The Path to Immortality: Starting with an Analysis of Basic Concepts

Insect world.

The southern borderlands are wild and desolate.

Dark clouds covered the sky, and a light drizzle fell, creating a misty, veil-like atmosphere.

In this dim world, however, there was a vast expanse of twinkling stars swaying in the wind. From a distance, it looked as if a galaxy was perched beside a cloud of misty white light of unknown size.

at this time.

In the depths of darkness, a mountain peak rises.

A giant ant, foot long and stained with dirt, with a faint reddish hue, crawled to the top of the boulder. When it saw the dazzling starry river in front of it, it froze for a moment, then turned around and let out excited hisses from its mouthparts.

"We're here! We're here!..."

"Jufeng, I've found it, I've found it..."

The screech subsided.

A golden figure darted out from the dim rain, flew to the side of the mud-covered fire ant, ignored its hissing, and looked into the distance.

Upon seeing the dazzling Milky Way, it breathed a sigh of relief, and a somewhat powerless and helpless voice came out from its mouthparts.

"Finally... we've arrived..."

Heaven's mercy is evident.

After more than a month of travel, Zhu Yu finally understood why there were "traveling merchant tribes" in the insect world.

The "insect world" is simply too vast.

Not only is it vast, but its vitality is so abundant that all the rolling hills and mountains you see are covered in lush greenery, making it impossible to distinguish east from west.

It's easy to imagine how dangerous it would be to go out.

The "sheep" is also not very reliable. It comes from the "fire ant" tribe and took more than half a month to find the temporary market set up by the "red fire ant" tribe.

"Never mind, it wasn't easy for him either..."

Zhu Yu glanced at the red fire ant "Sheep" that kept hissing and shouting "We've arrived," and considered taking some of its life stones. However, when he thought about how it had been driven crazy by the barking of the three-headed dog "Blackie" on the way, he suppressed the idea.

As he was thinking this, a majestic, seven-colored rooster appeared beside him. "Cai Ling" looked at the enormous, misty white ball of light with curiosity in her crimson eyes.

Immediately following were two large snakes, one black and one white, covered in mud. The black snake and the white snake snaked towards them, and on its back stood the golden-eyed crane "White Hair", the large grass rat "Bald Head", and the large red fox "Fire Tail".

Then, following behind were "Cerberus" Kuroko and "Black Soil" Black Soil, who looked like a mud ball.

They were all soaked to the bone, looking as ugly and ridiculous as could be.

It wasn't that they didn't want to use their spiritual power to protect themselves, but rather that the rain had lasted for more than half a month, and if they used their spiritual power to protect themselves, the energy consumption would be too much for them to handle.

Fortunately, he only looked disheveled; there was no real problem.

"Have we arrived yet?...?"

"That's a colony of red imported fire ants? Wow, they're huge..."

"What is that big white ball?"

"Wow, as expected of a large tribe, they are so beautiful..."

"..."

Upon seeing the dazzling starry sky below, the black and white second-class spirit beasts perked up and began chattering excitedly.

"We've finally arrived..."

Black Soil shook off the soil from its body, stood up, and looked down at the scene below. The depression in its heart was swept away, leaving only the joy of being able to transmit the "Life Dew" to the local area.

"Let's go."

Zhu Yu was not happy about this terrible journey. He just wanted to enter the "Fungus Domain" as soon as possible to find "God-given Spirit Seeds" and see if he could trade for some top-tier and special spirit seeds.

Trading with "Jia Twenty-Three".

Although he only had eight "jade coins" left, he still had thirteen lord-level "flesh-like grass" fruits, three lord-level "sirens-like algae fruits," and two "sirens-like algae spirit seeds."

Unless he encounters the best spiritual seed, he will not trade the "Sea Witch Ulva Spiritual Seed". Instead, he plans to cultivate it into a wild spiritual plant. Such a top-grade spiritual plant with excellent effects would be very valuable even if it is wild.

A large group of insects and beasts descended the mountain.

Not long after.

Then they arrived at the entrance of the "market".

Unlike the small market of the "Cerberus," the temporary market set up by the "Red Fire Ants" was very formal. Its perimeter was covered with highly poisonous "poison vines" that twined around it like walls, leaving a gap several tens of feet wide in the center.

It can be seen that there are scattered insects and beasts coming and going.

Zhu Yu and his group of insects and beasts arrived at the gate, where they were stopped by a high-ranking fire ant insect warrior whose mandibles vibrated.

"Entering the market requires ten Life Stones, and staying in the market for one day requires ten Life Stones. The 'Red Fire Ant' tribe has opened an entrance to the 'Fungal Realm,' which requires one thousand Life Stones to enter..."

Its little mouth kept chattering, explaining many market rules.

