Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 139 Living Insects and Dead Grass: Refining Qi and Immortals
The abundant spiritual energy gathered made the golden sprout on Fang Shu's forehead even more delicate.

The spiritual energy condensed into dewdrops, accumulating between its leaves, making it appear damp and full of vitality.

This is the Cordyceps Gu that Fang Shu cultivated according to the Spirit Root Method—the Four Tribulations Qi Refining Spirit Gu!
Boom boom boom!
The moment the Cordyceps Gu appeared, a faint heartbeat also throbbed within Fang Shu's body, which resembled a dried corpse, and his eyelids trembled slightly as well.

Even if Fang Shu used his own body as nourishment to successfully cultivate the Gu worms, it still proves that he has mastered the method of refining Four Tribulations Gu worms and is a genuine Gu Master!
It was this very fact that filled Fang Shu, who was on the verge of death, with a surge of joy.

However, at this moment, he has only refined the spiritual root, but has not yet planted it. Moreover, the birth of the Cordyceps Gu will be the most dangerous part of this spiritual root planting process.

Because these fourth-level Gu worms, having received the transplanted strain, are reborn and imbued with spiritual energy, how could they possibly be willing to be bound by a mere Refining Immortal?

Hiss!

A few breaths after Fang Shu's heart started beating again, the insect-like Gu on his forehead trembled slightly, immediately sensing the abnormality of the parasitic body. Then, more mycelium grew out and spread throughout Fang Shu's body.

In just a few breaths, Fang Shu felt his heart tighten, as if he had fallen into a net, unable to beat, and a sharp pain came from it, as if countless steel needles were piercing it, sucking the blood from his heart.

This was not Fang Shu's illusion; he saw characters rapidly appearing and flowing across his Taoist talisman:

[The talisman owner's physical body is being eroded; their heartbeat is slow, and their essence and blood are continuously decreasing!]

[An invading foreign object has caused paralysis in the talisman holder's limbs, and their vitality has decreased by 57%!]

The talisman holder's bone marrow has been eroded, resulting in an 80% decrease in hematopoietic ability...

According to the Daoist talisman's instructions, all sorts of problems were frantically emerging from his entire body, and these problems could be summarized in one thing: "He's about to die!"

Not only did his physical body experience abnormalities, but Fang Shu also felt an itch on his scalp, a dazed state of mind, and his three souls and seven spirits were all pounding.

Although his eyelids were slightly closed, golden light appeared in his eyes. That golden light was exactly the shape of the golden sprout on his forehead, and it was the complete shape, not just the tiny sprout that had emerged from his forehead.

This creature is shaped like an insect or a snake, with small horns sprouting from its head. The horns are like seedlings, and its roots spread out from its body, dense and complex.

The dense roots formed a human shape, much like ginseng, and upon closer inspection, it resembled a human meridian diagram woven from silk threads or hair.

And its roots continue to spread, looking moldy, rampant and unruly.

As Fang Shu watched this scene, he felt his own consciousness being drawn into these roots, slowly being dragged in and drained away, becoming nourishment for this thing.

Therefore, his mind resonated with the Cordyceps Gu, and he could feel that the Cordyceps Gu was filled with a strong sense of joy and thirst because it was newly born.

He watched the object in a daze, then stopped feeling strange emotions.

He felt as if he were seeing a child he had conceived himself, and he felt an urge to give his entire body and soul to the other and let it devour him.

But the next moment.

On Fang Shu's numb face, the mycelium was tugged, revealing a half-smile.

"You're too green to eat me."

Zheng!
Suddenly, his eyelids snapped open, and his blood and energy surged. Streams of vitality burst forth from all parts of his body like firecrackers, tearing apart the fine mycelium that enveloped him.

With his breath taut, Fang Shu shakily pulled himself up from the altar, slowly picked up the talismans around him, and stepped on the Seven Stars and performed the Big Dipper ritual.

Whoosh, streams of mysterious magical power surged around him.

And puffs of smoke rose into the air, scorching his body and causing the mycelium on his skin to burn when touched.

Once the smoke had completely filled the entire spirit chamber, the spiritual energy inside also became restless, as if it were boiling.

The piles of waste paper and talismans in the spirit room spontaneously combusted without fire, filling the room with the smell of sulfur, lead, and mercury, and faintly emitting the odor of alcohol.

This involves burning oneself with fire. Whether it's insects or grass, they are all afraid of fire. According to the "Insect and Grass Parasitism Technique," fire can be used to suppress and control them.

In an instant, the mycelium in the spiritual chamber was swept away, and Fang Shu walked on the altar, no longer entangled.

His robes and the hair at the back of his head were also scorched by the flames and turned to ashes.

