149: Chapter 149 Taking Medicine, Forging Iron, and Saving Up a Big Move

The commotion outside Shafeng Cave gradually subsided, leaving only the endless, year-round wailing of the black wind.

Gu Yan sat on the stone bed, with three rows of jade bottles arranged before him.

These had been painstakingly concocted by Jiang Wanrou over the past few days without sleep or rest. Because the Lin family's "Shadow Kill Guard" had withdrawn, the commercial channels in Baifeng City had reopened, and the first batch of high-grade medicinal materials sent by Jin Feiyan had perfectly filled the void.

"A total of thirty bottles of 'Blood Evil Pill' and ten bottles of 'Condensing Yuan Liquid'."

Jiang Wanrou's face was somewhat haggard, with faint dark circles under her eyes, but her gaze was startlingly bright. She set down the last bottle of Medicinal Pill, her fingertips stained with a little wood ash: "This is the limit of what I can do. Theoretically, this medicinal power is enough for an ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator to Cultivate for three years, but you..."

She paused, looking at Gu Yan's muscles, which seemed to be cast from refined iron: "You will probably only be able to use it for three days."

"Three days is enough."

Gu Yan reached out and grabbed two bottles of Medicinal Pill, flicked his thumb, and the corks flew off. He tilted his head back and poured both bottles into his mouth as if he were drinking water.

Crunch.

He even chewed up and swallowed the residue from the bottle necks.

Boom!

Violent medicinal power exploded in his stomach. If it were an ordinary person, their Meridians would likely have burst by now, but Gu Yan's body was like a bottomless pit.

Inhale—Exhale—

His chest rose and fell as he inhaled the black Evil Qi within the cave in one breath. The wind fueled the fire, and the medicinal power, wrapped in the Evil Qi, turned into a surging torrent, frantically scouring his limbs and bones.

A strange flush appeared on the surface of his skin, and large drops of black sweat oozed out through his pores, dripping onto the stone bed with a sizzling corrosive sound.

Pain.

Every inch of his muscle felt like it was being repeatedly pulled, twisted, and broken by steel wires, then reassembled.

But Gu Yan didn't even twitch an eyebrow. He closed his eyes and, through introspection, guided this power to strike at the great Dragon along his spine.

Crack, crack.

The explosive sound of bone growth came from within his body.

The barrier of the Foundation Establishment fourth layer was like a sheet of window paper, pierced without any suspense.

His aura climbed steadily.

Foundation Establishment fifth layer...

It hadn't stopped yet.

Gu Yan grabbed three more bottles of Medicinal Pill and poured them down his throat.

Jiang Wanrou stood to the side, watching this man who acted like a madman. She had seen many so-called "bitter Cultivation" methods, but she had never seen anyone treat Cultivation like suicide.

He was overdrawing his body's potential and squeezing out every bit of medicinal power.

Until the last muffled sound came from within Gu Yan's body, the surrounding Evil Qi wind suddenly stagnated for a moment, then surged back in an even more violent manner.

Foundation Establishment fifth layer, Peak.

Gu Yan opened his eyes.

At that moment, Jiang Wanrou felt as if she were being stared at by an awakened Vicious Beast, and the hair on her body stood on end.

"Still a little short."

Gu Yan clenched his fist, and the air in his palm was squeezed and exploded. His strength had increased by thirty percent, but it was still not enough to withstand a Golden Core Mid-Stage.

He turned his head, his gaze landing on the pile of scrap metal in the corner.

That was the soul-locking bell he had torn apart with his bare hands.

"The person is repaired, now it's time to repair this thing."

Gu Yan stood up and walked to the pile of fragments.

[Host, this bell is already ruined. The Artifact Spirit was shattered by that finger tiger of yours; even if repaired, it will be a mute.]

The System poured cold water in his mind: [And although the material is Star-Patterned Copper, the structure has been violently destroyed. To restore it to its original state, you would need to hire a Grandmaster-level Artifact Refiner.]

"Who said I wanted to restore it?"

Gu Yan bent down and picked up the two largest fragments. The edges were jagged, like two pieces of chewed-up bone.

"Jiang Wanrou."

Gu Yan called out.

Jiang Wanrou instinctively stood straight: "Yes."

"Start a fire." Gu Yan threw the fragments onto the stone platform, making a loud noise, "Crank your Green Lotus Fire to the maximum. I want to melt this pile of scrap metal, and then..."

He took out the "Blood River Deputy Flag" he had snatched from the Withered Bone Forest from his storage ring.

As soon as the flag was taken out, the ghost face on it began to scream, but it was quickly slapped into submission by Gu Yan.

"Melt this flag into it."

"What?!"

Jiang Wanrou was so shocked she almost bit her tongue: "This is a Formation Flag! That is a Magic Treasure fragment! The attributes don't match at all; forced smelting will cause an explosion!"

