FVN Chapter 628 Golden Cicada! Experiment!
Chapter 628 Golden Cicada! Experiment!
After considering these thoughts, Chen Fan put the matter of the water vein aside for the time being.
He sat down cross-legged on the futon again and took out another item from his storage bag.
It was the Desert Grassland Gu Cultivation Notes that he had purchased for 120,000 mid-grade spirit stones.
The jade slip felt warm to the touch, and the few worm-like Gu patterns on the cover gleamed with a faint dark green luster in the spiritual light of the quiet room.
Chen Fan probed the jade slip with his divine sense, and a massive amount of information surged into his sea of consciousness like a tidal wave.
The owner of the notebook called himself "Insect True Man," a Gu cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He roamed the desert grasslands for hundreds of years, immersing himself in Gu techniques throughout his life. In the opening of the notebook, he called himself "Gu Dao fanatic," and his obsession with Gu techniques was evident in his words.
Chen Fan read on, word by word, becoming more and more engrossed.
In his notes, Master Chong recorded the cultivation methods for seventeen rare Gu worms, from the most basic Soul Devouring Gu and Poison Shadow Gu to the extremely rare Illusion Heart Gu, Forbidden Breaking Gu, and Life Soul Gu. He explained in detail the selection of worm eggs, the raising of larvae, the domestication of adult worms, and the fusion method of natal Gu for each type.
Among them, the cultivation method of the Soul-Devouring Gu is the most detailed. From the hatching of the insect eggs to the domestication of the adult insects, every step is clearly written. Even the types and years of spiritual medicines required to feed the Gu insects are listed one by one.
The Soul-Devouring Gu, as its name suggests, can devour a cultivator's spiritual power.
A mature Soul-Devouring Gu can transform into a thin, imperceptible golden light, drilling into the opponent's dantian and devouring all their spiritual power in an instant. It is truly a vicious and insidious weapon that is impossible to defend against.
The only drawback of this Gu is its extremely high requirement for the host's spiritual power. Only those with spiritual power far exceeding that of others of the same level can control this unruly and strange insect. If one's spiritual power is slightly weak, it is not impossible for the Gu to turn against them.
After reading this passage, Chen Fan subconsciously nodded slightly.
The strength of his spiritual sense was precisely what he was least worried about. With the support of the Fixed Word Technique, his spiritual sense at the late Nascent Soul stage was already comparable to that at the early Divine Transformation stage. Now, after cultivating both immortality and demonic arts, he had reached an even higher level, making it more than enough to tame a Spirit Devouring Gu.
He continued reading, and when his gaze fell on another passage, his fingers paused slightly.
Poison Shadow Gu.
This Gu worm feeds on highly poisonous substances. After being fed dozens of kinds of highly poisonous spiritual herbs, a poison core will condense inside its body. Once the poison core is refined, it can release a colorless and odorless Gu poison. The poisoned person will not be aware of it at first, but by the time the poison takes effect, the meridians will have been completely corroded.
What's even more insidious is that this poison is not an instantaneous one, but rather it can remain dormant in the body of the victim for months or even years.
During this process, the poisoned person's spiritual power is gradually eroded and transformed by the poison, eventually erupting suddenly at a moment specified by the host. This method is more difficult to defend against than any single, fatal attack.
After reading the description of the Poison Shadow Gu, Chen Fan remained silent for a moment.
He thought of the cicada.
It was a strange spirit insect obtained in a valley of insects during the Great Abyss. This insect was born with the ability to suppress and control other poisonous insects, and could even be nourished by ant colonies to produce strange pearls that aided in cultivation.
Since leaving the sealed land, he had been wandering and had not paid attention to this strange insect for a long time.
Now that he has obtained the Gu Cultivation Notes, which contain many methods for cultivating Gu worms and stimulating their potential, he has developed a slight desire to try them out.
Although the exact origins of the cicada are unknown, its characteristics seem to share some similarities with the methods of Gu insects.
