Exotic Gu "Fire Eater"

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

"Mocking your grandfather, and you think you can just walk away?"

"Senior Brother, you've misunderstood. He wasn't mocking you; why must you bully him?"

Two gusts of wind stirred before the tavern threshold as a man and a woman swept out one after another, catching up to the slovenly Daoist.

Of the two, the square-jawed brute didn't say another word, stepping forward to pin the Daoist to the ground and beat him mercilessly.

Zhu Li took a closer look; the Daoist's hair was disheveled and his clothes were unkempt, yet his features were remarkably handsome.

As for the man and woman, judging by their address, they were likely fellow disciples.

Perhaps because the Junior Sister had lingered her gaze on the Daoist a moment too long, the Senior Brother felt stifled and found a pretext to teach the Daoist a lesson.

"Senior Brother, stop hitting him! He really wasn't mocking you."

"Junior Sister, look closely at his mouth. It's clearly crooked in a sneer at me. I'll tear that mouth of his to shreds!"

Hearing this, several passersby glanced over, only to realize the slovenly Daoist's mouth was indeed crooked.

Liu Feng shook his head. He could see that the Daoist's mouth was likely crooked by birth; when he offered a slight smile, it appeared as a mockery to others.

This beating is an injustice, Liu Feng thought, feeling a touch of amusement.

He was still smiling, but as he looked a few more times, the smile on his face stiffened.

The square-jawed brute landed several heavy blows, striking the Daoist's kidneys with brutal force, yet the Daoist seemed neither pained nor bothered; he neither fought back nor made a sound.

"Zen Eye Technique." The more Liu Feng watched, the more suspicious he felt. He shifted his vision, peering directly into the Daoist's body.

At a single glance, he saw there were no kidneys inside at all.

Not just the kidneys—the Daoist lacked all internal organs. His body was filled with a colorless, muddy sludge, a vast, blank expanse of white.

It was as if the man had dissolved his own viscera, leaving behind only an empty shell. It was eerie and chilling.

Can this Daoist even be considered human? Liu Feng instantly withdrew his gaze, a chill creeping up his spine.

Back when he was a refugee, he had heard of all sorts of evil and strange occurrences, but witnessing it firsthand now truly broadened his horizons.

Compared to the Corpse-Eating Gall and the Walking Corpses, this Daoist was far more demonic and sinister.

Zhu Li, unaware of Liu Feng's unease, beckoned to the waiter and said, "Arrange four superior rooms for the night; there are others coming later."

Four rooms: Old Huang and Little Fuzi would share one, and the three fellow disciples would each have their own.

It was not suitable for the Medicine Slave to appear in crowded places, so it was best to keep him in the carriage; in any case, should trouble arise, the Nightmare Gu Larva would summon him instantly.

"Right away, sirs. Please head upstairs."

Liu Feng stepped up to the second floor with Zhu Li, while the angry cursing of the square-jawed brute continued outside.

On the street, the crooked-mouthed Daoist's face was being ground frantically against the dirt.

Neither the gleeful Senior Brother nor the Junior Sister, who was still offering half-hearted advice, noticed the change in the Daoist's eyes.

On the face pressed against the ground, the eyes of the crooked-mouthed Daoist flickered, at times dull and vacant, at others, incomparably ferocious.

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

The oil lamp had long since been extinguished, and Liu Feng sat cross-legged on the floor, circulating his guiding technique.

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, having returned to his original appearance.

"Junior Brother, the matter is settled. This is your share."

As he spoke, Shen Yushu tossed a jade box inside.

"What kind of medicine requires a jade box for preservation?" Liu Feng caught the box, catching the faint, lingering scent of herbs.

The figure at the window vanished, and soon, faint sounds drifted from the next room—Shen Yushu was speaking in low tones with Zhu Li.

"Gurgle..." Inside the room, the Soldier Gu "Split-Tooth" let out another hungry cry.

