Chapter Eighty-Six: How Had He Suddenly Become an Elder?

The Geng Metal Finger had already taken root in Zhou Changwang’s mind, becoming a seed of sorcery, but that did not mean he had to rely on that imprint every time he used it.

If he wished, he could still drive it forth with spiritual power.

Its force would be slightly weaker, of course.

But the advantage was that he could cast it far more often.

After one Geng Metal Finger, Zhou Changwang quickly discovered another Black-Needle Poison Bee clinging to a Spirit-Gathering Herb, and he hastily thrust out his hand once more.

As before, he killed the second bee with a single point of his finger.

Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth.

He searched through all five acres of spirit fields, and at last wiped out every Black-Needle Poison Bee that had entered them.

Yet his mood did not improve.

For though he had dealt with these bees, the appearance of even one Black-Needle Poison Bee meant there must be a hive nearby.

If he could not destroy the hive, then every day there would be an endless stream of Black-Needle Poison Bees pouring into his fields, ravaging his spirit plants.

“I have to think of a way to track these bees and find their nest,” Zhou Changwang thought, feeling somewhat helpless.

He could not possibly remain in the fields day and night.

But the Spirit-Gathering Herbs were almost ripe, and each plant was worth one lower-grade spirit stone. He could not bear to let the Black-Needle Poison Bees ruin them.

Not to mention the Thunder-Spirit Rice trees.

Their value was beyond estimation.

If he lost even one plant...

His brows knit tightly, and he could no longer sit still.

What was more, he could not ask others for help.

The Thunder-Spirit Rice trees planted in his spirit field were one of his greatest secrets, and he did not want anyone to discover them.

“For now, I can only learn a tracking spell myself and pursue these Black-Needle Poison Bees.”

Thinking this, Zhou Changwang quickly instructed the little spirit dog to keep watch in the medicinal field, while he hurried out the door.

Fortunately, within the market district, advanced spells might be rare, but lower-tier spells were not difficult to buy as long as one had spirit stones.

There were even many kinds of tracking arts.

Seeking-Scent Arts, Spirit-Imprinting Arts, Hundred-Mile Soul-Lock Arts, Thousand-Mile Tracking Arts...

Zhou Changwang had wanted to learn the last two, but both were middle-tier or even advanced spells. He estimated it would take him at least several days to get started, so he chose the Spirit-Imprinting Art instead.

It was an elementary spell, relatively simple to learn.

It was a technique that placed a mark of spiritual energy on a target, after which the caster could track it.

The price was not high: ten lower-grade spirit stones.

After buying it, Zhou Changwang hurried home.

Only after seeing no trace of Black-Needle Poison Bees did he finally let out a breath of relief.

Then he immediately began practicing the spell.

Though the Spirit-Imprinting Art was a low-tier spell, its rune structure was not simple, containing a full eight components.

Once Zhou Changwang grew familiar with it, he began attempting to draw each one in turn.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

Now and then, Black-Needle Poison Bees slipped into the fields. The little spirit dog was keenly alert; at the first sign, it barked loudly, and Zhou Changwang would rush over at once to kill them.

Though he needed to use one bee to track their nest, he had not yet mastered Spirit-Imprinting Art, so naturally he would show no mercy.

Perhaps because his spirit power had improved somewhat during this period, his efficiency in learning spells had also risen quite a bit.

At last, after the third hour, he successfully cast the spell.

The mark, naturally, fell upon the little spirit dog.

He then clearly sensed a thread of spiritual energy settling onto the dog’s body; even with his eyes closed and after walking far away, he could still feel the position of that mark.

At last, he had entered the threshold.

Zhou Changwang exhaled slowly and rose at once, looking around.

Unfortunately, before, he had feared that a Black-Needle Poison Bee might come to disturb and devastate his fields, so whenever one appeared he killed it immediately. Now that he wished to find one, he could not.

With no other choice, Zhou Changwang could only continue practicing the Spirit-Imprinting Art to improve his skill while waiting in secret.

Soon, the sun began to sink in the west, and the light gradually faded.

Just when he thought the Black-Needle Poison Bees would not appear, another one finally emerged, flying unsteadily from the east.

“From the east?”

Zhou Changwang muttered, his brow faintly furrowing.

That direction was home to the residences of high-tier cultivators.

However, he did not hesitate in the slightest. Once the bee landed in the field, he went straight toward it and immediately began casting the Spirit-Imprinting Art.

Compared with ordinary spirit insects, however, the Black-Needle Poison Bee was far more aggressive. The moment Zhou Changwang approached, it whipped up its tail, and a tiny black needle shot toward him like lightning.

Zhou Changwang did not wish to interrupt the casting. He casually drew out a Light-Body Talisman and activated it; his body grew lighter, his footwork shifted, and he swiftly evaded the strike.

“Woof!”

The little spirit dog let out a low growl and lunged as well, its movements swift beyond measure.

But Black-Needle Poison Bees could fly after all, and their speed was not slow. It simply rose higher and slipped away.

“Go!”

At that very moment, Zhou Changwang finally completed the Spirit-Imprinting Art.

A cluster of glimmering spiritual light gathered with his low cry, then transformed into a transparent point of light that swiftly fell onto the Black-Needle Poison Bee.

Spirit-Imprinting Art +1

Success.

