All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 153 Returning with a Full Load
"Unfortunately, there are no 'what ifs'," Zhou Qing sighed. After hearing Xuan Zhu's explanation, he realized just how dangerous this journey had been.

The world of cultivators is truly fraught with danger at every turn.

One wrong step could lead to a plunge into an abyss and utter destruction.

“Yes, there are no ifs. But if there were…” Xuanzhu fell silent.

Zhou Qing ignored Xuan Zhu and instead took out Wu Chenzi's leather pouch and took out its contents one by one.

Five jade boxes, more than twenty silver notes, a pile of bottles and jars, three booklets, and a small bright yellow tripod about a foot in diameter.

Zhou Qing first opened the jade boxes to check and found that three of them contained Fire Cloud Mushrooms, while the other jade box contained Blood Jade Mushrooms that Wuchenzi had previously collected.

As for the last jade box, it contained three fist-sized, fiery red crystal balls, with a folded animal hide pressed underneath them.

He opened the animal hide to examine it and saw that a kind of formation was recorded on it.

The Netherworld Water Suppression Formation.

This formation should be the one set up by Venerable Xuanzhu, but it's unclear how Wuchenzi obtained it.

Perhaps, according to Xuanzhu, Wuchenzi is indeed a descendant of the Xuanzhu Venerable.

"Is this the key to leaving this place?" Zhou Qing picked up the three crystal balls and, having learned how to leave the cave, felt relieved.

He put the animal hide and the crystal ball back into the jade box and put the jade box away again.

Then he put the two thousand taels of silver notes into his pocket and looked at the pile of bottles and jars on the ground.

It mainly contained poisonous insects, and the rest were medicinal herbs ground into powder.

As for the small, bright yellow cauldron, about a foot in size, when the lid was lifted, there was nothing inside, but it emitted a faint medicinal fragrance and a strange bloody smell.

After putting down the small cauldron, Zhou Qing flipped through the booklets left behind by Wuchenzi.

The first book was a martial arts manual on wielding a divine whisk; he glanced at it casually and put it down.

With the Heavenly Centipede Divine Weapon, his attack methods were already sufficient. There was no need for him to learn a completely new martial art in order to master the Dust-Wielding Divine Weapon, especially since this martial art was entirely different from what he usually learned.

"This is... the art of alchemy and poison?!"

Zhou Qing picked up the second booklet; the cover was torn, but there were words on the title page.

The words 'Dan Gu Technique' were written on it in small characters.

Zhou Qing immediately became interested and began to read carefully.

He discovered that it contained the art of alchemy, but this alchemy took a different approach, using various venomous insects as the main ingredients for making pills, in addition to medicinal herbs.

"An alchemy furnace, huh?" Zhou Qing looked at the bright yellow cauldron beside him. He hadn't expected that Wuchenzi was not only knowledgeable about formations, but also skilled in alchemy.

Zhou Qing picked up the last booklet, and sure enough, it contained several methods for setting up and breaking formations.

Looking at the contents, Zhou Qing felt a headache coming on. It felt like a high school student who failed math got into college only to find out he had to study advanced mathematics.

Zhou Qing put away the books on formations. The art of formations was vast and profound, and not suitable for him at the moment.

If one day he becomes a third-tier Gu Master, or breaks through the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top and gains a long lifespan, then it won't be too late to slowly comprehend it.

"The art of alchemy and poison is actually useful to me."

Zhou Qing picked up the book that recorded the art of alchemy and Gu poison again. Using Gu worms to refine pills was a way for him to minimize the cost of cultivation.

In the past few years, he has spent at least 8,000 taels, if not 10,000 taels, on purchasing elixirs alone.

In any case, with the existence of the jade tablet, awakening the profession of alchemist would be very beneficial for long-term cultivation.

Moreover, it is also possible to learn how to refine Gu through the art of alchemy.

Zhou Qing put away Wuchenzi's things, then opened Chen Feng's leather bag and examined the items inside.

Compared to Wuchenzi, Chen Feng had far fewer items, the most valuable of which was the martial art required to wield divine weapons—the Spirit Control Sword Technique.

"Sword techniques, huh?"

Zhou Qing picked up Chen Feng's divine weapon, drew the sword from its sheath, and the golden blade was perfectly integrated, radiating a mysterious light.

