Chapter 415: Chapter 232: Corpse-controlling Gu Insect, The Secret of Feigned Death

Cheng Zongyang suddenly smiled. "Alright. If you insist on a contract, then a contract you shall have."

Cheng Zongyang walked over and knocked him unconscious. Then, he had Gangzi stand guard while he entered the Wilderness World to draft a simple contract.

The feigned death technique itself wasn’t a big deal to him, but he figured he could sell it for Points.

He was short on Points at the moment. As long as the information was valuable, he didn’t mind compromising a bit.

’Besides, I have to recoup my initial investment!’

The terms were simple. First, He Shujun must explain the feigned death method to him in detail, with no falsehoods or omissions.

Second, He Shujun could not reveal a single word about him in any way. The penalty for violation would be "Soul Returns to the Wilderness."

As for his own promise, there was only one clause: he would release He Shujun and not personally kill him.

Once the draft was complete, he exited, bringing a brush and ink with him before waking He Shujun.

When He Shujun saw that Cheng Zongyang had managed to produce a Beast Hide Contract so quickly, he was completely dumbfounded.

’Was I unconscious for a long time after he knocked me out?’

But after reading the contract’s terms, he stated expressionlessly, "There’s a problem with this contract."

Cheng Zongyang frowned. "What problem? Don’t make trouble for no reason. Isn’t this what you wanted? You tell me the secret, you keep quiet about me, and I let you go without killing you. What’s the problem?"

He Shujun pointed to the section detailing Cheng Zongyang’s obligations and snorted, "What’s this? You’re not adding the ’Soul Returns to the Wilderness’ clause for yourself?"

Cheng Zongyang paused. ’This guy really pays attention to the fine print.’

So, he added the words "Soul Returns to the Wilderness" and asked impatiently, "Any other problems?"

He Shujun studied the contract for a good while. Seeing no other issues, he agreed.

Once both parties had pressed their Blood Fingerprints and signed their names, the contract was sealed.

The moment both had signed, Cheng Zongyang snatched the contract away, as if afraid He Shujun would grab it. "Can we talk now?" he said.

He Shujun frowned slightly at Cheng Zongyang’s behavior but didn’t dwell on it.

What he didn’t know, however, was that the moment the contract was finalized, the ink on the Beast Hide Contract began to fade.

Once an Oath Contract is sealed, its terms cannot be altered by external forces. The content is magically generated by the contract itself; handwritten additions are invalid. Since the ink could be washed away, it naturally wouldn’t be recognized by the contract’s magic.

In the past, when Cheng Zongyang drafted contracts, he would make revisions on the beast hide. After both parties confirmed the changes, he would then generate a new, final contract based on the agreed-upon content.

Only an Oath Contract created that way was truly binding.

This was the loophole Cheng Zongyang had exploited, taking advantage of his opponent’s ignorance. That was why he had snatched the contract away the moment it was signed.

Of course, it wouldn’t matter even if he were discovered. He had written that he would "let him go" and "not kill him." He never said he couldn’t capture him again, nor that someone else couldn’t kill him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

One could only say He Shujun was clever, just not clever enough.

"My Gu Medical Technique comes entirely from one person..." He Shujun began to recount the origin of his skills. He didn’t elaborate much, just giving a brief introduction before getting to the real point.

"From the Gu Medical Book and Gu Raising Manual that person left behind, I learned of something called the Corpse Control Gu. It was their own creation."

"It has two uses. The first is to parasitize another person. It can survive long-term, primarily by feeding on the host’s Essence Blood, though the effects aren’t obvious at first. Later, it will continuously lay eggs that spread throughout the host’s brain. Eventually, it can control the host’s body, allowing the Poison Physician to manipulate them. Once it reaches that stage, there’s basically no escape, short of death."

"The second method is to have it parasitize your own body. You use your own qi and blood to nurture it, but the cultivation method is different. While it still lays eggs that enter the brain, they also enter the Five Viscera and Six Bowels, achieving a state of symbiosis."

"The Poison Physician nourishes it with their qi and blood, and in return, the Corpse-controlling Gu Insect protects these vital, parasitized areas."

"If these areas are injured, the insect will consume the host’s qi and blood to take over the organs’ functions, ensuring the host doesn’t actually die. It then gradually repairs the damage to the organs."

"However, after the repairs are complete, the Gu Insect will also die."

