4: Chapter 4 Going into the Mountains Early to Catch Insects

After finishing the chicken, it was time to convert the Daqi Mulberry Yellow.

The so-called Mulberry Yellow is a fungus that grows on mulberry trees, shaped like a wood ear or a Lingzhi mushroom.

I don't know which part of the Daqi Kingdom is particularly suitable for this thing, but it actually grows into a Spirit Medicine.

There are many things that look like Mulberry Yellow in the spring.

Xia Shaoxin went for a stroll in the nearby woods and picked up a few varieties; the colors weren't quite right, but the shapes were very similar. Not knowing if they could be converted, he brought them all back.

He summoned the Shangqing Profound Mirror, recited the incantation, and with a flash of white light, he obtained seven qian of Daqi Mulberry Yellow.

Then, his head swam, and he fell asleep until dawn the next day.

Upon waking, his mind was filled with new knowledge. It turned out that the converted herbs were just high-quality imitations; if they weren't used to make medicine within a month, they would revert to their original form.

He hurriedly got up and took out a mirror to look at himself, seeing a face like a ghost's, with dry, white, cracked lips and a sallow complexion, even more haggard than yesterday.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly.

As a mere Mortal, how could he withstand the daily consumption of his blood and Qi?

It seemed it was enough to convert the two most expensive medicinal ingredients; the other cheap ones weren't worth it.

He went to a villager's house and bought another chicken.

The villager was extremely surprised, thinking, "With such reckless eating, is he not planning to live through tomorrow?"

Xia Shaoxin couldn't be bothered to explain.

His grandfather had saved money his whole life, intending it for his grandson's future wife, yet he had squandered several thousand in just a few days.

After finishing the chicken, he went to Li Family Hollow again.

This time, he didn't go to the same pharmacy as before. Instead, he pieced together ten portions of medicinal ingredients from various other pharmacies.

After returning home, he began to make the miasma-repelling pill according to the preparation procedure in the prescription.

The pharmacy manager was right; making the miasma-repelling pill was not easy. There were over a dozen medicinal ingredients in total, some of which had to be ground into powder, while others had to be juiced.

Xia Shaoxin made medicine for his mountain trips every year, but today he finally understood why Daqi Mulberry Yellow and Spirit Deer Blood were called Spirit Medicine.

The Daqi Mulberry Yellow needed to be ground into a powder, but it was extremely difficult to grind.

As the mortar rolled over it, the Mulberry Yellow would crack, but from time to time, thin bolts of lightning would emerge, stitching the fragments back together.

The prescription didn't explain how to deal with this situation, so he could only grind with all his might. For an entire night, he ground until the lightning gradually ceased to appear, and only then was he able to grind the Daqi Mulberry Yellow into powder.

Worried that the lightning would reappear if left for too long, he didn't dare to rest and continued to prepare the other medicinal ingredients.

Once everything was ready, he placed the medicinal ingredients into the mortar in the specified order and began to stir; this process was called "Refining Medicine."

That Spirit Deer Blood was very difficult to mix with the other ingredients; no matter how much he pounded it, he couldn't roll it into strips.

Until his arms were swollen with fatigue, he finally finished mixing all the medicines.

According to the prescription, it had to be cut into pieces using a jade knife.

The Xia Family didn't have a jade knife, but his mother had left behind a jade hairpin, so he used that to cut it into ten small pieces.

The final step was to roll these irregular small pieces into balls.

The prescription stated that one must use strength from both palms to roll them.

Xia Shaoxin picked up an irregular piece and thought, "Must it be rolled into a ball to be edible? Can't it be rolled on the table?"

"I'm so tired I'm seeing stars, my arms are about to break, and I still have to roll these balls!"

He put the medicine pieces on the table, lay down on the bed, let his Divine Soul leave his body, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long he slept, but it seemed like a force in his dream was urging him to wake up.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly sat up on the bed; his arms were no longer so sore.

He picked up a piece of medicine and placed it in his palm, feeling warmth. Upon closer inspection, he saw that there were intermittent electrical discharges in the gaps within the medicine.

He hurriedly pressed it with his other hand, and the medicine actually generated a resistance, making it impossible to close his palm.

