Beginning to Grow a Brain, Spirituality Gathers

As the old saying went.

A gentleman's revenge lasted from dawn till dusk.

Zhu Yu refused to believe that three First-Order mid-grade talismans could not handle a mere First-Order low-grade demon insect. He had already figured out how he would roast and torment the demon insect after capturing it!

Roast and torment it viciously!

He had to avenge Little Black!

"Little Black, it's only because your master is me. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't spend such a hefty price to avenge you. Work hard, show some promise, and become an Insect Cultivator soon."

Zhu Yu patted Little Black's head beside him, flicked his long sleeve, clasped his hands behind his back, and headed toward the classroom.

Squeak, squeak...

Little Black squeaked twice. Perhaps it had been frightened badly enough to leave a shadow in its heart; as it walked, its tiny eyes rolled constantly, cautiously watching its surroundings as though a demon insect wielding a blade might leap out and kill it at any moment.

Seeing it act so jumpy...

Zhu Yu had no particularly good solution for that.

As Little Black ate food prepared with Starry Wood Leaves, its cultivation had not increased much, but its intelligence had grown by the day, making it increasingly clever.

In plain terms, it was starting to grow a brain!

And precisely because of that, it had begun to develop fear and unease...

From this, it could be seen.

Sometimes, having too much brain was not a good thing either.

When silver radiance shone from the five full moons in the dome overhead and another full moon gradually emerged, Zhu Yu arrived at the teaching venue. He greeted Liang Kuan, who stood guard outside the door, then hurried up to the third floor.

"Hmm?"

Following behind, Liang Kuan noticed the crisscrossing blade marks on Little Black's shell and its chipped great fangs. His brows furrowed, and a dark cast flashed across his glossy face. He quickened his pace, came to Zhu Yu's side, and asked gravely, "Junior Brother Zhu, has someone been giving you trouble?"

"Huh?"

Zhu Yu froze for a moment. When he saw Liang Kuan glance at Little Black from the corner of his eye, he immediately understood. Embarrassment flashed across his face as he shook his head. "No. A rather unusual demon insect grew out in the Corpse Field. It's nothing serious."

"A demon insect?"

Seeing that he did not seem to be lying, Liang Kuan heaved a sigh of relief. The Killing Intent between his brows receded, and he grinned. "If you need me for anything, Junior Brother, just call out."

"Alright."

Zhu Yu nodded with a smile. He stepped before the classroom, put on a fitting smile, and reached out to push open the door.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhu—"

"You are all too polite, Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters. Today, we will discuss how to find the compatible principles for drawing the Three-Ring Pattern..."

The number of students had increased from twenty to thirty.

At Zhu Yu's suggestion, Xiang Sui had roughly set the total number of students at over a hundred, dividing them into three batches according to their progress in the meditation method.

This saved both time and effort. Moreover, studying once every three days allowed the students to digest the knowledge they had previously acquired.

Time flowed like water.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.

After seeing off the students whose minds had been filled to the brim with knowledge, Zhu Yu put away his own one hundred and eighty Low-grade Spirit Stones. His purse immediately grew plumper again. After greeting Liang Kuan, who was going to deliver Spirit Stones to Xiang Sui, he left with Little Black.

Upon entering the Market.

Thinking of extracting the "Grass Spirit Art" Dharma Vein Diagram from the Corpse Seed, he spent thirty Spirit Stones at a shop specializing in spiritual items to purchase a bottle of Spirit Spring containing attribute-less spiritual energy, around ten jin in all.

He did not linger afterward and headed straight out of the Market.

Without stopping along the way, he returned to the Underworld Grounds.

When they reached the foot of his own earthen mound, Little Black hesitated to advance. A wave of fear and restless agitation surged through its mind.

"What are you afraid of? You have your master here!"

Zhu Yu soothingly patted Little Black's shell and urged it up the mound. He scanned the surroundings, gripping a green and a blue talisman tightly in his palm, ready to activate them at any moment.

All the way to the summit, the demon insect did not appear.

