Chapter 173: Behind the Stone Door, an Astonishing Opportunity!
Gu insect!
Chu Liang came to a realization.
“No wonder this insect is so strange.”
He had once read about Gu insects in the Martial Alliance’s records. These creatures had the characteristics of demon beasts and could be considered “insect demons,” but they lacked the intelligence of demon beasts of the same rank, making them quite unique.
In the Southwest region, some barbarian martial artists were skilled in cultivating Gu insects.
There were many types of Gu insects, some skilled in combat, others in tracking, with various shapes and forms, making them bizarre and difficult to guard against.
Some were even as small as grains of rice, easily swallowed if one wasn’t careful.
Years ago, when the Great Liang Dynasty sent troops to attack the barbarian tribes of the Southwest, they suffered greatly from Gu insects, with countless soldiers tormented to death by them.
According to the records, even first-rate experts of the Bone Tempering Realm had been tortured to death by Gu insects.
“This is a Gu insect specifically responsible for tracking. It can fly through the sky and burrow into the earth, and its aura is almost undetectable when it’s hiding.”
Rat Two held the Gu insect tightly, explaining to Chu Liang, “These Gu insects usually come in pairs. One tracks, and the other senses it from afar.”
Chu Liang was slightly surprised, “Isn’t that just like you two?”
“Yes, Master, but we can communicate telepathically. This Gu insect can only rely on its body’s movements to alert its owner,” Rat Two explained, stating that their Treasure Seeking Rat race’s talent was more advanced than this insect’s.
“Rat Two, you know quite a lot,” Chu Liang praised.
“Master, Rat One and I don’t need to train hard. We can become stronger by eating flesh and blood, so we have more free time than you, allowing us to read more books,” Rat Two said.
“Good, reading more is a good thing.”
Chu Liang was very pleased. These two little rats saved him a lot of trouble.
He walked closer and carefully observed the insect, searching his memory. He vaguely recalled some descriptions of this type of insect.
The dark green, foul-smelling gas it had released earlier was to mask its owner’s aura.
Chu Liang asked, “Can you find its owner?”
“Master, it has Qi Hai’s aura on it.”
“Oh?”
Chu Liang’s heart stirred. He hadn’t expected Qi Hai to be able to get his hands on such a thing.
The value of this Gu insect was not low. Qi Hai must have paid a great price for it.
“After what happened last time, Qi Hai has already decided to kill me. This insect doesn’t help his martial arts path much, yet he was willing to spend a fortune to acquire it.”
Chu Liang could roughly guess Qi Hai’s state of mind.
Kneeling in public was a humiliation Qi Hai would likely never forget.
Rat Two said, “Master, the other insect can sense its condition and knows it’s been captured by me. It should have already alerted Qi Hai. It will be difficult to find him now.”
Rat One said, “I’ll go look!”
With that, he darted out with a whoosh, moving swiftly through the boundless mountains and forests, searching everywhere.
About fifteen minutes later, Rat One returned.
“Master, I didn’t find him. He’s probably far away.”
“Then forget it. Don’t worry about him.”
Chu Liang waved his hand, instructing Rat Two to kill the Gu insect directly.
Then, with a “pop” sound, the insect was crushed by Rat Two, bursting into a cloud of dark green liquid that emitted a stench several times stronger than before.
Rat One’s little nose twitched, and he said with a look of disgust, “Rat Two, go find a place to wash up. Don’t come near me.”
“You rat!”
Rat Two snorted and immediately ran off, heading to a nearby stream to wash himself clean before returning.
During this time, Rat One thoroughly searched the surroundings, confirming that there were no other Gu insects.
“Let’s go!”
Chu Liang set off again.
This time, he used the Blood Explosion Technique.
His speed reached its peak, like a terrifying hurricane, sweeping violently through the forest.
At his current speed, even if there were other Gu insects hidden in the dark, they wouldn’t be able to keep up with him and would only be able to watch him disappear into the distance.
After a while, Chu Liang returned to his normal speed, heading towards the valley where the stone door was located.
Along the way, the two little rats kept watch for him.
“Master, there’s a group of martial artists from the Mountain Farmer Martial Arts Hall resting two kilometers ahead. Do you want to avoid them?” Rat Two reminded him.
“Yes.”
Chu Liang changed direction, making a detour.
In this way, he continued without stopping and didn’t interact with any human martial artists, finally arriving at the valley at two in the afternoon.
