Capítulo 48: 11-20
Chapter 11: Qian Jinjin
Long Xuan's pen moved like the wind, quickly jotting down some of his ideas.
In reality, his various ideas on manipulating light could only be theoretically realized, essentially just empty talk. Practical implementation was another matter entirely.
Therefore, to play it safe, he didn't dare to write just one idea, but he couldn't write too many either. His imagination was worth more than a billion.
He wrote down the ideas that wouldn't pose a threat to himself, while choosing to keep the overly groundbreaking abilities to himself.
To obtain all his ideas, it depended on whether she could present something that would satisfy him in the future.
But even presenting this minuscule portion of his ideas was profound enough.
Fearing that the young lady might not understand, he wrote very detailed explanations, filling several pages.
Finally, he signed the papers, folded them, and confidently threw them into the bidding box.
If this Light Gu insect could truly realize all his ideas, it would absolutely become a formidable force.
Aside from being nearly useless in dark or overcast conditions, the Light Gu insect would be incredibly powerful during the day.
Unfortunately, his attributes were metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—he lacked the light attribute. Otherwise, he would have definitely tried to cultivate a Light Gu insect.
After throwing the paper into the bidding box, he quickly wandered around the stone betting shop, buying any fossils that showed progress.
However, aside from that king stone, he didn't encounter another fossil with five digits after the decimal point.
He was rational, stopping after buying a few dozen stones. One reason was the lack of spirit stones, and the other was not daring to buy them all.
He feared that the Qian Clan commerce association would suspect someone had the ability to see through the stones if they found the shop filled with waste.
Despite possibly being overly cautious, he didn't intend to take any risks.
Even if he won the bid, he needed to plan carefully on how to safely take the king stone away.
Cutting the stone on the spot might not be feasible, as revealing a peak-grade spirit insect would attract trouble. Selling it on the spot and carrying a large sum of money would also invite trouble, making it a dilemma whether to sell or not. If the treasure's value reached a certain level, the ban on killing in the market might be ineffective.
Taking it away might be even more impractical. His storage bag was the lowest grade, with limited space, impossible to hold a four-meter-tall king stone.
Even if he had a large space storage bag, so many people seeing him take away a stone worth ten million would incite thoughts of robbery. Taking it away or not would both be problematic.
He would be in a difficult situation.
This required him to come up with a perfect solution, testing his intelligence.
While selecting fossils, the bidding time quickly ended. A stunning young girl in a white dress emerged from the store. She had a slender waist and clear, clever eyes.
Although her face was veiled, making her appearance unclear, just seeing her nose and above was enough to confirm her extraordinary beauty.
Who knew if there was a rule that whoever unveiled her veil would marry her.
Her appearance brought silence to the scene, with many people showing eager expressions, all participants in the bidding, anxiously awaiting the results.
With the main character finally appearing, someone couldn't wait any longer, shouting from the crowd, "Enough with the formalities, check the bidding box! My idea will definitely surprise you."
"Nonsense!" Someone immediately retorted from the crowd, "How dare you claim your idea is the best in front of me? You haven't seen what I wrote. You'd feel ashamed."
"Stop boasting. Everyone knows your intelligence is notoriously low. What could you possibly write that's worthwhile? Don't make a fool of yourself."
"You nonsense..."
The crowd quickly erupted in arguments, a chaotic scene.
Everyone was confident in their masterpieces, overly self-assured, lacking self-awareness, as if the winning idea was certainly theirs.
Even Long Xuan wanted to say, "It's not that I'm targeting anyone, but everyone here is trash."
"Silence..."
At this moment, Qian Duoduo finally stepped out to maintain order, displeasedly looking at the crowd.
Each of them was a sheep to be fleeced. What was there to argue about? The king stone wouldn't fall into anyone's hands, just a bunch of fools.
Qian Duoduo had some authority. After he spoke, the scene quieted down.
"The young lady will now review the bids. No one is allowed to make any noise."
As he spoke, Qian Duoduo moved the bidding box to Qian Jinjin, placing it down gently with a fawning expression.
"Miss, please. The wisdom of the entire market is here."
"Mm!" Qian Jinjin nodded, sparing words, opening the bidding box, and casually picking up a paper.
The scene was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The crowd held their breath, afraid of making any noise, all nervously watching the girl reviewing the papers.
Quickly reading one paper after another, the girl soon furrowed her brows.
She was trying to quickly develop powerful abilities for the Light Gu insect using collective wisdom. As a powerful natural-type Gu insect, only having illumination was indeed embarrassing.
This market wasn't her first stop. She had used the same method in many places before, but with little success.
The basic attributes of this world were metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder.
Most people had one or more of these attributes.
Attributes beyond these seven were rare mutations.
The light attribute was particularly rare, with few understanding it, resulting in minimal gains even from collective wisdom.
This time was no different. Each person was confident, thinking they had developed something extraordinary, but it was all garbage.
Most even went off-topic, boasting about light-speed attacks and light-speed movement. Didn't she already know how fast light was? Did they need to tell her?
The problem was that the Light Gu insect's ability was merely controlling light, unrelated abilities were impossible.
Some even copied existing light attribute abilities, familiar to everyone, like light healing, light ball, light shield...
As if she hadn't read any books.
The loudest ones were the most nonsensical, claiming light reversal could turn back time, which she found insulting to her intelligence.
Until she found a folded paper that caught her eye, the ideas inside were simply fantastical.
The novel theories were ones she had never heard of, broadening her horizons.
For example, why can the human eye see the world, light reflection and refraction...
These concepts were unheard of to her, captivating her.
The various developed abilities made her scalp tingle with amazement, she couldn't help but applaud.
Could controlling light really be developed this way? Incredible.
She had to admire the mind behind these ideas, wondering how this brain worked, thought Qian Jinjin, curiously.
Chapter 12: The Assembly Concludes
As she noticed the young lady's eyes lingering on a particular piece of paper for an extended period, Qian Duoduo was astonished. Could it be that someone truly created something remarkable?
This was indeed a rare occurrence. After visiting so many stations, they finally had a breakthrough, and Qian Duoduo couldn't help but smile.
The others, however, began to look uneasy. They could tell whether the paper belonged to them or not, and the young lady's prolonged attention to someone else's paper wasn't a good sign.
Those whose papers had been reviewed early on were especially disheartened, silently cursing her for her lack of discernment. How could she overlook their brilliant ideas with just a glance? This was a heavy blow to them.
Long Xuan, on the other hand, remained calm and composed. It was exactly as expected, nothing to get excited about.
After examining the paper for a long time, Qian Jinjing finally set it down and beckoned with her hand. A light orb immediately flew out from the room.
The light orb was purely a form of light, but it had visible eyes, making it undoubtedly a living creature.
Long Xuan looked at this natural-type Gu insect in wonder. He had heard that natural-type Gu insects had no physical form, and seeing it today confirmed the rumors.
He felt as if he had discovered a new world, his eyes filled with interest, marveling at the wonders of nature that could produce such bizarre creatures.
The light orb gently landed in Qian Jinjing's palm. She gazed at it silently. Without comparison, there was no harm. Others could easily develop a plethora of powerful abilities, while this little creature, familiar with its own power, had only managed to come up with an illumination technique.
"Where's your intelligence? I might as well call you 'No Intelligence' from now on!" Qian Jinjing couldn't help but mentally chide it.
She then transferred all the ideas from the paper into the light Gu insect's mind using her soul.
Its little eyes quickly showed a look of surprise, seemingly unaware that its abilities could be used in such ways and be so powerful.
Eager to try developing these abilities, Qian Jinjing lost interest in reviewing the remaining papers. She directly announced, "It's getting late. I'm going to announce the results."
"The winner of this round..." Qian Jinjing glanced at the name on the paper and raised her voice, "is Mr. Long Xuan. Who is Long Xuan?"
As soon as she spoke, the whole place erupted in an uproar.
