Fang Cheng placed the Wolf Demon's corpse into his storage bag. Suddenly, he sensed something and looked toward a patch of grass in the distance.
Not far away, a Wolf Demon with a vicious glint in its eyes was staring at him intently.
With a thought, Fang Cheng pointed his finger. A beam of sword light shot out, crossing several dozen feet in an instant to slash down at the Wolf Demon.
The Wolf Demon threw its head back and spat out a mouthful of Gang Qi, which collided directly with the sword light.
The sword light paused for a moment, then with a SWISH, it sliced through the Gang Qi and across the Wolf Demon's body.
In the next moment, the Wolf Demon froze. Its eyes widened, revealing a surprisingly human-like expression of terror.
A thin line of blood appeared between its brows, extending all the way back.
The Wolf Demon's body split in two. A sharp Sword Intent still lingered around the wound.
After the better part of a day, a figure flew off the deserted island, heading straight back to the Yinluo Sect Marketplace.
Within the Escape Light, Fang Cheng's expression was calm. His demeanor was composed and steady, showing more confidence than when he had first transmigrated the day before.
In the past half-day, he had slain five Tier One Early Stage Demon Beasts with almost no effort.
Finally, he encountered a Tier One Middle Grade Demon Snake. Only then did his previously invincible Cyan Profound Sword Light meet its match.
After a prolonged struggle, just before his Magical Power was depleted, Fang Cheng finally managed to pierce the Demon Snake's eyes with his lightning-fast Sword Technique, killing it in the end.
A Tier One Mid-Stage Demon Beast was comparable to a Cultivator at the fourth to sixth layers of the Induction realm. Its Demon Power was far more abundant than Fang Cheng's, and its Scale Armor was much tougher than the Wolf Demon's.
After slaying this beast, Fang Cheng felt his objective for the trip had been met. He decisively withdrew from the deserted island and returned to the marketplace.
If word of his recent accomplishments got out, it would surely make the jaws of many Servant Disciples drop.
While examples of slaying Demon Beasts above one's level were not unheard of, it was simply incredible for a single person to kill a higher-level beast after already slaying five others of the same level.
Only the Outer Disciples, or perhaps even the Inner Sect Disciples, of the Yinluo Sect could accomplish such a feat.
Ordinary Servant Disciples possessed no extraordinary Divine Secret Skills and were often no match for Demon Beasts of the same level.
Usually, several Servant Disciples had to team up and use medicinal traps to hunt Demon Beasts.
Even so, many Servant Disciples still perished in the demon beast forests every year.
Returning to his small courtyard in the marketplace, Fang Cheng activated the courtyard's restrictive formation, isolating it from the outside world. Only then did he lift the stone slab in the corner of the yard.
He tossed a Wolf Demon's corpse into the Gu Pit.
Next, he formed a series of hand seals and shot streams of spell light toward the Gu Insects at the bottom of the pit.
The hundreds of Gu Insects awoke one by one. Like a flowing liquid, they swarmed madly onto the Wolf Demon's corpse.
The three-foot-long Wolf Demon corpse began to slowly disappear at a visible rate.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only a set of snow-white, crystalline bones remained at the bottom of the Gu Pit.
The Gu Insects grew agitated, seeming not yet sated. Their wings fluttered as they surged toward the edge of the pit.
BUZZ!
The crimson restrictive formation above the Gu Pit flashed, blocking the swarm.
Standing at the edge of the Gu Pit, Fang Cheng threw in another Demon Beast corpse. The swarm immediately pounced, beginning to devour it frantically.
A short while later, only stark white bones were left at the bottom of the pit.
Fang Cheng simply tossed in all the remaining Demon Beast corpses, including the body of the Tier One Middle Grade Snake Demon!
This time, the swarm's devouring speed slowed.
By nightfall, besides the five sets of white skeletons, two-thirds of the Snake Demon's carcass remained uneaten.
Fang Cheng replaced the stone slab and went back inside to continue his meditation and Qi Refining.
...