Compared to when he left last time, the valley hadn’t changed much.
Rat One and Rat Two surveyed the area and found no human martial artists around the valley.
Chu Liang leaped down into the valley, landing steadily in front of a patch of vines.
“This is it.”
He lifted the vines and moved the boulder behind them.
The familiar passage appeared before him.
Chu Liang entered the passage, turned around, grabbed the boulder, and slowly moved it back, sealing the entrance tightly.
Whoosh!
He lit a fire starter.
The dim light flickered, driving away some of the darkness.
Chu Liang held the fire starter and walked forward, seeing the gray stone door.
◈◈◈
On the gray stone door, there was a clear indentation in the shape of a token.
“Finally here!”
The two little rats were excited, their tails wagging, their small eyes gleaming.
Their treasure-hunting talent was triggered, sensing a great treasure behind the door.
“Master, quickly try the token,” Rat One rubbed his little paws together, saying impatiently.
“Alright.”
Chu Liang took out the token from his arms, his expression becoming solemn.
He had been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time.
He hoped it wouldn’t disappoint him.
Chu Liang took a deep breath, held the token, and slowly pressed it into the indentation on the stone door.
After a few short breaths, a “buzz” sound was heard, and the entire stone door began to vibrate and slowly rise.
“It works!”
“It’s a success!”
Seeing this, the two little rats cried out in excitement, eager to rush through the widening gap.
But they weren’t reckless, and they all stood in place, waiting for Chu Liang’s instructions.
Chu Liang was the master. Without his command, the two little rats wouldn’t act on their own.
The stone door rose higher and higher, gradually reaching a height of about one zhang.
The world behind the door was pitch black.
The deep darkness swallowed everything. The light from Chu Liang’s fire starter couldn’t illuminate it at all, as if there was an invisible barrier separating the world inside the door from the outside.
“A formation?”
Chu Liang pondered, guessing the reason.
Rat One asked, “Master, are we going in?”
“Not yet.”
Chu Liang didn’t go in. Instead, he went out to the forest and caught a wild rabbit.
He returned with the rabbit, tied it up with a straw rope, and then gently tossed it into the dark world behind the door.
The rabbit at the other end of the rope was still struggling, and the vibrations were transmitted to Chu Liang’s hand through the rope.
After a while, Chu Liang pulled the rabbit out, finding it unharmed, with no injuries on its body.
“Master, it should be safe. The rabbit is still alive.”
Rat One stood up and said to Chu Liang, “How about I go in first to test it?”
“Alright, if there’s any danger, retreat immediately,” Chu Liang agreed.
“Okay!”
Rat One was overjoyed, responding with a flick of his little tail, ready to enter the door.
But for safety’s sake, Chu Liang tied a wire and a straw rope around him before letting him go in.
Under the watchful eyes of Chu Liang and Rat Two, Rat One walked into the door with small steps.
A moment later, Rat One’s excited cry came from inside the door, “Master, come in quickly, there’s something good here, it’s what you want most right now!”
“Hmm?”
Chu Liang was startled. What did he want most right now?
Rat One hurriedly ran out from inside the door and said to Chu Liang, “Master, there’s no danger inside. It’s just an ordinary cave. Come in and you’ll see.”
“Alright.”
Chu Liang knew Rat One wouldn’t harm him, but he remained vigilant, slowly stepping into the door.
As he entered, an invisible force swept over his body.
“It’s indeed the power of a formation.”
Chu Liang had felt this power in the Martial Alliance’s Black Prison, so he was familiar with it.
The scene behind the stone door was just as Rat One had described, an ordinary cave with uneven, grayish-black walls.
The cave wasn’t large.
“That’s…”
Chu Liang’s gaze focused, and he raised the fire starter in his hand, looking towards the center of the cave.
There, a skeleton as white as jade sat cross-legged.
“This cave should be where this Senior cultivated in seclusion until his death,” Chu Liang thought to himself. “If that’s the case, everything in this cave is the legacy he left for future generations.”
His expression became serious as he slowly walked forward.
In front of the skeleton was a stone table with two stone boxes on it.
By the light of the fire, Chu Liang looked closely. Inside the first stone box was a black booklet.
On the cover of the booklet were written the words: 【 Grass and Wood Breathing Technique 】.
Chu Liang’s heart trembled, and he immediately took a deep breath, his gaze unable to tear itself away.
“This, this is… an internal cultivation technique?”
