Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 307 Devouring Secret Texts and Flesh Talent

"Is this the Dao lineage?"

Fang Shu was immersed in a wonderful realization.

All the principles and secret texts of his past cultivation were now flowing clearly in his heart.

And it is precisely these principles and secret texts that have constructed his current insect form.

With a sudden thought, Fang Shu took out a magical artifact from his storage bag.

As he wished, the tiny insect he had transformed into immediately slithered across the surface of the magical artifact, and a cracking sound seemed to be heard as he devoured the secret runes on the artifact.

At the same time, a sense of enlightenment arose in his heart, and several secret texts were immediately imprinted deep within his mind, slowly revealing their truths.

As the secret inscription disappeared, the Qi-refining artifact immediately lost its spiritual light and turned into an ordinary object.

"Use the secret texts for your own purposes, and break the restrictions invisibly."

This wondrous scene deeply moved Fang Shu.

In the past, when he had the Daoist talisman with him, although he could easily copy the secret texts that were difficult for ordinary people to remember with just a glance, it was only a rubbing.

Now, he can actually steal the secret inscription directly from the magic artifact and damage the artifact itself.

Such power is truly tyrannical and domineering compared to before!

Fang Shu was overjoyed.

Although when he was refining this insect, he thought of a bookworm based on various clues. He felt that if he could refine a bookworm, it would not be bad. It would be enough to make it easier for him to accumulate various classics in the future, and even erase people's memories.

However, the bookworm that was expected to devour words has now transformed into something that can gnaw on secret texts, and even extract them from the restrictions of magical artifacts.

Such a change can be described as a transformation from dragon to snake.

Even Fang Shu's heart stirred, and he thought of that fleeting glimpse of the heavens and earth he had just seen.

"It is said that the secret text is a manifestation of the rules of heaven and earth and the natural principles. Now that I have just established my foundation, I can already gnaw on the secret text on the magic artifact."

If this cultivation continues, could one even devour foundation-building artifacts, true immortal artifacts, divine artifacts, and even the very rules of heaven and earth themselves?

Fang Shu's mind was filled with a multitude of thoughts.

In this respect, he wasn't just indulging in pure delusion.

It should be understood that whether it is the foundation building by sitting on the ground, the foundation building by walking, or the foundation building of his Dao veins, the spiritual veins and Dao veins he builds are actually all seeds on the path to immortality.

In some ancient books, it is also referred to as "the seed of the Dao".

In ancient times, after cultivators established the Dao Seed, they had to nurture it until it blossomed and bore fruit, thus obtaining the Dao Fruit, which was called the elixir of immortality and the refinement of the spirit, enabling them to achieve longevity and immortality.

Although the cultivation of immortals today is very different from that in ancient times, the significance of the Dao seed and Dao lineage to immortals remains the same. They are the roots through which immortals embark on the Great Dao and cultivate longevity.

Moreover, you reap what you sow; cause and effect are interconnected.

Based on this reasoning, Fang Shu has just established his foundation, and his internal meridians are already capable of consuming secret texts.

When he reaches the Core Formation or Spirit Refinement stage, he might actually be able to devour the rules and principles of heaven and earth and make them his own!

Fang Shu, brimming with confidence, couldn't help but sigh:

"This is the foundation building of the Dao lineage, this is what the orthodox Xuanmen sect cultivates... Its prospects are truly vast, pointing directly to the Great Dao of Immortality."

The Dao Meridian Foundation Building, a level that directly points to the rules of heaven and earth, is undoubtedly vastly different from the so-called Spiritual Meridian Foundation Building.

All his hard work and accumulation of knowledge and skills were worthwhile; he finally built his foundation through the Dao and broke free from conventional thinking!

After a period of joy.

Fang Shu took out all sorts of magical artifacts from his bag again, and even took out the Clear Mirror Ice Purification Talisman and the Five-Colored Spirit Gathering Array that he had exchanged with merit points, and tested them one by one.

