Starting with the Corpse-Eating Worm, he worked his way up to become the Left-Winged Immortal Lord.

"What do you think is a predestined connection with the divine?"

Li Fu did not answer, but instead asked a question in return.

Gu Qing immediately thought of Xuanqing Academy's past admission standards.

Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators descend the mountain to seek out those with opportunity and aptitude; only this group of destined individuals can enter the Xuanqing Academy for cultivation. As for the Taoist temples in the county, no matter how high their cultivation level, they cannot enter the Xuanqing Academy.

Thinking of this, Gu Qing responded.

"You mean those who claim to have connections or qualifications are ultimately just people with no practical value?"

Li Fu smiled with satisfaction, "I think the smartest thing about you is that, despite your youth, you are not ignorant. That's right, all the opportunities for immortality are just for exploitation. If you dare to show any talent for unorthodox cultivation, then you'll just be a vegetable among those high-ranking cultivators in Xuanqing Academy, a vegetable raised only to be eaten in the end."

"Master Li, what do I need to do?" Gu Qing frowned deeply.

Li Fu suddenly looked towards the back mountain. "The unorthodox path has one advantage: it allows one to attribute all their talents to a price. Because unorthodox cultivation is inherently a path where price and reward go hand in hand."

You can tell others that you reached the second level of Qi Refining today by consuming a blessed spiritual body, or you can say that you sacrificed five years of your life essence. In this way, the only benefit of your increased cultivation level is its utility.

However, the so-called "usefulness" must be specific to one task. For example... cultivating the second-tier Yin-evil spiritual medicine, Ghost-Covering Leaf.

Upon hearing this...

Gu Qing asked again, "Just cultivating Ghost Leaf will allow me to skip the waiting time?"

Gu Qing asked this question not because he doubted Li Fu's words, but because he felt there must be something Li Fu didn't know.

Li Fu nodded. "As a second-tier Yin-evil spiritual medicine, the greatest function of Ghost Leaf is to help unorthodox cultivators break through from the third level of Qi Refining to the fourth level. This is the biggest hurdle for those who cross from the early stage of Qi Refining to the middle stage of Qi Refining."

Once this threshold is crossed, and with a little sacrifice, unorthodox cultivators can easily reach the sixth level of Qi Refining. That's why Uncle Lu once said that Xuanqing Academy's plan to have them offer Ghost-Covering Leaves was to cultivate a large number of mid-stage Qi Refining unorthodox cultivators.

"What is the purpose of cultivating a large number of mid-stage unorthodox cultivators?" Gu Qing's curiosity grew even stronger.

Xuanqing Academy is the only orthodox institution in Tianhai County and is considered a "holy land" for cultivation by practitioners from the eight counties of Tianhai County.

Why would such a force need to cultivate a bunch of mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators?

What's the use?

First, we can rule out forming an army, since in the world of cultivators, the strength of an individual's cultivation and combat power can never be compensated for by sheer numbers.

"How would I know that? If I knew such secrets, you could spend every day in Fufeng Forest and you'd never see me again in your life," Li Fu said with a smile that narrowed into slits.

Before Gu Qing could speak again, Li Fu solemnly reminded him, "But if you really want to do this, you must not let Chen Ye find out."

"I see."

Gu Qing nodded.

Li Fu shook his head, "You only understand part of it."

My father is nearing the end of his life, and Master Qi Heng, the steward of Futang who was on good terms with him, has also perished in the Lianwu Mountains. Now, apart from Uncle Lu, all the other Qi Refining Level 6 cultivators are now under the command of Vice Abbot Wei, and they are birds of a feather with Chen Ye.

To Chen Ye, you are currently just a grain of sand in his eye, but Chen Ye is someone who cannot tolerate any injustice. Uncle Lu can protect you temporarily, preventing Chen Ye from making any rash moves, but ultimately, this cannot last.

Once you demonstrate value that would make Xing Jiutian make an exception for you, Chen Ye will eliminate you as quickly as possible!

"clear."

Gu Qing nodded again.

"Alright, that's all I have to say. Let's finish eating the spirit body before heading to the back mountain." With that, Li Fu quickly left the backyard.

……

After Li Fu left, Gu Qing did not immediately consume the Fu Ling Body.

The hollow stag beetle and the forbidden word beetle had an incredibly strong desire for it, a desire that reached its peak after Li Fu left.

