Chapter 49 - 48: Gu Insect Fusion! Astonishing Gains

Chapter 49: Chapter 48: Gu Insect Fusion! Astonishing Gains

Gripping the Coiled Snake Ring in the palm of his hand, Qin Yu infused it with the Insect Swarm’s Spiritual Force. With a mere thought, a Jade Scroll appeared in his grasp.

A Jade Scroll!

Qin Yu’s eyes burned with fervor. Delta-level Techniques like the Qin Family’s *Celestial Wind Formula*, and even the Gamma-level Low Grade Technique *Wind-Chasing Thunderbolt Arrow* gifted by Zhang Shun, were all recorded in physical paper books. However, top-tier cultivation methods were so complex that they were incredibly difficult to transcribe into written words. Instead, they were often recorded in Jade Scrolls!

Without hesitation, he sent his Spiritual Force probing into it.

SWISH!

A massive influx of images and text flooded Qin Yu’s mind, making his eyes shine ever brighter. Empowered by the Insect Nest, he quickly digested the information contained within the Jade Scroll.

"*Spirit Snake Shadow Poison Scripture*. A Beta-level Middle Grade Technique that provides a direct path to the Primordial Mansion Realm," he read. "By using venomous snakes as a medium during cultivation, one can condense the shadow snake Qi Blood. Their Body Technique will become as swift and eerie as a serpent, allowing them to hide within shadows.

"The practitioner’s Qi Blood will carry a potent toxin, granting them the abilities of Snake Control and Snake Taming..."

"It’s actually a complete Beta-level Technique!" Qin Yu’s breath caught in his throat as boundless joy surged in his heart.

This was vastly superior to the *Celestial Wind Formula* he currently practiced. Although both excelled in speed, the *Spirit Snake Shadow Poison Scripture* offered a far more explosive burst of power, alongside abilities related to deadly toxins, controlling snakes, and even manipulating shadows. The two were simply worlds apart.

Soon, Qin Yu retrieved the next Jade Scroll.

It was the *Ten Thousand Poison Gu Refining Scripture*, a Beta-level Low Grade Technique.

After reading through its contents, he was even more pleasantly surprised. This was an incredibly unique cultivation method centered around Gu Refining Techniques. The practitioner was required to cultivate a Lifebound Gu, nurturing it with their own essence blood. Choosing different poisonous insects as a Lifebound Gu would yield various effects—whether it was directly releasing the Gu Insect to attack, or using it to enhance one’s physique, inflict deadly poison, or even control the wind and water.

Now having reviewed the *Ten Thousand Poison Gu Refining Scripture*, Qin Yu finally understood the true purpose of the cavern in the belly of Snake Valley and the altar atop Scorpion Demon Mountain. They were all designed for Gu Refining! The scripture documented a staggering variety of over a hundred different Gu Insect refining methods!

The moment he finished the text, a sudden message from the Insect Nest transmitted into his mind, filling him with delight.

"The Gu Refining Techniques can be fused with Insect Swarm units to make them even stronger!" Qin Yu thought excitedly. "The Black Thorn Eagle can fuse with the Heart-devouring Mother and Child Gu, using the eagle as a vessel to nurture the Mother Gu and control the Child Gu for long-range attacks...

"Fusing with the Blood Shadow Gu can enhance the Rapid Insects’ speed...

"The Profound Armor Barbarian Bear can fuse with the Vajra Gu...

"However, this process requires simulations through the Insect Nest and the Evolution Chamber."

Fusing Gu Insects with Insect Swarm units! Qin Yu’s interest was instantly piqued. Although the fusions needed to be simulated rather than executed immediately, the *Ten Thousand Poison Gu Refining Scripture* would undoubtedly provide a qualitative leap for the Swarm.

Take the Heart-devouring Mother and Child Gu, for example. It was divided into a Mother Gu and Child Gu. To practice this method, one first had to refine a Mother Gu—a bizarre snake species that demanded a vast amount of precious treasures for a successful refinement. Once completed, it could be integrated into the body and connected to the host’s heart.

The Insect Mother would usually remain curled up inside the host’s chest cavity, absorbing essence blood to maintain its vitality and incubate Child Gu. When encountering an enemy, a swarm of Child Gu could be spat out from the host’s mouth.

The Child Gu were a type of flying snake, three to five centimeters long, with heads shaped like triangular pyramids. They possessed exceptional piercing power, shooting forth like arrows while also being capable of tracking their targets mid-flight. Their destructive force was astonishing.

The only drawback was that the cultivation process was immensely agonizing. Furthermore, since they had to be fed with the host’s own essence blood, it would inevitably impact one’s overall cultivation progress.

"This Heart-devouring Mother and Child Gu alone is incredibly important to the Insect Swarm," Qin Yu thought. "The Black Thorn Eagles have massive frames and abundant Qi Blood. Any negative impacts on their cultivation will be completely negligible."

