Heavenly Material Earth Treasure? Needs resentful qi?" Li Xuan's eyes lit up.

The Flower Sea lacks nothing except resentful qi; every year three to five thousand Flower Slaves die here, and all their bodies are buried within the Flower Sea.

It seems the resentful qi of those dead spirits is enough to cultivate this Dark Realm Ghost Orchid.

Li Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, and was grateful for his side job as a herbal farmer; otherwise, this precious seed would have killed him, and the Chrysanthemum Douluo would probably grind him into meat paste for flower fertilizer.

However, now this orchid has become Li Xuan's aid; with this Heavenly Material Earth Treasure, he can further boost his soul power.

Suddenly, a bold idea flashed in Li Xuan's mind.

Among the seeds the Chrysanthemum Douluo collected there should be some rare medicinal herbs, so Li Xuan set his sights on the herbs in others' hands.

If he wanted to do it, he'd do it; Li Xuan immediately stood up and shouted loudly to the people around him.

"My martial soul broke through two days ago, gaining a new ability—Li Xuan's power to accelerate plant sprouting—so I want to trade the easily cultivated plant seeds I have here for the hard‑to‑grow plant seeds you hold. In return, I ask you to build houses for me, repair the Courtyard, tend the Flower Sea, and the like. Everyone… is that acceptable?" Li Xuan stood on a stone, raised the seeds in his hand, and shouted to the surrounding people. Hearing his words, the others stopped their discussion and looked up.

They couldn't figure out what Li Xuan was trying to do.

"Li Xuan, you're being righteous, you want to sacrifice yourself for the benefit of others," someone realized, shouting.

"Li Xuan, you're righteous! I have two extremely rare Lotus seeds here, let me trade first!" A middle‑aged man's eyes lit up upon hearing Li Xuan, and he handed two pigeon‑egg‑sized Lotus Seeds to Li Xuan.

The two seeds were crystal‑clear like jade, one red and one blue, exquisite as if they were crafts.

"Brother Zhao, I don't have a lotus pot, I can't plant these Lotus seeds," Li Xuan said with a smile to the man.

"Don't worry, I'll deliver the Lotus pot to you soon! As for the weeding and watering for the next month, leave it to me." The difficulty of planting Lotus Seed is extremely high, so this Zhao prefers to move the pot rather than plant it himself, and even took on Li Xuan's month of watering and weeding work.

Li Xuan's land is only three mu, which isn't a heavy burden for anyone, so after hearing this person's words, everyone opened their seed bags, selected the hard‑to‑plant seeds, and prepared to exchange them with Li Xuan.

Li Xuan was not in a hurry, then opened his seed pack, took out two seeds of relatively low planting difficulty, and exchanged them for two Lotus Seeds.

Then Li Xuan examined the attributes of these two seeds.

【Plant: Fire Jade Lotus】

【Quality: Rare】

【Cultivation: 0 years】

【Description: Rare medicinal herb, excellent quality, the Fire Jade Lotus itself is non‑toxic, but the lotus seeds contain a scorching poison, the medicinal effect is fierce, taste bitter, nature hot, enters the heart and lung meridians, coexists symbiotically with Ice Jade Lotus, cannot grow alone】

The other seed happened to be Ice Jade Lotus! Li Xuan immediately placed these two seeds together with the Dark Realm Ghost Orchid close to his chest for personal storage.

After securing these two seeds, Li Xuan continued trading with others.

Li Xuan was not worried that these people would renege; after this month passes, the success rate of his seed cultivation will keep them obediently working for him.

While maintaining the trades, Li Xuan checked the attributes of these seeds.

Half an hour later, the frenzy gradually subsided, and the other Flower Slaves were also satisfied, tucking the exchanged seeds into their bosoms.

"Uncles and elders, this exchange is concluded. Alright, I'm heading back; I hope we have more chances to cooperate in the future," Li Xuan shouted again, then turned and left.

The other Flower Slaves looked at each other, then scattered like birds and beasts, after all, cultivating these seeds also required great effort.

(End of chapter)