Chapter 6: The Mammalian Experiment

The results of Shen Li's first blood bath training were… disappointing.

There was no dramatic transformation, no surge of power coursing through his body.

But that was to be expected.

A Level 3 qualification cultivator needed at least 2–3 years to fully refine their skin.

Shen Li knew this.

But he still wasn't satisfied.

His gaze drifted toward the massive cauldron in his room, its engravings still shifting in their endless, gruesome cycle of predation and evolution.

"If I can't rely on my base talent… then I need to find a way to improve it myself."

Unlike other sects and clans, who evaluated talent based on martial bones, the Shen Family only cared about bloodline inheritance.

Why?

Because bloodlines were absolute.

A person's martial bone quality was unpredictable, like finding a needle in a haystack.

But bloodline was stable, generational, and guaranteed.

So the Shen Family never even bothered testing root bones.

If you were born with a low bloodline qualification, then you were destined for mediocrity.

Shen Li clenched his fists.

"That means there could be hidden talents… people who were discarded simply because their bloodline wasn't high enough."

If he had been born in another sect, maybe they would have checked his martial roots instead of dismissing him as a Level 3 cultivator.

Shen Li stopped in front of an old man gutting a wild beast near the docks.

The stench of fresh blood and damp fur filled the air as the butcher wiped his hands on his apron.

"Boy," the butcher grunted, eyeing him suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"I need some live test subjects. Small mammals. Not birds, not fish. Rats, rabbits, fox cubs… anything like that."

The butcher's knife paused mid-motion.

"…You're not planning to start some strange ritual, are you?"

Shen Li smirked.

"Would you still sell to me if I was?"

The old man let out a rough chuckle.

"As long as you have silver, boy, I don't care if you're using them for pets or sacrifices."

Shen Li flipped a small pouch of coins onto the counter.

"Five animals. I don't care what kind. Just make sure they're alive."

The butcher nodded, wiping the blood from his hands as he motioned toward a back storage area.

A few minutes later, Shen Li walked out of the market with a wooden crate.

Inside, he could hear the faint rustling and scratching of his new test subjects.

Five creatures.

One wild rabbit, two rats, and two small fox cubs.

They weren't much.

But they would be enough for the next phase of his experiments.

"Let's see if this cauldron truly has no limits."

Back in his room, Shen Li set the wooden crate down beside the massive cauldron.

The engraved war of insects on its surface never ceased, constantly shifting as one bug devoured another, only to be replaced by a new challenger.

"This cauldron has always worked on insects, worms, and frogs… but will it work on mammals?"

He lifted the lid of the crate.

Inside, the five creatures trembled—their small eyes wide with fear, sensing the ominous aura radiating from the cauldron.

Shen Li's gaze swept across them.

The wild rabbit had sleek, muscular limbs—built for speed.The two rats twitched anxiously, their whiskers flicking in every direction.The fox cubs were still young, but their sharp teeth showed potential for a predator's future.

He had already witnessed what the cauldron could do to insects.

Now, it was time to see what happened when something with warm blood entered the fray.

With a steady hand, Shen Li grabbed the first creature—the wild rabbit.

It thrashed violently, its powerful legs kicking at the air, but Shen Li didn't hesitate.

He brought it to the cauldron's mouth.

The moment the cauldron sensed life, the lid opened like a hungry maw.

"No turning back now."

Shen Li dropped the rabbit inside.

Instantly, the engraved battlefield changed.

For the first time, instead of insects, a rabbit's image appeared among the carvings, standing amid a swarm of hungry beasts.

"It worked…"

But he wasn't done yet.

One by one, he tossed the remaining creatures inside.

The engraved war expanded, the etchings shifting as fox, rat, and rabbit began their battle for survival.

Shen Li watched closely.

The creatures didn't fight immediately—unlike the insects, they had instincts.

For a brief moment, they hesitated, sniffing the air, assessing their surroundings.

Then, the hunger set in.

The fox cubs moved first, snapping at the rats.The rats, smaller but faster, darted around, biting at anything they could reach.The rabbit, surprisingly, held its ground, using its powerful legs to kick one of the fox cubs into a wall.

But the fight was inevitable.

As teeth sank into flesh, the first victim fell.

