"Pop..."
Miao Yinuo took the bottle and uncorked it.
"Whoosh..."
The next moment, a perfectly transparent, flawless Gu worm flew out from inside, circling Miao Yinuo.
Its appearance...
Seemed a tiny bit affectionate.
Bai Zihe watched, marveling and broadening his horizons.
"This is the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Gu!"
Miao Yinuo opened her palm, and the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Gu willingly crawled onto it, wriggling and moving.
This body...
Unless one deliberately looked, it would be hard to spot.
Miao Yinuo explained, "The Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Gu is said to possess all possibilities. When it is first born, it is like an uncarved jade, requiring constant refinement."
"As for its final form..."
"It depends on the breeder's intentions, the methods used, and the food it is fed."
Bai Zihe nodded slightly.
It seemed to make some sense.
"Can this little fellow start devouring now? Is it picky?"
This was what Bai Zihe was concerned about.
After all...
He had the corpse of a Dune Dragon in his possession!
A Dune Dragon was at least at the peak of the Tribulation Crossing stage, or even between the Tribulation Crossing stage and immortality.
Moreover, with its massive size, it would be more than enough to raise this little one.
"It's not picky."
"However..."
Miao Yinuo stroked the little one and added, "Its current strength is too weak. It cannot consume anything too powerful, as there's a risk of it bursting."
"I see."
Bai Zihe understood.
He estimated that the little one's current strength was at most that of a Grandmaster.
If a Tribulation Crossing stage expert were to attack casually, they could easily obliterate it, making it incapable of devouring an attack from such a powerful being.
"Then let's begin!"
Bai Zihe had already considered this while refining elixirs.
He immediately took out a handful of pills.
"Squeak!"
"Squeak squeak..."
Upon smelling the rich medicinal fragrance, the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Gu became excited, crawling towards Bai Zihe.
"It's all yours, don't rush!"
Miao Yinuo chuckled, grabbed the little one's tail, took a pill, and placed it before it.
"Hiss..."
"Chirp chirp chirp..."
A series of soft sounds, like fine rain on leaves, continued incessantly.
To Bai Zihe's surprise.
That pill...
Visibly shrank circle by circle, eventually becoming a pill the size of a watermelon seed, which was then swallowed by the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Gu in one gulp.
"Hiss..."
After eating, the little one seemed to hiccup contentedly, excitedly crawling around on Miao Yinuo's fair palm, rubbing its head against her now and then.
And the entire process...
The little one, which was about the length of a knuckle, had grown by about half, becoming noticeably larger and plumper.
It even looked a little cute.
Someone unfamiliar might even mistake it for some kind of pet.
"Again."
Subsequently, Bai Zihe and Miao Yinuo continued to feed the little one.
They watched as it grew from a tiny size to become robust and "burly," showing a hint of ferocity.
The feeding process lasted for three days.
During these three days.
Bai Zihe fed the creature, cultivated in the Haotian Pagoda, and simultaneously used a wisp of his divine sense to control the Haotian Pagoda's flight, clearing away the dark and strange energy that had leaked out when he destroyed the Dark Strange Eye.
After three days.
Finally, Bai Zihe had scoured every street and alley, every nook and cranny of Miao Territory, eradicating all the dark and strange energy.
And the little one...
Was now about the size of an adult's finger.
The entire Gu worm exuded a potent aura, and a mere glance revealed its extraordinary nature, promising a terrifying future.
And what it devoured...
Had progressed from pills to the corpses of powerful beasts and precious medicinal ingredients.
As for the Dune Dragon's corpse...
Bai Zihe had not attempted it during these three days, fearing it might cause the creature to explode.
However, now was the time.
"Alright..."
"Today, you'll eat something fresh!"
Bai Zihe took out a drop of Dune Dragon blood, diluted it a hundredfold, and placed a bowl of blood water before the little one.
"Hiss..."
As if sensing the dragon blood, the little one became greatly excited.
Then...
"Gulp... gulp..."
It dove headfirst into the blood water and drank it clean.
This took no more than ten seconds.
And as it absorbed the blood, the little one's body visibly swelled, growing even faster than it had during the previous three days of feeding!
"Squeak..."
After drinking, the little one even licked the bowl clean, let out a satisfied burp, and continued to roll around.
Clearly.
Even the hundredfold diluted Dune Dragon blood was immensely beneficial, accelerating its growth.
"Again!"
Next, Bai Zihe tried feeding it with ten-times diluted dragon blood, and there was no issue.
However, with a single drop of undiluted dragon blood, the little one couldn't handle it. The potent medicinal power caused it to writhe uncontrollably, almost dying on the spot.
Bai Zihe had to proceed slowly.
Diluting it to one-tenth, but gradually increasing the quantity.
"Buzz..."
After an unknown number of attempts, the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Gu suddenly erupted with a powerful aura, akin to a cultivator breaking through.
Robust and formidable!
"It evolved!"
Miao Yinuo said happily, "The little one has evolved to the second stage. It can now basically devour anything, though the speed of consumption varies."
Bai Zihe was overjoyed.
Then.
He took out the hundred-year-old Willow Heart that he had obtained after killing Tian Zhongtang.
This item had also been infected with dark and strange energy, but due to its relatively short age, the infection was minimal.
Bai Zihe handed the item to the little one, "Miao Miao, you should be able to communicate with it, asking it to only devour the dark and strange energy within, right?"
"I'll try!"
Miao Yinuo attempted to communicate with the little one.
The next moment, the little one bit down on the hundred-year-old Willow Heart.
"Buzz buzz..."
The dark and strange energy within, as if finding a release, immediately flowed into the little one's mouth.
One wisp after another, continuously.
And during this process.
The little one was exceptionally excited, as if it had found the most delicious food in the world, trembling with delight.
"This..."
Bai Zihe watched everything, but said nothing further.
The Heaven-Devouring Earth-Swallowing Gu was merely a tool.
In less than a moment.
The dark and strange energy within was completely absorbed by the little creature. Bai Zihe retrieved the hundred-year-old Willow Heart and examined it.
Indeed, there was not a trace of dark and strange energy left within.
It was pure, filled with a rich woody essence.
Feasible!
Bai Zihe was ecstatic.
Thus, he took out the ten-thousand-year-old Willow Heart.