The Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning Method

"The Six Evils? What are those?"

Lin Ke was rather curious.

He knew the Five Poisons: snakes, scorpions, toads, centipedes, and geckos.

Ever since the Warring States period, folk belief had held that "when the Dragon Boat Festival arrives, the Five Poisons awaken," meaning these five creatures would emerge and disrupt people's lives.

In the Cloud Frontier, the Five Poisons were also among the main reasons for the human race's drastically reduced survival rate.

However, that name had always been a folk term. His Miaojiang Gu Art contained no such designation; in other words, it had never become a written term.

It was much like how people called coriander "fragrant greens" or "stinking greens," while written texts called it coriander.

Yet Lin Ke had never heard anyone in the Poison Tempering Mountains mention these Six Evils.

"The Six Evils?" Fang Tong scratched his head. "That's what we natives call them. They're six kinds of bugs."

"Wind Mosquitoes, Cold Flies, Heat Moths, Damp Spiders, Dry Ants, and Fire Bees. All six are sinister things, and they were the favorites of the great shamans and Old Hans who raised gu in the old days."

"But the immortals of our Golden Wing Sect seem to consider them part of an evil path, so people gradually stopped calling them the Six Evils."

"Great shamans? Old Hans?" Lin Ke nodded slowly, a thoughtful gleam passing through his eyes, then asked, "What's special about these Six Evils? Why are they mentioned in the same breath as the Five Poisons?"

Great shamans and Old Hans were titles for the central figures of the Cloud Frontier's tribes. Great shamans handled warfare against outsiders, while Old Hans managed internal affairs, with a clear division of duties.

However, in Lin Ke's memories, great numbers of great shamans and Old Hans had died after immortal cultivation took over the Cloud Frontier, and later they had vanished without a trace.

That was probably why the name "Six Evils" had never spread.

"These Six Evils are mighty sinister. I've heard it has something to do with things generating and restraining each other, but I don't really understand it." Fang Tong looked somewhat bewildered, then patted his chest and said:

"But rest assured, immortal! Even the Five Poisons and Six Evils can't escape the claws of us Miaowei People! Haha!"

Lin Ke naturally knew that the Miaojiang Gu Art passed down to him by the sect had originated with the Miaowei People. He nodded and smiled to show his trust. "Then go ahead and set out."

Fang Tong and Li Yanhua bowed and withdrew.

Lin Ke headed to the sect's Scripture Repository to see whether there were any suitable spells he could learn.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, continuing to use basic five-element Spell Arts would leave him easily countered, and their power was not particularly great either.

Although his original body's talent for spells was not exceptional, his Dao Foundation was so vast and substantial that it could supply an unending stream of Spirit Power.

Failing to make good use of his own strengths would be a terrible waste of that Dao Foundation.

The Green Mulberry Garden was far from the sect's central grounds, but Lin Ke was now a Dao Foundation cultivator, and his speed on foot was no longer what it had been.

Dao Foundation cultivators could fly, but he did not. He still traveled on foot.

The original owner's Rapid-Travel Art, for example, was very useful. It increased his speed considerably, allowing him to reach the Scripture Repository in less than an hour.

Using his disciple token, Lin Ke entered the Scripture Repository and headed to the spell section, where the sheer range of choices immediately dazzled him.

"The Golden Fruit Honey-Brewing Method costs over six hundred spirit stones? As expected of the Golden Wing Sect's signature art."

"Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning? A fusion of the Mountain-Moving Art and Water Arrow Art. It consumes enormous amounts of Spirit Power and has room for future advancement, but it costs eight hundred spirit stones. Too expensive!"

"The Samadhi Fire Art looks good, but it needs to be nurtured in the Embracing Origin Palace. Wouldn't that burn Lin Can to death?"

"The Origin-Draining Method..."

Lin Ke examined the jade slips one by one, the ardor in his eyes fading into the desireless serenity of an ascetic keeping vigil before an ancient Buddha beneath a solitary lamp.

