The Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method!

"The Amethyst Longhorn Beetle's skill... Amethyst Carapace?"

Once he returned home, Lin Ke could hardly wait to take out the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle and examine it.

Lin Ke had already refined the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle into his own spirit insect using the Miaojiang Gu Art.

Much like a flying sword or another spirit artifact, the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle could now follow his commands.

The Stinger Hawk Moths he had before had no skills, so Lin Ke had not put much effort into refining them.

After all, the Stinger Hawk Moths seemed like worker ants in a colony, specifically tasked with finding food to feed their queen, Lin Can, rather than soldier ants dedicated to fighting.

Even their Tail Needle and method of sucking bodily fluids from their prey made Lin Ke feel that Stinger Hawk Moths were born for the worker-ant role.

The Amethyst Longhorn Beetle was different.

It came with a skill like Amethyst Carapace right from the start, making the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle extremely well suited to being raised as a combat spirit insect.

"Let me try the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method..." Looking at the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle before him, Lin Ke silently mobilized his Spirit Power, circulating it according to the method.

"Transform!"

Suddenly, Lin Ke softly uttered that single word, and brilliant light blazed from his eyes.

The next moment, Spirit Power spilled out of his body and covered his skin, taking on yolk-yellow and blood-red hues like threads of blood and fetal membranes.

It was as though a placenta had formed over his body, or like the membrane of a cracked egg on the verge of hatching.

Uncanny, cold, and clammy.

Yet within it, Lin Ke felt warmth and tranquility, as though he had returned to his mother's womb.

At that moment, the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle in his hand swiftly became a phantom and merged into the surface of his body.

"Pop..."

With a crisp sound, all the Spirit Power covering his skin withdrew into his body.

In an instant, Lin Ke felt as though he had become an Amethyst Longhorn Beetle newly emerged from its shell, curiously examining the world from another perspective.

Meanwhile, within the Embracing Origin Palace in his cinnabar field, the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle appeared on that patch of land, with a fascinated Lin Can beside it.

"Beetle! No, Daddy?" Lin Can stared at the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle, her eyes sparkling. "Are you Beetle, or Daddy?"

The Amethyst Longhorn Beetle stood motionless, with no idea what Lin Can was saying.

That only made Lin Can more curious. She went up and poked the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle, but it did not react at all.

Outside, Lin Ke paid no attention to Lin Can's curiosity, instead carefully experiencing the mysteries of the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method.

"So this is the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method. Whether a creature is 'moisture-born' or 'egg-born,' this great method can transform and harness it. Truly wondrous..."

At a thought from Lin Ke, a faint protective barrier immediately appeared over his body.

The barrier glimmered with a faint purple light. Seen from a distance behind him, it resembled the back of an Amethyst Longhorn Beetle.

"It worked!"

"So this is how the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method lets me seize the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle's skill?"

"Although using the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method consumes half a tenth of my Spirit Power, it's like learning a whole bunch of extra spells. This spell was absolutely worth it..."

Lin Ke was delighted.

How expensive was buying a single spell?

But after learning the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method, he could effectively learn the skills of every spirit insect under his command. Wasn't that the same as gaining a whole bunch of free spells?

Still, he knew that only he could pull this off.

Even with his thirteen-tenths Dao Foundation, activating the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method consumed a full half a tenth of his Spirit Power.

Anyone else trying to use it would probably have five or six tenths of their Spirit Power drained away.

"And once I've undergone the Moist-Egg Transformation, using the spirit insect's skill barely consumes anything!"

Lin Ke could not help marveling at the tremendous creativity of his predecessors on the immortal path, who had devised such a marvelous method.

Others could only focus on their spirit insects. The more abilities a spirit insect possessed, the less Spirit Power they would consume.

Lin Ke, however, could keep switching between different spirit insects with the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method to use their abilities.

"This spell suits me perfectly..."

Next, he needed to test the defensive strength of Amethyst Carapace.

Lin Ke released Lin Can and a Stinger Hawk Moth, then had Lin Can order the moth to attack him.

"Thud!!!"

The Stinger Hawk Moth swung its tail stinger, striking the Amethyst Carapace with a dull thud.

