Deep Development of Gu Insect Abilities

However, Long Xuan only sat for a short while before returning to the Medicine Garden in Great Stone Village with a livid face and the dung beetle. Even though he used the Starstep, it still took him half a day.

There was nothing we could do; the place where Old Long was simply a huge pit, completely bare, without a single formation.

Therefore, the nearby Long Family Gu cultivators could sense what he was doing with their soul power, and they could also see what he was doing with their Evil Dragon Emperor Eye.

What's the difference between this and taking a bath in public? He felt like he was being stripped naked and seen by everyone.

Especially after learning that Old Long had become Third-Grade Alchemist, powerful souls would occasionally sweep over him, lingering on him for a moment, openly watching what he was doing, unrestrained, unblinking, and without any attempt to hide it.

Some creditors even came in person to disturb him. Without any formation to stop them, they could move freely and recklessly in Old Long's territory, as if they were in an empty land.

Long Xuan was completely numb.

This is outrageous!

If he were to Liver Gu Formula here, he would expose everything. His cheat ability is his biggest secret; how could he dare to stay in this place any longer?

So, with a dark expression, he fled that very night.

Back in his large Medicine Garden, he was finally completely safe, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

It's quiet here; nowhere is as safe as home.

Long Xuan sat back down in the familiar little pavilion, and suddenly, as if blessed with some kind of buff, his thoughts flowed freely, and his inspiration exploded...

Ten days later, a Low-Grade Gu Recipe with only one hundred ingredients was created, and Long Xuan was overjoyed.

He then spent less than half a day collecting the materials, immediately throwing them all into the large cauldron. After repeatedly filling and emptying the cauldron and observing the number of times progress was observed, Long Xuan quickly figured out that the success rate of the Gu Recipe was 12%.

The success rate is already quite good; very few Gu Recipe have a success rate of less than one in ten.

Success rate is also one of the standards for cost-effectiveness.

After marking a 12% success rate on the Gu Recipe, Long Xuan waited patiently.

It's just a Low-Grade Gu Insect; it won't take long for it to become a Gu, unlike supreme-grade Gu worm which takes half a year to mature.

It actually has many other Gu Recipe that use even fewer materials; five dung beetles can be made into a Gu, making it surprisingly inexpensive.

However, cost-effectiveness doesn't mean the cheaper the better. It also means being cheap while being powerful. What's the use of a cheap item if it's weak in combat?

The Gu Insect created from five dung beetles are far too weak to be worth mentioning. They're cheap to produce but weak in combat, so they're not cost-effective.

Long Xuan not only wants to be cheap, but also to have astonishing combat power. It would be even better if its combat power could surpass more than half of the Gu Insect in this world. Although it is difficult, one must have dreams. What if it comes true?

Long Xuan loved to challenge his limits. He decided to push himself to the limit and see if he could create a Gu worm that surpassed the vast majority of Gu Insect in this world using cheap materials.

After repeated research, Long Xuan finally concluded that one hundred materials were the optimal solution. Although the cost was slightly higher, they could maintain the strength and were affordable for everyone, making them the best value for money.

He had also given his newly created Low-Grade Gu Recipe a name: Earthworker (土夫子).

The cost of using Earthworker is extremely low. One hundred sets of materials cost less than ten Spirit Stone, and with a success rate of just over one in ten, the cost price is at most one hundred Spirit Stone, ensuring that everyone can afford it.

What kind of combat power would such inexpensive Gu Insect possess? Long Xuan was very curious.

Three days later, when the progress on the cauldron reached 100%, Long Xuan, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately rushed over, quickly opened the lid, and excitedly looked inside.

A large, brownish-brown monster was crawling out. With a gentle thrust of its forelimbs, it pierced the cauldron, then swaggered out of it, glanced at Long Xuan, and continued crawling forward.

Long Xuan's face darkened instantly. That was all money! That cauldron was very expensive!

But looking at the enormous creature in front of him, he didn't dare to approach. It was just too big, taller than a person by a head, and he was afraid that if he approached rashly, he would break his bones.

Keep in mind that this is only its size in its infancy. Imagine how enormous it will be when it grows up! Who knows how huge it will become? It might even have the power to shake mountains.

Long Xuan couldn't help but mourn for the future of the Long Family. If this thing were promoted to the entire clan, and everyone had one, wouldn't the Long Family's land be completely eaten up? Wouldn't the Long Family's location turn into a basin?

However, just as he was having such wicked thoughts, he saw this big guy run into his Medicine Garden, eat a large chunk of Pure Soil in one gulp, and dig a big hole in the ground.

Long Xuan was immediately taken aback.

