Star Gu

He did not know what kind of Gu Insects he should refine, but having some prepared was better than being caught empty-handed. With Huo Hai's current strength, he had no way to subdue powerful insects and could only use these ordinary bugs as substitutes.

He remembered once reading an introduction to Star Gu. It said they were refined from a tiny insect called Three Paths, were very simple to make, and possessed formidable strength. He had not read that in the books his grandmother left him, but online in the past. Even Huo Hai himself had nearly forgotten it. Yet he understood very clearly just how powerful Star Gu could be.

"Hehe, even ants can bite an elephant to death. If the ants' quality improves, they become even more terrifying. What if they were turned into Gu Insects? Anyway, there's no Three Paths in this world, so I'll just use something else in its place." That was Huo Hai's plan.

So-called Star Gu were essentially hard-bodied insects with sharp teeth, perhaps with a hearty appetite added on top. A swarm of Star Gu was like a locust plague; wherever it passed, "destroying everything" would not be an exaggeration. Once gathered together, they could even be used for defense. With proper control, they could even serve as a kind of spell. Huo Hai had long envied them beyond measure.

Just imagine it: with a wave of his hand, he could intercept any attack. A massive swarm of Star Gu could charge forth and gnaw everything clean. How satisfying would that be? If he could gather a huge swarm, even Spirit Bone Realm experts would be utterly crushed by him.

"Insects need to be tough, so beetles are best for that. As for teeth, all insects have decent teeth, but I should still pick one with relatively stronger jaws. Mm, this kind will do. Now, what medicinal herbs should I use?"

Huo Hai muttered to himself as he considered what he needed to do. His previous observations of insects had not been for nothing, nor had his experiments testing the properties of common herbs. In fact, his knowledge of those herbs had caused Huo Hai no small amount of suffering. Fortunately, with spiritual energy supporting him, he had not ended up like Shennong, tortured half to death by poison.

Now that he had reached the Spirit Blood Realm, it was much easier for him to withstand medicinal effects. He could even try some lower-grade Spirit Medicine.

After so many years of inheritance, insect-raising techniques had been reduced to only this little. Fortunately, what remained was the true essence. If Huo Hai wanted to continue researching it, he could only rely on his own efforts and proceed bit by bit. There was no one he could depend on.

The little insects were easy to find, and Huo Hai quickly discovered a highly suitable species of beetle. He even found another kind of insect to serve as an ingredient for the Star Gu. This insect had no other abilities; it was merely highly adaptable. It had a huge appetite and astonishing recovery abilities. Like a gecko, even severed limbs could regenerate. It was the perfect material for resisting damage.

He captured great numbers of both insects, and Huo Hai's courtyard gained quite a few more bugs. As before, he first fed the insects large quantities of herbs. The herbs had all been carefully tested by Huo Hai according to old prescriptions.

They could stimulate the insects' desire to devour one another, awaken their Bloodline, and make them evolve. Spiritual energy was even more indispensable. After breaking through, Huo Hai could provide even more spiritual energy. Feeding so many insects at once posed no problem at all.

Large amounts of spiritual energy were fed to the little insects, and their strength visibly increased before the naked eye.

"That should be enough. I can refine them now. What a pity I don't have the blood of high-grade Spirit Beasts, or the result would definitely be even better." Huo Hai shook his head and placed the insects into jars according to their proportions.

He added some ordinary beast blood, along with some of his own blood that had been refined through a special method. There was not much blood, but it was just enough to make the insects recognize him as their master. Afterward, Huo Hai placed the various ingredients separately into the jars. Then he sealed the jars and set them aside, no longer bothering with them. It did not matter whether the insects were strong or weak. As long as the refinement succeeded, that was enough.

This world had an excellent environment, abundant spiritual energy, and herbs with remarkable medicinal potency. Huo Hai had long discovered that refining Gu Insects here would greatly increase the success rate. At this stage, Gu Insects were merely consumables, and Huo Hai did not value them too highly.

Over the next few days, Huo Hai lived as usual, cultivating and researching every day. His life was full and fulfilling. The effect brought by Perfect Body Tempering was that he cultivated Spirit Arts faster and with better results.

To keep his cultivation from advancing too quickly, Huo Hai even spent a great deal of time practicing all kinds of combat techniques. After several days, aside from lacking actual combat experience, his fighting strength had already surpassed that of most Spirit Blood Realm experts.

One day, Huo Hai was outside catching insects when the sky suddenly darkened. Was it going to rain? But the moisture in the air did not feel particularly heavy. Full of doubt, Huo Hai put away the insects he had caught for the moment, raised his head, and looked into the sky. The instant he did, his eyes widened. "Heavens, what is this? What in the world is that?"

A gigantic ship had appeared in the sky. That was right, a ship—and a large vessel with three masts at that. All kinds of decorations covered its exterior, and its surface was painted or inscribed with things he could not make out.

