The Sleepy Bug Selective Breeding Plan

Night fell, with a bright moon and few stars.

After the heavy rain a few days earlier, the black mist around Black Cloud Marsh seemed to have dispersed considerably again.

At the edge of that mist, a red leopard cat was leading a golden flying sword deftly through the mountain forests.

The spirits and wild beasts in the forests had long since grown accustomed to this sight.

Quite apart from the fact that they were busy migrating now.

Even if they had nothing to do, they would never provoke those two.

The killings that had frequently occurred near the black house lately were enough to make the spirits and wild beasts of these forests realize how dangerous those two were.

Even the corrupted beasts that knew no fear of death were no match for them, let alone their own spindly little limbs.

But most of the spirits and wild beasts had failed to notice something.

Today, besides the red leopard cat and the golden flying sword, there were also some blood-colored little bugs hovering around the pair.

"How surprising. You actually learned to command Sleepy Bugs this quickly?"

Unlike the Sleepy Bugs Xiluo commanded, those flying alongside the golden sword were blood-red all over.

Although they had to land on the flying sword to rest every so often, their clear differences from ordinary Sleepy Bugs were still apparent.

At the very least, these blood-colored Sleepy Bugs possessed an aggressiveness ordinary Sleepy Bugs lacked.

[I didn't expect these Sleepy Bugs to be the ideal vessels for Sha Qi, either.]

After directing most of his attention into the Sword Pill, Li Boyang's voice had once again become as still as an ancient well.

But with his previous experiences to draw on, Li Boyang had retained enough of his human side this time that he did not seem quite so ruthlessly decisive or cold in his speech.

[You mentioned before that these Sleepy Bugs like places rich in Primordial Qi...]

[And whenever you use the Sleepy Bugs, you swallow them beforehand.]

[Besides, these Sleepy Bugs like burrowing into animals' seven orifices, so I thought Life Primordial Qi should count as a kind of Primordial Qi too, right?]

[Then would Life Primordial Qi mixed with Sha Qi be just as welcome to the Sleepy Bugs?]

Looking back at the golden flying sword in astonishment, Xiluo could roughly imagine what he had done.

"So you let these Sleepy Bugs feed on your main body's Primordial Qi?"

Across the entire Hundred Lands Mountain Range, only Li Boyang's Life Primordial Qi was mixed with Sha Qi.

Most importantly, because of Ruifu's curse, Li Boyang's body was constantly being eroded by Sha Qi.

The Sleepy Bugs consuming his Primordial Qi would not have any negative effect on him; on the contrary, they were easing his burden.

"You really are bold!"

"I've lived this long, and I've never seen anyone dare use their own Life Primordial Qi to raise Sleepy Bugs."

Life Primordial Qi was the foundation of life.

The flourishing or decline of Life Primordial Qi directly affected a creature's health. This was very simple common knowledge.

Ordinary people could never nurture their own Life Primordial Qi enough. Who would be generous enough to use it to raise Sleepy Bugs?

[As it turns out, riches and honor must be sought amid danger.]

[After consuming the Sha Qi mixed with my Life Primordial Qi, these Sleepy Bugs were affected by the Sha Qi too.]

[The specific symptoms are the same as with my main body: their skin turned red, and they became more aggressive.]

[Unfortunately, these Sleepy Bugs are simply too fragile...]

[I can't tell whether their bodies have also been strengthened like my main body.]

Hearing this, Xiluo blinked again and said,

"They probably have been strengthened, but their lifespans have likely been affected too."

"Your Sha Qi is a curse, after all, not some grace or blessing."

"From what I can tell, these Sleepy Bugs have less than a week or so left to live. That's far too different from normal Sleepy Bugs."

Xiluo was, after all, a spirit of the mountains, a mountain god with a clay idol of her own.

Although she could not directly see the flow of Life Primordial Qi as Li Boyang could, she could still roughly sense these Sleepy Bugs' vitality.

[That isn't much of a problem. These Sleepy Bugs only have lifespans of around three months to begin with.]

[From development to maturity, a week or so is enough time for these Sleepy Bugs to leave offspring of their own.]

Hearing the strings and recognizing the tune, Xiluo immediately widened her eyes in surprise.

"What are you planning to do?!"

The sword swayed gently, and several nearby Sleepy Bugs immediately flew into the forest beside them.

[Life is never unchanging. Living things actively adapt to their surroundings and constantly evolve.]

[I'm only planning to accelerate that process and breed a mutant strain of Sleepy Bugs that can fully adapt to Sha Qi.]

[Perhaps the first few generations of mutant Sleepy Bugs will have very short lifespans...]

[But after several generations of selection and breeding, they'll definitely have the lifespan of normal Sleepy Bugs. They might even live longer, who knows?]

Li Boyang's voice revealed intense interest.

He did not expect these Sleepy Bugs to possess any particularly strong combat ability.

It was just that, after discovering their potential, Li Boyang's "farming genes" deep within his soul had been activated.

Just like animal breeding and insect domestication in his previous life.

Li Boyang also really wanted to try using similar methods to artificially select and breed mutant Sleepy Bugs.

He had nothing else to do anyway. Lying in a carrying basket all day, Li Boyang had to find himself something to pass the time!

"Did you learn this from the Nine Chapters on the Secrets of Divination?"

Not believing this was Li Boyang's own idea, Xiluo quickly found a suitable explanation for him.

Because this was precisely how the witch of the Huai River had bred the original Sleepy Bugs.

She strongly suspected that similar methods might also have been recorded in the Nine Chapters on the Secrets of Divination.

At the very least, the Nine Chapters on the Secrets of Divination must have mentioned similar concepts.

[I'm planning to call this the Sleepy Bug Selective Breeding Plan...]

[Or the Crustacean Eugenics and Optimal Rearing Program. What do you think of that name?]

Without disputing Xiluo's guess, Li Boyang merely introduced his ideas with great interest.

"It sounds awful, and its meaning is unclear."

Rolling her eyes speechlessly, Xiluo readily had her attention diverted by Li Boyang.

"Your naming ability... really is on par with your carving ability."

Xiluo could not understand what "selective breeding" meant, much less what "crustaceans" were.

Fortunately, the two of them were communicating through the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn.

Otherwise, Xiluo would not even have understood what Li Boyang was saying.

"Rather than pondering those wild flights of fancy of yours, we have more serious business to attend to right now."

As she spoke, Xiluo suddenly stopped, then raised her head to indicate a valley a short distance ahead and asked,

"We've reached the place you specified. What should we do next?"