The Secret Way of Immortality

The narrow cave was pitch black, punctuated by occasional suppressed coughs and teeth-chattering from the cold.

Dew formed on the surface of the stone walls indicated the extremely low temperature inside.

"Meng Hong is dead..."

A hoarse, low voice spoke, causing the others in the cave to sigh, despair enveloping their hearts.

In the ensuing silence, a crack opened in the cave, and light shone in from the outside.

A crippled man hobbled into the cave, clutching a recently killed wild rabbit in his hand. After erasing his footprints, he hastily closed the boulder blocking the entrance.

The man's body had varying degrees of rot, with a section missing from his right arm.

The others in the cave were in worse condition, most of their bodies showing signs of decay, with even exposed internal organs visible.

They were all human insects from the Insect Nest, but had escaped the control of the Heavenly Dao Insect Humans.

As a result, lacking the grease to maintain their insect bodies, their bodies experienced an unspeakable rejection, leaving them to watch helplessly as they died.

The Heavenly Dao Insect Humans didn't care about the human insects at all.

They knew that the Gu refinement technique had significant drawbacks. Without the grease secreted by the Heavenly Dao Insect, even if they escaped, they could only live for a month or two.

"Meng Hong is dead..."

He Si couldn't help but mutter again. Half of his head was like rotten mud, but his insect brain could still function somewhat, allowing him to sense his close relatives through their blood connection.

He could clearly sense that Meng Hong was being transported in a prison cart to the downtown area, then beheaded amidst the public's scornful discussions.

The man was called Yan Zhen, and he appeared to be the youngest of the human insects. He tore the rabbit into pieces and distributed them to his companions.

Only a few devoured the meat ravenously, while the rest of the human insects had little appetite, indicating that the insect body's rejection had already affected their internal organs.

Yan Zhen shook his head slightly. He had the insect body implanted for the shortest time, so when his body began to reject it, he still retained some strength.

He was mainly responsible for finding food, but it seemed that he wouldn't need to do so for much longer.

Yan Zhen pondered his future plans. If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably return to the Mother Nest after his companions all died.

Although many human insects died in the Mother Nest every day and were sent to various towns to die, it was still better than being exposed in the wilderness.

Yan Zhen took some rabbit meat and handed it to He Si, saying, "He Si, eat something, at least?"

However, He Si was frightened by Yan Zhen's actions and panicked. After the brain damage, even his mind began to become neurotic.

In He Si's eyes, the people in the cave were like vengeful ghosts, constantly muttering and whispering.

He screamed like a madman, scratching his scalp with both hands, blood mixed with pus flowing out, making his skull clearly visible.

He Si pushed Yan Zhen away and, with sudden strength, moved the boulder blocking the entrance, and crawled out of the cave.

Yan Zhen wanted to stop He Si, but found that the latter had already disappeared without a trace.

In the wilderness, with wild beasts lurking in the dark and strange and inexplicable Gu insects, He Si would definitely not survive.

Yan Zhen searched outside for a while, but ultimately chose to give up.

The crack in the cave closed again, and the human insects were like stinking bugs eking out a living in the cracks of the rocks, with nothing to do but wait for death.

Yan Zhen went out to hunt once every seven days, occasionally bringing back some prey, but still couldn't prevent the number of human insects from gradually decreasing.

He tirelessly carried the corpses to a slightly more distant place to bury them, which was one of the few things Yan Zhen could do.

He didn't know how long had passed, but the number of human insects had died down to only five people.

Yan Zhen was also too weak to go out hunting, and lay in the cave with a bitter expression.

He realized that he was not an exception, but that the decay started from within his bones, initially having little impact on his body.

Eventually, all the human insects would turn into a pool of rotten flesh, without exception.

Yan Zhen closed his eyes and waited for death to arrive, and only then did he have a little courage to develop a negligible hatred for the Insect Nest.

Crack, crack, crack...

The boulder at the entrance of the cave was slowly moved away, and to the astonishment of the human insects, He Si, who had been missing for many days, walked in from outside.

He Si's skin was now a chalky color, and even the gap in his head was filled with a rock-like material.

"I found it..."

Yan Zhen asked incredulously, "You, how are you still alive?"

"Stone Heart Gu, can turn flesh and bones into stone."

He Si's words were filled with fanaticism. After canceling the Gu insect possession, his skin gradually returned to normal, and the injury to his head was mostly healed.

He took out a book from his arms, the cover of which was clearly written with the three characters "Gu Zhen Ren".

"As long as you refine the Stone Maggot Gu, and after your heart rate slows down by half, you can advance to the Stone Heart Gu by swallowing three pounds of lime."

He spoke eloquently, and the book in his hand opened its sharp teeth, and saliva dripped constantly from his mouth, showing that it was extraordinary.

He Si spread out his palm, revealing a few greenish dragonflies.

"This is Dragonfly Eye Gu. Grind them into powder and swallow them to suppress your injuries..."

He Si spoke incessantly, constantly knocking the Dragonfly Eye Gu with stones, and then feeding them to the rest of the human insects, muttering nervously.

"As long as we have the Gu technique scriptures, we can escape Jing Province and go to... to Xiangxiang. Old Tang always wanted to go to Xiangxiang before he died."

He didn't notice Yan Zhen's eerie gaze beside him at all.

"I'll help you..."

Yan Zhen also grabbed a piece of gravel, then slowly came to He Si's side, and smashed the latter's head hard, immediately causing blood to flow.