"Take my case, for example. You killed me once. Although I died, my organs and vital spots were taken over by the Corpse-controlling Insect. They remained alive, but only at a minimal level of activity. They didn’t die just because the host’s body was mortally wounded."

"My qi and blood are still circulating, my organs are still functioning, not dead. So, no matter how severe my injuries, I won’t truly die. I just enter a state of feigned death. Of course, this only works if the body remains intact!"

"There are costs and drawbacks to this. The cost is that my qi and blood are completely drained, and my Cultivation is almost entirely gone. I have to start my Cultivation all over again."

"The drawback is that after the Gu Insect repairs the damage, it dies. Its husk adheres to the organs. It can’t be shed or dissolved. This means that a new Corpse-controlling Insect cannot parasitize the same area again."

"This is another weakness of the Corpse-controlling Insect. It cannot survive where another of its kind has already been! It’s like they’re territorial. In other words, a person can only host a Corpse-controlling Insect once in their life."

"As for how to cultivate a Corpse-controlling Insect, it isn’t easy. It took me several years to succeed. First, you must raise a..."

Then, He Shujun described the detailed steps for cultivating the Corpse-controlling Insect, holding nothing back.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t ask any questions, simply committing everything He Shujun said to memory. It wasn’t a difficult task for him.

"...After they undergo mass Reproduction inside a corpse, you collect them all and place them in a sealed container to be raised."

"Next, you must feed them with your own Essence Blood, but not too frequently—only once every three days. This is the only way to make them hungry enough to devour each other."

"When the number drops below ten, you must adjust the feeding schedule accordingly."

"For instance, if their numbers have dwindled, you feed them. If not, you don’t. But when you do feed them, the amount of Essence Blood must be small. Only then will they continue to fight and consume one another."

"You continue this process until only one remains. Then, the Corpse-controlling Insect is complete."

"After that, you must cut off a piece of your own flesh to give to it. This is when it will begin to lay eggs. Only by feeding on your flesh will the Corpse Worm Eggs become familiar with its taste. That way, there won’t be an adverse reaction when they later enter your body..."

Cheng Zongyang listened intently, memorizing the entire process.

’But the whole thing is absolutely disgusting!’ he thought.

’I could never use a method like this. Finding the special Corpse Worm Eggs is hard enough, and the cultivation process is too complex. But the main reason is the idea of my own body filled with worm eggs... It’s sickening just to think about.’

Next, Cheng Zongyang repeated everything he’d just heard back to He Shujun, then proceeded to ask a series of questions he’d formulated.

After he had all his answers, He Shujun finally asked, "Any more questions?"

He was starting to get nervous, worried that Cheng Zongyang would go back on his word.

Cheng Zongyang saw that He Shujun was unharmed, which indicated he had indeed revealed everything he knew.

After a moment of thought, Cheng Zongyang asked, "That method you use to raise your Cultivation with the Heart-devouring Gu—it has a price, doesn’t it?"

He Shujun was silent for a moment before replying, "Yes. A foundation built that way is unstable. But as long as you take the time to solidify it later, the impact isn’t too great."

Cheng Zongyang nodded. He had little interest in the Heart-devouring Gu. "You can go," he said.

He Shujun froze, somewhat surprised.

He slowly rose to his feet, glanced around, picked a direction, and began to back away slowly. When he saw that Cheng Zongyang truly wasn’t giving chase, he immediately turned and bolted.

Cheng Zongyang walked over to Gangzi’s side. "He chose to run deeper into the Inner Mountain. You think he’ll get bitten by a venomous snake or some poisonous bug?"

Gangzi completely ignored him, continuing to munch on the last piece of meat.

Watching He Shujun get further and further away, Cheng Zongyang kicked Gangzi. "Go after him. Knock him out and bring him back."

Hearing this, Gangzi reluctantly got up. But after taking only a few steps, he turned back, grabbed the piece of meat still roasting by the fire, and then took off in He Shujun’s direction.

"That blockhead..."

Cheng Zongyang shook his head slightly and turned back toward the cave. He Shujun was of no more use. Although he had wasted three days of Lifespan on the contract, the feigned death technique should sell for a good number of Points.

’Next, I need to find six people to replenish the Soul Crystal Stone for the Soul Slave’s reconstruction.’

’As for He Shujun’s Soul, I have other plans. It’s a good chance to test the success rate of one of my theories.’