Storage Bag, Insect Control Technique

Chapter 8: Storage Bag, Insect Control Technique.

Inside Luo Mu's clinic, all sorts of bottles and jars covered a table, scattered haphazardly and making a terrible mess. Though the porcelain bottles varied in size and bore different labels, they all had one thing in common: every last one of them was now empty.

Beside the table, Luo Mu sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, his face calm. After a long while, he opened his eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted of their own accord, and his eyes shone brightly.

"Heaven leaves no man without a road to walk. Even if I can't gather spiritual energy, I, Luo Mu, can still enter the world of cultivation! Father, your son has finally become a true cultivator! One day, I will surely reach the pinnacle of the immortal path and make you smile in the afterlife!" Luo Mu waved his hand, and Poison Spirit Power transformed into green mist, wrapping around his palm. Looking at the pale green haze, he spoke with absolute resolve.

"Peak of the first layer of Qi Refining! I owe this time's breakthrough to Xiao Ling'er feeding me that poison pill. From now on, I, Luo Mu, will repay her properly for yesterday's gift of poison." Luo Mu's gaze was cold, but his tone was calm.

Peak of the first layer of Qi Refining—that was Luo Mu's current cultivation level! The main reason he had reached this stage in a single night was Bai Lin's mid-grade, first-rank Heartbreak Pill. The other poisons Luo Mu had taken afterward had helped too, but their effects were far inferior. Ordinary poisons without a grade simply couldn't compare to graded ones.

But Bai Lin had never meant well when he used that Heartbreak Pill. He had wanted Luo Mu dead, and Luo Mu knew it perfectly well. Though he still didn't know Bai Lin's name or how high his cultivation had reached, Luo Mu had etched this "grand gift" deep into his heart.

With his current strength, Luo Mu had no intention of going after anyone for revenge. He could only drive the images of Bai Lin and Xiao Ling'er from his mind, then turn his gaze to the porcelain bottles on the table.

Looking at the empty bottles, Luo Mu gave a helpless sigh. His expression turned rueful, and he sank into thought once more.

Over the course of the previous night, Luo Mu had swallowed every poison in the clinic. There were still some medicinal herbs left in the shop that could be brewed into poison, but they were all ordinary poisons. Now that his cultivation had reached the peak of the first layer of Qi Refining, they were useless to him.

If he wanted to improve his strength any further, he had to increase the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian. Finding graded poisons had become a thorny problem for him.

Making graded poisons required poisonous ingredients of the corresponding grade. Luo Mu had only just entered the Qi Refining Stage. Though he had reached the peak of its first layer, finding graded poisonous herbs would still be difficult.

More importantly, refining any graded pills—whether poisons or tonics that replenished qi and strengthened the body—required a recipe. Luo Mu knew he couldn't afford to experiment with his own mixtures. Even if he could, he wouldn't dare try: it would be a waste, and the chances of success were laughably low.

Still, spirit stones could solve the problems in front of him. With spirit stones, Luo Mu could travel to a large city, buy herbs and pill recipes, then refine poisons to take himself. His cultivation would surely soar.

The trouble was that Luo Mu had no money to speak of. Buying spiritual medicines over the years had drained his family's savings. Now he treated the town's residents for a living, and his income could only support him and Father Luo. So far, all the wealth in the Luo household added up to just nine spirit stones and thirty-six fragments. That amount was practically useless.

As for going up the mountain to gather spiritual medicines, Luo Mu had considered it. But any graded herbs would be guarded by demonic beasts. It had been just like last time: when Father Luo found that first-rank, low-grade spiritual herb, a Fire Poison Rat had been guarding it nearby. Father Luo, an ordinary mortal, had lost his life because of it.

Luo Mu was only at the first layer of Qi Refining. The Qi Refining Stage had thirteen layers in all, and with his cultivation so low, he didn't think he was capable of venturing into the mountains to gather herbs. Going would be pointless—and he might well follow in his father's footsteps.

"Spiritual medicines... spiritual medicines... right! How could I have forgotten about that!" As he racked his brain for ways to obtain spiritual medicines, a flash of inspiration struck Luo Mu, and he suddenly remembered something incredibly important.

He reached into his robes and pulled out an exquisitely delicate little cloth bag.

Before Father Luo died, the last thing he said hadn't been a farewell to Luo Mu. It had been just two simple words: "Your robes." Afterward, Luo Mu had found this little bag tucked inside his father's robes.

