To him, this place was a paradise where treasures carpeted the ground. Too many priceless treasures were beckoning to him at cabbage prices; he could strike it rich overnight just by grabbing a handful. Sadly, 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 going shopping. Aside from ten Spirit Stones, all he had worth showing off were that spirit chicken and the twentieth level of the Scripture of Longevity.
Chicken Bro could save him the cost of pest control, so he absolutely could not sell him. Nor did he dare sell the Scripture of Longevity.
The final ten levels of the Scripture of Longevity could add a total of one thousand years to one's lifespan. A thousand years of lifespan was no trifling matter; most Gu cultivators could not live that long.
Nothing was more enticing than extending one's lifespan. Once he revealed his Scripture of Longevity, it would be enough to draw over those old monsters with one foot already in the grave.
Long Xuan browsed the stalls for half a day before finally stopping in front of an old man's stall, his gaze settling on a shattered beehive.
Three-quarters of the hive were missing. Of the remaining quarter, only two little bees were alive, and even they were barely clinging to life. Most of the insect eggs were dead as well, with very few surviving eggs.
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 perfectly well how terrifying Mid-grade Spirit Insects are, so I needn't explain. To get the honey from this hive, this old man nearly risked his life."
"The honey can nourish the complexion, 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. How about it?"
Long Xuan kept his expression unchanged, but inwardly he was delighted. This old man had indeed mistaken a treasure for trash.
Though his experience was limited and he did not know what species these bees were, they were definitely not Thorn Bees. They had to be some higher-grade species that merely resembled Thorn Bees.
According to his research, when Spirit Insects were immature,
the progress displayed above Low-grade Spirit Insects was precise to two decimal places, meaning their maturation period was at least ten years but less than one hundred years.
The progress displayed above Mid-grade Spirit Insects was precise to three decimal places, meaning their maturation period was at least one hundred years but less than one thousand years.
Yet the progress above these two young bees was respectively [82.3648%] and [82.3251%].
The progress was precise to four decimal places. Were these not High-grade Spirit Insects, with maturation periods exceeding a thousand years?
Long Xuan was determined to obtain these unknown bees. His golden finger could easily formulate feed suited to every kind of Spirit Insect, and he had long planned to raise Spirit Insects.
Old Long's Medicine Garden was full of flowers, making it the perfect place to raise bees. He could freeload their food supply directly.
Once they were raised to a certain scale, he could sell honey for Spirit Stones. That would be another sizable source of wealth.
Having made up his mind, Long Xuan took a deep breath. Though excitement surged within him, he put on an extremely impatient look.
"Are you trying to fool me because I'm young? Don't think I can't see it—the bee pupae and bees inside are all dead, except for two that are half-dead."
"Besides, colony-dwelling Spirit Insects are far weaker in combat than solitary Spirit Insects. If there were tens of thousands of Thorn Bees, even Supreme-grade Spirit Insects might have to avoid their edge."
"But if there are only two, they probably can't even beat a single Low-grade Spirit Insect. And if they're used for refining Gu, what use are two of them when Gu refinement only succeeds one time out of several dozen on average?"
"With these two bees in such poor health, they might die as soon as I take them home. Wouldn't my hundred Spirit Stones be money thrown into the water?"
"One price: ten Spirit Stones. If you won't sell, I'm leaving right now!" Long Xuan pretended to turn away.
"Oh my, I've seen people cut a price in half, but this is the first time I've seen someone slash it straight down to one-tenth."
"I'm not lying to you. These Thorn Bees are truly vicious. Getting them cost me more than half my fortune. Even selling them for one hundred Spirit Stones means I'm taking a loss. Offering ten Spirit Stones might as well be asking me to kill myself."
Long Xuan wanted to laugh. Those were High-grade Spirit Insects—how could they not be vicious? The old man was lucky to have survived.
"What a joke. What does your heavy loss have to do with me? What kind of logic is adding your losses into the price of the merchandise?"
"The price is what it is. I won't pay a single Spirit Stone more."
"Don't say I didn't warn you. These two bees are in terrible condition and look like they won't live much longer. The longer you wait, the more likely they are to 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 bees die, then you truly won't be able to sell them for even a single Spirit Stone."
Long Xuan's words struck straight 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."
"But let me make this clear first: no returns after purchase. If these Thorn Bees die when you get home, don't come back looking for trouble. Even if you do, I won't admit anything."
Long Xuan ignored him. He took out his only ten Spirit Stones, tossed them painfully onto the stall, then casually picked up the hive and held it in his hand.
In his view, the only reason these bees looked so weak was because this stingy little old man had scraped out every drop of honey and starved them into this state.
The dead bees in the hive might have been starved to death as well.
As long as there was honey, bringing these two bees back to life should not be much of a problem.
Long Xuan was genuinely afraid the two bees would starve to death on the spot, so after putting the hive into his Insect-Rearing Pouch, he left as quickly as possible.
Though there were still many overlooked treasures in the market waiting for him to pick up, he had not a penny to his name. Long Xuan could only pray that those treasures would not encounter buyers who recognized their value and be bought away.
Once he made another fortune, he would return and sweep up every good thing in one net.
After Long Xuan galloped home at top speed, he immediately hung the hive from a fruit tree beside the Medicine Garden.
The flowers in the Medicine Garden were no ordinary wildflowers. They were first-grade spirit herbs, and their fragrance was incomparably rich.
The instant the floral fragrance drifted into the hive, the two listless bees immediately perked up, reviving at full health in an instant. They impatiently flew out of the hive, their eyes shining as they darted toward the sea of flowers.
The two little bees happily pounced into a red flower, then quickly flew out and burrowed into a purple one, crazily gathering pollen and nectar. They were so busy they could hardly contain their joy, with none of their previous half-dead appearance remaining.
Before long, the little bees' short legs were wrapped in heavy clumps of pollen, so weighed down that the tiny creatures could barely fly. Swaying from side to side, they made it back into the hive and began happily making honey.
Seeing this, Long Xuan was relieved. In this world where people excelled at playing with insects, there were many methods for cultivating queen bees. He only had to wait until he raised the 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 covered the entire table.
Looking at the insect jars spread across the table, Long Xuan's heartbeat quickened. He was about to refine the first Gu Insect of his life, leaving him both nervous and excited, his heart anything but calm.
This was a Gu Recipe he had created himself—his own unique 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.
Before you continue