The previously silent venue turned chaotic, filled with noise. The Stone King, worth ten million, had been won?
Faces were filled with shock, some with envy and jealousy, others with disbelief.
Qian Duoduo was also stunned, completely dumbfounded.
That was a Stone King worth ten million! Just given away like that?
This was far from what he had expected. He believed that the Stone King wouldn't be given away and that the young lady was merely using it to pique interest without any intention of actually giving it away.
Could someone's idea truly surpass the value of a peak-grade Gu insect? That seemed impossible.
"Miss!"
"Say no more. Just do as I say." Qian Jinjing shot him a look, stopping him from speaking.
"I object! There are still many papers left unread. How can you be sure the winner is him? At least read my paper before deciding."
"That's right! His idea might be good, but without comparing, how can you be certain he's the best? This is unfair!"
"I object too! I demand to see what he wrote, to ensure fairness and convince us all!"
Most people lacked self-awareness and insisted on making a fool of themselves, not giving up until they were thoroughly defeated.
However, Qian Jinjing had no intention of revealing the papers to the public. With a glance, she signaled to Qian Duoduo, who quickly understood and loudly proclaimed, "Enough!"
"Our Qian Commerce Association's Integrity Gu ensures fairness. With the Integrity Gu, our young lady will always be fair and just."
"You might distrust the young lady, but surely you trust the Integrity Gu?"
With just this one statement, everyone was left speechless.
Indeed, the Integrity Gu was enough to settle the matter, silencing all doubts. In this world, the Integrity Gu had that kind of power.
After scanning the crowd, Qian Duoduo quickly approached Long Xuan.
He was astonished, remembering that this person had just arrived today, less than an hour ago.
In such a short time, he came up with something that impressed the young lady? He must be a genius!
What kind of ability did he come up with? How powerful could it be? Qian Duoduo was utterly shocked.
"Haha! Thank you, thank you!"
Long Xuan remained composed, having anticipated this outcome. There was nothing to be overly surprised about.
After acknowledging the crowd with a cupped fist salute, he eagerly approached the massive Stone King.
Seeing his slender figure, everyone was stunned. The winner was so young, a mere child. They had lost to a child, which was hard to accept.
Qian Jinjing's eyes briefly flashed with surprise upon seeing the paper's owner. She hadn't expected such peculiar ideas to come from a young person.
She had thought that someone with such profound insights would be an elderly scholar, not a young boy.
Chapter 13: Disappointed Crowd
"Little friend, do you intend to cut the stone on-site or take it away directly? If you choose to cut it here, I can do it for you free of charge," Qian Duoduo said as he approached Long Xuan.
"Let's cut it on-site. I don't have enough storage space," Long Xuan casually replied while touching the giant stone king.
Hearing this, the entire crowd perked up, their eyes shining as they immediately gathered around. Watching someone cut stones was their greatest pleasure, especially when it involved a rare stone king. This excited everyone, and they rushed over eagerly to watch.
Those who were selecting stones also put down their fossils and ran over excitedly. In no time, a large crowd had gathered.
Seeing that Long Xuan planned to cut the stone king here, Qian Duoduo was delighted. Cutting the stone here would not only satisfy his curiosity but also attract a crowd, boosting business. If a good insect was found, he could acquire it immediately, achieving multiple goals at once.
He took out a large red axe from his storage bag, smiled at Long Xuan, and said, "This spiritual axe is a peak-grade spiritual weapon, capable of cutting through iron like mud. It can easily cut through any fossil. Where do you want to start?"
Long Xuan examined the peak-grade spiritual weapon with curiosity and then drew a line on the fossil, almost splitting it in half.
He could see the progress of the spiritual insect inside the fossil and could judge its position based on the numbers. The height and width of the numbers allowed him to estimate the size of the spiritual insect.
This cut would perfectly avoid the insect's position, missing it by a hair.
Inspired by his experiences in jade gambling fields in his past life, Long Xuan planned to pretend to fail with the first few cuts and then sell the remaining material. Although the value of the remaining material would decrease due to the initial failures, there would still be people hoping to get a bargain.
His plan was simple: using his ability to locate the spiritual insect, he would pretend to fail initially, cut out a fist-sized piece containing the insect, and then sell the remaining material at a high price. Since a small piece was unlikely to contain an insect, no one would want to buy it, and he could take it away unnoticed.
Long Xuan pretended to be very nervous, rubbing his hands and pointing to the line. "Let's start with this line."
Qian Duoduo's spiritual axe flew up and gently cut down, splitting the fossil like tofu with no resistance.
To avoid damaging the insect inside, the axe did not cut through the fossil in one go but peeled it layer by layer, wasting some time.
Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the crack in the stone without blinking.
When the fossil split in half, the crowd immediately swarmed around. Seeing the smooth cut with no insect, everyone was greatly disappointed.
Long Xuan also showed a very disappointed expression, looking as sad as possible.
Qian Duoduo patted his shoulder to comfort him, "Don't be discouraged. It's normal not to hit the right spot with such a large fossil. The good stuff must be in another spot."
Hearing this, Long Xuan's eyes lit up again. He picked up the pen and drew another line in the middle of the two halves, splitting them again.
This cut would divide the fossil into four parts, again perfectly avoiding the insect's position.
"Please cut along this line," Long Xuan said firmly.
"Alright!" Qian Duoduo operated the spiritual axe again, repeating the previous steps. Under everyone's tense gaze, he split the two halves again.
As expected, the smooth cut revealed no insect.
"Still no insect?"
The crowd exclaimed, becoming a bit restless. In stone cutting, the first few cuts are crucial. After several cuts in the center without finding an insect, hopes were dim.
Such a large, high-quality fossil without an insect was unbelievable and surprised everyone.
Some people showed a look of gloating, as they couldn't stand others' success.
"How could this be?"
Long Xuan feigned a shocked expression, hurriedly wiping the cut, looking anxious.
"Here! Here! Here! Keep cutting!" Long Xuan pointed to several spots, acting like a desperate gambler.
Over the years, Qian Duoduo had seen many gamblers with such expressions and was used to it.
He shook his head helplessly and continued cutting the fossil according to Long Xuan's markings.
Again, he perfectly avoided the insect's position. Long Xuan, losing his mind, kept drawing lines and cutting the stone.
Time passed, and as night fell, the giant stone king had been cut into fifty pieces without revealing the insect.
Everyone was disappointed. The initial excitement of stone cutting had vanished, and many people had left.
In their eyes, after so many cuts without finding an insect, the stone was likely worthless. They all looked at Long Xuan with pity.
Long Xuan sat on the ground, looking soulless, muttering to himself, "How is this possible? Such a large stone without an insect? This is unfair."
Qian Duoduo also looked bewildered, puzzled. This shouldn't have happened. How could there be no insect in a stone that was supposed to contain one? It was unbelievable.
"Young man, accept it. This is stone gambling. There's no stone guaranteed to contain an insect. If there were, the Qian Commerce association would have cut it themselves long ago instead of selling it to transfer the risk," an elderly man in the crowd advised.
However, his advice was useless. Long Xuan remained despondent, looking hopeless as if the sky had fallen.
His acting could win an Oscar.
"No! No! I haven't lost yet!"
Long Xuan suddenly stood up and shouted to the crowd, "There must be an insect in this stone king. I just happened to miss it. It was just bad luck."
"The spiritual insect must be in one of these fifty pieces. I'm willing to sell them. Whoever buys the piece with the insect will depend on their luck."
Hearing this, everyone shook their heads and smiled. This was truly taking them for fools. Who would buy a stone that was almost certainly worthless? Only a fool would buy it.
But Long Xuan's next words stunned everyone present.
Chapter 14: Insect in the Stone
"I plan to sell each fossil for ten thousand spirit stones. Who wants to be the first to try their luck?" Long Xuan shouted after scanning the crowd.
