According to the "Silkworm Rearing Manual," Snow Silkworms need to be raised for nearly three months, and even then, they only produce a small amount of Snow Silkworm Silk if well cared for.
Under Alaric Ye's care, Silkworm One and Silkworm Two grew plump and healthy, their growth remarkably rapid. However, Alaric couldn't predict when they would start producing silk...
As for Little Blue, the smelly fart worm, it had mutated and now every fart it released caused a violent explosion instead of producing toxic gas. So, relying on Little Blue to make money was out of the question.
Taking advantage of the Snow Silkworm Babies' hearty appetite, Alaric approached the clear pool where Little White usually bathed. He placed his hand in the water and channeled his mana: "Ice Seal, go!"
Crack, crack...
A large chunk of white ice quickly formed around Alaric's hand.
The "Ice Sealing Technique" was primarily used in water combat and had limited practical value. Alaric hadn't studied it extensively; being able to create ice blocks was good enough.
He took out his Flying Sword and cut the ice blocks into neat, square bricks. Holding the ice bricks in his hand, he placed them into the ice cave within the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor.
As he checked whether Silkworm One and Silkworm Two had damaged the ice cave, he suddenly noticed something unusual. White threads were sticking to the ice bricks that had been chewed by the Snow Silkworms!
Alaric's heart raced!
Without a doubt, this was the Snow Silkworm Silk he had been dreaming of day and night. The Snow Silkworms, which had nearly bankrupted him with their voracious appetite, had finally produced silk!
"I just don't know the quality of this Snow Silkworm Silk!"
According to Alaric's knowledge, Snow Silkworm Silk was categorized into low, medium, high, and supreme grades, each corresponding to the creation of different robes.
On the market, a brand new low-grade robe cost about twenty Spirit Stones, a medium-grade one over a hundred, a high-grade one several hundred, and a supreme-grade one was priceless, costing thousands of Spirit Stones if it could even be bought at all due to its rarity.
And thousands of Spirit Stones could easily buy a low-grade spiritual tool.
However, the mana requirement for using spiritual tools was very high. Even strong practitioners at the early or mid Foundation Establishment stage might struggle to use them easily, making the demand for supreme-grade artifacts extremely high.
The same applied to the materials used to create these artifacts, with prices varying greatly across different grades.
With a thought, Alaric produced a thread of Snow Silkworm Silk from his hand, thinner than a hair and crystal clear.
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The "Silkworm Rearing Manual" mentioned a simple method to test the quality of Snow Silkworm Silk: just pull it with your hands to see how strong it is.
The higher the quality, the stronger the Snow Silkworm Silk.
Alaric grabbed one end of the silk with each hand and began to pull gently. At first, he used very little force and found the silk incredibly resilient, not breaking. He gradually increased the force, eventually using the full strength of a horse, yet the fine thread of Snow Silkworm Silk still didn't break!
Alaric was astonished.
If he hadn't been using the immense strength granted by the "Five Elements Vajra Technique" and pulling such a fine thread, his hands would have been easily cut by the Snow Silkworm Silk!
Feeling a bit indignant, Alaric thought, "After all, I'm a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining, close to the second level. If I can't even break a single Snow Silkworm Silk, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
He channeled his mana into his hands and gave a fierce tug. With a sound like a snapping guitar string, the Snow Silkworm Silk finally broke under the force of 3.4 horses.
"If it can withstand 0.1 horse's strength, it's low-grade. If it can withstand 0.5 horse's strength, it's medium-grade. If it can withstand 3 horses' strength, it's high-grade. If it can withstand 10 horses' strength, it's supreme-grade!"
In other words, the Snow Silkworm Silk produced by Silkworm One and Silkworm Two had reached high-grade quality!
Alaric almost jumped with excitement!
The Snow Silkworm Babies were only a month old. If he continued to raise them, wouldn't he eventually obtain the extremely precious supreme-grade Snow Silkworm Silk?
Supreme-grade artifacts were in high demand and priceless. The materials for crafting them were equally rare!
Alaric's eyes sparkled with the glow of Spirit Stones!
"I'm going to be rich! Alaric Ye is finally going to be rich!"
With another thought, Alaric collected all the Snow Silkworm Silk from the ice cave, rolling it into a small ball. The Snow Silkworm Silk was incredibly flexible, forming a ball smaller than a grain of rice when tightly compressed but expanding to half the size of a fist when not compressed.
He took out a jade box and placed the ball of Snow Silkworm Silk inside.
Next, he had to consider how to sell the Snow Silkworm Silk for money.
Selling it directly at the market was out of the question. He had only received the Snow Silkworm cocoons a little over a month ago, and normally, Snow Silkworms took nearly three months to produce silk, usually of low grade. His high-grade Snow Silkworm Silk might arouse suspicion.
After all, his current status was too low. As a high-level servant at the first level of Qi Refining, he shouldn't possess such valuable treasures.
Turning it over to the sect for contribution points was also risky, as it might arouse suspicion from the people at the Spirit Insect Pavilion.
With the sect rules changing over time, competition within the Top Xuan Sect had intensified, and many cultivators' greed had been unleashed. Alaric didn't dare to bet that the people at the Spirit Insect Pavilion wouldn't covet his Snow Silkworms that could produce high-grade silk.
"I'll consult with Fatty Wang... He always has connections."
Alaric had only two somewhat trustworthy people in the Top Xuan Sect: Elijah Wang and Zachary Song. Both had helped him a lot and often shared important information with him.
They were also aware that Alaric might have some secrets, but they had never pried into them.
After the spirit insects finished their meal, Alaric placed the two Snow Silkworms back into the ice cave within the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor and fed them an entire Frost Grass, feeling very satisfied. He then said to Little White, Little Strong, and Little Blue, "Let's go, we're heading out today."
"Understood."
Little White and Little Strong shrank and hid in Alaric's sleeves, while Little Blue happily flew behind him.
Alaric had registered Little Strong and Little White with the Spirit Insect Pavilion. As for Little Blue, it was a spirit insect rewarded by Steward Zhang and also had registration proof.
He was now legally raising insects.
In the past few months, Little Strong and Little White had made rapid progress in their strength and had even comprehended some secret techniques within the space of the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor. Although Little Blue had gained some intelligence, its comprehension ability was slightly weaker and had only learned the "Hidden Dragon Technique."
However, Little Blue's farting power was already comparable to powerful spells, making it a formidable combatant. The Top Xuan Sect wasn't entirely safe, so Alaric always took combat-capable spirit insects with him when he went out.
After making thorough preparations, Alaric flew out of his courtyard on his Flying Sword, heading swiftly towards Elijah Wang's residence on Thundercloud Peak. In the sky, he witnessed several instances of Top Xuan Sect disciples dueling, and even saw a high-frequency combat area newly designated by the sect, known as the "Free Duel Zone."
In the "Free Duel Zone," cultivators of the same realm could engage in combat without reason. Anyone who surrendered or was defeated had to pay the victor a number of Spirit Stones equal to ten times their realm level.
This rule attracted many disciples who wanted to get rich through combat or hone their fighting skills. The area was quite lively, and Alaric occasionally went there to watch and gain combat experience.
Zachary Song, at the second level of Qi Refining, had already made a name for himself in the Free Duel Zone, winning a lot of Spirit Stones with fifteen consecutive victories and no defeats!