[Insect Breeding Record, recorded. Incomplete. Learnable...]
"I can learn it!"
Li Changsheng’s pupils constricted. Suppressing his excitement, he took a Spirit Stone from within his robes, tossed it into the wooden box, and tucked the jade stone away.
Having obtained the jade, Li Changsheng no longer had any desire to stay.
Besides, he had already recorded most of the jades and books in front of him. The other sections of the long table were swarming with people, and he couldn’t push his way through anyway.
’Don’t be too greedy.’
Li Changsheng chided himself. Clutching his chest, he pushed his way out of the crowd. Finding an empty spot, he let out a sigh of relief.
He turned to look back. The area was still a sea of people, and the noise was deafening.
The outskirts were filled with newly-joined disciples, watching the spectacle from a distance.
Seeing that the marketplace was clearly a bust, Li Changsheng glanced one last time at the crowd before turning and heading back down the main road.
As he left the Beast Valley Marketplace, the crowd thinned until only a dozen or so people ambled along the main road.
He walked quickly, and before long, the faint outline of a three-pen animal enclosure came into view.
As he drew closer to the pens, Li Changsheng’s expression suddenly changed, and he quickly slipped behind a patch of bushes.
Peeking through a gap in the bushes, he saw a man in outer disciple robes emerge from the kitchen, clutching his right hand.
’Fuck, why is this poor bastard raising poisonous insects? Isn’t he afraid of getting poisoned to death?!’
Ma Wu cursed inwardly. He had originally planned to rifle through the kid’s belongings before he died.
He never expected the kid to be so dirt-poor. Not only did he not find a single Spirit Stone, but he even got bitten by one of the poisonous insects the kid was raising.
If he hadn’t reacted so quickly and blocked it with his right hand, the venomous insect might have bitten him right in the face.
The insect’s venom wasn’t fatal, but getting rid of it would be a hassle.
Ma Wu circulated his Spiritual Power to suppress the venom in his right hand. Enraged, he kicked open the fence gate and stormed off.
Soon, he disappeared behind a patch of overgrown weeds.
Li Changsheng emerged from the bushes, his face dark.
’A thief?’
Li Changsheng frowned and muttered to himself, "Looks like he’s injured."
He wasn’t worried about losing anything; all his belongings in the wooden hut combined weren’t even worth a few Spirit Stone fragments. The only five Spirit Stones he owned were on his person.
What worried him was how brazen the man was. He acted with such impunity, as if he had nothing to fear even if he were caught.
’And how did he get injured?’
’Damn it.’
A bad feeling washing over him, Li Changsheng cursed under his breath and broke into a run towards the animal pens.
He threw open the pen gate and his eyes swept across the interior.
The two Tusked Pigs were unharmed. Xiaohua was still sound asleep. Big Flower lay on her side, her piglets lined up and nursing.
"One, two... eleven."
Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief, but still feeling uneasy, he carefully counted the piglets one by one.
’Thankfully.’
’But how did he get injured?’
His confusion deepening, Li Changsheng left the pen and returned to his wooden hut.
The wooden hut was spartan. Other than a simple cot, there was only a wooden chest holding two changes of clothes. It didn’t even have a tea table.
Li Changsheng gave the room a quick glance, then turned and walked out, heading for the kitchen.
The scene in the kitchen instantly made his blood boil.
The floor was a disaster. The large jars for water and rice were smashed to pieces, and the Blood Bamboo Vine from the basket was scattered everywhere.
Dark red sap oozed from the broken Blood Bamboo Vines, mixing with the spilled water on the floor and making the kitchen look like the scene of a bloody struggle.
This confirmed his suspicion that the man had been there to steal from him.
The man’s brazenness put Li Changsheng on high alert.
’Someone who dares to steal would dare to kill.’
At that thought, Li Changsheng lost all inclination to clean the kitchen.
He turned to head back to his room and see if the Insect Breeding Record he’d bought for one Spirit Stone contained any powerful techniques he could learn.
As he reached the doorway, a bamboo tube by his feet caught his eye.
’Isn’t this the bamboo tube that held the bug?’
Li Changsheng bent down to pick it up. "Huh?" he murmured in surprise.
The bamboo tube was empty. The bug inside was gone.
A thought struck Li Changsheng as he looked at the tube. ’Could the thief’s injury... have been caused by this?’
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He couldn’t help but laugh.
"Serves him right!"
He quickly pieced it together. The thief must have found the bamboo tube while searching for Spirit Stones. He’d opened it out of curiosity and, in a moment of carelessness, been bitten by the bug inside.
’Good thing I didn’t try to grab it with my bare hands,’ he thought. ’I knocked it out with a small rock instead. Otherwise, I’d be the one in trouble.’
’The venom seems pretty potent, though, if it even works on Cultivators,’ Li Changsheng mused. He then shook his head. ’But its strength is limited. The man didn’t look like he’d been hit with a deadly poison when he left.’
Setting the empty bamboo tube aside, Li Changsheng decided against going back to his room. Instead, he took out the jade carved with the image of half a centipede.
CRACK...
Li Changsheng channeled Spiritual Power into his palm and gave a gentle squeeze. The layer of power enveloping the jade’s surface instantly shattered and dispersed.
The jade felt cool to the touch. Outwardly, it looked like a simple trinket; there was no sign that it contained a Cultivation Technique.
Li Changsheng fixed his gaze on the jade.
[Insect Breeding Record, recording...]
「A Cup of Tea’s Time later.」
[Insect Breeding Record, recording complete.]
BOOM...
A massive torrent of information flooded the depths of Li Changsheng’s mind.
「A moment later.」
After absorbing the information, Li Changsheng rubbed his aching temples. Once the throbbing subsided, he let out a soft sigh of relief.
Having recovered, he turned his focus inward.
[Target: Li Changsheng]
[Race: Human]
[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation First Layer (92%)]
[Cultivation Technique: Spirit Guiding Technique, Second Layer (99.96%)]
[Magic: Insect Seal (Fragment) (Novice 1%), Water Purification Technique (Novice 71%), Fattening Technique (Novice 83%)]
[Status: Healthy.]
Half a month had passed since he’d finished the Yellow Rice, and the effects were remarkable. His cultivation was on the verge of breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, his Cultivation Technique was about to level up, and his proficiency with his magic techniques had all increased.
Li Changsheng’s gaze lingered on Spirit Guiding Technique for a moment before shifting to Insect Seal.
[Insect Seal: A First-Order, High-Grade Fragmented Magic. Condense an imprint using your own blood essence to control spirit insects as if they were an extension of your own body.]
[Note: As the magic is fragmented, there is a risk of losing control when manipulating spirit insects of First-Order, Mid-Grade or higher. The number of insects that can be controlled is dependent on the user’s soul strength.]
Insect Seal was a magic technique recorded in the Insect Breeding Record. The record also contained a catalog of various spirit and mundane insects, along with their breeding methods.
Unfortunately, the breeding methods were in the missing portion of the jade. The piece Li Changsheng held only contained the magic for controlling spirit insects and a bestiary of several hundred different spirit and mundane insects.
Li Changsheng looked at the bamboo tube on the table, his expression joyful.
The records within the jade described this very insect.
Because its body resembled a bamboo joint, it grew two wings, and it possessed a blood-based venom, it was named the Red-winged Blood Bamboo.
Although it was just a mundane insect, its venom was potent, it grew quickly, and it was a social creature. According to the jade’s records, it was one of the most suitable venomous insects for a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation realm to control.
Li Changsheng decided to make it the first venomous insect he would learn to control.