At that moment, everyone's expressions changed. They had just called anyone who bought a fool, but now they all felt like fools themselves.
It was simply too cheap.
Originally priced at ten million, the King of Stones could now be bought in parts for just ten thousand spirit stones each, a fraction of the cost.
Even though it seemed certain that the gamble would be a loss, there was always a chance, however slim. What if a spirit insect was hiding in one of the fossils and hadn't been discovered yet? Theoretically, it was entirely possible.
The key was the low price. Even if they lost the gamble, the loss was bearable.
But if they won, given the quality of the stone, any value of the spirit insect that emerged could make them rich.
It was worth the gamble—a hundredfold return.
Only a fool wouldn't gamble.
The gamblers started breathing heavily, showing greed in their eyes, staring as if they wanted to eat the stone.
At this point, they finally realized that Long Xuan had acquired the King of Stones at no cost. Therefore, he could afford to sell it cheaply and still make a profit. What a cunning little devil.
Long Xuan was very satisfied with their expressions. Indeed, everyone loves a bargain.
As long as the price is low enough, someone will always take the chance and get fooled. His plan was a success.
Qian Duoduo was stunned. He never thought that gambling on stones could be done this way.
Previously, everyone either ground the fossils into powder or took them away whole. Who ever sold the leftover pieces at a low price? This had no precedent.
But today, he witnessed this new method.
He had to admit, it was brilliant. It took advantage of gamblers' love for bargains and their dream of hitting it big. They were actually willing to spend spirit stones to gamble.
Although the profits weren't huge, it was better than losing everything. Moreover, Long Xuan hadn't spent a single spirit stone today; any sale was pure profit.
As expected, things went according to Long Xuan's plan.
Dozens of fossils were snapped up in a frenzy. Everyone lost their rationality, and the fossils were all gone in an instant.
Only the smallest, fist-sized fossil was left, ignored by everyone.
It was too small, about the size of a spirit insect. The chances of finding a spirit insect in it were almost zero, so no one wanted it. Even though ten thousand spirit stones was a small amount compared to the King of Stones, for the average poor practitioner, it was not insignificant. Ten thousand spirit stones weren't worth gambling on such a small stone; the price was too high.
Moreover, Long Xuan cunningly sold all the stones at the same price, regardless of size. People preferred the larger stones, making them feel they were getting more value. Under such circumstances, the small stone had no chance of being sold.
No one wanted it even when he pleaded. People left, cursing him for being crazy for spirit stones. Who would spend ten thousand spirit stones on such a small stone?
Thus, the fossil containing a supreme spirit insect remained with Long Xuan, who couldn't even give it away.
Back home, Long Xuan held the fist-sized fossil, looking at it excitedly and giggling foolishly.
"All my calculations, and it ends up in my hands. I wonder if this find will help me create a supreme Gu recipe."
He gently stroked the stone, his eyes full of expectation.
After playing with it for a while, he finally began to cut the stone.
The fossil wasn't large, so it didn't take long. Soon, he successfully extracted something that looked like an eye.
The eye awakened at that moment, slowly opening, revealing an evil aura, looking very ominous.
In this world, even energy-based natural Gu insects existed, so a spirit insect resembling an eye wasn't strange to Long Xuan.
On the contrary, he was thrilled. If the Gu practitioners in this world loved any type of Gu insects, the second most favored were natural Gu, and the most favored were eye Gu. Eye Gu were the rarest Gu in this world.
Most inner Gu consumed the practitioner's spiritual power or blood, but eye Gu consumed the practitioner's mental power, forming their own system.
Eye Gu fed on mental power, enabling them to perform various incredible illusions. Illusions were a more insidious means of attack than regular Gu. Practitioners proficient in illusions were much stronger than ordinary practitioners.
Each type of eye Gu inherently carried a powerful illusion. The world's most extraordinary illusions could only be performed by eye Gu, or at least, eye Gu could unleash their full potential, thus earning them such a high status.
Now, with an eye insect before him, how could Long Xuan not be excited?
Previously, he hadn't dared use rare materials for creating Gu recipes. Many materials were so rare they were almost impossible to find. Without the materials, no matter how good the Gu recipe was, it was useless.
So, Long Xuan's plan was always to create Gu recipes based on the rare materials he had, rather than creating recipes first and then searching for the materials.
Now, with a rare material in hand, he could create an eye Gu based on it.
Long Xuan had already decided on the direction for this eye Gu.
While he couldn't decide what kind of illusion the eye Gu would have, he could determine its basic abilities.
He didn't care about other aspects, but this eye Gu had to have one specific ability—microscopic magnification.
He hurriedly grabbed paper and pen, sat at his desk, and eagerly started creating his second Gu recipe.
This eye insect was likely an ancient species long extinct, but Long Xuan didn't recognize all the existing species, let alone an extinct one.
But this wouldn't hinder him. Long Xuan had discovered that his golden finger operated based on the host's understanding, not the world's insect terminology.
He could even use modern Chinese characters to create Gu recipes. Many microorganisms in this world hadn't been named yet, so he could name them as he pleased, and the golden finger could still recognize them.
Since he didn't know the name of this insect, he could name it anything. It didn't need to sound nice—he decided to call it "Eye in Stone."
In different places, the same thing often had different names. Why not give it a new name at home?
Long Xuan quickly wrote "Eye of Stone" on the paper. As expected, the golden finger recognized it immediately, and the progress bar appeared.
Long Xuan wrote swiftly, inspired. He recalled an old rural saying: "The cow's eye sees people large, the goose's eye sees people small."
So geese like to peck at people and chase them.
Cows, however, see people as large as the barn and work tirelessly, not resisting even when whipped.
Since cow eyes could magnify objects, Long Xuan's first thought was naturally cow eyes.
He didn't know if putting a cow eye, which wasn't an insect, into the mix would work.
But with the error-correcting device, why not try? It wouldn't cost anything, just a few seconds.
Long Xuan wrote "cow eye," and the progress bar on the Gu recipe increased slightly.
Long Xuan smiled, knowing he had succeeded.
Chapter 15: The Drawbacks of the Golden Finger
At this moment, Long Xuan finally realized that refining Gu does not have to follow rigid rules, and the materials used do not necessarily have to be insects; he could use some unconventional materials that others might not even dare to think of.
This significantly raised the upper limit of the path of Gu.
Inspired by the cow's eye, Long Xuan quickly thought of the eagle's eye, which also has the ability to magnify objects, and is even sharper, able to see prey ten kilometers away as if they were close.
If he added the eagle's eye to the Gu formula, it might even give him clairvoyance.
When he wrote down the words "eagle's eye," the progress on the Gu formula changed again instead of disappearing, proving he had succeeded once more.
What followed was a long period of working on the Gu formula. Long Xuan spent every day either at home working on the Gu formula or at the market in the extreme west collecting materials for the formula, and opportunistically amassing wealth.
He had already noticed that the cost of making a second Gu Insect could be astronomical.
This leads to one of the drawbacks of the golden finger.
It should be known that the same material is often used in many Gu formulas.
How does the golden finger identify which Gu formula Long Xuan's incomplete formula belongs to?
So, the golden finger determines based on the Gu formula that requires the most materials.
It's important to know that the number of materials recorded in each Gu formula varies, some require a few, while others require thousands.
The quality of Gu Insect in this world is determined by the quality of the spirit insects used, which in turn depends on the number of spirit insects.
The strength of Gu Insect depends on their quality, and for the same quality, it depends on the number of materials.
But this is not absolute. Gu Insect made with more materials are not necessarily stronger than those made with fewer materials, and this situation often occurs.
Because the standards by which the heavenly way judges strength differ from those of humans. For example, the illumination technique of the light Gu Insect might seem weak in the eyes of the heavenly way, but after being developed by someone, is it still weak?
Moreover, Gu Insect are divided into practical and non-practical types, as well as combat and non-combat types.
