21: Chapter 21 Concealment

Deep within the Black Wind Forest, the miasma hung like a canopy.

Gu Shen moved like a ghost, weaving between the ancient trees that blotted out the sky. The shadow shoes on his feet swallowed the sound of him stepping on dead branches and rotten leaves completely.

He dared not use his Divine Sense to scout the path, fearing he would disturb high-level Yao Beasts lurking in the forest; he could only rely on his naked eyes and his perception of air currents, plunging headlong toward the area where the miasma was densest.

After sprinting for about half an hour, the sounds of fighting from outside were no longer audible. Gu Shen stopped in front of a massive, dead banyan tree that would require ten people to encircle.

The roots of the banyan tree had been hollowed out by venomous insects, creating a tree hole; the interior space was cramped and emitted a pungent smell of rotting wood.

"This will do."

Gu Shen crawled into the tree hole and used his backhand to wedge the black turtle shield into the opening. The shield's dusty, gray surface blended in with the dead wood, perfectly blocking outside sight and the toxic miasma.

After finishing all this, he leaned against the tree wall as if drained of strength, panting heavily.

He had survived the disaster.

Recalling the demonic Cultivator from just moments ago, Gu Shen still felt a lingering fear. If not for the surprise attack of the Soul-Shocking Spike, he would never have been able to end the battle within two breaths by relying solely on Spells. Once dragged into a protracted fight and surrounded by other demonic Cultivators, he would surely have died.

After calming his breathing for half an incense stick's worth of time, Gu Shen sat cross-legged and upright. He probed his Divine Sense into his storage ring and took out the demonic Cultivator's Storage Pouch.

The demonic Cultivator was dead, and the Divine Sense imprint remaining on the mouth of the pouch was like a rootless tree, easily erased by Gu Shen.

"Clatter."

The items inside the pouch were poured out onto the dead wood in front of him.

There were not many items; one could even say it was pathetic.

Eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

A grayish-black porcelain bottle containing three "Blood Crystal Pills" that emitted a strong, bloody scent—these were harsh, potent drugs used by demonic Cultivators to replenish their Qi and blood, and they contained deep pill toxins.

Aside from this, what Gu Shen valued most was a tanned animal skin map.

Gu Shen unfolded the animal skin and examined it closely by the faint green light.

The map detailed the terrain within a hundred miles of the Black Wind Forest's periphery. Where the Yao Beast dens were, where Spiritual Plants grew, and where the secret strongholds of the demonic Cultivators were located—all were marked.

"Good stuff!"

Gu Shen felt greatly reassured. With this, he would no longer be a headless fly in the Black Wind Forest.

He stored the eight Spirit Stones into his storage ring; his total net worth now reached thirty-three and a half Spirit Stones. As for the bottle of "Blood Crystal Pills" and the animal skin map, he also stowed them away properly.

Next came the main event.

Gu Shen closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

Inside the [Heaven and Earth Furnace], the corpse of the Qi Refining Stage 4 demonic Cultivator and that white bone soul-summoning banner were floating quietly amidst the void fire.

"Refine."

The Great Furnace roared, and the ghastly white flames of rules instantly engulfed them.

The demonic Cultivator had spent years cultivating with blood and vengeful souls; his Physical Body and Magical Artifacts were filled with extremely complex Evil Qi and venomous resentment. However, under the absolute suppression of the Great Furnace, these negative energies melted away like residual snow under the scorching sun, turning into fuel for the Great Furnace to operate.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the refining ended.

Two items remained at the bottom of the furnace.

A mass of [essence white dew (Medium Grade)] that was much larger than before.

A crystal-clear bone flute that looked like jade.

[resentful bone flute: Condensed from the Origin of the white bone banner. Playing it can emit demonic sounds that confuse the mind and disrupt one's Divine Sense.]

"Another niche Magical Artifact related to Divine Sense."

Gu Shen felt a surge of joy. This item combined with his "Soul-Shocking Spike" was a perfect match. First, use the demonic sound to interfere, then use the invisible spike to kill with a single blow.

He stored the bone flute in his storage ring. As for that mass of Medium Grade essence white dew, he did not consume it immediately. He had just broken through to Qi Refining Stage 4 not long ago, and his Realm still needed stabilization; he could not be greedy for progress.

Suddenly.

A faint "rustling" sound came from outside the tree hole.

It sounded like some kind of mollusk sliding over fallen leaves, interspersed with two deliberately lowered voices.

"That kid's life tablet shattered. The Blood Fiend tracking mark he left before dying just ends near here."

"Be careful. To be able to kill Old Seven in an instant, the opponent is at least a Qi Refinement Level 6 expert. Search carefully!"

Gu Shen's heart jumped violently, and his muscles instantly tensed.

Pursuers from the Blood Fiend Sect!

And judging by the sound, they were less than thirty zhang away from this banyan tree!

Run? It was too late. As soon as he removed the black turtle shield, he would be instantly exposed to their sight.

Fight? Outside were at least two demonic Cultivators in the mid-to-Late Stages of Qi Refinement; in a direct confrontation, his Qi Refining Stage 4 cultivation had absolutely no chance of winning.

"I have to use the passage."