A rat screeched, its body turning liquid, its essence absorbed into the cauldron.

The engravings shifted, glowing faintly, and the surviving creatures devoured the essence.

Then another fell.

And another.

Until…

One remained.

A new creature crawled out.

It was massive—the size of a hunting dog, but with a strange, unnatural appearance.

It had the long, powerful legs of a rabbit.The sharp, predatory fangs of the fox.The dark, beady eyes of the rats, filled with feral cunning.Its fur was thick, a blend of dark gray and reddish streaks, exuding a strange, intimidating presence.

Shen Li took a cautious step back.

This was no ordinary beast.

It was something entirely new.

He reached out with his blood control technique, trying to command it…

A powerful connection snapped into place.

Shen Li's breath hitched as something deep within the cauldron resonated.

The beast froze mid-motion, its snarling expression vanishing.

Its gaze locked onto him, no longer filled with aggression—

But recognition.

Not as an enemy.

Not as prey.

As its master.

Shen Li's heart pounded.

"This isn't just a tool.""This cauldron... completely binds the creatures to me."

Unlike other Gu refiners, who had to slowly tame their worms, he had instant dominance.

He clenched his fist.

The beast lowered its head, awaiting his command.

Shen Li stared at the cauldron, his mind racing with possibilities.

The experiment had been a success—he had proven that the cauldron could refine mammals, and more importantly, it could completely bind them to his will.

But there was one undeniable truth.

He couldn't allow his own bloodline to mix with animals.

If he used beasts to strengthen himself, even slightly, his entire lineage would be tainted. The Shen Family wouldn't tolerate mutation—they would exterminate him the moment they discovered it.

The patrol teams weren't just watching for foreign threats.

No—they were watching their own.

The Shen Clan's history of internal slaughter had long ensured that no one trusted each other.

In a place where family members turned each other into cultivation resources, the greatest enemy wasn't outsiders—it was their own kin.

"If I try to take someone by force, I'll be hunted down before I even get the chance to use them."

The patrols were too strict, the tracking techniques too advanced—even a high-level cultivator would struggle to erase their presence.

Shen Li tapped his fingers against the cauldron.

"If I can't steal, then I have to make them willingly give it to me."

A slow smirk crept onto his lips.

The answer was obvious—

He had to convince the family that Gu refinement was valuable.

If he proved the cauldron's worth, then at some point, he could request human subjects under the guise of research.

"I'll need to act like I'm developing powerful Gu beasts… Let them think I'm advancing the Shen Family's strength."

Once he gained their trust, once they saw potential in Gu refinement, then—

They would bring the sacrifices to him.

Shen Li's eyes gleamed in the dim candlelight.

"They'll deliver them to my doorstep, and they won't even realize what I'm doing."

It was the only way.

The only way to reach his true potential without being branded as a monster.

The first step? Proving the cauldron's power.

If he could refine a powerful battle Gu, something undeniably useful, the clan would start to take notice.

And once they accepted Gu refinement—

It was only a matter of time before they accepted human refinement, too.

Shen Li grinned, his fingers trailing over the cauldron's cold surface.

"It won't be long now."

For the next few days, Shen Li dedicated himself to a new mission—understanding the art of Gu refinement. His days were now split between reading through the copied Gu encyclopedias, searching the marketplace for necessary materials, and continuing his fishing trips to sustain himself.

Gu refinement was a process that defied normal cultivation. Unlike martial arts, which strengthened the cultivator directly, Gu refinement relied entirely on external factors—the right bugs, materials, and feeding methods. Even if one had the perfect recipe, there was no guarantee the Gu worm would survive, let alone thrive.

"It's a twisted path," Shen Li muttered to himself, flipping through the pages of the Gu Refining Encyclopedia. "Even if the Gu worm is successfully cultivated, it might not accept its new form and will simply die... It's almost like forcing a fish to walk on land."

The biggest problem? The Shen Family had no existing Gu refiners.

Because of their bloodline-based cultivation, Gu refinement was seen as an irrelevant, even alien practice. This meant that:

Most Gu materials were unavailable on the island.No one in the clan could guide him.Even basic insects needed for refining weren't documented.