"Holy crap! That's High-Grade Spirit Soil! You can't eat that, shut up right now!"

Long Xuan was going crazy. He rushed over and risked everything to form a blood pact with it. He couldn't let it continue to wreak havoc, or his Medicine Garden would be devoured by this thing.

He struggled to stuff the enormous creature into his Storage Bag, and finally found an open space without any valuables to release it and begin testing its combat abilities.

Long Xuan quickly figured out its abilities. Because he changed the Earthworker's diet to make it eat soil, it liked to push soil balls.

Seemingly terrified of hunger, it actually evolved a natural storage space in its mouth, capable of storing dozens of clods of earth in its own storage space, so it could carry food and fodder when it went out and never have to worry about food and drink.

But is evolving this ability useful in a world where everything is dirt? Long Xuan wondered, puzzled.

It seems to have some use; it allows you to store shells to use against people, since there's no time to roll dirt into balls during a battle.

That's its ability— Storage Bag -like auxiliary ability, an utterly ordinary one.

That's normal, though. After all, it's Low-Grade Gu Insect. It's impossible for it to have any heaven-defying abilities. It's already pretty good if it has storage capabilities. How strong can a Low-Grade Gu Insect really be?

But Long Xuan was still disappointed, as this did not meet his expectations. So he had to use his amazing imagination to try to develop this inconspicuous ability in depth.

But what's so great about developing a storage ability? Are you really going to stuff your opponent into your own Storage Bag?

Hmm? This ability seems pretty good. It's a great way to trap an opponent's Gu Insect. If it can even trap supreme-grade Gu worm, then it's definitely a heaven-defying ability.

Long Xuan's eyes lit up, thinking that this method might actually be feasible and worth studying.

He then thought that the dung beetle's greatest advantage was its strength, so it would be best to make use of its strength advantage and let it knead the dung ball hard and throw it to smash the enemy.

This thing can carry dozens of large earthen balls with it, enough to give any enemy a hard time, right? The power of this thing is ridiculously great. Getting hit by one of its earthen balls is definitely not a good thing, and being crushed to death is not an exaggeration at all.

You should know that the dung beetle's sphere is much larger than its own size. Now it has been refined into an even larger Gu Insect, and that sphere of earth is probably several meters in diameter.

Imagine if thousands of Earthworker simultaneously hurled earth balls at the enemy. The sky would be filled with enormous earth balls, like meteorites falling from the heavens—how terrifying would that be?

Once the number of Earthworker reaches a certain scale and they undergo rigorous training, they become like artillery regiments, capable of carpet bombing the enemy without leaving any room for escape.

Therefore, the war potential of the Earthworker is enormous. Once it is popularized by the entire clan, its role will be significant, making it extremely suitable for group battles.

Long Xuan continued to expand his thinking. Besides being good at throwing attacks, someone with great strength should also be good at close combat, right? Moreover, even dung beetles have a pair of big swords, even though those swords aren't sharp and they've forgotten to sharpen them.

But if anyone were to be touched by the Earthworker's broadsword, who could withstand that immense force? Wouldn't their bones break in a matter of minutes? Long Xuan's eyes lit up again.

Thinking about it this way, the Earthworker's combat power is actually quite good. Of course, it's definitely far from being comparable to supreme-grade Gu worm, but it's already pretty good for a low-level player. What kind of development do you expect from a Low-Grade Gu Insect? It's already at its limit.

However, it's still not enough. Can Earthworker at his current level surpass most of the Gu Insect in this world? It seems unlikely, doesn't it?

Long Xuan frowned and pondered for a long time, feeling that the current combat power of the Earthworker was still lacking and should be further developed.

The Earthworker's strength lies solely in his physical power; his weaknesses in other areas are so severe that they are practically fatal.

For example, if someone is too large and clumsy, lacks agility and speed, they'll be a sitting duck in battle. What's the use of having great strength if you can't hit your target?

The issues of speed and agility seem unsolvable, since the size is fixed and the speed attribute is inevitably affected; how can the laws of nature be easily changed?

Since speed isn't enough, the only option is to stack up defense to the extreme. If someone can hit me a hundred times and I survive, while I only need to hit them once, this should be the most suitable fighting strategy for Earthworker. A glint flashed in Long Xuan's eyes.

In fact, the Earthworker's defense is not weak, after all, it is covered with a thick shell, but this level of defense is obviously far from enough to stop the attacks of most Gu Insect.

This requires Long Xuan to use his imagination to find a way to further enhance its defensive capabilities.

Three days later, a dung beetle covered in metal armor appeared.

Long Xuan patted the iron blocks off the Earthworker's body and smiled with satisfaction.

