Spirit Insect Carapaces

Dong Lin did not seem to have much of an advantage when cultivating the Dao Xuan Heart Sutra.

He had thought that his unusual spiritual sense might aid him in cultivating this kind of heart sutra, but Dong Lin shook his head in disappointment.

After five days of secluded cultivation in the spirit chamber, he could only be said to have gotten a glimpse of the basics of this technique. He was still quite some distance from truly getting started.

On the other hand, the Thunder Summoning Art, which he had barely practiced, gave Dong Lin a huge surprise.

Over the past few days, Dong Lin had painstakingly studied the Dao Xuan Heart Sutra, yet his cultivation of the Thunder Summoning Art had advanced by leaps and bounds instead.

He had now gone far down the path toward minor mastery and had vaguely gained some understanding of Mystic Spirit Heavenly-Thunder.

Presumably, if he secluded himself for a while longer and cultivated diligently, he would be able to grasp the immensely powerful Mystic Spirit Heavenly-Thunder and smoothly enter the major mastery stage of the Thunder Summoning Art.

Five days was nothing worth mentioning to a cultivator, but for a spirit plant farmer who worked hard every day, it was quite a long interval.

Dong Lin hurried to the spirit fields and followed the usual process, killing the strange insects and spreading spirit fertilizer.

Sure enough, after his technique improved, the power of his lightning arts had increased somewhat.

Dong Lin estimated that their power had risen by at least ten percent.

It might have been only ten percent, but his lightning arts were already terrifyingly powerful.

Their destructive force could even contend with the trump cards unleashed by Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

For their power to rise another ten percent in merely a few days—

If word got out,

It would surely make countless people drop their jaws.

When he arrived at Shouyang Storehouse, Zhang Tao was arranging the shelves inside.

These disciples who went into business seemed to spend every day busy with matters unrelated to cultivation.

Dong Lin could not help shaking his head. Wouldn't that delay their cultivation?

What Dong Lin did not know was that after several years of hard work, the resources these disciples earned were often enough to make others green with envy.

Most shops, however, hired servants to help manage them. The cost was merely some mundane silver, hardly worth mentioning.

He did not know why Zhang Tao insisted on doing everything himself instead of hiring some clerks to save time.

The road of cultivation was long. Time flew by like a galloping white horse, and if one wasted their years and delayed their cultivation, it would be too late for regrets afterward.

Dong Lin had read over a hundred cultivation novels in his previous life, so he naturally understood this principle.

Though he had started with an incredibly favorable hand, he still did not dare slack off.

Judging from historical records collected by the sect and from his own experiences, this world was by no means a peaceful place.

It was only because Heaven Sect was powerful, and because the sect's Law Enforcement Hall possessed formidable strength,

That petty villains were suppressed and did not dare act recklessly, leaving the sect's sphere of influence peaceful and tranquil.

There were not that many grudges between disciples, either.

Dong Lin had been here for more than half a year and had not encountered any trouble.

None of those showboating, face-slapping incidents from novels had happened.

In fact, after entering the sect, Dong Lin had not even made many friends.

He had simply kept his head down and cultivated, paying no attention to anything else.

None of those incidents where newly inducted disciples were troubled by senior brothers with long credentials and towering arrogance had happened either.

Perhaps that was because Heaven Sect's management of newly admitted disciples was relatively lax. Even their studies were arranged so that disciples could attend the Immortal Arts Hall as needed.

The sect only imposed deadlines for completing their studies on a broader level.

The allotted time was also exceedingly generous. Dong Lin had focused on studying for just two months and completed the first stage that the sect required to be finished within five years.

Such a sect seemed even freer than the universities of his previous life.

This was also because Manager Xuan had taken great care of him. Every division of the outer sect had plenty of miscellaneous duties, yet not a single one had fallen upon Dong Lin.

"Having someone backing you really does make things much easier," Dong Lin remarked as he enjoyed his privileges.

