Stone King

With a Supreme-grade Spirit Insect, he could immediately begin creating his own Supreme-grade Gu Formula and refine the first supreme-grade Gu worm of his Gu cultivator career.

One had to know that there was not a single supreme-grade Gu worm in the entire market. Owning one held an immense allure for him.

This Stone King had thoroughly tempted him.

However, how to pick it up as a bargain was something he needed to consider carefully. Buying it outright was definitely impossible, because he certainly did not have that many Spirit Stones.

He really did think of several methods for picking up bargains mentioned in novels, but they required extremely demanding conditions to cooperate with them—for instance, buying discarded materials and finding a treasure within, though that required someone to work with him.

But could anyone really afford this Stone King? His gaze suddenly dropped, and when he saw its price tag, his teeth immediately began to ache.

Good heavens, it was priced at ten million!

Why didn't they just rob people? Had they gone mad dreaming of Spirit Stones?

At that price, even if he sold his blood and kidneys, he still could not afford it.

"Shopkeeper, isn't your pricing unreasonable? Even if this Stone King really can yield a Supreme-grade Spirit Insect, isn't this price far too high? Refining Gu has an extremely high failure rate!"

Long Xuan looked at the fat man standing beside the Stone King with his hands behind his back and asked in confusion.

This fat man was called Qian Duoduo, the shopkeeper in charge of this store.

Hearing this, the fat man squeezed a smile onto his round face. He turned to the masked youth and said with a smile, "You're an outsider, aren't you?"

"Who told you that the best thing a stone can produce is only a Supreme-grade Spirit Insect?"

"The principle behind the birth of Gu insects is that swarms of insects devour one another. The insect world is a jungle where the weak are meat for the strong. When a Spirit Insect that feeds on other insects eats too many in a short time, it may naturally, by a twist of fate, transform into a Gu insect."

"Though their numbers are small, naturally born Gu insects absolutely do exist."

"I'll teach you something only stone-gambling masters know. Once a Gu insect enters hibernation, the stone shell it forms is often extremely thick."

"This Stone King absolutely has a chance of producing a Gu insect, and it could even contain any manner of heaven-defying Gu insect."

"If it yields one of those heaven-defying Gu species on the rankings, it could sell for billions. My price of ten million is already very low."

After looking at the Stone King again, Long Xuan probed, "Do you have any events? Like, if someone completes some game, this Stone King is given away for free?"

Qian Duoduo was dumbstruck by Long Xuan's divine remark.

Give it away for free for playing a game?

Did he take him for an idiot? What brain-dead person would give away a Stone King worth ten million as a game prize? This kid really dared to dream.

"Are you kidding me? Using something worth ten million as a game prize—are you crazy, or am I crazy?" Qian Duoduo shouted frantically.

"Your idea is indeed a good way to gather popularity. It could be done, but the prize absolutely cannot be so outrageous."

"However, there really is a way to take this Stone King away without using Spirit Stones—only, no one can do it." Qian Duoduo suddenly said mysteriously.

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Long Xuan's eyes lit up at once, and his spirits rose.

"Gu insect abilities can be deeply developed. You know that, right?" Qian Duoduo asked instead.

Long Xuan shook his head. He was a small Rogue Cultivator with neither master nor inheritance. No one had ever taught him anything, while every Household guarded its own broom and cherished its secrets, to the point that he could not even buy books. He could only grope his way forward alone, and there were many basic common-sense matters in the Gu World that he did not understand.

Qian Duoduo revealed an expression of having expected as much and patiently explained, "The greatest difference between humans and Gu insects is that humans possess the highest intelligence among all living things, while Gu insects possess the lowest intelligence yet wield power capable of instantly killing humans. The two can precisely complement one another."

"Human wisdom can allow Gu insects to unleash even more terrifying power."

"Take the Fireball Gu, for example. Its ability is to spit fireballs, but its intelligence is low. It does not know how to adapt and can only keep spitting fireballs."

