Far Western Market

Long Xuan slowly set down the Scripture of Longevity, his expression somewhat dazed. Wasn't the purpose of cultivation longevity? If the Scripture of Longevity could truly grant him a lifespan of tens of millions of years, then he was practically immortal. He would have already achieved the ultimate goal of cultivation and could lie flat.

Of course, that was merely a passing thought. Even an ordinary person with no martial strength probably would not live long, even if they possessed immortality.

After all, this was a world where strength reigned supreme. His most urgent task was to refine his first Gu Insect.

As an entomologist in his previous life, he had a keen instinct for the fusion of Gu Insects.

In his view, genetic fusion was not necessarily best when the strong were combined with the strong. For example, tigers and lions, the strongest beasts on land, could produce ligers when crossed, yet ligers were woefully lacking in overall ability and had weak immune systems, making them extremely difficult to keep alive.

Ants, on the other hand, were weak, but fusing them with the genes of certain creatures could instead produce terrifyingly miraculous effects.

Because the profession was right up his alley, and because carrying out all sorts of taboo experiments cost him nothing, creating his own Gu Recipe truly was not particularly difficult for him.

However, considering a beginner's shortage of funds in the early stages, refining some heaven-defying Gu Insect right from the start was nothing but a pipe dream.

Therefore, the first Gu Recipe he created was extremely cheap to make. Yet cheap materials did not necessarily produce weak Gu Insects.

His philosophy was that combining the strong with the strong might not make something stronger. Using the genes of certain weak insects might instead produce an exceptionally terrifying effect.

In his previous life, centipedes, venomous snakes, scorpions, spiders, and toads were not insects, yet Gu Masters of the Miao regions classified these five kinds of creatures as insects and used them to refine Gu.

The same was true in this world. Not only were these five creatures classified as insects here, they were also the five strongest insect species and were collectively known as the Five Poisons.

The Five Poisons were the strongest among insects, so the overwhelming majority of Gu cultivators used them to refine Gu.

Long Xuan had never heard of anyone using flies or caterpillars to refine Gu.

It was not because flies and caterpillars were not insects. It was entirely because those two kinds of insects were simply too weak.

And the reason Long Xuan's Gu Recipe was so cheap was precisely because it used those highly unpopular insect species.

Take cockroaches, for instance. Cockroaches were weak in battle, but people in this world probably had no idea that cockroaches were little powerhouses that could not be killed.

A cockroach could withstand pressure over a hundred times its own weight without suffering the slightest injury. It could go months without food or water and still survive; damaged internal organs would not kill it; it could regenerate severed limbs; even after its head was cut off, it could stubbornly hold on for nine days.

In his previous life, an atomic bomb had exploded in some place where people lived rather comfortably. Every living creature died, yet cockroaches alone survived. It was simply absurd.

Cockroaches were not strong in combat, but this world had Internal Gu. By having Gu Insects parasitize the body and feeding them with qi, blood, and spiritual power, the Gu Insects would in turn grant the host miraculous abilities, forming a symbiotic relationship in which both sides complemented one another.

Could humans then obtain the cockroach's undying power through this method?

One had to know that this was a world with spiritual power. All Spirit Insects possessed spiritual power, and the Spirit Insect cockroaches of this world were far more terrifying than cockroaches from his previous life. Every one of their attributes was greatly enhanced, and once refined into Gu, those attributes would rise even further.

Immortality might not be an empty fantasy in this wondrous world.

Thus, Long Xuan's first research subject after arriving in this world was how to grant humans an undying body.

Considering that the abilities born from different Spirit Insects devouring one another were uncontrollable and unpredictable,

when Long Xuan created his own Gu Recipe, he deliberately wrote down only different species of cockroaches, allowing their various undying genes to fuse perfectly.

He did not think such a Gu Recipe had much chance of producing any other abilities.

Now, everything was ready save the east wind. After a year of accumulation, he had gathered quite a few spiritual herbs. As long as he sold them, he would have enough funds to refine his first Gu Insect.

Long Xuan rose excitedly. He first entered the Medicine Garden, pulled out every spiritual herb marked with a 100% number and packed them into his storage pouch, replanted the seeds, then hurried out the door.

He planned to take the spiritual herbs to the nearby Far Western Market and sell them. Today, he would attempt Gu refinement. He could not wait any longer.

It was worth mentioning that killing people and seizing their treasures was forbidden both within Far Western Market and in the surrounding area. Such a rule was essential for any prosperous market; otherwise, no one would dare reveal their valuables there.

Therefore, so long as the goods he traded were not too astonishing, Long Xuan basically did not need to worry about being killed for treasure. This beginner protection village was enough to let him develop steadily for a while.

Great Stone Village was very close to the market. Long Xuan arrived after walking briskly for half an hour.

