The Little Medicine Boy's Wild Imagination

At this point, he was indeed ready to graduate. His five clones had pushed his cultivation to the Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage during his seclusion.

Long Xuan didn't even know when he broke through; the breakthrough happened without him even noticing. One day, when he woke up, he found himself inexplicably transformed into Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage Gathering Gu cultivator, which truly startled him.

All I can say is that the feeling of cheating is just too awesome; it's awesome to keep cheating all the time.

When I was in the Late Spirit-Gathering Stage, I could easily fight opponents of higher levels. Now that I'm at the Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage, I have no rivals among those of the same level.

Long Xuan became much bolder as a result, feeling that he now had the ability to go out and seek fortuitous opportunity. He thought he could go out and have some fun someday, and also dig up the Empress's Tomb that hadn't been fully excavated. At this point, he was completely overconfident.

Today is a day of double celebration, Long Xuan is in a great mood, so he decides to make honey-glazed roast meat to celebrate.

So he went to the hive, patted it, and whispered, "Tax collection time! Tax collection time!"

Long Xuan smiled; it felt really good to be a landlord.

Just as he had predicted, royal jelly had unimaginable benefits for the Spirit Bee. As expected, all the Spirit Bee that had consumed royal jelly evolved into another, stronger species, the powerful bee species that Long Xuan named the Ice Bee.

At this time, the number of Ice Bee had grown to over a hundred, and their size had also increased. They were entirely ice-blue, and their stingers had all been replaced with Ice Needle that could be fired infinitely, resulting in a surge in their combat power.

The original beehive could no longer contain their size, so a new beehive is being built on another cherry blossom tree. This new beehive is much larger and can accommodate Bingbing coming and going.

At the same time, the honey produced by this bee species tastes better, has higher spiritual energy quality, and is more nourishing.

However, these Ice Bee were ultimately two sizes smaller than Bingbing. Although they belonged to the same species, they had evolved by drinking Bingbing's royal jelly, so even if they evolved into the same species, there would still be a bloodline suppression.

Bingbing is now the undisputed queen of the bee colony, second only to Long Xuan and above all other bees.

It's worth mentioning that Bingbing was still a virgin. He finally figured out that this bee species could reproduce without a queen and could reproduce through free mating.

After all, it's a bee species from another world, so it's normal that it's different from its previous life. Common sense from the previous life cannot be equated with that of another world.

The variety of insects in this world is far greater than in the previous one. The insects are incredibly diverse and wondrous, capable of shattering your perceptions and conventional wisdom.

Many of the insects here did not exist in my previous life, such as the Void Insect invisible to the naked eye, the Dark Insect in energy form, and the formless Hidden Insect...

For an entomologist, this place is a treasure trove, a paradise, filled with so many things that fascinate him and shatter his worldview.

He wouldn't be surprised if a bee species reproduced by both males and females.

But wouldn't Bingbing's future be bleak? Wouldn't she become an older single woman?

After all, it's much, much larger than its kind; who would want to marry a giant? But Bingbing only knows how to eat, so she might not be interested in such things.

After collecting the taxes, Long Xuan prepared a delicious honey-glazed roasted meat feast and enjoyed it immensely.

He still had plenty of Beast King meat on hand, and with the Divine Ice Flame cooling it, he didn't need to worry about it spoiling.

Just as Long Xuan was about to consider his next plan, Old Daoist Li arrived, interrupting his thoughts.

His Ice Formation wasn't that powerful; it couldn't be as completely invisible as Di Xin's Medicine Garden, which could be placed in the middle of the grasslands and remain undetected.

His large Medicine Garden was located not far from the market, so many people could easily spot it; it was impossible to hide. Long Xuan had no intention of concealing it either.

Isn't it normal for a Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage Gu cultivator like myself to have my own Medicine Garden? What's there to hide? Even Old Long knew that I had my own Medicine Garden, but he didn't say anything.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Old Daoist Li was able to find him.

After Long Xuan put away the Message Transmission Talisman, he stepped out of the Ice Formation and immediately saw Old Daoist Old Daoist Li stroking his beard, standing there calmly.

"You survived such a massive Beast Tide, you're incredibly lucky," Long Xuan said after glancing at him.

"Hehe! With your Cockroach Gu by my side, young friend, how could I die so easily?"

"You saved my life twice last time, and I haven't had a chance to thank you. This time, I've stumbled upon an incredible fortuitous opportunity, so I've come here with you, young friend, to repay your life-saving grace."