Giving armor to Gu Insect —how could he even think of that?

Who would have thought that armor could be made for Gu Insect? It's an idea that's both divine and insane.

Insects are generally small; smallness is a common characteristic of all insects, a defining feature of these creatures. So how could such a tiny creature be encased in heavy metal? That seems absurd.

Therefore, researching armor for insects is not a reliable idea, and thus this concept has never appeared in this world.

Surprisingly, Long Xuan's Earthworker was very suitable for making a special set of Spirit Artifact armor. On the one hand, it was large enough and had a thick body, with enough surface area to carve artifact Artifact Inscription.

On the other hand, the Earthworker possesses astonishing strength, allowing it to fight while dragging armor weighing countless tons without reducing its speed attribute.

Because of the fusion of massive genes, the Earthworker is one of the few Gu Insect that can wear armor-type Spirit Artifact. By borrowing external forces to enhance its combat power, the Earthworker's potential will undoubtedly be raised to another level.

If it's a full set of Spirit Artifact armor, all the attributes of the Spirit Artifact will stack together. In addition, the Earthworker is large enough to have many Artifact Inscription engraved on it, so very few forces will be able to break through its defense.

To take it even further, the Formation Base could be fixed to a group of Earthworker, forming a mobile formation. The Earthworker would then become war fortresses, which would be of great strategic significance.

Who wouldn't have a headache dealing with a walking Mountain-Protecting Formation?

With its extreme defense and immense strength, Long Xuan dared not even imagine how terrifying this monster would be.

Of course, wearing a full set of Supreme-grade Spirit Artifact is too expensive and doesn't meet the standard of being economical. Long Xuan's mission is all about cost-effectiveness, the ultimate cost-effectiveness.

Most people can't afford Spirit Artifact, so he absolutely cannot use Spirit Artifact; he can only use iron tools, the kind of iron used for ordinary farming.

Undoubtedly, the iron tools used by mortals are very cheap. Of course, their hardness is certainly not comparable to that of Spirit Artifact.

But if the hardness isn't enough, then make up for it with thickness. Anyway, the Earthworker is strong enough, so let it fight while covered in thick iron.

Even if it can't compare to Supreme-grade Spirit Artifact set, it can greatly enhance the Earthworker's combat power, making it extremely cost-effective.

As for even stronger Supreme-grade Spirit Artifact sets and mobile Mountain-Protecting Formation, those can only be developed by wealthy Gu cultivators. He's managing to cater to both the low-end and high-end markets.

Long Xuan nodded in satisfaction, feeling that he had really pushed himself to his limit this time.

At its current level, Earthworker could eliminate at least half of the Gu Insect in this world, and that's an extremely conservative estimate, a rather modest statement from Long Xuan.

Although the Earthworker was far from being a match for supreme-grade Gu worm, Long Xuan believed that he couldn't find many Gu Insect with a better cost-performance ratio than the Earthworker, since his Earthworker could be cheated by using external objects.

In terms of cost-effectiveness alone, Long Xuan was confident that his Earthworker were definitely among the best in the world.

He decided to use this work to complete the task.

Long Xuan revealed a smug smile, twisted his sore neck, and continued to add to his Gu Recipe.

The ingenious ideas he came up with had to be written on the Gu Recipe. This would raise the upper limit of the Gu Recipe and indirectly increase Gu Recipe value. Otherwise, those old guys with limited imaginations might not use it.

For example, artillery regiment tactics are a very profound subject. It's not just about gathering together and firing randomly. It's very difficult to ensure seamless shell coverage. If he weren't a time traveler, he really wouldn't believe that anyone could understand artillery technology.

Finally, there was the transformation path of the Gu Insect, which he almost forgot to write down, so he quickly added it.

Due to time constraints, he has only discovered two paths for the Earthworker to transform.

When Earthworker consumed the Spirit Soil, he showed faint signs of transformation, but Long Xuan stopped him in time, resulting in insufficient quantity and thus the transformation failed.

However, Long Xuan was able to conclude that the Earthworker would undergo a transformation every time he consumed a type of Spirit Soil, and what changes would occur after the transformation was unknown.

The second path to transformation, of course, is eating excrement.

Long Xuan realized that he had failed to change the dung beetle's habit of eating dung. Well, it wasn't a complete failure; the Earthworker had indeed developed the habit of eating dirt, but it didn't mean it had completely stopped eating dung.

It now eats dirt and excrement wherever it can find them.

Therefore, after eating the Chicken Bro manure, it showed signs of transformation, but the amount of Chicken Bro was too small, causing its transformation to fail.

