Fortunately, he still had some Spirit Stones to spare.
With the thought that another skill was never a burden, he simply bought both Turn Earth to Steel and the Seamstress cultivation manual called the Gusu Silk Chronicle.
Turn Earth to Steel cost only six hundred Spirit Stones, while the Gusu Silk Chronicle cost a full fifteen hundred.
He had originally considered hunting for bargains at the Yi-Wa Market to see whether he could find counterfeit versions.
But then he remembered that spells and professional cultivation manuals were not things he could afford to be careless with. He gritted his teeth and bought both from the Scripture Repository.
That left him with only five hundred Spirit Stones in his pocket.
Still, Spirit Stones sitting unused were merely a number. Turning them into strength was the best use for them.
By converting Spirit Stones into spells and cultivation manuals, he gained skills that would never weigh him down. Once he mastered these spells, they would not only protect him and strengthen him in the future, but also help him establish an insect farm.
Once the insect farm was established, he could draw on Old Han's legacy to breed a steady stream of all kinds of venomous creatures.
He could feed them to Lin Can and have her produce large numbers of Spirit Insects, whether to sell or keep as trump cards. Either way, it gave him options.
At the same time, he could use these venomous creatures for experiments, mating them with Blackgold Moths. If they produced new Spirit Insects, all the better.
Moreover, if one or two of these venomous creatures transformed into gu-in other words, into Spirit Insects-that would be an unexpected delight.
So although spending Spirit Stones on spells and cultivation manuals pained Lin Ke-after all, those two thousand-odd Spirit Stones had barely sat in his pocket for two days before nearly all of them were gone-
He also knew it was necessary.
"I'll carve out the cave first."
Lin Ke stopped dwelling on it. After learning Turn Earth to Steel, he began carving out a cave.
The hole he had previously dug with Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning had already collapsed completely.
He could only start excavating again.
"Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning!"
As his Spirit Power surged, a cave entrance nearly two meters tall slowly took shape.
Lin Ke walked inside and extended his index finger again. "Turn Earth to Steel!"
Spirit Power burst from his fingertip, transforming into an extraordinarily profound rhythm that worked upon the freshly excavated cave.
Used together, Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning and Turn Earth to Steel made the most powerful construction skills.
As he walked, he pushed the surrounding earth outward, then used Turn Earth to Steel to secure it. In just an hour, he had hollowed out the entire mountain from bottom to top.
Like a hard eggshell, the mountain was left with only a "shell" less than two meters thick, its interior completely empty.
Then Lin Ke continued working.
He needed to shape the earth into separate floors, individual rooms, and stairways.
Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning shaped the earth, then Turn Earth to Steel fixed it in place. The hardened earth was sturdier than reinforced concrete.
In only about five hours, the entire interior of the mountain had taken shape according to his design.
The overall layout followed the principles for making Insect-Rearing Jars in Old Han's legacy.
Working people had wisdom of their own.
Insect-Rearing Jars and Insect-Feeding Boxes were not to be underestimated. To the people of the Poison Tempering Mountains, these were exceptionally powerful treasures for rearing insects, even more useful than Spirit Artifacts for that purpose.
They held plenty, kept the venomous insects inside from interfering with one another, and provided ventilation. Their design was thoroughly sensible.
As someone who specialized in raising and breeding venomous insects, Old Han had also included methods for making Insect-Rearing Jars and Insect-Feeding Boxes in his legacy.
After studying them, Lin Ke had used those principles to design this mountain.
"I'll name it Insect-Breeding Mountain."
Having expended sixty percent of his Spirit Power, Lin Ke finally emerged from the mountain, only for another idea to strike him.
"Since I've hollowed out the mountain, why not hollow out the ground beneath the entire Green Mulberry Garden?"
"If I link all five mountains together, it'll make it easier to do things in secret later."
Lin Ke rubbed his chin, feeling that this was an excellent idea.
However, the magical power required would probably mean working for several days without sleep or rest before he could finish.
He could only abandon the idea for now.
Cultivation was his highest priority at present. After that came practicing spells, followed by raising and breeding insects.
All of these were meant to increase his strength.
