Bone Body Buddha Path

Seeing Liu Feng's strange expression, which carried a clear prejudice against spirits and monsters, the Ape Spirit retorted angrily, "Can spirits and monsters not cultivate the Buddha's path? All living beings are capable of attaining Buddhahood."

Liu Feng offered a cold, noncommittal smile and ignored the Ape Spirit entirely.

Upon reading the contents of the text and realizing that the Diamond Demon-Subduing Sutra was a Buddhist cultivation manual, he found himself suddenly intrigued.

He allowed the Intermediate Gu to drain the essence and blood of the two monsters, then feed that energy back into his own body.

Freeing up his focus, he examined the patterns and characters on the silk scroll in detail.

The illustrations depicted a fist technique called the "Seventeen Diamond Forms," and beneath it was a section of text detailing the "Three Demon-Subduing Seal Techniques."

Liu Feng skipped over these for the moment and looked at the content at the very bottom, which contained the introductory guidance techniques and a brief overview of the path.

"Deepen to store, store to extend, extend to descend, descend to settle, settle to solidify, solidify to sprout, sprout to grow."

"Growth leads to life, life forms the Buddha root, Buddha power is like the Tathagata, one thought causes the lotus to bloom..."

Liu Feng understood the practice of refining Qi, having already refined a toxic Qi similar to the true Qi of a Taoist.

After reading the guidance techniques and the brief overview, a flash of understanding dawned on him.

So, this path cultivated Buddha power, which was also a form of Qi, much like the Qi refined by Taoists.

The two paths shared common ground, yet this method did not focus on the skin or flesh, but solely on the skeletal frame.

Without meridians to rely on, one could not circulate true Qi, so it was converted into Buddha power instead.

"Replacing Qi with Buddha power, relying only on the skeleton... this doesn't seem like the orthodox path!"

"The Ape Spirit's strikes earlier were as fierce as a martial artist's... so that's it. A skeleton-based path to Buddhahood is a newly forged road, combining the essence of both martial artists and Taoists..."

The Diamond Demon-Subduing Sutra contained both the "Seventeen Diamond Forms" for fist fighting and the "Three Demon-Subduing Seal Techniques" for Buddhist arts.

It was hard to say if this was definitively powerful; even a layman like Liu Feng knew that compared to a martial artist, this method lacked the grueling tempering of skin, flesh, and meridians.

However, a skeleton reinforced by Buddha power would not lose out in terms of explosive force when clashing with a martial artist's physique.

But in terms of endurance, a mere skeleton would likely fall short of a martial artist, requiring Buddhist arts to compensate for the deficiency.

"According to this text, to enter the path, one must first perceive Buddha power, use it to grow a Buddha root upon the skeleton, and bloom the first White Bone Buddha Lotus; only then is one considered to be at the First Buddha Root realm."

Liu Feng thought of the Buddha light upon his own spine, and a sense of anticipation stirred within him.

The guidance techniques within the Diamond Demon-Subduing Sutra only went up to the second Buddha root, the blooming of the second White Bone Buddha Lotus.

In other words, this manual could only take one to the second major realm; beyond that, one would need to seek other techniques.

Nevertheless, for Liu Feng, who had just stepped across the threshold of a cultivator, this Buddhist manual was more than enough.

He did not hesitate further. Leaving the Intermediate Gu and the Soldier Gu "Split-Tooth" to feed themselves, he turned his full attention to his own skeleton.

If he could reach the First Buddha Root realm, he would patch up some of his shortcomings, ensuring he would not be as slow to react as he had been before.

"Once I master this, I won't fear martial artists or Gu Masters like Second Senior Brother. Spending some time to focus on this is well worth it!"

While Liu Feng was immersed in the introductory Buddhist teachings, outside the stone cave, the siblings Su Jing and Su Anjie had waited for a long time to no avail. Seeing that neither the Black Wolf Spirit nor the Ape Spirit had emerged, they both felt that something was amiss.

They did not dare to intrude into the stone cave, fearing that Liu Feng, whose eyes were bloodshot from the slaughter, might cut them down along with the monsters.

Previously, Liu Feng had been a mere Gu Child, and he had only taken one of their arms. Now that he had become a Gu Master, even if he were to truly kill them, it was unlikely anyone would hold him accountable.

"Could that Liu fellow really dare to kill us? We were brought here by Second Senior Brother, after all."

