The Venomous Thorn Bee Was Advancing?

Lin Mo's expression did not change.

He was indeed lying, but he was even more convinced that the Black-Robed Man was merely bluffing.

Besides, even if he lied, it would have no effect on this transaction. A deal required mutual consent. If they fell out over this, it would do the Black-Robed Man and the Penglai Commerce Association harm rather than good.

"Really none?"

The Black-Robed Man saw nothing unusual in Lin Mo's eyes and shook his head in disappointment. "I'd thought I could buy a few more mutated fire spirit fruits from you. Now... ah!"

At that, he rallied his spirits, carefully inspected Lin Mo's fruits, and smiled again. "The usual rate, one for two. A thousand contribution points in total."

"Tell me, what would you like this time? Spirit stones or spirit liquid again?"

Lin Mo had already made his plans and immediately said, "Spirit liquid. All of it."

He was no longer short of spirit stones.

The Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation in the backyard was already in place. Once he set up another concealment formation around his courtyard, it would be watertight, and that would not require many spirit stones.

He still had plenty of spirit stones left from the last transaction, and Wang Qiuru had given him over a thousand more. They were more than enough to set up the formation, while the spirit stones consumed in maintaining it were practically negligible.

Of course, spirit stones could also improve his cultivation, but their effects were not as quick as spirit liquid's.

By comparison, Lin Mo naturally chose to exchange for spirit liquid. Whenever he ran short of spirit stones, he could simply come back to trade.

"Doesn't cultivating mutated spirit plants require a lot of both spirit stones and spirit liquid?"

As the Black-Robed Man took jade bottles from his Storage Bag, he asked as though making idle conversation, "Why the change this time? Only spirit stones, no spirit liquid?"

"Or do different spirit plants have different requirements?"

He's fishing for information!

Lin Mo sneered inwardly and answered naturally, "Yes. The method for cultivating mutated spirit plants is extremely complicated. My master is still feeling his way through it."

"Sometimes it requires spirit stones, sometimes more spirit liquid, and sometimes even other spirit plants as fertilizer."

"I've been learning from him for so long, but I'm still lost in a fog. If I ever manage to cultivate mutated spirit plants myself, I'll never have to live these hard days again."

There were no holes in his explanation, and sure enough, the Black-Robed Man suspected nothing.

He handed the jade bottles to Lin Mo and chuckled softly. "There are definitely more than two thousand drops of spirit liquid in these. Consider the extra a gift. Pass a message to your master for me: ask whether he'd be willing to trade his method for cultivating mutated spirit plants. I guarantee he'll be satisfied with the price."

Lin Mo casually agreed and prepared to leave once the transaction was complete.

Just as he was about to turn away, he suddenly remembered something else. After a brief hesitation, he took the Venomous Thorn Bee the Black-Robed Man had given him from his sleeve and asked uncertainly, "Could you take another look and see what's wrong with this spirit bee?"

"It's been asleep for three days and still hasn't woken up."

Back at the Ghost-Crying Field, the Venomous Thorn Bee had flown a circle above the field ridges, then fallen into a deep sleep after returning to Lin Mo's sleeve. He had tried all sorts of ways to wake it, without success.

Fortunately, the Venomous Thorn Bee's aura had remained normal, and as its master, Lin Mo had sensed nothing else amiss.

Since he had come to the Black Market, he might as well let the Black-Robed Man take a look. If something really was wrong, he could at least prepare for it in advance.

"Oh?"

The Black-Robed Man took the Venomous Thorn Bee and turned it over, examining it for a while. Suddenly, he asked in surprise, "What did it eat? Could it have... stolen some of your master's mutated spirit fruit?"

"I've never seen anything like this before either. It looks... as though it's about to advance!"

Advance?

Joy rose in Lin Mo's heart, immediately followed by a trace of worry.

