Long Xuan ignored Long Lie, returned to the mountain peak, and sat in a newly constructed pavilion. He skillfully took out paper and pen, and once again began working on the Gu form.


    The Gu he was currently researching was the one he had long envisioned: the Silkworm Gu. The silk produced by this Silkworm Gu would be in an energy form, capable of forming a soul armor that could defend against physical attacks, soul attacks, mental power attacks, and even sonic attacks...


    In short, it could defend against anything, and when fused with the body, it would provideplete, seamless protection.


    The soul armor he conceived was almost absurdly exaggerated, as if it were a wild fantasy, something that could only be realized in a dream. It was like he could write anything he wanted, and it would just happen.


    But everything is possible. If you don’t try it yourself, how could you know that such a soul armor doesn''t exist in this world?


    Long Xuan created the Gu form by himself, first writing his description of the soul armor onto the Gu form, fixing the abilities of the Gu insect, and then writing down the first material for the Gu form—an Ice Silkworm that has lived for ten thousand years.


    Seeing progress appear on the Gu form, the smile on his lips grew wider. Indeed, any ability can exist in this world; the only limits are what you can imagine, and not what doesn’t exist in this world. It all depends on how big your imagination is.


    This was the first Gu insect he had refined since advancing to the Marrow Cleansing stage as a Gu cultivator, and his enthusiasm was high, brimming with energy.


    He wanted to create the soul armor he had imagined as quickly as possible. By then, with both the Water Bear Gu and the soul armor providing dual protection, he would truly be invincible.A year passed in a sh. By this time, he had progressed the Gu form to 50%,pleting half of the work. Creating something from scratch like this was incredibly time-consuming, requiring a massive amount of time to exhaust all possibilities.


    Even though his knowledge of Gu techniques was already quite extensive—he was no longer the novice he had been when he first crossed over—he still couldn’t shorten the time significantly.


    Unable to resist, he stood up to stretch his aching muscles, intending to rest a bit before continuing his work.


    Suddenly, he noticed that Long Lie was still in the outer area and hadn’t left yet, which surprised him. He immediately walked in that direction.


    “Why are you still here? nning to spend the New Year with me?” Long Xuan asked as soon as he saw Long Lie.


    Long Lie nced at him and then turned his gaze back to the wine jar.


    “How should I know when it wille out? What if it forms a Gu while I’m not here and runs off? I have to stay and keep watch. Everyone who refines Gu needs to stay by its side. Don’t you?”


    Long Lie turned back to him, asking in surprise.


    “Of course not! I also have to stay by its side. I wouldn’t dare wander around,” Long Xuan quickly denied, shaking his head.


    His eyes could see the progress and urately calcte the day the Gu would form, so he really didn’t need to waste time staying by its side. But he couldn’t say that.


    “I mean, why don’t you take the jar home and watch it there? I don’t provide meals here,” Long Xuan asked.


    Long Lie shook his head and said, “No need. What if I run out of wine after I get home? I’d have to make another trip, and then I might stumble into one of those weird formations of yours.”


    “It’s better to stay here. If I run out of wine, I can just ask you for more, saving myself the trouble of going back and forth.”


    “My decision was correct. I’m almost out of wine already. There’s only enough for one more batch, so I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you again.”


    Hearing this, Long Xuan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He’s almost out of wine again? Just how unlucky could he be?


    He had given Long Lie twenty sets of materials, enough for twenty attempts at refining the Gu, and he still failed every time. That “infallible ritual of sacrificing friends” of his didn’t seem to work after all.


    Seeing Long Lie pour thest batch of spirit wine into the jar, Long Xuan couldn’t help but say, “It seems your ritual of sacrificing friends doesn’t work anymore. Maybe sacrificing too many friends made it ineffective? Why not try sacrificing yourself?”


    “I used up all my luck when I won those seven high-grade strange Gu insectsst time. Now, it doesn’t matter who I sacrifice,” Long Lie said casually as he slowly ced the lid back on the jar and took a few steps back. “Heaven help me, I, Long Lie, am willing to trade a lifetime of being single for one sessful Gu formation.”


    “So ruthless?” Long Xuan was startled by his wish. Out of reflex, he used his golden finger ability to peek into the jar, and when he saw progress inside, he couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth twice.


    Could it really be so coincidental? Did Heaven really trade his lifelong singleness for a sessful Gu formation? Did his wishe true?


    Long Xuan gave him a sympathetic look, shook his head helplessly, and finally walked away. Long Lie would have to fend for himself.


    After a brief rest, Long Xuan returned to the pavilion and continued working on the Gu form.


    There were no secrets in the outer area, so he wasn’t worried about Long Lie wandering around. If he insisted on staying, so be it.


    Unknowingly, a few more months passed, and by this time, the progress on the Gu form had reached 70%, indicating that thepletion of the Gu form was in sight.


    Satisfied, Long Xuan nodded and put down his pen. Suddenly, he thought of something and ran toward where Long Lie was.


    He could see the progress of the Gu refining, so he knew exactly when the Gu would form. ording to his calctions, the wine Gu should form today.


    Curious about what abilities would be unlocked by refining the wine Gu with only strong, spicy wine, he decided to go and take a look.


