Chapter 32
With screams, the two guards were engulfed by the raging flames.
The blazing flames came quickly and went quickly. After the flames died down, only wisps of smoke and a pungent, burnt smell remained, slowly lingering in the air.
Jiang Liuya slowly emerged from behind the table. In the instant the explosion occurred, she swiftly pulled over the wooden table in front of her, using it to shield herself. The table was charred black, yet she was remarkably unharmed despite the violent blast.
The two men lay on the ground, their clothes torn, their skin charred black, and they were no longer breathing.
Jiang Liuya's gaze lingered on the waist of one of the men; it was a white bottle, seemingly made of a special material, which had remained undamaged even in the violent explosion. The bottle's surface was smooth and rounded, faintly gleaming with a cold light.
She gently reached out and took the bottle. Opening the cap, she saw countless tiny insects inside, their color an eerie, ghostly green, shimmering faintly. The liquid swirled gently within, as if countless tiny lives were tumbling and struggling within it.
Is this the Gu seedling that the person just mentioned, her "money for selling herself"?
At that moment, a burst of laughter erupted from the cell diagonally opposite.
"Hahaha, interesting!" The laughter was hoarse and shrill, with a hint of madness.
Jiang Liuya then realized that there were still living people in this empty dungeon. She turned her head sharply towards the source of the voice.
"I never imagined I'd see such a spectacular sight before I die," the hoarse voice continued from the cell diagonally opposite.
A shadowy figure could be vaguely seen, most of its body hidden in the darkness, only its hands visible in the candlelight of the corridor. Those hands were devoid of flesh and blood, only stark white bones remained. It didn't look like a living person, but more like a skeleton that had crawled out of a grave.
Jiang Liuya's pupils contracted slightly. She looked at the other cells in the dungeon with suspicion, as if trying to determine if there were any other living people in the dungeon.
"Don't bother looking anymore. In this dungeon, there are only two living people, you and me." The voice sounded as if it had been sanded.
A clanging sound of chains echoed sharply in the deathly silence of the dungeon. The man, dragging the heavy chains on his feet, stood up. He moved slowly, each step accompanied by a clanging sound as the chains scraped against the ground.
He appeared at the cell door, his skeletal hands gripping the iron gate.
Jiang Liuya finally got a clear look at him. His eyes were bulging, bloodshot, and he was staring straight at her. His exposed body was covered with black Gu patterns, which seemed to be alive, wriggling beneath his skin as if they might burst out at any moment.
His eyes moved slightly, finally settling on the white bottle in her hand.
"The Gu seedling in your hand is a good thing. Do you want to continue your cultivation and continue your immortal destiny?" The hoarse voice sounded as if it had been burned, and every word was forced out from the depths of his throat.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liuya's eyes trembled slightly.
"You have a wound on your hand. As long as you pour the Gu spores onto the wound, they will smell the blood and enter your body through your blood vessels, helping you cleanse your marrow and rebuild your spiritual roots..."
The man continued, his voice chilling yet alluring.
Cleansing the marrow and reshaping the spiritual root? Jiang Liuya was slightly tempted, and her fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the white bottle in her hand.
Those who have cultivated would never be content to remain mortals, let alone someone who had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage at such a young age. This despair of falling from the clouds to the bottom of the abyss was a hundred times more painful than simply killing her.
"You were captured by Ning Yu? Do you want revenge? Do you want to kill him!" The man suddenly raised his voice, his rough and hoarse voice striking Jiang Liuya's heart like a heavy hammer.
Kill him? A surge of hot blood rushed into his mind.
Jiang Liuya's hands trembled involuntarily, and her eyes revealed a resolute determination.
She would do anything if she could personally avenge her enemy.
She slowly raised the Gu seedling; the pulsating liquid within the bottle shimmered with an eerie light, as if beckoning her. Jiang Liuya took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and poured the pulsating liquid onto her wound.
The liquid quickly seeped into her skin as soon as it touched the wound.
Jiang Liuya felt a sharp pain, as if countless needles were piercing her veins and traveling through her blood vessels. Her body trembled uncontrollably, her face contorted in pain, and large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, soaking her clothes.