"It's hard to say. Let's go for now and wait until Second Senior Brother returns from the Valley Master." The siblings felt uneasy. After casting one last look at the entrance of the stone cave, they left, filled with resentment.

The Gu Children and Gu Servants scattered in twos and threes as well.

Everyone was talking about Liu Feng's Gu techniques and the ferocity of those two monsters.

This was the first time they had ever seen spirits and monsters in action; they were truly violent, swift, and sharp. If ordinary people were to encounter them in the mountains, they would have no choice but to become blood-food.

"We only need to wait a few more days. The Valley Master will surely summon those who hatched Exotic Gu."

"Fourteen of us left the Medicine Garden. Five of us became Gu Servants, and two others are already dead."

"Liu Xing and Liu Feng have both become Gu Masters. Now we only wait to see the fate of the remaining five."...

Ma Kun and the other four, their faces covered, walked past, causing the Gu Children to scatter like birds and beasts, terrified of provoking these five monsters.

Nearby, Leng Qiuyue and Li Xiang'er walked together.

Not far ahead of the two women, the Big-Headed Gu Child wore an amiable smile, his face practically beaming with flattery whenever he looked at Leng Qiuyue.

The sight of Liu Feng charging out of the poisonous mist earlier had truly terrified this Gu Child leader.

Whether it was the two monsters or Liu Feng himself, he knew that if any one of the three decided to lay a hand on him, his life would be forfeit.

"I never imagined Brother Liu Feng was so powerful! You're in luck, Sister Qiuyue." Li Xiang'er tugged at Leng Qiuyue, her pretty face filled with envy.

"Sigh, why didn't he take a fancy to me? I'm clearly better at serving people than you are..."

Leng Qiuyue's cheeks flushed crimson at such a blunt remark, and she couldn't help but chide, "Relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself. Let's focus on finding our sense of Qi first."

After the two women returned to their respective quarters, they, like the other Gu Children, began to adapt to the Gu insects within their bodies and search for the sensation of Qi.

However, after the day's experiences, it was destined that none of the Gu children could remain calm.

First came the tragic state of Ma Kun and the other four, followed by Liu Feng's battle with the monster; all of it weighed heavily upon their hearts.

With living precedents before them, the fate of this new batch of Gu children seemed to boil down to only three outcomes: a miserable death, becoming a Gu servant, or rising above the rest to become a Gu master.

Yet, even if one became a Gu master, they still had to meet the Valley Master as those five monsters had said, and the likelihood of survival was at most one or two people.

A night passed, and the overcast rain that had persisted for days finally dispersed.

As soon as the sky brightened, the orders from Third Senior Brother Zhu Li were passed down.

The Gu children responsible for gathering herbs, raising Gu, and preparing medicinal mud all received their commands and busied themselves, yet they were completely unaware of why Insect Valley was making such a grand move!

At this moment, beneath the cliff on the east side of Insect Valley, Third Senior Brother Zhu Li stood guard beside a cave entrance.

Before him, the Gu children responsible for raising Gu arrived pushing wooden carts, all filled with dead Gu.

Cart after cart of insect remains were dumped like fertilizer into the gap at the base of the cliff, pouring into the cave entrance.

Beside Zhu Li stood a scholar-like youth, none other than Second Senior Brother Shen Yushu, who murmured, "The Medicine Slave Master intends to awaken this time is no simple matter; if nothing goes wrong, it should be a second-grade Medicine Slave."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Li's expression turned solemn. The grades of Soldier Gu and Medicine Slaves corresponded to the realms of Gu masters, and the strength of a second-grade Medicine Slave was equivalent to a second-generation Gu master.

Within the entire Medicine Valley, aside from the Valley Master, there was not another soul who reached the level of a second-generation Gu master.

Because Eldest Senior Brother was being hunted by the White Sun Sect, Master was actually going to awaken a second-grade Medicine Slave to go after them, and he and his fellow disciples would likely have to accompany it.

Perhaps the soon-to-be-born "Fourth Junior Brother" would also go along this time.

There was no other reason; because a Medicine Slave's consciousness was muddled—neither truly living nor dead—it required someone to guide it, acting as its "eyes."

And a Gu master who had planted the exotic Gu "Evolution Pupil" was clearly more suitable for this than those who had planted the "Ox Eater," "Cotton Spitter," or "Mountain God" Gu.