Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 34 Studying Gu Techniques and Waiting for the Scorpion's Nest

According to the Taoist talisman, Fang Shu's current tendon and bone transformation not only completes his pre-entry Taoist cultivation in one fell swoop.

Moreover, his chances of entering the Daoist path in the future are as high as 99%!
Even the remaining one point is actually an imaginary number.

As long as Fang Shu was not plotted against or killed by an earthquake or other event when he entered the Daoist path, then this 99% can be considered a "100% probability".

Staring at the words on the Daoist talisman in his mind, Fang Shu was momentarily dazed: "So this is how I can safely enter the Dao!?"

The arduous training he had undergone over the past six months flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, giving him a vague sense of unreality.

After all, whether based on Taoist texts, the horrific scene of the tribulation in the pit of scorpions he witnessed, or the rumors circulating in the market, entering the Tao through tribulation is an extremely difficult but glorious thing that can bring honor to one's ancestors.

Those who pass through this barrier become true immortals; those who fail remain mortals, forever separated by the divide between immortals and mortals.

However, Fang Shu quickly gave a sneer.

He has now mastered both fast and slow immortal techniques, and with the help of precious medicines like Purple Lead Cloud Mother's Milk, he has refined his physical body and bones. Moreover, he has a Daoist talisman that monitors his body at all times, so he has never developed any hidden illnesses.

More importantly, he is not yet seventeen years old, which is the most vibrant and robust period of human life.

Given such advantageous conditions, it would be a joke if one still couldn't firmly enter the path.

Fang Shu thought to himself, "You should know that whether it's Cheng Guanzi or Li Hou'er, both of them have safely entered the Dao and refined their essence after obtaining the precious medicine."

This shows that entering the Daoist path is indeed as Li Hou'er said: the difficulty lies in the frailty of one's body, and the poorer one is, the more difficult it becomes.

After calming himself down, Fang Shu's timidity vanished, replaced by joy that filled his face with anticipation.

He really wanted to go to the market immediately and prepare a ritual for entering the Dao, just like before, to perform the ritual in a grand manner and quickly enter the Dao.

However, Fang Shu suppressed the restlessness in his heart.

"Being able to enter the Dao" only represents the success rate of his essence refinement, not the quality of his qi and blood after refinement.

As far as he knew, after passing the first tribulation, the different precious bloods that the immortals condensed had different wonderful uses.

If one casually purchases ritual implements from the market to aid in spiritual practice, it is a waste of potential and a squandering of one's own precious bloodline.

Conversely, if one adopts the method of crossing the tribulation in the scorpion pit in the Solitary Gu Pavilion, once one successfully passes the test and, with the addition of insect skills practiced day and night, what one condenses after entering the Dao is a single "Gu poison blood".

It not only increases the immortal's own resistance to poison, but also facilitates the immortal's future cultivation of Gu techniques and poison skills.

However, the more versatile and of higher quality the blood essence, the more difficult it becomes to condense.

It's possible that after all that hard work, it will all come to nothing, and one can only get a rudimentary understanding of the path.

It's also possible that someone who was originally a potential immortal was able to enter the Dao, but failed to transcend the tribulation and was reduced to a mortal.

But this is not something Fang Shu needs to worry about.

Because the "probability of entering the Dao" estimated by the Daoist talisman in his mind was originally based on the tribulation method of the scorpion pit in the Dugu Hall.

Fang Shu thought to himself:
"The 'Scorpion's Lair' will open at least every two months. Rather than pursuing a faster path to enlightenment, I'd rather focus on the quality of the precious blood I refine during my tribulation."

His eyes flickered for a moment, then he suddenly closed his eyes and focused his attention on the Taoist talisman and spell section.

In addition to the Secret Sword Techniques of Mouth and Abdomen and the Technique of Changing Skin and Clothing, this column also includes a new technique: [Gu Techniques (Sleepy Bug Chapter)].

Whether it was intentional or unintentional on the part of the owner of the Gu technique, she not only included the method of refining the sleep bug in this Gu technique, but also some methods of making the scorpion basin.

Although the scorpion pit mentioned in Gu techniques cannot be compared with the scorpion pit that is the most important artifact in the training hall, the principles behind them are the same.

They all use the method of raising Gu by killing and devouring each other to stimulate the potential of Gu worms or human bodies, thereby stimulating blood and qi, and promoting the birth of Gu worms and immortals.