You have obtained a new divine weapon – the Spirit Gourd Sword.

[Divine Weapon: Spirit Gourd Sword]

[Grade: First Level]

[Forged from a golden gourd that has absorbed the power of sunlight for hundreds of years, and infused with meteorite iron to enhance the weapon's spirituality, it has been forged through countless hammerings and possesses considerable spirituality.]

[Requirements for Mastering the Sword: Beginner level of the Spirit Control Sword Technique, mastery of swordsmanship, and mastery of two sword stances]

[Control Effects: Controlling the sword with Qi (Tier 2), Spirit Sword Protecting its Master (Tier 2)]

"It's a decent divine weapon, but unfortunately it's not quite suitable for me."

Zhou Qing looked at the words that appeared in his line of sight and shook his head secretly.

As a first-tier divine weapon, the Spirit Gourd Sword possesses two second-tier special effects, making it a top-tier first-tier divine weapon, no less impressive than the Heavenly Centipede Blade.

Previously, when Xuanzhu controlled Wuchenzi and Chen Feng to fight him, most of Zhou Qing's pressure came from the various tricky attacks of the spirit talisman sword.

The saying goes that swords and sabers are inseparable, so he could actually learn another sword technique.

However, mastering this spirit gourd sword requires mastering two sword techniques and cultivating a sword skill to a state of unparalleled mastery.

Although his newly awakened profession, [Divine Weapon Master], provides an advantage in cultivating divine weapon martial arts, it is still too time-consuming.

His primary goal now should be to cultivate a second-tier Gu worm.

"This spirit gourd sword can be given to Yao Xuewei."

Zhou Qing pondered for a moment.

If it weren't for Yao Xuewei, he wouldn't have been a match for Lin Tianzheng, let alone obtained the Corpse Worm Gu King and the Wood King Cauldron.

Giving her a divine weapon now is a way of returning the favor.

It just so happens that she cultivates swordsmanship, so this spirit gourd sword should be suitable for her.

"By the time we meet again, she should already be at the Blood Exchange Realm." Zhou Qing remembered that Yao Xuewei had already returned to Zhongzhou. Once she broke through to the Blood Exchange Realm, the boost from a first-tier divine weapon would be relatively limited.

If you're going to give it away, you should give a second-tier divine weapon.

"Let's sell them." Zhou Qing put away both divine weapons.

In a large place like the county seat, there must be people who can afford divine weapons.

"This time, the biggest gain was actually the Ice Soul Spider."

Zhou Qing looked at the huge blue-white spider in the middle of the stone chamber, wondering if he could use the Ice Soul Mystic Spider to cultivate some powerful Gu worms.

It's just unknown whether the Golden Silkworm Gu can digest the terrifying cold energy within the Ice Soul Mystic Spider's body.

The Ice Soul Spider had been dead for many years, and even its mere shell could cause the temperature in the stone chamber to drop drastically, forcing Zhou Qing to circulate his true essence to resist. It was hard to imagine how terrifying this power must have been when the Ice Soul Spider was alive.

"What a pity, it would have been better if it were alive."

Zhou Qing sighed and transferred all the items stored in the Spirit-Guiding Plate to the Wooden King Cauldron. Then he took the Ice Soul Mystic Spider into the Spirit-Guiding Plate.

"Actually, there is a way to maximize the power within the Ice Soul Spider's corpse."

Hearing Zhou Qing's sigh, Xuan Zhu suddenly spoke.

"What method?" Zhou Qing raised an eyebrow.

Xuanzhu pondered and said, "The Gu worm you are currently in contains the power of extreme Yin and evil, and your Sha Corpse is also an extremely Yin and evil thing."

If I'm not mistaken, you entered the cave because you wanted to use the Blood Jade Mushroom on the upper level to combine the Gu worms with the refining corpse.

"I'm trying to cultivate a second-tier Gu worm using this method. Am I right?"

“That’s right, that’s what I think.” Zhou Qing nodded.

“Following this method, the chance of failure is over 80%,” Xuanzhu said in a deep voice.

"Why?" Zhou Qing frowned.

"You don't have a complete Gu Master lineage, so you probably don't know how to refine Gu worms together."

Although your current Gu worms and corpse refiners are both extremely Yin and evil, they are also different.

