Chapter 648: Capturing Butterflies

The last piece of Fiery Gold remained, placed by Qin Sang in a crevice on the bank of a small stream.

Dawn was approaching but not yet arrived, making it the darkest time of day.

Butterfly Valley, after a night of noise, seemed to have grown somewhat quiet.

A group of butterflies flew over the stream.

Suddenly, all the butterflies above this section of the stream froze, suspended in mid-air in their flying poses, motionless.

Time seemed to stop here.

The next moment, a figure appeared by the stream bank.

Qin Sang's gaze swept over the butterfly swarm, then rested on the stones by the riverbank. After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand, and a butterfly resembling a cabbage white flew out of the crevice.

It was very small, with snow-white wings dotted with black spots, a very common type of butterfly.

Startled, it flew erratically, but an invisible cage seemed to surround it, blocking all escape routes, and it was drawn before Qin Sang.

Qin Sang stared at the cabbage white. Even at such close proximity, he still couldn't detect any flaw.

He was certain: this was the Sky-Eye Butterfly!

The moment he sensed the Fiery Gold vanish, he used his spiritual sense to seal off the area. There had been no butterflies in the crevice initially; the cabbage white only appeared after the space was sealed.

Only the Sky-Eye Butterfly possessed such powerful concealment and disguise abilities.

"Finally caught a spirit insect, it wasn't easy," Qin Sang mused to himself.

He sighed inwardly, having painstakingly visited six locations, finally gaining something. Otherwise, he might have had to return with only a foolish silkworm.

Having captured the Sky-Eye Butterfly, Qin Sang wasn't in a hurry to refine it into his life-bound Gu worm. There were still two places he hadn't visited, and there might be a better choice.

Recalling the spirit insect sealing restrictions of the Spirit Taming Sect, Qin Sang chose one type and unleashed several restrictions onto the Sky-Eye Butterfly.

The Sky-Eye Butterfly had not yet given up struggling.

It seemed to sense the danger of the restrictions. After struggling for a while and seeing its efforts were futile, it grew more agitated and changed its form again, becoming a beautiful swallowtail butterfly, attempting to slip through.

The transformation was incredibly swift; the moment the cabbage white vanished, the swallowtail appeared, making it difficult to notice if one wasn't paying close attention.

Qin Sang smiled faintly. After all, it was a spirit insect whose intelligence had not yet awakened; it was too naive.

This made him even more certain of the Sky-Eye Butterfly's identity.

After a moment, the restrictions were complete, and the cabbage white abandoned its disguise, reverting to its original form.

"A Sky-Eye Butterfly of the second transformation... it seems to be in the late stage of the second transformation, no wonder its concealment ability is so strong."

Qin Sang guided the cabbage white to land on his fingertip.

Everything was as described in ancient texts: the Sky-Eye Butterfly's true form was exquisitely beautiful. It seemed bathed in a sky-blue glow, making any other butterfly in Butterfly Valley pale in comparison.

The Sky-Eye Butterfly's wings bore concentric ring patterns, already closely resembling an eye. Once its third transformation was complete, the Sky-Eye would open.

Qin Sang fed the Sky-Eye Butterfly a few drops of spirit fruit juice, then released the other butterflies. He cast a satisfied glance back at the still-beautiful Butterfly Valley before leaving contentedly.

Centipede Fort.

Its name was peculiar, yet it was widely known in Western Frontier.

Bear Mountain Region was remote, situated in the northwesternmost corner of Western Frontier, a barren land that other cultivators were reluctant to visit. Centipede Fort was located in the southern part of Bear Mountain Region, quite distant, and was the largest and most powerful fort accessible from Bear Mountain Region.

Nearby Witchcraft cultivators would choose Centipede Fort for transactions and to gather information.

This place was equivalent to the cultivation world's market in the Lesser Cold Domain.

Qin Sang, dusty from travel, appeared at the foot of Centipede Fort's mountain and looked up.

Centipede Fort was comparable in scale to a city, with numerous stilt houses, clearly in the Witchcraft style, clustered together and occupying the entire mountain range, countless times larger than Winged Viper Fort.

The market was built on the highest peak of Centipede Fort. Many Western Frontier factions and trade associations had established outposts in Centipede Fort, including the one Cui Xuanzi frequented most often.

By this time, more than a month had passed since Qin Sang left Butterfly Valley.

As expected, the latter two locations were empty, without any spirit insects. Qin Sang, not wanting to continue wandering aimlessly in the wilderness, directly returned by sword flight.

This trip, including travel and luring spirit insects, took Qin Sang nearly four months, and he only brought back the foolish silkworm and the Sky-Eye Butterfly. This was even with him possessing Fiery Gold.

Of course, this was also related to his high standards.

After returning, Qin Sang wasn't in a hurry to go back to Bear Mountain Region; instead, he came to Centipede Fort first.

Before leaving, Qin Sang had already visited Centipede Fort and met with some managers from various trade associations. More than half of the information regarding these nine types of spirit insects had been purchased from them.

Before his departure, Qin Sang had also paid a large sum of spirit stones in advance, asking them to use their respective channels to inquire about certain matters.

Four months should have been enough time for them to gather information.

Qin Sang put on his hood and activated the "Spirit Concealment Art," disguising himself as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As a newcomer, he had many secrets, and as a human, he didn't want to encounter Witchcraft cultivators whose cultivation surpassed his own too early, lest they possess methods to see through his true identity, which would be extremely disadvantageous.

"Those not of our kind are sure to have different intentions."

This saying was particularly exemplified in the Azure Waves Sea.

The conflict between the Witchcraft race and humanity had never ceased. Only after leaving Western Frontier and coming into contact with other humans did Qin Sang dare to move around without restraint. In Witchcraft territory, it was better to remain low-key.

It was said that the chief of Centipede Fort was a Core Formation expert, but his cave dwelling was not within the fort itself. Qin Sang wasn't worried about being seen through by others while using the "Spirit Concealment Art."

With his disguise complete, Qin Sang walked up the mountain. Along the way, he encountered other cultivators, most of whom were hurrying about.

Upon entering Centipede Fort, Qin Sang, knowing his way around, arrived in front of a very grand wooden building.

The White Mountain Trade Association's nameplate hung on the wooden building.

Qin Sang paused slightly, then walked straight into the wooden building. The main hall was filled with various magical artifacts and spirit pills, and a dozen Witchcraft maidservants exuded exotic charm.

Displaying his Foundation Establishment cultivation, Qin Sang met Manager Bai of the White Mountain Trade Association.

"Fellow Daoist, you've returned from your search for insects? Any gains?"

Manager Bai still remembered Qin Sang; after all, there weren't many who made such unusual requests.

"I staked out those two places Manager Bai mentioned for almost two months, and I didn't even see a hair of a spirit insect. How many do you think I could catch, Manager Bai?"

Qin Sang feigned anger, his tone unpleasant.

Manager Bai calmly sipped his tea and chuckled, "Fellow Daoist, surely you haven't forgotten? I told you beforehand that the list of spirit insects you gave me was extremely unusual, mostly consisting of insects at the very bottom of the Witchcraft Insect Rankings. Only disciples from the top sects of Witch God Mountain would dare to use such insects as their life-bound Gu worms. Very few people search for them in Western Frontier, so the information cannot be guaranteed to be accurate. Your returning empty-handed was actually anticipated; why bother getting angry?"

Qin Sang snorted coldly, not pressing the matter further, and asked, "Have you found any results for the information I asked you to investigate?"