Falling in Love to Escape the Original Book Plot [BL]-Chapter 393: Spiritual Plants Master Challenge 3

"Is nutrient solution so effective?’ A spectator asked with a surprised expression.

"It’s not." Another answered and quickly continued.

"This effect must be because of the three personal materials that fellow Daoist Shen used."

"Does anyone know what they are?"

"Two leaves and a root." Someone said and subconsciously frowned before continuing.

"I don’t know from which plants, though."

"I also saw two leaves and a root. The leaves weren’t from the same plant, and the root was more like a whisker than an actual root."

"Fellow Daoist Shen seems to have a lot of treasures."

"I think so too. He wagered half a kilogram of red oak white truffles in the first challenge and a red-veined loquat tree sapling in this challenge. These are not ordinary goods."

"I heard fellow Daoist Shen and senior Zhen are children of a hidden family."

"Hidden family..., could it be the Shen family?"

"I am not sure."

As the spectators watched, Shen Xu’s blood clotting grass grew wider and taller.

In no time, it caught up with Zhang Mei’s plant and no longer looked wilted or ready to shed its leaves.

Half a day later, the challenge finally came to an end, and the two stepped away from their worktables.

"You actually grew it to such a size?" Zhang Mei said, her voice revealing a trace of admiration.

After all, Shen Xu was a fire spiritual root cultivator, but his plant did not lose to hers in terms of size and vibrancy.

"Senior sister Zhang is more impressive." Shen Xu said and smiled.

He knew that ninety per cent of his current outcome was because of the space soil, spiritual water, vitality tree leaf, primordial qi tree leaf, and xiaoren’s whisker, while his own efforts amounted to only ten per cent.

Compared to Zhang Mei, who used fewer and less impressive treasures, Shen Xu was a total failure in spiritual planting. Fortunately, the challenge wasn’t about talent but the end result.

Although Shen Xu was less talented and effective in spiritual planting, his blood clotting grass wasn’t inferior to Zhang Mei’s.

"The assessment will begin now." Yang Zitao said.

Hearing this, Shen Xu and Zhang Mei carried their plants to the judges’ table.

"The first criterion is growth stage." Yang Zitao said, and everyone turned to look at the judges.

Soon after, one of the judges raised his head and answered for his four fellows.

"Both level seven blood clotting grasses are mature. Each of you has earned one point for this assessment." The judge said.

Neither Shen Xu nor Zhang Mei was surprised to hear this.

After all, the growth stage was obvious and everyone could see it with the naked eye.

"The second assessment criterion is plant grade." Yang Zitao said.

Like the growth stage, grade was also obvious.

Generally, a mature blood clotting grass had six branches and six leaves on each branch.

That said, there was a slight difference between low-, mid-, high-, and top-grade blood clotting grass.

The leaves of low-grade blood clotting grass were plain green with no blemishes.

However, those of mid-grade grass had one red spot on each leaf, and in the same way, those of high-grade had two, while those of top-grade had three.

At a glance, the leaves of Shen Xu’s and Zhang Mei’s blood clotting grasses had two spots on them.

"Both blood clotting grasses are high-grade." One of the judges said and quickly continued. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Each of you will earn two points for this criterion." He said, and the spectators couldn’t help but be surprised.

"I didn’t expect that fellow Daoist Shen also grew a high-grade blood clotting grass." Someone said, and the surrounding people nodded in agreement.

"Is it really possible for a fire spiritual root cultivator to grow a high-grade blood clotting grass in one day?"

"We don’t know yet if the spirit grass is the blood clotting grass or the bloodletting grass." Someone argued, but the surrounding people disagreed.

"It’s impressive either way. Regardless of whether it’s the blood clotting grass or the bloodletting grass, it’s a high-grade level seven herb."

"This senior brother is right. No matter the outcome, fellow Daoist Shen has achieved something that most spiritual plant masters can’t."

"Shen Xu isn’t impressive. It’s his nutrient solution that is."

"I don’t agree." Someone said and continued.

"First, fellow Daoist Shen refined the nutrient solution, so he has some credit in its effectiveness. Two, although his growth-promoting hand seals didn’t produce an obvious effect like senior sister Zhang’s, they definitely played a part in the plant’s growth and grade."

