In my twilight years of cultivating, I became a Supreme Daoist of the Longevity Path

The man in extravagant robes sighed gently. Listening to the rustling sounds from the cave ahead, reminiscent of a centipede's crawl, he walked into a nearby low grove. Estimating the time, he stooped to dig a pit with a short hoe, extracting poisonous mushrooms from it.

"Hiss hiss——"

Suddenly, a colorful snake head shot out of the pit, flicking its red tongue.

He casually grabbed it, pushing the snake head back into the pit. Without any rush, his other hand reached towards the white-green poisonous mushrooms grown along the pit's edge, placing them in the Gu pouch at his waist.

The pit was bustling with poisonous snakes writhing together. The green, multicolored, red and other snakes, with their icy cold eyes, scales, and protruding tongues, were all enough to intimidate the onlookers.

However, he was accustomed to this. After all, he was an expert at manipulating Gus, and cultivating Crazy Gu was a common tactic to him.

He was known as Chen Dengming, the family head of the Chen Family, a legend in the Nanxun Kingdom.

This kind of cultivated Crazy Gu was described in the Gu Dao books left by the ancient Gu Immortals as a mundane Gu, not classified as a high-grade one.

Nonetheless, according to the "Gu Refining Manual", it still posed a considerable threat to cultivators with lower cultivation bases, serving as one of his trump cards for the upcoming Immortal Convention.

To refine this Gu, he was to bury poisonous snakes in the soil, cultivate snake poison mushrooms, and use them to harm people or feed Blood Centipedes later, which would aid in Gu Refining.

After collecting the Crazy Gu, Chen Dengming moved to a nearby bamboo forest to retrieve the Reed Beetle Gu, which had been soaked in specially formulated medicine for more than a decade in bamboo tubes.

Next, he headed to a nearby pond to retrieve the Loach Gu, made from loaches mixed with his hair and a special toxic mud.

After collecting all the Gu poisons, Chen Dengming proceeded to enter the notorious Blood Centipede Cave.

As he lit his torch, he could see the dense swarm of blood-colored centipedes writhing deep in the Blood Centipede Cave, a sight suffocating enough for anyone with trypanophobia.

The crawling of thousands of segments on the ground and the sounds of their pincers tearing each other apart rang out in his ears, like numerous popping candies bouncing around.

It takes thousands of Blood Centipedes to refine a single Gu, making Gu refining a ruthless process.

Within this cave, only one Blood Centipede could survive in the end, that individual would be the key ingredient for refining Blood Centipede Gu, otherwise known as "the proverbial hundred bugs in a jar. After years, a single bug will remain, having devoured the rest. This is known as a Gu".

Removing his clothing, Chen Dengming neatly folded and placed it within the cave.

Although over eighty, his body was still robust and muscular, full of brawn and scars — a testament to his years of martial arts training and combat experiences.

He smeared a specially designed medicine on his body, and entered the Blood Centipede Cave.

Countless savage Blood Centipedes smelled his scent and surged towards him like a tidal wave.

Without a trace of trepidation, Chen Dengming took out his blade, cut into his wrist, and sprinkled his circling blood on the ground surrounding him.

Immediately, the massive swarm of oncoming Blood Centipedes stopped at the edge of the circle he had drawn with his blood, ferociously fighting each other for the blood.

This was the so-called 'human refining Gu' process, awe-inspiring and mysterious.

Naturally ferocious and defiant, Blood Centipedes are difficult to control, and even more so when refined into Blood Centipede Gu, often biting back their masters.

However, through the 'human refining Gu' process, the Blood Centipede eventually consumes blood and the mixed medicinal liquid from its master, which tames it. The resulting Blood Centipede Gu obeys orders, creating a bond as if connected by blood and sharing a mind with its master.

Cultivating the Blood Centipede Gu had consumed forty years of Chen Dengming's life.

Before attending the Immortal Convention, it was his ultimate trump card.

Because once the Blood Centipede Gu was successfully refined, it became a true spirit Gu, posing a fatal threat to all cultivators.

Should anything unfortunate occur at the Immortal Convention, the Blood Centipede Gu may well be Chen Dengming's secret weapon to ensure his survival.

Furthermore, the Blood Centipede Gu could potentially be the key to the further breakthrough of his "Gu Refining Manual", which would grant him yet another extension of his lifespan…

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