Shen Li spent his free time carefully reading through dozens of Gu refinement recipes. He wasn't just searching for any random Gu worm—he needed one that could actually be cultivated on this island.

after a week of careful searching, Shen Li found one recipe that fit his conditions perfectly.

Gu Name: Condemnation Parasite Gu (天罚寄蛊)The required bugs existed on the island.The necessary refinement materials could be bought at the market.

To refine a Gu worm, one needed more than just bugs—it required strict feeding regimens, herbs, and sometimes even ritual formations.

The Shen Family marketplace was small but well-guarded. It mostly dealt in standard martial arts resources—spirit-hardened blood, strengthening herbs, beast cores—but Gu cultivation resources were almost nonexistent.

Shen Li carefully walked through the market stalls, speaking casually with vendors.

"Do you have any refined corpse worms?" he asked a seller who dealt with medicinal powders.

The old woman behind the stall gave him a confused look. "Corpse worms? Why would you need those?"

"For medicine," Shen Li replied vaguely.

The woman scoffed. "Boy, the only people who deal in corpse worms are poison masters and lunatics. Go look in the beast parts section."

After some effort, Shen Li managed to locate a small vendor selling insect-related goods. The man was a scrawny, pale-faced cultivator who seemed to specialize in waste materials from spirit beasts.

"What do you need?" the vendor asked lazily.

Shen Li glanced at the selection. It wasn't much, but he did find a few critical ingredients for the Condemnation Parasite Gu

Unlike other Gu, which needed rare spirit creatures, the Condemnation Gu could be cultivated from common parasitic insects—specifically blood-draining worms and burrowing centipedes.

For the next few days, Shen Li abandoned his fishing net and instead searched for deep burrowing insects in the island's muddy forests.

His efforts paid off. He found:

Shadowfang Blood Leeches – Small creatures that burrow into the skin and drain blood.

Now that he had all the necessary ingredients, Shen Li finally turned toward his Cauldron.

"This will be my first real attempt at refining a proper Gu."

Shen Li carefully threw twenty Shadowfang Blood Leeches into the cauldron. Immediately, the insects entered a frenzy, attacking and devouring each other.

After a few hours, only five remained. Shen Li added Spirit-Hardened Bone Dust and Shadow Bat Blood into the cauldron, watching as the remaining insects absorbed the nutrients.

Over the course of three days, the last remaining worm grew larger, its color shifting to a deep black with glowing red veins. The moment of truth had arrived.

To ensure control over the Gu, Shen Li followed the method described in the ancient texts—he cut his palm and let his blood drip onto the Cauldron's lid.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then—

Ding!The Condemnation Gu twitched violently before slowly crawling toward Shen Li's hand.

A cold voice rang in his mind.

[Condemnation Gu has been successfully refined.]

Shen Li grinned. "It worked."

Unlike simple poison Gu, the Condemnation Gu was not meant to kill outright. Instead, it burrowed into the spinal cord, attaching itself to the host's nerves and embedding its tendrils deep into their meridians.

A single mistake, and the host would suffer irreparable damage—paralysis, insanity, or worse.

Shen Li knew he couldn't rush this.

If the Gu died inside its host, the victim wouldn't just lose function—they'd be crippled beyond repair.

For the next few days, Shen Li observed the Gu carefully:It remained active, writhing and twitching at times, but it did not show any signs of instability.It consumed the specially prepared blood and herbs he had mixed in its container, growing slightly stronger.Unlike normal Gu, which struggled to adapt after refinement, this one seemed… calm—as if it already recognized its place in the world.

Shen Li smirked. "The Cauldron... really is something else."

Creating this Gu had drained him.

Unlike his past experiments with basic insects and frogs, this was a real Gu—a weapon, a tool of power.

Half of his entire savings had gone into this single refinement.The materials alone had cost more than what most low-level Shen cultivators earned in months.The Gu itself required constant feeding—blood, herbs, and spirit materials to maintain its strength.

"I can't keep making these blindly. If I don't plan ahead, I'll run out of resources before I even refine my second Gu."

But Shen Li knew this was just the first step.

Even though the Cauldron accelerated the process, it couldn't generate resources out of thin air. If he wanted to continue refining powerful Gu worms, he needed a steady supply of materials, money, and test subjects.