Jiang Liuya collapsed to the ground in agony, her body curled up in a ball. She could feel the Gu worms wreaking havoc within her body; wherever they went, her meridians felt as if they were being scorched by flames, the pain unbearable. Amidst the excruciating pain, her consciousness gradually faded…
At this moment, within her bloodline, thousands upon thousands of Gu spores were activated by her blood, vying for this delicious nourishment. The countless Gu spores devoured each other, fighting fiercely, and only the strongest Gu spores would survive, eventually entering her dantian and becoming her natal Gu.
In the dim light, the person diagonally opposite had a strange smile on their withered face.
This Gu seedling is no ordinary thing; it cannot be absorbed by just anyone.
The Gu saplings recognize their masters, and this is all about fate. Only a suitable person can retain the Gu saplings, allowing them to take root and sprout within the body, eventually cultivating them into a powerful natal Gu. If these Gu saplings don't take a liking to a particular master, no matter how hard that person tries, it will all be in vain.
Moreover, the more intense the master's reaction, the fiercer the competition among the Gu larvae within the body, and the stronger the Gu worm cultivated will naturally be. Once the natal Gu is successfully cultivated, it will exert all its power to help the master cleanse their marrow and reshape their body.
Judging from her reactions just now, this female cultivator has already formed a deep blood pact with the Gu Miao.
Jiang Liuya is undergoing a painful yet miraculous transformation.
In the darkness, she plummeted into an endless abyss. The feeling of continuous falling left her soul with no support, only endless emptiness.
Then, countless silk threads appeared in the air. These threads, appearing silently from all directions, bound her tightly. Each thread was incredibly sharp, cutting ruthlessly into her skin. She felt stinging pain, her body scraped and bruised. Her hands and feet were completely bound, her body limp and powerless, and she could only struggle futilely within this cage of silk threads.
Suddenly, a strong, thick, transparent thread pierced through her core. It was a pain more intense than being cut into pieces, just like the day her core was destroyed.
She bit her lip tightly, trying hard not to let out a painful scream, but the excruciating pain surged like a tidal wave, one after another, almost making her faint.
However, along with these waves of intense pain, the previously empty dantian was suddenly infused with life again.
A warm current slowly flowed in, like a ray of dawn suddenly appearing in the darkness, bringing her hope for life.
Then she felt a force slowly coursing through her limbs and bones. At first, the force was very weak, like a tiny stream struggling to move forward in a dried-up riverbed. But gradually, it grew stronger, gathering and surging within her meridians.
The threads that had been cutting her slowly merged into her body, as if tamed by this power and becoming a part of her. She could move her hands and feet again, and at the same time, she regained control of her power.
It seems I can use spiritual power again!
She tried to wave her arm slightly, and a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy rippled through the air.
Jiang Liuya gently landed on the ground. It was pitch black all around, with sheer cliffs on all sides.
She felt as if she had arrived at the bottom of an abyss, where there was no light, only endless darkness and despair.
Before them lay a transparent worm, gleaming with a faint, eerie light. Its body was crystal clear, as if sculpted from crystal. Under the glow, the liquid flowing within its body was clearly visible. At this moment, its head was slightly raised, two slender tentacles swaying gently in the air, and two purple gem-like eyes shimmering.
The worms hissed, and miraculously, she could understand them.
"Master, give me a name. From now on, I will be your natal Gu."
Jiang Liuya looked around and saw her predicament. She was surrounded by sheer cliffs, and only the Gu worm in front of her emitted a faint light, as if it were her only hope.
“Lin Yuan, your name will be Lin Yuan.” She spoke softly, her lips barely moving.
After an unknown amount of time, her tightly closed eyes trembled slightly and slowly opened. Just now, her body had undergone a tremendous transformation; her once heavy limbs had become light again. Even more miraculously, she felt a trace of spiritual energy flowing in her dantian, faint yet full of vitality.
This wisp of spiritual energy was a gift bestowed upon her by her natal Gu, the beginning of her new life.
Jiang Liuya knew that her life would embark on a completely different path from now on.
She gritted her teeth inwardly. Since she couldn't cultivate the Dao of Alchemy, what harm was there in cultivating the Dao of Gu?
If the road ahead is not blocked, then we will explore it with our own feet.
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