"But humans are clever. Humans can let their thoughts roam, making the fireballs larger and turning them into the Great Fireball Technique, or making the fireballs more numerous and turning them into the Fireball Barrage Technique."

"Invisibly, this means the Fireball Gu has effectively mastered two more abilities, and its combat strength soars."

"There are many similar examples. Many utterly ordinary Gu insects become terrifying existences in the hands of people with great wisdom, and their value skyrockets."

"One could say that there are no useless Gu insects, only useless Gu cultivators. As long as your wisdom is high enough and your imagination vast enough, Gu insect abilities will have limitless possibilities."

"The overwhelming majority of Gu insects have only one ability, but Gu cultivators with sufficiently powerful imagination can develop a second, a third, or even a tenth ability for them."

"Do you see that bidding box?"

Qian Duoduo pointed toward a wooden box beside the Stone King.

"My young lady obtained a high-grade Natural Gu Insect some time ago. Among the types of Gu most coveted by Gu cultivators in this world, aside from eye-type Gu insects, only Natural Gu Insects rank alongside them."

"Natural Gu Insects have no physical form. They exist as a form of energy and can resist the vast majority of attacks. My young lady spent no small effort catching it back then."

"Unfortunately, this Glow Gu has an intelligence that is truly too low. Its ability is to control light, yet it only knows the Illumination Technique."

"Therefore, my young lady is broadly gathering everyone's wisdom here. As long as someone has an idea, they can write down their imaginative notion on paper and toss it into the bidding box."

"Whoever develops an ability that satisfies my young lady will win the bid and become the top bidder, taking that Stone King away."

Qian Duoduo smiled at Long Xuan. He had said similar words to countless people, and he loved watching the expressions on their faces as though they believed pies were about to fall from the sky.

Long Xuan's heart stirred at those words, but he quickly calmed down and immediately challenged him, "That's not right. There's no standard at all for how powerful an ability must be to count as winning the bid."

"If she says it wins, it wins. If she says it does not, it does not. Wouldn't that make it entirely her own word, with the final right of interpretation belonging to her alone?"

"What if someone's idea moves her, but she cannot bear to give up the Stone King, so she goes against her conscience and says it did not win?"

"Wouldn't that make all of us suckers, letting her freeload off every one of our ideas? I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this way."

"Hehe, you're an outsider again, aren't you?" Qian Duoduo remained smiling and was not angered in the slightest. He explained again, "What you said is wrong. In truth, you are the only person in the entire world with such thoughts."

"Gu cultivators throughout the world know that the Qian Clan cultivates the Integrity Gu. The Integrity Gu has an extremely fatal weakness: its host must conduct himself with integrity, or he will suffer backlash from the Integrity Gu."

"At the very least, it will leave behind a heart demon, and his cultivation will never advance another step for the rest of his life."

"Yet where there is a disadvantage, there is also an advantage."

"Precisely because the Integrity Gu has such a drawback, Gu cultivators throughout the world trust the Qian Clan Merchant Association. When buying cultivation resources, they will prioritize the Qian Clan Merchant Association."

"When selling precious treasures, they will also certainly consider the Qian Clan Merchant Association first, because Qian Clan merchants carrying Integrity Gu absolutely cannot harm customers by any means—not even through indirect murder."

"That is why the Qian Clan Merchant Association has grown ever larger and become one of the largest merchant associations here."

"The Integrity Gu's restrictions have absolutely made an indispensable contribution to the Qian Clan Merchant Association reaching its present scale."

"For that reason, the Qian Clan established a clan rule requiring every manager to cultivate the Integrity Gu."

"So your worries are completely unnecessary. My young lady could never do anything against her conscience. Besides, ten million is merely a small sum in the eyes of the Qian Clan Merchant Association, so it is even less worth taking such a risk."

"As long as the ability you develop for the Glow Gu is sufficiently heaven-defying, this Stone King will be yours. The Qian Clan Merchant Association always keeps its word."