If the Hollow-Shovel Beetle hadn't been of the same mind as it, it probably would have already forcibly torn apart the Stinging Insect Yin Jar and rushed out.

"But who should eat it?"

Gu Qing was at a loss for what to do.

After much hesitation, Gu Qing decided to let the hollow stag beetle eat it.

Despite its powerful capabilities, the Forbidden Word Bug is not currently a high priority for development.

After making the decision, Gu Qing immediately released the Hollow Stag Beetle.

In a short while.

The hollow stag beetle then transformed into a gray light and rushed out, landing on Fu Ling and munching on it like a rabbit gnawing on a carrot.

While it was feeding on the spirit, Gu Qing could clearly feel subtle changes occurring inside the stag beetle's body.

The sharp spikes at the very front, which could easily pierce through the magical artifact, had some protrusions on both sides.

Although very small.

However, it is extremely abrupt and obvious.

"What is this?"

Gu Qing stared intently at it.

however.

I didn't see any changes when I opened the panel.

Left with no other choice, Gu Qing could only wait until the broken stag beetle, having finished eating the Fuling body, put away and await the daily evaluation the next morning.

[Evaluation Panel Lv1 (29/100)]

[Today's Review!]

[Burialed in a yin-heavy place, nurtured a broken-hollow shovel beetle in a first-tier yin artifact, the Taiyin Urn, for seven hours. Rating: D-grade - Corpse Qi +30, Yin Qi Replenishment +15]

[Burialed in a yin-heavy place using yin methods for seven hours to nurture a second-tier ghost-shrouding leaf medicinal seed, rating C - Corpse Qi +50]

[The Shadowless Corpse-Eating Insect successfully refined the corpses of several Qi Refining cultivators, rated as Grade B—Corpse Qi +600, Yin Qi replenishment +300]

[The Sky-Shattering Stag Beetle refines one pound of the Blessed Spirit Body of the Mountain Spirit Beast, Night Mist Spirit Deer, increasing fortune and luck, rated as B-level—gains an evolution direction (ranked 299th on the Alien Insect Ranking: Spirit Insect Night Mist Sky-Shattering)]

"The refining ability of the Shadowless Corpse-Eating Worms has indeed increased considerably." Gu Qing was delighted as he watched a large amount of corpse energy enter the tent.

Then my gaze immediately fell on the evolutionary path that the Skybreaker Stag Beetle had acquired.

Hollow Stag Beetle

[Status: Adult (0/2000) - Breeding Direction: Lower Tier 2]

[Evolution Direction: Spirit Insect - Night Mist Shattering Sky (1/1000) Each pound of Night Mist Spirit Deer grants 1 point of Spirit Essence]

[Abilities: Shattering Void, Destroying Weapons]

[PS: All of the top 300 on the Zerg Ranking are Spirit Zerg.]

[PS: Nightfall shatters the sky, traversing yin and yang, breaking through the void, destroying artifacts, and slaying souls, ultimately returning to the netherworld.]

"I've actually obtained an evolutionary path to the Spirit Insect!"

Gu Qing was overjoyed.

My heart started pounding wildly.

The anomaly list has reached number 300.

How powerful must that be?

No wonder the hollow stag beetle is so eager for it; it has sensed an opportunity that can completely change its life!

"However, the evolution requires spiritual energy instead of corpse energy, which is quite a problem. Even Li Fu's father only managed to obtain this little bit, which shows that spirit beasts must be extremely rare."

Fortunately, according to the information on the panel, any blessed spirit body can be transformed into spiritual essence, without needing to refine a specific spirit beast. This reduces the evolution difficulty of the Shattering Stag Beetle by more than ten or a hundred times.

Gu Qing smiled with satisfaction.

This time, Gu Qing didn't close the panel for a long time.

After examining it closely for a while, he reluctantly closed the panel and continued to nurture the Ghost-Covering Leaf medicinal seed using Yin magic.

It is worth mentioning that the first seed has already begun to take root and sprout.

But at that moment, the sound of a bell suddenly rang out from the direction of Wufeng Temple.

thump—

thump—

thump—

The bell rang nine times.

The mountains and forests trembled repeatedly.

"The bell has rung nine times, what major event has occurred this time?" Gu Qing was still pondering, but the other Taoist disciples had already put down their work and hurried to get moving.