As he expected, he could easily devour the secret texts of any magic artifact below the Qi Refining level by transforming into a Dao Insect, regardless of its type. He would then study and comprehend them, though digestion would still take time.

He could also try to digest the secret texts at the Foundation Establishment level, but the difficulty would increase dramatically, and it wouldn't be something he could do easily.

After testing the waters a couple of times and confirming that he had the ability to devour Foundation Establishment artifacts, Fang Shu gave up.

After all, these items are all very useful to him and were not easily obtained, so he is reluctant to waste them right now.

Buzz!

After Fang Shu finished his experiment, he flicked his sleeve and put all the five-colored spirit-gathering array flags around him into his sleeve.

Now that he has completed his foundation building, he no longer needs to use the array flags to gather spiritual energy. He puts these easily damaged array flags back into his bag to rest for a while, so as not to waste any more uses.

After carefully putting away the spirit-gathering array flag, Fang Shuhuan's mind stirred again:

"Since my Dao lineage incarnation can directly devour secret runes and restrictions, then for me, the arrays and restrictions of the world should be difficult to restrain me... or rather, for arrays, I am their natural enemy."

He squinted, pondering silently, his heart filled with increasing excitement.

As long as the difference in levels is not too great, no matter how tight the array or restriction is, he can still erode its foundation by wearing down the secret texts within it, just like ants gnawing at it, turning it into a pile of rotten soil.

Realizing this, Fang Shu smiled and said, "In that case, wouldn't the Dao Vein Gu worm I've cultivated be a secret script worm, a Dao worm, especially adept at exploiting loopholes and undermining others?"

Bookworms are insects that eat and damage human objects; the bookworm is a prime example.

Shaking his head and chuckling, Fang Shu felt that such effects and benefits sounded somewhat unremarkable, but he was even more delighted.

As the ancient books say, "As long as sages live, great thieves will never cease to exist."

The bookworms he has now created consume secret texts and bore into the principles of heaven and earth; they truly possess a few traces of the aura of a sage!
"The dragon is a sign of emperors. The thief is a sign of sages."

Fang Shu was invigorated and suddenly opened his eyes.

As for the tiny insect he transformed into, it vanished into the void in the blink of an eye, disappearing from sight.

This Dao worm was transformed from his three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit. It can be both real and illusory. It is also a manifestation of himself at the level of the principles of heaven and earth. It is a metaphysical existence, mysterious and profound.

According to all the sayings in the Blood Mother True Scripture and the Sword Cultivation Inheritance.

From now on, Fang Shu's path of foundation building cultivation will be based on the Dao Insect as the vein, absorbing the spiritual energy and principles of heaven and earth to cultivate through tribulations. It will also follow the "Three-Six Bait Method" to undergo tribulations and transformations in turn, thereby strengthening the Dao Insect.

Until he was able to fuse his own physical body and soul into one, transforming them all into the body of a Dao insect.

At that time, one's form and spirit are perfectly integrated, and the so-called intermingling of reality and illusion is only a thought away, which is in line with the ancient legend of the Yang God realm.

However, such a prospect is still too far away.

Fang Shu has only just embarked on this path. He doesn't even know which tribulation level the so-called Yang God would be considered in today's immortal cultivation.

Having thoroughly pondered the wonders of the Dao insect, Fang Shu paced confidently on the five-colored earthen altar.

Suddenly, he lowered his head and looked at the five-colored earthen altar at his feet.

The phantom of the Dao Insect could be seen moving in Fang Shu's eyes, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

The five-colored soil, which had remained undetected until now, finally began to show signs of unusual activity in his eyes.

Although this altar is ordinary, when piled together, it forms a kind of nest-like structure, which can accumulate and nurture a strange aura on it.

This kind of aura is exactly the same kind of fortune that Fang Shu saw when he looked up at the top of Mount Lu!
At the same time, Fang Shu looked around, his divine sense spreading out, his gaze piercing through layers of soil and rocks, encompassing the entire dragon vein of Xiaoxishan.

