Chapter 4: Gathering Bargains Makes Me Happy

To him, this place was a heavenly paradise littered with treasures; countless treasures, priced like cabbage, waved at him—he could grab a handful and become rich overnight, but his pockets were empty, leaving him helplessly staring.

What could ten Spirit Stones buy? He suddenly realized it was a mistake to go shopping when broke; his entire fortune consisted of ten Spirit Stones, that Spirit Chicken, and the first twenty layers of the Longevity Sutra.

Brother Chicken must be kept—he could save on medicine costs—and he dared not sell the Longevity Sutra.

The final ten layers of the Longevity Sutra could increase Lifespan by a thousand years; a thousand years was no small amount—most Gu Cultivators couldn't live that long.

Nothing was more attractive than increasing Lifespan; if he revealed the Longevity Sutra, it would draw every ancient monster on the verge of death.

Long Xuan wandered past stalls for a long while, finally stopping before an old man's booth, his gaze fixed on a broken Feng Chao.

Three-quarters of the Feng Chao were missing; only one-quarter remained, housing just two live bees, both on the brink of death, with most of the eggs dead and very few viable ones.

Seeing a customer pause, the old man looked up and smiled: "This is the Feng Chao of a Middle Grade Spirit Insect—the Thorn Bee. You know better than I do how terrifying Middle Grade Spirit Insects are. I risked my life to get this Feng Chao for its Spiritual Honey."

"The honey has beauty-enhancing effects, but I have other uses. Still, there are plenty of pupae and Thorn Bees inside. Since you're young, I'll sell it cheap—how about a hundred Spirit Stones?"

Hearing this, Long Xuan showed no expression, but secretly rejoiced—the old man had clearly been fooled.

Though he lacked experience and didn't know the exact species, he was certain it wasn't a Thorn Bee—it was undoubtedly a higher-grade species that looked very similar.

Through his research, he knew that for Spirit Insects before reaching the Mature Stage,

Progress displayed to two decimal places on a Lower Grade Spirit Insect meant a Mature Stage of over ten years but under a hundred.

Progress displayed to three decimal places on a Middle Grade Spirit Insect meant a Mature Stage of over a hundred years but under a thousand.

The progress on these two young bees was 【82.3648%】, 【82.3251%】.

Progress precise to four decimal places—this was no ordinary insect; it was likely an Upper Grade Spirit Insect, with a Mature Stage exceeding a thousand years.

Long Xuan was determined to acquire these unknown bees; his Golden Finger could easily formulate feed suitable for any Spirit Insect, and he had long planned to breed them.

Long Lao's Medicine Garden was filled with flowers—the perfect place to raise bees—and their food source could be had for free.

Once bred to a sufficient scale, he could sell Spiritual Honey for Spirit Stones—a substantial new income stream.

Having decided, Long Xuan took a deep breath; though his heart raced with excitement, he feigned extreme impatience.

"Are you trying to fool me because I'm young? Don't think I can't see—every pupa and bee inside is dead; only these two are barely alive."

"Social Spirit Insects have far weaker combat power than solitary ones. If there were thousands of Thorn Bees, even a Top Grade Spirit Insect might avoid them."

"But with only two? They couldn't even defeat a single Lower Grade Spirit Insect. And for Gu Refining—with an average success rate of one in dozens—what use are two?"

"Given their condition, they might die the moment I take them home—wouldn't my hundred Spirit Stones be wasted?"

"Final offer: ten Spirit Stones. If you won't sell, I'm leaving!" Long Xuan pretended to turn away.

"Hey now, I've seen people haggle down by half, but you're cutting straight to one-tenth—I've never seen anything like it."

"I'm not lying—these Thorn Bees were vicious! I spent nearly all my savings to get them. Even selling for a hundred Spirit Stones, I'm losing money. Ten Spirit Stones? You might as well kill me."

Hearing this, Long Xuan wanted to laugh—these were Upper Grade Spirit Insects; of course they were fierce. The old man was lucky to be alive.

"What nonsense—your losses are your own business. Why should I pay for your misfortune?"

"The price is what it is. I won't pay a single coin more."

"Don't say I didn't warn you—these two bees are in terrible shape. They won't last long. The longer you hold them, the more likely you'll be stuck with dead insects."

"Sell now, and you still get ten Spirit Stones. If no one buys them and they die, you won't get a single Spirit Stone."

Long Xuan's words struck right at his weak point. After long hesitation, the old man finally gritted his teeth, pained: "Take it, take it—you're good at haggling."

"But I warn you—sale is final. If these Thorn Bees die at home, don't come back demanding compensation—I won't recognize you."

Long Xuan ignored him, pulled out his ten Spirit Stones—looking every bit as pained—and tossed them onto the stall, then picked up the Feng Chao.

In his view, the bees' miserable state was entirely due to this old man's stinginess—he'd drained every drop of honey, starving them to this condition.

The dead bees in the Feng Chao were probably starved to death too.

With honey, reviving these two bees shouldn't be difficult.

Long Xuan feared they might die immediately, so he stuffed the Feng Chao into his Insect Breeding Bag and hurried away.

Though the Market still held many bargains waiting for him, with no Spirit Stones left, Long Xuan could only pray those treasures hadn't been bought by savvy buyers.

He'd return later, once he struck another fortune, and sweep up every good thing.

After rushing home, Long Xuan immediately hung the Feng Chao on a fruit tree beside the Medicine Garden.

The flowers in the Medicine Garden weren't ordinary wild blooms—they were Grade One Spirit Medicines, their fragrance incredibly potent.

The moment the fragrance drifted into the Feng Chao, the two listless bees instantly perked up, fully revived, and flew out with blazing eyes toward the sea of flowers.

The two little bees eagerly plunged into a red flower, then darted out and dove into a purple one, frantically gathering Spiritual Flower Pollen and Nectar, busily at work—no trace of their former near-death state.

In moments, their tiny legs were caked with heavy, dense pollen, so heavy they could barely fly, wobbling as they returned to the nest to happily make Spiritual Honey.

Seeing this, Long Xuan relaxed. In this world of insect masters, many methods existed to cultivate a Bee King—he only needed to raise these two into Bee Kings, and he'd have endless Spiritual Honey.

He was genuinely curious what Spiritual Honey made from Grade One Spirit Medicine Nectar would taste like.

Afterward, Long Xuan took out the Spirit Insects he'd bought, and soon bottles and jars filled the entire table.

Gazing at the table full of insect jars, Long Xuan's heartbeat quickened—he was about to refine his first Gu Worm, and his mind was tense, exhilarated, and wildly unsettled.

This was his own-created Gu Formula—his Unique Gu Formula—with a hundred ingredients. What kind of Gu Worm would it produce? He eagerly awaited the result.

(End of Chapter)