Insect Nest, Cicada Pact

"Freshly weaned Bucktooth Beast cubs! Buy one, get a contract spell for free—going cheap..."

Zhu Yu had been envying the spirit beasts others kept. Hearing that a contract spell was included for free, he followed the voice over with the mindset that even if he could not afford one, there was no harm in taking a look.

There were not many people before the stall, only four or five gathered around it.

Before Zhu Yu drew near, he heard one of them shout, "What Bucktooth Beast? Aren't these just Bucktooth Insects found everywhere in the Insect Nest? Thirty Spirit Stones each? You might as well rob someone."

The stall owner was a gaunt middle-aged man with two small mustaches. At those words, he immediately blew his beard and glared, retorting in displeasure:

"Those are ordinary Bucktooth Insects that coexist with the Insect Mother's consciousness frequency. My Bucktooth Insects are anything but ordinary."

"Their source Insect Mother has already been slain. Even if they cannot mutate into Insect Mothers in the future, they can at least surpass their own bloodline by a minor realm and become Insect Beasts... They may even awaken as Insect Cultivators."

"Heh... You say their source Insect Mother was slain, so it was slain?"

The man did not care in the slightest for the stall owner's explanation. He sneered, "Awaken as Insect Cultivators? Have you, a Qi Refining cultivator at the initial stage, ever even seen an Insect Cultivator? Didn't you pick up these Bucktooth Insects from an Insect Nest abandoned by an Insect Mother?"

"You... I..."

The mustached stall owner's expression froze, and he stammered, unable to explain himself.

Just as the man had said, the dozen or so Bucktooth Insect cubs in the metal cage had hatched from insect eggs he had found in an Insect Nest abandoned for many years. He had intended to fleece a few country bumpkins who had only recently entered Qi Refining, but on his very first day of setting up shop, he had encountered someone who knew the ins and outs.

"Pah! What I hate most are crooks like you."

Seeing the stall owner speechless, the man spat in disgust and turned to leave.

The others shook their heads as well and dispersed one after another.

"Don't let me see you inside the Insect Nest..."

After everyone had left, the mustached stall owner cursed resentfully, then sat down in dejection. Looking at the Bucktooth Insects huddled together in the cage, he felt troubled.

Throw them away? He could not bear to. After all, he had spent ten Spirit Stones to hatch them.

Raise them? Even once they grew up, ordinary Bucktooth Beasts would not be worth more than a few Spirit Stones. Eat them? That was even less possible. The fist-sized things were shells inside and out, with barely a strip of meat on them.

Just as he was fretting, a curious voice sounded beside him.

"Senior Brother, how much are your Bucktooth Insects?"

The mustached stall owner hurriedly looked up toward the voice. A handsome face beneath a black robe entered his sight. When he sensed Zhu Yu's aura, his eyes lit up at once, and he praised, "Junior Brother has entered Qi Refining before even reaching twenty—what outstanding talent!"

Having said that, he directly grabbed a Bucktooth Insect cub from the cage and introduced it solemnly:

"Junior Brother, look. This Bucktooth Insect is the direct offspring of an Insect Mother comparable to a Foundation Establishment True Person. Its bloodline is noble..."

His words poured forth without end, praising the Bucktooth Insect cub to the skies, as though once it was raised to adulthood, it might become an Insect Beast with hopes of rivaling a Foundation Establishment True Person—or even an Insect Cultivator!

Zhu Yu did not find it tiresome. He listened with relish to the stall owner's boasting. Not because of anything else, but because although most of the man's words were nonsense, quite a bit of useful information was mixed in.

For instance, Insect Cultivators.

According to the stall owner, the Insect Tribe was naturally close to nature. As larvae molted again and again into adult insects, they had a chance of drawing in spiritual energy and becoming Insect Beasts.

Among them, those with exceptional talent could even awaken a marvelously wondrous Life Sac. Their intelligence was close to that of humans, and they could nurture ordinary grass and tree seeds into Spirit Seeds. They were natural masters of spirit plants.