The Hundred Explanations of Spirit Insects recorded that the strongest Venomous Thorn Bees could pose a threat even to cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Once his Venomous Thorn Bee successfully advanced, could it attain that kind of power too?

Its master was only at the late first layer of Qi Refining, yet his spirit insect could rival a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Though there had never been a precedent in the cultivation world of a Venomous Thorn Bee turning on its master, with such a vast gap in strength between them, who could say?

"Tsk, tsk. This little fellow really stumbled into a great blessing by following you."

The Black-Robed Man looked enviously at the Venomous Thorn Bee in his palm, his eyes darting about. "Brother, would you sell this Venomous Thorn Bee to me? I'll pay handsomely!"

Lin Mo froze, then shook his head firmly. "You may have given it to me, but it's already acknowledged me as its master. I don't intend to sell it."

"If you insist on taking it back, fine, but I won't trade with you again. There's no shortage of buyers for the spirit fruit my master grows."

This brat really is a miser!

The Black-Robed Man was clearly not as interested in the Venomous Thorn Bee as Lin Mo had imagined. He tossed it back to him and waved dismissively. "A mere ninth-rank spirit insect. Even if it advances, it'll only be upper-middle eighth rank. My Tai... the Penglai Commerce Association has plenty!"

Tai?

Tai what?

It seemed to have been a slip of the tongue. Lin Mo thought nothing of it and happily tucked the Venomous Thorn Bee into his sleeve.

Once the Black-Robed Man put away the Concealment Formation, Lin Mo wasted no more time and turned to head back.

On the way back from the Black Market, Lin Mo remained extra vigilant. With the Venomous Thorn Bee asleep, if Xun Bin followed him again, he might not discover it in time.

As it turned out, Lin Mo had been overly cautious.

Xun Bin already knew his identity and had no need to follow him again. Lin Mo, however, remained wary, taking so many detours that a journey of a little over an hour took him a full four hours before he returned to his courtyard.

Everything was well.

Qin Sang Sang and Lin Xiaohe slept peacefully in their respective rooms. Mist veiled the courtyard like gauze, and as the mountain's night breeze brushed through it, a sense of peace settled over Lin Mo's heart.

"There are more than two thousand drops of spirit liquid in the Treasure Gourd now, and over twelve hundred spirit stones in the Storage Bag... still poor!"

Lin Mo neither went to the backyard nor returned to his bedroom to cultivate.

He smiled to himself, then took out the remaining blank Formation Disc and carefully engraved it with a carving knife.

The Basic Formation Diagram Guide recorded two concealment formations: the Moon-Covering Formation and the Empty-Eye Formation.

The former required two hundred and sixty spirit stones, while the latter needed only two hundred. Both were middle-grade ninth-rank formations, and their power was much the same.

Lin Mo chose the latter.

It was not to save spirit stones, but because the former mainly blocked cultivators' probing spiritual senses, while the latter did more to obscure sight, making it difficult to distinguish reality from illusion.

The backyard already had the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation. Concealing the entire courtyard would only seem like trying to hide something by drawing attention to it, inviting suspicion.

It was no secret that Cloud Crane High Person had given him the Basic Formation Diagram Guide, and the Empty-Eye Formation was relatively simple. Even if others learned he had successfully set it up in such a short time, they would not find it particularly surprising.

It had to be said that Lin Mo truly had a knack for formations. In just an hour, he finished setting up the Empty-Eye Formation.

As the formation began operating, the light throughout the courtyard warped subtly before returning to normal.

Viewed from outside the gate, the courtyard's interior was exceptionally blurry. It was difficult to make out any details, and even the buildings were indistinct. Lin Mo was very satisfied.

"I need another layer of insurance... hmm, I've got it!"

Lin Mo chuckled, went back to his room for brush and ink, and soon wrote a notice, which he pasted on the outside of the courtyard wall.

"Women reside within, so a small formation has been set up to provide a little privacy. No disrespect is intended. I hope my fellow disciples will kindly understand!"