Lu Fan emerged from Liu Ruyan's place and hurried back to his home. He found his carrying basket in the yard, slung it over his shoulder, and prepared to head into the mountains.
"Xiao Fan! Where are you off to so early in the morning?" Zhao Rongrong suddenly appeared and asked urgently upon seeing Lu Fan's appearance.
"Mom! Village Chief Liu is coming for dinner tonight, and it rained last night. I'm going into the mountains to see if I can find any mushrooms. Maybe I'll bring back some wild game too!" Lu Fan said quickly.
"Xiao Fan! Take a bottle of water. And some food." Zhao Rongrong's heart ached for her son; he hadn't even eaten breakfast yet!
"Okay, I'll take a bottle of water. No need for food, I won't go too far and will be back soon," Lu Fan replied hastily.
With a bottle of water, Lu Fan entered the mountain. The mountain slopes were particularly slippery after the previous night's rain, making it difficult to walk. Fortunately, Lu Fan was young, and since cultivating the Shennong Jue and using that drop of spiritual liquid, his physique had become exceptionally good. His climbing speed seemed to have not slowed down; rather, it was faster than before.
As he climbed, his eyes scanned the surroundings. He climbed all the way to the mountainside but didn't see a single mushroom. 'Damn it! Could the rain have been so heavy that it washed all the mushrooms away? Tsk! It wouldn't be a wasted trip, would it!' Lu Fan muttered as he walked.
"Huh... there's a pine forest ahead, and it looks like there are mushrooms inside!" Suddenly, Chen Bei spotted a large patch of pine forest on the distant mountainside. From afar, he could see white dots on the ground within the pine forest, possibly mushrooms! He immediately quickened his pace towards the pine forest.
Upon entering the pine forest, he immediately saw clusters of mushrooms on the ground. However, the mushrooms seemed very small, all about the size of a little finger. It felt like a shame to pick them at this stage. Moreover, at this size, even if he picked all the mushrooms in this forest, he wouldn't even fill half a basket. It was truly a pity.
Based on the experience of the mountain folk, such a large patch of mushrooms should yield a lot. At least four baskets worth. In fact, mushrooms grow very quickly, often growing to maturity in just one morning. Why don't I wait here for a bit?
With this thought, Lu Fan looked around and suddenly spotted a large tree. Beneath it, a large cluster of mushrooms had also grown. However, they were also not very big.
"Alright! I'll just sit here and wait." Lu Fan took out a plastic sheet, spread it on the elevated ground, and sat down beside the large cluster of mushrooms to wait.
Since he had nothing else to do, Lu Fan took out the Spirit Gathering Bottle. The last time, there was only one drop, which he had used. Now, after two days of nurturing, he wondered if there was any spiritual liquid inside. He opened the Spirit Gathering Bottle and peeked inside with one eye half-open. Holy cow... there was indeed another drop.
"Hahaha!" Lu Fan burst into laughter. Although it was only one drop, knowing its effects, he understood that this single drop was incredibly precious.
He carefully poured this drop of spiritual liquid into his water bottle. With the experience from last time, Lu Fan didn't want to go through the feeling of spiritual energy tearing through him again. Heh heh! After diluting the spiritual liquid, it shouldn't be so wild, right? I'm so clever!
Lu Fan put away the Spirit Gathering Bottle and picked up his water bottle for a drink. As expected, although he felt a powerful aura within his body, it wasn't as ferocious as before! Chen Bei was delighted, realizing how incredibly smart he was. He placed the water bottle aside and began to cultivate the Shennong Jue.
After cultivating for one cycle, Chen Bei felt that the aura in his dantian had become much stronger. He felt an inexhaustible supply of strength within his body. Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath, a slight smile on Lu Fan's face. He suddenly felt a sense of relief. Although he had lost the opportunity to attend school, he had gained something that could never be obtained in school.
He looked down at the large cluster of mushrooms beside him. Indeed, they had grown significantly, but they still hadn't fully matured. He looked up; a red glow had already appeared at the mountain peak, and the sun was about to crest the mountain. Sigh! Why are these mushrooms growing so slowly?
Lu Fan couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. It was said that picking mushrooms before the sun's rays touched them ensured they were full of moisture, tender, and had the best flavor.
"Little mushrooms! Grow up quickly, won't you?!" Lu Fan, unable to contain his impatience, casually picked up his water bottle and dripped a little onto the mushrooms. However, he instantly remembered that this was his precious bottle containing spiritual liquid and quickly put it away. He carefully closed the lid.
He stood up and walked over to the other mushrooms. He looked at them; the mushrooms there had also grown a bit but hadn't fully opened. After walking around, he returned to the large tree, preparing to wait a bit longer, when he suddenly noticed that the cluster of mushrooms under the tree had grown into a large handful.
"Huh? They were so small just now, how did they suddenly grow so big?! Could it be the water with spiritual liquid on it?" Thinking of this, Lu Fan was instantly filled with excitement.
He quickly picked the large cluster of mushrooms, took out his water bottle, and hurried back to the other mushrooms. He dripped a few drops of the spiritual liquid water onto the other mushrooms. Then, he quietly observed from the side. As expected, those mushrooms were growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Holy cow... I'm rich, I'm rich! Hahaha!" Lu Fan jumped up in excitement. In a short while, Lu Fan's basket was full, but there were still a large portion of mushrooms in the forest. Damn it! It seems I didn't bring enough supplies.
Right! The storage ring has a large space. I can probably put the mushrooms into the space! With this thought, Lu Fan's eyes lit up. With a thought, he actually moved a basket full of mushrooms into the storage ring.
"Hahaha! Hahaha! I'm rich, I'm truly rich this time!" Lu Fan laughed heartily again. With a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, he picked all the mushrooms like a gust of wind. There were eight baskets in total. Calculating that each basket weighed about forty catties, eight baskets would be over three hundred catties. If they sold for three to five yuan per catty, that would be over a thousand yuan! Hahaha!
Lu Fan was exhilarated and, carrying his basket, prepared to descend the mountain. He couldn't eat so many mushrooms himself. This time, he decided to go to the city to sell them. It was better to go to the city early.
However, just as Lu Fan was preparing to descend the mountain, he suddenly heard a rustling sound. He looked up and was startled.
He saw a fat wild boar running towards them. Huh! No, it was a pregnant sow, happily running towards them with her large belly swinging.