Golden Centipede

Before long, the centipede had eaten the large cocoon clean. By then, the golden centipede's body had grown as thick as a finger. Rather than looking ferocious, it even seemed somewhat adorable.

Newly born Gu Insects were all fragile. They needed large quantities of medicinal herbs, even corresponding venomous insects, to feed on. Of course, spiritual energy would be even better. It could rapidly increase a Gu Insect's abilities and bring it to its inherent limit.

This Gu Insects, however, was not the sort that could burrow into a person's body to wreak havoc or provide treatment. After all, Huo Hai had personally attempted to refine it himself. Because of his blood, the golden centipede had long since acknowledged Huo Hai as its master. When Huo Hai looked at the centipede, he even felt waves of intimacy. That came from the spiritual level.

"As expected of an insect-raising art passed down for thousands of years, perhaps even longer. It really is miraculous." Feeling the faint connection between himself and the Gu insect, Huo Hai was deeply satisfied. Even beast spirit masters only gained such an ability after reaching the Spiritist realm.

Beast Spirit Masters, however, could tame great numbers of spirit beasts without refining them themselves. Once his own strength improved, he could even use spiritual power to directly form something like a contract with the insects he raised. Then, even without converting to Beast Spirit Master attributes, he could still do what a Beast Spirit Master did—and perhaps do it even better.

Huo Hai smiled faintly. "Heh, it seems that without reaching the Spiritist realm, I'm already the equivalent of a beast spirit master. Hmph, He Ya, I wonder how you've been these past few days. But from now on, I'm afraid you won't have such an easy time."

After muttering to himself, Huo Hai carried the golden Gu Insects outside. "Come on. I'll feed you something first. Once you've grown up, we'll go bully people together. Right, from now on, I'll call you Little Gold."

Looking at the golden centipede, Huo Hai gave it an utterly cliché name without the slightest hesitation. Fortunately, Little Gold did not think so. Waves of cheerful thoughts came from its mind, as though it was delighted to have a name.

After leaving the courtyard, Huo Hai found some medicinal herbs nearby that had been transplanted a few days ago. In other people's eyes, these were no different from weeds. Yet they did contain a certain amount of medicinal potency and spiritual energy. At least to Little Gold, the Gu Insects, they were good things. Huo Hai plucked them as he walked, crushed them casually in his palm, and fed them to Little Gold in his hand.

"Wow, it's so pretty! Can centipedes grow this pretty too? Brother Hai, can you get one for me?" Just as Huo Hai was feeding Little Gold after leaving the courtyard, Huo Yun'er saw him. Her eyes widened, sparkling brightly.

If Little Gold had not assumed an attacking posture, Huo Yun'er would have wanted to reach out and touch it. Most centipedes were venomous, but before they became spirit beasts, their poison posed no threat to experts with spiritual energy in their bodies.

Huo Hai raised his head. This little sister of his made no sound even when walking. But Little Gold was a Gu insect and had already acknowledged him as its master. How could he possibly give it away? As for teaching Huo Yun'er to refine Gu insects, that was even more out of the question. Thinking of how frightened she looked whenever she saw terrifying bugs, Huo Hai knew there was no chance. Besides, he did not want Huo Yun'er exposed to such things.

Shaking his head, Huo Hai said softly, "No, this is a mutated breed. It's usually very hard to find. Besides, it has already acknowledged me as its master. I can't give it to you." In one stroke, Huo Hai cut off both of Huo Yun'er's paths.

Huo Yun'er's eyes shimmered, her face full of reluctance. She looked at Little Gold, then at Huo Hai. Suddenly, her eyes rolled, and she said quietly, "Brother Hai, can I come play with you often? Then you have to let it keep me company."

Hearing this, Huo Hai could not help laughing. "Little girl, I think you want to play with Little Gold, don't you? Fine. As long as you aren't afraid of the insects I keep at home, come whenever you want." Huo Yun'er suddenly remembered that Huo Hai's courtyard was filled with all kinds of insects.

But after looking at Little Gold as it ate, she eventually nodded firmly. "Mm, Yun'er isn't afraid. Yun'er will come play with Little Gold." She had exposed her true intentions so quickly. Huo Hai paid it no mind and continued feeding herbs to Little Gold. Little Gold was a Gu Insects, and its size had already been set. No matter how much more it ate, it would not change much.

"Brother Hai, Little Gold likes eating grass too? I'll help." Saying this, Huo Yun'er wanted to pull up some grass. But before she could move, Huo Hai stopped her. Gu insects did not eat just any grass.

"All right, all right, don't mess around. Little Gold doesn't eat every kind of grass. It eats this kind of grass with a bit of medicinal potency, and it has to be specific herbs. If it eats too much of other things, it could die. If you want to feed Little Gold, you can catch some insects for it. Little Gold is a centipede, and it likes eating insects." Was this thing really a centipede?

