Chapter 625: Chapter 625
This world is far too mysterious!
Qin Sang couldn’t help but marvel.
Are the storms surrounding the edge of Canglang Sea, like those in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, remnants of a great battle between ancient cultivators?
Are there also hidden realms, ancient ruins, and lost relics within?
If the opportunity arose, he would certainly venture to the edge of the storm and take a look.
After reading the geomantic map, Qin Sang felt as though an anchor had been set in his heart, finally bringing him a sense of stability.
As for the full nautical chart of Canglang Sea, it wouldn’t be difficult to acquire once he left Xijiang and came into contact with high-level cultivators from the Witch God Continent or the human race. There was no need to rush.
Witch God Continent, Canglang Sea, Stormy Demonic Sea...
Qin Sang still wasn’t sure where he would go next. For now, he had no intention of leaving Xijiang and would plan gradually.
Withdrawing his spiritual consciousness from the geomantic map, Qin Sang opened another jade slip.
This one contained the Five-Insect Sect’s true transmission on insect-taming techniques.
After reading its contents, Qin Sang showed a look of surprise, then immediately opened the final jade slip and studied it for a long time before putting it away, deep in thought.
The Witch Race’s gu system was entirely different from what existed in the Small Cold Domain. The divergence went far beyond the distinction between the Witch Insect Register and the Supernatural Insect Register. Even their classifications of spiritual insects and understanding of metamorphosis were fundamentally different.
Spiritual insects, from the moment they hatched, could possess strength equivalent to that of Qi Refining Realm cultivators.
In the Small Cold Domain, it was commonly believed that a spiritual insect’s first metamorphosis—akin to Foundation Building for a cultivator—was the start of its growth. After that first transformation, its strength surged to match that of Foundation Building cultivators or even Demonic Spirit Realm beasts.
But the witch race regarded an insect’s hatching as its first metamorphosis. Unlike humans, who began as mere mortals before reaching the Qi Refining Realm, spiritual insects were born with supernatural power. Their first transformation had already occurred during the incubation phase.
First metamorphosis was equal to the Qi Refining Realm.
Second metamorphosis was equal to the Foundation Building Realm.
Third metamorphosis was equal to the Core Formation Realm.
And so on, progressing all the way to the ninth metamorphosis, after which the creature would transcend tribulation and ascend to immortality.
In the witch race's mythology, there was the legend of a spiritual silkworm that ascended after nine transformations. That silkworm was said to be the gu insect of the Witch God. Whether it was the Witch God’s life-bound insect gu, however, remained uncertain.
Qin Sang compared the two systems and concluded that Yuling Sect and the Small Cold Domain’s understanding of spiritual insects was inferior to that of the witch race. After all, there were few cultivators dedicated to insect arts in the Small Cold Domain, and spiritual insects themselves were rare there.
Although much of their knowledge came from ancient texts and contained some valuable insights, it lacked a structured system. It was a hodgepodge—pieces forced together by later generations.
By contrast, the witch race’s system was far more complete. Their insect-taming techniques were thorough and deeply rooted in tradition, truly worthy of recognition.
Qin Sang resolved to follow the witch race’s system from now on and to integrate what he had learned from Yuling Sect into it.
While Yuling Sect’s teachings were less comprehensive, they contained knowledge derived from ancient tomes found in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, crystallizing the wisdom of ancient cultivators. This was something the witch race lacked.
Among that knowledge were several rare techniques for breeding and aiding the metamorphosis of supernatural insects, making it extremely valuable information.
These supernatural insects had already gone extinct in the Small Cold Domain. Whether they could be found on the Witch God Continent remained uncertain.
All of this, however, was more or less within expectations. What truly astonished Qin Sang was the concept of the life-bound insect gu.
Previously, Qin Sang had only understood the witch race superficially. He believed they were no different from humans. Even their cultivation followed a similar path, relying on spiritual qi absorption and progressing through the Foundation Building Realm and the Core Formation Realm.
Only their life-bound insect gu was something he had never seen before.
Now, after reading the jade slip, he learned that the witch race was born with an innate affinity for nature. This natural gift allowed them to commune with the elements and effortlessly bond with spiritual insects. This was something no human could replicate. The source of thɪs content is n0velfire.net
Even ordinary mortals among the witch race were adept at controlling insects. One might even say they were born with the talent.