He could clearly see that the aura of Mount Lu beneath Little West Mountain had been completely drained, leaving an empty space. On the contrary, the area outside Little West Mountain still contained a faint but real aura.

"Indeed, the primordial energy of heaven and earth mentioned in the Blood Mother True Scripture and other books, and the fortune of Mount Lu mentioned by the five sect leaders, are all the same thing."

Fang Shu thought to himself, "I first used the method of building a foundation on the ground to extract the vital energy of Xiaoxishan, which is actually seizing the fortune of this place."

No wonder the spiritual veins of this place will be severed from now on, and there will be no more divine inspiration.

In this way, the wonder of the five-colored earthen altar beneath his feet was revealed.

This altar was able to help him gather the fortune of heaven and earth and protect him. No wonder he didn't encounter any obstacles when he was drawing spiritual energy from the Little West Mountain on the altar.

This made Fang Shu sigh softly:
"Ancient legend has it that when the emperor performed the Fengshan ceremony, he used five-colored soil to build an altar to worship heaven and earth. When the masters of the five sects of Mount Lu preached and refined their spirits, they also used this five-colored soil to build an altar."

It seems that both did it intentionally.

Since that's the case, he should keep the five-colored soil that he casually scraped from the top of Mount Gulu well; it's a rare treasure.

It should be noted that, apart from the five-colored soil itself, there is still a considerable amount of primordial energy of heaven and earth remaining in this five-colored soil.

After a few moments of contemplation, Fang Shu's brows furrowed.

He then used his magic to split the six-foot-tall, five-colored earthen altar in half, taking only three feet of the material into his bag.

As for the rest, he chopped it down to a diameter of half a zhang, leaving only a stump in place, and then flicked his sleeves violently.

With a rustling sound, a lot of the five-colored soil was shattered by him and thrown into the soil of the small western mountain outside the cave.

If they didn't know, that would be fine, but since they know they have drained Xiaoxishan's vitality and have a way to make up for it.

He also gave up half of the five-colored soil, leaving an opportunity here, and kept it as a seed of vital energy to nourish the earth veins of this Little West Mountain.

In this way, perhaps one day, the spiritual veins of this place can be revived again, preserving its divine essence.

Having made such a "wasteful" move, Fang Shu felt a sense of relief.

He paced around the quiet room, his poetic inspiration surging within him. He almost wanted to compose a line to express his feelings, but after walking about ten steps, he still couldn't come up with a suitable sentence and had to give up.

Suddenly, he remembered another advantage he had, which he hadn't yet figured out.

Fang Shu then lowered his head, examined his face, which was only sixteen years old at the time, and marveled at it once again.

He slightly closed his eyes, and his vast divine sense descended upon his own body, moving in and out, not even sparing the three souls and seven spirits in his mind, carefully sorting them out.

After a while, he looked surprised again and looked down at his palm.

As soon as Fang Shu had a thought, a nail-headed arrow flew out and slashed fiercely across his palm.

With a hissing sound, the arrow trembled and struggled to cut open his palm.

This action demonstrates that Fang Shu's physical body is a genuine Seventh Tribulation Earth Immortal's body, making him difficult to harm with Qi-refining magical artifacts.

But this wasn't what Fang Shu cared about most; what he cared about was the drops of blood seeping from his palm.

Drops of golden-red blood, like golden beads, slowly rose and hovered in front of Fang Shu.

After taking out about ten drops of blood, Fang Shu gently squeezed his palm, and granulation tissue sprouted from the wound on his palm, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few breaths, only a white line remained.

He stared directly at his own blood, the strange light in his eyes becoming even more pronounced.

As his thoughts shifted, half of the dozen or so blood beads began to wriggle, with threads emerging from within, similar to Fang Shu's previous divine threads, and slowly forming a cocoon similar to the one he used to use during his breakthrough, only many times smaller.

Fang Shu's expression turned serious. He was multitasking and immediately focused his attention on the cocoon.

A cup of tea passed.

