The Copper Bone Gu Merged with His Body

It was not over yet.

With a thought from Hu Fangyuan, three clusters of pure Bone Essence Powder slowly floated toward the larva.

The larva seemed to catch the scent of the Bone Essence Powder and immediately grew excited. It wriggled forward and pounced, gulping down mouthful after mouthful. As it ate the snow-white powder bit by bit, its body changed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its once-soft body gradually hardened. Segments of bone protruded beneath its skin, six short legs slowly grew out, and its head began to harden, developing a blunt, rounded bump.

The power of the Bone Essence Powder was merging into its bones little by little.

Fully focused, Hu Fangyuan controlled the flame's temperature while slowly guiding the fusion of bone essence and copper essence with his Soul Power. This was the most critical step. Bone governed sinews and meridians, while copper governed hardness; the two had to fuse perfectly, and neither could be missing. If the fusion went poorly, the resulting Copper Bone Gu would either lack toughness and fracture easily, or lack hardness and have its effectiveness greatly diminished.

Fine beads of sweat gradually seeped from his forehead. Refining the Copper Bone Gu was somewhat harder than refining the Moonlight Pearl Gu. After all, it was a Strength Path Gu worm, with higher demands for material fusion.

Fortunately, he had the Heaven Refining Furnace's assistance. The Dao Marks on its body glowed faintly, releasing a steady stream of stabilizing power that soothed the restless insect within and guided the medicinal potency to spread evenly.

Time ticked by, second after second.

The larva within the flames had completely transformed.

It was about the size of a walnut, bone-white all over. Its carapace consisted of interlocking bone plates, with a dark copper sheen showing through the gaps. A blunt, rounded bone spike grew from the front of its head, and several tiny bone spurs sprouted from its rear. Its six short, thick legs gripped firmly at empty air, motionless, like a piece of dead bone.

Hu Fangyuan knew this was the crucial moment for forming its shape.

He drew a deep breath and abruptly increased his Soul Power output. The Scarlet Sun True Fire flared, its temperature soaring in an instant.

Under the intense heat, the Copper Bone Gu's body began to tremble slightly. The bone plates of its carapace locked together with crisp clicks. Fine copper lines emerged across its surface, spreading over its whole body like blood vessels. A cold, hard, weighty aura emanated from it.

The entire process lasted about the time it took an incense stick to burn.

Once the final copper line had fully merged into the carapace, the flames slowly weakened.

A walnut-sized beetle hovered quietly in midair. Its bone-white carapace was thick and solid, its dark copper patterns flickering in and out of view. The entire Gu worm exuded a sense of indestructibility.

The rank-one Copper Bone Gu had been successfully refined.

Hu Fangyuan let out a long, stale breath, his heart finally settling. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.

Another success.

He beckoned, and the Copper Bone Gu slowly floated into his palm. It felt heavy, cold, and hard. A tap even produced a crisp metallic ring, no different from a real lump of metal.

Hu Fangyuan examined it closely. This Copper Bone Gu's bone plates were thicker than those recorded in the Gu Canon, and its copper patterns were finer and denser. One glance told him its quality was exceptional-the very best of the top grade.

Naturally, this was once again thanks to the Heaven Refining Furnace. With true fire purifying everything throughout the process and Dao Marks guiding the materials to a nearly perfect fusion, the resulting Gu worm could hardly be poor in quality.

After admiring it for a moment, Hu Fangyuan's gaze sharpened.

Next came merging with the Gu.

Refining a Gu worm was only the first step. Only by merging it into oneself, uniting it with the cultivator's body, could its true power be unleashed.

He picked up a sharp knife beside him, its blade flashing with cold light. Without the slightest hesitation, he drew it lightly across the back of his left hand.

Hiss.

The sharp blade easily sliced through skin and flesh. A wound about an inch long appeared, and crimson blood immediately welled up, dripping down along his fingers.

Hu Fangyuan's expression did not change. He picked up the Copper Bone Gu with his right hand, aligned it with the wound, and gently set it down.

