Beauty Insect Stratagem
Fang Shu paced around the room, looking quite pleased with himself.
At the same time, he was also restless and thoughtful, pondering. "Now that I have the Gu worms of the Three Tribulations by my side, and although I haven't fully analyzed the <Dragon-Seeking Gold-Finding Art>, I've already gleaned quite a bit of information."
He has now Dragon-Seeking Gold-Finding Art, and can now inspect graves, repair tombs, and open coffins for people, making him a semi-professional feng shui master.
Fang Shu felt confident that he could now explore the Lead Mountain Mine a third time, to seek the Hu Family's legacy and the Gold-Seeking Insect.
"With the last 30% of my cultivation remaining, if I could have some precious medicine to help me, it would make my cultivation much easier."
Once the decision was made up, Fang Shu immediately packed his bags in the room and began preparing for his treasure hunt.
After a busy period.
Because he had been in seclusion for a long time and had not met with his second uncle Yu Le, he did not simply leave a note in the room and go out.
Fang Shu found his second uncle in the Solitary Gu Hall.
The uncle and nephew met and had a lively reunion. They then enjoyed the delicious food that the uncle had saved up in the dining hall.
During their conversation, Second Uncle Yu Le told Fang Shu about all the recent events, big and small, that had happened at the restaurant.
Some of the conversations revolved around the recent activities of the Lone Pavilion Master, others about the recent cultivation progress of disciples like Li Hou'er, and still others about various events at the Seven Fragrance Tower.
"The entire family of Seven Fragrance Tower almost went bankrupt. Fortunately, they were just implicated. I heard that they saved their business by marrying off the only male member of the family to a powerful figure in town."
Second Uncle Yu Le, while drinking, shook his head and said:
"As for the other chamber of commerce that hired the Luo brothers, it's been completely dismantled. Hey, the guys at our dojo have been having a bit of good luck lately; their food's gotten much better, and they're all beaming with health."
Fang Shu wasn't too surprised to hear this.
The Lone Pavilion Master had already made it clear to him about the Luo Family brothers' matter. If the Solitary Gu Hall didn't respond, it would be too weak and would be looked down upon by the people in the town.
However, he didn't hear anything about other dojos from his second uncle, so it seems the mastermind behind the Luo Family brothers' affair has not yet been exposed.
Or perhaps they have been identified, but since only two wandering Immortal cultivator died and no disciples of the Daoist temple perished, that's how it ends.
After finishing their drinks, Fang Shu chatted for a few more minutes before preparing to leave.
But suddenly, Second Uncle Yu Le lowered his voice and whispered:
"There's something else that's still unclear, but your second uncle will let you know anyway."
Qin Min, who lives in the inn, has been confined to her quarters until now. Her meals are delivered by the canteen, and she only receives them for two or three days when she goes into seclusion.
But it's been seven days now, and no one has touched the food. The manager went to inquire a while ago, and the owner said that they don't need to send any more food for a while. It seems this person is going into seclusion again."
Upon hearing this news, Fang Shu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Such a long period of seclusion... is this woman about to break through to the third tribulation?" he wondered to himself.
The more he pondered it, the more certain he became that it was probably true.
Qin Min's cultivation progress was already higher than his. He had already completed 70% of the second Bandit Cultivator, while Qin Min, who possessed Spirit Root and had recently been confined to his quarters, could only cultivate diligently. Logically, he should have already completed the second tribulation.
Upon realizing this, Fang Shu felt neither envy nor jealousy, but rather a sudden unease, realizing that he was still lagging behind this woman and needed to catch up quickly.
However, aside from feeling a bit more pressure, he put the matter out of his mind.
Fang Shu nodded to his second uncle to indicate that he understood, then took his leave and continued on his plan, departing from the Solitary Gu Hall.
After changing his appearance in the market, Fang Shu circled around a few times and left the market with practiced ease.
However, he did not head straight for the Lead Mountain Mine. Instead, he first went to the Monster Market and circled around before finally disappearing into the Lead Mountain Mine as night fell.
With the help of the Breath-Holding Insect, Fang Shu passed through the group of monsters and mine slaves without any danger and entered the territory of the Cao family's mine.
This time, the treasure hunt location was not an abandoned mine like the last one. This time, people could be seen from time to time in the tunnels of various sizes within the mine.
Fang Shu then disguised himself as a miner.
Because he had prior mining experience, and in places like mines, apart from the fees for entering the mine and the slightly stricter management of the miners, there weren't many other rules.
Fang Shu wandered around the mine owner surnamed Cao's territory for several days without any person or demon noticing anything amiss.
He even smeared his face and became acquainted with the people who provided meals and bought alcohol at the mine.
He also learned a lot of true and false information about precious medicinal herbs in the mountains and gold-finding insects from the miners and miners.
After sorting through the information, Fang Shu felt even more excited.
And so on this day...
He ventured deep into the mine, arriving at a secluded corner, where he officially began his insect-catching plan.
He picked up a pile of rubble and temporarily blocked the tunnel behind him, then affixed sound-mute Talisman to it.
Immediately, golden, sand-like particles appeared in Fang Shu's hand.
This was the excrement of the Gold-Seeking Insect that the Lone Pavilion Master had obtained when he came here to investigate. It was also a medicinal ingredient, and the Lone Pavilion Master handed the excrement over to Fang Shu.
Fang Shu kept this item in his room.
Now that we've taken this out, it's clear that this insect excrement will come in very handy.
With a whoosh, Fang Shu scratched his head, and a third-level Tagalong Insect flew out from his hair and circled around in the mine.
Following Fang Shu's instructions, the Tagalong Insect wobbled and landed on the Gold-Seeking Insect droppings, its wings flapping and trembling as if it were sniffing for food.
However, Fang Shu was not going to use Tagalong Insect tracking ability like a shadow to follow the Gold-Seeking Insect bit by bit deep in the mine.
This area is too interconnected; even if the Gold-Seeking Insect is spotted, it's difficult to pinpoint its location. Once located, it might take another month to figure out the insect's activity patterns and make it easier to capture.
Fortunately, Fang Shu had already devised a clever solution to this situation.
After the Tagalong Insect became familiar with the scent of the Gold-Seeking Insect, he took out various medicinal herbs and a small brush specially made from a mouse whisker.
First, he ground the insect droppings into powder, then added various medicinal herbs to make a paste, and finally carefully brushed the insect droppings onto the Tagalong Insect's body stroke by stroke.
He carefully collected the remaining insect excrement solution for future use.
In the blink of an eye.
The once unremarkable Tagalong Insect suddenly turned golden, as if it were wearing a suit of armor.
Even in the dimly lit pit, it would glow, a soft, ambiguous golden-red light that flickered gently, as if it were blinking.
In addition, its scent has become completely that of Gold-Seeking Insect, and it is even stronger than simple beetle droppings.
Fang Shu's actions disguised the Tagalong Insect as a scented "Gold-Seeking Insect," and based on the book's descriptions, he embellished and beautified it, transforming it into a "treasure insect" seeking a mate.
This "Beauty Insect Stratagem" is his reliance in this search for the treasure insect!
Next.
Fang Shu, carrying his Tagalong Insect, roamed around keeping watch, waiting for the real Gold-Seeking Insect to come knocking on his door so he could become the bug's son-in-law or daughter-in-law.