For example, fighting and causing trouble are prohibited, with a penalty of 1000 Life Stones. You can set up your own stalls to trade, but you must pay 1000 Life Stones. You cannot back out after a transaction, and you cannot deceive "Red Fire Ant" larvae. Violations will be punished, etc…

The "Red Fire Ant" warrior's description of Bald Head and Fire Tail left the creatures stunned, especially by the string of numbers appended to its words, which made the spirit beasts, accustomed to poverty, envious.

This punishment isn't just taking away the Life Stones, it's taking their lives.

"How many Life Stones would that earn..."

Zhu Yu looked at the boundless "market" and secretly envied it. If he had such a large market and managed it well, he could earn much more than struggling to farm.

But he knew it was impossible.

The peace in the "Insect World" is only relative. Even if he really establishes a large market, a "tribe" might come to visit tomorrow and take over their market.

"But the big ones won't do, the small ones are fine..."

Zhu Yu's eyes lit up slightly. He couldn't run a large-scale market, but he could run a small market similar to the "Cerberus Market".

Earning Life Stones is secondary; the main goal is to provide a stable income for the neighbors. Once they all break through to the second tier and have some assistance, it's not too late to slowly plan for other things.

Putting aside his thoughts for the moment, Zhu Yu took out a thousand Life Stones and obtained ten black stone tablets imprinted with the "Red Fire Ant" pattern from the "Red Fire Ant" Zerg warrior.

It contains simple array patterns, and when spiritual power is transferred in, the character "十" (ten) appears, indicating that they can stay in the "market" for ten days.

Zhu Yu glanced at them and distributed the stone tablets one by one.

Approaching the red fire ant "Sheep," he handed it the stone tablet, then took out a full thousand life stones and gave them to it, saying:

"Sheep, thank you for bringing the giant beetle to the Red Fire Ant Market. This is your well-deserved reward."

The "sheep" counted the number of items, its heart filled with joy. It quickly put them away, thanked the guide, and then said, "Giant Peak, do you need a guide? I've been in this market for a while and know a lot of places." After a pause, it added, "Hiring me will only cost ten Life Stones a day."

These words were spoken.

The bald-headed, fire-tailed, and other spirit beasts, accustomed to poverty, glared angrily at them.

"You're a wicked worm."

"Ten Life Stones a day, even fighting for them can't keep up with you."

"You black-hearted fire ant, we don't need you under the giant mountain."

"Let's go, let's go..."

"Cerberus" glanced at them but ignored them, its eyes gazing melancholically at the sky. It was homesick, missing the soft meadows and its slender little female dog...

Faced with the menacing spirit beasts, "Sheep" shrank back. Even if his true form were here, let alone his distracted state, he might not be able to defeat these few strange spirit beasts. (Note: The last sentence appears to be an unrelated advertisement and has been omitted from the translation.)

Especially that big rooster that wouldn't even look at him.

"As expected, they are cultivators from other realms..."

Zhu Yu thought to himself that he would open a small market in the future, and he needed to have goods to sell. However, Hua Ling could not carry that much at once, and the spiritual food she sold was too high-end for the poor spirit beasts in the desolate borderlands to afford.

The "sheep" is a red imported fire ant, so perhaps we could cooperate with it.

Of course, he also planned to plant some ordinary spirit seeds.

"One insect can't handle it all..."

A thought flashed through his mind, and Zhu Yu stepped forward, stopping Baldy and Firetail from scolding them. He took out a hundred Life Stones and handed them to the "Sheep," saying:

"Let's talk about 'sheep' as we walk..."

Seeing that there were more Life Stones, Yang nodded happily and stepped forward to lead the way, explaining as they went:

The market is divided into two sections: front and back...

In the introduction to "sheep".

Zhu Yu and his companions, insects and beasts, entered the "marketplace".

From the outside, it doesn't look like anything special.

But there's more to it than meets the eye. First of all, the continuous drizzle seems to be blocked by an invisible shield, naturally diverting outwards.

According to "Sheep," this is an array set up by the "Red Fire Ant" tribe based on a divinely bestowed spiritual seed called "Rain Flower Umbrella" within their tribe. It not only blocks rainwater erosion but also possesses strong protective power.

"Using 'divinely bestowed spiritual seeds' to set up an array..."

May my heart be filled with clarity and peace.

The "divinely bestowed spirit seed" is perfectly suited to the "insect world" and is an excellent "foundation for the array". If you are afraid of damaging the divinely bestowed seed, you can use it as a suppressing object in the array to exert a great effect.

He felt a slight joy in his heart.

"I really do need to get out and see the world..."

Besides the invisible shield protecting it from the rain, the "market" is filled with stone houses, earthen houses, and wooden houses of varying sizes.

Some of these were built by the "Red Fire Ant" tribe, while others were built by foreign insects and beasts. Although they look somewhat scattered, the overall layout is centered around a straight road leading to the end, radiating outwards on both sides.