There are many instances where Gu Insect made from tens of thousands of materials carry impractical auxiliary abilities and have no combat power.
In ancient times, when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was abundant and spirit insects were everywhere, Gu formulas could be researched without regard to cost. The Gu formulas from that era were exceedingly long.
It is said that some Gu formulas were as long as books, with materials numbering in the billions, and no Gu refining vessel could contain them.
When refining Gu, they could only use mountains and valleys as vessels, or even heaven and earth as vessels.
When the Gu was formed, it would cause sudden changes in the heavens and earth, and terrifying phenomena would occur.
These long Gu formulas could create Gu Insect with earth-shattering power, capable of even carrying the powers of space and time.
So if the golden finger judges based on the formula with the most materials, the number of materials in Long Xuan's created formula could be immense, even reaching seven digits after the decimal point.
But humans generally have a psychology of greed.
Even knowing that longer Gu formulas consume a lot of time and resources, and the resulting Gu Insect may not be stronger than one made from fewer materials.
Long Xuan, in pursuit of perfection, still persisted stubbornly.
At this moment, he couldn't even imagine how many spirit stones this seemingly long Gu formula would cost him.
Fortunately, the reputation of the Little Strong Gu he developed had already spread.
Li Erniu, during a duel with his archenemy, used the tactic of trading injuries to successfully kill his foe.
At the same time, he was fatally wounded through the heart by his enemy's dying strike, but Li Erniu did not die.
This event caused a sensation, and the Little Strong Gu became incredibly popular due to this battle.
The Little Strong Gu became widely known overnight, and from then on, it sold exceptionally well, with people coming to trade for it every day.
If Long Xuan wasn't afraid of others discovering his secret of a 100% success rate in refining Gu, he would have wanted to sell as many as possible every day.
By selling the Little Strong Gu, occasionally finding bargains at stalls, and sometimes getting lucky in stone gambling shops, he made a lot of money, enough to support the consumption of his second Gu formula.
Of course, he always completed these transactions in disguise, each time covering his face and pretending to be a different identity.
Although the market had rules against killing and robbing as long as one didn't carry heavy treasures, his cautious nature made him decide to be extra careful.
Time passed, and two years went by unknowingly. He was still in the initial stage of gathering spiritual energy, with little improvement in his cultivation, and had become numb to it.
Fortunately, he has long life, making up for his lack of talent with time.
Long Xuan believed he would stand at the pinnacle of the world sooner or later, remaining optimistic about his future.
Speaking of longevity, although his cultivation talent was surprisingly poor, he was a natural genius in practicing health-preserving techniques.
In just two years, he broke through two levels, reaching the twelfth level of the "Eternal Life Sutra," increasing his lifespan by two hundred years.
Thus, even after two years, he still looked like a young boy of less than eighteen, frighteningly young.
With an increased lifespan, the time required for maturity naturally lengthened proportionally, which also troubled him.
As for the research on the new Gu formula, since he didn't spend time deducing the "Eternal Life Sutra," he managed to complete it after two years of hard work.
Although he had mentally prepared for the possibility of many materials, the Gu formula requiring over three thousand materials still startled him.
It should be known that other scattered cultivators usually use dozens of materials for refining Gu, with hundreds being the most, and his thousands of materials were simply astonishing.
Among the thousands of materials in the Gu formula, many were expensive high-grade spirit insects, making the cost of refining Gu astronomical.
A rough estimate showed it would require millions of spirit stones, an incredibly outrageous price.
Over the years, he frequently visited the market, using his golden finger to find countless treasures, selling countless Little Strong Gu, and barely managed to gather the required spirit stones for one set of materials.
However, this time refining Gu almost drained all his wealth, bringing him back to square one overnight.
Long Xuan was heartbroken.
Having spent so much money and time, if the Gu he created didn't carry excellent illusion abilities, he would be devastated.
Chapter 16: Forbidden Technique
Long Xuan took a deep breath, retrieved all the materials, and placed them one by one into a large cauldron.
The number of spirit insects was simply too large; the original Gu container could no longer hold them all, so he had to use a large cauldron.
After putting all the spirit insects into the cauldron and covering it with a lid, he began to observe the progress.
If he didn't see any progress, it meant the Gu could not be formed. Long Xuan would then take out all the spirit insects and change the sequence before putting them back in.
This step was repeated thirty-seven times before the cauldron finally showed progress: [0%].
At the same time, all the spirit insects in the cauldron suddenly became quiet.
The eye emitting evil energy was very eerie. Any spirit insect that was stared at by it would become motionless, with a blank and lifeless gaze.
It was as if they were trapped in an illusion, with their souls pulled into an illusionary realm, while their bodies outside were slowly devoured by this evil insect.
Seeing the progress, Long Xuan let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, it didn't take too long.
The success rate of forming a Gu varies with each method. Some can succeed in two attempts, while others may take ten thousand tries and still fail.
He was really worried that this was a Gu with an extremely low success rate, as it would be difficult to handle so many spirit insects.
Now it was just a matter of being patient. Long Xuan was very curious about how powerful the illusion carried by this expensive eye Gu would be. The anticipation was both nerve-wracking and exciting.
Waiting always felt long. Long Xuan frequently checked the progress of the cauldron, anxious and impatient.
Perhaps the lower the quality of the Gu, the faster it forms, and the higher the quality, the slower it forms.
This Gu made him wait for a full eighty-one days, each day feeling like a year.
Because of the progress indicator, he was already waiting nearby on the day the Gu was formed. When the progress reached 100%, his spirits were lifted. He immediately lifted the cauldron lid, only to see a sinister eye Gu lying in the center, staring at him with a very eerie gaze.
Long Xuan couldn't wait and immediately performed a blood pact with it.
Although he had never tried a blood pact, he knew the process well. An eye Gu, a type of inner Gu, would parasitize the eye if small, or the center of the forehead if larger.
The Long family had a unique Gu technique called the Evil Dragon Emperor's Eye, which Elder Long had personally refined, so he had some knowledge of using eye Gu.
This eye Gu was slightly larger, so Long Xuan placed it on his forehead.
The eye Gu lay on his brow for a moment, then instinctively broke through the skin and burrowed into the center of his forehead.
Once it entered his forehead, the skin quickly healed without a trace. From a distance, no one could see the wound or the hidden evil eye, making it very discreet.
At the same time, Long Xuan felt a sharp pain in his forehead, followed by his mental power being rapidly drawn into it, being consumed by the eye Gu.
After it had its fill, the eye Gu granted its ability to Long Xuan, establishing a symbiotic relationship where both shared their fate.
Not everyone is qualified to refine an eye Gu; it requires high mental power. Those lacking sufficient mental power would perish from being drained dry at this stage.
Although Long Xuan didn't know how strong his mental power was, having lived two lives gave him confidence in his mental strength.
He completed the symbiosis with the eye Gu without any discomfort and could sustain the spiritual power the eye Gu required.
He also understood the illusion carried by the eye Gu.
This illusion was called Origin Realm, which perfectly replicated the real world into an illusionary realm.
Everything in the illusion was identical to reality, making it impossible for someone to discern differences to break the illusion.
The absolute realism of the illusion made it very difficult for those trapped in it to discover its flaws, making them unaware they were in an illusion.
This was the strength of the illusion.
Excited, Long Xuan couldn't wait to test the basic abilities of the eye Gu.
With a thought, an eye opened on his forehead, exuding a sinister aura.
He closed his eyes and tried to see the new world with this eye.
As he infused his mental power, the world before him began to magnify, demonstrating a microscope-like ability.
Long Xuan was ecstatic; he had successfully created a way to magnify small objects.
He held his breath, calmed his racing heart, and began testing the limits of the eye Gu.
He increased the infusion of mental spiritual power, and his vision further magnified, soon reaching the microscopic level.
