Vicious Beasts Often Travel Alone

Inside the main hall.

While Fang Shu and Qin Min immersed themselves in their first cultivation session, Hall Master Du was not idle either.

Quite the contrary, she watched the two of them even more closely than when she had imparted the secret art. Her two originally clouded old eyes were now like a pair of blades, stabbing into their bodies.

Of course, to be more precise, they were stabbing into the rustic-looking Qin Min.

After studying her carefully, nothing showed on Hall Master Du's face. Only when her gaze fell on Fang Shu again did a few traces of surprise appear.

"So quickly entered the threshold, and he can even draw spiritual energy into his body. Is his comprehension decent, or has he learned a breathing technique before? Has he once consumed spiritual energy?"

Yet she was only surprised for a moment before shifting her gaze away.

At most, this situation showed that the boy's comprehension was passable, or that his endurance was strong and he was better suited to insect arts.

But without spiritual roots, they were merely mortal-boned Daoist youths. She had seen far too many such people in her life; it was nothing unusual.

Hall Master Du gave an instruction.

"Yu'er, watch the two of them here. Once they have finished cultivating, check their bodies. If there is nothing serious, there is no need to report it to me."

"Yes, Grandmother." A yellow-robed young woman of seventeen or eighteen stepped out from the side, signaling that she understood.

Hall Master Du nodded. Then, hunched over, she left the main hall with ghostly steps, soundless and shadowless beneath her feet.

Not long after.

Fang Shu gradually awakened from his daze.

The instant he awoke, a piercing pain surged through every limb and every part of his body at once, making his face twitch. Fortunately, the pain lasted only a moment, followed by a numb, tingling sensation across his entire body.

Looking down, he found that the so-called "Ant Master" was long gone. In its place were intricate, winding ant-like markings, some red and some purple, across his chest, back, palms, and legs.

A voice sounded beside him.

"Put your clothes on first, then go out.

"There are nine secret inscriptions, large and small, across your limbs, chest, abdomen, and other areas. They are the core of the insect art and must not be revealed to outsiders."

Fang Shu looked up and saw a yellow-robed young woman smiling as she explained things to him.

She continued, "These insect marks can remain for one to two months. When you return, remember to contemplate them often. Understand as much as you can.

"Otherwise, once the insect marks fade, you can only consult the manuals in the hall and learn the secret inscriptions again from dead things. That will lose some of their living spirit."

Fang Shu immediately nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Senior Sister."

Turning his head, he saw that the girl called Qin Min beside him had already awakened.

She seemed entirely invigorated, as if nothing had happened at all. Even the rustic air about her had faded considerably.

Faint insect marks showed at Qin Min's neck, but rather than looking savage, they gave her a certain beauty.

"F-Fang, Senior Brother." Seeing that Fang Shu had noticed her, the girl hurriedly gave him an awkward salute.

The yellow-robed woman watched the scene with a smile before speaking.

"You have just finished cultivating, so it is not suitable to temper your strength further. For at least six hours, you must not circulate your cultivation either.

"Qin Min has only just arrived. Fang Shu, take her around first and help her get familiar with the Daoist hall."

"Yes, Senior Sister."

"Yes, Senior Sister Yu'er."

Fang Shu and Qin Min answered in turn.

Fang Shu then led Qin Min out of the hall at a slow pace. She followed behind him with her head lowered like a rabbit, half a step behind.

Only after leaving the main hall did Qin Min seem to let out a breath of relief, looking around curiously.

Fang Shu dutifully began showing her around one place at a time.

"Life at the Daoist hall is simple. The cultivation hall, the kitchen and dining hall, and the communal sleeping quarters—those are the three points of the line you will walk most often from now on, Qin Min."

As they spoke, Qin Min gave Fang Shu a reserved glance and said softly, "Senior Brother Fang, you can call me Bao'er. My elder sister calls me that too."

Fang Shu did not think much of it and casually replied, "All right, then I'll call you Qin Bao'er. I'm two years older than you, so you can call me Brother Fang. That rascal Li Hou'er calls me that."

Qin Min hurriedly said, "Yes, Brother Fang."

Fang Shu raised his brows slightly but did not correct her.

Suddenly, Qin Min stopped. Tugging at Fang Shu's sleeve, she pointed toward a spot in the hall and asked fearfully, "Brother Fang, what are they doing?"