At this moment, he was completely naked, his head was like a peeled chicken egg, his skin was pale and his features were clearly defined, like a stone sculpture, standing on the altar, assuming a stance.

This was not only because Fang Shu himself had become still, but also because the mycelium and roots in his body had not died, which made his limbs even more numb.

The fire magic could only deal with the external mycelium, but inside his body, the Cordyceps Gu was still rampant and even more intense than before.

Sensing the danger, a hint of anger emanated from the spirituality that had sprouted within this creature.

Realizing this, Fang Shu's smile widened, appearing quite ferocious due to the numbness of his face.

It is filled with profound meaning and emanates spiritual energy.

While standing in the stance, Fang Shu mumbled incoherently, uttering incantations:

"Veins and tendons melt away, blood and qi stagnate, life force decays, and the soul condenses. Muscles and bones gradually disappear, vital essence dissipates, and the epidemic spreads, causing plants to wither and fall..."

Cordyceps and fungus complement each other, fleshy fungus flourishes, fungal networks form roots, and the spiritual root takes its place! So be it!

As soon as the incantation was uttered, the stagnant blood and qi in Fang Shu's body began to surge and churn again. Like knives and fire, it fiercely swept through his body, burning and cutting the mycelium and roots, refining this substance, following the trajectory of the spiritual root diagram.

His normally pale skin turned red, like a scalded shrimp.

Subsequently, waves of pain also appeared in Fang Shu's internal organs and even his skull. Every part of his flesh and blood felt as if it were being churned by a knife.

This sudden pain was unexpected. According to the teachings of the Spirit Root Method, after the body is invaded by the cordyceps mycelium, the nerves should be paralyzed, and there might even be a feeling of euphoria. Even if there is pain, it should only feel like ants crawling.

However, they are currently undergoing a spiritual root tribulation, breaking through the Qi refining barrier. The immortal's life is undergoing a transformation, and anything can happen.

Fang Shu bit his tongue, suddenly invigorating himself.

Then his long tongue moved, and he took the lead-refined pearl that was placed beside the altar and put it under his tongue.

A tingling sensation immediately appeared in his mouth and tongue.

The excruciating pain in his mouth and tongue subsided, replaced by a strong, metallic smell. His already burning blood and qi became even more intense, as if fueled by oil.

This was precisely Fang Shu's way of using the poison of metal and stone within the pearl, based on Xiao Lili's experience, to suppress the countless mycelium and roots within her body.

This action was very effective. With the circulation of his qi and blood, the poison from the metal and stone quickly spread throughout his body, and was also slowly infected in his brain.

Those finer fungal strands, even thinner than a hair, couldn't withstand the poison and were quickly turned into pus, which was then consumed by his body.

But just as Fang Shu felt he was about to succeed, he felt a wriggling sensation on his forehead. The Cordyceps Gu Spirit Root had actually come back to life, wriggling and struggling, breaking through its membrane and pulling itself away from Fang Shu's body, as if trying to leave its poisonous host.

This truly surprised and puzzled Fang Shu!

Cordyceps, Cordyceps, the insect is in front and the grass is behind.

Although it has the name of an insect, the insect is just a source of nutrients. It should be more like a plant such as Ganoderma lucidum or mushroom, and it should not be able to move.

But when the cordyceps gu was pulled out of Fang Shu's body, it did not take the opportunity to escape.

Fang Shu composed himself and observed the situation with a detached eye.

Soon, he felt the thing wriggle toward his eye socket, then the pupa burrowed in and descended along the nasolacrimal duct into his nasal cavity, and then down to his mouth and tongue.

A hissing, rubbing sound rang out from under Fang Shu's tongue.

This Gu was fierce in nature; it actually carried the concentrated poison of metal and stone and pounced on the pearl, intending to devour it.

Moreover, it was not a case of courting death due to a lack of wisdom. It approached the pearl, and although its roots had all disappeared, its body was rapidly changing, with streaks of metallic luster appearing on its surface.

Within a few dozen breaths, this guy underwent a transformation, gradually becoming familiar with the poison of metal and stone!

Fang Shu felt the movement under his tongue and, in his surprise, also had a sudden realization: "Swallowing gold and eating iron, this is the strength of the Dragon-Seeking Gold-Touching Insect."

Upon closer examination, he realized that the spiritual root he had cultivated was not cordyceps in the traditional sense, but rather more like a living insect controlled by mycelium.

Or rather, it's like the gold-seeking beetle, under the blessing of a secret technique, actively fused with fungi, becoming able to transform into insects and grasses, which is quite miraculous.

Fang Shu was amazed, but his movements were not slow at all.

