Beetle Gu

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Two days later.

The first insect egg successfully hatched.

The beetle Gu larvae resembled tiny maggots, milky white, wriggling in the Gu cauldron.

Song Wen threw in a stalk of Qingling grass, and the larvae, as if smelling the food, crawled onto the leaves of the Qingling grass and began to nibble on it.

Three days later, all seven of the active insect eggs hatched, except for the one inactive egg, which remained unchanged.

Song Wen considered abandoning it, but as its activity gradually increased, he decided to observe it for a few more days.

These larvae clung to the Qingling grass daily, continuously feeding as if they could never get enough.

Oddly, despite their constant eating, the larvae did not grow in size, and it was unclear where the consumed Qingling grass went.

Another two days passed.

On this day, Song Wen returned from the Demonic Cave and discovered that the last insect egg had also hatched.

The newly hatched larva differed slightly from the others. It had a small black spot on its milky white back, making it particularly noticeable.

"What's with this larva? Could it be a mutation?"

Song Wen observed it for a long time but couldn't discern any special characteristics. There weren't many records about larvae in the "Blood Gu Technique," so Song Wen ultimately couldn't figure it out.

However, after prolonged observation, Song Wen noticed that although this larva had just hatched, its feeding speed was not slower than the other larvae that had hatched days earlier.

Each larva consumed a Qingling grass daily, meaning eight larvae required eight Qingling grasses per day, costing a spirit stone. This amount could buy 2.5 Qi-gathering Pills, enough for a day's cultivation for Song Wen.

If not for the "Blood Gu Technique" recording that the larvae stage of beetle Gu only lasted about twenty days, and that the beetle Gu's food consumption decreased upon maturing, Song Wen would have doubted the value of raising these Gu insects with low offensive capabilities.

Half a month later.

The larvae began to spin silk and cocoon themselves, indicating their transition to adult beetles.

Song Wen dripped essence blood onto each cocoon and, according to the "Blood Gu Technique," cast spells onto the cocoons.

As the spells were cast, the originally milky white cocoons gradually developed pitch-black patterns, appearing mysterious and somewhat eerie.

This was the optimal time to refine the beetle Gu. At the moment they emerged from the cocoon, the Gu insects would come under Song Wen's control.

In contrast, Gu insects raised within one's body, from larvae to cocooning and emerging, didn't require these steps, as they innately recognized their host as the mother Gu, obeying its commands.

However, the larva with the black spot showed no signs of cocooning.

Its aura was already ten times stronger than the other Gu insects, and its food consumption had increased, nearly requiring three Qingling grasses daily. This prompted Song Wen to make another trip to purchase more Qingling grass.

This made Song Wen hold special expectations for this unique larva.

Perhaps he had a chance to raise the sacred beetle Gu that the old woman never managed to cultivate.

Another seven days passed.

The cocoons began to hatch, and one by one, gray beetles emerged, each smaller than half a grain of rice.

The beetle Gu flew out of the Gu cauldron, circling around Song Wen's body.

Song Wen could feel a sense of goodwill and closeness emanating from them.

Looking at these flying beetles, Song Wen found it hard to believe that these tiny insects, easily overlooked by anyone, were actually Gu worms that struck fear into people's hearts.

All of these beetles had the strength of the first level of Qi Refining. According to the old woman's notes, most beetle Gu could reach the second level of Qi Refining, with a very few exceptional ones reaching the third level.

Song Wen pinched one of the beetles between his fingers and gradually applied force.

He found that with just his current physical strength, he couldn't crush the beetle Gu.

Though these creatures didn't have strong attack power, their defense was quite impressive.

Song Wen now possessed the strength of the second level of Qi Refining, and he practiced demonic body cultivation methods.

To test the limits of the beetle Gu, Song Wen began to fully activate the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique."

As he activated the technique, his body gradually emitted a thick corpse aura, and his skin turned an iron-blue black.

His skin and flesh became emaciated, resembling a partially desiccated mummy.

The tips of his fingers became tough, glowing with a cold, eerie light, giving off a chilling sense of foreboding.

The beetle Gu suddenly started to struggle violently, even beginning to bite Song Wen's fingers.

This was a sign of Gu worm backlash!

Since he was using a Gu cauldron to raise the Gu, he couldn't fully refine the Gu worms, and they could backlash against their master when facing mortal danger.

Song Wen had to release the worm from his grip. After all, he couldn't just kill the Gu worm he had painstakingly nurtured.

As the mortal threat receded, the beetle Gu's hostility towards Song Wen, its master, gradually subsided.

Song Wen estimated that the beetle Gu could barely withstand the attacks of a second-level Qi Refining cultivator, as the attack power of typical Qi Refining cultivators was generally weaker than that of body cultivation practitioners.

The beetle Gu's attack power was equivalent to that of a first-level Qi Refining cultivator.

At this point, Song Wen understood why it was said that the beetle Gu's combat power was not strong.

The beetle Gu needed to reach a certain quantity to form effective combat power. Otherwise, they could hardly be considered a threat, unless they coincidentally entered the enemy's body through the nose and mouth, potentially causing significant harm.

In all sects, including individual cultivators, those at the first or second level of Qi Refining were the lowest tier, usually living cautiously and avoiding danger. They rarely ventured out.

Given the beetle Gu's limited combat power, they had little use.

However, if their numbers increased to several hundred or thousand, even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators would have to flee in panic.

Next, Song Wen tested the beetle Gu's scouting abilities, which was its primary use, at least according to the old woman's notes.

Following the old woman's instructions, Song Wen attached his spiritual power to the beetle Gu and sent it flying far away.

He found that with the beetle Gu, he could scout up to a distance of about 40 meters. Beyond this range, his spiritual power couldn't keep up.

Without the beetle Gu, with his current spiritual power, he could only scout up to about 15 meters.

This was due to his practice of the "Divine Forbidden Technique." Generally, early-stage Qi Refining cultivators could only scout up to 10 meters with their spiritual power.

The beetle Gu greatly extended Song Wen's sensing range.

While flying, the beetle Gu made minimal noise, making it difficult to detect, making it an excellent tool for reconnaissance and pathfinding.

This raised Song Wen's expectations for the black-spotted larva even higher, wondering what surprises it might bring him.

(End of the Chapter)