158: Chapter 158 Looting Corpses: A Skillful Art

The roaring in his mind sounded like ten thousand great bells tolling at once.

Gu Yan's figure swayed violently, his knees slamming into the obsidian floor, cracking it like a spiderweb. The moment his fingertips touched the icy blood river bead, it melted into a pool of viscous red liquid, drilling crazily into his pores, flowing backward along his Meridians, and rushing straight toward his heart.

Pain.

It was not the pain of skin and flesh, but the scorching sensation of his entire body's blood being boiled.

His blood vessels bulged, looking like blue-purple earthworms wriggling beneath his skin. Gu Yan gritted his teeth so hard his gums bled, but he did not let go. Instead, he tightened his five fingers, locking that pool of rampaging red energy firmly in his palm.

[Warning: High-energy foreign energy intrusion!]

[Detected 'Ancestor Blood River' remnant soul attempting Possession...]

[System firewall activated.]

[Devouring in progress...]

Gu Yan's pupils instantly turned pitch black.

The System inside his body, which had previously only been responsible for "continuing the Bloodline," now revealed a ferocious side. It was like a giant shark that had caught the scent of blood, opening its maw and biting down fiercely on the invading red energy.

"Ah——!"

An ancient, miserable scream rang out in Gu Yan's mind; it was a wisp of Divine Sense from Ancestor Blood River remaining in the bead. Before it could cause any chaos, it was shredded directly by the System and turned into the purest nourishment.

Hum.

The red light dissipated.

Gu Yan gasped for air, sweat dampening his temples.

He raised his hand. On his previously bronze-colored skin, there was now a faint layer of dark red luster, and subtle runes could be vaguely seen flowing beneath the skin. The deep, bone-exposed saber wound on his left shoulder was now growing granulation tissue at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just three breaths, it scabbed over and fell off, leaving only a faint white mark.

[Ding! Devouring complete.]

[Congratulations to the Host, interception successful.]

[Bloodline Fusion progress: Second Stage (Unlocked).]

[Obtained new talent: Blood River Battle Body (Elementary).]

[Effect: As long as you are not killed instantly and still have a breath of life, you can quickly recast your Physical Body using blood (whether your own or an enemy's). A true cockroach-like constitution.]

Gu Yan clenched his fist.

A sense of power.

Power, thicker and more violent than before, surged through his body. If he had previously relied on brute force to smash things, now he felt like a human blood river, even his breathing carrying the scent of blood.

"Good stuff."

Gu Yan stood up and moved his left shoulder, which was as good as new.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Wanrou.

Jiang Wanrou was huddled by a stone pillar, clutching the Pill Furnace that had not yet cooled down, looking at him as if she were looking at a monster that had just finished eating.

"I didn't die." Gu Yan said concisely.

Jiang Wanrou let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground.

Gu Yan did not go over to help her up, but instead turned and walked toward the messy battlefield.

Inside the great hall, over twenty corpses of Lin family Disciples lay scattered about; some had their heads shattered by sonic waves, others were sliced into pieces by Saber Qi. Blood gathered into pools, emitting a pungent, fishy odor.

"Waste is shameful."

Gu Yan walked up to a relatively intact corpse and squatted down.

At this moment, he was no longer the thug who killed with brass knuckles, but more like a calculating butcher.

He skillfully removed the Storage Pouch from the corpse's waist and threw it into his own ring. Then, he pressed his right hand onto the corpse's Dantian.

[System Command: Recycle.]

[Converting... Obtained Bloodline Points: 30.]

The corpse shriveled at an eerie speed, finally turning into a pile of gray-white powder.

Gu Yan stood up and walked to the next one.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Wanrou finally couldn't help but speak, her voice trembling slightly.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth."

Gu Yan didn't turn his head, his hands not stopping: "Since they wanted to refine me into blood water, it's only fair that I turn them into fertilizer."

Looting the corpse.

Recycling.

Looting the corpse again.

Recycling again.

Gu Yan was like a tireless harvester, moving rapidly through the great hall. Wherever he passed, the originally bloody Shura field became much cleaner—leaving only piles of unremarkable bone ash.

Finally, he stopped in front of Lin Canghai's corpse.

This Golden Core Stage Elder had died the most miserably, with a large hole in his chest, his Dantian completely empty, and his entire body looking like a shriveled human skin.

Gu Yan picked up the Storage Ring from the ground.

He violently rammed his Divine Sense into it.

Snap.

The Divine Sense imprint on it had become extremely fragile following the owner's death and shattered instantly.

Clatter.

Gu Yan poured out the contents.

Besides tens of thousands of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, there were several bottles of Medicinal Pills, several scrolls of Cultivation Techniques, and a blood-colored token engraved with the character "Lin".

"Poor wretch."

Gu Yan curled his lip. Although he complained, his hands were very honest as he swept everything into his own pocket.

Finally, he pressed his hand onto the top of Lin Canghai's head.

[Detected high-quality "waste material."]

[Golden Core Stage Physical Body residual essence... Converting.]

[Obtained Bloodline Points: 500!]

Lin Canghai's corpse also turned into fly ash, completely disappearing from this world.

Thus, except for the bloodstains on the ground and the traces left by the battle, the entire elite force of the Lin family seemed as if they had never existed.

"Rumble——"

The ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled violently.

A huge crack opened in the dome above, and rubble fell like raindrops. The blood pool that had originally been suspended in mid-air lost the suppression of the blood river bead and began to boil and dry up.

The surrounding walls began to peel away, revealing the rough rock behind them.

"The Secret Realm is collapsing."

Gu Yan brushed the dust off his hands and turned to look at Jiang Wanrou.

"Can you still walk?"

Jiang Wanrou struggled to stand up, and although her face was still pale, the clarity in her eyes had returned: "Yes."

"Then let's go."

Gu Yan walked to her side, and without any gentleness, grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up like a kitten.

"Where to?" Jiang Wanrou asked.

"Home."

Gu Yan looked up at the entrance of the great hall that was about to collapse, and then glanced at the "VIP passage" entrance that he had already dismantled.

"But before we leave, I still have to leave some clues for those coming after."

He took out the already ruined "blood-drinking mad blade" from his storage ring and forcefully stuck it into the spot where Lin Canghai had just fallen. Then, he threw a few pieces of cloth with the aura of the Demonic Path—which he had snatched while killing those stewards in the Withered Bone Forest.

"Faking a crime scene?" Jiang Wanrou understood instantly.

"This is called a reasonable deduction."

Gu Yan grinned and pointed at the broken blade:

"Elder Lin Canghai suffered Qi Deviation while training, causing the Secret Realm to collapse, and everyone was buried with him. What a poignant and logical story."

Boom!

A huge rock smashed into the center of the blood pool, splashing blood into the sky.

"Run!"

Gu Yan stopped talking nonsense, grabbed Jiang Wanrou, and his figure turned into a black lightning bolt, rushing toward that hidden sewage outlet.

Just as the two of them dived into the pipe, the great hall behind them completely collapsed, burying all the evidence and the truth forever under tons of boulders.