At this point, he could already see micron-level organisms, capable of seeking out water bear across the world. Yet, he wasn't satisfied. He magnified his vision further, diving deeper until he could see bacteria and viruses floating in the air, reaching the nanoscale level.
But even this wasn't enough. He furiously injected more mental power, his vision magnifying a hundredfold, a thousandfold...
As his vision expanded, everything he saw began moving rapidly from the center outward, making him somewhat dizzy.
Who knows how many times it had magnified, but now he could see molecules, and with further magnification, he saw atoms and even atomic nuclei...
Long Xuan's heart pounded uncontrollably. His initial intent for creating this ability was to prevent others from using Gu against him and to catch water bear.
However, he hadn't anticipated the eye Gu's tremendous power, allowing him to magnify his vision to the atomic level, and perhaps even beyond.
When a spirit insect transforms into a Gu insect, its growth rate resets to zero. This eye Gu was currently at 0% growth, still in its infancy. If it was already this powerful now, what would it achieve when fully mature?
Long Xuan dared not imagine further.
The magnification limits of this eye Gu far exceeded his expectations. Once fully grown, it could explore worlds even smaller than those known in his previous life. He couldn't wait to discover what these micro-worlds held.
Long Xuan began contemplating how to utilize this ability effectively, rather than just magnifying objects without purpose.
Recently, he had learned that Gu insects' abilities could be deeply developed. Although each Gu insect only has one ability, Gu practitioners could leverage their creativity to complicate and diversify the abilities.
Magnifying objects seems like a single ability with no apparent destructive power. However, Long Xuan prided himself on his ingenuity. He aimed to develop several abilities based on this single one, turning even auxiliary capabilities into forbidden techniques.
What can magnifying objects achieve? Long Xuan's mind raced with ideas.
First, he maximized the eye Gu's power and scanned the room, eventually discovering that extreme magnification offered a slight x-ray effect, though only for thin, low-density objects.
Accurately determining what's inside a fossil might not be possible, and it could only penetrate a thin layer of ground, not very deep.
Even so, Long Xuan was already quite content. What good would deep ground penetration be without night vision? He still wouldn't be able to see what's underground.
Soon, he thought about magnifying others' spirit pills, spirit insect feed, poisons, and other resources to micro-analyze and decipher their compositions.
Next, he considered that this ability might be useful for microscopic body movements.
The so-called microscopic body movements involve evading an opponent's attacks with minimal effort, highly practical in combat and conserving a lot of energy.
Isn't that practical in battle?
However, it still wasn't enough. These ideas weren't terrifyingly powerful. He wanted to develop forbidden techniques, techniques not weaker than light condensation...
Chapter 17: Elder Long
Long Xuan's imagination continued to expand...
Soon he looked out the window again, zooming in on the distant scenery. With the zoomed-in landscape, he essentially possessed a clairvoyant vision.
In fact, his Gu collection included a large number of eagle eyes, so even without using this ability, his normal vision was already exceptionally far-reaching, almost like a small-scale clairvoyance.
Once clairvoyance is combined with magnifying vision, the terrifying effect of seeing for ten thousand miles is not surprising. However, to see such a distance might still require further enhancement or a metamorphosis of the eye Gu.
The so-called metamorphosis is equivalent to an advancement in Gu cultivation.
As Gu cultivators continuously advance, the Gu insects must also keep up with the cultivator's pace to avoid being left behind, naturally requiring constant advancement.
However, the advancement of Gu insects and the advancement of Gu cultivators are entirely different systems, hence it is called metamorphosis rather than advancement.
The metamorphosis of Gu insects relies entirely on consumption. Each Gu insect has different conditions for metamorphosis, and Gu insects do not know what to consume for metamorphosis, requiring the Gu cultivator to research and explore for them.
Moreover, there are numerous items that can satisfy the metamorphosis conditions of Gu insects. Each Gu insect has countless metamorphosis routes, with some being strong and others weak. Choosing which route requires careful consideration by the Gu cultivator.
In summary, the metamorphosis of Gu insects relies on consumption, which could be other Gu insects, solid materials, or even man-made items like elixirs.
If they consume the wrong thing, Gu insects will not achieve metamorphosis even after ten thousand years. But if they consume the right thing, they can quickly complete metamorphosis, possibly even multiple times in a short period, advancing much faster than Gu cultivators.
Because of this characteristic, even high-level Gu cultivators can quickly cultivate Gu insects that match their level.
If the Gu cultivator's stages are Spirit Gathering, Marrow cleansing, Spiritual Sea, and Soul projection...
Then the Gu insect's metamorphosis stages are Mortal Gu, Spirit Gu, Rare Gu, and Exotic Gu...
Corresponding to the Gu cultivator's stages one by one.
Currently, Long Xuan has not found a way for the Eye of Heavenly Secrets to metamorphose, but he is still far from the Marrow cleansing stage, so there is no rush.
One should not try to cultivate an Exotic Gu directly at the Spirit Gathering stage. While it is possible, if there is a huge disparity in strength between the master and the Gu, the consequences are obvious—either the servant becomes the master, or the Gu backlashes against the cultivator.
Therefore, Long Xuan has not yet started researching the metamorphosis route for the Eye of Heavenly Secrets. His primary task now is to continue developing the abilities of the Eye of Heavenly Secrets.
At first, Long Xuan did not pay much attention to the far-sight ability. What is the use of seeing far if it cannot harm the enemy? But when he looked at the ground, he could not stay calm.
Although he has not yet gained true X-ray vision, he suddenly discovered that clairvoyance can be combined with his golden finger ability.
His golden finger can ignore obstacles, such as spirit insects encased in fossils.
Although his eyes cannot see the spirit insects, completely blocked by the thick stone layer, he can see the progress deep within the fossil.
Due to this characteristic of his golden finger, under the enhancement of clairvoyance, he can see the progress deep underground.
He doesn't know what exactly this progress indicates, but this discovery made his breath quicken, and he could no longer sit still.
What does this ability mean?
It means he can find underground spirit stone veins, metal veins, fossil veins...and even ancient tombs.
This is simply an immeasurable fortune, an endless opportunity.
"I'm rich! Truly rich!"
Long Xuan excitedly paced back and forth in the room, unable to resist laughing out loud.
"Calm down, calm down, avoid extreme joy and sorrow."
Long Xuan slowly calmed his excited heart and continued to develop the abilities of the eye Gu.
Currently, all the abilities he has thought of are more of auxiliary nature. He desires offensive capabilities, preferably some forbidden techniques.
Long Xuan's mind worked for a moment, and he quickly thought that since the ability of the eye Gu can see the microscopic world, even molecules and atoms.
Can soul power be used to change the arrangement of atoms and molecules to create objects?
Can soul power be used to remove or add outer electrons to atoms, or change the number of protons in the nucleus, to transform one material into another?
Long Xuan gasped, utterly shocked by his bold idea.
If his soul power is strong enough to manipulate the microscopic world, could he become a creator? His imagination was exploding.
He didn't know if this idea was feasible.
He only felt that the idea was terrifyingly bold, enough to send chills down his spine.
This is not just about the power to create everything. If this power is used on enemies, directly destroying their DNA, or turning them into something else entirely, the thought alone made Long Xuan's hair stand on end.
Unfortunately, his soul power is insufficient to conduct experiments on manipulating the microscopic world.
Even if this idea is feasible, he cannot achieve it in the short term.
To develop such power, his soul power would have to be immensely terrifying. As far as he knows, even becoming a Gu King might not grant such powerful soul power.
Additionally, even if this idea is realized, it could probably only create ordinary things.
Spirit medicines, spirit elixirs, spirit stones... Most treasures contain more than just spiritual power. The non-material essence in this world's natural treasures far exceeds just spiritual power, and cannot be created simply by manipulating the microscopic world.
So, even if he develops this ability, most cultivation resources would still need to be personally obtained, not created by manipulating the microscopic world.
