Sleepy Treasure Insect

Hall Master Du turned back in surprise, drawing her gaze away from the other tomes on the bookshelf.

"What is it?"

Fang Shu immediately told Hall Master Du about the "Gold-Seeking Insect" he had heard of from the mine owner surnamed Cao when he had gone out to fish out his Second Uncle.

"This disciple suspects there may be a treasure herb in the Lead Mountain mine. Of course, it could also be false information."

Hall Master Du first fell silent, then laughed. "You are right. Treasure herbs are indeed unearthed from mines like these every year. And every year, there are no fewer than a hundred corresponding rumors about treasure herbs.

"Your caution was right. Those who dig mines and quarry sand are no good sort. Once they turn ruthless, they will not care in the least about your status or background. Whether the news is true or false, choosing to withdraw was no loss for you."

Then she teased, "But if this news about the treasure herb is true, then to people like us who walk the Gu path, ordinary treasure herbs are only a minor gain. That Gold-Seeking Insect is what is truly worth paying attention to.

"It is an excellent treasure insect, capable of seeking qi and sniffing out buried treasures. It is rarely encountered."

Fang Shu's brow lifted slightly at her words.

"Very well, this old woman knows of it now. Though there is an eighty or ninety percent chance it is false, I will keep a slight watch on that man surnamed Cao. If I have the leisure, making a trip there would not hurt."

Hall Master Du looked warmly at Fang Shu. "You have been thoughtful."

"This disciple would not dare." Fang Shu immediately cupped his hands.

Then, after hesitating for a breath, he ultimately chose to take his leave and pressed the remaining piece of news down in his heart.

That piece of news was the exact location of a treasure herb he had obtained from Cheng the Jar.

By rights, the safest course would have been to tell Hall Master Du directly and have her retrieve the herb for him. Fang Shu would only need to sit back and reap the rewards.

But Fang Shu muttered to himself inwardly.

When there was no choice, it was temporarily fine. But if a treasure herb capable of slightly improving one's aptitude truly appeared, whom would Hall Master Du choose to give it to?

And if she returned after gathering the herb, only for the amount she had collected to be scanty and far below what Fang Shu had expected, would he himself then suspect Hall Master Du of hiding the treasure herb away... All sorts of things.

Rather than create needless complications, or even test the ugliness of human hearts, it was better not to tell her.

Fang Shu thought to himself:

"Besides, I have already told Master about the Lead Mountain mine. If she truly has the intention, she should go investigate it, or warn that mine owner surnamed Cao.

"Then I need only ask Master, and I will be able to learn something of the true circumstances of the so-called Lead Mountain mine, reducing the risks when I go down into it."

With these calculations in mind, Fang Shu carried the Gu book bestowed by Hall Master Du and immediately returned to his room in the inner court.

After that,

while the Dao Register tirelessly analyzed the Insect Method day and night, Fang Shu used the time to cultivate on one hand and, on the other, make extensive attempts at refining Gu with materials from the Daoist hall.

Having become an inner-court disciple, especially with Hall Master Du's favor, he could take a portion of any materials related to Gu refinement from the medicine hall for free.

And the most abundant materials in the Solitary Gu Hall were creatures such as snakes and insects, making them quite convenient for his study of Gu arts.

Only when it involved ranked Gu insects did Fang Shu need to seek Hall Master Du's permission to request them, or spend his own money to buy them, for the materials were precious and costly.

With such generous conditions, he holed up in his room for more than a month.

Only when Hall Master Du lectured on the Dao did he appear before the other disciples.

This made Fang Shu seem as mysterious as those senior disciples living outside. No one saw him tempering his body much anymore; he merely stayed cooped up in his room all day.

Thus, among the inner-court disciples, he earned the label of a "homebody."

This day,

Fang Shu tightly shut his door and sealed the windows.

The surrounding walls, including the ceiling, had all been covered in talismans to isolate qi and diminish stray sounds.