"If the attributes don't match, beat them until they do."

Gu Yan grabbed a piece of black iron stone used for practice nearby to use as a hammer.

"Start."

Jiang Wanrou dared not disobey and could only bite the bullet and manifest the Green Lotus Fire. The cyan flames turned ink-green under the support of the Evil Qi wind, and the temperature soared.

Gu Yan stood shirtless beside the furnace.

When the Star-Patterned Copper began to soften, and when the Blood River Formation Flag let out a shrill scream in the flames, he moved.

Clang!

The black iron stone slammed heavily between the two.

No technique, just pure strength.

Each strike was accompanied by the injection of Evil Qi from Gu Yan's body. He was using the most primitive and savage method to forcibly knead two completely unrelated items together.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

Black smoke billowed, and a foul stench assaulted his nose.

Jiang Wanrou maintained the fire while watching the gradually forming "monster" with trepidation.

It was no longer a bell.

It didn't look like any known Magic Treasure either.

It looked like a flattened skull, dark red all over, with raised veins like blood vessels covering its surface. The original runes of the soul-locking bell had been disrupted and reorganized, mixed with the Blood Evil Qi from the Formation Flag, exuding an evil aura that made one's eyes sting at a single glance.

One day and one night.

When the last hammer fell.

"Hum—"

The dark red "skull" suddenly let out a low hum.

This sound was no longer a crisp bell chime, but rather like the turbid, blood-choked sound from a person's throat before death.

Jiang Wanrou felt her brain dizzy, her Divine Soul felt as if it had been pricked by a needle, and the flames in her hand extinguished instantly.

"It's done."

Gu Yan threw away the black iron stone that had shattered into powder in his hand and reached out to grab the scorching hot "skull".

Hot.

Even his skin and flesh emitted a burnt smell. But he didn't let go; instead, he inputted a stream of True Yuan.

"Wah—"

Two red lights suddenly lit up in the eye sockets of the skull, emitting a strange sound similar to a baby crying.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining... uh, an indescribable piece of Magic Treasure.]

[Name: Death Knell (Magic Modified Version).]

[Grade: Cannot be determined (roughly between a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact and a suicide truck).]

[Function: No longer has the locking function; changed to indiscriminate sonic bombardment. Comes with 'Blood Evil Erosion' effect; listening to it too much will cause one's blood and Qi to reverse, causing them to explode on the spot.]

[Evaluation: Too underworld-like, suggest censoring.]

Gu Yan toyed with the "Death Knell" in his hand, his lips curling into a cold arc.

This thing was indeed ugly.

But it was useful.

The previous soul-locking bell was a control-type Magic Treasure, but the current Death Knell was a pure killing machine. No delicate operation needed; throw it out, it rings once, and a whole area dies.

"Lin Canghai..."

Gu Yan put away the Death Knell and looked up outside the cave.

The sky was about to brighten.

The bell for the Sect Grand Competition was about to ring.

And the people of the Lin family were probably sharpening their knives, preparing to get back at him during the Grand Competition.

What a pity.

They were destined to come up empty-handed.

"Pack up."

Gu Yan turned around and said to Jiang Wanrou, who was still rubbing her temples: "We should go."

Jiang Wanrou was stunned: "Where? The Grand Competition starts in two hours, and Elder Su..."

"Let them compete."

Gu Yan walked to the entrance of the cave, looking at the lights already lit on the distant main Peak, and the streaks of light gathering towards the martial arts arena.

"When they are fighting in full swing, we will just happen to raid the Lin family's lair."

"The gate of the Fallen Demon Valley should be opened."

He took out two pre-prepared concealment Talisman from his bosom, slapped one on himself, and handed one to Jiang Wanrou.

"Bring your Pill Furnace; we might stay inside for a long time this time."

Jiang Wanrou took the Talisman and looked at the man in front of her.

There was no anticipation for the Sect Grand Competition in his eyes, only the calmness and greed of a hunter about to enter the field.

"Okay."

She didn't ask any more questions and turned to start packing up the pile of bottles and jars.

Gu Yan stood in the wind tunnel, taking one last look at the Shafeng Cave where he had lived for ten days.

"System, leave behind a Clone projection."

[Understood! High-fidelity holographic projection activated, simulating the image of the Host in secluded meditation. Spiritual power fluctuation simulation degree 99%; unless a Golden Core Late Stage observes it face-to-face, no one will be able to tell you've run away.]

"Let's go."

The two figures slipped silently out of the Shafeng Cave in the last touch of darkness before the dawn, heading towards the Forbidden Ground in the back mountain of the Sect.

Behind them, the Yunlan Sect began to grow noisy.

And the real battlefield was in the Fallen Demon Valley eight hundred miles away.