He Si looked at Yan Zhen in disbelief. Yan Zhen was in tears, and his expression became extremely twisted and venomous due to guilt.

"They can't die in vain. How can we escape Jing Province? It shouldn't be."

Yan Zhen babbled incoherently. Seeing that He Si was not moving, he used stones to kill the rest of the human insects, laughing like a madman.

He Si staggered to his feet, and his petrified arm slammed down on Yan Zhen with force.

Only the sound of bones breaking was heard, and Yan Zhen's fragile spine was completely broken. He screamed and fell to the ground.

Yan Zhen's laughter still didn't stop, and his eyes revealed a deep sense of pleasure, but not aimed at He Si, because he didn't blame him at all.

He Si looked at his hands in disbelief, and the warm blood made his stomach churn.

Blood flowed from Yan Zhen's teeth, and he gasped and said, "He Si, you can't go back to Xiangxiang. The Insect Nest is our mortal enemy. What kind of insect immortal is it? There are no insect immortals in this world..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Zhen died, and his body was still twitching slightly.

When He Si walked out of the cave again, the cover of the book had become blank. Under the subtle hints, his mentality changed, and he developed a deep-seated hatred for the Insect Nest.

The book stretched out its limbs and turned into a shadow, drilling into He Si's Niwan Palace.

He Si covered his head, and the severe pain from his soul made his memory blurred, but his understanding of Gu insects became clearer.

After a long time, he opened his eyes and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Who am I?"

"You are Gu Zhen Ren..."

"So I am Gu Zhen Ren, the reincarnation of a cultivator who has achieved great success in the Gu path."

Gu Zhen Ren's eyes swept over the scattered Gu insects around him, but information about how to advance and the methods of using them flooded his mind.

He then fled into the jungle, heading towards an environment where Gu insects were active.

Hundreds of miles away, Ren Qing was also paying attention to Gu Zhen Ren with a distraction, and was influencing the latter's thoughts through toe separation.

This was also a last resort. If the human insects weren't given a cheat, it would be impossible to become a third force that could influence the situation.

Although the Mother of the Insect Nest had not arrived in Jing Province, there were many Heavenly Dao Insect Humans in the Yang God realm.

Ren Qing also used the mountain bandits controlled by the mycelium soul to go to a cave where human insects were raised, and let the mountain bandits launch an attack on the Heavenly Dao Insect Humans left behind.

Soon, human insects escaped from the cave, and then, under Ren Qing's subtle influence, they "accidentally" met Gu Zhen Ren.

At this time, Gu Zhen Ren had completely embarked on the evil path in order to enhance his strength.

He parasitized a Gu insect called "Elephant Armor Gu" in his abdomen, causing his upper body to swell several times, and his skin was covered with insect armor.

【Elephant Armor Gu】

【The host parasitized by the Elephant Armor Gu will be like elephant skin and gain half the power of an elephant. They must smear their whole body with elephant blood every day.】

【Can be promoted to the Ordinary Body Elephant Gu by devouring giant elephants to nourish the Elephant Armor Gu.】

Gu Zhen Ren's strength quickly reached the Half-Corpse Realm. Of course, Ren Qing felt that it was more like the Gu insect had reached the Half-Corpse Realm, rather than the host.

Ren Qing also pulled Gu Zhen Ren's consciousness into Dream City, otherwise the human insects would not be able to gather resources to supply the Gu insects and advance.

He opened the window of the teahouse, looking at the starry night.

The Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in the city were still brightly lit. The ancient cultivators in the Yang God realm would not easily try the Gu refinement technique, and must still be exploring.

If the path of Gu refinement is not feasible, the mastermind will definitely choose to continue making moves.

As soon as Ren Qing thought of this, a spell fluctuation suddenly flashed through the Taoist temple named Sanlong Temple, but it only lasted for a few breaths.

"Hahahaha..."

"I have become an immortal!!!"

A crazy voice rang out in the room of Tianxu Taoist, the master of Sanlong Temple. The Taoist boy wanted to open the door to check on the situation of the master, but saw that the reflection in the window was indescribable.

It was like a pile of rotten meat, with countless tentacles extending outwards, constantly dancing wildly, and faintly hearing the strange cry of crickets.

"I observe the way of heaven every day, and finally understand the method of becoming an immortal. Where is Wei He?"

"Disciple is here."

The Taoist boys trembled, and their fingers twisted uncontrollably.

"Send my message and invite the masters and abbots of each temple in Sanxiang City to Sanlong Temple. I, the old Taoist, want to explore the method of becoming an immortal with my fellow Taoists."

Ren Qing looked at the undercurrents of the various forces in Sanxiang City, and it was obvious that the mastermind behind the scenes couldn't hold back, but still didn't reveal any clues.

"Letting ancient cultivators use their powerful souls to seize Gu insects is indeed an unconventional approach."

Such methods can only be used in Jing Province. The weird objects transformed by Gu insects are neither alive nor dead and will not form a forbidden area, so they are still considered stable.

Ren Qing began to prepare, re-refining the forbidden corpse into a zombie, and also helping some demons to strip the weird objects in their bodies.

The chaos in Jing Province became visible to the naked eye. Although the various forces still closed their doors, their demand for flesh and blood greatly increased.

It was like concentrating the evolution of civilization in a short period of hundreds of days, making people overwhelmed.

'Lifespan is approaching, seventy-one days'

Tribute to "Gu Zhen Ren"