After sorting out the sequence of events, Deng Tianyu pondered for a moment, then inquired:
“So the purpose of this Heart-Controlling Gu Mother is to help Aunt Rong remove the Heart-Controlling Gu inside her?”
“But how can Aunt Rong be certain that the Gu in your body originates from this specific Gu Mother?”
As far as he knew, the Heart-Controlling Gu was a very special kind of Gu insect.
Once a Heart-Controlling Gu Mother was refined, it could reproduce endlessly through feeding.
These reproduced Heart-Controlling Gu bugs were also known as Child Gu, which would develop a subtle connection with the Gu Mother and obey it completely.
Thus, as long as one controlled a Heart-Controlling Gu Mother, it was equivalent to controlling countless Child Gu.
Of course, there was a second method to control the Child Gu: feeding them with one’s own blood essence to establish a connection and thereby achieve control!
Only, the latter was an acquired method of control, inferior to that of a true Gu Mother.
Presumably, Aunt Rong’s father had intended to use this second method to control the Spirit Treasure Sect Leader, thus controlling the entire Spirit Treasure Sect.
Qu Qirong explained: “On this point, we owe much to Sect Master Ning’s assistance.”
“Had she not been proficient in the Art of Deduction, we wouldn’t have been able to locate this Gu Mother so quickly.”
Deng Tianyu pressed further: “Aunt Rong means that Shizun deduced the Gu Mother’s location through the connection between the Heart-Controlling Gu bug in your body and the Gu Mother?”
Qu Qirong nodded: “That is exactly the case!”
Now Deng Tianyu understood!
Aunt Rong had most likely known from early on that Shizun was the Moon Consort of the Yin-Yang Law Heaven.
Otherwise, this deal would never have taken place!
For if she hadn’t known that the Moon Consort excelled in the arts of astrology and moon-gazing, how could she have asked Shizun to deduce the Gu Mother’s location?
This was a point Deng Tianyu didn’t state outright, and Qu Qirong didn’t clarify either.
After all, Shizun’s identity was slightly sensitive at the moment and not suitable to be laid out in the open.
As if recalling something, Deng Tianyu frowned:
“But even with the Heart-Controlling Gu Mother in hand, one still needs someone proficient in Gu Arts to remove the Child Gu from Aunt Rong’s body.”
“Has Aunt Rong made preparations for this?”
At this, Qu Qirong only smiled charmingly: “As it happens, by coincidence, one of Aunt Rong’s maidservants is a former member of the Southern Border Gu Tribe, and she is well-versed in all manner of Gu Arts!”
Deng Tianyu was stunned, then looked astonished: “Aunt Rong’s maidservants truly are hidden talents!”
Take Miss Qing’er—he thought she was just an ordinary maidservant, but who could have imagined she was the sole inheritor of the Ancient Zither Sect!
As for whether it was really a coincidence, he didn’t press further.
Seeing his expression, Qu Qirong asked with some concern: “Tianyu, do you think Aunt Rong is a scheming woman?”
Deng Tianyu shook his head. “How could that be? Everything Aunt Rong has done is only to protect herself!”
For a woman like Aunt Rong, he could only look upon her with admiration and respect.
She was not like those so-called heroines in the fantasy novels of his past life, who always needed the male protagonist to save them, acting frail and delicate.
Aunt Rong’s cultivation wasn’t high, but both her methods and her resolve far surpassed ordinary people!
Even as a man himself, he felt somewhat inferior in this regard.
Qu Qirong gazed fixedly at the warm hand still holding hers and spoke softly: “Tianyu is truly so considerate and gentle!”
Following her gaze, Deng Tianyu grew somewhat awkward and quickly let go.
He hadn’t had any other intentions just now; he had simply wanted to give Aunt Rong some warmth.
But regardless, given their identities—one an elder, the other a junior—such an action was still slightly out of line.
Ending that thought there, Deng Tianyu returned to the main topic: “Can Aunt Rong now directly remove the Heart-Controlling Gu from her body?”
Qu Qirong shook her head: “We’re still missing one thing—an Ice Soul Heart-Protecting Pill!”
