The Exotic Gu "Fire Eater"

The disheveled Daoist wanted to leave, but someone was determined not to let him.

"You laughed at your grandpa, and now you think you can just walk away?"

"Senior Brother, you've misunderstood. He wasn't making fun of you. Why bully him?"

Two gusts of wind stirred before the restaurant's threshold. A man and a woman darted out one after the other, chasing after the disheveled Daoist.

Without a word, the square-faced man among them rushed forward and pinned the Daoist to the ground, beating him savagely.

Zhu Li took a closer look. The Daoist's hair was a tangled mess, and his clothes were shabby, but he was remarkably handsome.

As for the man and woman, judging by how they addressed each other, they were senior and junior fellow disciples.

Perhaps the junior sister had looked at the Daoist a few times too many, leaving her senior brother stewing with jealousy. He'd found an excuse to teach the Daoist a lesson.

"Senior Brother, stop hitting him. He really wasn't making fun of you."

"Junior Sister, take a good look at his mouth. It's clearly crooked because he's mocking me. I'll tear that mouth to shreds!"

At those words, several passersby turned to look. Only then did they see that the disheveled Daoist really did have a crooked mouth.

Liu Feng shook his head. He could tell that the Daoist was probably born with a crooked mouth. When he smiled faintly at someone, it looked to outsiders like he was mocking them.

"He's taking a beating he doesn't deserve." Liu Feng couldn't help smiling.

He was still smiling, but after another few glances, the smile froze on his face.

The square-faced brute kicked the Daoist hard several times, striking him in the kidneys. Yet the Daoist acted as if he felt nothing. He neither fought back nor made a sound.

"Zen Eye Technique." The more Liu Feng watched, the stranger it seemed. His gaze shifted, peering directly into the Daoist's body.

At a glance, there were no kidneys inside.

Forget the kidneys—the Daoist had no internal organs at all. His insides were like pale, muddy sludge, a blank white expanse.

It was as if the man's internal organs had melted away, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell. The sight was eerie and chilling.

"Is that Daoist even human?" Liu Feng immediately withdrew his gaze, a chill spreading across his back.

Back when he was still a refugee, he had heard all sorts of tales of the uncanny. Now that he'd witnessed such things with his own eyes, he could say he'd truly broadened his horizons.

Compared with the Corpse-Eating Gall and the Walking Corpse, this Daoist was countless times more sinister.

Zhu Li hadn't noticed anything amiss with Liu Feng. He beckoned to the waiter and said, "Arrange four first-class rooms for us. We'll stay the night. More people will be coming later."

Old Huang and Little Fuzi would share one room, while each of the three fellow disciples would have one of their own.

The Medicine Slave shouldn't show himself in a crowded place. It was best to leave him in the carriage. Besides, if anything happened, he could be summoned instantly with the Nightmare Gu Larva.

"Certainly, sirs. Please head upstairs first."

Liu Feng went up to the second floor with Zhu Li, while the square-faced man outside continued shouting angrily.

On the street, the crooked-mouthed Daoist's face was ground mercilessly against the pavement beneath someone's foot.

Neither the delighted-looking senior brother nor the junior sister trying to reason with him noticed the change in the Daoist's eyes.

Pinned to the ground, the crooked-mouthed Daoist's eyes flickered. At times they were blank and lifeless; at others, they were utterly ferocious.

At midnight, in a guest room on the second floor.

The oil lamp had long since gone out. Liu Feng sat cross-legged on the floor, practicing the Guiding Method.

The next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at the half-open window.

A figure appeared silently before the window. It was Shen Yushu, back in his original appearance.

"Junior Brother, everything's been taken care of. This is your share."

As he spoke, Shen Yushu tossed a jade box through the window.

"What kind of medicine needs to be kept in a jade box?" Liu Feng caught it and caught a faint whiff of medicinal fragrance.

The figure by the window vanished. Before long, faint sounds came from the next room—Shen Yushu was quietly explaining things to Zhu Li.