Although the market was close to the village, this was still his first time visiting. The moment he entered, the bustling sight before him stunned him.

Rogue Cultivators sat everywhere on the ground with stalls spread before them. Spiritual pills, Spirit Insects, spiritual herbs, cultivation techniques, Spirit Artifacts, ores, beast materials—every kind of treasure filled the eye.

Vendors argued with others until their faces were red and their necks thick. The clamor of haggling rose in waves, and the place teemed with voices.

In a region filled entirely with Gu cultivators, the most commonly traded goods were naturally Gu Insects. After entering, Long Xuan saw all sorts of Gu Insects and truly had his eyes opened.

Quite a few Rogue Cultivators possessed Gu Recipes, but they never sold the recipes. They only refined the Gu Insects and placed them on their stalls, drawing a steady stream from a long trickle.

It was not merely because every Gu cultivator cherished their broom as though it were gold. Once a Gu Recipe spread, others could research methods to counter it, and if too many people refined it, competition would arise as well.

With Long Xuan's current wealth, buying an ordinary Gu Insect would not be a problem. Yet after thinking for a moment, he quickly gave up on the idea.

It was best not to buy secondhand Gu Insects. They could easily have been tampered with. Only Gu Insects refined by oneself were the most compatible and the most loyal.

The more owners a Gu Insect passed through, the more complicated its thoughts became, making it more likely to turn on and devour its master.

Therefore, for the sake of his own little life, he should still create his own Gu Recipe and refine Gu himself.

Long Xuan first found a merchant association and sold all his spiritual herbs, earning a total of three hundred and seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones. However, after buying the materials listed in his self-created Gu Recipe and ten Gu vessels for refinement, he instantly spent nearly all of it.

Long Xuan had not expected the price of first-grade spiritual herbs to be so low. A storage pouch packed full of spiritual herbs had sold for only three hundred and seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

After asking around, he learned that low-grade spiritual herbs had no environmental requirements and could be cultivated on a large scale. By hiring a group of mortals, one could plant as much as one wished.

As a result, first-grade spiritual herbs had long since become as common as cabbage and were utterly worthless.

Perhaps even if he secretly pulled every spiritual herb from the Medicine Garden and ran away, Old Long would not feel much heartache.

After recognizing this reality, Long Xuan could only carry his remaining ten Spirit Stones and wander through the lively market. He had no idea what ten Spirit Stones could buy.

Rogue Cultivators were poor, so their stalls generally had nothing particularly valuable. Yet Rogue Cultivators loved venturing deep into mountains and forests, and the things they found came in every strange variety. There was everything under the sun; saying there were absolutely no good items would be impossible.

Rogue Cultivators also had one greatest trait: they had read little and knew even less. There were too many treasures they did not recognize, and Rogue Cultivators often misjudged valuable treasures and sold them cheaply, giving others opportunities to pick up bargains.

This drew Gu cultivators from great clans who enjoyed bargain-hunting like moths to a flame. They came here every day to test their luck, turning this place into a paradise for treasure-hunting. Some people became rich overnight here, while others were swindled until not even their roots remained.

At this moment, Long Xuan discovered yet another use for his golden finger.

He could see the progress of every treasure on the stalls.

Do not underestimate this ability. It could determine many things.

For example, items with no progress displayed were most likely fakes, such as cultivation techniques that made no sense at all or incomplete recipes laid out to bait bargain-hunters.

Then there was Darksteel whose progress was infinitely close to 100%. Long Xuan seriously suspected that once Darksteel reached 100%, it would become Darksteel Essence, and its value would increase by more than a hundredfold.

Unfortunately, he could not afford even ordinary Darksteel right now, so he could only give up helplessly.

The same was true of Spirit Stones. Once the progress of a High-Grade Spirit Stone approached 100%, it was very likely about to transform from a High-Grade Spirit Stone into a Top-Grade Spirit Stone.

Top-Grade Spirit Stones were priceless treasures rarely seen once in a century. Their value was impossible to measure.

As for living creatures, there was even less need to mention them. Some Spirit Insects had progress of 15.0%, while others had progress of 25.6800%, with a whole string of digits after the decimal point.

This was easy to understand. The longer a Spirit Insect's maturity period, the more decimal places were needed to increase precision.

If he saw a Spirit Insect with an exceptionally large number of decimal places, he had to pay close attention.

That Spirit Insect's lifespan was certainly very long, and the longer-lived a Spirit Insect was, the less ordinary it would be. One could say that the lifespans and strength of Spirit Insects and Gu Insects were completely positively correlated.

With that, there were simply too many opportunities to pick up bargains. Although Long Xuan was a complete novice who recognized no treasures at all, when it came to bargain-hunting, no one here could compare to him.

Bees collected both nectar and pollen, but the yellow clumps on their legs were pollen. Baidu said so; he was clearing this up in advance, because there were too many haters.