Gu Shen did not hesitate. He pressed his right hand against the black turtle shield wedged in the opening and moved his mind.

Hum—a gray light swirled.

Gu Shen, along with the shield, instantly vanished from the cramped tree hole without a trace.

...

Dead silence. Gray mist.

When Gu Shen's feet touched the hard, level gray ground again, there was no Spiritual Qi fluctuation around him, only a suffocating breath of decay.

This was the ruin he regarded as an "Ancient Sect" of mechanisms.

He appeared in the looted gold and stone shop on the first floor. Scattered on the ground were still glass shards and rotten wood, and the ornaments embedded with "void stone" had long been looted by him last time.

Gu Shen did not let down his guard. He gripped the gold-severing saber in his right hand, held the black turtle shield in his left, leaned against the wall, and remained alert.

Half an incense stick's worth of time passed.

There were no signs of any evil entities approaching.

Gu Shen let out a long breath of turbid air and put away his saber and shield.

"This is an excellent Shelter."

He looked up at the broken, massive refined iron pillars outside the door and the glass tower shrouded in gray mist, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

For some unknown reason, the Spiritual Qi in this ancient ruin had completely dried up, turning it into a "Land Without Spiritual Qi."

For Cultivators in the Great Yu Cultivation World, this kind of place was a forbidden zone. Without the replenishment of Spiritual Qi, every bit of magical power used was lost forever, and no one would waste their Divine Sense to investigate here for no reason.

Even if those demonic Cultivators had heaven-defying means, they would absolutely never be able to find him in another world.

"The outside world must be in chaos now. With the Righteous and Demonic paths clashing in the Black Wind Forest, a Loose Cultivator like me at Qi Refining Stage 4 caught in the middle will sooner or later become cannon fodder."

Gu Shen sat cross-legged on the dusty ground, calculating inwardly.

He could not go back to Qingyun Market.

As a member of the conscripted herb-gathering team, he had deserted on the battlefield; if discovered by the Blood-Clad Guards, he would be executed according to the law. Now, he had become a truly desperate Loose Cultivator.

"Since it's chaotic as a pot of porridge outside, I'll just lay low in this ruin. While I'm at it, I'll explore the secrets of this Ancient Sect."

Gu Shen stood up and looked out at the street through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the shop.

Last time he explored up to the third floor, he encountered those Corpse Infants that were skilled in mental attacks and was forced to retreat.

Now, not only had he cultivated the Soul-Shocking Spike, but he also obtained the resentful bone flute, greatly increasing his Divine Sense attack and defense capabilities. As long as he didn't encounter monsters above the third rank, he had more than enough to protect himself.

Gu Shen tightened his robe and stepped out of the shop. He had not fully explored the first floor of this massive pavilion called a "mall." Besides this gold and stone shop, not far ahead, there was a huge area filled with rows of strange iron boxes.

Gu Shen stepped on his shadow shoes and approached silently. Those iron boxes (shelves) had long rusted and rotted, and some shriveled, blackened unknown objects were scattered on them, looking like residue of some Medicinal Pill that had lost its efficacy (packaged food).

Amidst these ruins, Gu Shen's gaze was drawn to a peculiar "mechanism Puppet" in the corner.

It was a square iron shell (vending machine), its surface covered with a layer of glass panel, and rows of crystal-clear glass bottles could be vaguely seen inside.

Gu Shen walked up and tapped the outer shell lightly with his finger.

There was no Spiritual Qi fluctuation. But the material was extremely tough, actually using refined iron of extremely high purity.

"This Ancient Sect is truly extravagant; even the cabinets for storing miscellaneous items are made of hundred-refined refined iron."

Gu Shen exclaimed, then drew his gold-severing saber. The blade, infused with geng metal sand, was incredibly sharp. He exerted all his strength and slashed down with one blow.

"Crack."

The refined iron shell was forcefully cut open with a gash. Gu Shen reached in and took out a glass bottle.

It felt cold in his hand.

The bottle contained a dark brown liquid; although it was tightly sealed, under Gu Shen's Cultivator perception, a very strange "Qi" faintly emanated from this liquid.

It was not Spiritual Qi, nor was it Evil Qi; it was more like a restless Qi forcibly compressed into the water.

"What is this? Some kind of special Body Tempering medicinal liquid?"

In this Land Without Spiritual Qi, any well-preserved liquid was extremely rare. Gu Shen did not rashly open it, but stored it in his storage ring.

Just as he was preparing to continue breaking open the iron shell to take the remaining glass bottles,

"Thump... thump... thump..."

A dull and highly oppressive sound of footsteps suddenly came from the other end of the mall.

With every step that fell, the ground trembled slightly.

Gu Shen's movements paused; he immediately put away his saber, flipped his body like a civet cat, and hid behind a nearby abandoned shelf, holding his breath and quietly sticking out half his head.

In the swirling gray mist,

an extremely burly black shadow was slowly walking into the first-floor lobby, dragging a huge, rusty iron axe.

The monster was nearly a zhang tall, its whole body covered in grayish-white tumors like rocks. Its left eye was a bloody, mangled hole, while its right eye emitted a scarlet, ferocious light.

Gu Shen's pupils constricted sharply.

The water in this ruin was even deeper than he had imagined.