Living things are even more impossible, as spirit insects, Gu insects, and spirit beasts cannot be created. Which aspect of soul, spirit, or lifespan can be transformed by manipulating atoms?
Thinking of so many limitations, he gradually calmed down. This ability might allow him to turn stone into gold, but becoming a creator is out of the question.
Since he cannot research this ability in the short term, Long Xuan stopped thinking about it.
As a new type of Gu in this world, the inventor has the right to name it.
Long Xuan thought for a moment and named it the Eye of Heavenly Secrets, considering the name quite good.
After naming the eye Gu, he turned his Eye of Heavenly Secrets and used the ability to see a thousand miles, looking towards Elder Long's residence...
In a simple straw hut, a burly old man was sitting cross-legged on a grass mat, with an alchemy cauldron floating in mid-air controlled by his soul power in front of him.
Under the alchemy cauldron was a purple flame emitting intense heat.
He controlled the purple flame under the alchemy cauldron, sometimes large, sometimes small. In a short time, all the materials in the alchemy furnace were burnt to ashes.
"Damn it! Failed again!"
"Just three ingredients short! Just three ingredients! Just one final step, why can't I get past it?"
"It's been ten years! These three ingredients have troubled me for ten years, damn it!"
"The Hundred Flowers Elixir is the most potent spirit elixir for enhancing Spirit Gathering stage cultivation, with no exceptions. If I can complete the recipe, the Long family's power will reach a new level, but why can't I get past this step!"
"Is the failure due to the wrong ingredients, or is it a matter of success rate?" The old man roared furiously, extremely agitated.
On the table not far from him lay an ancient alchemical recipe, exuding an ancient aura, clearly aged.
But this ancient recipe was incomplete, missing a corner. Coincidentally, the missing part contained three crucial ingredients, the most valuable primary ingredients, indispensable.
Coincidentally, this ancient recipe was seen clearly by Long Xuan from afar. It was too careless to leave such a thing out in the open.
Unaware of being spied on, the old man continued to rage, oblivious to his alchemical skills and recipe being stolen.
As Long Xuan observed sneakily, he muttered to himself, "No wonder Old Long has stayed in that shabby hut all this time. Turns out he's been in seclusion trying to complete the recipe."
Although only three ingredients were missing, Long Xuan, who often studied Gu recipes, knew that just these three could take a lifetime to complete.
Though the number three is small, the types of spirit medicines in this world are countless. Even random combinations of three could have countless possibilities.
Others might take ages to complete the recipe, constantly experimenting with alchemy, which is time-consuming, laborious, and uncertain whether failures are due to incorrect ingredients or operational errors.
In any world, alchemy has a high failure rate.
The greatest challenge in experimenting with recipes is the cost. Each failure wastes a cauldron of materials.
One or two failures are manageable, but continuous failures will eventually deplete even a mountain of gold and silver.
Completing a recipe is a bottomless pit, draining all wealth with no guaranteed outcome.
And the missing part of this recipe is the first three most expensive primary ingredients. Experimenting with the most precious materials repeatedly, the high cost further complicates completing the recipe.
However, what is impossible for others is possible for Long Xuan.
The Eye of Heavenly Secrets has helped him figure out over three thousand materials; three ingredients are nothing.
He can complete the recipe without time-consuming and laborious experiments, and at zero cost. Using expensive materials is no problem for him.
For him, three ingredients are a piece of cake, especially since the elixir is called the Hundred Flowers Elixir, implying the ingredients are related to flowers. Limiting the type of spiritual medicine has greatly narrowed the scope for him.
Chapter 18: Spirit Fire
"Hundred Flower Pill, no wonder Old Long's medicinal garden is full of flowers. So that's the reason."
Long Xuan's eyes sparkled with excitement.
An alchemist! He realized that he might be able to become an alchemist.
Using his clairvoyance and slight X-ray vision, Long Xuan observed Elder Long's entire alchemy process. He could secretly learn alchemy and occasionally steal a few pill recipes.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
In this world, alchemists are even rarer and more esteemed than Gu practitioners.
They are extremely secretive about their skills and rarely pass on their knowledge. Alchemy techniques and pill recipes are practically impossible to buy anywhere.
As a result, every alchemist possesses several unique pill recipes, each forming their own distinct sect, with strong sectarianism.
Given the opportunity to secretly learn alchemy, how could he not be thrilled? He had been excited many times today.
This rarity made alchemists extremely valuable, with highly esteemed statuses.
Spirit pills can enhance a Gu practitioner's breakthrough rate, create life-saving elixirs to heal injuries, and even transform Gu insects, allowing them to undergo a metamorphosis.
Thus, the spirit pills alchemists create have a fatal attraction for every Gu practitioner, leading them to flatter and even serve alchemists wholeheartedly.
Every alchemist in this world has terrifying connections and broad social networks, capable of associating with all sorts of prominent figures.
Offending an alchemist could result in incurring countless powerful enemies.
Because of their rarity, spirit pills are equally rare, unlike in other worlds where they are commonplace.
Long Xuan had never seen spirit pills in market stalls, possibly due to the poverty of this area. Spirit pills could probably only be found at auctions.
If he could become an alchemist and produce Hundred Flower Pill, his cultivation speed could increase tenfold through consistent pill consumption.
The thought made Long Xuan ecstatic. He was fed up with the excruciatingly slow cultivation speed.
Since his aptitude was lacking, he would make up for it with resources.
If he couldn't buy spirit pills, he would create them himself. After Hundred Flower Pill becomes useless, he would create Thousand Flower Pill and then Ten Thousand Flower Pill. quickly planning his future cultivation path.
Determined, Long Xuan focused entirely on observing Elder Long's alchemy process, enlarging and closely examining every detail to quickly master the technique.
A day passed quickly. Exhausted, Elder Long finally ended his work and fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly enough for Long Xuan to hear from afar.
Long Xuan, also tired, put away his Eye of Heavenly secret, Despite his exhaustion, his face was full of excitement.
The day's spying had yielded significant rewards.
He quickly sat at the table, taking out pen and paper to got to work.
Soon, the paper was filled with writing. At the top, he wrote "Purple Demon Flame," then put down his pen, feeling satisfied.
Flame is an alchemist's closely guarded secret, more important than the pill recipes themselves.
Alchemy cannot use ordinary firewood flames.
During the Spirit Gathering stage, one can use fire spiritual energy to refine first-grade spirit pills.
However, to refine second-grade or higher spirit pills, special flames are necessary. Without special flames, one can only ever refine the lowest-grade first-grade spirit pills.
Legendary natural Heavenly Flames aside, most alchemist flames come from three sources.
One can find a magma location and use Earth Fire for alchemy. Alternatively, one can kill fire-attribute spirit beasts and use Beast Fire.
The last option is artificial spirit fire.
Spirit fire is a unique flame created by alchemists using various rare materials and mystical methods. The recipes for spirit fire are extremely precious.
Some spirit fire recipes can rival the legendary Heavenly Flames in power.
At this moment, Long Xuan had recorded a spirit fire recipe called "Purple Demon Flame," a secret of Elder Long, which he must've gotten from Long clan.
Yet, Long Xuan had easily obtained it due to Elder Long's carelessness in taking such an important recipe out of his storage bag.
Holding the memorized spirit fire recipe, Long Xuan was ecstatic.
With this recipe, he could create the Purple Demon Flame. Using special flames for alchemy could enhance the potency of spirit pills, boosting his cultivation speed further, making him wildly joyful.
However, his smile soon faded, replaced by hesitation and growing calmness.
In this world, secretly learning others' guarded secrets is a grave taboo, punishable by death if discovered.
Though he could secretly use it without detection, every caught thief thought the same.
Why are unique Gu recipes so hard to steal? Can't they kill and torture to extract them? No, they can't.
The same kind of Gu insects can sense each other from a distance. If you dare to refine a large clan's unique Gu recipe, be prepared for relentless pursuit by the entire clan.
