Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Of course, it's not that the strength of those with Golden Core wasn't substantial, but the breeding rate of these black insects was simply too rapid!

The black insects seemed to be able to transform the consumed Spiritual Energy into bug eggs at the fastest speed, and to say they were breeding as they ate wouldn't be an exaggeration.

With the power of a Golden Core expert, of course, one could easily eliminate the black insects over a vast area, but those tiny, ubiquitous eggs were incredibly hard to eradicate because they were too many and too small.

If the Yuanming Sect hadn't dispatched a great number of disciples and issued tasks to Loose Cultivators, countless cultivators wouldn't have been able to unite their efforts. Otherwise, more than just the territory of two clans would have been devoured by the black insects.

As for why they didn't summon the clan cultivators this time? It was because they needed to safeguard their own clans.

"It is said that Green Mountain State has also suffered from the black insect calamity, but they have found a solution, curbed the speed of the black insects' consumption, and have even begun to reclaim lost ground." This was the only piece of good news that Li Shize brought back.

Li Zhirui breathed a sigh of relief, assuming that the Yuanming Sect would purchase the solution from Green Mountain State.

Moreover, Da Rong Island is situated at sea, merely two hundred li away for cultivators, but perhaps those black insects couldn't fly that far? Li Zhirui thought hopefully.

"For the following news, I will trouble you to continue gathering information. It would be best to learn about the flying capabilities of those black insects. If they cannot fly far, then there's no need to worry for the time being."

Who would have thought that Li Shize would give a bitter smile and say, "I have one more piece of news I haven't shared. As those black insects have consumed a large number of Spiritual Objects, many first-order demonic bugs have already been born amongst them, and their evolution is incredibly fast.

Perhaps if we let them continue to consume for a while longer, second-order demonic bugs might emerge."

Li Shize's words completely shattered the hope Li Zhirui harbored in his heart; if there were second-order demonic bugs, how could a mere two hundred li prevent them from flying over?

"What should we do now?" Some elders had completely lost their composure.

Li Zhirui shook his head; he couldn't think of any solution and could only wait for the Yuanming Sect to obtain the means of dealing with the black insects from Green Mountain State.

"Spread this news to everyone on the island. Should any abnormalities be discovered, report immediately to the family!" Li Zhirui said gravely, "Station a member of the clan in every town to facilitate timely communication."

Moreover, from now on, entering or leaving Da Rong Island would require strict Divine Sense scanning.

Meanwhile, in the Yuanming Sect, the atmosphere in the great hall was extremely heavy.

They had already paid a high price to obtain the solution from Green Mountain State—a second-order Pill Recipe for an enhanced version of Insect-Extinguishing Powder.

Insect-Extinguishing Powder was a rather uncommon Spirit Pill. The Yuanming Sect had its archives, and although not difficult to concoct, the Yuanming Sect's second-order alchemists simply hadn't learned it yet.

The difficulty of concocting this enhanced version of Insect-Extinguishing Powder increased considerably, but if that were all, it would merely mean using up more Spiritual Medicine.

But who would have thought, the Yuanming Sect lacked the main ingredient, second-order Poison Snake Grass!

Poison Snake Grass was even more obscure than Insect-Extinguishing Powder, and the Yuanming Sect did not cultivate it. They could only order it from several guilds in the marketplace, but the soonest delivery for the Spiritual Medicine would take seven days.

As for purchasing from Green Mountain State? That state still had a large region infested with black insects, desperately needing Insect-Extinguishing Powder—how could they possibly sell it to you?

"Shen Leishan can deliver a few hundred Poison Snake Grass plants by tomorrow, but we'll have to share them equally with the Green Sword Sect; this amount of Spiritual Medicine isn't enough!" Sect Master Liu Yunde said with a worried expression.

Experiments in Green Mountain State had proven that to completely exterminate black insects, a diluted solution of Insect-Extinguishing Powder was effective for an area no larger than ten zhang square. If spread over a larger area, the effects would not be achieved.

