"You don't believe me?" Long Xuan glanced at him and said with a smile, "Why don't you find out for yourself whether I'm exaggerating or not?"
"My Resilient Roach Gu has the ability to regenerate severed limbs. Cut off a hand now and see if it grows back."
Of course, Li Laodao would never agree to cut off his hand. What if the Resilient Roach Gu couldn't regenerate limbs? That would make him a fool for trying.
"Why would I need to chop off my hand to test the Resilient Roach Gu's ability? I'll find out once I try it myself."
Successfully provoked, Li Laodao decided to test the Gu's abilities right then and there, whether Long Xuan was truthful or not.
If Long Xuan's claims were false, Li Laodao would demand immediate reparation. Could Long Xuan still escape right under his nose?
Li Laodao walked straight to Long Xuan's stall, grabbed a Gu jar at random, opened it without even looking inside, and immediately established a blood contract with the Resilient Roach Gu within.
Once a blood contract is made with a Gu worm, the owner gains clear knowledge of its abilities.
Through the soul-link, Li Laodao's expression quickly turned from stunned to bewildered, his face alternating between disbelief and shock.
"How is this possible? They appear so feeble, yet possess such formidable abilities?" Taoist Li murmured.
"Alright, since you've already made the blood contract, hand over the spirit stones quickly. As neighbors, I'll only charge you 299 spirit stones," Long Xuan said nonchalantly, urging him on.
Taoist Li gazed at Long Xuan, his expression now markedly different. Anyone capable of devising such a Gu recipe couldn't be ordinary, and he had already considered befriending him.
"Haha, my judgment isn't always accurate. I never imagined such a weak cockroach could be turned into a Gu worm. I'm truly impressed. Never underestimate any insect in this world."
"But I'm glad I didn't listen to your suggestion to cut off my hand. While this Resilient Roach Gu indeed has the ability to regenerate limbs, it's not an instant process."
"Limb regeneration is exceedingly slow; it could take several years. If I had followed your advice and lost my hand, I would have been in deep trouble. Enemies abound in the world of Gu cultivation."
Taoist Li tossed three medium-grade spirit stones onto Long Xuan's stall and smiled.
Long Xuan grinned happily as he swiftly received another order.
Seeing Long Xuan wasn't continuing the conversation, Taoist Li, eager to forge a connection, continued, "Since I've done business with you, it's only fair you reciprocate. How about handling my business too?"
"While my Gu worm isn't unique, it's undoubtedly the most ferocious one in this market. I assure you, you won't be disappointed."
Intrigued by this, Long Xuan turned to inspect Taoist Li's stall.
Compared to Long Xuan's modest display of single-digit items, Taoist Li's stall was brimming with diversity. It was nearly overflowing with bottles and jars containing various insects.
However, Taoist Li's containers were smaller, and the insects within were also diminutive—primarily internal parasites. Yet, unlike other Gu, these didn't benefit the host; instead, they were used solely to parasitize and harm enemies.
These internal Gu didn't count towards a user's quota, allowing Taoist Li to raise as many as he desired—they were expendable.
It's worth noting that there's a limit on how many Gu insects Gu cultivators can employ. This limit varies based on soul talent; those in the Gathering Spirit Stage typically have an average of about four quotas.
However, having lived two lives as a human, Long Xuan could potentially form blood contracts with more Gu insects than an ordinary person—possibly twice as many.
Most Gu cultivators had a restricted number of Gu insects under their blood contract and had to be cautious with their allocations. Internal Gu used for harm were the only Gu that didn't count towards this quota, so nearly every Gu cultivator kept some.
This Taoist Li clearly favored refining such Gu worms—a cunning old man. Long Xuan immediately grew wary of him.
Gazing at the descriptions of the Gu worms in the bottles, Long Xuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Stone Gu: Resembling a grain of stone, often placed on gravel roads. When pedestrians pass, the Stone Gu leaps into their bodies. The infected person's stomach hardens like stone, causing severe constipation, gradual wasting, and death within six months.
Rice Grain Gu: Resembling a grain of rice, it's often concealed in the enemy's food. The infected person experiences ravenous appetite, perpetual hunger, and mental deterioration. Without a cure, death occurs within a month.
Wart Gu: Typically hidden in the gaps between fingernails, it's transmitted through close contact like shoulder patting or handshakes. Once in the bloodstream, it consumes the victim's internal organs, often resulting in death within a day.
...
Reading about these cruel methods of death, Long Xuan's expression darkened.
It was his first realization of how perilous Gu insects could be in this world. The Stone Gu, for instance, was indistinguishable from an ordinary stone grain. What if someone placed several Stone Gus on his route home?
Contemplating the potential risks, Long Xuan couldn't help but shudder.
He couldn't differentiate between a Stone Gu and an ordinary stone grain, no matter how vigilant he was.
And this was just one of the more common Gu insects. Countless others were even more covert and lethal. There were countless ways to poison him, and he had no means to defend against them.
Even his "golden finger" couldn't protect him from small threats. He couldn't detect the movements of insects just a few millimeters away; only when they were very close could he sense them.
Not even his "golden finger" could safeguard against poisons.
Long Xuan was genuinely frightened at this moment. This was a real threat to his life, and he had no defenses against it. If someone poisoned him covertly, he doubted he could escape.
No, he had to prioritize researching microscopic Gu. No, he had to refine a microorganism Gu as his second Gu worm.
With a microorganism Gu, small insects used to harm people could no longer harm him. Once the microorganism Gu was developed, he would be impervious to poison.
At this moment, Long Xuan resolved to focus on researching microorganism Gu as his next project.
In his new life, he feared death greatly and had to pay attention to any threat to his safety.
After another fearful glance at the Gu insects, Long Xuan told Taoist Li, "No, I'm not interested in these kinds of Gu worms."
His current funds had other uses, and he wasn't willing to waste them on trivial matters.
Even if he desired such Gu worms, he planned to procure them himself. Once the microorganism Gu was developed, he could research Gu worms that were microscopic. Microorganism Gus were so small they couldn't be seen with the naked eye and could fly directly into an enemy's mouth without detection. At that point, he could harm whomever he pleased, and no one could counter him.
When it came to concealment, no Gu worm in the world was more difficult to guard against than the microorganism Gu. The Stone Gu was like a younger sibling to the microorganism Gu.