Immediately, he took action, grabbing the Cordyceps Gu, whose attention was completely drawn to the Lead Essence Pearl, and placed it in his hand.

Immediately afterward, taking advantage of the insect's weakness, he used his long, knife-like tongue to quickly cut open the cordyceps worm, allowing the poison to penetrate its body even more fiercely.

Even with the mutated abilities inherited from the Gold-Seeking Insect, this Gu was unable to cope for the time being, and its body became paralyzed.

This was the moment Fang Shu had been waiting for.

He picked up the gold-seeking insect again, pressed it against his forehead, squeezing it into his flesh, and held it firmly in place with the lead-refined pearl. At first glance, the pearl appeared to be embedded in his forehead.

Fang Shu then took out various ointments, swallowed them, and made a hand seal to circulate his qi and blood, which gathered at the top of his head to continuously cleanse and refine the Gu!
Gurgling!

As time passed, his vital energy surged like lead and mercury, and the sound of rushing river echoed throughout the spiritual chamber.

Under such a scouring, the spirituality within the Cordyceps Gu was instantly destroyed and completely replaced through repeated wear and tear.

Furthermore, since the Dragon-Seeking Gold-Touching Insect had long been integrated with Fang Shu and was an embryonic insect, the spirituality newly generated within its body was essentially born on Fang Shu's flesh and blood, only induced by the mycelium.

Thus, all these crushed spiritualities were devoured by Fang Shu.

In the blink of an eye.

Fang Shu suddenly felt his field of vision shrink, and his limbs and fingers disappeared, transforming him from a human into an insect.

In the blink of an eye, his physical body was still there, and it was no longer corroded by the insect and grass gu. His physical body was rapidly recovering.

This scene clearly shows that he has already refined the Cordyceps Gu into his body, and can control both his human and insect bodies at the same time while multitasking.

But this strange feeling only lasted for a few breaths.

Because very quickly, the human and insect bodies in his perception rapidly merged, becoming indistinguishable from one another.

Instead, a more peculiar perspective emerged in his mind.

He then saw wisps of more distinct aura appear clearly in his "eyes," rising and falling, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, their light and color mingling together in the air, as distinct as water and milk.

"This is... spiritual energy!" Fang Shu was surprised and immediately widened his eyes to take a closer look.

But then he realized that he hadn't opened his eyes at all; his eyelids were still slightly closed, half open and half closed.

Strangely, not only was the spiritual energy in the air extremely clear, but the talismans, paper ash, brick seams, and other things on the altar around him were also perfectly clear.

Fang Shu's heart stirred, and when he looked at his own body again, he found that his meridians, internal organs, bones and everything else in his body had been thoroughly understood without any obstruction.

At this point, he suddenly realized that he was not seeing things with his eyes, but with his heart. Or rather, with his spirit.

This is divine consciousness!
He now possesses a deeply rooted spiritual root, which allows him to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, condense his three souls and seven spirits, and manifest divine consciousness, enabling him to see his physical body internally and his surroundings externally.

Having realized his own situation, Fang Shu's mind settled down again.

The spiritual energy that had gathered around him immediately surged into his body from his forehead, forming a trickle that nourished his entire body like never before.

Both Fang Shu's physical body and soul were rapidly repairing and strengthening under the nourishment of spiritual energy.

The area he could "see" was also expanding inch by inch.

Three feet, six feet, ten feet!
Soon, the three-zhang-wide and long quiet room appeared in his mind, and his mind seemed to be detached from worldly affairs, looking down at this place from a high place.

Inside the spirit chamber, a gaunt body sat hunched over on the altar. Though thin, it was full of life, and its eyes, slightly closed, emitted a spiritual light. Its forehead was as bright as a candle flame, as if it had a third eye.

This is Fang Shu's own physical body.

Around him, something else sprouted, permeating his body and soul, forming halos of color, like a sun halo, neither air nor water, flowing in a continuous chain.

This scene clearly shows that the divine consciousness of the immortals has appeared, and their true energy is sprouting, opening the path to immortality.

At this point, Fang Shu had overcome this hurdle, successfully completed the fourth tribulation, and was able to enter the Qi Refining Realm!
From this day forward, he will be free from defilement and hunger, able to abstain from grains, live a long and healthy life, and be blessed with three cycles of sixty years, which is one hundred and eighty years.

This is called the Qi Refining Immortal.

　4 words, a bit too much. It's getting late.

　　Recommended book: *The Pharmacist's Disciple's Immortal Cultivation Notes*

　　The compassionate Medicine Master saves us from suffering and distress; may all those who cultivate our hearts ascend to the Pure Land together.

　　Why do you call me a heretic or evil person?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)