Perhaps by borrowing the methods of Gu cultivation, we can help him advance further.
With that thought in mind, Chen Fan no longer hesitated.
He raised his hand and set up several barriers in the quiet room to isolate aura and divine sense. Then, with a thought, he disappeared from the futon and entered the golden bowl space.
Within the bowl, Chen Fan appeared on the open ground beside the herb garden. With a sweep of his divine sense, he found the ant nest that he hadn't checked in a long time.
The ant nest was placed in a specially made stone box, which Chen Fan took out with a wave of his hand.
Upon opening the stone box, one could see that the ant colony was still active inside, but its size did not seem to have increased much compared to when it was in the Great Abyss.
There are approximately ten thousand of them, but the individuals are noticeably stronger, with glossy black carapaces and crimson compound eyes, exuding a fierce aura.
Deep within the ant nest, a pale golden light curled up—it was the golden cicada.
Chen Fan carefully probed with his divine sense.
They discovered that the cicada was still asleep, or rather, in a strange state of slowly absorbing the sustenance provided by the ant colony.
The aura emanating from his body was much stronger than it had been back then, vaguely reaching the level comparable to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, but this seemed to be far from his limit.
The white pearls offered by the ant colony daily are mostly absorbed by it, with only a very small portion dissipating and feeding back into the colony, allowing it to slowly strengthen.
"Truly strange," Chen Fan muttered to himself. According to the Gu Cultivation Notes, the strength of a Gu worm depends not only on its innate talent but also, crucially, on how it is nurtured in the later stages.
The food, environment, and even special refining techniques can greatly influence the growth and potential activation of Gu worms.
He recalled the contents of his notes, which mentioned several "bait" recipes for cultivating high-level Gu worms, as well as some secret techniques to stimulate the bloodline of Gu worms and help them transform.
Although the ingredients required for these formulas are somewhat rare, Chen Fan's current wealth and the Baicaotang channel make it not difficult for him to gather them.
After a moment's thought, Chen Fan decided to try the simplest method first!
That was made by mixing pure demon blood with several kinds of yin-attribute spiritual herbs to create "blood yin bait".
This bait is remarkably effective against Gu worms that feed on the essence and blood of living beings, gently stimulating their ferocity and growth rate.
Chen Fan immediately took out several materials from his storage bag.
He had no shortage of demon blood; he had killed many demons in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons and carefully preserved their essence blood.
He also planted some Yin-attribute spiritual herbs, such as "Ghost Face Flower" and "Ghost Grass," in his herb garden.
Following the proportions described in the notes, Chen Fan raised a ball of infant fire in his palm and began to carefully refine it.
The process was not complicated. About half an hour later, a viscous liquid the size of a pigeon egg, dark red in color, and exuding a cold, bloody smell appeared in his hand. This was the "Blood Yin Bait".
Chen Fan picked up a small drop of blood yin bait, wrapped it with his divine sense, and slowly sent it into the ant nest, suspending it above the golden cicada.
The sleeping cicada seemed to sense something; its pale golden body trembled slightly, and a faint red light flashed briefly in its tightly closed compound eyes.
The next instant, the drop of blood bait seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, and with a "whoosh," it disappeared into the mouth of the golden cicada.
Almost simultaneously, the pale golden light around the cicada suddenly brightened, and a faint but clear sense of longing and restlessness was transmitted through the subtle connection between it and the ant colony, and even with Chen Fan.
"It works!" Chen Fan's eyes brightened slightly. This golden cicada did indeed react to the Gu cultivation method, and its intelligence seemed to be quite high.
He did not rush to throw in more bait.
The Gu Cultivation Notes repeatedly emphasize that cultivating Gu worms must be done step by step, especially for dormant or growing Gu worms, excessive stimulation may damage their foundation.
He carefully sensed the cicada's condition and confirmed that its aura was steadily improving after absorbing the blood yin bait, without any discomfort or disorder, which put him at ease.