The glowing grass and trees scattered throughout Yin-Underworld Grotto, he said, had been altered from branches of spirit trees and spirit flowers nurtured by certain Insect Cultivators. Though they could not bear spirit fruit, they still possessed the effect of drawing in and gathering spiritual energy.

After the mustached man prattled on for a while, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the youth was still listening attentively. He could not help sighing inwardly. There are not many children this pure-hearted left.

His voice halted, and with a pained expression, he said:

"Since Junior Brother and I are so fated to meet, I'll sell this precious Insect Mother cub to you for... twenty-eight Spirit Stones! I'll also throw in a first-rank high-grade contract spell!"

As if afraid Zhu Yu would not believe him, the stall owner took a piece of jade from his robes. It lacked its head and resembled a cicada's tail. He handed it over together with the Bucktooth Insect curled into a ball in his hand, swearing solemnly:

"Though it's a little incomplete, it still contains a method for condensing a Divine Sense Mark. Contracting an Insect Beast will not be a problem..."

"Inheritance Jade Slip."

At the sight of the jade, Zhu Yu's eyes immediately lit up, and information about it surfaced in his mind.

Unlike ordinary jade slips inscribed with information, Inheritance Jade Slips could only be made by Foundation Establishment True Persons. The cultivation arts within possessed spiritual essence, allowing cultivators to comprehend and learn them more easily.

Zhu Yu reached out and accepted it. When his Divine Sense probed inside, he vaguely seemed to hear a cicada's cry, and unfamiliar information flooded into his mind.

A first-rank high-grade spell, "Cicada Pact."

Only its name was displayed. The information beyond was blocked by a thin blue membrane brimming with watery vapor, making it impossible to view.

"Spiritual energy restriction."

Zhu Yu lowered his head slightly, his gaze fixed upon it.

After several breaths, he felt as though he had broken through an invisible barrier. In an instant, a stream of information entered his mind.

[Cicada Pact, recorded. Incomplete. Can be cultivated...]

As expected, it can be recorded...

Zhu Yu felt a faint surge of excitement. He glanced at the undamaged spiritual energy restriction, then raised his head and looked at the stall owner, who seemed faintly expectant while pretending not to care. After hesitating, he still decided not to take advantage of this bargain.

It was not that he was particularly noble.

It was simply that a few Spirit Stones were not worth taking a risk over.

Still, not taking advantage did not mean he would not haggle.

Zhu Yu handed back the Inheritance Jade Slip and the Bucktooth Insect cub, shook his head, and feigned difficulty. "Senior Brother, twenty-eight Spirit Stones are truly too much. I..."

The mustached stall owner waved a hand and cut him off, frowning. "How many Spirit Stones do you have?"

Zhu Yu reached into his sleeve, grabbed roughly fifteen or sixteen Spirit Stones from a hidden pocket, and spread them out in his palm. "This is all I have..."

"Deal!"

As if afraid Zhu Yu would regret it, the mustached stall owner agreed without even thinking. With a lift of his hand, he drew the Spirit Stones before him, picking them up one by one and examining them with a grin. There was not the slightest trace of unhappiness left on his face.

"Farewell."

Zhu Yu had wanted to ask the stall owner more about Demon Caves and Insect Nests, but seeing that the man had no intention of paying him any attention, he could only abandon the thought and turn to merge into the crowd on the street.

Not long after he left.

A vigorous shout rang out once more. "Freshly weaned Bucktooth Beast cubs! Buy one, get a contract spell for free—going cheap..."

Walking down the street.

Zhu Yu examined the Bucktooth Insect cub in his hand.

Though it was called an insect, it actually resembled a turtle more. Its shell was pale gray, and its six legs and head were tucked inside. Looking closely, all he could see were two large exposed buckteeth.

"No wonder it's called a Bucktooth Beast..."

Zhu Yu chuckled as he flicked the Bucktooth Insect cub's shell, his gaze fixed upon its body.