Golden centipedes were already rare to begin with, and this one even had a pair of wings. No matter how one looked at it, it was strange. Yet Huo Yun'er's ability to accept things was simply that strong. Even without Huo Hai saying so, she had always considered Little Gold a centipede.

What Huo Hai did not say was that Little Gold was a Gu insect. It did like eating insects, yes, but what it liked most were venomous insects—especially those whose toxicity was close to its own and whose venom resembled its own. Still, Huo Yun'er probably would not go catch venomous insects. Even if she caught the wrong ones, Little Gold itself knew what it could eat and what it could not.

Over the following days, Huo Yun'er indeed came here every day. Gradually, after seeing so many insects, she stopped being so afraid. They could not escape anyway. At first, Huo Yun'er caught some pretty insects.

But later, she could not bear it anymore and began catching ugly insects for Little Gold to eat. This truly brought in some venomous insects. After several days of growth, Little Gold's venom and physical strength had increased by a great deal. After being fed abundant spiritual energy, the spiritual power contained within Little Gold had also increased considerably. It had even reached the level of a spirit beast in the Spirit Body Realm.

Gu Insects were special in the end. They were born with the ability to conceal their aura and were difficult for others to detect. As for ordinary venomous insects, whatever poison they possessed, Little Gold refused none and ate them directly.

Huo Hai had long warned Little Gold not to harm people casually, especially Huo Yun'er, who fed it. Whether because the insects in this world were different or because of spiritual energy, Little Gold was far smarter than the Gu insects his grandmother had described.

Huo Hai himself went out to search for herbs that could help Little Gold grow. He also gathered unfamiliar herbs while considering whether he should refine a new Gu insect. On this day, while out, he inevitably ran into He Ya again.

From far away, He Ya burst into loud laughter. "Hahahaha, it's you again, you idiot from the Huo Family. What are you doing this time, eating grass or eating bugs? I think you're practically turning into a toad." Just as before, and perhaps because Huo Hai had never said anything, He Ya had become increasingly arrogant, acting utterly high and mighty before Huo Hai.

But at that moment, an old man suddenly approached. "Second Young Master, the family just obtained a batch of Body Tempering Pills today. The master has asked you to return quickly. If you can get a few Body Tempering Pills, your cultivation can improve somewhat as well."

Body Tempering Pills were good things that could help experts in the Spirit Body Realm improve rapidly. Yet the Huo Family had never allowed Huo Hai to use them. It was not because they could not bear to part with them, but because Huo Hai was still young. Huo Kai feared that after using Body Tempering Pills, Huo Hai would be unable to suppress his inner urges and advance too quickly. That would leave his foundation unstable and affect his future.

But Huo Hai knew his own situation. His mental age was not that of a child. Even if he used Body Tempering Pills, he could restrain the urge to break through. However, Huo Kai simply did not believe him, so Huo Hai naturally could not obtain them.

"What are you looking at, you pauper? You'll never get to use Body Tempering Pills." He Ya knew something about the Huo Family's circumstances as well. After glancing at Huo Hai beside him, he shouted this and turned to leave.

What he did not see was the smile that appeared on Huo Hai's face after he left. Huo Hai was not happy because he had been insulted. Rather, he had thought of a way to retaliate against He Ya. He Ya, He Ya, I really should thank you. You've delivered such valuable information to me. How should I thank you? How about I use them in your place?

The value of Body Tempering Pills was not something ordinary small households could afford. Even the top families of Western Frontier found it difficult to obtain a few. First-grade pills were naturally everywhere; those were not scarce.

But pills like Body Tempering Pills that could directly improve one's cultivation were rarely seen. Any Spirit Master who possessed such a formula would hide it away tight as a drum. Other Spirit Masters were not incapable of refining them—they simply lacked the formula. It could be said that these cultivation-enhancing formulas were basically held in the hands of major sects and families.

After calculating things in his mind, Huo Hai decided Little Gold had nearly finished growing and could be put to use. Little Gold emphasized flight and physical strength, so its power was naturally not weak, while its venom was secondary. It might not be suited for battle, but it was adept at stealing things.

Thus, Huo Hai stopped gathering herbs. Or rather, he stopped gathering them specifically. Under the pretext of collecting herbs, he secretly approached the He Family and quietly began observing all of its arrangements. Though Huo Hai had not seen the He Family's inner situation many times, he was somewhat familiar with it. He would scout during the day, then make his move at night.

Western Frontier was vast, but Western Frontier City was not large. The top families of Western Frontier all had their residences within Western Frontier City. Thus, the He Family was not far from the Huo Family estate. At most, the Huo Family estate was closer to the edge of the city.

Huo Hai's behavior did not arouse anyone's suspicions. Everyone across Western Frontier knew that this fellow had lost his memories. Now, when people saw Huo Hai, they felt only sympathy. Even if he wandered around the He Family's surroundings, no one would suspect him.