Divine Level Witch Doctor

Zhao Yuan immediately turned around and headed for the dissection building.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at the dissection building.

It was now a little past one in the morning. The campus was silent, and it was even less likely for anyone to be passing by the dissection building.

The pitch-black night, the dim yellow streetlights, the bamboo grove swaying in the wind, and the Soviet-style dissection building from the last century... All these elements combined to create a deeply unsettling atmosphere. Even Zhao Yuan, who had been to the dissection building countless times, couldn’t help but shiver.

After looking around, Zhao Yuan couldn’t help but remark, ”Jeez, no wonder the dissection building is listed as one of the ten most likely places for supernatural events to occur in University City. Forget everything else—just the way it looks in the dead of night, it really seems like a haunted house!”

The main entrance to the dissection building was already closed, so there was no way in. But Zhao Yuan’s goal wasn’t to enter the building anyway. He could just as easily test the Magic recorded in the Sheepskin Book out here.

Zhao Yuan opened his Storage Ring Space, took out the Sheepskin Book, and stopped after flipping to a certain page. He muttered, ’I’ll try the Insect Summoning and Gu Refining method first.’

Both Ying Ji’s Hundred Insects Gu and the culprit’s Vampire Bees and Teng Mo had left a deep impression on Zhao Yuan. If it weren’t for the restraining methods recorded on the Information Leaf, he would have paid a terrible price to eliminate those Gu Insects, even if he was capable of it. This just went to show that while Gu Insects might look small and insignificant, their power was actually quite formidable.

Following the book’s instructions, Zhao Yuan drew a pattern on the ground.

This was an Insect Summoning Array, capable of attracting violent, highly venomous insects from a radius of several miles. It would then force them to fight to a conclusion within the bizarre pattern, selecting the strongest among them.

Current methods of Raising Gu generally involve forcing venomous insects into a deathmatch. Countless insects are killed or injured each time. The final survivor then devours the flesh of the others, enters a dormant period, and becomes a Gu pupa.

However, the method recorded in the Sheepskin Book was different.

When dueling inside this Array, the insects wouldn’t necessarily die. The final survivor wouldn’t devour the corpses of its kin, either. While a Gu pupa cultivated this way would be somewhat inferior in ferocity and venom compared to one from the former method, it would be far superior in terms of tamability and loyalty.

Ferocity and venom could be improved through Late Stage training, but attributes like tamability and loyalty could not. From this, it was easy to see that the Raising Gu method recorded in the Sheepskin Book was far more advanced than those currently in circulation.

A so-called ”Gu pupa” referred to an insect that had qualified to become a Gu Insect but had not yet truly transformed into one.

Once one had a Gu pupa, the person Raising Gu needed to use various medicinal herbs to feed and catalyze it. This would stimulate its abilities and venom to the maximum extent, helping the Gu pupa evolve into a true Gu Insect.

This latter process required a very long time and had an extremely high failure rate.

Because of this, many who practiced Raising Gu would take dangerous risks and walk a wicked path, using flesh and blood—or even human lives—to feed their Gu. This would accelerate the Gu pupa’s evolution and enhance its abilities and venom. The method in the Sheepskin Book, however, used special medicinal herbs and training techniques to allow them to continuously progress and improve. In comparison, while it was slower than using flesh and blood, it had the advantage of being stable and far less prone to mishaps. Of course, the most crucial part was that this method didn’t require harming innocent people.

The moment the Array was drawn, a buzzing sound filled Zhao Yuan’s ears.

At first, the buzzing was faint and distant, but it quickly grew louder and closer.

Zhao Yuan glanced around and saw a dense, black swarm of insects. Like a tide, they flew and crawled, surging toward him. The sight was truly horrifying. Anyone with trypophobia would likely have been scared into fainting on the spot.

As the swarm swept toward him, Zhao Yuan’s first instinct was to dodge, but he was in the center with nowhere to go. He quickly discovered, however, that the insects had no interest in him at all. What attracted them was the Insect Summoning Array.

Tens of millions of insects entered the Array and immediately began a fierce struggle. The losers automatically left the Array and vanished into the night, while the victors began to seek out other opponents.

Strangely enough, all of these insects were venomous to some degree. They fought within the Array, using all sorts of Techniques. Logically, the loser should have been poisoned and died. But that wasn’t what happened in reality. The poisoned insects would often just pass out for a moment before recovering their vitality and leaving the Array on their own.

This scene surprised Zhao Yuan. He flipped through the Sheepskin Book again and re-read the introduction to the Witch and Priest School on his Information Leaf, and he finally understood.

’So that’s how it is. The Witch and Priest School’s method of Raising Gu focuses on nurturing, not slaughter. And in the eyes of a Witch Priest, an insect that has participated in one ’selection’ is much stronger than an ordinary one. If given time to grow, it might even come out on top in the next selection. That’s why the Array they designed not only summons insects but also heals the injured and poisoned ones...’

Reading this, Zhao Yuan couldn’t help but marvel. ’These ancient Witch Priests really lived up to their righteous path. They’re nothing like those flashy, conniving lowlifes who walk the wicked path.’

The battle between the insects was swift. After more than half an hour, only a single insect remained inside the Array. Aside from it, there were a few scattered insect corpses. They were the ones too deeply injured or poisoned to be saved by the Array.

Zhao Yuan walked up to it, sizing up the final victor waiting in the center of the Array.

It was a beetle with a pair of large pincers, and it was as big as a man’s fist. The massive pincers extending from its head glinted with a menacing cold light. Zhao Yuan had no doubt that if those pincers clamped down on someone, they could easily pierce flesh and muscle, even if they couldn’t break bone. In addition, its body was covered in a thick carapace.

With a sharp offense and a solid defense, the beetle was like a tank among insects. No wonder it had rampaged its way to the very end.

However, the color of this beetle’s carapace was different from that of an ordinary beetle. It wasn’t the common black, gray, or brown, but a fiery crimson.

At first glance, it looked less like a beetle and more like a dancing flame.

Zhao Yuan had seen plenty of beetles in the mountains, but this was the first time he had ever seen one with such a vibrant and unusual color.

Just then, a block of text appeared on the Information Leaf, introducing the beetle.

After Zhao Yuan read it, the expression on his face instantly became quite a sight to behold.