Although Lin Ke considered the Stinger Hawk Moth far too weak, if it fought an ordinary person, the outcome would be anyone's guess.

It was a spirit insect, after all. Even setting aside the poison in its Tail Needle and wing scales, being stung by it was essentially no different from being stabbed with a small knife.

Yet when the Stinger Hawk Moth drove its powerful Tail Needle into the Amethyst Carapace, the carapace actually bounced it away.

The Stinger Hawk Moth froze for a second, then continued carrying out Lin Can's orders to the letter.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"...

The Stinger Hawk Moth repeatedly stabbed the Amethyst Carapace with its Tail Needle. Every strike was thrown back by the recoil, until signs of tearing appeared on its tail.

"Stop."

The delight in Lin Ke's eyes deepened.

The Amethyst Carapace remained completely undamaged, and its Spirit Power consumption was practically zero.

This was an exceptionally fine defensive technique!

I was worried that going into the Poison Tempering Mountains would be risky. Now that I have this Amethyst Longhorn Beetle, keeping myself alive should at least be no problem... Lin Ke withdrew the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method and let out a long breath.

To stay alive, and live well, he needed money and strength.

Relying solely on trading at the Spirit Insect Cave was undoubtedly the least cost-effective approach.

Entering the Poison Tempering Mountains was the choice of every disciple with sufficient strength.

The Golden Wing Sect had established itself on an outlying branch at the end of the Poison Tempering Mountains rather than anywhere else for a natural reason: the pavilion nearest the water caught the moonlight first.

Only by being close to the Poison Tempering Mountains could the elders and disciples conveniently access an inexhaustible supply of spirit insects.

Of course, Lin Ke was not actually all that strong yet. Rushing in without the ability to protect himself would be courting death.

His Golden Silkworm Peak was still developing, and he had plenty of spirit insect research to do. It really was not a suitable time to enter the mountains.

"But at last, I have some ability to fight with spells!"

"The Sect Grand Tournament... Li Le..."

Golden Silkworm Peak's silk production increased with every passing day.

Only five days had passed, yet the Blackgold Silkworms on Golden Silkworm Peak were already producing a full four times as much silk as before.

Four times!

That was a staggering figure.

It meant that he could not only complete his assignment but also obtain two additional portions of Blackgold Silkworm silk.

At market prices, each jin of Blackgold Silkworm silk could probably sell for around two hundred spirit stones.

That was no small sum. After all, some spells sold for only four or five hundred spirit stones, while a Qi Refining Stage disciple's monthly stipend was merely a hundred and fifty.

The fact that this body's original owner had saved fewer than two hundred spirit stones over all those years showed just how good that price was.

That was only natural. Throughout the entire Poison Tempering Mountains, the Golden Wing Sect was probably the sole producer of Blackgold Silkworm silk.

Although it was only low-grade spirit silk, in the hands of a seamstress specializing in crafting clothing, protective gear, and the like, that low-grade spirit silk meant low-grade spirit garments.

Garments crafted by seamstresses were worth more than the weapons, implements, and other items made by artifact refiners.

"Selling Blackgold Silkworm silk is a tricky problem..." As he walked through Golden Silkworm Peak, Lin Ke pondered the matter of trading the silk.

Just as he had thought, he was the only one in the entire Poison Tempering Mountains who had Blackgold Silkworm silk.

Want to sell it?

Anyone would know who had sold it.

Once certain people with ulterior motives noticed, trouble would come knocking one problem after another.

"Do I have to learn how to become a seamstress too?" After thinking it through, Lin Ke could find no other solution.

In his previous life, he had been terribly lazy, spending his days dreaming of finding a job where he could coast along, eating his fill and waiting to die.

But that would not do now.

In a world with danger lurking on every side, he had become tense and vigilant.

His daily cultivation had to stay within reasonable limits. Otherwise, it would be like forcing down more food after eating his fill-no good for his body.

Outside cultivation, he naturally raised insects, working as a Beast Taming Master.

But in truth, even counting the time he spent raising insects and studying and practicing spells, he still had plenty of free time.

He had originally planned to take things easy, but now it seemed he would have to try his hand at the seamstress profession.