The Demon Slayer Martial Saint Begins with Insect Refining

Chapter 3: Driving away insects and driving away mountains
"There shouldn't be any other mountain hunters here, so it's a good time to practice Yinshui Centipede."

There were tall trees and weeds all around, and the broad leaves were still covered with lingering dew, making everything look wet.

Mountain herders usually have their own familiar routes and relatively fixed nests. They usually have a fixed area to collect certain types of mushrooms and herbs to ensure a good harvest.

Other unsearched areas naturally contain more abundant mountain products, but also more poisonous insects and wild animals, as well as other risks.

"rustle"

As soon as the Yinshui centipede came out, the broad leaves of the fern suddenly shook rapidly, rustling, and something passed by quickly.

The Yinshui Centipede counterattacked extremely quickly, its thousands of legs moving together, and it pounced into the grass like a purple shadow.

Su Yan came forward in two or three steps with a long stick in one hand and a hatchet in the other.

A shiny black viper coiled up, half of its body raised, its neck supported like a palm, and its tongue hissing.

'What a big viper!'

The viper in front of them was more than one meter long and as thick as a wrist. When they encountered it while hiking in the mountains, they would not provoke it easily, for fear of being bitten by it.

However, I didn't expect that the poisonous snake would be in such a state after seeing the Yinshui Centipede.

As the Yinshui centipede approached, the viper thrust its head forward, revealing its fangs, and shot out two streams of translucent venom.

The Yinshui Centipede twisted its body and rushed forward like an arrow, not bothering to dodge at all.

The venom had no effect on the body.

The viper was about to bite, but the centipede bit its neck first.

The two of them suddenly rolled into a ball and struggled continuously.

Su Yan did not take action. After a few breaths, the snake's body seemed to have lost its strength after struggling and went limp.

"Even if some of the magical insects haven't reached the highest level, they are not comparable to ordinary poisonous creatures."

"It's a pity for this venomous snake. If it were sold alive to Baicaotang, it would be worth two or three hundred coins."

The Yinshui centipede got up from the poisoned viper, then started to bite it with big mouthfuls, gnawing the viper's head into pieces.

[Yinshui centipede 3/100 (newborn)]

The growth rate of the Yinshui Centipede suddenly changed, and Su Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

"Could it be that swallowing poisonous substances or natural treasures can increase growth points?"

He immediately let the centipede eat all the vipers.

In just seven or eight minutes, the Yinshui centipede finished its meal and ate the entire viper.

I really don't know how it can digest so quickly given the size difference.

"The growth rate has increased by another 8 points, which means that one giant viper has given 10 points of growth."

Su Yan was overjoyed. If he could continue to grow by swallowing poisonous substances, it would be perfect for the improvement of the Yinshui Centipede.

There are many poisonous insects and wild beasts in Yunling Mountain.

But soon, he calmed down.

"Even if it can provide a lot of growth value, it is impossible to consume it all the time. Complete conversion takes time."

The Yinshui centipede is not a food-drinking machine. After eating this meal, it will take several hours for it to continue eating.

Su Yan asked the Yinshui Centipede to guard him, and then searched the surroundings. Soon, he found three snake grasses under a water fern.

"This snake grass is of good quality, about thirty coins."

He put the snake grass into the backpack, and then continued forward with the Yinshui centipede.

The one or two mile mountain road was rugged, and the rain-soaked leaves of plants had already soaked his clothes.

However, Su Yan didn't have time to care about these things. Along the way, there were a lot of mountain products such as white liver mushrooms, fern leaf tea, and chicken mushrooms.

Although it is not as good as those aged herbs, it is still worth a lot of money, about two or three hundred coins.

When we reached a pond the size of a water tank, it was already noon. The sun was rising and the dew on the bushes and weeds had gradually evaporated.

Su Yan found a place to sit by the pond, took out a dry wheat cake and put it into his mouth with water.

At this time, the Yinshui centipede reacted, making a rustling sound and quickly approaching a large-leafed sweet potato by the pond.

Su Yan looked at it in surprise, and suddenly felt something was wrong, so he walked up quickly.

"It's Yin Chigen!"

A dark red plant with curled, thin leaves is hidden beneath the plump leaves.

The whole plant of Yin Chigen is poisonous, but the purchase price at Baicaotang is as high as ten taels per catty. It is said that it is a precious plant that can be refined for martial arts training.

Su Yan was overjoyed. Even if this Yin Chi root weighed less than a pound, if it was of good quality, it would be worth several taels of silver.

He bent down and was about to take action when two black scorpions as big as a palm fell from under the leaves of the broad-leaved sweet potato.

He was startled, and the Yinshui Centipede rushed forward, knocking and flipping the two scorpions over.

The Yinshui centipede was stronger than them and it bit them to death with one blow of its mouth, thus resolving the crisis.

Su Yan was terrified: "I almost forgot, the more precious the herb, the more likely it is to be guarded by something, especially poisonous and exotic herbs. According to what Uncle Xie and the others said, this Yin Chi root is almost a precious plant, so it is normal for it to contain poisonous substances."

The two large scorpions were collected and put into the insect world as food for the Yinshui centipede.

Then, he began to carefully use a wooden shovel to slowly dig along the Yin Chigen plant.

The whole plant of Yin Chigen is poisonous, but the useful part is only the rhizome, so it must be dug out slowly.

When digging, be sure not to break the skin or flesh, otherwise the medicinal effect will be lost and the purchase price will be greatly reduced.

In addition, if you are not careful, some juice will splash out and touch the skin.

Its venom could be fatal. 'Why don't I ask the Yinshui Centipede for help?'

