Lin Ke froze, then broke into an amused laugh. "True enough."
So many people had raised Blackgold Silkworms before him. How could he alone have discovered that they could mate with bees and lay eggs?
Anyone who heard that would know he was pulling their leg.
"I was only explaining it to you, Senior Sister." Lin Ke smiled. "To everyone else, I'll naturally say I found it in the Poison Tempering Mountains."
The Poison Tempering Mountains stretched endlessly, with countless branches and more small mountains and peaks than anyone could count. Finding all sorts of bizarre insects there was perfectly normal.
He could simply dump the blame on the Poison Tempering Mountains.
"Take a look, Senior Sister. This is the spirit insect I bred, the Stinger Hawk Moth."
As he spoke, Lin Ke took the Stinger Hawk Moth out of his niwan palace.
The Stinger Hawk Moth had been wandering around his niwan palace without finding anything to eat, and it looked rather listless when it emerged.
"That big?" Seeing the palm-sized Stinger Hawk Moth in Lin Ke's hand, Zong Ya was a little surprised. "It's much bigger than a Blackgold Moth!"
Lin Ke had not mentioned Lin Can, so Zong Ya did not know that this Stinger Hawk Moth was actually Lin Can's "product."
"A spirit insect that hasn't acknowledged a master yet? Have a seat, Junior Brother, and let me examine it." Zong Ya took out a Bronze Treasure Mirror, channeled her Spirit Power into it, and shone it on the Stinger Hawk Moth.
Pale green light enveloped the Stinger Hawk Moth as Zong Ya carefully sensed its properties.
"Your Stinger Hawk Moth has only one form. It hatches from its egg as an adult like this, and its Spirit Power gathers in its tail. So that's why you named it 'Stinger.'"
"Its body is low-grade spirit, and the toxin in its stinger hasn't surpassed low-grade spirit either. It can only poison spirit beasts of the same realm to death, or even just those a realm below."
"This one is male. The females should also have stingers, but their bodies would be slightly larger than the males', and their toxins slightly weaker."
"Its scales aren't poisonous, but I can detect some potential in them. You might consider breeding it in that direction, Junior Brother."
"There's also its ability to fly..."
Zong Ya took the information she had sensed
"Hmm, its flight, egg-laying, venom, and combat abilities... Taking everything into account, Junior Brother, your Stinger Hawk Moth could sell for two hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones."
Two hundred and thirty spirit stones.
Lin Ke was not surprised in the slightest by this result.
The Stinger Hawk Moth's foundations were too poor. It had come from a low-grade Blackgold Silkworm and an ordinary bee. Reaching this grade and possessing some offensive power was already quite good.
"Oh, wait." Just as Zong Ya was about to give her final assessment, she exclaimed in surprise, "This Stinger Hawk Moth actually has a colony-forming trait?"
A colony-forming trait?
Lin Ke nodded slightly, knowing that this trait must have come from the bee.
After all, Blackgold Moths did not form colonies, while bees were insects with a highly developed social division of labor.
"If that's the case, selling ten or more at once would fetch two hundred and twenty-eight spirit stones each."
Zong Ya looked delighted. "How many do you have?"
Sell ten at once?
Lin Ke pondered.
He could understand that price.
The original price of two hundred and thirty spirit stones was for a single Stinger Hawk Moth.
Scarcity made things precious.
If he wanted to sell dozens at once, each would probably fetch less than two hundred.
But if they formed colonies, meaning they could divide their labor and complement one another like ants or bees, their combat power would increase greatly.
Under those circumstances, selling many at once would not lower the price much.
Sometimes, buyers would even insist on purchasing a certain number together.
"I only have one at the moment," Lin Ke said. "But if the Spirit Insect Cave is willing to buy them, I can breed... no, I can catch more."
With his original niwan palace, breeding a second Stinger Hawk Moth would have required him to keep mating Blackgold Moths with bees, with only a certain chance of success.
That would consume a great many Blackgold Moths and bees. After all, both died once the breeding was complete.
But now he had Lin Can.
Even before refining Lin Can, he had known that she could help him "mass-produce" them.
He only needed to give Lin Can the eggs of a particular spirit insect. Once she devoured them, she could continuously "produce" that spirit insect.
In a sense, Lin Can had produced this Stinger Hawk Moth in just that way. After all, Lin Can herself was a fusion of a Stinger Hawk Moth egg and the Mysterious Seed.
"More..." Zong Ya sank into thought. Only after a while did she say:
"Strictly speaking, Stinger Hawk Moths haven't been tested in actual combat. They've only been examined and appraised with the treasure mirror. I'm not authorized to buy them in large quantities. Twenty is the most I can purchase..."
Zong Ya looked troubled, her expression shifting several times. "But if I find a few buyers, perhaps I could ask an elder to increase my purchasing limit."
"Senior Sister, if it's really too difficult, selling twenty will be enough." Lin Ke did not want to make things difficult for Zong Ya either.
Besides, twenty would bring in several thousand spirit stones, enough for him to buy those spells.
He simply did not know how many insects Lin Can would have to eat to produce twenty Stinger Hawk Moths.
"Junior Brother, how many Stinger Hawk Moths do you have altogether?" Zong Ya gritted her teeth. "You finally managed to breed a spirit insect like this. I'll find a few senior and junior sisters. I'll certainly help you sell them."
"Altogether, I..." Lin Ke fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Only twenty."
Although Stinger Hawk Moths were spirit insects, their starting point was too low.
He was also unwilling to let Zong Ya spend the trust and affection she shared with her senior and junior sisters on this matter.
For now, having enough spirit stones would do.
Once he demonstrated the Stinger Hawk Moths' abilities at the Sect Grand Tournament, sellers would surely come in an endless stream.
"Junior Brother, opportunities like this don't come often. This is the first spirit insect you've bred independently. You should sell more. You need to buy spirit artifacts, armor, a mount. I..." Zong Ya still refused to give up.
It seemed that, in Zong Ya's heart, Lin Ke was like her own child.
An eldest sister was like a mother.
This was Lin Ke's first time breeding a spirit insect. Naturally, Zong Ya wanted to encourage him this way, while also helping him earn some money to buy things in preparation for the upcoming Sect Grand Tournament.
"Senior Sister!" Lin Ke hurriedly interrupted her, then met Zong Ya's eyes with complete seriousness. "Senior Sister, trust me. Once I sell twenty, I'll have enough spirit stones."
"Then I'll give you another five hundred... no, a thousand spirit stones." Zong Ya gritted her teeth.
"You'll need to buy a lot of things for the Sect Grand Tournament. Otherwise, you won't be able to beat Li Le. I heard he has a Coat Garment sewn by his father. His father is a Spirit Grade Seamstress who can sew mid-grade spirit..."
Feeling the concern spilling from her constant chatter, Lin Ke's heart warmed, but he still interrupted Zong Ya. "Senior Sister, Senior Sister!"
"Have you forgotten? I had a fortuitous encounter."
Lin Ke did not mention Earth. After all, Zong Ya had already erased her own memories.
"A fortuitous encounter..." Zong Ya gazed carefully into Lin Ke's eyes, then sighed and said gently, "Yes, my Lin Ke has grown up too."
"Then I'll help you sell these twenty Stinger Hawk Moths first. Go get them ready, then bring them here."
"I'll be waiting for you here in the Spirit Insect Cave."
Before you continue