While hiding in Thousand-Household Village, Qin Sang had witnessed mortal villagers raising poisonous insects.
Some mortals, through a stroke of luck, might even be acknowledged by a metamorphosed spiritual insect. If an immortal cultivator let their guard down, they could be killed by such a mortal.
Thanks to this innate talent, the witch race had been able to develop the secret technique of the life-bound insect gu.
While still at the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, a cultivator could begin cultivating the secret technique of the life-bound insect gu by subduing a spiritual insect and housing it in their Qihai, forming a mental and spiritual bond, and nourishing it with their blood and essence.
Some cultivation arts required forging a special artifact before reaching the Core Formation Realm. When refined alongside the technique, such an artifact essentially became a life-bound artifact, similar to Qin Sang’s ebony sword.
However, the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment was a rare exception. It dared to use the primordial spirit to nurture a sword from a low cultivation realm. This was unheard of among conventional methods.
There were also cultivators like Mu Yifeng, who selected a single artifact to remain constantly by their side, pouring endless effort into refining it. Upon forming their core, they continued nurturing it until it advanced into an astra, eventually becoming their life-bound astra.
But once one chose the path of the life-bound insect gu, none of this could be done.
After forming the core, the life-bound insect gu would take the place of the life-bound astra.
A life-bound astra was of critical importance to a cultivator.
If the insect gu failed to grow properly, and no life-bound astra was cultivated in its stead, the cultivator's strength would suffer greatly, falling well below that of peers at the same realm.
More dangerously, there was an even greater hidden risk.
Once a spiritual insect was refined into a life-bound insect gu, it had to be nourished with the cultivator’s blood and essence, earning it the alternate title Blood Gu. Over time, the more blood it consumed, the more ferocious and violent its temperament would become, raising the risk of turning on its master.
Moreover, the original consciousness of the gu could not be erased. Erasing it would turn the insect into a dead gu, rendering it inert and incapable of further evolution—essentially useless.
Because of their innate talent, witch cultivators could naturally pacify their gu, maintaining greater control over their life-bound insect gu.
Human cultivators could also study the witch race’s technique, but due to their lack of this innate gift, their control over the gu was limited. Once the life-bound insect gu reached a cultivation level equal to the human host, it could no longer be suppressed.
In that case, despite the time and effort spent nurturing the gu, they would fail to reap its most valuable benefits, making it no better than a tasteless chicken rib.
For the life-bound insect gu possessed an astonishing benefit: it could aid in breaking through cultivation bottlenecks.
This included major breakthroughs such as Foundation Building and Core Formation!
When a cultivator reached the Fake Core Realm, if they had nurtured their life-bound insect gu to the peak of its second metamorphosis, then in the moment of attempting Core Formation, they could attempt fusion with the gu, a process that significantly improved the odds of success.
However, the gu must be equal in realm to the cultivator for this to work. Otherwise, the enhancement would fail.
If, on the other hand, the gu reached its third metamorphosis ahead of its master, the effect would be even more profound.
Of course, the risk of being devoured by it would also skyrocket.
Among human cultivators, even those who secretly practiced the witch race’s secret art did not dare allow their life-bound insect gu to outpace them. Only a tiny number of witch race cultivators, backed by their innate affinity, dared to do so but even they had to remain constantly vigilant against the gu’s backlash.
It was said that this auxiliary effect of the gu still existed even during the Spiritual Infant breakthrough!
There was even a legendary witch cultivator who, based on his bond with his gu, walked a completely unorthodox and twisted path.
This tale had spread from elsewhere and was so shocking that most cultivators in Xijiang believed it to be a baseless rumor.
According to the legend, the man’s surname was Fang, and his life-bound insect gu had reached its fourth metamorphosis ahead of schedule.
However, Fang’s own fortune was poor. Even with the aid of his gu, he failed multiple times to break through to the Spiritual Infant Realm. When he finally approached the end of his lifespan, despairing of ever forming a Spiritual Infant, he made a dreadful choice. He abandoned his own body and fused his primordial spirit with his life-bound insect gu!