You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

"What a pity, what a real pity!" The Insect Daoist shook his head.

Qi Fei said with a smile, "There's nothing to regret. I'll just repeat it for you."

There was nothing he couldn't say about these things. Biology was a subject from his previous life.

He hadn't seen anyone else here who was interested in these things. The lazy, unassuming insect-wielding man in the gray-blue robe before him was the first.

So Qi Fei explained some basic biology knowledge, but he couldn't remember anything more...

"...That's pretty much it," Qi Fei said. "The method for studying biology is observation, summarization, and induction."

The Insect Taoist leaned against the palm tree, listening intently.

"What if we don't know whether what we observe and summarize is right or wrong?" he asked.

"Then we need to..."

Before Qi Fei could finish speaking, the Insect Daoist interrupted, "We need to give it a try."

"Yes," Qi Fei nodded, "we need to conduct experiments."

Upon hearing this, the Insect Daoist clapped his hands and laughed.

"I am not alone on my path! I am not alone on my path! I am very happy today."

"I have also observed birds, millipedes, and fish. I thought I was the only one in the world who had done so, but I never imagined that someone before me had summarized it so accurately."

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

What's so wonderful about it?

The beauty lies in the fact that by observing birds, insects, and fish, one realizes that the world is not as one imagines it to be!

Qi Fei also said, "Indeed. Some predecessors even conducted experiments thousands of years ago to see if inanimate objects could develop consciousness."

He thought of the Seven Illusion Sword Formation. He thought of the arguments between the two factions carved on the stone walls.

It was because of their disputes, their explorations, and their relentless pursuit that the Seven Illusions Sword Formation came into being, and that the "sword" came into being.

What those people did thousands of years ago is actually quite similar to what he's talking about now: "observation, summarization, induction, and experimentation."

"Oh?" The Insect Daoist's eyes brightened even more. "Did our ancestors try this thousands of years ago?"

"It is a great pleasure to meet you today, fellow Daoist. I would be honored if you would do me the honor of sharing a drink with me."

He sat up straight and took a seashell out of his pocket. The seashell was about the size of a palm, milky white all over, with fine spirals on its surface, and shimmered with a pearly luster in the sunlight.

He tossed the shell into his hand, and it landed on the beach with a soft "smack," and then it began to grow.

In the blink of an eye, the seashell grew from the size of a palm to the size of a washbasin, then to the size of a tabletop, and finally landed steadily on the sand, transforming into a small courtyard.

The courtyard wall is more than a person's height, made of blue bricks and gray tiles, and the gate is made of wood with three characters "Xianchongju" (meaning "Idle Insect Residence") carved on the lintel.

"Please." The Insect Daoist stood up, pushed open the courtyard gate, and gestured for Qi Fei to enter.

This is his home; only close relatives are allowed to enter.

Qi Fei followed him inside.

The courtyard is decorated very elegantly.

In the center of the courtyard stood a stone table and benches. A chessboard was carved on the tabletop, and the chess pieces were ready-made, black and white, polished smooth and shiny.

The most eye-catching feature is a row of shelves against the north wall. The shelves are made of bamboo, with three tiers, each filled with specimens.

The top layer contains birds, including kingfishers, sparrows, and seagulls.

The second layer features butterflies, moths, beetles, and other insects. The wings of these butterflies and moths shimmer with tiny lights in the sunlight, and every detail—antennae, compound eyes, and leg segments—is clearly visible.

The third layer contains a caterpillar, which is blue, white, reddish-black, and even several multi-legged millipedes and centipedes curled up in a ball, all motionless.

The two sat down at the stone table.

The Insect Taoist brought out a jar of wine from the house, broke the mud seal, and poured two bowls. The wine was fine, but the man was also quite interesting.

It's not about what you drink, but what you talk about!

They drank from day to night.

First, we talked about insects. We went from caterpillars to butterflies, from butterflies to bees, from bees to ants, going further and further away, and going into more and more detail.

Then they talked about plants, starting with palm trees and moving on to the Araceae, Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, Solanaceae, and so on.

Finally, regarding cultivation, I talked about everything from observing the truth to experiencing tribulations, from experiencing tribulations to the Three Pure Ones, and from the Three Pure Ones to the Golden Elixir. I said everything that could be said, and also a lot of things that couldn't be said.

They talked about it from night to day, enjoying themselves immensely.

Qi Fei rarely encountered a cultivator who enjoyed observing all things in nature.

In this world, the people he met were either busy cultivating themselves, busy fighting, busy helping others, or busy being helped by others.

No one ever seriously observes nature and looks at whether these ubiquitous things are as they imagine them to be.

The Insect Taoist was the first.

It was rare for the Insect Daoist to encounter a cultivator with such knowledge.

He observed birds and insects his whole life, but he always did it all by himself, thinking and figuring things out on his own.

No one discussed it with him, no one corrected his mistakes, and no one told him, "What you observed was summarized by someone thousands of years ago."

The two men raised their wine bowls and clinked them together.

"For insects," said the Insect Taoist.

"For observation," Qi Fei said.

"For experimentation."

"I am not alone on my path."

Both of them were cultivators, and after drinking for so long, even those who were usually sober were a little tipsy.

Qi Fei put down his wine bowl, knowing it was time to leave.

"Thank you for your hospitality today," he said. "I will be leaving Nantianfang in a month, so I will be staying in Dafang for the next few days. If I have any free time, I will bring some fine wine and come to visit you here."

Daoist Insect shook his head and said, "Fellow Daoist, you're probably going to be disappointed. I've been here for over a year, and I'll be heading to the South Sea soon to see other places."

"The world is so vast, there must be strange insects waiting for me to find."

After hearing this, he stood up, straightened his robes, cupped his hands in greeting to the Insect Daoist, laughed heartily, and said with a carefree air:

"Then we'll meet again someday!"

Sometimes, cultivators might meet once and then never see each other again.

It's not that I don't want to see you, it's just that the world is vast, and we each have our own paths and our own destinations.

Today we're drinking and chatting by the sea in Nantianfang, tomorrow one of us will be heading to the south of the South China Sea, and the other will be going to some unknown, distant place to search for insects.

This parting might be for a lifetime.

Damn it, it's not as convenient as having a cell phone in my previous life!

Qi Fei suddenly had this thought in his mind.

He left "Xianchongju" and returned to Dafang, where he casually rented a small courtyard. Nantianfang was bustling with people, and there were small courtyards specifically for renting to people from other places.

Not long after they settled in, they heard someone knocking on the door.

Qi Fei opened the door with a puzzled look on his face and saw two people standing in the doorway.

"What can I do for you?" Qi Fei asked.

"Are you new here?" one of them asked.

"good."

"You haven't paid rent; we're here to collect it!"

Qi Fei asked in confusion, "I already taught the landlord."

"That's rent for the landlord, not for our Fury Sea Society!" the man said.

"You mean...you're extorting me?" Qi Fei was practically laughing in anger. "I'm a cultivator!"

"We charge cultivators their money!"