The spirit insect Qin Sang was searching for was called the Dark Stinkbug. In appearance, it resembled a mortal stinkbug, favoring dark, damp environments and feeding day and night on yin energy—hence its name.
After departing the Bear Mountain region, Qin Sang disguised his identity, visited several cultivation markets, made contact with various factions, and gathered intelligence. In the end, he settled on nine species of spirit insects as his targets.
Five of them were exotic insects listed on the Exotic Insect Registry. For some, Qin Sang possessed the methods of rearing them, while for others, he did not.
However, with the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold in hand, he had little reason to worry, at least before the third metamorphosis. The abilities of these exotic insects were remarkably peculiar and thoroughly enticing.
The other four were ordinary spirit insects. Their potential was not particularly high, but their divine abilities were formidable enough to offer significant assistance during the Core Formation stage. They were Qin Sang's fallback options, chosen just in case.
The rumors and records he had gathered were not necessarily reliable.
The spirit insects might have migrated, fallen prey to natural predators, been captured by others, or even undergone metamorphosis and abandoned their original habitats—any of these possibilities could have occurred.
Qin Sang felt that if he could find even one of the nine spirit insects he had chosen, it would be fortunate enough.
His standards were high, and he had already prepared himself to invest substantial time and energy into the hunt.
The Dark Stinkbug was one of the exotic insects on his list.
It was held in high regard on the Exotic Insect Registry.
During its first two metamorphoses, the Dark Stinkbug's capabilities were entirely unremarkable, as was true of most spirit insects. Only upon reaching the third metamorphosis, or even later, would an earth-shaking transformation occur.
After the third metamorphosis, the Dark Stinkbug could condense the yin energy within its body into a pitch-black sword. Its speed was astonishingly swift, its sharpness matched a genuine magic treasure spirit sword, and as long as the insect remained dormant, not the slightest wisp of an aura could be detected.
Motionless until provoked, its strike was like a thunderclap!
For an insect-taming cultivator, acquiring a third-metamorphosis Dark Stinkbug was equivalent to gaining an exceptionally lethal concealed sword—one that consumed none of their own spiritual sense, making it nearly impossible to defend against.
Qin Sang favored it immensely.
Thus, his very first target was the Dark Stinkbug.
However, on the Witch Insect Registry, the Dark Stinkbug was ranked even lower than the Ghosthead Bee, languishing near the very bottom. None dared to select it as a natal insect gu.
This was simply because the difficulty of its metamorphosis was extraordinarily steep, and with its long lifespan came exceedingly slow growth. Without the proper method, a Core Formation cultivator might wait an entire lifetime without seeing a Dark Stinkbug even begin its third metamorphosis.
Among the few exotic insect rearing methods Qin Sang had mastered, one happened to be for the Dark Stinkbug.
From the ancient texts left behind by archaic cultivators, the Yuling Sect had recovered an incomplete method for raising the Dark Stinkbug. It required concocting several types of yin-cold spirit pills and administering them in coordination, accelerating the Dark Stinkbug's growth rate several times over.
A cultivator had once caught sight of a second-metamorphosis Dark Stinkbug in this wasteland, but before he could react, the insect had escaped into an underground cave and vanished.
That was the only clue Qin Sang had. To capture the Dark Stinkbug, he first had to locate the cave.
'I have already searched more than half the wasteland. Why haven't I found the underground cave yet? Could an earthquake have occurred here, altering the terrain?'
Qin Sang pondered as his gaze swept across the boundless wasteland, deciding to try another direction.
He had not taken two steps before he let out a soft exclamation of surprise and halted abruptly. Then, with a leap of sword light, he soared a thousand zhang to his left, hovering in midair and peering downward.
"Found it!"
Wild grass had grown rampantly over the entrance, completely concealing the underground cavern. Qin Sang was about to unleash his sword light to carve an opening, but after a second thought, he stowed his ebony sword and slipped silently into the cavern.
The subterranean cave was extraordinarily deep. Qin Sang descended for the span of an entire incense stick before he caught sight of an underground rift valley. The subterranean depths were biting and frigid, truly the ideal environment favored by the Dark Stinkbug.