He felt a sense of longing as an image surfaced in his mind: Black Thorn Eagles soaring through the sky, spewing out clouds of Child Gu that blotted out the sun. That lethality would be absolutely terrifying. It would completely patch up the Swarm’s lack of long-range attacks.

Without further ado, Qin Yu turned his attention to the final Jade Scroll.

"*Poison Shadow Mysterious Array*. A Beta-level Low Grade Array," he read. "Unfortunately, laying down this Array requires the practitioner to be at least a Qi Sea Realm expert."

Arrays utilized an incredibly profound power that could mobilize the Power of Heaven and Earth for defense, confusion, or attack, boasting tremendous might.

The black palace in Snake Valley had been shrouded by such an Array. It took Snake Demon Li Tianyi several years and multiple blood sacrifices that collapsed the mountain just to shatter that Guardian Array, which had been running for a thousand years. This alone was a testament to the sheer power of Arrays.

"I might not be able to use it now, but that won’t necessarily be true in the future!" Qin Yu told himself.

Stowing the three Jade Scrolls away, Qin Yu shifted his gaze to the physical books and began flipping through them one by one. These were all Secret Cultivation Technique Manuals.

*Thousand-legged Poison Line Scripture*, *Toad Gu Poison Swallowing Scripture*, *Poison Breath Escape Shadow Skill*, *Holy Scorpion Soul-Sundering Claw*, and so on. There were a good dozen techniques, every single one of them at least a Gamma-level Low Grade Technique! Though they couldn’t compare to the techniques recorded in the Jade Scrolls, they were still extraordinary.

Among them, Qin Yu even spotted two Body Forging Techniques that he had been longing for. One was the Gamma-level Middle Grade *Poisonous Python Coiling Mountain Skill*, and the other was the Gamma-level Low Grade *Scorpio Body Forging Technique*.

However, after reading through them, he couldn’t help but frown. The reason was simple: the core of both of these Body Forging Techniques was, in fact, poison!

For instance, the *Poisonous Python Coiling Mountain Skill* required the practitioner to soak their body in snake venom. During cultivation, they had to smear the venom all over themselves and drive it into their entire body using Qi Blood. They also had to ingest specific toxins to temper their flesh. This process was agonizingly painful and demanded nine moltings before one could achieve Great Success. Once mastered, the practitioner’s physical durability, strength, and limb flexibility would drastically increase, making them akin to a highly toxic python.

The *Scorpio Body Forging Technique* was much the same, also requiring the ingestion of copious amounts of poison.

"The Five Poison Sect truly can’t be separated from poison," Qin Yu sighed. What he wanted was a way to strengthen his own physique, allowing his body to withstand more power when unleashing the Power of Dominator and erupt with greater combat prowess. But these techniques would effectively refine him into a living poison vessel. Enhancing the body was actually a secondary goal; the core focus was creating an optimal vessel to wield poisons!

For him, this was putting the cart before the horse. The explosive potential of the Power of Dominator was utterly terrifying. It allowed him, a mere Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist, to shatter the Protective Gang Qi of someone whose Qi and Blood was like a Dragon, allowing him to burst out in an instant with power rivaling the Qi and Blood of a Bear, or even higher.

This limitation was purely because his physique wasn’t strong enough. If his body were tougher, the power he could unleash would be even greater and far more enduring! The Insect Swarm was his foundation. Qin Yu was exceedingly clear on this point.

Furthermore, it would be fine if he trained these two Body Refining Poison Attacks to Great Success, as he would be able to retract or release the lethal toxins at will. But before reaching that stage, he wouldn’t have perfect control over the poison. He could easily end up accidentally poisoning the people around him to death.

"I’m being too greedy." Qin Yu shook his head and laughed at himself. Obtaining three Beta-level Techniques and over a dozen Gamma-level Techniques all at once was an absolute windfall. Even if they were Poison Skills, tossing them out into the world would invariably cause an absolute bloodbath. They were countless times stronger than his current cultivation method. Plus, these techniques were highly beneficial to the Insect Swarm; the *Ten Thousand Poison Gu Refining Scripture* wasn’t the only one that could be put to good use.

Aside from the dozen-plus cultivation manuals, the ring also contained some clothing and an Exotic Weapon. It looked like a walking stick carved with nine venomous pythons and appeared incredibly extraordinary. This was very likely the weapon used by Old Monster Youlin, and perhaps even a Beta-level Weapon. However, since Qin Yu’s expertise lay in sabers and the Bow and Arrow, he simply had no way of wielding such an Exotic Weapon.

"My harvest this time has been immense, whether it’s the massive amount of flesh and corpses from Snake Valley, or the Cultivation Techniques and weapons," Qin Yu thought, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. "Perhaps I can use the treasures in this ring to make a deal with Li Wanqing. The Five Poison Sect might not have the cultivation method I want, but the Demon Suppression Bureau definitely does!"