「Two days later.」
The Demon Snake's corpse at the bottom of the Gu Pit had vanished. The densely packed Gu Insects clung to the snake's bones, looking as if they were wrapped in a layer of pale gold foil.
These Gu Insects were called Vajra Gu, and they were finally starting to show some real potential.
Fang Cheng formed hand seals and performed a Gu Dao Secret Technique, officially beginning the Gu refinement process.
As he worked, the Gu Insects at the bottom of the pit grew restless, then began to bite and fight one another in a chaotic mass.
Soon, some Gu Insects were defeated and subsequently devoured by the victors.
After a Gu Insect devoured its companion, its aura grew slightly stronger and the gold on its body became a little richer. It would then begin to attack other Gu Insects.
Under Fang Cheng's guidance, the hundreds of Gu Insects consumed each other, their numbers dropping sharply.
The gold on the surfaces of the remaining Gu Insects grew deeper and richer.
Before long, only a little over a dozen Gu Insects were left in the pit!
These Gu Insects had grown considerably larger. They were entirely pale gold, and mystical Spirit Patterns had manifested on their bodies.
Their auras had also reached the level of Tier One Early Stage.
Normally, the original owner would not have dared to proceed past this stage. He would have collected these Gu Insects, nurtured them slowly, and waited to hand them over to the Yinluo Sect.
He would sell the remaining one or two in the marketplace to cover his daily cultivation expenses.
Because if the cannibalism continued, it was highly likely the Gu Insects in the pit would be completely wiped out...
The original owner had never been confident in his ability to cultivate a Tier One Mid-Stage Gu Insect.
But after improving his Gu arts, Fang Cheng had a faint feeling that this next step wouldn't be so difficult.
He continued to perform the Secret Technique, guiding the remaining Gu Insects to fight and devour each other.
The dozen or so Gu Insects flew about relentlessly at the bottom of the pit, chasing and tearing at each other in a vicious, brutal, and utterly gruesome spectacle.
Before long, only five Gu Insects remained in the pit.
Then five became three.
Three became two...
As the end drew near, Fang Cheng also began to grow nervous, fearing that the last two Gu Insects would annihilate each other.
The final two Gu Insects fought for a long time before a victor was decided. One defeated and devoured the other.
Afterward, the winning Gu Insect fell to the ground, motionless, as if it had fallen asleep.
Using a Secret Technique to sense it, Fang Cheng discovered its aura was fluctuating unstably—powerful one moment, extremely weak the next.
He continuously cast one Spell after another, helping the Gu Insect refine the Spiritual Mechanism.
「Several hours later.」
The Gu Insect at the bottom of the pit suddenly shot up like a golden streak of light. In a flash, it broke through the crimson restrictive formation and was about to fly out of the courtyard.
Fang Cheng snorted coldly. He formed a hand seal, and an invisible force descended upon the golden light, slamming it back to the ground.
He bit his finger and flicked it, sending a drop of his essence blood onto the Gu Insect. It vanished instantly.
A gradually clarifying connection was established between him and the Gu Insect.
Fang Cheng beckoned with his hand, and the Gu Insect flapped its wings and flew onto it.
The Vajra Gu was the size of a longan fruit. Its entire body was a pale gold, like it was carved from golden jade. Mystical Spirit Patterns were visible on its surface, giving it an extraordinary appearance.
Its mandibles were sharp and menacing, its pea-sized, blood-red eyes glinted with ferocity, and the wings on its back were as thin and sharp as blades.
"Tier One Mid-Stage!"
A smile appeared on Fang Cheng's face. 'These past few days of effort were not wasted after all!'
Since this Gu was named Vajra Gu, its body's hardness far surpassed that of other Gu Insects. It was even comparable to a First-rank Middle-grade Magical Artifact and could have a miraculous effect in a fight.
Moreover, its speed and armor-piercing capabilities were no less than those of a First-rank Middle-grade Magical Artifact, making it suitable for use as a sharp, hidden weapon.
Most importantly, a Gu Insect was more agile than a hidden weapon, making it incredibly difficult to defend against.