The thought of this made Old Daoist Li excited, and his face was always beaming with excitement. Judging from his expression alone, one would really think that he had encountered something good.

Long Xuan, also intrigued, tentatively asked, "What kind of fortuitous opportunity could make you laugh like that? Did you stumble upon another ancient tomb?"

"How could that be?" Old Daoist Li quickly shook his head and said, "Ancient tombs aren't something you can just stumble upon. This time, I discovered the final resting cave abode of a senior by chance."

"As you know, this world is very protective of its possessions, and few people are willing to take on disciples. When their time comes, they die in their cave abode and no one will even collect their bodies, and all their treasures will naturally remain intact in their cave abode."

"The old master in that cave abode must have been nearing the end of his lifespan, forced to enter a life-or-death seclusion to break through, but ultimately failed and passed away in the cave abode."

"Compared to ancient tombs underground, the cave abode of Rogue Cultivator are far, far safer; the dangers mainly come from various formations."

"This time I asked Di Xin for help. She's a renowned Formation Raider, what kind of array could possibly stump her?"

"So you can rest assured about this trip. We are 100% safe and absolutely reliable!" Old Daoist Li assured him, patting his chest.

"100% safe?"

"Reliable?"

Long Xuan raised an eyebrow. Why did that sentence sound so familiar? It seemed like he had heard it before.

How many times has this Old Daoist Li said this to himself?

Long Xuan's expression was strange as he looked at him with a meaningful gaze, and said in a low voice, "If I remember correctly, you said this to me last time, and the time before that as well."

"Uh!" Old Daoist Li blushed, looking embarrassed, and hurriedly explained, "Last time was an accident! The time before that was also an accident!"

"Don't worry! There will be absolutely no chance of any accidents this time. If there is, I'll offer my head to you!" Old Daoist Li said confidently.

Only he knew just how terrifying Di Xin's mastery of formations was; it was safe to say that there was no formation in this region that she couldn't break.

No matter how dangerous the protective formation of that cave abode is, it won't pose the slightest danger to her.

He had absolute confidence in Di Xin's ability to break formations; with her there, there was absolutely no possibility of danger within the cave abode.

The danger could only come from within, but he had only found trustworthy friends for this treasure hunt. He believed in his judgment of character and that there was absolutely no possibility of internal strife.

Therefore, he was very confident about the trip, believing that there was absolutely no possibility of danger and that it would be 100% safe.

"Is that formation monster Di Xin involved? That makes it much more plausible."

Long Xuan frowned and pondered for a moment. Not only did Old Daoist Li admire her array formations, but he also highly recognized Di Xin's mastery of array formations. If she were to break the array, he dared not say she could do it in an ancient tomb, but she would certainly have no problem going to a Rogue Cultivator's cave abode.

What he was worried about at this moment was nothing more than Old Daoist Li's luck. After the previous two incidents, he felt that Old Daoist Li was plagued by bad luck and that nothing good ever came of it when he went out.

What is theoretically 100% safe becomes 100% unsafe if he is there, and there is a high possibility that some unexpected accident may occur.

At this moment, he was considering whether to send an avatar or to lead the expedition himself, since this Old Daoist Li was beset by misfortune.

The advantage of sending a clone is that the main body is 100% safe, but there are also disadvantages. The clone is much, much weaker than the main body, and the clone doesn't even have a single External Gu.

Some dangers the main body can withstand, but the clone will die, so he may lose one of his clones.

He has now reached the Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage realm, and his clones must not be easily lost.

Most importantly, the clone doesn't have any cheat codes. Since the clone can't see the progress, it might miss out on treasures, and could very well miss out on seemingly ordinary but actually valuable items.

After much deliberation, Long Xuan finally decided on a compromise: his clone and his main body would go together.

When they arrived at the cave abode entrance, he used a "poop escape" technique to send his clone in place of him. After everyone else came out of the cave abode, his original body went in again and used his cheat-like abilities to sweep through the area.

If something were to happen to one of his clones inside, he could bring the other four clones in to rescue him in time, thus greatly increasing the clones' safety.

This plan is absolutely perfect; it achieves multiple goals at once.

Long Xuan's eyes brightened, and he finally made up his mind, saying, "Alright! I'll trust you one more time! I hope nothing unexpected happens."

"Don't worry, this time it's absolutely 100% safe. I was just unlucky the last few times, but I can't keep being unlucky forever, it's time for my luck to change!"