When he first found the bag, Luo Mu had been quite surprised. He hadn't expected his father to have such a thing.

This was a Storage Bag—the kind almost every cultivator owned!

Cultivators spent most of their lives traveling far and wide for the sake of their cultivation. They couldn't very well carry a bundle over their shoulders every moment they were away from home. That was why Storage Bags had come into being.

These Storage Bags were not only small, pretty, and convenient to carry, but also spacious enough to hold a great many things. What was more, they weighed nothing at all. They were truly miraculous.

However, miraculous as Storage Bags were, they couldn't hold living things. No matter what, a living creature simply couldn't be stuffed inside one.

A Storage Bag could be opened by pouring spiritual power into it. When Luo Mu had gotten this bag, he hadn't possessed any spiritual power at all, so he had simply tucked it into his robes. Father Luo had just died, and Luo Mu hadn't been in the mood to study the bag, either. He had put it away and left it there.

Only now had Luo Mu remembered the Storage Bag in his robes. He took it out and examined it closely.

After studying its appearance, Luo Mu noticed it looked a little different from the ones he had seen in books. It was about the same size, but the pattern on the bag was different.

Still, Luo Mu didn't think that was anything strange. The books he had read only described Storage Bags made by the Wanfa Sect, embroidered with the character "法." This bag, however, was covered in densely embroidered insects, all different kinds and shapes.

Without paying much attention to these details, Luo Mu grew more curious about what the Storage Bag contained. A Storage Bag held a cultivator's entire collection. Cultivators liked to keep all their important belongings in one, carrying them everywhere because it was safer and more reliable.

Suppressing his excitement, Luo Mu poured his Poison Spirit Power into the Storage Bag. Spiritual power could open one, but he wasn't sure whether his Poison Spirit Power could do the same.

"Whoosh—" The moment the Poison Spirit Power entered the Storage Bag, the cord at its opening untied itself. It moved so fast that it made a sound, startling Luo Mu, who had been concentrating intently.

With a somewhat uneasy feeling, Luo Mu tipped everything inside the Storage Bag out!

Luo Mu had already put away the various porcelain bottles that had been on the table. Now the objects poured from the Storage Bag covered the tabletop. Judging by the way they were piled up, the table couldn't possibly hold everything inside.

So Luo Mu moved everything to the floor.

With a clatter, a small mountain rose on the ground. All sorts of strange and varied objects dazzled Luo Mu's eyes. At that moment, he felt his heart begin to race of its own accord.

After about the time it took to eat a meal, Luo Mu finally sorted the mountain of objects into separate piles.

Two hundred and thirty-nine Low-grade Spirit Stones. Spirit stones were what Luo Mu needed most right now, so he carefully set them aside. He had great plans for these spirit stones; he would need them to improve his cultivation.

Then a pile of withered grass came into view. If Luo Mu guessed correctly, it had all once been precious spiritual herbs. They had spent so long inside the Storage Bag that they had lost all their spiritual energy, finally turning into this pile of dried-out stalks. This also showed that the Storage Bag had been away from its owner for a very long time.

Withered grass that had lost its spiritual energy was useless to Luo Mu. He sighed regretfully, then tossed the pile aside to be treated as rubbish.

The next pile of things left Luo Mu looking perplexed. They were insect eggs and pupae. After probing them with his spiritual power, Luo Mu found that most of the eggs were already dead, with only a handful still showing signs of life.

Those that were completely dead were tossed aside with the withered grass as rubbish. As for the few that still had a spark of life, Luo Mu set them aside for the time being. He hadn't yet thought of a suitable way to deal with them.

The last thing to catch Luo Mu's eye was a thick book!

Its cover had yellowed, showing that it was quite old and had weathered many storms. Looking at the book titled Insect Control Technique, Luo Mu's face showed curiosity. He picked it up and opened it, eager to find out what was inside.

He skimmed through it at a glance, and finally figured out what the book, Insect Control Technique, was about.

Insect Control Technique was a manual explaining how to raise spiritual insects and use them as powerful aids. It also described in detail how to care for spiritual insects: what different kinds liked to eat, what environments they needed to survive in, and even the various kinds and grades of spiritual insects.

After getting a general understanding of the Insect Control Technique, Luo Mu looked at the few living insect eggs he had set aside. His expression grew thoughtful.