The point of light had successfully marked the bee.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Zhou Changwang quickly stopped the little spirit dog from continuing its attack and let the bee circle about the area.

But if it tried to descend and rush toward the spirit plants, he would step forward at once and drive it away with a Water Spirit Art.

After three or four such rounds, the Black-Needle Poison Bee finally realized it could gain nothing here, and at last it swayed away in the direction from which it had come.

“At the beginner stage, Spirit-Imprinting Art has a casting range of only five hundred meters... In truth, once the distance exceeds one hundred meters, the sense becomes blurred; beyond two hundred, it vanishes altogether. And the mark can last only three hours. After that, the point of spiritual light will dissipate...”

The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhou Changwang hurried to the front courtyard and quickly left the house.

Then, with a slight sense of it, he perceived a faint pulling force from the east, and immediately pursued it.

However, within the market district, houses stood everywhere, and he had no ability to fly or burrow through the earth. He could only take a detour, and at one point he nearly lost the trail.

Fortunately, he judged that the other party’s nest was roughly to the east, and after circling past one estate after another, he once again sensed the marked point of light.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Changwang stood before the gate of an estate, a faintly unsettled expression on his face.

The worst had happened.

Though he had already suspected that the Black-Needle Poison Bees were likely being raised by someone, after all, such spirit insects were rarely seen in the inner district of the market, and if they did appear, they would surely be eradicated.

But when that suspicion truly became reality, his heart still sank.

Especially when he saw more than one Black-Needle Poison Bee constantly entering this estate, his expression grew even darker.

There was no doubt: the Black-Needle Poison Bee hive was within this estate.

And from the protective formation within, which remained constantly active, he could easily conclude that someone lived here.

This made things troublesome.

He could not possibly break into another person’s estate to wipe out the bees.

More importantly, this was the eastern district, a famed residence area for high-tier cultivators throughout the market.

And this estate before him was plainly much larger than the small courtyard he lived in.

The surrounding world’s spiritual qi was also far more abundant. Clearly, the person residing here could not have an ordinary status.

Just then, Zhou Changwang noticed an old man approaching slowly from afar, carrying a vegetable basket and a sack of spirit rice on his back.

The old man was not weak either, at the fourth level of Qi Refinement, far stronger than Zhou Changwang, though in the eastern district he seemed somewhat unremarkable.

Zhou Changwang knew that not everyone living in the eastern district was a high-tier cultivator or a top expert.

There were also many servants, attendants, and even hired spiritual farmers, not to mention family members.

Cultivation was not the severing of all feeling and desire, nor the absence of need and longing. When one attained the Dao, even one’s chickens and dogs might rise with one. When cultivators grew strong, they naturally remembered old ties and cared for their families.

Many cultivation clans were formed in exactly this way.

Zhou Changwang guessed that the old man was probably a relative or servant of some high-tier cultivator. Seeing that the man was headed straight for the estate gate opposite him, he hurried forward and greeted him.

“Senior!”

“What is it?” The old man was quite wary, sizing Zhou Changwang up and down.

“Senior, I’d like to ask whose residence this estate is. My spirit pet flew inside, and at the moment I don’t dare enter rashly and disturb anyone.”

After a brief hesitation, Zhou Changwang said this.

“That one?”

Following the direction Zhou Changwang indicated, the old man’s expression changed. Then he looked at him with a trace of pity and said, “A flying spirit pet? Then I advise you to hurry to the market for itinerant cultivators while it is still open and buy a new one. As for this one, I’m afraid even its bones can no longer be found.”

“Ah?”

Zhou Changwang froze.

“Do you know who lives inside?” the old man asked, without really expecting an answer, and then went on by himself. “The Insect King, Xie Tong. His estate is nothing but a nest of bugs. Forget spirit pets; even a high-tier cultivator who goes in would come out in a sorry state.

I’m sure you’ve heard that insect cultivators, because of their techniques, all have strange temperaments. I once saw a young man who rashly went to knock on his door, and he never came out again...”

“Then is there no way at all?
This man... is he very strong?”

Zhou Changwang asked, his expression uncertain.

“Whether he’s strong depends on whom you compare him with. Compared with you and me, of course he’s strong. Compared with my master, though, he falls far short—at most only the sixth level of Qi Refinement.

Still, he is an insect cultivator, and can command spirit insects to attack. When swarms of them descend like a storm, an ordinary high-tier cultivator may not be his match.”

The old man spoke with a sigh.

“I wonder, then, who is your master?” Zhou Changwang asked, following the line of conversation after noticing the pride on the old man’s face when he mentioned his lord.

“Wan Qinghe, the Sword Cultivator of the North of Qi!”

“I see—so it is Senior Wan Qinghe, the Sword Cultivator of the North of Qi. I have long admired your name.”

Zhou Changwang hurriedly cupped his hands in salute, though in truth he had no impression of this high-tier cultivator at all.

He had only ever been a lowly spiritual farmer, and the people he knew were truly few.

Still, since the other man was a sword cultivator, his strength must surely far surpass others of the same level, and be formidable indeed.

“Too kind, too kind.”

The old man also smiled, though inwardly he could not help but mutter: my master is only in his forties—why is he being addressed as a senior?

When people came to visit, which of them did not praise the master as young and promising, peerless in the way of the sword, the most likely among the younger cultivators in the Phoenix Cry Bend market over the past ten years to strike the foundation realm...

How had he become a senior?