Too expensive!

Anything produced by the sect, whether Spirit Insects or spells, was certain to be of outstanding quality.

After all, these spells and insect breeds had been refined through the exploration, development, study, and practice of countless sect predecessors. Naturally, they were exceptional.

But their prices were correspondingly outrageous!

Take the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning Method, for example.

It combined the Mountain-Moving Art with the Water Arrow Art, making it ideal for someone like him who had learned the basic Spell Arts. It would be quick to master, immensely powerful, and highly practical.

Its drawback was crippling for others, but to Lin Ke, it seemed practically tailor-made.

It might even develop into spiritual intent or a Divine Ability in the future, transcending ordinary arts and methods. Its potential for growth, practicality, and compatibility were all excellent!

But... Lin Ke was poor!

His earlier purchases, including the Sweet Rain Art and Earth Cicada Warm-Sand Formation, had already exhausted his savings.

Next month's sect stipend had yet to arrive, and even when it did, it would only amount to a hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones. He could not possibly afford it.

Still, he had only come here to browse in the first place, to get an idea of what was available.

He now had his eye on three spells: the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning Method, the Dragonfly Dash Art, and the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method.

The Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning Method was powerful. With the Poison Tempering Mountains and Red River nearby, there was an abundance of earth, stone, and water vapor, which would give the method a considerable boost.

The Dragonfly Dash Art was mainly for escaping and traveling. At higher levels of mastery, it also offered many ingenious ways to twist, turn, and maneuver. After all, if he could not win a fight, he still needed a way to flee.

As for the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method, it was an essential spell that practically everyone in the Golden Wing Sect possessed.

"Moisture-born and egg-hatched" referred to creatures that depended on damp environments to come into being or reproduced by laying eggs.

The Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method carried a similar meaning. It allowed its user to temporarily appropriate a particular ability from their own Spirit Insect.

Without the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method, the strength of the Golden Wing Sect's members-and probably that of most sect cultivators in the Poison Tempering Mountains-would be greatly diminished.

However, these three spells together cost roughly nineteen hundred spirit stones.

A fortune!

"I need to make money!"

Lin Ke walked out of the Scripture Repository, feeling as though he had passed into another lifetime.

"I wonder when the sect master will return. The grand elder probably won't be too strict while overseeing things, right?"

"Who knows? How many years has it been since the sect master last went out?"

"Ah, I wonder just who this Cloud Frontier Beast Venerable is. When a mighty being like that gets angry, our human race is in for upheaval again."

"As long as it doesn't spill over into our Poison Tempering Mountains."

"Speaking of which, what exactly is that Spirit Pearl? Some kind of heavenly treasure, I imagine?"

The people around him were still discussing the earlier disturbance caused by the Cloud Frontier Beast Venerable and the sect master's announcement that he would leave to confer on the matter.

Listening to the conversations around him, Lin Ke gradually came back to his senses.

He could sense that upheaval would surely come to the Poison Tempering Mountains.

From east to west, the Cloud Frontier was divided into just three regions: the Ailao Great Forest, the Poison Tempering Mountains, and the Dali Domain.

When the Cloud Frontier Beast Venerable grew angry, the Ailao Great Forest would be the first to bear the brunt of that wrath, followed by the Poison Tempering Mountains, and finally the Dali Domain.

Staying out of it would be harder than hard!

With unrest approaching, Lin Ke's desire to acquire spells became even more urgent.

Too bad I have no money!

No matter the world, money truly mattered.

What ways do I have to make money now?

After turning it over in his mind, he could think of only two.

One was to sell whatever Blackgold Silkworm silk remained after handing in his quota.

The other was to sell Spirit Insects directly.

Selling Blackgold Silkworms was out of the question, of course, but he could sell Stinger Hawk Moths!

At that thought, Lin Ke quickened his pace and soon arrived at a cave in another mountain.

The entire mountain had been hollowed out, and three characters were inscribed at the cave entrance:

"Spirit Insect Cave!"