When he lifted his eyelids again, a series of cracking sounds rang out, and the cocoons floating in front of him broke open one after another, and living creatures emerged from them, some wriggling and some flapping their wings.

They were actually live, breathing Gu worms!
Moreover, these Gu worms were of different kinds, including sleep worms, follower worms, Yanghuo Gu, poisonous sand centipedes... All the Gu worms that Fang Shu had refined appeared in front of him.

He looked at them with surprise, and then suddenly flicked his finger, sending the remaining half of the blood droplet towards the Gu worms.

When the Gu worms saw the blood droplets flying towards them, they all acted as if they had spotted a delicious meal, excitedly feasting on them.

As a result, the energy within them began to grow stronger.

Some Gu worms have a limited capacity; they can only eat a few bites before they can't eat anymore, and their Qi stagnates. Others are Gu worms that Fang Shu has mastered, and they can just finish one drop. Still others are not even full after finishing one drop, so they take the blood that some Gu worms haven't finished eating.

Buzz!
In a short while, the energy of the Gu worms changed dramatically, and they were arranged in a clear and distinct manner in front of him.

Observing this scene, Fang Shu blurted out, "Is this my talent?"

Having successfully established his foundation, he not only refined himself into a "Dao Worm," but his physical body and soul also exhibited extraordinary phenomena.

The blood in his body can now directly generate Gu worms.

A single drop of blood is a single insect; a single drop of blood can feed all insects.

Fang Shu's thoughts churned, and he suddenly realized that his family's path of Gu cultivation had become much broader.

If his transformation into a Dao insect meant he gained the "Dao," then his ability to refine Gu with his body meant he gained the "technique"—a technique that could protect the Dao and grant longevity!

While one may be more important than the other, both are indispensable.

"If blood can already do this, then I wonder if my flesh, bones, hair and all sorts of things can also have such miraculous effects."

Fang Shu looked expectant. He immediately sat cross-legged, removed his robes, and went shirtless.

With more careful experimentation, he discovered that refining Gu with his own bones and flesh was much easier and faster than refining Gu with blood.

Furthermore, the Gu worms refined from blood, flesh, and bones are all equally suitable, with no particular material being more appropriate for a particular Gu worm.

His hair, saliva, and other materials cannot be used to refine Gu, but can only be used as food to feed the Gu worms that have already been refined.

After some thought, Fang Shu concluded:
"It seems that the quality of the Gu worms depends solely on the vitality of the materials used, with blood being the dividing line."

Those above the blood can be used to refine Gu worms; those below the blood, such as fingernails, hair, saliva, and other scraps, can only be used to feed Gu worms.
He pondered for a moment, and finally retrieved a simple Gu formula from his mind that had never been used before, and began to study it on the spot.

He soon discovered that his own blood could also be used to raise Gu worms prepared using ordinary methods.

Moreover, ordinary Gu worms are more enjoyable to eat than the Gu worms formed from his flesh and blood, and there is no need to feed them any other materials after they have finished eating.

This alone is a great thing for practitioners of the Gu Dao!
It should be noted that different Gu worms have very different living habits and require different kinds of food.

Compared to immortals, they are far more precious and cannot be kept alive with spirit stones, fasting pills, and water.

Therefore, Fang Shu always carried a large amount of food for the Gu worms to prevent them from dying of thirst or hunger.

These food supplies not only take up space and cost money, but more importantly, sometimes when they run out, it's difficult to replenish them in a short time.

If he can't replenish the food supply, he can only reduce the food rations of the Gu worms, or let them starve, or let them go into hibernation until they die.

Now, Fang Shu's blood has become an almost universal food source for Gu worms.

From now on, he only needs to bleed occasionally to sustain his body full of Gu worms!

Having come to the above conclusions, Fang Shu felt a little strange, but his eyes lit up with joy and he was in high spirits.

Inside the cave, after refining several new Gu worms, he felt he had become skilled and experienced enough, so he cut open his own palm and released a bead of blood...

(End of this chapter)