"Junior Brother Dong, you're here! What do you need? I just received a batch of high-quality pills refined by the sect's alchemists. Would you like to take a look?"

Dong Lin took out the six strange insect carapaces he had collected from the fields and handed them to Zhang Tao.

"You killed these, Brother Dong?" Zhang Tao saw the melted holes in the carapaces, and even the way he addressed Dong Lin changed in surprise.

"Amazing, amazing. I tried planting spirit fields before, but even after I broke through to Foundation Establishment,

I still found these little pests in the fields incredibly troublesome. It often took a great deal of spiritual power

And no small price to kill them. You're impressive, Brother Dong.

This was caused by lightning arts, right? I never expected you to be a lightning arts cultivator, Brother Dong.

I almost misjudged you!"

"You flatter me, Brother Tao. Please take a look and see whether these carapaces have any value."

"Of course. The carapaces of these strange insects are excellent materials, whether for medicine or refining magical artifacts.

A complete carapace from an ordinary first-rank spirit insect generally sells for around twelve low-grade spirit stones.

The exact price depends on the species of spirit insect, its precise rank, and the condition of the carapace.

You have six pieces here: one mid-grade first-rank Profound Locust, three low-grade first-rank Profound Locusts,

And two that should be low-grade first-rank Spirit-Drilling Insects. But Brother Dong, your spell's power was too great,

And damaged the carapaces' integrity, so their value must be discounted.

I'll give you an honest price: fifty-five low-grade spirit stones. How does that sound?"

The fat man asked with a grin.

"Fine. I don't understand these things, so just don't cheat me, Brother Tao."

"Of course not. My Shouyang Storehouse has an excellent reputation.

Don't let the fact that I'm a Heaven Sect disciple fool you. I'm also an official employee of Shouyang Storehouse. I would never do anything that tarnishes the store's reputation."

Fifty-five low-grade spirit stones was truly a considerable income.

"Why does farming spirit fields feel less profitable than killing these strange insects?"

Dong Lin pondered for a moment and felt that something was off.

If killing insects was so profitable, why farm fields at all?

Only Dong Lin could kill strange insects so efficiently and without cost.

If it were ordinary Qi Refining or even Foundation Establishment disciples trying to kill these strange insects,

While preserving the carapaces as much as possible, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The price they would have to pay was not as practical or convenient as simply driving the insects away.

"This really earns money fast. I remember seeing plenty of pest-removal missions on the Merit Affairs Hall board last time.

Forget about the rewards—even if I removed insects for others for free, I could still make a huge profit."

Dong Lin silently began calculating this costless, immensely profitable business and felt it had great potential.

Once he made up his mind, he acted immediately. Dong Lin returned to Heaven Hall and headed for the Merit Affairs Hall.

As soon as he stepped out of the teleportation array, he once again could not help looking twice at Rootless Mountain in the distant center.

This majestic mountain suspended in the air gave the inexperienced Dong Lin a fresh shock every time he entered Heaven Hall's inner small world.

"I wonder what kind of scenery lies above the mountainside shrouded in clouds and mist."

It was said that atop Rootless Mountain, a damaged immortal-grade spirit vein condensed by the sect's founding patriarch ten thousand years ago served as the formation core.

It gathered most of the spiritual power from the heaven-grade spirit vein beneath the sect's mountains, forming an All-Heaven Spirit-Gathering Divine Sun Formation.

This made the spiritual power atop the mountain incomparably dense, while the clouds and mist enveloping Black Mountain were themselves transformed from spiritual power.

They could prevent petty villains from spying on the sect's secret grounds while also locking in spiritual power to the greatest extent possible, preventing the dense spiritual energy from constantly dissipating.

It was said that the spiritual power density on the mountain was so high that if an ordinary Qi Refining disciple ascended it, their dantian would burst after only a moment.

The spiritual power in the air was far too dense. For low-level cultivators who had yet to reach Foundation Establishment and had only shallow control over their cultivation, it was harmful rather than beneficial.