"Meet at the usual spot tomorrow! See you there!"

Old Daoist Li patted Long Xuan's shoulder heavily, then finally turned and left.

After Old Daoist Li left, Long Xuan immediately went back to pack his things and prepare for the trip, taking what he should take and leaving everything else at home.

It's best to prepare several Storage Bag, so you don't have too many treasures and nowhere to put them.

His family had plenty of supplies, so a day was more than enough time for him to prepare.

Finally, he packed several packets of honey-glazed roasted meat into Storage Bag, intending to heat them up and eat them on the road.

He'd be exposed to the elements in the wilderness, with poor food and sleep, so he needed to bring plenty of food; he didn't want to be eating nothing but steamed buns for a month on the road.

A day later, Long Xuan arrived at the same inn as promised, in the same private room on the second floor. He pushed open the door and went inside.

Upon entering, Long Xuan indeed saw many familiar faces, including Old Daoist Li, Di Xin, and the Little Apothecary.

There was one burly man with a kind face whom he didn't recognize; it was the first time he had ever seen him.

Long Xuan subconsciously became wary of him. He knew everyone else in the room, knew them well, and trusted them.

This was the only person he knew nothing about; he didn't know his character, his fighting style, or anything else. There were too many variables.

If any of these people were to cause trouble, it would most likely be this person, so Long Xuan had no choice but to be wary of him.

Seemingly noticing Long Xuan's gaze, Old Daoist Li chuckled and introduced, "Don't worry, this man's character is completely trustworthy. His Li Dashan, just call him Dashan. He's a well-known philanthropist in our Li Family Village, always helping his neighbors."

"Good deeds bring good rewards. It was because he frequently accumulated good karma that he unexpectedly saw the corpse of a Gu cultivator, thus embarking on the path of cultivation."

"He is currently at the Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage, and the inheritance he received is quite powerful; he certainly won't hold us back."

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan relaxed his guard on the surface, but his vigilance towards this person remained undiminished.

It wasn't that he suspected the person of anything; it's just that he liked to be suspicious of everything and was always wary of strangers. Being cautious was never a bad thing.

Since there were acquaintances in the room, he should at least say hello. Ignoring the Little Apothecary, Long Xuan waved to the beautiful woman inside.

"I didn't expect Sister Xin to be here too. With Sister Xin's talent, she must have already reached the Marrow Cleansing Stage by now," Long Xuan said with a smile.

Di Xin pursed his lips and chuckled, "Don't tease me. I have the worst aptitude here, how could I possibly break through to the Marrow Cleansing Stage so quickly?"

"As for you, as a member of the Ten Extremity Physique Physiques, your cultivation speed is surprisingly fast. You're so young, yet you've already reached the Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage."

"In my opinion, you should be the first person to break through to the Marrow Cleansing Stage."

Long Xuan's expression froze. He hadn't expected this woman to be able to see through his cultivation level so easily. He had intended to hide his strength and play dumb, but now that she had exposed his true abilities, he definitely couldn't keep it a secret any longer.

Upon hearing that he had broken through to the Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage, everyone in the room showed a slight change in expression.

Upon hearing that he possessed a Ten Extremity Physique with a very fast cultivation speed, Li Dashan's expression underwent a strange change, his eyes becoming deep and unfathomable, as if he were lost in thought.

Old Daoist Li reacted the most, his expression bitter, his heart filled with bitterness. He was so old and only at the Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage, yet now a junior had caught up with him so easily. And the one who caught up with him was none other than the Ten Extremity Physique, who was recognized in the Gu World as having the slowest cultivation speed.

This was a huge blow to him; he was incredibly depressed, feeling like he'd wasted his life at his age.

Having been outmaneuvered by Di Xin, Long Xuan's mind raced, considering whether he should also reveal her hidden cultivation level.

What he just said wasn't just a casual remark. Di Xin's progress is very unusual; it's definitely not the kind of progress a mortal should make in a hundred years. If nothing unexpected happens, she has very likely broken through to the Marrow Cleansing Stage.

What's worse, she actually resorted to trickery, hiding her true cultivation level and only revealing the aura of Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage in front of everyone, pretending to be weak while actually being cute.

In other words, she is the only Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage among this group, the strongest in the team, and has already disrupted the team's balance.

If she develops any improper intentions, that would be a very troublesome matter.

