Feeding the Flesh Gu

Time flowed like water. Before he knew it, Zhou Feng had been in the Three Gu Sect for three months.

During that time, he had figured out many things.

First was the Three Gu Sect's structure.

The Three Gu Sect was directly divided into the Outer Sect and the Inner Sect. At the foot of Gu Mountain stood countless small courtyards.

All of them belonged to the Outer Sect, and no one bothered managing you there.

If Outer Sect disciples wanted instruction, they could only seek it through the Hall of Transmitted Skills.

The Inner Sect, meanwhile, was located halfway up the mountain. Once one reached the Qi Induction Realm and drew the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into one's body, one could enter the Inner Sect.

Only after entering the Inner Sect could one learn the Three Gu Sect's true cultivation methods.

All Outer Sect disciples were collectively called Strongmen within the Inner Sect.

So-called Strongmen were really just laborers and servants, their ultimate purpose merely to provide resources for the sect.

In the Outer Sect, one could only temper the body and strengthen one's vital energy.

There was simply no chance to learn any other methods.

Also, Gu Mountain was not a single mountain, but an enormous mountain range.

The entire range was occupied by the Three Gu Sect, which harvested vast resources from it.

Everything above was what Zhou Feng had learned through inquiries over the past few months.

It was another morning.

As usual, Zhou Feng rose early.

Today would be another busy day, because every Outer Sect disciple had to work in order to obtain the resources needed to survive.

So he got up early, intending to practice the Adamantine Great Strength Fist a few times before going to feed the Flesh Gu.

Speaking of which, his progress over these three months had been fairly rapid.

With the support of the Gluttony passive, he could always obtain extra vital energy to nourish the Bloodthirsty Gu.

He was now at the sixth level of Body Tempering and was about to begin tempering his internal organs.

Zhou Feng took a deep breath and slowly assumed a stance.

The next second, his fists shot forth like dragons, tearing the air with resounding whooshes.

The vital energy within his body moved along with his motions, circulating in a special pattern.

Wisps of heat rose from him, the warmth emitted by his circulating vital energy.

During this process, vital energy seeped into the subtle recesses of his body.

They were strengthened bit by bit, while blocked meridians were slowly opened once more.

After one full cycle, Zhou Feng slowly exhaled.

The circulation of vital energy gradually came to a halt, and a great amount of it flowed back into his heart.

Seizing the opportunity, the Bloodthirsty Gu in his heart began stirring up trouble, drawing upon his vital energy.

"Such a nuisance!"

Feeling his vital energy rapidly draining away, Zhou Feng's good mood for the day vanished.

Only then did he understand just how important Blood Pills were.

The Bloodthirsty Gu was practically a Pixiu—taking in without ever giving out—and it came at the same time every day, just like an alarm clock.

Even with the Gluttony passive, he had nearly been unable to support this vampire.

What was more outrageous was that every time his realm rose, the Bloodthirsty Gu's demands climbed to a new level.

This caused many Outer Sect disciples to not even dare break through. They could only desperately hoard resources and Blood Pills.

Only after saving enough Blood Pills would they dare make a breakthrough.

It was also because of this that the people of Courtyard No. 7 had completely isolated Zhou Feng.

Back then, because he had confronted Xiong Dan, nearly everyone in Courtyard No. 7 had been stripped clean of their Blood Pills.

Though the unspoken rule was that one person could only rob ten pills, Xiong Dan had refused to follow the rules.

And no one had dared question him.

Not to mention that a month ago, Xiong Dan had officially become an Inner Sect disciple.

He had even truly entered under an elder's tutelage.

Zhou Feng felt not the slightest guilt over this.

Because he was not the one at fault. These people had been bullied by Xiong Dan, yet they did not dare retaliate against him.

They only dared to secretly plot this sort of isolation here.

As for that, Zhou Feng simply did not care.

"Have you heard? Lin Ming agreed to become the male consort of an Inner Sect female disciple!"

"You heard too? I heard that Inner Sect female disciple is quite famous and already has quite a few male consorts!"

"Really? If that's the case, Lin Ming probably won't need to worry about Blood Pills anymore!"

"Yeah! Too bad I don't have a handsome face like his!"

"..."

Having just returned to the courtyard and prepared to wash up, Zhou Feng heard people discussing Lin Ming.

He had not expected Lin Ming to lower his head as well, even directly becoming someone else's male consort.

Previously, because Yin Ling had nearly been drained dry by the Bloodthirsty Gu and could not earn many Blood Pills herself, she had also sold her body and seemed to have attached herself to an old Outer Sect disciple.

Besides that, quite a few others had died unnatural deaths.

Some were drained dry by the Bloodthirsty Gu while sleeping at night. Some met with accidents while feeding the Flesh Gu. Others vanished without a trace.

All of this multiplied the pressure on Zhou Feng.

For some reason, his right eyelid had been twitching constantly lately, as if danger were about to descend.

"Good thing I still have the Skill Panel!"

At this moment, Zhou Feng glanced at the Skill Panel, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.

The progress bar on the Skill Panel had long since filled completely.

Yet he had not rushed to draw a passive skill.

Because he had discovered that even after the progress bar was full, it continued to rise.

He had discovered this by accident.

Even when the Skill Panel's progress bar was full, it would continue increasing.

And with every slight increase, the color of the progress bar changed a little.

From white, to green, to blue, and now, gold, which was on the verge of completing its transformation.

That shift in color made Zhou Feng understand at once.

Wasn't this color indicative of skill quality?

In the game he had played before transmigrating, the rarity of passive skills had likewise been distinguished by color.

So, in order to obtain a golden passive skill,

Zhou Feng had forcibly held himself back for nearly three months, watching the progress bar change color every day.

Now, the progress bar was finally about to turn entirely gold.

At this rate, he would obtain a golden passive skill by noon.

"I should hurry and feed the Flesh Gu! Otherwise, I'll be late!"

Feeding the Flesh Gu was the sect task chosen by the greatest number of Outer Sect disciples.

It was also Zhou Feng's main way of earning Blood Pills.

The so-called Flesh Gu was actually a special Gu insect raised by the sect.

This Gu insect could devour all manner of things to grow.

It could also grow enormous. Even if a piece of flesh was cut from it, as long as there was enough food, it could quickly regrow.

The Flesh Gu's meat was also the primary ingredient in refining Blood Pills.

Put simply, the Flesh Gu was a cow that could be endlessly carved for meat.

The reason the Three Gu Sect could afford to raise so many Outer Sect disciples was precisely because it controlled the Flesh Gu.

But feeding the Flesh Gu was also an extremely dangerous task.

Because they were carved for meat all year round, the Flesh Gu were exceptionally violent.

One careless mistake while feeding them, and one could be swallowed whole.

And after being swallowed, no one would pity you. The sect would simply replace you with someone else to feed them.

As long as one had not reached the Qi Induction Realm, feeding the Flesh Gu carried enormous risks.

If Zhou Feng had any other choice, he would not have chosen to feed the Flesh Gu.

But he had no choice. With the Gluttony passive, he grew hungry faster than others to begin with.

And with the Bloodthirsty Gu, that vampire, he simply could not survive without feeding the Flesh Gu.