“Because the Heart-Controlling Gu has eight legs, each as sharp as a blade.”
“During the removal process, although with the Gu Mother present it won’t resist and will only obey, it must still crawl out directly from the chest area.”
“Therefore, we can only use the Ice Soul Heart-Protecting Pill to protect the heart from all sides, and rely on the cold that it fears to make the Heart-Controlling Gu exit through the mouth, so as to avoid damaging the heart.”
Hearing this, Deng Tianyu looked toward the Heart-Controlling Gu Mother in the brocade box.
He hadn’t examined it closely before and hadn’t noticed the peculiarities of those eight legs.
Now, scrutinizing it carefully, he saw it was just as she said—the eight legs bore extremely fine barbs that gleamed with a cold light.
Deng Tianyu withdrew his gaze and looked up: “Has Aunt Rong still not gathered all the materials needed to refine the Ice Soul Heart-Protecting Pill?”
Qu Qirong sighed faintly: “Though the materials are hard to find, with the Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s financial resources, we’ve managed to acquire some.”
“But the Ice Soul Pill is extremely difficult to refine. Up to now, we’ve refined three furnaces, and not one has succeeded.”
“Beyond that, the Spirit Treasure Pavilion once offered a high price to buy a finished pill, but came up empty-handed.”
Deng Tianyu remained silent.
In the Nine Provinces, if one had to name the most sought-after profession, it would undoubtedly be that of an apothecary.
However, apothecaries were exceedingly rare, and those who could refine high-grade pills were even rarer.
And this Ice Soul Heart-Protecting Pill just happened to be a high-grade spirit pill.
As long as a person wasn’t dead and still had a breath left, this pill could protect their heart meridian and save their life.
If even a high-grade apothecary had such a low success rate, then it would probably require more materials and more time.
Just as he was thinking this, Deng Tianyu suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “Aunt Rong, see if my Sword Intent can replace the Ice Soul Heart-Protecting Pill!”
Tiny specks of green light and white light intertwined, enveloping his palm.
This was unmistakably the Spring Vitality and Winter Hiding Sword Intents.
One was like icy frost, piercingly cold!
The other was like a magical elixir, brimming with vitality.
When combined, they seemed to form a protective sword membrane.
Qu Qirong was somewhat astonished: “This is Sword Intent?”
She had heard that Sword Cultivators could nurture Sword Intent, but this was her first time seeing it.
For those Sword Cultivators who could cultivate Sword Intent, every single one was a prodigy of exceptional talent.
Yet her own Tianyu had directly condensed two kinds of Sword Intent—his talent was truly stunning!
“Shall we give it a try?”
Deng Tianyu didn’t say much more; once he had an idea, he put it into action.
He wrapped his palm in the two Sword Intents and reached through the black-and-white light barrier to grasp at the Heart-Controlling Gu Mother.
“Wait… Tianyu, you…”
Qu Qirong’s breath caught, and she wanted to stop him, but it was already too late.
Under her anxious gaze, the Heart-Controlling Gu Mother instantly opened its ferocious insect maw, and the afterimage of one leg flashed as it stabbed toward the hand grasping for it.
“Buzz!”
In an instant, ripples spread outward, causing the brocade box engraved with cryptic patterns to tremble incessantly.
And only then did Qu Qirong realize that the razor-sharp barb was blocked by two interwoven layers of light green radiance, unable to advance even a fraction further.
“It can even block the Gu Mother’s attack. Protecting Aunt Rong’s heart meridian should pose no problem.”
Deng Tianyu withdrew his hand and simultaneously used Yin-Yang Dao Art to seal the gap in the barrier.
Qu Qirong’s suspended heart settled, but she couldn’t help scolding him: “Why were you so reckless? What if you had truly gotten hurt, then what?”
“I’m perfectly fine now, aren’t I?” Deng Tianyu smiled, completely unconcerned.
He believed that with the fusion of two Sword Intents, unless it was an exceedingly powerful Slaughter Divine Ability or artifact, no amount of external force would be able to break through.