At the center of the room sat a pitch-black Venom Pit, as large as a water vat, which he had carried over from the medicine hall.

Though it did not count as a magical artifact, it was still a vessel the medicine hall masters had used to raise insects for decades. It provided a certain degree of assistance in Gu refinement.

Fang Shu had only just entered the Dao, after all. His current Gu arts were feeble, and the Solitary Gu Hall had many other disciples to support. A magical-artifact-grade Venom Pit was worth no small sum and not something he could hope for.

Being able to acquire such an old item from the hall for Gu refinement already showed that Hall Master Du had taken considerable care of him.

Buzz, buzz!

He circled the water-vat-sized Venom Pit, chanting under his breath. Then, with a leap, he landed on its rim. Like a snake, he lowered his body and slithered continuously around the edge.

Inside the Venom Pit, tiny insects were startled by his movements. They seemed on the verge of flying straight out of the basin.

These insects were a special kind of aphid. In the wild, they secreted sweet dew and were greatly favored by insects such as ants; some other insects even deliberately raised them.

Fang Shu had kept these aphids in the Venom Pit for more than ten days. He fed them his own treasure blood each day, and seven batches of aphid colonies had died before this vat of living ones remained.

Nourished by his treasure blood, these aphids had already taken him for one of their own and were close to him.

"Return!" Fang Shu shouted a single word.

The rising aphids rustled and settled back down into the water vat.

Fang Shu moved faster and faster along the vat's rim, chanting aloud as he did so:

"Morning dew as the guide, moonlight as the broth. The essence of a hundred herbs congeals, entering the Gu to nourish it."

Portion after portion of Gu-refining materials was added to the Venom Pit. Among them were morning dew collected from the depths of a secluded bamboo grove, as well as white saltpeter scraped from ancient graves under a full moon.

Before long, the aphids in the Venom Pit seemed drunk. The swarm scattered into a chaotic mass of white specks.

Moreover, their ferocity erupted. Opening their mouthparts, they began devouring any of their kind they encountered.

Very quickly, the vat full of aphids was reduced to only a small cluster.

Even that small cluster continued biting and tearing at one another within the Venom Pit.

Fang Shu's expression turned solemn at the sight. At last, he shouted:

"With my true intent, I bind the demonic hindrance. Now that the treasure Gu is formed, obey my command!"

Sssst!

He sliced open his fingertip and immediately squeezed three drops of Purple-Lead Venom Blood into the Venom Pit, watching expectantly.

A sizzling sound arose from the basin. Drawn by his venom blood, the aphids rushed toward it like moths to a flame. Many had their insect bodies corroded and melted into the venom blood.

Fortunately, those that remained bathed in the venom blood and shook their bodies vigorously. Threads of purple immediately surfaced over their white bodies, forming twisted characters.

An intangible sensation also arose between Fang Shu and these aphids.

After they had consumed all three drops of Fang Shu's venom blood and slaughtered one another for a while longer, three plump aphids the size of millet grains suddenly flew out of the Venom Pit. They landed affectionately on Fang Shu's fingertips and nudged at his already closed wound, as if begging for food.

These three purple-tinged aphids were no longer ordinary insects. They had successfully shed their mortal forms and advanced into First-Tribulation Gu insects.

They were precisely the Gu formula Hall Master Du had first bestowed upon Fang Shu—the Sleepy Insect!

After practicing bitterly for many days, Fang Shu had finally refined his first tribulation-grade Gu insect. Joy surfaced on his face, and he felt deeply gratified.

Then he sat cross-legged directly inside the Venom Pit. With a thought, he gave a low shout. "Come!"

Buzz, buzz.

The three Sleepy Insects swayed up from his fingers. Two burrowed into his nostrils, while one entered his ear.

Fang Shu felt a faintly sweet fragrance in his nose and a buzzing dizziness in his ear.

His eyelids immediately grew heavy and drooped shut as he fell into a deep sleep.