Chapter 95: Natal Gu Egg
In the mine tunnel.
Fang Shu watched the Gold Seeking Insect leave completely. Only then did he move his fingers and release the Follower Bug, letting it first latch tightly onto the target so as not to lose sight of the insect’s shadow.
Then he moved his body, slowly circulating his qi and blood, and stood up in the corner.
Next, Fang Shu released several more Follower Bugs from his bosom, letting these Follower Bugs familiarize themselves with the Gold Seeking Insect’s scent in the tunnel, and they all pursued it together.
Compared to the one just now, these Follower Bugs were of lower quality, all just Second Tribulation Gu Worms, but they were convenient for scouting the way.
After making another round of preparations, Fang Shu transformed himself into the Gray Fox’s form, then wandered around underground in the mine vein.
Although the Gold Seeking Insect had slipped away through a crack in the stone, the Qian Shan Mine was not a minefield full of numerous fissures.
Especially in such underground depths and deep within the mountains, it was mostly dense rock, so even if the Gold Seeking Insect hid in a place unreachable by humans, the nearest tunnel should not be too far away.
Fang Shu didn’t need to dig along the path where it had slipped away; he just needed to wander around under the tunnels a few times, and there would naturally be a way to track it.
If there really were no tunnels to follow later, he could dig then.
Buzz buzz buzz!
With several Follower Bugs leading the way, Fang Shu closely tracked the emerging Gold Seeking Insect. After wandering for half a day, he ventured deeper into the mine vein and reached an edge area where miners rarely came, a place that had once collapsed.
This place had thin spiritual energy and scarce ore, clearly a depleted mine.
Suddenly, the only Third Tribulation Follower Bug in Fang Shu’s hand returned from ahead and then led the way.
Its return made his eyes light up slightly. Immediately, he followed the bug’s guidance straight to where the Gold Seeking Insect was.
In his fox form, he passed through several narrow openings in succession, even digging through two collapse points with his paws, finally approaching the spot where the Gold Seeking Insect was hiding.
Upon arriving here, Fang Shu noticed that the air had become somewhat fresher.
Sensing carefully, he found that the spiritual energy here was much denser than in other places. Examining the soil and stone quality, he realized it was exactly what Feng Shui called a treasure hole.
“To find such a spiritually rich place in this barren area, as expected of the Gold Seeking Insect.”
Fang Shu praised it inwardly.
He then looked around the place carefully, noticing a palm-sized fissure where faint spiritual light was flickering.
Looking closely, Fang Shu saw that inside were fragments of spiritual ore, large and small, finely broken—it should be the Gold Seeking Insect’s possessions.
And that Gold Seeking Insect was now lying motionless among the spiritual ore fragments, clearly in a deep slumber.
This insect had fallen for the Sleepy Bug’s scheme and, unaware of the danger, had bitten the Sleepy Bug several times. It would probably sleep for at least three or four days before waking up.
In this state, even if Fang Shu removed its wings and limbs, it wouldn’t wake. Of course, Fang Shu wasn’t willing to cripple it now.
Earlier, he had taken the risk of letting it fly away precisely to capture it intact.
Besides this reason, he actually had another intention.
Unfortunately, as he paced through this hidden tunnel, looking left and right and tapping around, a look of disappointment appeared on his face.
“Although this is a treasure hole, it’s not like the previous Metal and Stone Poison Lair left by predecessors, nor is it a place where mountain Precious Medicines grow.”
Feeling disappointed, Fang Shu exhaled, then suppressed his stray thoughts. His eyes brightened as he looked at the Gold Seeking Insect slumbering in the fissure.
Although there were no other benefits, this insect was already the greatest benefit for him!
After thinking it over, he inwardly said:
“This place has spiritual energy, and from the looks of it, the Gold Seeking Insect has settled here for a long time with no one coming.
I might as well try it here and see if I can refine this insect into a Natal Gu Worm.”
The reason he had lurked for many days and set up the Beautiful Insect Plan was precisely to get his hands on the Gold Seeking Insect and complete his Natal Gu vision!
Thinking of it, he acted without hesitation.
He first shed the fox fur from his body and laid it on the tunnel floor. Then from his shoulder bag, he took out many items and temporarily used stone blocks, hollowing them out to make a crude Gu Basin.
Small flags woven from talismans were inserted into the tunnel, swaying without wind, adding a touch of mystery to the surroundings.
Then, Fang Shu approached the fissure. Instead of digging, he opened his mouth, and his Tongue Sword shot out like a frog’s tongue, drawing the Gold Seeking Insect out.
Next.
Fang Shu first held the insect aloft, rinsing it three times with rootless water, and used gold as sand, silver as lacquer, and agarwood as smoke to repeatedly polish it, removing a waxy layer from its surface to facilitate his Gu Technique.
After this preparation, he placed the glowing Gold Seeking Insect into the stone Gu Basin and bound it with red threads.
This method was called the “Gu Binding Method,” which could trap, nurture, and force the insect.
The red threads were twisted from demonic beast materials. Though thin, a single one could lift a strong ox. Moreover, although the Gold Seeking Insect was a Treasure Bug, it wasn’t skilled in combat, so even if it woke later, it couldn’t break free.
After completing all the meticulous preparations, Fang Shu still hadn’t begun the formal Gu Refining.
Because he had one final step.
He summoned the “powdered and rouged” Follower Bug and placed it into the Gu Basin as well.
Fang Shu stared at the Follower Bug and inwardly said, “I’ll have to trouble you a bit more today.”
He took out a medicine bottle from his hand. As soon as he opened it, a pungent alcoholic smell rushed out, and he immediately poured the liquid inside into the Gu Basin.
This liquid was what Fang Shu had recently drunk inferior wine and then mixed with his own Precious Blood, refining out the alcoholic blood from his body.
Then, Fang Shu silently chanted an incantation, awakening the Gold Seeking Insect.
As soon as it woke, it fell into a drunken haze from the blood-alcohol, especially upon seeing the Follower Bug. It could no longer distinguish real from fake, emitting intense mating spiritual light.
Unfortunately, bound by the red threads, it couldn’t pounce on the Follower Bug to mate, growing increasingly restless and agitated.
Like this, Fang Shu watched from the side as it fretted helplessly.
Under the stimulation of the liquid, Precious Blood, and smoke, the Gold Seeking Insect completely lost itself. Gradually, it stopped emitting spiritual light, folded its wings, and lay still in the Gu Basin.
Fang Shu waited patiently.
After several hours, the insect’s body gradually withered. Fang Shu gently brushed it with his hand, and the insect body turned into a handful of golden ash. In its place appeared a golden object the size of a green bean in the basin.
This was no longer Gold Seeking Insect Feces, but a Gold Seeking Insect Egg!
Seeing this, great joy appeared on Fang Shu’s face:
“Success!”
In Gu Refining, adult insects have their own spirituality and ferocity, making them hard to subdue and even harder to sacrifice and refine into Natal Gu Worms. But insect eggs are different—even without refining, raising them from young can make them somewhat dependent on the raiser.
Fang Shu’s action today was to deceive it with the fake, prompting the insect to produce an egg, making it easier for him to refine this insect egg into a Natal Gu egg.
Immediately after, his expression darkened, and he actually cut open his brow, exposing flesh.
He pinched up the golden insect egg and directly placed it into the flesh between his brows, using his own physical body to warm and hatch it.
Book push: 《Steam and Mist: I Have a Godhood Simulator》
Steam and mystery, starry sky and constellations, old gods, witches, magic potions, forbidden objects, evil god followers.