While the spectators were speculating, Yang Zitao announced the third assessment.

Like the food challenge, evaluating a spirit grass’s spiritual aura value required a testing cover.

"Who will go first?" Yang Zitao asked, and Zhang Mei stepped forward.

A moment later, she placed the cover over her blood clotting grass and waited for the value to appear above it.

"Seventy-two." A judge announced and nodded in satisfaction.

For spirit grasses, a spiritual aura value of thirty or less meant a low-grade spiritual plant. Similarly, thirty-one to sixty was mid-grade, sixty-one to ninety was high-grade, and ninety-one to one hundred was top grade.

Zhang Mei’s spiritual value score of seventy-two confirmed that her blood clotting grass was indeed a high-grade spiritual plant, albeit not of the best quality.

"Well done." A judge praised, and Zhang Mei bowed respectfully before turning to Shen Xu.

"Junior brother, it’s your turn." She said.

Shen Xu nodded and, without wasting time, he took the cover, placed it over his plant, and waited for the value to appear.

"Eighty-eight." An elder read, and the surroundings fell silent.

Seeing this, Shen Xu smiled, and a trace of cunning flashed in his eyes.

’I may not be a spiritual plants master, but my space’s spiritual water is excellent at removing impurities, while the primordial qi tree leaf in the nutrient solution is good at attracting qi.’ He thought.

"I didn’t expect junior brother Shen to be as talented in spiritual planting as he is in cooking food and brewing wine." Zhang Mei said in a pleasant voice, but her hands were clenched into fists.

She really didn’t expect that Shen Xu could defeat her in her own game.

However, she wasn’t too worried because the effectiveness assessment was the main decider.

As long as her blood clotting grass was more effective than Shen Xu’s, she would win the game even if she lost a point in the spiritual aura assessment.

While she was thinking, an elder announced the result.

"Disciple Shen has two points for this assessment, and Disciple Zhang has one point." The elder said.

"So far, Disciple Shen has a total of five points while Disciple Zhang has four points." Yang Zitao announced and quickly continued.

"The effectiveness assessment will require a practical demonstration." He said, signalled, and an elder brought a cage of red foxes.

Seeing the cage, Shen Xu momentarily narrowed his eyes, but he quickly recovered.

"You will use your blood clotting spirit grass to treat six foxes each. The measure of effectiveness is the average time it takes the six foxes to stop bleeding." Yang Zitao said.

At the same time, an elder opened the cage and released the twelve foxes.

"Take turns to choose your foxes." The elder said, and Shen Xu raised an eyebrow.

"Will we keep the foxes after the assessment?" He asked, and the elder couldn’t help but be surprised.

After all, red foxes were common and could be bought at any beast market.

"Disciple Shen, you want to keep the foxes?" The elder asked, and Shen Xu nodded before speaking.

"I have always liked small monsters." He said in a careless voice.

’As expected of a double.’ The elder thought but didn’t immediately answer.

Instead, he turned to Zhang Mei.

"Disciple Zhang, you bought the materials for the spiritual planting challenge. Are you willing to let Disciple Shen keep the foxes?" The elder asked.

"Junior brother Shen can keep them if he wants." Zhang Mei shrugged and said.

"I won’t let senior sister Zhang suffer a loss. How about I give you fifty grams of my nutrient solution in exchange for the foxes?" The double asked, and Zhang Mei raised an eyebrow.

"Junior brother, the foxes are not worth fifty grams of your nutrient solution." She said, but Shen Xu smiled.

"I am not a spiritual plants master and will likely not need the nutrient solution in the near future. On the other hand, I like the foxes and will likely pet them at any chance I get." He said, and Zhang Mei looked at him with incredulous eyes.

’Junior brother Shen is too eccentric.’ She thought.

In the end, the deal was made, and Shen Xu happily looked forward to owning the red foxes.

Still, when it was his turn to choose, he acted carelessly but was in fact tense. Only after selecting a random fox that didn’t look different from the others did he feel relieved.

’Ayuan asked me to make sure I get this fox, but he didn’t tell me what it is.’ He thought.