The instant it touched the wound, the Copper Bone Gu's temperature shot up.

A searing pain suddenly surged from the back of his hand.

Hu Fangyuan shuddered, clenching his teeth.

It felt as though a red-hot coal had been forcibly pressed onto a fresh wound. Scalding pain shot along his nerves straight into his brain, and his entire arm began to go numb.

His flesh sizzled softly beneath the heat, and even a faint scorched smell rose.

Hu Fangyuan stared fixedly at the Copper Bone Gu on the back of his hand, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat streamed down his cheeks. He knew merging with a Gu worm was never comfortable. With Strength Path Gu worms in particular, the pain pierced to the marrow when they merged into the bones.

He could endure it.

Under his gaze, the walnut-sized Copper Bone Gu began to shrink slowly. Its bone plates tightened layer by layer, its body growing smaller and smaller and its color deepening. From the size of a walnut, it gradually shrank to the size of a thumb, then to that of a grain of rice.

At the same time, its body merged into the wound bit by bit, burrowing inward through his flesh like melting wax.

The searing pain spread deeper into his body along with it. From the back of his hand to his wrist, then his arm, it finally spread into the bones throughout his body.

Hu Fangyuan felt as though every bone in his body had been placed in a furnace to be calcined.

Heat and pain, aching, numbness, swelling agony-all these sensations surged up together, enough to make someone want to roll around on the ground.

But he forcibly endured it, sitting perfectly straight without so much as swaying.

After an unknown length of time, the Copper Bone Gu burrowed completely into the wound. The cut on the back of his hand healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Soon, only a faint red mark remained, without even a scar.

The next moment, Hu Fangyuan shuddered all over.

He distinctly felt that the Copper Bone Gu had settled onto his bones.

A cold, hard, weighty power erupted from deep within his bones, instantly spreading to every bone and every inch of every joint throughout his body.

Hu Fangyuan instinctively clenched his fist.

Crack.

A crisp crack of bone came from his fist.

His bones had not broken. Rather, they had become so condensed that they made a crisp sound as they knocked against one another.

He could clearly feel the earth-shaking changes in every bone in his body. Their density had skyrocketed, and both hardness and toughness had increased severalfold. Every bone had grown heavy, yet brimmed with strength.

It was as though a wooden frame had instantly been replaced by one cast from copper and iron.

Hu Fangyuan stood and walked over to the wooden table in the corner. He extended his right hand and lightly pressed his fist down onto the thick tabletop.

Thud.

A muffled impact rang out.

A deep fist mark immediately appeared in the hard, solid-wood tabletop. Wood chips flew, and the entire table shook three times.

He had used only thirty percent of his strength in that punch.

Hu Fangyuan's eyes lit up.

That table was made from old elm wood, after all, and was extremely hard. Previously, a full-strength punch would at most have left a pale mark. Now, forty percent of his strength could leave such a deep fist mark. His physical strength had increased at least threefold, if not more.

And this was only the basic increase brought about by strengthening his bones. If he actually activated the Copper Bone Gu's power, hardening all his bones like copper, the might of a punch would only be more terrifying.

Wild joy surged in Hu Fangyuan's heart.

Again!

Another successful Gu Refining!

From the Moonlight Pearl Gu to the Copper Bone Gu, he had succeeded on his first attempt with both rank-one Gu worms, and both were top-grade.

Of course, the Heaven Refining Furnace deserved the greatest credit. But his own talent and precise control were also indispensable.

Hu Fangyuan moved his arms and legs, the bones throughout his body cracking, brimming with a sense of strength.

Now, he had level twenty-one Soul Power, water and fire Soul Skills combining offense and defense, the Copper Bone Gu strengthening his body, and the Moonlight Pearl Gu aiding the recovery of his Divine Sense. His overall strength was far more than just a notch above what it had been.

Never mind first-year students-even against second- or third-year students, he felt confident enough to take them on.