Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 53 Gu is not an inconvenient thing
Fang Shu returned to his room, unfolded the thin book, and immediately began to read it with great eagerness.

After a cup of tea, he quickly finished reading the booklet, and a look of realization appeared on his face.

"No wonder Master Du specially asked Senior Sister Fang to copy this book for me from within the Immortal Sect. It seems that the Natal Gu is indeed of paramount importance to us immortals who practice witchcraft and sorcery." He thought to himself.

According to the booklet, once the natal Gu is refined, it becomes intertwined with the life of the immortals, meaning that their fates are intertwined, one prospers and the other suffers.

Between the two, the person exists while the Gu exists, and the person dies while the Gu dies.

However, if the natal Gu is destroyed, the immortal will not necessarily die, but will only be injured.

Because the natal Gu is inherently used to ward off disasters; in fact, this function is arguably the greatest benefit of refining it.

It should be noted that after entering the Qi Refining stage, the various magical techniques of immortals are not as crude and simple as those of the Essence Refining stage. They can fly a sword a hundred steps away, exorcise ghosts and summon souls, and even curse thieves from a distance!

The reason why the witchcraft and sorcery discipline is named as such is because it is the discipline that is most skilled in this art.

Since they are skilled in this art, they would naturally be quite wary of the curse killing technique.

Furthermore, when performing a curse-killing technique, if it is countered or interfered with, this kind of spell is extremely easy to backfire and harm the body.

In situations like these, one's natal Gu (a type of poison) comes in handy.

Because this Gu (a type of poison) is intertwined with the life of the immortals, over time, even the intelligence within the body will be gradually corrupted by the immortals, turning it into something akin to a split soul.

If a thief comes to curse or kill you, or if you suffer a backlash, your natal Gu can protect the immortals from disaster and prevent them from being harmed.

This is also why the master of the pavilion instructed Fang Shu to have this item in his body when he broke through to the Qi Refining stage.

For the sorcerers of witchcraft and exorcism, creating this item is equivalent to having an extra half-life.

In addition to warding off disasters, the natal Gu will have different advantages depending on the Gu insect chosen.

Some use the Moonlight Insect as their natal Gu, which can enhance the immortal's perception of moonlight and increase the efficiency of ingestion, thus improving the speed of cultivation; others use the Hundred Herbs Insect as their natal Gu, which can enhance the immortal's affinity for plants and trees, making it easier to hide in the mountains and forests and search for various spiritual plants.

There are even immortals in the world who use sperm as their natal Gu, and they can control this insect to sow seeds from a distance. They have the ability to "conceive by staring", which makes it extremely convenient for them to do the work of breeding demons and beasts.

Fang Shu pondered this point, his expression turning strange as his thoughts drifted. He suddenly realized that if the materials for refining the Essence-Bearing Gu were replaced with those from a human body, wouldn't that be...?

Suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind, he looked at the booklet in his hand and began to ponder:
"Then what kind of Gu worm should I choose to serve as my natal Gu?"

His gaze shifted, and he couldn't help but look at the gold-hunting insect droppings that he had wrapped in talisman paper, his eyes brightening slightly.

The seeker of gold-bearing insects.

It is a natural treasure insect, extremely sensitive to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and adept at burrowing and digging. It is also known as the "treasure-hunting insect" and is as famous as the treasure-hunting rat, the mountain-searching dog, and the matsutake pig.

If Fang Shu can use this insect as his natal Gu, he might be able to use it to find spiritual veins and gather various precious medicinal herbs from the mountains in the future.

As Fang Shu imagined it, another sigh escaped his lips:
"Unfortunately, the traces of this insect in the lead mine were fake. The gold-seeking insect is also too elusive, making it an insect that can be encountered but not sought after."

Moreover, even if he obtained this precious insect by chance, it is uncertain whether he can refine the Gold-Seeking Insect into his natal Gu.