In the quiet room, Fang Shu had already read the contents of this Gu technique countless times and understood it thoroughly. Moreover, the Dao talisman had long ago helped him unravel all its mysteries.

However, he hasn't had the time to personally refine it, so he's currently in a state of "knowing how but not being able to do it".

After pondering it carefully for a while, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes:
"The Tribulation Crossing in the Scorpion Basin is actually just treating the disciples in the academy as Gu worms, raising them to undergo tribulation..."

So, the best way to overcome this tribulation isn't simply to passively endure the bites and suffering, but rather to actively refine the poisonous insects in the basin to stimulate one's vital energy?

He pondered it repeatedly, and felt more and more that this was indeed the case. However, the disciples at the bottom of the Dugu Pavilion were generally considered quite remarkable to be able to survive in the pit of venomous insects, let alone actively refine Gu and stimulate themselves.

As he pondered the matter repeatedly, the look in Fang Shu's eyes grew brighter and brighter:

"Just because ordinary disciples can't do it doesn't mean I can't. Besides, I have a Dao talisman to monitor my physical body at any time. If things go wrong, I can stop decisively and not become complacent."

With this thought in mind, his heart began to stir with even more excitement, and he started to think about how to turn the passive situation into the active one when he was going through the tribulation in the pit of scorpions.

As for why Fang Shu wanted to improve the quality of the precious blood, besides wanting to achieve perfection, it was also for another reason.

On the Taoist talisman in his mind, a line of text appeared:

[Body Constitution: Above Average]

Compared to before his bone and tendon transformation, he has tasted much greater benefits this time, with his physical attributes improving by two levels.

However, he was still only of average physical constitution.

Fang Shu hoped that he could undergo a thorough and complete transformation of his physical body during the tribulation in the pit of scorpions, and see if he could further elevate his physical attributes to a higher level.

He thought to himself:
"Even if the scorpion pit can't uproot my bones, the better the precious blood I refine, the greater my advantage in insect and poison techniques will be in the future."

At that time, his talent in insect and poison techniques was probably only considered top-notch.

After pondering for a while in the quiet room, Fang Shu slowly got up.

He slowly and methodically tidied up everything in the quiet room and wiped away any traces of the rituals to prevent outsiders from knowing.

Next.

Fang Shu slowed down his physical training and began to focus on studying the Tribulation of the Scorpion Basin.

His actions surprised the disciples in the academy, who thought he had finally given up.

Thus, the training hall of the Dugu Pavilion changed from having two branches standing side by side to having only one branch standing out, belonging to the young man Shi Hou who was practicing diligently.

But Fang Shu ignored such trivial matters, focusing entirely on his Gu techniques.

His main research method was to personally refine the Gu formula given by the master of the hall to see if he could refine the so-called "sleepy bug".

Fang Shu originally thought that this kind of Gu technique, which did not have a special secret text but overlapped with insect techniques, would not be difficult to practice.

But reality hit him hard.

In refining Gu techniques, the nine secret runes in the insect cultivation method are only the foundation, barely enough to make him unafraid of Gu insect toxins and give him some affinity for Gu insects.

The true process of refining Gu worms is not as simple as throwing insects into a basin and letting them kill each other.

Fang Shude had a thorough understanding of the habits and conditions of each type of insect that was placed in the basin. He would use his essence and blood to nurture and select the insect materials beforehand, and during the process, he would specially mix medicines to stimulate the insects. Afterwards, he would nurture them like a ritual implement.

This art of Gu poison is also a field of empirical study.

Fang Shu also felt that this "unorthodox skill" was even more mysterious and profound than lead-based martial arts, insect-based martial arts, tongue-sword-skin-based martial arts!

Moreover, the principles described in the prescriptions are all easy to learn but difficult to master.

Therefore, after studying for more than half a month, he still stopped at the "in-process" stage of the Gu-refining process and failed to refine a true First Tribulation Sleepy Bug.

However, he gained a lot. His already perfected insect skills were enhanced by his research into Gu techniques, which were mutually reinforced by the two!

"Can the art of Gu poison also be used to enhance one's cultivation?" he wondered to himself.

With his perfected insect technique enhanced, Fang Shu's grasp of the Scorpion Basin Tribulation was undoubtedly much stronger.

Now, he can be said to have everything ready except to undergo the tribulation!
And very quickly.

At the end of the month, all the disciples of the Dugu Sect who had paid their tuition fees gathered once again in the training hall...

(End of this chapter)