    As soon as he arrived, he heard Long Lie’s wildughter. It seemed he was indeed a bitte; the wine Gu had already formed before he arrived.


    But it wasn’t toote. Long Lie’s wildughter suggested that the Gu had only just formed.


    “Finally formed a Gu? Didn’t I tell you that sacrificing friends wouldn’t work? You had to sacrifice yourself. See, as soon as you followed my suggestion, the Gu formed, didn’t it?” Long Xuan said teasingly as he walked up to him.


    Upon hearing this, Long Lie''s smile froze on his face. He finally realized that earlier, he had jokingly wished to trade a lifetime of being single for a sessful Gu refinement. He said it casually at the time, never expecting that after so many failures, his wish would coincidentallye true right after he said that. Was fate ying a joke on him?


    He nervously nced towards the sky, wondering if it could really be that effective. He was just joking.


    Long Xuan sympathetically patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Alright! Let''s first take a look at the Gu insect''s abilities, shall we?"


    "You mentioned earlier that you refined this Gu with the finest wine insect, so I imagine what emerges will be a peak-grade Gu insect. I wonder just how extraordinary this peak-grade Gu insect''s abilities will be."


    Long Xuan looked at the little red snake coiled around Long Lie''s arm, his face showing a hint of anticipation.


    The snake was red all over, with a fierce look in its eyes, giving off a menacing appearance. Just one nce made it clear that it had a very bad temper, easily provoked and quick to anger. It was far from cute and fell shortpared to his own little white snake.


    When it came to the abilities of this peak-grade Gu insect, Long Lie''s smile returned. He quickly put aside the previous matter and ran off to find an open space to test the abilities of his top-grade wine Gu.


    Long Xuan watched with interest and followed him.


    Soon, under Long Lie''s control, a sea of mes spewed from the little snake''s mouth.


    But this wasn''t an ordinary sea of mes. Long Xuan noticed that the little red snake could breathe fire and wine simultaneously.


    It''s well known that fire burns more fiercely when it meets alcohol, and it burns longer. Firebined with alcohol increases its power, making it a highly effective offensive weapon.


    The area affected by the fire and wine mixture was vast, and soon the entire open space was engulfed in a raging fire. The scorching heat roasted the two of them, with the mes burning intensely ahead, showing no signs of dying down.


    At this point, Long Lie was thoroughly excited,ughing wildly and dancing in front of the sea of mes like someone who had taken the wrong medicine.


    Only Long Xuan frowned slightly, showing a look of disappointment.


    Was this the ability of a peak-grade Gu insect?


    Wasn''t this just his zing me Palm technique with a bit of alcohol added?


    This ability seemed so ordinary, far inferior to his little white snake''s abilities. It hardly seemed like they were on the same level.


    "Hey! What''s with that expression? Do you really think fire-breathing is a weak ability?"


    "You really have no idea. This isn''t some run-of-the-mill fireball technique; it''s a forbidden move!"


    "Did you see the range of its attack just now? This is an extremely rare crowd-clearing move."


    "If I had this ability during the beast tide, I could have wiped out whole groups of beasts. What would I have to fear from a beast tide then?"


    "Even if a beast horde of thousands attacked, I could kill them all in one move. This is such a terrifying ability, yet you''re dissatisfied?"


    "You need to know that most people don''t have any kind of ultimate move. With this in hand, I''ll never have to worry about being outnumbered again. I''m extremely satisfied with this ability!"


    "This Gu insect could easily be my main battle force. It''s the strongest among all my Gu insects. With this Gu, mybat strength will increase several times over, enough to dominate the Long n."


    "From now on, I''m someone with a peak-grade Gu insect too, hahaha..."


    Long Lie couldn''t help but kiss the wine Gu twice, his eyes filled with excitement. It was clear that he was extremely satisfied with this ability.


    Seeing how excited he was, Long Xuan felt a bit helpless.


    Well, everyone has their own preferences. What seemed weak to him was a divine skill in someone else''s eyes.


    Was it a matter of differing perspectives, or was it just that his own Gu was too powerful to be judged bymon standards?


    Perhaps even among peak-grade Gu insects, there could be a heaven-and-earth difference in their capabilities. Not all peak-grade Gu insects had the same level ofbat strength.


    "This wine is my own creation, never before seen in this world. The Gu refined from this wine must also be a new breed, appearing for the first time in this world."


    "Since it''s a new type of Gu, it naturally needs a name. Will you name it, or shall I?" Long Xuan asked.


    Long Lie nced at him and said, "I refined this Gu insect, so of course, I''ll name it. How could I let you take advantage?"


    "My name is Long Lie, so let''s name it ''Lie Gu.''"


    "In this way, when this Lie Gu makes a notorious name for itself in the Gu world, people will think of me, Long Lie, when they hear its name. I''ll be remembered in history, hahaha..."


    Long Lie burst into another round of crazyughter.


    Long Xuan looked again at the Lie Gu. It was refined from the strongest wine in this world, had a fierce temper, and could breathe fierce fire.


    Long Lie had named it Lie Gu after himself, and the name was unexpectedly fitting. It seemed like a perfect coincidence.