If Gu insects can sense each other, could spirit fire have a similar trait?
If he created the Purple Demon Flame, would Elder Long immediately sense it and come angrily to kill him?
Long Xuan shivered, feeling a chill down his spine.
It was possible. He didn't dare to gamble, even with a one percent chance of being detected.
No matter how low the odds, gambling with his life was foolish.
Long Xuan took a deep breath. Since he couldn't use it, he would have to create his own spirit fire. Why not invent one himself?
His eyes brightened with excitement.
Before obtaining the Purple Demon Flame recipe, he couldn't have created a spirit fire recipe because he knew nothing about the process.
But now, with a template, he knew the materials and methods to use.
Following the recipe's rules, creating a new spirit fire might not be so hard.
It was just a matter of effort.
Long Xuan became excited again, taking out a blank sheet of paper with renewed vigor.
The first step in creating a spirit fire was deciding what kind of flame to make, its characteristics, and abilities.
Long Xuan immediately thought of the cold flames often described in novels from his previous life.
But this world wasn't a novel; it was a real world where such illogical flames didn't exist.
No cold flames had ever appeared in this world.
Burning releases heat; without heat, burning is impossible. Burning without releasing heat is contradictory and scientifically impossible, a pseudoscience.
However, Long Xuan still wanted to give it a try.
Since creating something costs him nothing but time, why not try? What if he succeeded?
He first created a name for this spirit fire, writing "Divine Ice Flame" on the paper.
With the name set, if the resulting flame had nothing to do with cold, the progress would stall due to inconsistency with the title.
Title-based creation increased the difficulty and time cost.
After writing the title, Long Xuan first thought of the ice-making principle of saltpeter from his previous life.
Saltpeter existed in this world too, rich in spiritual energy and likely more effective for ice-making.
So without hesitation, he wrote "saltpeter" below the title, specifying "in large quantities."
As his pen touched the paper, a progress indicator of [0.1%] appeared, making Long Xuan overjoyed.
He realized he had succeeded. The fictional flame from novels might just be possible in this real world...
Chapter 19: The Little Medicine Boy
Two days later.
After a long absence, Long Xuan returned to this bustling market with his face covered once again.
He was here to gather materials for the Hundred Flowers Pill and to buy an alchemy cauldron to take back with him.
That's right. The pill formula that Old Long hadn't completed in ten years, he finished in just two days. He wondered what face Old Long would make.
Especially since he spent most of his time researching the Divine Ice Flame formula.
He realized that the Divine Ice Flame formula was another huge project, and who knew how long it would take to complete.
Unlike the Gu formula, being an entomologist, he had a keen sense of which spiritual insects could be fused together and could find some patterns.
But when it came to spiritual fire formulas, he had no experience. He had no clue which materials were suitable for refining fire and couldn't find any patterns, so he could only rely entirely on luck. This meant more hard work for him.
As soon as he completed the Hundred Flowers Pill formula, he couldn't wait to start trying alchemy. He didn't want to wait even one more day since it directly impacted his cultivation speed, which was always his top priority.
The materials for the Hundred Flowers Pill were easy to gather. All the spiritual flowers planted in Old Long's medicinal garden were materials for the Hundred Flowers Pill.
Since all the materials were flowers, this was the reason Old Long's medicinal garden was filled with flowers.
This made it convenient for Long Xuan to gather materials, as they were all readily available. The only thing he needed to collect were the three newly added main ingredients.
Although the main ingredients were expensive, they were the lowest-grade first-tier spiritual medicines and could be found in this market. As long as you had spirit stones, you could definitely trade for them.
The only trouble was the alchemy cauldron.
Alchemists were rare, so naturally, alchemy cauldron were also rare. They were not easy to collect. He was here today to try his luck.
Today, the market was especially crowded, much busier than usual. Perhaps there really was someone selling an alchemy cauldron.
"Little medicine boy? Are you crazy for spirit stones? You're selling waste pills? Tell me, what use do waste pills have!"
"You're even stealing waste pills that Old Alchemist Master threw away to sell. You'll steal anything!"
"Don't you dare falsely accuse me. How can you call this stealing? If my master doesn't want something and I take it, what's wrong with that?"
"If I don't take them, they would be thrown away. Isn't that a waste?"
"And who told you waste pills are useless? Waste pills can kill people. Can't they be used as poison?"
"Some people have a natural immunity to poison or even a poison-resistant constitution. Aren't they suitable for consuming waste pills?"
"Many spiritual insects and Gu insects also have strong poison resistance. They can eat waste pills as food and might even transform because of it. Who says they are useless!"
"Besides, who knows, maybe some prodigy can turn waste into treasure. What is useless to others might be a treasure to them."
"My waste pills have many uses. You just lack the insight!"
While Long Xuan was browsing the various stalls, a quarrel nearby caught his attention.
Hearing someone being called a little medicine boy, he thought it must be related to alchemy and might have the alchemy furnace he needed. So, he curiously went over.
When he got closer, he saw a rogue cultivator with a scarred face arguing with a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old, who was also called a little medicine boy. It seemed that the boy was learning alchemy from Old Dan Master, but it was unclear if he was a true apprentice or just someone who watched the furnace.
The boy had a sharp tongue, describing obviously useless waste pills as invaluable treasures.
Long Xuan became interested and walked over, casually picking up a few waste pills to examine.
The waste pills varied in size, smell, and color, seemingly covering various types, though their specific functions were unknown.
Long Xuan suddenly thought that he had the Eye of Heavenly Secret, which could magnify everything. Could he use it to observe the microscopic structure of the waste pills and decode all their formulas?
He wanted to try and felt he had to buy some of these waste pills.
The little medicine boy wasn't entirely wrong; waste pills could indeed be useful to certain small groups.
Seeing someone examining his waste pills closely, the little medicine boy's eyes widened, and he asked, "Are you interested in waste pills? Do you have the ability to turn waste into treasure?"
"Uh!" Long Xuan was taken aback by his question, thinking this kid's imagination was too wild. If others thought he had some magical ability to turn waste into treasure, that would be trouble.
"I heard you are Old Alchemist Master's medicine boy. I need an alchemy cauldron. Do you have one?" Long Xuan asked calmly.
The best tactic was to change the subject and avoid explaining.
Explanation means concealment, and concealment means the truth.
The more you explain, the more people doubt you.
The little medicine boy stopped pressing the previous question and replied, "I do have an alchemy cauldron, but I need it myself. If I sell it to you, what would I use?"
Hearing that the boy indeed had an alchemy cauldron, Long Xuan thought he was lucky. He didn't expect to find such a rare item so soon after arriving at the market.
"Everything can be sold. If it can't, it's just a matter of the price being too low."
"As Old Alchemist Master's medicine boy, you surely have connections to get another alchemy cauldron. Out with the old, in with the new. How about selling this one to me?"
"I'll offer ten thousand spirit stones."
Considering the boy's status as just a medicine boy, Long Xuan didn't offer a high price, assuming the cauldron was of the lowest quality.
Long Xuan was right. The boy had a friend who was an apprentice blacksmith and could get discounts on forging items.
Ten thousand spirit stones could not only buy a new one but also make a good profit.
"Okay, but I don't want spirit stones. I want your Little Strong Gu."
Recognizing the familiar attire, the boy realized it was the masked vendor who often sold Little Strong Gu, so he thought for a moment before speaking.
Long Xuan was taken aback and said, "Do you also plan to blood-bond with a Little Strong Gu? Usually, the ones who come to trade for Little Strong Gu are burly men who favor physical combat. Their fighting style suits the Little Strong Gu."
"Your build isn't suitable for frontal assault. Keeping a few external Gu as bodyguards would be more appropriate for your fighting style."
The boy shook his head and said, "Thanks for your suggestion, but my fighting style doesn't involve hiding behind external Gu. Let's trade for the Little Strong Gu."