It should be noted that the refining of one's natal Gu also carries the risk of failure, and the probability of failure is far greater than that of ordinary Gu refining, requiring the preparation of multiple sets of materials.

Fang Shu couldn't guarantee that he could succeed on his first try.

If he were to actually refine it, he would have to find ways to improve his Gu-refining skills and the success rate of refining his natal Gu before he even started refining it. As he pondered this, Fang Shu's gaze shifted again, suddenly landing on the name card of the Du Guan Master.

"The secret method of lead, mercury, blood, and precious seed artifacts." He muttered the name of the lead-based martial arts of the Burning Tail Pavilion, his eyes slightly narrowed.

According to the booklet copied by Sister Fang, the "Gu" is not limited to insects, but encompasses all things in the world that are like insects, with weak or even non-existent intelligence.

For example, poisonous snakes and plants, before they become spirits, do not have much intelligence and can be refined into Gu worms.

Once it becomes sentient, possessing demonic energy and intelligence, it becomes a monster. A Gu master can only kill it or dissipate its intelligence before refining it.

Aside from tangible living things, intangible living things, such as sperm, plagues, and even inanimate objects, such as miasma and poisonous waters, which have no intelligence at all, can also be refined into Gu.

It can be said that living things and dead things, things with form and formlessness, things large and small, all things in heaven and earth can be shaved and refined into Gu.

The tiny Gu worm is merely the most common image of Gu Dao in the eyes of the world.

The "Gu" is never an inconvenient thing!

Fang Shu pondered, "It seems that the lead-based cultivation technique of the Burning Tail Pavilion may not only promote my cultivation, but may also help me refine my natal Gu sooner."

He now fully understood the words of the owner's earlier warning.

The Secret Method of Lead, Mercury, Blood, Treasure, Seed, and Weapon can be used to refine a weapon embryo, which is convenient for immortals to refine into their natal magic weapon after breaking through to the Qi Refining stage.

The terms "embryo" and "magical artifact" also fall under the category of "materials for refining Gu" mentioned in the booklet. In particular, the embryos that can be cultivated by this method of lead and mercury are flesh and blood magical artifacts, which are like long-tongued swords, making it even easier to refine them into Gu.

Perhaps, he can first cultivate the "artifact embryo" and then refine it into a natal Gu, taking two steps to greatly increase the success rate of refining the natal Gu.

With this thought in mind, Fang Shu frantically pondered the matter.

The Taoist talisman in his mind was also buzzing and vibrating.

Although the Daoist talisman can only analyze and cannot directly help him deduce the cultivation method, it can extract all the myriad principles recorded in the talisman, distinguish their authenticity and feasibility, and provide them for his reference and analysis.

Such an effect is equivalent to blessing his wisdom and spirituality, which is quite mysterious and difficult to describe.

After a surge of thoughts, Fang Shu's face turned red, his blood boiled, and the sweat on his head evaporated, emitting a puff of white steam.

But his eyes were bright; the more he thought about it, the more he felt there was great potential.

"Others may only be able to use lead and mercury as a reference, but I have the Taoist talisman to assist me, so why should I go through such inconvenience!"

Fang Shu had already decided to try refining his natal Gu in two steps.

If this plan is feasible, one can refine a natal Gu during the Refining Essence stage. Even if only ordinary Gu worms are used as the natal Gu, it would still be well worth it!
As the thought settled in his mind, Fang Shu suddenly stood up.

He deftly took out a flint from the room, first burned the booklet that his senior sister had given him into ashes, and then mashed it beyond recognition.

The contents of this booklet have already been fully recorded in the Taoist talisman, so there's no need to look at it again. Furthermore, there are no cryptic texts in it; burning it after reading is the easiest way and won't reveal anything.

Having taken care of everything, Fang Shu, carrying the name card of the master of the dojo, left the dojo with great interest and headed straight for the Shaowei Dojo.

(End of this chapter)