Therefore, Long Xuan quickly concluded that the Earthworker would undergo a transformation after eating the excrement of spirit beasts, although the amount might be very large.

The strength of Earthworker after its transformation may also be related to the species of spirit beast whose droppings it produces; divine beast droppings may be the best choice.

Feces are everywhere in the forest, so this is very economical and affordable, perfectly meeting the standard of cost-effectiveness, and is good quality at a low price.

Thus, after these two unexpected events, Long Xuan quickly figured out the two paths of transformation for the Earthworker.

He wasn't sure which path of transformation was more effective.

However, the route of consuming Spirit Soil is probably stronger, since divine beast excrement cannot be found in this world, while Spirit Soil is more expensive to produce.

However, it's not without its drawbacks; the more you progress, the harder it becomes to transform.

With each transformation, the Earthworker's requirements for Spirit Soil will inevitably increase. In the end, he will definitely need to consume Supreme Spirit Soil, or even the legendary Heavenly Soil, which is by no means easy to find.

Which path to transformation to choose is entirely up to the individual.

After writing down the two transformation paths of the Earthworker, Long Xuan folded the paper and quickly set off towards the Long Family.

At his Starstep speed, he arrived in less than half a day. Upon reaching the Long Family, he immediately headed towards the Mission Hall. He secretly slipped the Insect-Rearing Pouch containing the Earthworker and the Gu Recipe into the submission box, then returned to wait patiently.

Ten days later.

Long Xuan was comfortably sleeping in bed when he was pulled up by the overly enthusiastic Long Qilin.

This was already the umpteenth time his sweet dreams had been disturbed by the Long Qilin.

He's become numb. It's strange, really. You see, Long Qilin a Gu cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Stage, while he's a Gu cultivator in the Spirit Gathering Stage. They're from completely different worlds. How can they possibly get along?

But Long Qilin just kept pestering him, and since there was no formation to stop him on Little Poverty Peak, he could come and go as he pleased, treating this place like his own home, leaving Long Xuan helpless. He really had no way to deal with this person.

However, there are some advantages as well. In the past, he often used the Liver Gu Formula, which led to irregular sleep patterns. Now, he is often woken up by him to go to the Long Family canteen for breakfast together.

He ate breakfast on time. To be honest, the breakfast at the Long Family canteen was really good, and it was worth getting up so early for him.

On the way to the cafeteria, Long Xuan yawned repeatedly and said helplessly, "What do you want this time? I'm not going to the Gu-Dueling Arena. My Gu Insect are too trashy; they're really not presentable."

The Long Qilin walking beside him turned to look at him with a mysterious smile and said, "It's precisely because you don't have any good Gu Insect that I came to find you."

"I have good news for you. My Long Family has developed another amazing and unique Gu Recipe. This Gu Recipe is so powerful that it can become the clan's signature formula, and the Lineage intends to promote it throughout the entire clan."

"The whole clan is buzzing about it now, everyone's talking about it. Many Long Family Gu cultivators are scrambling to exchange for the new Gu Recipe, it's starting to become a trend."

Suddenly, Long Qilin leaned close to Long Xuan's ear and said excitedly, "Take my advice, exchange for this Gu Recipe as soon as possible before it increases your contribution points."

"Trust my judgment. The Long Family's new unique Gu Recipe is incredibly powerful, far beyond your imagination. Switching to it will definitely boost your strength dramatically, and then you'll be ready to compete in the Gu-Dueling Arena!"

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan's eyes immediately lit up, and he quickly became awake, his sleepy gaze vanishing instantly.

His first thought was of Gu Recipe Gu Recipe Earthworker had recently submitted to his Lineage, which he believed was probably the same Earthworker that Long Qilin had mentioned.

Ten days ago, after he handed over the Gu Recipe and the Earthworker to his Lineage, there was no further news, as if they had vanished without a trace.

In his haste, he had no choice but to use the far-sighted ability of his Eye of Heavenly Secrets to observe the situation and discovered that all the high-ranking Lineage were excitedly conducting various tests on the Earthworker.

Assessing the value of a Gu Insect naturally requires various tests, which he can understand.

But those old guys were incredibly slow in their work. They wanted to test strength, speed, defense, bite force, and even appetite. They also wanted to put all sorts of Gu Insect into actual combat.

In short, they tested everything. What should have been done in an hour was dragged out for several days, which is why his contribution hasn't been approved yet. He's truly exasperated.

What kind of inefficiency is this? I've been waiting forever!

I finally heard the news today. Since this matter has spread so widely throughout the clan, it means the response has been quite good, and the Lineage is already considering spreading the news to the entire clan.