Fang Shu turned to look. A clamor drifted over—choked sobs, wailing cries, and angry curses—as though a fight were about to break out.

He did not avoid it, instead leading Qin Min directly over.

The sounds entering their ears became clearer.

"Her father, what will become of our Hua'er from now on?" a woman wept.

A man immediately grunted, "What else can we do? At least she knew to protect her face. She can still get married."

Someone else stomped his feet, pointing at a Daoist youth lying on a door panel and staring blankly at the sky as he cursed furiously.

"You useless trash! I spent so much money supporting your cultivation, and you went and cultivated yourself into a cripple! You'll have trouble even selling blood in the future. I raised you for nothing!"

The sight made both Fang Shu and Qin Min's hearts sink.

What was even harder to bear was a pair of siblings throwing themselves before a cross-legged Daoist youth. The elder sister sobbed without stopping.

"Father! Father!"

"Big Sister, why is Father still cultivating? When will he wake up?"

The cross-legged Daoist youth was the oldest among the six, a middle-aged man. He was also the ruthless man who had taken tiger-and-wolf medicine and entered the Venom Pit to undergo his tribulation.

Even now, he still held that stiff cross-legged posture. His face bore a half-smile, yet his complexion was already ash-gray. He was plainly without breath.

Fang Shu and Qin Min fell even more silent at the sight.

Before them was the miserable end of poor families who had painstakingly cultivated until they could undergo their tribulation, only to fail.

Compared to what had happened in the main hall, this scene seemed even more infuriating, unwilling, and heart-wrenching.

Fang Shu looked at the building behind the crowd and said flatly, "Remember this. This is the medicine hall. Do not take the wrong path here in the future."

With that, he turned and headed elsewhere without looking back again.

"Wait for me, Brother Fang."

Only after falling several steps behind did Qin Min belatedly hurry after him.

The transmission of the art ended, but life went on as usual.

After that.

With the help of the Dao Register, and with Li Hou'er available to ask for guidance, Fang Shu quickly recorded all nine secret inscriptions of the insect art into the Dao Register.

The Dao Register continuously analyzed the secret inscriptions.

This technique was indeed not crude. It took twice as long to analyze as the Fur-Shedding Skin-Changing Technique.

And that was only because Fang Shu bore the insect-mark inscriptions on his body and was in the Daoist hall, where he could consult others.

By absorbing knowledge again and again, he managed to compress the time to a total of two months.

Without the Dao Register, merely mastering those nine secret inscriptions would have taken him two years. Though during those two years, he could still cultivate the art and would not have been completely delayed.

After learning the secret art.

Fang Shu's demand for bloody food grew ever greater. He ate more and more in the dining hall, and his reputation as the "Hungry Beast" became increasingly widespread.

Fortunately, after gaining the secret art, he gradually became able to control his stomach and intestines. He no longer needed to constantly eat and defecate to keep them from swelling until they burst.

Instead, he only needed to empty and fill his stomach and intestines once each in the morning and evening, as well as before and after cultivation—four times in total.

Even so, there were still few in the Daoist hall like him.

This also meant that aside from Li Hou'er, he still made no friends. The others in the hall were merely familiar faces to him; at most, he knew their names.

Hall Master Du's granddaughter—Senior Sister Yu'er—could perhaps count as half a friend. She was friendly to all the Daoist youths in the hall, skilled in medicine, and possessed a healer's compassionate heart.

As for Qin Min, the girl who had initially called him "Brother Fang."

After adapting to life in the Daoist hall, she gradually distanced herself from Fang Shu. At most, when they met on the road, they would exchange a nod.

She no longer walked with her head bowed as she had when first entering the hall. Her rustic air had entirely faded, and she had become bright-eyed and fair-toothed.

But to Fang Shu, all of this was merely passing clouds and drifting smoke, not worth caring about.

He was immersed in cultivating the secret art—eating, sleeping, cultivating—unable to pull himself free!

The Hundred Insects Blood-Refining Body-Nourishing Secret Art was an immortal blood-refining technique.

It could draw spiritual energy into the body. Coupled with the Dao Register's constant reminders, Fang Shu could feel every trace and drop of his progress. Even his lifespan limit, which had been stalled for a long while, began to recover greatly once more.

This feeling of growing stronger made Fang Shu feel wonderful. No person and no matter could stir his heart!

Until someone came looking for him.