The body of this Fiend Corpse you are currently in contains wood-attribute true essence. If you want to refine Gu worms, it would be best to choose water-attribute Gu worms.

Water nourishes wood; with these mutually reinforcing attributes, you can increase your success rate by 30%.

Even without water-attribute Gu worms, ice-attribute Gu worms will suffice.

Xuanzhu explained.

"Ice attribute?! You mean the Ice Soul Spider?!" Zhou Qing realized.

"Indeed, although the Ice Soul Spider is dead, it is still an ancient species with the bloodline of a fourth-order Gu worm."

Using the power of the Ice Soul Spider to cultivate the Fiend Corpse, it can at least be cultivated to the second-tier perfection, or even break through to the third tier.

You have already cultivated a secret technique to strengthen your soul. If you cultivate the 'Soul Refining Scripture' as well, once your soul realm reaches the Earth Realm, you may even be able to use the Soul-Seizing Technique to exchange for a physical body.

With the Ice Soul Mystic Spider's power, it's enough to elevate your innate talent to the super level.

If this fiendish corpse can awaken some of the Ice Soul Mystic Spider's abilities, it might even gain a spiritual body.

With the power of your spirit, your achievements in martial arts may surpass your achievements as a Gu master in the future.

After all, you don't have the aptitude of a Gu Master, so opening your Yuan Aperture will be much more difficult than for an ordinary Gu Master.

If one possesses a spiritual body, and with the help of the Ice Soul Mystic Spider's power, breaking through the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top and the Five Qi Converging at the Origin will only be a matter of time.

It may even lead to the Primordial Mystic Realm and the comprehension of the Great Dao of Immortality.

It has to be said that Zhou Qing was somewhat tempted by Xuan Zhu's words.

He had no intention of possessing the corpse, but he could condense a second primordial spirit. If the second primordial spirit went first, he would make it his protector.

"How can I use the power of the Ice Soul Spider to cultivate a Wood Spirit Corpse?" Zhou Qing asked.

"Find another corpse with water-evil power, or have this corpse cultivate water-attribute techniques directly."

Once the two techniques are mastered, with the help of the Ice Soul Spider's power, the two techniques will be fused together, attempting to condense ice-attribute true essence.

This gives a certain chance of the corpse awakening the bloodline power of the Ice Soul Spider.

In any case, it's still easier to succeed than your previous methods.

I will teach you the specific methods gradually. You should first master the first level of the Soul Refining Scripture; otherwise, everything else is just empty talk.

"That's what Xuanzhu replied."

"Alright." Zhou Qing nodded and said nothing more.

Everything has to be done step by step.

Compared to letting the Golden Silkworm Gu worm devour the power of the Ice Soul Mystic Spider, the Wood Spirit Corpse is undoubtedly stronger and has a higher success rate.

"This place is not safe to stay any longer. Let's leave quickly. I have never left this place since I was born." Xuanzhu was faintly excited.

"We'll have to wait a bit longer." Zhou Qing looked up at the broken ice crystal ceiling above him. The stone walls on both sides were covered with countless holes, probably teeming with spiders.

These spiders also contain ice-attribute power, although it is far inferior to that of the Ice Soul Spider, but it should not be wasted.

Zhou Qing didn't know if he would have to wait another twenty-four years to come here again.

"Buzz!"

Zhou Qing released the remaining Golden Silkworm Gu worms, followed by Er Qing and Chi Yan, and sent them to catch spiders.

A moment later, the giant spider above scattered and ran away, most of it ending up in the stomach of the golden silkworm worm.

At this moment, the mutated golden silkworm worm had turned into an ice lump the size of a human head, and remained motionless.

If Zhou Qing hadn't been able to confirm its survival through his true essence, he probably would have thought it had frozen to death.

After searching the cave thoroughly, Zhou Qing left.

When he entered the icy pool again, three stone pillars suddenly appeared at the bottom of the pool.

Zhou Qing placed three fiery red crystal balls in the groove in the middle of the stone pillar, and a huge vortex appeared, in which his figure disappeared.

Back above the canyon, Zhou Qing buried Wu Chenzi and Chen Feng's remains nearby, giving them a proper rest. He then glanced at the dark abyss below before heading towards Nanli County City.

(End of this chapter)