"Guh..." In the room, the Soldier Gu Split-Tooth let out another hungry cry.

Compared with the half Blood Crystal from the perfected Walking Corpse, the contents of the jade box seemed to have a greater pull on it.

Liu Feng circulated Poison Qi to quiet the Soldier Gu, then sent a bug leg from his back to shut the window.

Only after the medicinal fragrance could no longer escape and give him away did he open the jade box.

The moment he lifted the lid, a rich medicinal fragrance filled his nose, and misty qi drifted from within.

At the next glance, Liu Feng saw what was inside and muttered, "Shen Yushu took the lion's share, and this little scrap he set aside for me is actually a spirit herb."

The contents of the jade box weren't any ordinary tonic. They were a thumb-sized piece of root-shaped spirit herb.

He knew Shen Yushu had gone out to trade with someone. There was no way he'd split the gains evenly three ways, so Liu Feng hadn't expected much from his share.

But this piece of spirit herb truly delighted him.

In Insect Valley, the Gu Children who were raising Exotic Gu were given spirit herbs to strengthen their bodies in the Gu Rearing Pool. Liu Feng had only received such a treat once before.

But that had been shared among forty Gu Children. This piece of spirit herb might not be much, but this time he'd have it all to himself.

"With this spirit herb, my second Exotic Gu, Fire Eater, can hatch tonight."

"If we run into Daoists from the White Sun Sect and they use Nether Fire, I'll have just the means to counter it."

According to the information Shen Yushu had gathered, the Daoists of the White Sun Sect excelled at two techniques: controlling Nether Fire and using Human Skin Talismans.

With the spirit herb's medicinal potency, there was no doubt he could hatch the Exotic Gu one or two days early. That would give Liu Feng extra time to get used to its Gu techniques.

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Feng picked up the spirit herb and tossed it straight into his mouth.

He immediately circulated Poison Qi to speed up his blood flow, helping the medicinal potency merge with his blood. Then he used the blood, now infused with the herb's potency, to nourish the Exotic Gu egg.

Before his heart, the fiery-red eggshell had almost completely dissolved, revealing the slow emergence of a fire-red strange insect.

Within the flesh of Liu Feng's chest, the Exotic Gu Evolution Pupil seemed to sense something. Its slumbering body, covered in star-like specks, stirred slightly.

"As long as I nourish them enough, these two Exotic Gu shouldn't clash with each other!" Liu Feng used his Zen Eye to peer inside himself, staring at the dissolving fire-red eggshell.

Gradually, a chill spread through his body.

The heat in the entire guest room seemed to be sucked away, most of it drawn through his skin and absorbed into the fire-red Exotic Gu.

Half an hour, then an hour... At first, the cold crept over Liu Feng's skin. Then his whole body turned icy.

Meanwhile, in the adjoining guest room to Liu Feng's right.

Old Huang and Little Fuzi, grandfather and grandson, were sleeping soundly with their heads under the covers. Without realizing it, they began shivering, their limbs trembling as they huddled deeper beneath the blankets.

On the other side, in the adjoining guest room to Liu Feng's left.

Third Senior Brother Zhu Li had been meditating to regulate his breathing and refine the medicinal potency of the spirit herb. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and turned toward the wall.

Though there was only a wall between them, even his sturdy body could feel the chill.

Suspicion rose in his eyes. He glanced at his arms, where goosebumps had sprung up all over.

"Fourth Junior Brother, is anything wrong over there?" Zhu Li moved closer to the wall and gently tapped the wooden boards.

In the room next door, Liu Feng's face twitched violently. His hands and feet were so cold they were almost numb.

He drew a deep breath and replied quietly, "It's nothing."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes flew wide open.

Before his heart, the fire-red Exotic Gu had fully emerged from its shell. The remaining eggshell split into several pieces and quickly dissolved.

In an instant, the chill vanished from Liu Feng's body. His heart hammered, and his blood, stained a deep crimson, surged through his whole body. A wave of heat rippled outward from his skin.