Now, within Yunping State, black insects had covered hundreds of li of territory, and this would require at least thousands of Insect-Extinguishing Powder doses.

"Just hang in there for the time being, at least we can't let the black insects advance any further," Jiang Tianming said tiredly. He had been running around these past days to exterminate the black insects, and even as a Golden Core cultivator, he could barely withstand the exhaustion.

Liu Yunde nodded and asked, "Zhu, how many more times do you estimate you need to practice before you can successfully refine the Insect-Extinguishing Powder?"

"Another ten or more times should do it," Zhu paused before adding, "But with just me alone, I won't be able to refine so much Insect-Extinguishing Powder in a short period of time."@@novelbin@@

An Alchemist at the first tier might still be able to pull through with a large amount of resources, but this method isn't suitable for a second-tier Alchemist due to the excessive consumption. Even the Yuanming Sect would feel the pinch.

"I remember the Jiang Family has a second-tier Alchemist? The Li family, and a few Loose Cultivators, can also refine second-tier Spirit Pills. Why not summon them all?" suggested an Elder.

"That person from the Li family is a Water Method Alchemist, what's the use in asking him to come." Another Elder shook his head and said, "It's better to call that person from the Jiang Family, and the other Loose Cultivators." Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

Liu Yunde thought it over and decided, "Let's summon them all. I heard that Li Zhirui merely needed a Pill Recipe to refine the Consolidating Yuan Pill, so he seems to have some talent in Alchemy. It's just one or two thousand Contribution Points and some materials anyhow."

Hence, Li Zhirui, who was organizing his clan members on Da Rong Island to be cautious of the black insects, got summoned to Yuanming Mountain by a decree from the Yuanming Sect.

When Liu Yunde received Li Zhirui and his entourage in this magnificent hall, he saw the group of people with the highest Alchemy skills in Yunping State.

Including himself, there were five people, and among these five, Li Zhirui had even more respect for those two Loose Cultivators!

Being able to refine second-tier Spirit Pills as Loose Cultivators showed the talent those two possessed in the art of Alchemy.

It could even be said that their talent might be the best among everyone present, it was just unfortunate that they had been unlucky.

Actually, with their capabilities, joining a power as guest elders would certainly be very welcomed. For some reason, though, they remained as Loose Cultivators until now.

But they lived quite comfortably with the second-tier Spirit Pills they refined themselves.

"If you all can refine the Insect-Extinguishing Powder, in addition to a large number of Contribution Points, you will also receive a second-tier Pill Recipe!"

Liu Yunde gave an extensive speech, which Li Zhirui didn't listen to carefully, but this sentence immediately stuck in his mind.

Although Li Zhirui had many Pill Recipes in his possession now, such good things were naturally better the more he had.

"May I inquire, Sect Master Liu, is the second-tier Pill Recipe one of our own choosing?" Li Zhirui asked.

Liu Yunde nodded, "Yes, as long as our fellow Daoists can refine the Insect-Extinguishing Powder, you can select any second-tier Pill Recipe from the second floor of our Yuanming Sect's Scripture Pavilion."

The Yuanming Sect wasn't known for Alchemy, besides the Foundation Establishment Pill Recipe, the other recipes weren't that precious. They could choose any they wanted, and the Foundation Establishment Pill Recipe wasn't on the second floor anyway.

After getting a positive answer from Liu Yunde, Li Zhirui immediately dismissed the idea of passively dealing with the matter.

Because he knew that the Insect-Extinguishing Powder required the Fire Refinement Method, and if he wanted to refine it, he would need to modify the Pill Recipe himself, which was quite troublesome.

After all, with so many people here, the Insect-Extinguishing Powder would definitely be refined successfully, and this calamity resolved.

But now, Li Zhirui was "enticed" by the conditions offered by the Yuanming Sect, changing his previous mindset.