23: Chapter 23 Iron Can

Gu Shen sat cross-legged like an old monk in meditation; only his slightly trembling eyelids and the fine cold sweat on his forehead indicated that he was currently experiencing immense pain.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the [Heaven and Earth Furnace] cast down a faint gray light.

Under that gray light, a transparent Divine Sense spike was being repeatedly hammered and compressed.

Every compression was accompanied by a sharp pain as if his Soul were being torn apart.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Gu Shen suddenly opened his eyes and let out a long breath of turbid air mixed with the scent of blood.

"It is done."

He looked into his Sea of Consciousness. The spike, which had originally been rough and ethereal, was now condensed as if it were solid, the size of a wheat awn, quietly lying dormant in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, exuding a heart-palpitating sharpness.

Soul-Shocking Spike, Minor Achievement.

Now, not only was the speed at which he cast this Spell twice as fast, but the dizziness caused by the backlash was also greatly reduced.

This Spell could now be used as a regular killing move.

Rumble—

A sound like thunder came from his stomach, breaking the dead silence inside the iron room.

Gu Shen clutched his stomach and frowned slightly.

Although one at Qi Refining Stage 4 could fast for several days, he had forcibly broken through his cultivation realm over the past few days and had been cultivating his Divine Sense techniques day and night, consuming a massive amount of essence and Qi.

If he did not eat soon, his Physical Body's blood and Qi would be depleted, affecting his Foundation.

He probed his Divine Sense into his storage ring.

There were no Bigu Pills or Yao Beast meat in the space.

His gaze swept over and landed on the glass bottle that had originally contained half a bottle of brown liquid.

With a thought, the bottle appeared in his hand.

Gu Shen unscrewed the soft iron cap and drank the last half bottle of brown medicinal liquid, which carried a "Geothermal Chill" and a pungent sweet smell, in one gulp.

The coldness entered his throat and slightly suppressed the hunger, but it was, after all, a mundane item that could not satisfy his hunger.

Gu Shen put the empty glass bottle back into his storage ring.

Such crystal-clear glass vessels were considered rare items in the Great Yu Cultivation World; keeping it might be useful.

"I must go out and find some food."

Gu Shen stood up.

By now, two full days had passed since he hid in this storage room.

The footsteps of that Tier 3 Cursed Corpse outside had long since disappeared.

He walked to the door and reached out to grasp the black turtle shield wedged under the door gap.

With a surge of spiritual power, he put the heavy second-hand shield into his storage ring, then pressed his hands against the thick refined iron door and slowly applied force.

Creak—

Amidst an extremely faint friction sound, the iron door was pushed open just enough for one person to pass through sideways.

Gu Shen held his breath, and his Divine Sense probed out like tentacles.

Within ten zhang, there was dead silence.

Wearing his shadow shoes, he slid out of the door silently like a ghost.

The corridor was filled with a faint gray mist.

Gu Shen did not return to the main hall, but instead followed the corridor toward a semi-open storage room nearby.

This storage room was much larger than the one he had been hiding in.

Rows of refined iron shelves had collapsed inside, and many iron boxes of various sizes were scattered on the floor.

Most of the iron boxes were severely rusted and had been torn to shreds by unknown beasts.

Gu Shen stepped forward, his gaze locked onto an iron box at the very bottom that was relatively well-preserved.

With a flip of his wrist, the gold-severing saber landed in his palm.

The blade, mixed with geng metal sand, could cut through iron like mud; Gu Shen gently sliced along the edge of the iron box, cutting it open as if it were tofu.

Inside the box, more than a dozen fist-sized cylindrical iron cans were neatly stacked.

Gu Shen picked one up.

This iron can was extremely well-sealed, and its surface was painted with some brightly colored patterns, appearing to be chunks of meat from some kind of mundane beast.

The Great Furnace trembled and gave feedback.

[Discovered mundane meat paste.] [Ingredients: Flesh of mundane beasts, large amounts of salt, preservative spices. Sealed well, non-toxic.] [Cannot be refined.]

"So this is the Bigu meat paste stored by this Ancient Sect!"

Gu Shen was overjoyed.

This Ancient Mechanism Sect was indeed capable; they were able to seal the flesh of mundane beasts in such small refined iron cans, keeping it from rotting through the ages.