Compared to the half-blood crystal of a perfected Walking Corpse, the contents of the jade box seemed even more alluring to it.

Liu Feng circulated his poison qi to silence the Soldier Gu, flicked a worm-leg from his back, and closed the window.

Only after the risk of the herbal scent leaking out was gone did he open the jade box.

The moment the lid was lifted, a rich, medicinal fragrance rushed to his nose, and a swirling mist drifted out.

At the next glance, Liu Feng saw what was inside and couldn't help but mutter, "Shen Yushu took the lion's share, yet the portion he scraped off for me is actually a piece of spirit medicine."

The object in the jade box was no ordinary tonic; it was a thumb-sized piece of root-like spirit medicine.

He had known that Shen Yushu was going out to trade and that he wouldn't split the benefits equally three ways, so he hadn't held high expectations for his share.

But this piece of spirit medicine truly brought a surge of joy to his heart.

When the Insect Valley raised Gu Children for exotic Gu, they would add spirit medicine to the Gu Rearing Pool to nourish their physiques; Liu Feng had only enjoyed such a thing once before.

But that had been shared among forty Gu Children. This piece of spirit medicine, while not large, was for him, Liu Feng, to enjoy alone.

"With the spiritual medicine, my second Exotic Gu, 'Fire Eater,' can hatch tonight."

"Against the Taoists of the White Sun Sect, if they unleash their Yin Fire, I will have the means to deal with it."

According to the information Shen Yushu had gathered, the Taoists of the White Sun Sect excelled at two methods: the first was controlling Yin Fire, and the second was the Human Skin Talisman.

With the potency of the spiritual medicine, hatching the Exotic Gu a day or two early was a certainty; this way, Liu Feng could use the extra time to adapt to the Gu arts of the Exotic Gu.

Without a moment's hesitation, Liu Feng picked up the spiritual medicine and tossed it directly into his mouth.

He immediately circulated his poison qi to accelerate the flow of his blood and qi, assisting the medicinal power in merging with his blood, and then used the nutrient-rich blood to nourish the Exotic Gu egg.

Before his heart, the fiery red eggshell had almost completely dissolved, and a strange, entirely crimson insect slowly revealed its form.

Within the flesh of Liu Feng's chest, the Exotic Gu "Evolution Pupil" seemed to sense something, its slumbering body, covered in star-like spots, stirring slightly.

As long as I provide enough nourishment, these two Exotic Gu should not conflict with each other! Liu Feng used his Zen Eye to look within himself, gazing at the dissolved fiery red eggshell.

Gradually, a chill began to emanate from his entire body.

The heat within the guest room seemed to be sucked away by more than half at this moment, drawn through his skin and into the body of that fiery red Exotic Gu.

Half an hour passed, then an hour... Liu Feng first felt cold on his skin, and then his entire body turned icy.

At the same time, in the guest room adjacent to Liu Feng's right.

Old Huang and Little Fuzi, that grandfather and grandson pair, were fast asleep under their covers, unaware that they were both shivering, clutching their quilts tightly.

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

Third Senior Brother Zhu Li, who had been meditating and refining the medicinal power of his spiritual medicine, suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at the wall of the guest room.

Separated by only a wall, even with his physique, he actually felt a chill.

A look of shock and suspicion welled up in his eyes as he looked at his own arms, which were covered in dense goosebumps.

"Fourth Junior Brother, is there anything unusual on your side?" Zhu Li leaned close to the wall and tapped lightly on the wooden partition.

In the guest room here, Liu Feng's face twitched violently, his hands and feet cold to the point of near-stiffness.

He drew in a breath and replied in a low voice, "Nothing."

The moment the words left his lips, his eyes suddenly widened.

Before his heart, that fiery red Exotic Gu had completely broken free from its shell, and the remaining fragments of the shell dissolved rapidly.

In an instant, the chill throughout Liu Feng's body vanished, his heart hammered against his ribs, and blood dyed a deep crimson surged through his entire body, a wave of heat rippling out from his skin.