"All right, we'll do as Immortal Lin says."
A smile appeared on Fang Tong's face. "Oh, Immortal Lin, the insects we've caught recently have already filled fourteen Insect-Rearing Jars and sixteen Insect-Feeding Boxes. We've nearly caught all the insects on these mountains. Do you think..."
"That many already..."
Hearing this, Lin Ke sank into thought as well.
Although these five mountains did have plenty of insects, venomous ones were rare, and insects with exceptional potential or mutations were rarer still.
That was only natural.
The Golden Wing Sect specialized in insects to begin with. Any promising venomous insects within a thousand miles of the sect had long since been caught, let alone Spirit Insects.
Being able to catch so many insects on the few mountains of his Green Mulberry Garden was already quite a feat.
"Do you know how to raise insects?" Lin Ke asked.
There were few insects to begin with, and the little fellow Lin Can ate so much. Besides, getting her to produce Stinger Hawk Moths or Amethyst Longhorn Beetles required feeding her even more insects.
The difference in the living prey required for Stinger Hawk Moths and Amethyst Longhorn Beetles alone made that clear.
Eating roughly ten ordinary thumb-sized insects would allow her to produce one Stinger Hawk Moth.
An Amethyst Longhorn Beetle, however, required around a hundred and thirty insects.
So far, Lin Ke had not let Lin Can produce even one. After all, Lin Can herself needed to grow.
At present, Lin Can was only palm-sized. If he rushed to have her produce Spirit Insects while neglecting her own growth and development, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Thus, by now, Lin Can had already eaten sixteen Insect-Rearing Jars' worth of insects.
But simply sitting and eating until even a mountain of supplies ran dry would never do. The five mountains would soon be eaten bare, and beyond them lay areas managed by other people.
In the Golden Wing Sect, where people loved insects as much as their own lives, barging into the neighboring areas to catch insects would be no different from sneaking into someone else's vegetable patch to steal their crops back in his old life.
"Raise insects?" Fang Tong immediately grasped Lin Ke's intention, then said thoughtfully:
"Immortal Lin, to tell you the truth, insects are everywhere in our Poison Tempering Mountains. In the past, even the Great Shamans and Old Hans only raised gu insects. There really was no need to raise ordinary insects!"
Lin Ke nodded slightly at his words.
That was the truth!
With insects everywhere in the Poison Tempering Mountains, why would anyone need to raise them?
"But now that Immortal Lin has turned that mountain-oh, Golden Silkworm Peak-into an immortal mountain, I do understand what you mean."
As he spoke, Fang Tong looked wistful. "Ever since my ancestors' time, our family has worked in the Green Mulberry Garden, generation after generation. Feeding the Blackgold Silkworms has long since become part of our blood."
"In the thirty years I've been head of the household alone, the Green Mulberry Garden has had sixteen different immortals in charge. Yet only you, Immortal Lin, have treated us as people and the Blackgold Silkworms as Spirit Insects. I've been thinking all along about how to repay you."
His expression shifted. Then, as though finally making up his mind, he spoke the words he had hesitated over for so long. "Actually, I could be considered our village's hundred-and-thirty-second-generation Old Han..."
An Old Han?
A flash of shock passed through Lin Ke's eyes, but he said nothing and listened as Fang Tong continued.
Great Shamans and Old Hans were exceedingly mysterious professions.
What Lin Ke knew of the two came from the instruction the Transmission Elder had given them back then.
The most crucial point was that, unlike those on the immortal path, Great Shamans and Old Hans could not attain the power of Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning, extend their lifespans, or achieve immortality through successful cultivation.
Yet Great Shamans and Old Hans could command powerful Spirit Insects with mortal bodies.
It was even said that some exceptionally powerful Great Shamans had once commanded Spirit Insects capable of boring through Nascent Souls, devouring Golden Cores, and even matching Fusion Stage mighty cultivators in battle.
Only, such Great Shaman inheritances had long since vanished.
And what of the Old Han inheritance?
If Great Shamans specialized in commanding Spirit Insects and controlling them in battle, then Old Hans specialized in cultivating, breeding, and rearing them.
"This Old Han could see that you're a decent, reasonable person, Immortal Lin. That's why I took such a great risk in telling you this."
Fang Tong smiled bitterly. "But whether I tell you or not, our Old Han inheritance is much like the Great Shaman inheritance. It's all but died out."
Seeing this, Lin Ke patted Fang Tong's shoulder. "Rest assured. I won't tell anyone that you're an Old Han."
The Golden Wing Sect said little about Great Shamans and Old Hans, but anyone with eyes could see: why had the Great Shamans and Old Hans disappeared after immortal sects like the Golden Wing Sect took over the Poison Tempering Mountains?
Why were there so many mortal villages within immortal sects like the Golden Wing Sect?
Why were all these mortal villages so utterly obedient, never resisting from beginning to end?
Just like asking why the Native Americans didn't resist.
Thus, although no one seemed to pay any attention to the Great Shaman and Old Han inheritances, Lin Ke could sense that wariness in Fang Tong's words.
"Thank you, Immortal Lin. It was only after spending time with you and learning what kind of person you are that I dared take this risk." Fang Tong cupped his hands, looking relieved.
But then he gritted his teeth and said quietly, "I'm willing to offer up the Old Han inheritance, but could you also agree to one request..."
Lin Ke felt little stir within him at this, but he frowned. "Tell me your condition first. What is it?"
Seeing Lin Ke frown, Fang Tong briefly panicked, then steeled himself and said, "I want my son to enter an immortal sect and learn immortal arts..."
Enter an immortal sect and learn immortal arts!
Lin Ke was not surprised in the slightest.
The Poison Tempering Mountains stretched hundreds of millions of miles from north to south. In the past, they had contained countless tribes, with Great Shamans and Old Hans numbering in the hundreds of thousands, even millions.
But why did people now hear only of immortal sects, and never of Great Shaman or Old Han inheritances?
Because the immortal path was stronger!
Even sects like the Golden Wing Sect could be said to have derived their cultivation methods and techniques entirely from Beast Taming and the arts of shamanism and gu.
Fang Tong might have been an Old Han, but he was no fool.
Great Shamans and Old Hans had only a hundred years of life, while the immortal path had an enduring heritage that embraced and incorporated many traditions. That was the true great path.
Seeking a way forward for his descendants was entirely understandable.
"I can't promise you that."
Lin Ke slowly shook his head. "I'm sure you know about my situation. I offended Li Le. His father is a Nascent Soul elder with overwhelming power and terrifying strength. Never mind getting your son into the sect-I can barely protect myself."
The farmers, men and women alike, of the Green Mulberry Garden had witnessed his earlier clash with Li Le.
Now, hearing Lin Ke say that a Nascent Soul elder stood behind Li Le, Fang Tong's expression changed drastically.
But when he looked up and saw Lin Ke's inscrutable, almost-smiling expression, he immediately caught on.
"I've met many immortals, but you're different, Immortal Lin." Fang Tong dropped to one knee and cupped his hands. "I believe that Li Le is no match for you at all. Your future achievements will know no bounds!"
"You're very clever," Lin Ke praised him, then lifted Fang Tong with his spiritual power. "Although I can't get your son into the sect, I promise that if I come across a suitable cultivation method later, I can pass it on to you."
"If I gain authority in the future, taking your son as my disciple wouldn't be out of the question either."
Before you continue