The Hundred Explanations of Spirit Insects was not a secret manual for raising spirit insects, but a record of the appearances and habits of spirit insects commonly found in the cultivation world.
Lin Mo leafed through the booklet and soon found the Venomous Thorn Bee.
The venomous bee illustrated in the booklet looked exactly like the spirit insect the black-robed man had produced. It liked feeding on nectar and unusual flowers and plants imbued with spiritual energy, and could nurture a potent venom within its body.
If a Qi Refining cultivator was stung by a Venomous Thorn Bee, a mild case would leave their body numb and stiff, unable to move freely, and slow the circulation of their spiritual energy. A severe case would throw their meridians into disorder, with deeply harmful consequences for their future cultivation.
The most formidable Venomous Thorn Bees posed a certain threat even to Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
However, bees of that caliber were exceedingly rare. The black-robed man's specimen clearly was not one, and even if he had one, he could never have given it to Lin Mo.
"Once a Venomous Thorn Bee recognizes a master, it is exceedingly loyal. To date, there has never been a recorded instance of a Venomous Thorn Bee turning against its master in the cultivation world..."
After reading that passage in the booklet, Lin Mo immediately felt his heart ease.
He closed the booklet and studied the Venomous Thorn Bee in the black-robed man's hand again and again. At last, he confirmed that this was indeed a Venomous Thorn Bee that would never turn against its master, rather than some other sinister trick.
"From now on, I won't sell the fruit my master grows to anyone but you."
Lin Mo did not even have a master, so naturally, he told the lie without blushing.
He immediately raised his right index finger to his mouth and bit a small cut into it, gently squeezing out a drop of blood that fell before the Venomous Thorn Bee in the wooden box.
The little bee, which had been asleep, was clearly drawn by the blood.
The four translucent wings on its back vibrated at tremendous speed. A slender, pointed mouthpart, almost too fine to see, extended from its mouth and quickly sucked up Lin Mo's entire drop of blood.
Immediately afterward.
A strange, indescribable sensation arose in Lin Mo's mind. He vaguely felt as though he had established some mysterious connection with the spirit insect.
Though they could not communicate, a single thought from him would make the Venomous Thorn Bee obediently do his bidding!
"Keep the booklet. I have plenty."
The transaction had already taken quite some time, and many people were still waiting in line outside the screening formation.
The black-robed man waved at Lin Mo. Once the Venomous Thorn Bee crawled into Lin Mo's sleeve, he immediately dispelled the formation and sent him away. "Remember what you just said. I'll be waiting."
Lin Mo knew the black-robed man had his eye on his fruit and feared someone else would buy it first.
This transaction had filled his coffers to overflowing, and Lin Mo also wanted to see whether the Venomous Thorn Bee was as miraculous as the rumors claimed. After leaving the Black Market, he deliberately slowed his pace, practically hoping someone would follow him.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished.
He returned to his Small Courtyard without a scare or mishap along the way. The sky was still pitch-black.
In the western bedroom, Qin Sang Sang and Lin Xiaohe slept soundly at opposite ends of the bed like a pair of sisters, completely unaware that Lin Mo had already gone out and returned.
The more important reason was that, before leaving for the Black Market, Lin Mo had lit a stick of Mind-Calming Incense in the main room. Though it was no treasure, it soothed the mind and settled the spirit, making it quite helpful for a good night's sleep.
It was also simple to make: grass found everywhere in the Azure Cloud Sect was mixed with soil and rolled into incense sticks, then left to dry for a little over an hour until they set.
Lin Mo had learned this from the other Servant Disciples, and he had never forgotten the craft.
Who exactly was that cloaked young man who followed me last time...?
Returning to his bedroom, Lin Mo casually closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed. In spite of himself, he began pondering the cloaked young man again.
After thinking for quite a while without finding any answers, he simply stopped wasting his mental energy and began counting the day's gains.
Four hundred metal- and earth-attributed spirit stones were more than enough to serve as the foundation of the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation. Once he carved the formation patterns onto a blank Formation Disc and activated them with spiritual energy, it would be ready to use.
Most precious of all were the five hundred drops of spirit liquid!
Ever since obtaining the Treasure Gourd, he had never had such an abundance of spirit liquid on hand. Lin Mo had already poured all of it inside.
Five hundred drops sounded like a lot, but in truth, they occupied very little space in the gourd.
Lin Mo estimated that the Treasure Gourd could hold about a jin of spirit liquid, or roughly ten thousand drops. It was still far from full.
Time to start crafting the Formation Disc!
With everything prepared, Lin Mo took out the Basic Formation Diagram Guide again and confirmed that the formation patterns in his memory were completely accurate.
Then he took out a blank Formation Disc and gently carved its surface with a sharp little knife he had honed himself.
About an hour later.
A total of two hundred and eighty intricate formation lines flickered faintly on the surface of the blank Formation Disc. They contained the spiritual energy Lin Mo had poured into them, flowing ceaselessly together as though they were a single whole.
As soon as the formation patterns were complete, they began circulating on their own, and Lin Mo no longer needed to keep supplying spiritual energy.
If he wanted to increase the Formation Disc's power further, he would need to nurture it with Divine Sense.
Lin Mo was only in the middle stage of the first layer of Qi Refining and had yet to develop Divine Sense. Besides, the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation was, at most, upper ninth grade. Increasing the Formation Disc's power would only reduce its spirit stone consumption slightly.
To Lin Mo, spirit stones mattered far less than his own cultivation. Even if he had Divine Sense, he would never waste it on this.
Once I move into my new home, transplant the spirit plants, and bury the spirit stones at the corresponding formation foundation points, the formation should be complete...
Lin Mo put the Formation Disc into his Storage Bag. Despite a night of hard work, he did not feel tired, and spent a little while playing with the Venomous Thorn Bee in his sleeve.
Lin Mo soon forcibly pushed that trace of boyish playfulness out of his mind. He stopped teasing the bee and resumed cultivating in earnest.
White Jade Mountain, the Azure Cloud Sect's main peak, stood over four hundred and seventy zhang tall, its summit reaching into the clouds.
Four smaller mountains stood around it, each roughly a li apart, encircling White Jade Mountain like stars clustering around the moon.
On one of those four peaks, known as Spirit Beast Peak.
A young man hurried along, swiftly passing one disciple after another on night watch. None dared stop him.
Before long.
The young man entered a residence roofed with blue tiles. Looking at a white-haired elder seated upright on a meditation cushion in the main hall, he bowed. "Master, your disciple has confirmed that the person who produced the mutated fire spirit fruit was none other than Lin Mo, an Outer Sect Disciple of the Spirit Plant Courtyard!"
"Oh?"
With his back to the young man, the white-haired elder unconsciously raised his two slightly drooping eyebrows.
He remained silent for a long while, then murmured as though speaking to himself, "The Spirit Plant Courtyard has merely three Outer Elders. Which one trained such an outstanding junior?"
"Ninth-grade spirit plants can only bear yellow-tier spirit fruit. That has held true since ancient times, yet this person can actually cause spirit plants to mutate and raise the grade of their fruit..."
As he spoke, his voice gradually faded.
The young man was clearly accustomed to this and waited silently without a word.
A moment later, the white-haired elder finally spoke again, his tone utterly calm.
"Make contact with him. See whether he is willing to become my disciple."
"If he refuses... it would be such a pity for so promising a seedling to die!"
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