The boy seemed uninterested in advice, but he was secretly mocking Long Xuan's lack of imagination.
His interest in the Little Strong Gu wasn't for physical combat. At his age, he wasn't looking for a fight.
He was thinking that since the Little Strong Gu could nullify all conventional damage and the toxicity of waste pills was weak, it could definitely nullify the waste pills' poison.
If it could ignore the waste pills' toxicity, he could benefit from their medicinal properties without consequence.
As Old Dan Master's medicine boy, he had access to heaps of waste pills. He could consume them daily like meals, drastically speeding up his cultivation.
This would allow him to surpass his peers and become a renowned genius in the area. Just thinking about it excited him.
Of course, he wouldn't reveal this idea. He wasn't foolish.
Imagination was the most valuable thing in this world. If this idea got out, the price of Little Strong Gu would skyrocket, even tenfold, and there would be countless buyers.
Then waste pills would truly become treasures, and he wouldn't get them for free anymore, nor become a genius.
Chapter 20: The First Time Refining Pills
At this moment, Long Xuan was completely unaware that he had been mocked, and what was being mocked was his most prized imaginative thinking.
Seeing how stubborn this little medicine boy was, he decided not to persuade him any further.
"If you want to trade for my Little Strong Gu, you can, but its price is far more than ten thousand spirit stones now."
"How about this, give me ten pieces of each kind of waste pill, and we'll call it even."
The little medicine boy nodded. Not to mention giving away some insignificant waste pills, he would have even paid an additional hundred thousand spirit stones eagerly.
"It seems you really don't have the ability to turn waste pills into treasures. Otherwise, you would have taken all my discarded pills instead of just ten pieces of each."
The little medicine boy smiled, picking up some of the wasted pills. He then took out a green tripod cauldron from his storage bag, threw all the waste pills into it, and handed it to Long Xuan.
Long Xuan glanced at him sideways and took out a small bottle containing the Little Strong Gu from his insect nurturing bag and tossed it to the medicine boy.
The little medicine boy happily received the small bottle, verified its authenticity with a blood contract on the spot, and then quickly began packing up his stall.
The waste pills were now treasures to him; only a fool would sell them.
At this time, the scar-faced burly man who had been arguing with the little medicine boy was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that someone actually wanted the waste pills. Truly, the world is vast, and strange things happen.
Just as Long Xuan was about to leave, the burly man quickly stepped in front of him and hurriedly said, "Young friend, please stay. I also want to trade for the Little Strong Gu. I'm willing to use spiritual herbs in exchange."
"These are all personally picked by me from the mountains. Feel free to choose."
He quickly threw a storage bag towards Long Xuan, revealing a flattering smile, afraid that Long Xuan might leave.
Seeing his appearance, Long Xuan knew that this person must really love the Little Strong Gu.
With his muscular body and scarred face, it was clear he liked to engage in physical combat, frequently hovering on the brink of death. The Little Strong Gu would naturally become a favorite for such individuals.
The cost of the Little Strong Gu was extremely low, and Long Xuan still had many in his insect nurturing bag.
So, he casually took the burly man's storage bag and checked inside, finding it filled with various spiritual herbs.
Coincidentally, the three herbs he was planning to search for were all inside, and in considerable quantities too. This was truly an effortless gain.
Long Xuan smiled with joy, then poured all the spiritual herbs from the storage bag into his own, leaving none behind. He tossed the empty storage bag back to the burly man, followed by a small bottle containing the Little Strong Gu.
...
By the time Long Xuan returned from the market, it was already late at night. Many people had wanted to trade for the Little Strong Gu, and poor itinerant cultivators especially loved to haggle, which took up a lot of time.
However, the harvest was gratifying. He had exhausted his savings while refining the Eye of Heavenly secret, but this batch of Little Strong Gu had replenished a lot of his funds.
He realized that the new project, the Divine ice Flame, would definitely be a resource-intensive endeavor. To refine the Divine Ice Flame, the materials consumed would likely be astronomical, so he needed to start saving spirit stones as soon as possible.
Although it was already late at night, he had all the materials needed for refining the Hundred Flower Pill ready. With everything in place, he could attempt pill refining for the first time now.
He was fully excited and eager to try, unable to sleep without refining a pill.
So, Long Xuan decisively took out the alchemy furnace and placed it on the ground, starting his first attempt at pill refining.
Having observed Elder Long for a long time, he might not know how to refine other pills, but he had thoroughly learned how to refine the Hundred Flower Pill.
The Hundred Flower Pill required a hundred kinds of spiritual flowers as materials. With such a large quantity of materials, the refined elixir would naturally be extraordinary. Its medicinal power was undoubtedly top-notch.
Following the method he secretly learned from Elder Long, Long Xuan activated his fire and wood dual attributes, with wood below and fire above, and conjured a flame in his palm.
To become an alchemist, one must meet three requirements: possess both fire and wood attributes, have a powerful innate soul, and have precise control over fire spiritual energy.
These three restrictive conditions were enough to bar the vast majority of people from becoming alchemists. Only one in ten thousand might have the qualifications.
Such harsh conditions made alchemists extremely rare and endowed them with unparalleled status.
Long Xuan, of course, met these requirements and even exceeded them.
His cultivation aptitude might be terrible, but his alchemy aptitude was truly exceptional.
When one door closes, another often opens.
Long Xuan's soul was not yet strong enough to lift the alchemy furnace, so he could only place it slowly on the ground.
He then controlled the flame in his palm to rise and fall to the bottom of the furnace, starting to preheat it.
The first step in alchemy was to use high temperatures to remove impurities from the spiritual herbs, retaining their essence.
Most of the material in spiritual herbs was useless, requiring the alchemist to have precise control over the flame to burn away impurities while preserving the essence.
This step was extremely difficult. If the temperature was too low, the impurities would liquefy and mix with the essence. If the temperature was too high, both impurities and essence would be burned. Achieving the perfect balance to burn impurities without destroying the essence was incredibly challenging.
Even more exaggerated, different spiritual herbs required different temperatures, and even the same type of spiritual herb might have slight variations. The same herb could require constant temperature adjustments at different times, which could drive one mad.
This first step alone stumped the majority of alchemists. Very few could complete it successfully.
Even the experienced Elder Long often burned spiritual herbs, wasting valuable materials during the refining process.
Thus, Long Xuan understood the difficulty of this step deeply and decided to be extremely cautious, focusing all his attention without the slightest slack.
After adjusting his state, he saw that the alchemy furnace was warm and casually grabbed a spiritual herb, tossing it into the furnace.
Just as he was about to increase the heat, something astonishing happened.
The furnace displayed a purification progress bar, showing 0% progress.
Long Xuan took a deep breath, almost unable to believe it.
He recalled that a similar situation had occurred during his first Gu refining.
It seemed that the progress display was not limited to inanimate or animate objects but also included ongoing activities.
For instance, if he was refining a Gu, it would show the Gu refining progress. If he was purifying spiritual herbs, it would show the purification progress. When he later refined the pill, it would probably display the pill refining progress as well.
This realization raised the upper limit of his abilities, and Long Xuan was extremely excited.
Thus, what was incredibly difficult for others became straightforward for Long Xuan.
He could clearly see the purification progress. If it steadily increased, it meant his operation was correct, and he just needed to maintain it.
If the progress suddenly changed drastically or disappeared, it indicated an error, and he needed to adjust the flame quickly.
With this error prompt, purifying spiritual herbs became easy for Long Xuan.
As expected, there were no surprises.
What was exceedingly difficult for others was incredibly simple for Long Xuan.
As a novice refining spiritual herbs for the first time, he not only made no mistakes but succeeded easily. Can you believe it?
If other alchemy apprentices knew this, they wouldn't know what to think.
Staring at the purified spiritual essence he put into a vial, Long Xuan was in a daze, feeling like he was dreaming.
Was it really this easy?
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