The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 7: Stone Gu

"You don't believe me?" Long Xuan glanced at him sideways and smiled, "Why don't you try it yourself to see if I'm exaggerating?"

"My Little Strong Gu can regenerate severed limbs. You can cut off your hand right now, and see if I can reattach it."

Of course, Li Laodao wouldn't agree to cut off his hand. What if the Little Strong Gu didn't have the ability to regenerate severed limbs? Cutting off his hand would make him look like a fool.

"Why test the Little Strong Gu's ability by cutting off a hand? I can verify it in other ways."

Li Laodao, successfully provoked, decided to exchange it regardless of whether it was true or false and verify its ability on the spot.

If it proved false, he would settle the score immediately. How could Long Xuan escape under his watch?

Li Laodao walked straight to Long Xuan's stall, grabbed a random Gu jar, opened it without a glance, and blood-bonded with the Little Strong Gu inside.

As long as a blood bond is established with a Gu insect, the owner can clearly understand its abilities.

Receiving information through his soul, Li Laodao's expression quickly froze, his face changing color repeatedly, gradually revealing a look of disbelief.

"How is this possible? It's clearly a very weak insect, so how could it possess such a terrifying ability?" Li Laodao muttered to himself.

"Alright, since you've already blood-bonded with it, quickly hand over the spirit stones. As a neighbor, I'll only charge you 299 spirit stones," Long Xuan yawned, urging him incessantly.

Li Laodao looked at Long Xuan differently now. Someone who could create such a Gu method was certainly not ordinary. At this moment, he felt a desire to befriend him.

"Hehe, I underestimated you. I didn't expect a weak cockroach to be used in Gu refining. I've truly gained new insights. It's indeed important not to underestimate any insect in the world."

"But luckily, I didn't follow your advice and cut off my hand. Although this Little Strong Gu can regenerate severed limbs, it's not exaggerated enough to instantly restore them."

"Regenerating a severed limb is a very slow process, possibly taking years. If I had really cut off my hand, it would have caused me great trouble. In the Gu world, one is often powerless, and everyone has enemies."

Li Laodao threw down three medium-quality spirit stones at Long Xuan's stall and said with a smile.

Long Xuan's face showed a joyful smile as another deal was made so quickly.

Seeing that Long Xuan didn't continue the conversation, Li Laodao, who wanted to make friends, continued, "I've done business with you. Shouldn't you also take care of my business?"

"My Gu insects may not be unique, but they are definitely the fiercest in this market. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Hearing this, Long Xuan became interested and turned to look at his stall.

Compared to the sparse items on his own stall, Li Laodao's stall was much more abundant, almost full, with jars and bottles containing various insects.

However, all his jars were smaller, and the insects inside were smaller, all used as parasitic inner Gu.

His inner Gu had no benefits for the host, only for parasitizing the enemy's body and harming them.

Since they weren't for personal use, they didn't count against the quota, allowing as many as one wanted to raise.

It's worth mentioning that Gu cultivators are limited in the number of Gu insects they can use, varying by individual and related to soul talent. On average, a Gu cultivator in the Spirit Gathering stage can use about four.

Of course, Long Xuan, having lived two lives, could possibly blood-bond with more Gu insects than the average person, perhaps even twice as many.

Most Gu cultivators have very limited slots for blood-bonding with Gu insects and must calculate carefully. Parasitic inner Gu, which don't count against the quota, are the only type that all Gu cultivators raise.

This Li Laodao, who liked to refine such Gu insects, was definitely a cunning old fox, deserving caution. Long Xuan immediately became wary of him.

Looking at the descriptions on the bottles, Long Xuan felt a shiver down his spine.

Stone Gu: Shaped like a pebble, often placed on paths full of stones. When a person passes by, the Stone Gu jumps into their body. The infected person's lower abdomen becomes hard as rock, constipation ensues, and they become increasingly emaciated, dying within half a year.

Rice Grain Gu: Shaped like a grain of rice, often placed in the enemy's food. The infected person's appetite skyrockets, they constantly feel hungry, become mentally unstable, and without an antidote, die within a month.

Wart Gu: Often hidden in nail crevices. It infects the target through close contact, such as a pat on the shoulder or a handshake. Once inside, it devours all internal organs, and the infected usually don't survive a day.

...

Seeing these gruesome methods of death, Long Xuan's face changed slightly.

This was his first real understanding of the dangerous extent of Gu in this world. For example, the Stone Gu looked exactly like a pebble, making it impossible to distinguish.

And the path back to his village was full of pebbles. What if someone placed a few Stone Gu there? That would be disastrous.

Imagining this possible scenario made Long Xuan shiver involuntarily.

He couldn't tell which were pebbles and which were Stone Gu, no matter how careful he was.

This was just an ordinary Stone Gu, with many more concealed Gu insects existing, employing various unpredictable methods. How could he defend against them?

Even bacteria and viruses were invisible to him now, indicating that tiny things rendered his golden finger useless.

Most insects a few millimeters in size couldn't be seen from a distance; only when very close could he detect them.

Defending against Gu methods was beyond even his golden finger's help.

At this moment, Long Xuan truly felt fear. These things could take his life, and he had no means to counteract them. If someone secretly targeted him with a Gu, he wasn't confident he could escape unscathed.

No, the research on the Microscopic Gu must be prioritized. No, the second Gu insect he refines should be the Microscopic Gu.

Without the Microscopic Gu, it would be impossible to defend against those small, sinister insects. Once the Microscopic Gu was developed, no one could secretly target him with a Gu again.

Long Xuan had made up his mind. The second research project would focus on the Microscopic Gu.

Having lived another life, he truly feared death. He must pay attention to any factors that could threaten his safety.

After another wary glance at those Gu insects, Long Xuan said to Li Laodao, "No, I'm not interested in these kinds of Gu insects."

He had other plans for his funds and didn't intend to waste them on unimportant things.

Even if he wanted these Gu insects, he planned to create them himself.

Once the Microscopic Gu was developed, he could research micro-life Gu insects, which were too small to be seen with the naked eye. They could fly directly into the enemy's mouth without being noticed, allowing him to harm whoever he wanted. Who could counteract that?

In terms of concealment, no other Gu insect could match the Microscopic Gu. Stone Gu would be insignificant in comparison.