Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 48 Sleepy Treasure Worm
The librarian also turned around in surprise, withdrawing his gaze from the other books on the shelf:
"What's the matter?"

Fang Shu immediately told the innkeeper about the "gold-hunting bug" that he had heard from the mine owner surnamed Cao when he went out to rescue his second uncle.

"This disciple suspects that there might be precious medicinal herbs in the lead mine. Of course, it could also be false information."

The owner of the guesthouse first chuckled, then said:
"You're right, precious medicinal herbs are indeed unearthed in these mines every year. And the number of such precious medicinal herbs reported each year is no less than a hundred."

Your caution was justified. These miners and sand diggers are no pushovers. When they get angry, they won't care about your identity or background. Regardless of whether the information is true or false, choosing to retreat is a wise move.

She then joked, "But if the news about this precious medicine is true, ordinary precious medicines are only minor gains for us Gu practitioners. On the contrary, the Gold-Seeking Insect is much more worthy of our attention."

This is a top-quality treasure insect; it can detect and store treasures, and it's a rare find.

Fang Shu raised an eyebrow slightly at these words.

"Alright, I understand. Although it's probably 80-90% fake, I'll still keep an eye on that Cao guy. If I have some free time, I might as well take a trip."

The owner of the guesthouse looked at Fang Shu gently and said, "You've put your heart into this."

"This disciple dares not," Fang Shu immediately bowed.

He hesitated for a moment, then ultimately chose to take his leave, keeping the remaining message to himself.

That message contained the exact location of the precious medicine he had obtained from Cheng Guanzi.

Logically, the safest approach would have been to inform the owner of the inn directly and ask him to help obtain the medicine, allowing Fang Shu to simply reap the benefits.

But Fang Shuxin also had his own doubts.

If there's no other choice, then there's no problem for now. But if a precious medicine that can slightly improve one's aptitude were to appear, who would the Pavilion Master choose to give it to?
Even if the other party returns from gathering herbs, but the amount of herbs they have gathered is small, far less than Fang Shu had expected, would he suspect that the Pavilion Master is hoarding precious herbs... and so on.

Therefore, rather than adding to the complications or even probing into the ugliness of people's hearts, it is better not to tell them about it.

Fang Shu thought to himself:
"Besides, I have already told my master about the lead mountain mine. If she really cares, she should go and investigate, or warn that mine owner surnamed Cao."

"When the time comes, I only need to ask my master to understand the details of the so-called lead-mountain mine, thus reducing the risks when going down into the mine."

With a plan in mind, Fang Shu held the Gu book bestowed upon him by the master of the Duguan Pavilion and immediately returned to his room in the inner courtyard.

Next.

While Dao Lu was tirelessly analyzing the insect technique day and night, Fang Shu himself took advantage of this time to cultivate while using materials from the Daoist temple to begin extensive experiments in refining Gu.

Having become an inner disciple, and especially with the favor of the headmaster, he could take some of the materials related to Gu refining for free when he needed them at the medicine hall.

The most abundant materials in the Dugu Pavilion are snakes and insects, which are very convenient for him to study Gu techniques.

Only when it comes to Gu worms that have entered the realm of high rank, because the materials are rare and expensive, does Fang Shu need to ask the owner of the Duguan Pavilion for permission or request them, or buy them himself.

With such favorable conditions, he stayed in his room for over a month.

He would only appear before his disciples when the master of the temple was giving a sermon.

This made Fang Shu seem as mysterious as the other senior disciples who lived outside. No one saw him exercising much anymore; instead, he stayed in his room all day.

This earned him the nickname "stay-at-home" among the inner disciples.

This day.

Fang Shu tightly closed the room door and sealed off the doors and windows.

He covered the four walls, including the roof, with talismans to isolate the energy flow and reduce noise.

In the center of the room was a pitch-black scorpion basin, about the size of a water vat, which he had moved from the pharmacy.

Although this item cannot be considered a magical artifact, it is an instrument used by the pharmacists for decades in raising insects, and it has a certain auxiliary function in the refining of Gu.

Fang Shu has only recently entered the Dao, and his Gu techniques are still weak. The Dugu Pavilion also has many other disciples to support, and a high-grade scorpion basin is extremely valuable and not something to be hoped for. The fact that he was able to obtain such an old object from the pavilion to refine Gu is already a testament to the pavilion master's considerable consideration for him.

Buzz!

He walked around the water vat and scorpion pit, chanting incantations. Then he leaped up and stood on the edge of the pit, moving like a snake, his body low to the ground.

At this moment, in the scorpion pit, tiny insects were startled by his movements and were about to fly directly out of the pit.

These insects are a special type of aphid that secrete a sweet juice in the wild, making them popular with ants and other insects. They are even specially kept by other insects.

Fang Shu has been keeping these aphids in the scorpion pit for more than ten days now. He feeds them with his own precious blood every day. Seven batches of aphids have died before this tank of aphids is still alive.

Having been nourished by his precious blood, these aphids have come to regard him as one of their own and have become close to him.

"Return!" Fang Shu shouted.

The aphids that had risen up then rustled back down and landed in the water tank.

Fang Shu swam faster and faster in the water vat, chanting aloud as he did so:

"Morning dew as the guide, moonlight as the soup. The essence of all herbs is concentrated and nourished in the Gu."

He placed the ingredients for refining Gu into the scorpion pit, including morning dew collected from deep bamboo forests and white saltpeter scraped from ancient tombs under the full moon.

Soon, the aphids in the scorpion pit seemed to be drunk, and the swarm scattered, turning into a messy mass of white dots.

And they became ferocious, opening their mouths and devouring any of their kind they encountered.

Soon, the tank full of aphids was reduced to just a small clump.

Even this small group is still tearing each other apart in the pit of scorpions.

Seeing this, Fang Shu's expression turned serious, and he finally shouted out:
"With my true will, I will subdue the demonic obstacles. The precious Gu is now complete, at my command!"

Sizzle!

He pricked his fingertip, immediately squeezed out three drops of lead-poisoned blood, placed them in the scorpion pit, and watched expectantly.

A hissing sound came from the basin. The aphids, attracted by his poisonous blood, flocked to it like moths to a flame. Many of them were then corroded and absorbed into the poisonous blood.

Fortunately, the remaining ones, bathed in poisonous blood, shook themselves, and their white insect bodies immediately showed traces of purple, forming twisted characters.

A sense of something inexplicable arose between Fang Shu and the aphids.

After they devoured Fang Shu's three drops of poisonous blood, they fought amongst themselves for a while. Suddenly, three plump aphids, each the size of a millet seed, flew out of the scorpion pit and landed affectionately on Fang Shu's fingertips, nudging towards his already closed wound as if begging for food.

These three purple aphids are no longer ordinary insects; they have successfully undergone a transformation and ascended to become first-level Gu insects.

It was the very same Gu formula that the Pavilion Master had first bestowed upon Fang Shu—the Sleepy Bug!

After practicing diligently for many days, Fang Shu finally refined his first Tribulation-Entering Gu worm. A look of joy appeared on his face, and he felt extremely gratified.

He then sat cross-legged in the pit of scorpions, and with a thought, whispered, "Come!"

Buzzing.

Three sleepy bugs swayed and flew off his fingers, two of them burrowing into his nostrils and one into his ear.

Fang Shu felt a faint, sweet scent in his nose, and his ears were ringing with a dizzying buzz.

His eyelids suddenly felt heavy and drooped, and he fell into a deep sleep.

(End of this chapter)