Chapter 49: Sweet As Honey
A night without dreams.
Three hours later, Fang Shu slowly awoke from sleep.
After waking up, he immediately felt his thoughts sharp and his physical body vibrant; the fatigue from staying up all night refining Gu had completely vanished without a trace.
He lightly leaped up from the Scorpion Basin, while three small flying insects also flew out from his nasal apertures and ear apertures, circling to his left and right, swaying leisurely.
Fang Shu circled around the water-jar-sized Scorpion Basin, performing a set of Insect Skill routine, feeling his body light and agile, his qi and blood flowing smoothly; his entire being was in peak condition.
“Excellent! As expected of a Treasure Bug. Even a One Tribulation Sleepy Bug has such an effect.”
His eyes brightened as he happily muttered to himself.
Last night, Fang Shu had used the freshly refined Sleepy Bug to aid his sleep, so he fell into deep slumber without wasting a single breath.
In this sleep state, his muscles, organs, and even soul underwent profound recuperation, with sleep quality far surpassing that of ordinary Immortal Cultivators.
After waking, he would not feel sleepy for the entire day.
In other words, with the Sleepy Bug, from now on, Fang Shu only needed to spend three hours each day resting—not only to meet daily sleep needs, but also to recover his physical body faster than ordinary Immortal Cultivators.
This gave him at least an extra hour compared to before, which he could use for cultivation practice or Gu refining.
Fang Shu was quite delighted; he had personally comprehended the meaning of what the Dojo Master had said: his spiritual root was limited, but Gu Technique was boundless.
“Although my spiritual root is hard to improve, with Gu Worms as aid, I can still enhance aspects like cultivation time and efficiency.”
He pondered inwardly: “If one day I refine even more powerful Gu Worms, my cultivation speed might not be much slower than those with spiritual roots!”
With thoughts surging in his mind, Fang Shu’s gaze fell once more on the Gu Book on the table.
What he had refined was only a One Tribulation Sleepy Bug; if he refined a Two Tribulation Sleepy Bug, it could save him another half hour of sleep time, with even better quality.
A Three Tribulation Sleepy Bug would require only two hours per day!
Moreover, aside from personal use, the Sleepy Bug could be used on others to force them into slumber, or given to others for use, or sold externally.
However, for non-Gu refining Immortal Cultivators, driving this bug would result in some loss of effect, and it needed intermittent use, lest dependency form, making it impossible to sleep without it later.
But these were minor issues; Immortal Cultivator creations were not unique to Gu Worms in this regard—pills, talismans, and the like also exerted maximum effect only in the hands of fellow practitioners.
Having tasted the benefits, Fang Shu’s interest in Gu refining surged even higher in an instant.
This thing could promote cultivation and also provide for his livelihood; it was truly a Treasure Bug!
Immediately, taking advantage of his freshly awakened state with exceptionally sharp thoughts, he dove back into Gu refining.
However, what he tried next was no longer One Tribulation Gu Worms like the Follower Bug or Breath-Holding Insect, but the seven low-grade “rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea” Gu Worms.
These low-grade Gu Worms could similarly improve his Gu refining skills, and compared to proper Gu Recipes, they were easier to study and research.
Moreover, over the past month or so, the Marrow Refining Chapter’s Insect Skill had been fully analyzed; a few days ago, Fang Shu had gauged his Gu refining progress and prioritized these low-grade Gu Recipes at the front of the analysis queue.
Now that he had successfully refined the Sleepy Bug, a Gu Recipe named “Rice Bug” was only two or three days from complete analysis.
This Gu Worm used the most common bugs from grains like rice, millet, and corn as Gu materials; the bug was called Rice Bug, also known as rice weevil or rice ox.
For refining, it required aged rice over ten years as base, mixed with Gu refining Immortal Cultivator’s essence blood and water, pounded into rice paste, then suitable Rice Bugs selected and refined.
Once refined, the Rice Bug could dispel moisture, rot, and pests from grains, turning aged rice into new rice—beneficial without harm.
It could even be eaten itself, shaped like a Bigu Pill, and the older the Rice Bug, the more quintessence of grains it contained; accumulated over time, it could advance into a proper Treasure Bug.
According to the Gu Book, Rice Bugs over thirty years were a sacrificial refining material for a Treasure Gu called “Wine Bug.”
It could be said that the Gu Book given to Fang Shu by the Dojo Master was not only wondrous in its three proper Gu Worms; even those low-grade ones were the same.
Thus, in the time that followed.
Fang Shu immersed himself even more deeply in cultivation and Gu refining than before.
During his arduous cultivation, he also researched more perfected usage methods for the Sleepy Bug.
Within a day, he could use the Sleepy Bug to divide sleep into three segments, one hour each, allocated to different times of the day.
Especially during Gu refining, at checkpoints requiring waits that were not too long, he could rest for an hour, then continue upon waking.
Such time management undoubtedly allowed him to accomplish more and more flexibly each day.
Thus, Fang Shu focused single-mindedly on cultivation practice and Gu refining.
He even had his second uncle, who had now entered the dojo, deliver meals to the doorway. For some Gu refining materials, he just needed to write them down, and his second uncle would fetch them.
During this time, he also gave one of his refined One Tribulation Sleepy Bugs to his second uncle, letting him enjoy the benefits.
In such a state of arduous cultivation seclusion, Fang Shu felt no boredom whatsoever.
With the Dao Talisman at hand, he could clearly sense every bit of progress in his body each day, especially when successfully refining a Gu Recipe, filling his chest with immense sense of accomplishment.
This experience left him overjoyed, with no room for boredom.
Meanwhile, the Dojo Master seemed aware of his seclusion to study Gu Technique, and through his second uncle Yu Le passed word that even occasional Dao lectures could be skipped; he should focus on comprehending magic.
Time passed swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had gone by.
Until this day.
The Dojo Master again passed word through his second uncle Yu Le, instructing Fang Shu to emerge from seclusion to listen to the Dao and undergo inspection.
Only then did Fang Shu step out of his arduous cultivation state.
Upon emerging, his second uncle Yu Le was waiting at the doorway with some concern.
Although Immortal Cultivators often needed seclusion, secluding for half a year straight at the essence refining stage was rare.
Thus, to outsiders, Fang Shu’s seclusion seemed either a bit mad or self-deceptive.
Fortunately, the moment Fang Shu emerged, he was full of vigor, radiant, and even his complexion showed no pallor from being confined indoors.
His skin was like congealed fat, a jade-like fairness.
Fang Shu cupped his hands: “Second Uncle.”
His second uncle Yu Le wore the dojo’s menial laborer robe; compared to before, his complexion was ruddy and full of vitality.
Seeing Fang Shu fine, he exhaled in relief, smiling: “You brat… hurry along, the Dojo Master is calling you all.”
After bidding farewell to his second uncle Yu Le, Fang Shu headed straight to the Du Gu Guan’s inner courtyard.
On the inner courtyard plaza, aside from the disciples Fang Shu had seen before, several senior disciples had appeared.
Fang Shu seemed to be the last to arrive.
But at this moment, everyone’s attention was not on the newly arrived Fang Shu, but entirely on another person.
