140: Chapter 140 This is my territory, if you can't understand human language, get out.

Shafeng Cave lived up to its name.

Just after stepping over the boundary marker at the cave entrance, a visible black gale slammed into them like a starving tiger pouncing on prey.

Jiang Wanrou instinctively wanted to channel her Spiritual Power protective shield, but the wind carried a strange, penetrating force that instantly tore through her thin layer of cyan light screen. The chill drilled straight into her marrow through her pores. Her figure swayed, her face turned deathly pale, and her steps became unsteady.

Just as she was about to be blown over by this strange wind, a large hand pressed down on her shoulder.

There was not the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Power; merely the temperature and weight of that palm seemed like a great mountain suppressing all the storms.

Gu Yan stood upwind, his broad frame like a wall, forcefully blocking those violent Evil Qi outside.

"Stick close."

Gu Yan didn't look back, his voice sounding exceptionally clear amidst the howling wind: "If you fall behind and get swept away by the wind, I won't be responsible for collecting your corpse."

Jiang Wanrou gritted her teeth and followed quickly.

The further in she went, the more shocked she became.

How could this be an Immortal Cave? It was practically a primitive beast's den.

There was no exquisite decoration, no Spirit Gathering Array, only bare stone walls and a dust-covered stone bed. The only "furniture" was actually a Dragon-severing Stone, brought from who-knows-where and still oozing bloodstains, with a few Storage Pouches thrown casually on top of it.

"You... you live in a place like this?"

Jiang Wanrou looked around; the terrible environment here was practically challenging her bottom line as an Alchemist with germaphobia.

"It's quiet here, and it's free."

Gu Yan waved his hand, sweeping away a pile of rubble in the corner, and pointed to the empty space: "Your Pill Refining Room is here. Make do with it; if you're cold, just light a few more furnace fires."

[Host, your terminal chauvinism is hopeless.] The System complained crazily in his mind: [She is a delicate SSR beauty, and you're making her sleep on the floor? At least get a decent bed! If nothing else, you could at least share half your bed with her!]

Gu Yan ignored the System's noise and threw the three Storage Pouches he had looted earlier to Jiang Wanrou's feet.

"This is the startup capital."

He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, his tone flat: "The medicinal herbs inside are yours, the Spirit Stones are mine. I need you to maximize the value of that 'Green Lotus Fire' in your hand within three days and refine a Medicinal Pill that can help me make a Breakthrough in my Physical Body Bottleneck."

Jiang Wanrou looked at the Storage Pouch at her feet, then at Gu Yan's face, which was written with "strictly business."

She took a deep breath and took out a small bronze tripod the size of a palm from her sleeve.

"To get high-grade Medicinal Pills, the environment must be stable."

She squatted down, and a wisp of cyan flame ignited at her fingertips. The flame was like a blooming lotus flower; the moment it appeared, the cold Evil Qi around was actually forced back three feet, and a hint of warmth was added to the air.

"The Evil Qi here is too heavy; it will explode the furnace." She raised her head, her gaze professional and persistent.

"Leave the Evil Qi to me."

Gu Yan closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling.

Inhale—Exhale—

The black gale that had been raging in the cave seemed to be guided by something, forming a visible vortex, rushing into Gu Yan's mouth and nose as if competing to get in.

The airflow in the cave instantly calmed down.

Jiang Wanrou's pupils constricted slightly.

Absorbing this kind of bone-corroding Evil Qi like it was air? What exactly was this man's body made of?

She said no more, her hand signs changing, and the small bronze tripod grew in the wind, becoming half a person tall. The Green Lotus Fire rose, and a rich medicinal fragrance began to permeate the Immortal Cave, mixing with the original blood scent, creating a strange sense of peace.

...

This peace only lasted for half an hour.

Boom!

The Restriction light screen outside the Immortal Cave shook violently, emitting a groan of being unable to bear the load.

"Gu Yan! Get out here!"

A roar containing Spiritual Power penetrated the stone wall and exploded inside the Immortal Cave. It shook the flame in Jiang Wanrou's hand, causing it to jump violently, almost causing the furnace to explode.

Her expression changed, and she hurriedly stabilized the heat, looking at the cave entrance in horror: "It's the people from the Lin family... they came so quickly?"

Gu Yan slowly opened his eyes.

The Evil Qi that had been roaming around his body instantly solidified, and then he swallowed it into his belly in one gulp.

"Focus on your Alchemy."

Gu Yan stood up, twisted his neck, and a series of crisp, bean-popping sounds rang out: "If you explode a furnace, it will be deducted from your payment."

After saying that, he strode toward the cave entrance.

His steps were heavy; every step he took seemed to land on people's heartbeats.

Outside the Immortal Cave.

A dozen Disciples wearing the black robes of the Law Enforcement Hall lined up in a fan shape, blocking all escape routes. The leader was a burly, bald man with a fleshy face, holding a spiked club in his hand, exuding the tyrannical aura of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Beside him stood the greasy, slick-looking male cultivator who had been robbed by Gu Yan earlier—Lin Wei.

