Chapter 56: Insect Eggs

The massive cyan stone walls of Wangyue City reappeared in sight, the rhythmic, crisp sound of spiritual beast hooves striking the surface echoing through the air.

"Why are there so many more soldiers?" Lu Xiaotian asked in surprise, noticing hundreds of soldiers in spiritual armor standing on high alert at the city gates.

"Brother Lu, you might not know, but the days leading up to the immortal sects recruiting disciples are always the busiest in Wangyue City. However, these days are also the most chaotic; there are more thieves and troublemakers than usual, so extra guards have been added to every gate, and the city patrols have increased several times over," Luo Yuan explained with a smile.

After passing through the guards' inspection and entering the city, Lu Xiaotian found the streets several times more crowded than usual. The street vendors were even more densely packed, with cries of hawking goods echoing everywhere.

Once inside the city, Zhang Guang and Zheng Shiqi, whose spiritual tools had been damaged, decided to head to a blacksmith shop for repairs and took their leave.

"Brother Lu, I have quite a few spiritual items and was just about to set up a stall. Why don't we do it together?" Luo Qing asked, looking at Lu Xiaotian with anticipation.

"No, I'm still missing a few types of spiritual items needed to join my sect, so I need to go find them," Lu Xiaotian said, shaking his head. Setting up a stall would be too inefficient; it would be faster to search for them directly.

Watching Lu Xiaotian's retreating figure as he wove through the crowd, Luo Qing could not hide the disappointment on her face.

"Sister, don't overthink it. Brother Lu is a meticulous person who is single-mindedly devoted to the Dao; he is certainly no ordinary man. I expect joining a sect is only a matter of a year or two for him. By then, the gap between you two will be even wider, and he likely hasn't thought in that direction," Luo Yuan sighed, understanding his sister's feelings all too well.

"Brother, what are you thinking? I... I wasn't thinking much of anything. Besides, you are at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, and I will soon enter the middle stage. There is still hope for me to join a sect," Luo Qing replied, her face flushing red as she turned her head away. However, her eyes held a look of determination. One day, she would also complete her sect's tasks, and perhaps then, the distance between them would not be so great.

"Li Huo Jade! I have Li Huo Jade here! Only exchanging for Wu Yao Ore! Fellow Daoists who have Wu Yao Ore, come quickly to exchange! Once it's gone, it's gone!"

"Qingyu Grass! The spiritual herb needed for the Lingxiao Palace mission! Exchanging for Zhiwu Ore!" a round-faced old man with white hair and a youthful complexion shouted loudly. His energy was in no way inferior to the young men selling nearby.

"I do have some Zhiwu Ore, but mine is quite large. How about we find a blacksmith shop later and cut a piece off?" Lu Xiaotian said, producing a piece of shimmering black ore.

"Th-this, young brother, could you let me see the ore in your hand?" Seeing the crystalline black ore in Lu Xiaotian's hand, the white-haired old man's voice trembled with extreme excitement.

"Of course," Lu Xiaotian nodded.

"It... it really is Zhiwu Ore!" The old man let out a gasp and used his worn sleeve to gently wipe it. His old face flushed with light, and for a moment, he looked as if he had aged several years in reverse.

"Can I buy the excess portion with spirit stones? Or perhaps exchange it for other spiritual items?"

The old man proceeded to pour out all the spiritual items from his storage bag in one go—a dizzying array of spiritual herbs and hundreds of spirit stones of various elements.

Lu Xiaotian was surprised. This old man was only at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, yet he possessed so many spirit stones. However, since they were within Wangyue City, he didn't need to fear being robbed; otherwise, in the Wangyue Mountains, this old man likely wouldn't have survived a few days.

"You only need a small piece of Zhiwu Stone to join the Rakshasa Sect. Why do you need so much?" Lu Xiaotian asked curiously.

The old man chuckled and said, "I might as well tell you, young brother—our whole family are cultivators. I am nearing the end of my life and have no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. However, if my two sons could enter the Rakshasa Sect together, they could look out for one another, which would be much better. If you don't mind, please come to my son's stall with me to see if there is anything else you need."

Lu Xiaotian nodded. It seemed this family was quite determined. It wasn't easy for most people to gather enough materials to join a sect, yet this old man was trying to gather enough for two. It appeared this family was not only lucky but likely possessed formidable strength as well.

"Fellow Daoist, are you selling this Fire Rhino demon core? How many spirit stones?"

After walking through two streets, near the entrance of a blacksmith shop called the Treasure Refining Pavilion, a person wearing a bamboo hat asked a middle-aged cultivator with a horse-like face and black clothing.

"Get lost! This Fire Rhino core of mine is one of the mission items for the Taiqing Sect. It's not something easily bought with spirit stones; I am only exchanging it for spiritual items," the horse-faced man barked, dismissing the stranger.

"Uh, that would be my son," the white-haired old man said, rubbing his nose awkwardly.

"Dad, you're not at your stall, why did you come to mine..." After driving the stranger away, the horse-faced middle-aged man saw Lu Xiaotian and the old man.

The old man explained the situation, and the horse-faced man immediately became enthusiastic. "So you have Zhiwu Ore! Come, come, take a look. Tell me which of these items you want to exchange for."

"There isn't much I want to exchange. What are these spiritual insect eggs?" Lu Xiaotian rummaged through the many spiritual items but didn't find what he was looking for. However, he did spot several orange-yellow insect eggs with light gray patterns. They matched the description of the eggs of a strange insect called the Boundary-Breaking Bug recorded in the *True Manual of Spiritual Insects*. The Boundary-Breaking Bug itself had little offensive power, but it could break through certain strange restrictions.

"Oh, those? I obtained those eggs by chance in the Wangyue Mountains. I thought they were interesting and brought them back to try and hatch them to see what they were, but they are impervious to water and fire and haven't hatched yet. If you use the Zhiwu Stone to exchange for my items, I don't mind giving those eggs to you as well," the horse-faced man said with a shrug.

"I don't have much interest in your other items, so just take spirit stones. Two-thirds of the Zhiwu Stone in exchange for the Qingyu Grass, eight hundred spirit stones, and these insect eggs," Lu Xiaotian said after a brief thought.

"Fine, it's a deal."

Before the horse-faced man could even speak, the white-haired old man agreed instantly. Zhiwu Stone was inherently expensive; normally, one-third of a piece might only be worth two or three hundred low-grade spirit stones. However, as a mission item for the Rakshasa Sect and a primary material for refining Zhiwu Swords, it was normal for the price to be several times higher than usual. Furthermore, there were few places to buy it. If they secured this deal, they could easily make a profit of a hundred or two hundred spirit stones upon resale. Ordinary rogue cultivators couldn't afford it, but the cultivation families of Wangyue City certainly had the means.