The Insect Extermination

The Insect Extermination

After who knew how long, Shi Yue slowly opened his eyes.

As soon as he woke, Shi Yue noticed a change in himself: his spiritual sense was far sharper than before.

He was taken aback, then his face lit up with delight. He hadn't expected killing insects to temper his spiritual sense.

A cultivator's spiritual sense was generally fixed. It increased as their cultivation advanced. The stronger a cultivator's spiritual sense, the sharper their senses and the more magical artifacts they could control.

The spiritual sense he had gained from this round of insect extermination was negligible, but if he kept at it, the increase would surely add up.

As soon as he woke, Shi Yue rose and left the stone hut.

He made a round of the Spirit Fields and found that the yellow spots on the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass had disappeared. But two questions remained.

"How did the Scale Insects get here? And why can't I find a single one across three acres of Spirit Fields?"

When Shi Yue had looked up Scale Insects, he learned that they were egg-laying insects. Their eggs were tiny. To improve the survival rate of their young, female Scale Insects usually laid their eggs in plant seeds or branches, so that the hatchlings would have food as soon as they emerged.

He guessed that the seeds of the Condensing Smoke Grass and Blazing Sun Grass must have contained Scale Insect eggs. Time passed ten times faster in the Mysterious Space than in the outside world, so by the time Shi Yue noticed them, they might already have gone through several generations and multiplied in great numbers. If he had found them any later, they would probably have eaten all the Spirit Herbs in the Spirit Fields.

As for whether any Scale Insects remained in the Spirit Fields, Shi Yue could guarantee that there were still some. Three acres was a vast area, so there had to be a few that had slipped through the net. There just weren't many left!

Killing the Scale Insects inside the Spirit Herbs would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. To get rid of them for good, he had to kill every last one. If even one escaped, the Scale Insects could return in force.

After thinking it over, Shi Yue left the Mysterious Space.

He searched the Wood Shelves in Uncle-Master Zhou's basement and found a book titled One Hundred Essentials of Pest Control.

Just from its title, it was clear that the book covered methods for exterminating pests.

Shi Yue read it word by word, afraid he might miss something.

One Hundred Essentials of Pest Control listed over a hundred kinds of pests and described dozens of ways to eliminate them. The method varied according to each pest's size and characteristics.

Larger pests could be killed with spells such as Fireball, Wind Blade Technique, or Water Arrow. Tiny pests like Scale Insects, on the other hand, had to be killed with Metal Spirit Qi. But there was one method that worked against many kinds of pests: using insects to kill insects.

With the help of spirit insects, pests in the Spirit Fields could be exterminated quickly and efficiently. All one had to do was command the spirit insects to kill the pests, and they would obey.

One Hundred Essentials of Pest Control listed many kinds of spirit insects that could exterminate pests, including spirit bees, spirit butterflies, and spirit ants. Among them, spirit bees were the top choice.

Spirit bees could not only exterminate pests, but also feed on pollen and nectar. The nectar could sometimes be processed and stored as honey. At the same time, as spirit bees gathered pollen from flowers, some of it would fall onto other blossoms, cross-pollinating the plants and increasing the yield of Spirit Grain and Spirit Fruits.

Shi Yue was somewhat moved when he read this. Spirit bees could not only exterminate pests, but also make honey. They really were the perfect choice.

He returned One Hundred Essentials of Pest Control to the Wood Shelves, hurried out of the basement, and flew to Deacon Hall on his magical artifact.

When he arrived at Deacon Hall, Shi Yue headed straight for the third floor.

"Senior Brother, do you have any spirit bee larvae?" Shi Yue walked up to a counter and asked the Deacon Disciple behind it.

"We have several kinds: Spirit Devouring Bees, Silver Spider Bees, Five-Color Bees, and Yin Luo Bees. Which kind are you looking for, Junior Brother?" the Deacon Disciple asked with a smile.

"I want to buy them to catch pests in my Spirit Fields. Which kind would be suitable?" Shi Yue asked, raising his brows.

"All four kinds can catch pests, but each has its strengths. Spirit Devouring Bees feed on pollen and nectar, but they also hunt other spirit insects and pests. Silver Spider Bees can weave webs and use them to kill pests. Five-Color Bees are larger and eat more. Yin Luo Bees are mild-tempered but reproduce slowly. The eggs of Silver Spider Bees cost ten Contribution Points each; the other three kinds cost five Contribution Points each. Which kind would you like, Junior Brother?" The Deacon Disciple explained each option carefully.

After hearing the Deacon Disciple's explanation, Shi Yue looked thoughtful.

Things could be exchanged with Contribution Points or bought with Spirit Stones, though the prices were one or two Spirit Stones higher than elsewhere. Naturally, exchanging them with Contribution Points was the better deal.

Shi Yue had saved up for years, yet had only managed to accumulate a little over a hundred Contribution Points. Silver Spider Bees cost more Contribution Points, so he ruled them out. That left him choosing between Spirit Devouring Bees, Five-Color Bees, and Yin Luo Bees.

"Hmm, I'll take six Spirit Devouring Bee eggs," Shi Yue said after a moment's thought.

The Deacon Disciple nodded, took a Green Wood Box from the rack behind him, and handed it to Shi Yue.