However, upon seeing the underground rift valley, Qin Sang felt another headache coming on.
He had not expected the area to be so vast, with countless branching pathways far more convoluted than Dichen Cave back at Shaohua Mountain. Trying to locate a tiny Dark Stinkbug in such a place was no different from searching for a needle in the ocean.
It was a pity that the Flying Yaksha could not wander too far from him; otherwise, splitting up to search would have been far more efficient.
The Dark Stinkbug favored cold and yin, an inclination that only intensified with its strength. Qin Sang decided to head straight into the deepest reaches of the underground cavern.
Summoning the Flying Yaksha, he rapidly dived deeper. The depths grew increasingly yin-cold and grimly desolate. Feeling he was deep enough, Qin Sang retrieved an assortment of bottles and jars from his Qianjun Ring, filled with powders and medicinal liquids, scattering them intermittently along the way.
These were all secret lures for insects. Some had been purchased by Qin Sang from Witch Clan cultivators, while others he had concocted himself following formulas from the Yuling Sect, preparing a generous supply.
Such methods were effective against certain spirit insects.
Qin Sang was not certain whether he could lure the Dark Stinkbug, but he was willing to give it a try.
The chill grew increasingly dread-inducing, threatening to seep into the marrow of his bones. Qin Sang was forced to circulate his true essence to protect himself. After descending a bit further, he unexpectedly heard the murmuring sound of running water below.
Secretly surprised, Qin Sang ventured down to look, only to discover that yin energy had merged into an underground river, turning the water gray and preventing it from freezing.
Standing beside the subterranean river, Qin Sang looked up.
Along the entire descent, he had scattered over a dozen bottles of secret insect-luring medicine, yet not a single spirit insect had been drawn out.
This was actually a good sign.
Barring unusual circumstances, every spirit insect laid claim to its own territory and tolerated no intrusions by others. If another spirit insect appeared, it would mean the Dark Stinkbug was no longer here.
After examining the subterranean environment, Qin Sang began searching along the underground river, employing his spiritual sense in tandem with the insect lures, leaving no corner uninspected.
The cave system resembled an enormous labyrinth. Qin Sang searched for an entire day, yet came away empty-handed.
In the end, Qin Sang gave up and returned to the spot where he had first landed.
Approaching a protruding boulder beside the subterranean river, Qin Sang carefully surveyed the surrounding terrain. With a shift of his thoughts, the Flying Yaksha leapt into the underground river, concealing itself along the riverbed.
Next, Qin Sang retrieved a jade bottle from his Qianjun Ring.
Inside the jade bottle was a scarlet liquid, exceptionally viscous, resembling a ruby that radiated an intoxicating luster. Within the fluid, golden motes of light flickered from time to time—peculiar and extraordinary.
This was the fruit of the Red Gold Vine: Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold!
Spirit insects were hard to find in the Lesser Cold Domain. Ever since obtaining the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold, Qin Sang had found no use for it and had kept it stored until now. Finally, the time had come to put it to work.
The reason Qin Sang dared to delve alone into the Western Frontier in search of insects based on mere unsubstantiated rumors was entirely due to this item.
Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold aided spirit insects in their metamorphoses and possessed an overwhelming attraction for them, far more potent than any insect-luring medicine. This was an advantage no one else possessed.
Since those secret medicines had proven useless, Qin Sang had no choice but to bring out the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold.
He did not need much—only enough to diffuse the scent of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold into the air.
At the same time, Qin Sang opened the insect basket at his waist and retrieved several Ghosthead Bee larvae.
The larvae of other spirit insects were also prime bait. Larvae with mutated bloodlines were even more enticing. Combining the two, Qin Sang did not believe the Dark Stinkbug could remain indifferent.
By now, Qin Sang had lost interest in raising the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees.
Having lost their potential for metamorphosis, no matter how many Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees he possessed, they could only threaten cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Circulating his true essence, Qin Sang seized the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larvae and extinguished their consciousness. Then, uncorking the jade bottle, he carefully drew out a faint trace of Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold and smeared it across their bodies.
He first flicked several of them toward distant locations, leaving behind the one coated with the most liquid and placing it upon a stone ledge.
Chapter 642