He was greatly shocked; indeed, what was written on the prescription made sense.

These medicinal ingredients mixed together to produce a miraculous reaction that was incomparable to ordinary medicine.

Daring not to relax, he exerted all his strength and rolled it vigorously.

The medicine would sometimes become sticky and cling to his hands, and other times crumble into fragments, but it was held together by an invisible force, preventing it from falling apart.

He held his breath, concentrating fully. He felt two forces within the medicine, one pulling inward and one pushing outward. Relying on instinct, he guided the inward force to counteract the outward one.

After spending the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, he finally rolled the medicine into a ball.

The moment the pill took shape, a wisp of white Qi emerged. It seemed that another force had been born within the pill, binding it tightly together so that even a fingernail couldn't leave a mark on it.

Only then did he realize that the miasma-repelling pill was no trivial matter; it was truly a miraculous object approaching the "Medicinal Pill" of the immortals!

Xia Shaoxin was exhausted to the point of collapse, but holding the miasma-repelling pill he had made with his own hands, the joy of success swept away all his fatigue.

This was worth five thousand copper coins at the Gu Bureau.

"Hehe, this method is effective. It means I can make pills at ten percent of the cost, achieving a gross profit of ninety percent."

Unfortunately, only Bug Catchers used this, and they wouldn't buy many. Although it was valuable, the market wasn't large.

However, if he expanded this and learned more expensive prescriptions, wouldn't that be a path to wealth?

It would be a thousand times better than being a Bug Catcher in this place filled with poisonous miasma!

After a short rest, he impatiently began to roll the second pill.

It took him three days to roll these ten pills, and he bought five chickens from the villagers of Liushu Ao.

If nothing else, he had built up strength in his arms.

With all ten miasma-repelling pills finished, he was completely exhausted, the kind of exhaustion that no amount of chicken could replenish.

"Hiss, the high-quality imitation herbs converted from the mirror will revert to their original form after 30 days. Will these ten miasma-repelling pills of mine also revert after 30 days?"

Xia Shaoxin thought of a serious problem.

"Making the miasma-repelling pills is so difficult that I dare not use them for experiments. Why not go into the mountain now!"

Spring is the active period for Poisonous Insects, with greater numbers; it is actually the best time to catch insects.

The reason everyone chooses to catch them in summer is because the Yang Qi in summer can suppress the poisonous miasma.

With the miasma-repelling pills, he didn't need to worry about the time.

A few days later, Xia Shaoxin knelt before the graves of his grandfather and parents.

"This year is my first time going into the mountain alone. I promise you all that I will definitely get a wife soon, but my sons will never do this line of work in the future. I want them to live a better life."

After kowtowing, he resolutely walked toward the mountain path.

Following the mountain path for sixteen or seventeen li, he saw a small pavilion where Bug Catchers usually rested and began drinking calamus water to resist the poisonous miasma.

Xia Shaoxin didn't stop for a moment; he passed the small pavilion and climbed over the ridge.

Looking down, the first valley of Dawu Mountain came into view.

Faint purple Qi and faint white Qi filled the valley.

The purple Qi was the miasma; only by standing far away could one distinguish it.

He popped a miasma-repelling pill into his mouth and strode down the slope.

The small path worn out by generations of Bug Catchers had been covered by dense weeds.

Holding a knife in his hand, he hacked his way through, heading straight for the nearest hunting ground that belonged to his Family.

The so-called hunting ground was a gathering place for Poisonous Insects.

These Poisonous Insects began to grow in the spring, absorbing the poisonous miasma and growing rapidly; they would even devour each other. By the time of the Awakening of Insects, they were basically fully formed.

Dawu Mountain was huge; even a Bug Catcher could not possibly cover it all.

Bug Catchers didn't wander aimlessly in the mountains looking for Poisonous Insects. The entire Family had spent generations summing up the patterns; they knew exactly which places produced which Poisonous Insects.

Dawu Mountain was not a good place; the fewer days spent there, the better. Therefore, every Family had fixed locations. They weren't familiar with other places, and no one was willing to spend time exploring them.

