Finding Bargains Made Me Happy

To him, this place was a paradise where treasures lay everywhere. Too many priceless treasures with cabbage-price tags were beckoning to him from the ground; he could strike it rich overnight by grabbing any one of them. Unfortunately, his pockets were empty, and he could only stare helplessly.

What could ten Spirit Stones buy? He suddenly realized that poor people had no business shopping. Aside from ten Spirit Stones, all he had worth showing off was that spirit chicken and the twentieth layer of the Scripture of Longevity.

Brother Chicken could save him the cost of insecticide, so he absolutely could not sell it. Nor did he dare sell the Scripture of Longevity.

The last ten layers of the Scripture of Longevity could add a total of a thousand years to one's lifespan. A thousand years was no small amount; most Gu cultivators did not even live that long.

Nothing was more alluring than extending one's lifespan. If he revealed his Scripture of Longevity, it would be enough to draw in those old monsters already halfway into the grave.

Long Xuan browsed the various stalls for half a day before finally stopping in front of an old man's stall, his gaze settling on a broken beehive.

Three-quarters of the hive were missing. Of the remaining quarter, only two little bees were alive, and they were already on their last breaths. Most of the insect eggs were dead as well, with few live ones left.

Seeing a customer stop by, the old man raised his head and smiled. "This is a hive of Mid-grade Spirit Insect Thorn Bees. You know how terrifying Mid-grade Spirit Insects are without me telling you. To get the honey from this hive, this old man nearly risked his life."

"The honey has beautifying effects, and I have other uses for it. But there are still plenty of bee pupae and Thorn Bees in the hive. Since you're young, I'll give you a bargain: one hundred Spirit Stones. What do you say?"

Long Xuan kept his face impassive, but inwardly he was delighted. This old man had indeed failed to recognize a treasure.

Although his knowledge was limited and he did not know what species these bee insects were, they were definitely not Thorn Bees. Without question, they were some higher-grade species that merely resembled Thorn Bees.

According to his research, when a Spirit Insect was still immature,

if the progress above a Low-grade Spirit Insect was precise to two decimal places, it meant its maturation period was over ten years but less than a hundred.

If the progress above a Mid-grade Spirit Insect was precise to three decimal places, it meant its maturation period was over a hundred years but less than a thousand.

Yet the progress above these two young bees was [82.3648%] and [82.3251%], respectively.

The progress was precise to four decimal places. Could these be High-grade Spirit Insects, with a maturation period of over a thousand years?

Long Xuan was determined to obtain this pair of unknown bee insects. His cheat could easily formulate feed suitable for all kinds of Spirit Insects, and he had long planned to raise Spirit Insects.

Moreover, Old Long's medicinal garden was filled with flowers, making it the perfect place to raise bee insects. He could directly freeload their food supply.

Once they reached a certain scale, he could earn Spirit Stones by selling honey. That would be another substantial source of income.

Having made up his mind, Long Xuan took a deep breath. Though his heart was surging with excitement, he put on an extremely impatient expression.

"Are you taking me for an easy mark because I'm young? Don't think I can't see it. All the bee pupae and bee insects inside are dead; only two half-dead ones remain."

"Besides, colony-dwelling Spirit Insects are far weaker in combat than solitary ones. If there were tens of thousands of Thorn Bees, even Supreme-grade Spirit Insects might have to avoid their edge."

"But with only two, they probably can't even beat a single Low-grade Spirit Insect. And if they're used for Gu refinement, what use are two of them when the average success rate is only one in several dozen?"

"With these two bee insects in such poor condition, they might die the moment I take them home. Wouldn't my hundred Spirit Stones just go down the drain?"

"One price: ten Spirit Stones. If you won't sell, I'll leave immediately!" Long Xuan pretended to turn away.

"Oh my, I've seen people cut the price in half, but this is the first time I've seen someone slash it straight down to one-tenth."

"I'm not deceiving you. These Thorn Bees are truly vicious. I spent more than half my fortune to get them; even selling them for one hundred Spirit Stones means I'm taking a loss. Offering ten Spirit Stones is no different from killing me outright."

Long Xuan almost wanted to laugh. They were High-grade Spirit Insects—how could they not be vicious? The old man was lucky to have survived.

"What a joke. What do your heavy losses have to do with me? What kind of logic is it to add your losses into the price of the goods?"

"The price is what it is. I won't pay one Spirit Stone more."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. These two bee insects are in terrible shape. They look like they won't live much longer, and the longer you wait, the greater the chance they'll rot in your hands."

"If you sell them now, you can at least get ten Spirit Stones. But if no one wants them for a long time and these two bee insects die, then you truly won't be able to sell them for even one Spirit Stone."

Long Xuan's words struck right at the old man's weak spot. His expression wavered uncertainly. After struggling for a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said painfully, "Take them, take them. You're good at haggling, I'll give you that."

"But let's make this clear first: no returns after purchase. If the Thorn Bees die after you get home, don't come looking to settle old scores. Even if you do, I won't acknowledge it."

Long Xuan ignored him, took out his only ten Spirit Stones, and tossed them onto the stall with a pained expression. Then he casually picked up the hive and held it in his hand.

In his view, the bee insects had become so listless entirely because this stingy little old man had taken all their honey and practically starved them into this state.

The dead bee insects in the hive might have been starved to death as well.

As long as they had honey, bringing these two bee insects back to life should not be much of a problem.

Long Xuan was genuinely afraid that the two bee insects would starve to death immediately, so after putting the hive into the Insect-Rearing Pouch, he left as quickly as possible.

Although there were still many bargains waiting for him in the market, he was penniless now. Long Xuan could only pray that those treasures would not encounter buyers who recognized their worth and be bought away.

Once he made another fortune, he would return and sweep up all the good things in one net.

After Long Xuan raced home, he immediately hung the hive from a fruit tree beside the medicinal garden.

The flowers in the medicinal garden were no ordinary wildflowers. They were first-grade spirit herbs, and their fragrance was incomparably rich.

The instant the floral scent drifted into the hive, the two listless bee insects perked up at once, recovering to full health in an instant. They impatiently flew out of the hive, their eyes shining as they headed for the sea of flowers.

The two little bees happily pounced into a red flower, then quickly flew out and burrowed into a purple one, madly gathering the pollen and nectar within. They were so busy they forgot everything else, with none of their previous half-dead appearance remaining.

Before long, the little bees' tiny legs were wrapped in heavy clumps of pollen, so weighty that the two little things could barely fly. Swaying back and forth, they finally made it into the hive and happily began making honey.

Seeing this, Long Xuan was relieved. In this world where people excelled at playing with insects, there were many methods of cultivating queen bees. He only needed to raise these two little ones into queen bees, and then he would have endless honey to eat.

Come to think of it, he was truly curious what honey made from spirit-herb nectar would taste like.

Afterward, Long Xuan took the Spirit Insects he had bought out of the Insect-Rearing Pouch. Bottles and jars soon filled the entire table.

Looking at the insect jars covering the table, Long Xuan's heartbeat quickened. He was about to refine the first Gu insect of his life, and he felt both nervous and exhilarated, his heart anything but calm.

This was a Gu Recipe he had created himself, his own exclusive Gu Recipe. It contained a full hundred ingredients. What kind of Gu insect would this recipe produce? He was greatly looking forward to finding out.