A huge emblem protruded from the hull. From afar, it resembled a sword stabbed into some sort of monstrous beast. The emblem was extremely unusual and was probably the symbol of some faction. But how could such a massive ship fly? Huo Hai was stunned. "Heavens, this world's technology is even more advanced than Earth's."

No wonder Huo Hai was shocked. This thing was simply too terrifying. How exactly had such a huge ship taken to the skies? If Earth could accomplish such a feat, it would surely be trumpeted to the heavens. It was not just Huo Hai; everyone who saw it was staring upward.

Some people set down what they were doing and ended up hurting themselves without even realizing it. "What is that? How can a ship fly in the sky? Are those Spirit Beasts in front? Are they pulling the ship?"

At that moment, a voice rang out nearby. Huo Hai turned his head and found that the newcomer was none other than He Ya, the He Family's second young master. Several days had passed, and the He Family had suffered such a huge upheaval that many people had been implicated. Yet He Ya could still come out and strut around. Judging by his appearance, he seemed even more smug than before and did not care in the slightest about what had happened to his family.

What Huo Hai did not know was that He Ya's father had used this incident to remove more than half the people in the family who opposed him. Those remaining had sensitive identities and could not be dealt with casually, but their power had basically been hollowed out as well.

The family head's authority had increased, and as the family head's second son, He Ya naturally rose with the tide. More people were currying favor with him, so it was no wonder he acted this way. Hearing that Chu Yuntian had come out again, He Ya had brought people over to bully him.

If not for such a massive ship suddenly flying overhead, the two of them would likely have already come face-to-face.

He Ya noticed Huo Hai's gaze as well and burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! You ignorant fools, let me tell you. That emblem belongs to the Cloud Vessel of the Southern Cloud Kingdom Imperial City Academy. Those Spirit Beasts pulling the Cloud Vessel were specially bred by the Academy. In our Western Frontier, even great families like ours might not be able to afford raising them."

Huo Hai nodded. That was true. Although he could not see clearly from so far away, he could sense that the Spirit Beasts pulling the Flying Vessel had at least reached the Spirit Bone Realm. With the abilities of Spirit Beasts, they were far stronger than humans within the Foundation Establishment realm.

Being able to raise so many Spirit Bone Realm Spirit Beasts, even using them to pull a vehicle, was indeed beyond what an ordinary faction could achieve. What astonished Huo Hai was that the Southern Cloud Kingdom actually possessed such a powerful force. It seemed he truly had been a frog at the bottom of a well.

"Young Master He, then why has the Imperial City Academy's Cloud Vessel come here? Could someone have offended them, and they've come for revenge? This is troublesome. Just those Spirit Beasts alone are more than the Western Frontier has many people capable of handling." As they spoke, the people around them began to grow frightened. When experts fought, ordinary people like them were the most likely to suffer.

He Ya rolled his eyes. "Nonsense. The Imperial City Academy was founded by the Southern Cloud Kingdom's Imperial Clan. Why would it attack its own Western Frontier? If you don't understand, don't spout nonsense. If you offend someone above, bear the consequences yourselves."

Everyone immediately shut their mouths. How many were genuinely afraid and how many were merely pretending was something Huo Hai could not tell. Still, it was obvious that quite a few were deliberately humoring He Ya.

Sure enough, after his vanity had been satisfied, He Ya slowly said, "Every ten years, the Imperial City Academy comes to our Western Frontier to recruit a batch of students. They must be under thirty and possess good talent. Everyone who enters the Imperial City Academy is a genius. The ancestors of several Western Frontier families came from the Imperial City Academy back then."

"So that's how it is! Then Young Master He will definitely succeed. Don't you all agree?" The servants immediately began clamoring in agreement.

Just as He Ya's face was full of excitement, a voice suddenly rang out in the distance. "Him? That piece of trash wants to join the Imperial City Academy? Then again, if he uses a family quota, he really can enter. Every family has to pay a tremendous price to obtain such a quota." The moment Huo Hai heard this, he knew someone was unhappy with He Ya.

He had already learned enough today. Great families could spend enormous resources to acquire quotas—was that not just like the money-grabbing methods of those universities in his previous life? Pay money and get in. But in this world, money alone was not enough; one's family also needed a certain standing.

Huo Hai did not react to those words, but He Ya flew into a rage. "Who? Which bastard said that?" He Ya glared as he swept his gaze around. It was as though the moment he found the speaker, he would rush over and give him a few blows.

"I said it. What of it? Does the He Family's young master plan to make a move?" A refined young gentleman slowly stepped forward, fanning himself with a folding fan. The moment He Ya saw him, his arrogant swagger immediately shriveled away.

"So it's you. Don't think I'm afraid of you. Aren't you just relying on your family? What's so great about that?" His last words were much quieter.