As for digging through the earth and doing construction work, he could find people to do that for him in the future.
But that was a matter for the next step.
The moon shone bright among sparse stars, and spring's warmth surged like a rising tide.
The month soon passed.
During that month, Lin Ke not only consolidated his cultivation at the Dao Foundation Initial Stage, but also mastered Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning and Turn Earth to Steel until he could use them with effortless familiarity.
Whenever he had time, he practiced those two spells while expanding the underground world beneath the Green Mulberry Garden.
When he had no time for that, he devoted himself to breeding Blackgold Silkworms and Blackgold Moths.
Three more Blackgold Moths emerged from their cocoons during this period, but all their mating attempts ultimately failed. As a result, he still had only two kinds of Spirit Insects: Stinger Hawk Moths and Amethyst Longhorn Beetles.
The populations of both Spirit Insects were growing steadily, and Lin Ke did not sell all his Stinger Hawk Moths and Amethyst Longhorn Beetles.
First, he feared that too many Stinger Hawk Moths would affect the market. Second, he feared that once people bought Amethyst Longhorn Beetles and became familiar with them, they would develop countermeasures.
Before the Sect Grand Tournament, he did not want his trump cards exposed.
While he bred Spirit Insects and practiced spells, his production of Blackgold Silkworm silk also increased steadily. This let him fulfill his sect assignment while retaining a surplus of about one catty of Blackgold Silkworm silk.
One catty!
That was enough for him to use his newly learned Seamstress cultivation method to craft a suit of inner armor.
His cultivation, spells, Spirit Insects, Blackgold Silkworm silk, Golden Silkworm Peak, Insect-Breeding Mountain... everything was proceeding methodically according to his plans.
There was one unexpected development, however: Lin Can.
Lin Can seemed to have entered some sort of growth phase. She had formed a cocoon and buried herself in the soil, quietly awaiting her emergence just like the Blackgold Silkworms.
When that time came, he believed Lin Can would be able to offer him even greater help.
"...The Blackgold Silkworm silk has all been collected, and everything mentioned above has been completed, Immortal Lin." Fang Tong was reporting to him. On the table beside them sat a specially made sandalwood box containing the Blackgold Silkworm silk that would soon be handed over.
"Mm. The people on Insect-Breeding Mountain will have to put up with some inconvenience for the next two days. I'll seal the mountain entrance, so they'll have to eat, drink, and relieve themselves inside," Lin Ke said thoughtfully.
Lin Ke did not want others to learn about Insect-Breeding Mountain and force him to explain all sorts of things. He might as well simply keep it hidden.
The sect stewards would be coming within the next two days to inspect and collect the produce from the sect's various sites.
He therefore had the farmers raising venomous creatures inside Insect-Breeding Mountain hide there for two days, taking enough food and water with them. They could come out once the inspection was over.
"We understand, Immortal." Fang Tong nodded hastily. "Little Fifth and the others have already gone inside. They've lived alongside venomous creatures since birth, so they're very familiar with that sort of environment."
"Mm." Lin Ke nodded slightly.
"Also, pay close attention to the routine upkeep of Golden Silkworm Peak. There have been more and more insects lately. Make sure the pests are cleared out promptly."
Spring had been deepening lately, and several spring rains had fallen, bringing ever more insects to the Green Mulberry Garden.
With the Earth Cicada Warm-Sand Formation in place, Golden Silkworm Peak was especially suited to insect life, so some insects had set their sights on it.
Carnivorous insects wanted to eat the Blackgold Silkworms, herbivorous insects wanted to eat the mulberry trees-in short, there were insects everywhere.
A few Blackgold Silkworms had even been killed by perfectly ordinary parasitic wasps.
Fortunately, the farmers of the Green Mulberry Garden dealt with insects all day long and could still keep the situation under control.
"Understood!" Fang Tong nodded. "Apart from those on Insect-Breeding Mountain, all of us are keeping watch on Golden Silkworm Peak. We won't let any more Blackgold Silkworms die!"
Lin Ke nodded, a smile appearing on his face.
Just then, a breathless voice came from outside.
"Immortal-Immortal Lin, a steward from the Discipline Hall is here!"
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