After carefully half-kneeling and digging less than one-third of the way, I could barely see the bright red rhizome.

The Yinshui centipede is easy to control, and unlike him, it is not as cautious about toxins. Its body is flexible, so digging should be easier.

He immediately let the Yinshui centipede take action. Sure enough, the Yinshui centipede used its thousand legs as if to entangle the Yin Chi root.

In a matter of seconds, the soil stuck to the roots was pushed into a small pile by the Yinshui centipede, completely exposing the Yin Chi root.

Su Yan pulled out a fern leaf, spread it over the ground, and took the Yin Chi root in his hand.

The root of the Yin Chi is about the size of a palm and looks to weigh about half a pound.

"I got five taels."

A flash of joy flashed across his eyes, but he was wondering in his heart: "Is the Yinshui Centipede a scorpion or a Yin Chigen?"

He suddenly realized a problem. No matter how powerful the mountain herders were, they seemed no match for the strange insects and beasts in the mountains.

According to rumors, there are some powerful mountain herders who are skilled in mountain herding and keep treasure-hunting rats, treasure-hunting dogs and other animals around them.

Perhaps the Yinshui centipede also has this ability.

He looked at the Yinshui Centipede covered in dirt and said to himself, "Let me see what you can do."

He no longer actively controlled the route, but let the Yinshui Centipede lead the way.

The Yinshui Centipede received the order and drilled straight into the bushes and weeds in the other direction.

He placed Yin Chigen into the insect world and hurriedly followed.

This test made Su Yan extremely surprised.

After three or four hours, the path led by the Yinshui centipede was a difficult one to walk on through the weeds.

However, he found wild astragalus, Panax notoginseng and other medicinal herbs one after another, a ten-year-old wild ginseng, and a bamboo jade tooth.

Wild ginseng is not as close to a precious plant as Yin Chigen, but it is also a fine mountain product, worth four or five taels of silver.

Then there is the bamboo jade tooth, which is a real precious plant.

Eating it can warm the qi and blood, nourish the body, and is even more precious than Yin Chi Gen.

Although they encountered poisonous insects and wild beasts during this period, the Yinshui Centipede was obviously quite powerful.

He defeated a black toad the size of his head and poisoned a half-grown wild boar to death.

In addition, Su Yan also hunted a gray rabbit and a bamboo rat with the bamboo bow he brought with him.

The backpack was completely filled with mountain products, and the precious bamboo jade teeth and ten-year-old wild ginseng were all put into the insect world space.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Su Yan was afraid that he would not be able to get down the mountain if he stayed any longer, so he gave up and went down the mountain with the Yinshui Centipede.

After hurrying all the way, Su Yan finally took the Yinshui Centipede away when he reached the foot of the mountain.

When I rushed home, the jade-like moon had already reached the treetops.

Pushing open the fence door of the loess courtyard, he entered his room.

He lit the lamp, then took off the backpack and carefully counted the day's harvest.

"Almost ten pounds of white liver mushrooms and Acanthopanax fasciata, one pound of fern leaf tea, and also Panax notoginseng, Astragalus, and Gastrodia elata. Almost ten pounds, that should be worth one or two taels of silver."

"The most valuable ones are wild ginseng, bamboo jade teeth, and Yin Chi root. If we sell them all, we'll probably get about 10 to 20 taels of silver."

Going up the mountain depends on the season. If you are lucky, you can make a lot of money, but if the season is over, you can only pick up some odds and ends and make a living with a hundred or so coins.

Now that Su Yan has the Yinshui Centipede, his health has improved a lot, and this is a great harvest.

"It's a pity that the Yinshui Centipede killed some venomous beasts and insects. The poison has entered their bodies and they can't be eaten. They can only serve as its food. If you want to eat meat in the future, you must practice your bow and arrow well."

Arrange the mountain products in the backpack and spread them out in front of you.

Su Yan thought for a while, then took out the wild ginseng and bamboo jade teeth separately.

"We can't attack all at once, that would be too conspicuous. We need to take it slow and steady, and drag it out for as long as possible. Otherwise, it would be bad if someone else were to target us."

He placed the wild ginseng back into the insect world, and then focused on the panel:

[First-level Insect Master: 2/100]

[Insect World: 1 cubic meters]

【Mountain Driving: 3/200 (Small Success)】

[Yinshui centipede 13/100 (newborn)]

Apart from the abundant mountain products, the growth in abilities was Su Yan's greatest gain from this trip.

"Enabling insects to devour poisonous creatures and other natural treasures can increase their growth value. This can also increase their driving and combat abilities, but at a relatively slow rate."

"Improving the insects also increases the insect master's experience, which forms a closed loop. So my idea is correct. We must continuously enhance the power of the insects."

"As for this mountain-moving technique, if I make any progress, it will indeed be reflected, and the mutual reflection will indeed make me feel the improvement."

Su Yan reviewed his changes. Although Gan Shan's growth was not as obvious as that of the Yinshui centipede after it swallowed the poison.

However, after rushing all the way down the mountain and achieving a small breakthrough, I have indeed become more skilled in identifying and picking mountain products and finding the way.

"It really depends on your own efforts. If you can master the bow and arrow to a certain level, you might be able to develop a skill."

Su Yan's eyes flickered, and he had an idea in his mind: driving away insects and hunting in the mountains, using bows and arrows. If this worked, his strength in the mountains would be greatly improved.

"Tomorrow, go to the mountain market to exchange for silver, then exchange your hatchet and bamboo bow. Then go to Baicaotang to look for some herbal medicine books. Don't let yourself be fooled by not knowing the value of the herbal medicine and find a precious plant that you can't take back."

(End of this chapter)