For a while, no more customers came to the store. Seeing no one around, Long Xuan closed his stall.
Even though seven Resilient Roach Gu remained unsold, he had earned six medium-grade spirit stones today, equivalent to six hundred low-grade spirit stones. This was not a small amount for a casual cultivator, and Long Xuan was very satisfied.
With a hefty sum in his pocket, he finally had the confidence to go shopping on Taobao.
Long Xuan couldn't wait to delve deep into the market to find the black iron and high-grade spirit stone he had been thinking about.
However, after a month and a half, how could he come across them by chance again? Furthermore, every Gu cultivator was busy practicing and gathering resources in the wild. It was impossible for them to set up stalls here every day. Whether he could come across them depended on luck.
After searching for a while with no results, Long Xuan could only give up in disappointment. It seemed he didn't have the aura of the protagonist.
But it didn't matter. There were so many treasures. If a bunch of new stall owners and new treasures didn't flow into the market one day, the treasures would be endless.
If old treasures don't leave, new treasures won't come. New treasures that flow in may not be worse than old treasures.
Long Xuan adjusted his mentality and walked towards a shop that occupied an unusually large area.
A while ago, a new chamber of commerce had settled here, dealing in fossils. Countless fossils were piled up in the yard of the shop.
In this world, there are numerous sources of spiritual insects—some from wild captures and others from artificial breeding. The spiritual medicines in the medicine garden also breed insects, but only the spiritual insects born from high-grade spiritual medicines are valuable for refining Gu. Insects born from common first-grade spiritual medicines found on the street are killed off with insecticide powder.
Some spiritual beasts also parasitize certain spiritual insects, including humans who may possess them innately. These are called innate spiritual Gu. Such individuals are often geniuses with incredible abilities.
Some spiritual insects originate underground, such as earthworms, mole crickets, ants...
Even hard stones may harbor insects, and their quality may not be low.
The ice ages that periodically occur on Earth also exist in this world and are even more severe.
During these periods, temperatures plummet, and cold currents invade the entire world. Cold erodes every corner, covering the entire surface with heavy snow and glaciers. The world enters a realm of ice, snow, and biting cold winds.
At this point, Earth enters eternal winter, and for countless years, no warm days return.
During this period, surface plants freeze en masse, and Earth ceases to produce food. All living things either freeze or starve to death. The vitality of all things is cut off, and countless species may become extinct in the ice age. Few creatures survive.
Insects are considered the most resilient. As the ice age approaches, insects worldwide, guided by high-level spiritual Gu, burrow underground and enter a dormant state. They wrap themselves in thick stone coats to fend off cold air erosion. Insects in this dormant state cease all bodily functions, requiring no food or drink. Energy consumption halts, and lifespan remains static. They may survive countless years.
They awaken only when disturbed by external factors, slowly shedding their stone coats. When they emerge again, tens of millions or even billions of years may have passed.
Stones containing ancient spiritual Gu are known as fossils among Gu cultivators.
Spiritual Gu within fossils are often too distant from the present, possibly harboring rare or extinct species. They hold immense value, promising riches upon discovery.
However, not all spiritual Gu survive the ice ages. Most succumb, despite their protective stone coats. Few manage to survive this period.
Consequently, most stones contain dead insects and have long become true fossils over endless years. Only one in a hundred stones contains living insects.
To maximize profits, the factions controlling fossil veins sell all fossils and shift all risks to others. Their profits or losses hinge entirely on luck.
Thus, the global gambling stone industry emerged.
One cut might impoverish, another enrich, and another clad in luxury. This industry thrives on heartbeats.
While most lose money, many Gu cultivators indulge, hoping luck will grant them overnight riches by unveiling a heaven-defying insect species. These individuals are all gamblers.
Rules govern gambling stones. The texture of a stone allows estimations of whether it houses living insects. Hence, numerous stone gambling masters exist.
Yet, even the world's most adept stone gambling master exceeds others only marginally. No one can definitively discern a stone's contents—whether it contains dead or living insects.
However, today, an exception entered this stone gambling shop.
In Long Xuan's view, stones incapable of showing progress naturally lacked worms, whereas those displaying progress naturally housed worms. The more decimal places, the finer the stone.
The quality materials in the entire stone gambling shop seemed offered freely to him.
Long Xuan's mouth curved into a smile as he continued to cover his face and strode in confidently.
The stone gambling shop was vast, divided into several major areas. Areas with fossils of good appearance and high worm rates were concentrated and sold at high prices.
Areas with poor appearance and likely more dead worms dominated. This segment occupied the largest area, featuring cheaper fossils. Consequently, this was where most people gathered, each craving a small bargain or a grand find.
They scrutinized fossils, knocking and touching them, studying them meticulously for most of the day. Eventually, they grappled with choices and hesitations.
Consequently, despite the throng, transactions were infrequent.
Stones varied in size from small, fist-sized ones to towering four-meter-high specimens. These "King Stones" were displayed centrally, drawing a crowd who touched and exclaimed over them.
Naturally, the Stone King commanded the highest price in the venue. None dared purchase it, and few could afford it. It sat there, attracting many onlookers, yet no one bought it.
Long Xuan, too, was astonished by this Stone King. How fearful of death must this spiritual Gu be to fashion such a thick stone coat? Such thickness surely safeguarded it against freezing. The insect spawning rate of this Stone King must be remarkably high.
Subconsciously, Long Xuan activated his golden finger's ability, confirming a progress of [82.68732%] displayed at the center of the Stone King.
Wow, five digits after the decimal point. This meant the hidden content might be a top-grade spiritual insect, matured for over ten thousand years. Top-grade spiritual insects were essential for refining top-grade poisonous insects.
Long Xuan's eyes lit up, his heart pounding wildly.