Shi Yue opened it and saw six white eggs, each about the size of a mung bean. A faint spiritual fluctuation emanated from them.

He nodded in satisfaction, paid thirty Contribution Points, tucked the box into his robe, and turned to leave.

After leaving Deacon Hall, Shi Yue made a trip to the Scripture Repository and copied a Jade Slip containing information on raising spirit insects.

Back at Uncle-Master Zhou's cave abode, Shi Yue immediately took out a Jade Slip and pressed it to his brow.

Before long, he removed the Jade Slip and took the Green Wood Box from his robe.

With a thought, Shi Yue appeared in the Mysterious Space.

According to the Jade Slip, insect eggs needed to be incubated somewhere rich in spiritual energy. The richer the spiritual energy, the faster the eggs would hatch.

The Mysterious Space had about as much spiritual energy as Uncle-Master Zhou's residence, but time passed ten times faster there. Incubating the eggs in the Mysterious Space would surely shorten the time it took them to hatch.

He entered the stone hut, took out more than ten Spirit Stones, and placed them on the stone bed, intending to hatch the eggs there.

An astonishing sight unfolded. As soon as Shi Yue put the Spirit Stones on the stone bed, the dozen or so milky-white stones turned gray before his eyes. Clearly, the spiritual energy inside them had been drained.

"Th-this stone bed can absorb the spiritual energy inside Spirit Stones?" Shi Yue stared in shock, his face full of disbelief.

If that were true, could the stone bed absorb the magical power in his body too?

At the thought, Shi Yue's expression shifted between uncertainty and alarm.

After a moment's thought, he took out another Spirit Stone and placed it on the bed.

In almost the blink of an eye, this Spirit Stone, too, turned gray.

Shi Yue's expression changed, and he backed away several steps, afraid the stone bed might drain the magical power from his body.

Shi Yue thought it over carefully. He had slept in the stone hut before, and his magical power hadn't diminished at all. In other words, the stone bed couldn't absorb the magical power in his body. It only absorbed the spiritual energy in Spirit Stones.

After a moment's thought, Shi Yue hurried out of the stone hut. To his surprise, the spiritual energy in the air seemed slightly richer than before. The increase was tiny, but he still noticed it.

"Can the stone bed make the Mysterious Space's spiritual energy richer by absorbing the spiritual energy in Spirit Stones?" Shi Yue murmured, his face alight with excitement.

After a moment's hesitation, he took out ten Spirit Stones, stood outside the stone hut, and tossed them onto the bed.

The ten milky-white Spirit Stones soon turned gray as well.

Shi Yue could feel that the spiritual energy in the air really had grown a little richer. The increase wasn't much, but it was enough to prove his guess.

"If the Mysterious Space becomes richer in spiritual energy, won't the Spirit Grain and Spirit Herbs planted there mature even faster?"

At the thought, Shi Yue was beside himself with excitement.

Shi Yue conducted several more experiments. He found that when he tossed Spirit Stones inside the stone hut, it absorbed the spiritual energy within them, increasing the concentration of spiritual energy in the Mysterious Space. But if he tossed Spirit Stones onto the ground outside the hut, nothing happened.

In other words, to increase the concentration of spiritual energy in the Mysterious Space, he only had to toss Spirit Stones inside the stone hut.

This discovery left Shi Yue thrilled.

After his excitement passed, he quickly regained his composure. Since the stone hut absorbed spiritual energy from Spirit Stones, he naturally couldn't hatch the eggs inside it.

He took out a porcelain bowl, cut his arm with a knife, and bright red blood immediately ran down his arm and dripped into the bowl.

Then Shi Yue began chanting. Before long, he stopped and struck the blood in the bowl with several Hand Seals.

The blood in the bowl began to swirl, then floated into the air on its own. After rolling and churning, it transformed into eighteen Blood-colored Runes, each about the size of a fingernail.

Shi Yue pulled the Green Wood Box from his robe, opened it, and pointed at the six eggs inside. He softly uttered, "Go."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the eighteen Blood-colored Runes shot toward the eggs in the box. Three Blood-colored Runes sank into each egg.

Seeing this, Shi Yue nodded. He took out an empty jar, put ten Spirit Stones inside, then placed the Green Wood Box in the jar.

After finishing, Shi Yue covered the jar's mouth with a piece of thin gauze and set it outside the stone hut.

Since the Scale Insects hadn't been completely exterminated, Shi Yue didn't plant Spirit Grain in the empty acre of Spirit Field. He made a round of the two acres of Spirit Fields, carefully inspecting every Spirit Herb.

Just as he had expected, the Scale Insects hadn't been wiped out. Quite a few had slipped through the net. Shi Yue showed them no mercy. He used the Metal Spirit Art, releasing Metal Spirit Qi to kill every Scale Insect he came across.

Shi Yue spent ten days in the Mysterious Space. Most of the time, he patrolled the Spirit Fields, using Metal Spirit Qi to kill every Scale Insect he found. He spent the rest of the time cultivating.

The long hours he spent using Metal Spirit Qi to exterminate Scale Insects greatly tempered Shi Yue's spiritual sense, increasing it a little.