The hunting ground he was going to produced Green Poison Spiders, which were more venomous than the Five-colored Scorpion, but the price was only one thousand eight hundred coins.

This was because the Medicinal Pill refined from the Five-colored Scorpion was more Advanced than the one from the Green Poison Spider.

Arriving at the spot where he had set traps last year, he placed the medicinal bait, set up the capture net, and went nearby to wait.

Before long, a palm-sized Green Poison Spider was attracted and slowly approached the capture net.

Its back was dark green, and its legs were emerald green; it was a very rare large spider.

Xia Shaoxin was overjoyed; business had started!

A top-quality Green Poison Spider was perfect for a sacrifice.

Staring intently at the Green Poison Spider, he summoned the Shangqing Profound Mirror in his mind, recited the incantation, and wanted to sacrifice this Green Poison Spider.

The Shangqing Profound Mirror had no reaction.

Some strange thoughts inexplicably appeared in his mind.

It turned out that this Green Poison Spider did not yet belong to him, so it could not be sacrificed.

Xia Shaoxin was very surprised. The Shangqing Profound Mirror couldn't speak, but it understood his intentions, using a strange way of communicating to release knowledge into his consciousness.

He closed his eyes and pondered. The Shangqing Profound Mirror appeared brightly in his mind; the mirror surface was extremely bright, while the back was covered in bronze rust.

"Things that aren't mine can't be sacrificed?" Xia Shaoxin asked the Shangqing Profound Mirror directly in his consciousness.

The Profound Mirror did not make a sound.

"Squeak—"

A sharp cry from the Poisonous Insect came to his ears.

Xia Shaoxin opened his eyes and saw the Green Poison Spider scurrying around in a panic, as if it sensed great danger.

He hurriedly looked around, and suddenly, a rustling sound came from underground.

The sound was directed straight at the Green Poison Spider. It burst out from the ground, revealing a huge Earth Dragon. It was burnt yellow all over, and right in front of the capture net, it swallowed the Green Poison Spider in one gulp.

Xia Shaoxin almost jumped up.

After finally getting a large Poisonous Spider, it had been swallowed by a larger Earth Dragon.

The Earth Dragon was, of course, one of the Poisonous Insects, but it wasn't as valuable; the best quality one was only worth one thousand two hundred coins.

One worth one thousand two hundred had eaten one worth one thousand eight hundred; this was a huge loss.

He was very angry. He cautiously stepped forward and quickly sprinkled powder on the path the Earth Dragon was taking.

The medicinal powder seeped into the ground. The Earth Dragon couldn't withstand it and burst out of the ground. Its body was like a giant python, and its whole body looked like it had been scorched by fire.

It opened its mouth, devouring everything it touched.

He threw out a fine-mesh capture net specifically for catching snakes and caught the Earth Dragon.

The Earth Dragon wanted to burrow back underground. Xia Shaoxin had long anticipated its intention and rolled on the ground a few times with the fine-mesh net, entangling the Earth Dragon.

The Earth Dragon slammed its tail on the ground, bringing the capture net as it lunged forward, intending to swallow him. Xia Shaoxin nimbly retreated, dragging the capture net and pulling the Earth Dragon along.

An Earth Dragon was just a large earthworm. This was the Green Poison Spider's territory, and he had never seen an Earth Dragon here before; it must have been a passerby.

Yet it just happened to swallow the expensive Green Poison Spider.

Then he would have to use it as a substitute.

In the past, when he encountered such Poisonous Insects, he couldn't bear to kill them and tried to catch them alive.

Now, Xia Shaoxin felt no pity at all. He struck ruthlessly, using a sharp dagger to cut the Earth Dragon, and green liquid flowed out, splattering everywhere.

In the fine-mesh net, the Earth Dragon was on the verge of death, motionless.

Xia Shaoxin was greatly shocked. The liquid of an ordinary Earth Dragon was black. Green liquid meant it was the top-tier Earth Dragon, known as the "Golden Earth Dragon," worth ten thousand coins.

"Now it belongs to me, right?"

A beam of light emitted from between his eyebrows, and the Earth Dragon's body disappeared.

A wave of joyful excitement came from his Sea of Consciousness.