They seemed to hold "stone tablets" that allowed them to freely enter rooms devoid of insects and beasts, rooms that did not accept life stones.

As we walked deeper into the "marketplace".

Stalls began to appear along both sides of the main road, selling a wide variety of things, including spiritual food, minerals and jade, and unknown tools, etc.

Zhu Yu even saw spirit beasts selling their own cubs.

It's a pity it's a frog-like spirit beast, otherwise I could buy a few to keep at home...

Thinking of guarding the house, Zhu Yu couldn't help but look at the "three-headed dog" Hei Zi, admiring its slender body and thinking to himself:

"What a good dog, what a great ride..."

As if sensing something, Kuroko, who was missing home, raised all three of his heads at the same time, looked around with puzzled expressions, then bared his teeth, sneezed, and lowered his head.

Traveling along the way.

Zhu Yu would occasionally fly to the stalls selling rare and unusual spirit seeds to take a look. He did buy some ordinary spirit seeds, but he had never seen a single special or top-tier spirit seed.

As he walked, a shout caught his attention.

"Selling honey, selling honey, sweet and delicious honey..."

Zhu Yu looked in the direction of the sound and saw three chubby and adorable bumblebees, one big and two small, calling out in turn not far away.

It seemed to realize something, its eyes brightened slightly, and it flapped its wings and flew forward.

Before he could even speak.

A crisp, surprised exclamation rang out first.

"Wow, what a majestic bee!"

"It's so beautiful."

"Beautiful and majestic big-winged wasps, would you like to buy some honey? Honey... honey... honey is so sweet..."

"Delicious...sweet...delicious..."

Two bumblebees, each no bigger than a fist, hovered around Zhu Yu, chattering happily.

Zhu Yu was delighted to see his family member and handed each of the two little bumblebees a Life Stone, and another Life Stone to the shy big bumblebee, saying, "May I try a Giant Bumblebee?"

The bumblebee hurriedly scooped a spoonful of golden honey from the bamboo jar using a thin bamboo tube, handed it to Zhu Yu, and smacked his lips, saying:

"It smells...sweet..."

Zhu Yu looked at it strangely, stretched out his leg to check it, confirmed that it was not poisonous, and put it in his mouth to taste it.

How to describe the taste? It is indeed very sweet and delicious, but the spiritual energy it contains is extremely weak, and it cannot even be considered a low-grade spiritual energy food.

"Is there anything better?" Zhu Yu asked.

The bumblebee hesitated for a moment, but still landed on the stall, in front of the few bamboo tubes casually placed there. It picked up a bamboo tube about the size of a bamboo spoon and said:

"This is 'bear honey'... Eat it... Eat it to gain strength..."

"Gain strength, gain strength..."

The two little bears hugged the Stone of Life and repeated.

"Bear honey?... "

While Zhu Yu was puzzled, the giant bumblebee opened the bamboo tube. There was no special smell. Inside the bamboo tube, there was a black, mud-like substance. He reached out his claw, dug out a little, and after confirming that it was not poisonous, put it into his mouth.

Upon tasting, a bitter medicinal aroma fills the air, followed by a burst of sweetness. As it enters the stomach, a warm current flows through the entire body, creating a sensation akin to soaking in a hot spring—utterly comfortable.

The heat lasted for several breaths before it subsided.

Zhu Yu snapped out of his daze, checked himself, and found that his strength had indeed increased. Surprised, he asked:

"Big bumblebee, how much is this honey?"

"One jar contains a thousand Life Stones."

When the selling price was mentioned, the bumblebee immediately stopped talking.

Zhu Yu simply took out the Life Stone and handed it to the giant bumblebee, then took the obviously high-quality "bumblebee honey" and put it away, intending to reveal his purpose later.

"Big bumblebee, have you ever thought about moving?"

"what?"

The bumblebee, who was happily stepping out with a jar of "bumblebee honey," paused for a moment upon hearing this, then shook its head without hesitation, saying, "'Taro's' home is here, I'm not leaving..."

"All right."

Zhu Yu sensed the firmness in its tone, and upon hearing this, stopped pressing the matter and turned to leave.

But just then...

Taro's voice came through the microphone.

"Kind-hearted bumblebee warrior, would you like to adopt a 'bumblebee'?"

"Yes."

Zhu Yu turned around and nodded. He had a mountain of thousand-year-old flowers and trees, and it would be a real shame not to develop them. However, he had never found bees that knew how to collect and make honey.

"Big-winged Wasp Warrior, do you think Xiong Da and Xiong Er are okay with them?... "

"Big Bumblebee," Taro said happily.

Not long after.

When Zhu Yu left, she was accompanied by two cheerful, talkative little girls.

The center of the "market".

"Is that the door to the 'Fungal Realm'...?"

Zhu Yu led a group of insects and beasts to the center of the market city. Looking at the light screen embedded in the misty white light, which was almost blue, his eyes lit up with joy.