Yet Zhu Yu did not dare let down his guard in the slightest. He waved a hand and ordered Little Black to take the Stone Bottle containing the Spirit Spring and hide in the wooden hut, while his gaze turned toward the three mu of lush Corpse Field and his thoughts stirred.

A pale gray barrier emerged over his body. One Corpse Beetle after another, black with gray patterns, crawled out from his palm. Their wings vibrated as they slowly circled around him.

Of course, those were merely surface measures.

What would truly deal with the demon insect were the First-Order mid-grade Thousand Vine Talisman and Ice Arrow Talisman hidden in his sleeves, their Spiritual Power concealed and held in an activated state.

Everything was ready.

"Let's see how you escape this time..."

Zhu Yu narrowed his eyes and slowly walked toward the Corpse Field.

A quarter hour later.

"Eh... Has it left?"

Zhu Yu circled the three mu of Corpse Field once without seeing any sign of the Mantis Demon Insect. He was somewhat surprised, and somewhat regretful.

He was surprised that the Mantis Demon Insect had actually left, and regretful that he apparently would not be able to tame this exceptionally gifted demon insect.

Shaking his head slightly, he stopped dwelling on it. He withdrew the Spiritual Power from the talismans and tucked them into his inner pocket, then walked toward the small grave mound at the center of the Corpse Field.

When he approached it.

At a thought from Zhu Yu, one of the Corpse Beetles circling beside him flapped its wings and descended, burrowing into the grave mound.

Within his consciousness, the Corpse Beetle quickly crawled to the head of the curled-up Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed. Its body dissolved like water and slowly seeped into the space between its brows.

A moment later.

Roar...

A roar suddenly rang out in Zhu Yu's mind. At once, he sensed a close connection coming from the grave mound before him, while a disorderly, chaotic will many times stronger than Little Black's flooded into his mind.

"Hmm! This is... Has spirituality been nurtured?"

Zhu Yu's thoughts stirred. He blocked out the disorderly, chaotic will surging from the Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed, crouched down halfway, pressed his palm against the grave mound, and stared intently.

[Target: Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed]

[Race: Tiger]

[Bloodline: Contains a trace of an unknown tiger-type demon beast bloodline "Unawakened"]

[Unranked: 32%]

[Effects: Tough hide, hard bones, coarse flesh]

[Status: Chaotic]

"It really has nurtured spirituality!..."

Seeing the Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed's status, Zhu Yu's eyes immediately lit up. He chuckled. "I never expected the Corpse Control Art to possess such an effect..."

Now that spirituality had gathered.

He could next begin cultivating the Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed.

And open this blind box!

"I hope it brings a surprise. If it has a second-order bloodline..."

At that thought, Zhu Yu could not help growing excited. That was a bloodline comparable to a Foundation Establishment True Person. With such a Corpse Puppet protecting him, would he not be able to walk sideways in the future?

Little Black was good too, but...

Mm, the future belonged to it!

After checking once more and confirming that the Fierce Tiger Corpse Seed had not grown insects and showed no signs of bodily decay, Zhu Yu eagerly left the Corpse Field. He called over Little Black, which had been hiding in the wooden hut, jumped onto its shell, and urged it on.

"Let's go, Little Black. To the Starry Corridor..."

Squeak, squeak...

Completely unaware that it was about to lose its status as a mount, Little Black let out an excited cry and darted down the earthen mound like the wind.

Not far along the path.

A shrill, miserable howl suddenly came from an earthen mound.

"You damned beast! My Corpse Seed! ..."

"Hmm?"

Zhu Yu looked doubtfully toward the earthen mound beside the road. Specks of spiritual light lit up, and he faintly heard several more shouts and angry curses. He did not think much of it and drove Little Black onward.

An hour later.

At the earthen mound, within the Corpse Field.

Zhu Yu carried a small water vat to the grave mound in the middle of the Corpse Field. He gently patted away the mud seal, and a clear, strange fragrance immediately wafted out. Merely smelling it made the blood and qi within his body faintly stir.

He tilted his arm.

A stream of slightly viscous crimson liquid flowed out.