Categories of Gu Worms and the Realms of Gu Masters

Ayi didn't notice his odd behavior. She leaned close to his hand, smelled it, and then gently poked it with her fingertip. "This ointment can temporarily neutralize the aggression of poisonous insects. Let's go into the forest later and try it out to see if it works on them."

Lin Yu nodded in agreement; his training would be over in less than a year.

He looked up at Ayi, smiling as he changed the subject, "By the way, how long did you boil this ointment? It smells quite herbal."

"I've been up all day!"

Mentioning her achievements, Ayi immediately perked up, counting on her fingers as she said, "The green-veined grass needs to be dried for three days before it can be used, the core of the 'Drunken Beetle' flower needs to be removed, and it needs to be stirred constantly while boiling, otherwise it will burn..."

Lin Yu listened attentively, nodding in response from time to time.

After Ayi finished preparing the ointment, the two of them walked deeper into the dense forest under the moonlight.

The mountain forest was exceptionally quiet at night, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional chirping of insects or roars of animals, which only made the surroundings seem even more serene.

Lin Yu followed behind Ayi and discovered that she moved with ease even in the pitch-black environment.

Even with protruding tree roots and slippery moss underfoot, she could steadily avoid them, as if she were born with a deep familiarity with every inch of this mountain forest.

This was yet another strange phenomenon that Lin Yu had discovered.

Ayi is not a Gu Master yet, but her ability to walk freely in the dark is clearly due to the effects of her Gu worms.

At this moment, Ayi's expression brightened, she quickened her pace, and suddenly lunged forward, cupping her hands together to firmly grasp a low bush.

"Got it!" Ayi turned around excitedly and carefully spread out her hands.

On her palm lay a glossy black widow spider with red hourglass-shaped markings on its abdomen—a species known for its potent venom.

However, the venomous spider was suppressed by the Luring Gu on Ayi's body, shrinking into her palm and remaining motionless, even obediently retracting its fangs.

"Try it!" Ayi held the poisonous spider up to Lin Yu, her eyes full of anticipation.

Ayi couldn't wait to see if her newly concocted elixir would work.

The people of Flower Bamboo Village are either infected with Gu worms or have been treated with secret medicine since childhood.

If her new medicine is applied, the two are mixed together, and no one can be sure which one is having an effect.

But Lin Yu was different; he had never applied the secret medicine, making him her natural experimental subject.

Lin Yu's lips twitched involuntarily as he looked at the venomous spider so close to him.

The girl in front of me had a sweet and delicate appearance, yet she was holding a highly venomous spider in her hands; the contrast was truly fascinating.

He suppressed the strange feeling, took a deep breath, and concealed all his aura, making himself look no different from an ordinary human. Then he slowly reached out and gently pinched the back of the widow spider.

The moment his fingertips touched the venomous spider, Lin Yu could clearly feel it tremble slightly. This slight resistance indicated that it was wary of Ayi's aura and did not dare to resist for the time being.

Sure enough, as soon as he removed the poisonous spider from Ayi's palm and it was no longer suppressed by the Gu worm's aura, the spider immediately stirred.

It stopped trembling and instead twisted its body desperately, kicking its six legs wildly, trying desperately to escape from Lin Yu's grasp, as if it had encountered something extremely annoying.

"How could this be?" Ayi's smile faded as she leaned closer to examine the situation.

"The medicinal properties of the 'Insect-Drinking Flower' should make poisonous insects lower their guard, so why is it resisting it so much?"

This medicine is a key ingredient in their commonly used secret remedies, and it's always very effective. How could this happen?

Lin Yu quickly raised his hands to indicate his innocence. "I didn't do anything. I've concealed my presence. I'm just an ordinary person now."

Ayi frowned, leaned closer, and smelled the back of Lin Yu's hand to confirm that the medicine was still working.

He then crouched down, picked up a thin twig, and gently touched the venomous spider in Lin Yu's palm. The spider suddenly bared its fangs at the twig, looking wary.

Everything is confirmed to be fine.

Lin Yu looked at the poisonous spider in his hand, which was still desperately trying to escape, and wondered if he had been contaminated with some kind of aura that he himself hadn't noticed.

Suddenly, Ayi's eyes lit up, as if she had thought of something.

Ayi suddenly raised her hand and slapped her head, her face full of annoyance. "Oh dear! It's all my fault!"

Lin Yu was taken aback, and seeing her suddenly enlightened expression, he asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"I was worried that the widow spider might bite you, so I added some insect repellent. This herb will repel poisonous insects."

Ayi pulled Lin Yu's hand and pointed to the ointment on the back of his hand. "It must be that these herbs and the 'Insect-Repelling Flower' are incompatible. The 'Insect-Repelling Flower' wants to relax it, while the 'Insect-Repelling Herb' makes it afraid, which is why it's resisting so much!"

Having explained the situation, Ayi's annoyance quickly faded, replaced by excitement. "But it's okay! Now that I know where the problem lies, I'll adjust the dosage next time, and it'll definitely work!"

She has always had a tenacious spirit when it comes to alchemy Gu Raising, and a little failure simply cannot defeat her.

Lin Yu looked at the light in her eyes and couldn't help but laugh, "Don't you already have a secret medicine in your Flower Bamboo Village? You can apply it from childhood to prevent poisonous insects from biting you, so why bother to develop a new one?"

Upon hearing this, Ayi unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, her voice softening slightly. "The village's secret medicine has to be applied from a young age. Once applied, it can't be washed off and will have a slight herbal smell."

"I was thinking... you're only here to learn about Gu poison, and you might leave eventually. You can't keep carrying this smell with you. If we could make a new ointment, you could apply it when you want to use it and wash it off when you don't. How convenient would that be?"

Lin Yu was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, looking at the girl in front of him, never expecting that she had done all this for him.

"Thank you for your hard work, but don't rush, just try it slowly, I'm not in a hurry."

After hearing Lin Yu's thanks, Ayi lowered her head in shame and gently placed the widow spider in her hand into the grass.

"Let's go back first, it's getting late. I'll teach you about Gu worms tomorrow." Ayi pulled Lin Yu and headed towards the village.

In the days that followed, Ayi became Lin Yu's personal Gu Arts teacher.

Every morning, she would take Lin Yu deep into the mountains, pointing to the egg cases of poisonous spiders and explaining how to identify the quality of the Gu worms. She would also use dried toads to teach him how to determine the age of the Gu worms. In the bamboo house, she would draw a whole bamboo tube full of illustrations, marking the habits of different Gu worms and how to control them.

A Lan could never find the two of them; they were either deep in the mountains examining Gu poison or on their way to set off.

"Gu worms are divided into several categories: the first is artifact gu, which is usually used for killing. Gu worms can transform into hard objects, which can kill people when the gu master strikes unexpectedly."

The second type of auxiliary Gu is usually a one-time consumable, such as the healing Gu, where the Gu worm transforms into life force to heal the Gu master's injuries.

The third type of exotic Gu usually possesses special attributes, such as the Wood Gu. Gu masters who possess this type of Gu can manipulate surrounding plants for defense or attack.

After explaining the classification of Gu worms, Ayi went on to explain the realms of Gu Masters to Lin Yu.

"Our Gu Masters in the Southern Border also have different levels. They start with the Luring Gu, becoming an apprentice who can guide insects to the basics; then they move on to Gu Raising, becoming a Gu Master of the first to ninth levels who can tame Gu insects; and finally, they become Gu Immortal who can transform Gu insects into Immortal Gu."