At this moment, Lin Wei's face was wrapped in thick bandages, pointing at the cave entrance and cursing: "It's him! Deacon Liu, it's this Gu Yan! Not only did he rob us of our wealth, but he also openly abducted Junior Sister Jiang Wanrou from the Pill Pavilion! This is treason against the sect! This is a capital crime!"

The bald man called Deacon Liu sneered, slamming his spiked club heavily onto the ground, shattering a rock.

"Those inside, listen up!"

"I am Liu Meng of the Law Enforcement Hall. Come out immediately to be bound, and hand over Jiang Wanrou, and perhaps I can leave your corpse intact. Otherwise..."

Creak.

The heavy stone door was pushed open from the inside.

Gu Yan walked out.

He was shirtless, with wisps of un-dissipated black Qi still remaining on his toned muscles; he looked like an Asura who had just crawled out of Hell.

He stood on the steps, looking down at the group of people below, his gaze finally falling on Lin Wei.

"It seems that fall earlier didn't shake the water out of your brain."

Gu Yan's voice was not loud, but it made the clamoring Lin Wei subconsciously shrink behind Liu Meng.

"Presumptuous!"

Liu Meng was furious. As a small captain of the Law Enforcement Hall, who didn't nod and bow to him on a daily basis? This newly arrived Guest Elder was simply insanely arrogant.

"Gu Yan, you hid a female cultivator from the Pill Pavilion and looted fellow Disciples; there is both human and material evidence! If you are sensible..."

"She is mine."

Gu Yan interrupted his nonsense and pointed to the Immortal Cave behind him: "The things are mine, too."

He stepped down the stairs, approaching step by step.

"You want them? Fine."

Gu Yan held out a finger and crooked it: "Come and take them yourself."

"You're courting death!"

Liu Meng laughed out of extreme anger, his entire body's Spiritual Power exploded, and the spiked club in his hand glowed with an earthy yellow halo, carrying the force of a thousand jun, and smashed down fiercely toward Gu Yan's crown!

This blow was heavy and powerful; the air was compressed and exploded, emitting a sharp whistle.

Gu Yan didn't dodge.

He just raised his right arm, splayed his five fingers, as if catching an apple thrown at him.

Bang!

The spiked club smashed fiercely into his palm.

A huge shockwave spread in all directions with the two of them as the center, kicking up dust and smoke. The surrounding Disciples used their powers to resist, secretly rejoicing: With this strike, this kid's hand is surely ruined.

However.

The dust settled.

The expressions on everyone's faces froze.

Gu Yan's feet had sunk three inches into the ground, but his body remained motionless. The thousand-jin spiked club was firmly held in his hand, and no matter how much Liu Meng turned red and urged his Spiritual Power, he couldn't pull it back even a bit.

"Not bad strength."

Gu Yan looked at the terrified Liu Meng, the corners of his mouth pulling into a cold arc: "It's a pity, you only have strength."

Crack.

His five fingers exerted force suddenly.

The spiked club, cast from fine iron, was actually pinched with five deep finger marks under everyone's eyes, and then—

It snapped!

Fragments of the spiked club's spikes splashed everywhere.

Gu Yan let go, and before Liu Meng could react, a straightforward whip kick had already struck his waist.

Bang!

Liu Meng was hit as if by a battering ram; his scream stuck in his throat, his body folded into a strange angle, and he flew sideways like a cannonball, breaking three large trees in a row before stopping, passing out on the spot.

The whole place was deathly silent.

Gu Yan retracted his leg, patted the dust off his trousers, and his gaze swept over the remaining shivering Law Enforcement Hall Disciples.

"Go back and tell Lin Zixuan."

Gu Yan's voice echoed in the valley:

"If he wants the person, let him come over himself. Sending these pieces of scrap metal to die, I find it dirtying my hands."

"Get lost!"

With a roar mixed with a touch of Evil Qi impact.

The remaining Disciples scattered like birds and beasts, dragging the unconscious Liu Meng and the scared-stiff Lin Wei, crawling away from this terrifying place.

[Ding! Deterrence achievement achieved.]

[Prestige upgraded: Law Enforcement Hall Thug.]

[High-risk hatred value detected locking onto Host... The big BOSS is about to make a move.]

Gu Yan looked at the empty mountain road and turned back to the Immortal Cave.

The stone door closed slowly.

Inside the cave, the medicinal fragrance remained. Jiang Wanrou looked at the man walking in; the fear in her eyes diminished a little, and a hint of brilliance that even she hadn't noticed increased.

"Solved?" She asked.

"Chased away a few flies."

Gu Yan sat back on the stone bed, looking at the jumping Green Lotus Fire: "The next few days will probably be even livelier. Your Medicinal Pill, you'd better hurry."

Because the next ones to come would no longer be spiked clubs, but real killing moves.