Although it lacked Spiritual Qi, for him to replenish his blood and Qi right now, it was exactly the help he needed in his time of need.

He used the tip of his gold-severing saber to gently pry the top of the iron can, slicing an opening.

A rich aroma of meat wafted out.

Gu Shen did not care about his image; he used the tip of the saber to pick up the sticky meat inside and put it directly into his mouth.

The meat was soft, and the saltiness was extremely heavy, but to the starving Gu Shen, it tasted better than any delicacy.

In no time, a whole can of "iron-sealed meat paste" was swallowed; the hunger in his stomach was finally quelled, and a warm feeling rose in his shriveled stomach.

Gu Shen licked his lips, put the remaining nine iron cans into his storage ring, and tossed the empty waste iron can aside at his feet.

Just as he was preparing to continue scavenging this storage room.

Click.

An extremely faint sound came from a dark corner in the depths of the storage room.

The hair on Gu Shen's body stood on end instantly.

He did not look back; his shadow shoes exerted force, and his entire body moved three zhang to the side like an arrow leaving a bowstring.

Whoosh!

Almost the moment he dodged, a gray-black afterimage, carrying a foul, fishy wind, lunged fiercely at the spot where he had just been standing.

Four shallow white marks were actually clawed into the hard refined iron floor.

Gu Shen steadied his figure and looked closely.

It was a monster the size of a calf.

It looked like a dog, but its fur had fallen off, revealing dark red rotting flesh, and pale white bone spikes protruded from its spine.

A peak Rank 1 evil entity, a Corpse Dog.

Although this kind of monster had low intelligence, its sense of smell was extremely keen.

It was clearly attracted by the aroma of the meat from the can Gu Shen had just opened.

Roar—

The Corpse Dog missed its strike, pushed off the ground with its four limbs, and turned into a gust of wind again, lunging over.

Gu Shen's eyes were cold.

He did not retreat.

His left hand flipped, and the crystal-clear resentful bone flute was already brought to his lips.

Spiritual power was poured in.

Woo—!

An extremely shrill demonic sound, like the wailing of a ghost from the abyss, suddenly exploded inside the storage room.

The Corpse Dog, which had been lunging in mid-air, suddenly stiffened; the fierce light in its eyes instantly dissipated, replaced by extreme confusion and dullness.

This resentful bone flute, refined from a demonic cultivator's Magical Artifact, was specifically designed to counter these low-intelligence evil entities!

Just at the moment the Corpse Dog stiffened.

Gu Shen's eyes turned cold.

Soul-Shocking Spike!

In the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, the invisible spike instantly crossed a distance of three zhang and pierced fiercely into the Corpse Dog's glabella.

Puff!

There were no external injuries, but the Corpse Dog's already weak Soul fire was instantly extinguished under this strike.

Its massive body fell heavily to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, slid to Gu Shen's feet, twitched twice, and died completely.

From the demonic sound interference to the Divine Sense kill, it was smooth and fluid, taking no more than a single breath.

Moreover, he had completed the kill without using even a trace of Spell bombardment.

"This combo is truly useful."

Gu Shen put down the resentful bone flute; his face was only slightly pale, and he did not feel the intense dizziness he had felt the first time he used it.

He stepped forward and pressed one hand onto the Corpse Dog's head.

"Refine."

Gray mist churned, and the massive Corpse Dog quickly shriveled up.

[Obtained: two drops of essence white dew (inferior).] [Obtained: two broken bone spikes.]

"Only inferior essence white dew..."

Gu Shen felt slightly disappointed.

A peak Rank 1 monster was, after all, no match for a Rank 2 Shadow Cat.

He put the two drops of essence white dew and the bone spikes into his storage ring.

Lifting his head, Gu Shen looked into the dark depths of the storage room.

Although it was full of danger, this ruin was, to him, an untapped treasure trove.

"Since the demonic cultivators of Black Wind Forest are still searching everywhere, I will stay here for a few more days."

"While collecting supplies from this Ancient Sect, I will hunt down solitary evil entities."

Gu Shen gripped the gold-severing saber in his hand, and his figure disappeared into the darkness once again.

The hunt had begun.