"There's something I don't understand." After pondering for a while, Fang Qianyuan suddenly asked, "If insects that have mutated and evolved several times have impure true spirit essences and overly complex power attributes, why not begin cultivating them toward a specific outcome before their first mutation?"
"If they're too weak for targeted cultivation, then turning them into spirit creatures should at least improve the chances of obtaining a finished product, shouldn't it?"
Qi Tian smiled. "An excellent question, Young Master Fang. In fact, converting them into spirit creatures before performing combined refinement is another method we Bug Masters favor. But you must understand that whatever method we use to stabilize their true spirit essence, it runs counter to mutation and evolution, and still cannot guarantee success! Moreover, a Spirit Tamer's cultivation and strength are limited. Rashly using Spirit Communion on spirit creatures becomes a burden. Combined refinement requires handling far more than a few dozen or even a hundred gu worms. Having so many spirit creatures fight and devour one another comes at no small cost!"
Qi Tian had pointed out two major problems with Fang Qianyuan's proposed method.
First, stability and mutation were irreconcilable opposites. Like fish and bear's paw, one could not have both; one always had to favor one over the other.
Converting an insect into a spirit creature first might indeed preserve a particular ability, but its potential for mutation and evolution would weaken. It might take a far greater investment to advance again, rather than undergoing rapid transformations like an ordinary gu worm.
Second, having spirit creatures fight and devour one another cost far more than doing the same with their original living bodies.
Although the bond between a spirit creature and its Spirit Tamer was not always that of an innate spirit, they were