"You wish to get insects instead?" Rockcrust asked.
"I’m afraid so," Alex said. "None of these artifacts catch my eye, so I can only ask for payment in something else. And since you are the Hall of Insects, I can’t imagine what other things I can ask for."
Rockcrust seemed to hesitate. "But the insects that we have are only for the members of the palace. We don’t really sell them to outsiders."
Alex tilted his head. "Can you not make an exception for 200 Heavenly Silkworms, senior?" he asked.
"I..."
"If not for the worms, then what about me?" Alex asked. "Surely the Storm God’s search for me hasn’t overshadowed my achievements so much that it’s all been forgotten."
That gave the man pause, long enough to look at Alex in a new light. It almost seemed like he had long since forgotten who Alex was and was only just remembering. He swallowed a little, recalling the events of the Alchemy Tournament that he had heard about.
Alex was easily the greatest alchemist in the younger generation, and it wasn’t even a fair parison.
After long consideration, the man nodded. "I... I suppose I can make an exception."
Alex smiled, and together with Rockcrust and Strongclaw, he made his way back down the building to the lower floor where the insects were kept.
"I must warn you that from here onward, we will be in a location where you will find nothing but insects. Many people don’t deal well among insects, so please be prepared," the man said.
"I can handle it, but thank you for the warning," Alex said, continuing on. The region grew darker and damper as he ventured into the place where they kept the insects.
As he walked, he arrived at a massive room that had a single opening into the dark. Inside, Alex could see tons of insects crawling all around the ground, hundreds of different species all in a single location.
"What’s this?" Alex asked in surprise. "I had thought there would be a little more... tidiness to the whole thing."
Alex could see countless flies buzzing around the room. Different types of ants and termites roamed through rotting wood. Large worms wriggled underneath a layer of soft dirt. Snails and slugs crawled along the walls, leaving behind lines of slime. Spiders made cobwebs all over the room, where a lot of other insects were caught as well.
All in all, this was the messiest place Alex had ever seen.
"Wele to the Hall of Insects," the Insect Sage said in jest. "The first few rooms are like this. The rest are better. We can’t get separate rooms for every insect, so the worst ones tend to get dumped into a few rooms where they all survive on their own."
Alex turned around with a slightly surprised look. "I thought you took care of the insects. Do you really let them be however they want? Won’t they kill each other?"
"Not if they’re well fed," the man said. "At that point, they just stay idle and do nothing but procreate. Even if some end up dying, we get a steady number of new insects, so we don’t really worry much. We do take better care of the better insects."
"Better?" Alex asked. "What defines them as better? Their cultivation base?"
"Oh, no. None of these insects have a cultivation base. They aren’t capable of cultivating at all," the man explained.
"Huh?" Alex was surprised. "What do you mean they don’t have cultivation bases? I’ve seen insects before. They definitely have cultivation bases."
"Not really," the Insect Sage explained. "They more so have aura stored in their body that they can later use, but it’s not the same as having a cultivation base. At least, not with Qi." The man paused for a moment before continuing. "If anything, it’s closer to someone having Body Cultivation. Except these insects’ bodies cultivate to hold in stronger aura."
"Really?" Alex asked, having not expected that at all.
"Yes. Search through them. You won’t find any beast cores in them at all. That’s why they aren’t categorized as beasts, and that’s why they can’t cultivate all on their own either."
Alex quickly sent his senses into the room and went through the various insects. He more or less had an intuitive idea that insects couldn’t have beast cores, but this was the first time he was hearing it out loud.
It was true that these insects didn’t have a beast core, which meant they didn’t have any spirit roots at all.
"Then how do they cultivate, even if it’s just Body Cultivation?" Alex asked.
"There are many ways," the man said with a contemplative look on his face. "Each insect is different. For example, those ants by the hollow wood improve by consuming the flesh of other insects or animals with Qi. Those bees only improve via nectar from plants. The spiders prey on other insects. Those beetles consume bones. Most of the others need some form of specific paste created based on their appetite. We will provide you with the knowledge should you choose any insect."
Alex nodded. "I will obviously not be choosing these, right?" he asked. "You did say these are the worst ones."
The man nodded. "What you choose is entirely dependent upon you, but I suggest ignoring all insects from Grade 1 to Grade 6 in your case. Since you plan on selling 200 Silkworms, anything above Grade 6 should work for you."
"Grade 6?" Alex asked. "How does this grading work? What is it graded based on?"
"Mostly on three factors," the man answered. "Reproduction. Ease. And most importantly, potential. Meaning how quickly they can add to their numbers, how easy they are to take care of or how demanding they are, and finally how strong they can grow to bee in the future."
"And these are all Grade 1?" Alex asked.
The man nodded. "While they score high on reproduction, they are a little worse in ease of handling, and they have terrible potential, which is why they are marked this way."
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