If Old Daoist Li knew she was already a master of the Marrow Cleansing Stage, he would never have invited her.

When the difference in strength between the two parties is too great, it is by no means a fair and equal transaction. The cooperation between the two parties will be fraught with too many variables and dangers.

This woman is also a variable, and at this point, Long Xuan has no choice but to be wary of her and take precautions.

Even though I know her well, I still need to be careful. What if she takes advantage of her superior cultivation level and does whatever she wants?

No one can be completely trusted when faced with self-interest.

However, after thinking it over, Long Xuan chickened out and decided it was best not to expose her secrets.

What if I anger her and she goes to my Medicine Garden?

What if she harvests all of his Medicine Garden? How will he survive?

Don't doubt it, she is fully capable of doing so. She is an expert in breaking formations and is a renowned Formation Raider.

He only had a superficial understanding of formations for the time being. Although the Ice Formation was powerful, he wasn't really confident that he could stop the hacker's intrusion.

Fortunately, Di Xin had a rule against stealing from Rogue Cultivator; otherwise, his conspicuous Medicine Garden might have been visited by this Formation Raider long ago.

Most importantly, Long Xuan strongly suspects that Di Xin is the chosen one, and anyone who provokes her will be doomed.

Using the Ten Extremity Physique to defy the heavens is nothing; what's difficult is defying the heavens with a mortal body.

Di Xin that kind of ruthless person. She was a mortal with no aptitude for Gu cultivation and no attribute at all.

It goes without saying how difficult it is to cultivate with a mortal body; everyone can imagine. Her becoming a Gu cultivator is an absolute miracle. Cultivating with the aptitude of a mortal is simply defying the heavens. No one knows how she did it.

Long Xuan was already surprised that she could become a Gu cultivator, but he never expected her cultivation speed to be so fast. She had reached the Marrow Cleansing Stage at such a young age. Heaven knows how she did it; it was simply incomprehensible and unbelievable.

Although Di Xin was a mortal, he was a man of extraordinary talent, a rare find throughout history.

Long Xuan often wondered if she was actually the protagonist of this world, and that he had transmigrated into a female-oriented online world.

In short, this woman is ruthless and should never be provoked.

"It should just be the group of us, right?" Long Xuan turned to look at Old Daoist Li and asked.

He hoped that this would be the only number of people; the more people who came, the more people he had to be wary of, which was exhausting.

"With just the number of us, it's better to leave early than late. Let's set off now, and talk about anything else on the way."

Old Daoist Li the first to push open the door and walk out, followed by the other acquaintances who exchanged nods and then went out as well.

After leaving the market, the group focused their spiritual energy on their legs and hurried on their way, even starting to compete with each other in speed, their competitive spirit rising.

The imaginative Little Apothecary frequently uses the self-healing ability of the Cockroach Gu to train his body through self-harm, resulting in a physical strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, allowing him to be at the forefront.

Li Dashan is second, Old Daoist Li is third.

As for Long Xuan, he stayed at the very back, showing no desire to compete or win. If he were to unleash his full power of Starstep, who here could catch up with him? They wouldn't even be able to smell Long Xuan's fart.

But he's keeping a low profile for now. There's no point in bullying a few Rogue Cultivator; if he were to advance at full speed, it would be truly unfair.

However, to Long Xuan's utter surprise, Di Xin, a powerful Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage, did not rush to the front. Instead, he concealed his abilities and ran at the very back, lagging behind by half a body length, pretending to be slower.

While others are competing to see who is the fastest, these two are actually competing to see who is the slowest, with one even vying for last place.

Long Xuan's face darkened. How dare you, a Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage, hang at the very back, pretending to be weak while actually being strong? Do you have any shame?!

Doesn't her conscience bother her?

Unfortunately, he knew he would lose the three people ahead of him if he slowed down any further, so he had no choice but to speed up and give her the last place.

He had never seen such a shameless person.

Finally, after running for half a day, the oldest of the group, Old Daoist Li, was the first to give up. He stopped, put his hands on a tree trunk, and vomited violently, throwing up everything he had eaten that day.

Everyone had no choice but to stop as well, ending the marathon race.

Are you alright?

Li Dashan walked up behind him, patted him on the back, and asked.

Old Daoist Li shook his head, looking dejected, and said, "It's nothing. I'm getting old. My lungs and stomach are having problems. I can't keep up with you young people anymore."