As long as the Gu Recipe meets the standards for promotion throughout the entire clan, the contribution value given will never be low.

Long Xuan became excited. He wanted to hear what outsiders thought of the Earthworker, so he pretended to be surprised and said in great shock, "What? The Long Family has actually come up with a new, unique Gu Recipe?"

"Who on earth researched this Gu Recipe? Its cost-effectiveness is so high that it can be promoted throughout the entire clan. It's simply amazing! This person is truly a genius, with comprehension rarely seen throughout history. They can be called a prodigy."

"Tell me quickly, just how powerful is this new Gu seed?" Long Xuan boasted about himself before shamelessly asking.

Long Qilin was very pleased with Long Xuan's shocked expression and said with great interest, "This new unique Gu Recipe is more than just strong! It's practically boundless in its strength!"

"The new Gu species is called the Earthworker. Let me tell you, even in its juvenile form, the Earthworker is already half a head taller than a human. Who knows how big it will be when it matures!"

"You know, smallness is a common trait among insects; the vast majority of insects are very small. When have I ever seen such a large Gu Insect? I've never seen such a huge Gu Insect in my entire life."

"Such a huge thing, once deployed on the battlefield, becomes a war behemoth, a killing machine. It can crush a large number of people with a mere stomp of its foot. Once something reaches a certain size, it's hard for it to be weak."

"I wonder who came up with the idea of covering this huge thing in heavy iron armor."

"Isn't that cheating? What kind of Gu Insect fights dressed in a suit of iron? How are the other Gu Insect supposed to fight it?"

"But this guy's strength is also extraordinary. He can go into battle wearing a very thick layer of metal, and even if the weight of the metal is thirty times his own body weight, it has no effect on him at all."

"Even High-Grade Gu Insect couldn't penetrate such thick metal. But once its massive blade strikes, it can turn High-Grade Gu Insect into mincemeat. Isn't that an exaggeration? Isn't this bullying the insects?!"

"The most outrageous thing is the price, it's incredibly cheap! The food is cheap, and even the transformation process is surprisingly cheap. It's practically free! I highly recommend it to anyone on a tight budget. I strongly suggest you try creating one of these Gu Insect, it's just too good to pass up!"

"The Earthworker has now become an essential Gu Insect for the Long Family's Gu cultivators. In the future, everyone will have one. Anyone who doesn't refine one will suffer."

The Long Qilin qilin looked extremely excited, talking boastfully, gesturing wildly, and exaggerating the Earthworker's fighting prowess.

The more he boasted, the more pleased Long Xuan became. When he heard that Earthworker wanted one, his smile widened. He knew that once the Gu Insect reached this standard, the reward in contribution points would be no less than ten million.

"Are you sure Earthworker would have one? Including a wealthy genius like yourself, would you really refine such a Low-Grade Gu Insect?" Long Xuan suddenly interrupted and asked.

"Of course!" Long Qilin laughed, "I currently have eight Gu Insect slots. Even if I become incredibly wealthy, I can't possibly refine eight supreme-grade Gu worm; I still need many low-grade Gu Insect to fill the quota."

"And this Earthworker, despite being Low-Grade Gu Insect, is quite remarkable in both strength and defense. Its sheer size is intimidating and can boost morale, making it ideal for the front line."

"So, I was determined to refine this Earthworker, and it's already finished. I called you out today so you could see my precious artifact."

"It's currently collecting soil balls to fill its storage space. I'll call it over now and show you what it's like."

The Long Qilin, eager to show off, whistled triumphantly. Immediately, a dung beetle about the height of a person appeared in the distance, pushing a ball and running towards them at a considerable speed.

A lot of people were watching and pointing at it, but why were they all covering their noses?

Long Xuan's expression changed drastically. Suddenly, something occurred to him: could that ball be...?

His eyes widened instantly, and he turned pale with horror.

Oh no! Although the Earthworker has been changed to eat dirt, it doesn't mean he won't eat shit anymore. Now he eats dirt whenever he encounters dirt, and he eats shit whenever he encounters shit.

He then realized he had completely forgotten to write that sentence in the Gu Recipe! This was terrible! Something terribly wrong was about to happen!

As the dung ball, taller than a person, approached, and the stench was already overwhelming, Long Xuan turned pale with fright and turned to run.

At this point, the two were already quite close to the cafeteria entrance. Now, the stench wafted into the cafeteria through the doors and windows, and into the mouths of those eating.

"Wow..."

"Vomit..."

As expected, a chorus of vomiting erupted in the cafeteria. Long Family Gu cultivators who were eating there were vomiting and dry heaving, and the entire cafeteria instantly descended into chaos, filled with shouts and curses.