Old Daoist Li a bitter smile. This was the aging of bodily functions, which even the Cockroach Gu couldn't save him from. Lifespan was also one of the few forces capable of killing the Cockroach Gu.

"If you had Spirit-Gathering Pill to break through and extend your lifespan, would things improve?" Long Xuan asked as he walked over.

He currently has Spirit-Gathering Pill on him, and considering our friendship, as long as what he offers is reasonable, he wouldn't mind helping him out. At worst, he could take an extra portion of the treasures from the cave abode himself; he wouldn't lose out.

Old Daoist Li shook his head and sighed, "If I were younger, I could have tried to break through with the Spirit-Gathering Pill."

"But I'm too old now, all my bodily functions have declined drastically, and even my cultivation level isn't at its peak. Even with the help of Spirit-Gathering Pill, my hope of breaking through is very slim."

"If there really is Spirit-Gathering Pill Spirit-Gathering Pill, I will give it to my grandson. There's no need for my old bones, which are almost in the grave, to go to waste."

The Little Apothecary looked at him with an unreadable expression, his brows furrowed, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, his face full of inner turmoil.

What he really wants to say is, "Your imagination isn't big enough; the Cockroach Gu hasn't been fully developed yet."

So what if the lungs are unusable? They can be replaced with someone else's. Others can't transplant organs from others, but people with the Cockroach Gu might not necessarily die from organ transplants.

He could simply remove all his aging organs and replace them with those of a younger person, thus resolving his aging condition. With a younger body, breakthroughs would naturally be much easier.

Not only can organs be transplanted, but the Spirit Sea of others can also be transferred, the rare Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart can be transplanted into one's own body, and the legendary Double Pupils can also be transplanted into one's own body...

Using the powerful immortality of the Cockroach Gu, he could completely piece himself together into a monster. However, while fusing organs from other people was 100% feasible, he wasn't sure if fusing powerful organs was possible.

If it were truly feasible, replacing all parts of the body with rare and unusual organs would create an extremely terrifying monster, whose fighting power would be unmatched by most.

But he couldn't reveal this idea, because it meant killing people, and not just one person, but many, many people.

At that moment, he himself was considering whether or not to do it; of course, he couldn't bring himself to harm innocent people.

However, the hearts of spirit beasts are far stronger than those of humans, and the body parts of some alien races are also hundreds of times stronger than those of humans. He has no problem piecing together organs from these species.

He was even considering what combination would be the strongest, ideally one that could complement and enhance each other to achieve an effect far exceeding that of the original user.

His only worry was whether he would still be considered human if he did that. Would he still be human then? This filled him with fear, and he was constantly torn about whether or not he should develop this forbidden technique.

A path to becoming a powerful figure lay before him, filled with endless temptations, but he dared not take the plunge, his heart filled with trepidation, and he has yet to dare to take that step.

He had even developed a fear of this terrifying forbidden art, dreaming that he had become a demon...

In the end, he didn't decide to tell Old Daoist Li about this idea, because he didn't want to create a demon.

Old Daoist Li is simply old and nothing serious will happen to him for the time being, but his journey will definitely have to be slowed down a bit.

Seeing that he was alright, everyone sat down to rest and took out some dry rations to replenish their strength.

Long Xuan then took out the honey-glazed roasted meat he had prepared beforehand, heated it up with his Blazing Flame Palm, and began to feast on it, the rich aroma of the meat immediately spreading throughout the room.

The others looked at their own dry rations, then at the honey-glazed roasted meat in his hand, and suddenly their own rations didn't seem so appealing anymore.

While others would bring some dry food to eat on their long journeys, he brought all sorts of delicacies, including beast king meat. He really knew how to enjoy life. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was on a picnic.

How could they possibly eat after that? Looking at the dry rations in their hands, which were hard to swallow, the group gave Long Xuan a resentful look.

Roasted meat made with the finest honey? This is the first time I've ever seen it prepared this way. Is it delicious?

Di Xin, who was standing to the side, glanced at him and said softly.

"It's absolutely delicious, beyond words! Let me tell you, honey is the best way to eat grilled meat, it's a perfect match. Want some?" Long Xuan smiled and handed the grilled meat to her.

To everyone's surprise, Di Xin didn't stand on ceremony and snatched it away, taking a big bite to taste it.

Long Xuan was taken aback. He was just being polite; he hadn't expected her to actually eat it. Weren't women in this world supposed to be conservative and never accept food from strange men?

How could she have the nerve? Where was her sense of propriety?