24: Chapter 24 Array Plate

In the dim storeroom, apart from Gu Shen's slight breathing, there was no other sound.

The bloodstains from the Corpse Dog on the ground had already dried, turning into a pool of dark red marks. Carrying the gold-severing saber, Gu Shen continued to explore deeper into the storeroom, guided by the faint gray light filtering in through the gap in the door.

This place was clearly where the Ancient Sect stored miscellaneous items.

The further he went, the more fallen iron racks there were. Gu Shen, wearing his shadow shoes, nimbly navigated through the ruins.

Before long, his footsteps stopped in front of a massive square iron cabinet.

This cabinet was as tall as two men, pitch black throughout, and its surface was covered in claw marks, clearly having been damaged by a Yao Beast. The cabinet door was half-open, revealing rows upon rows of dense glass panels and intricate Red Copper wires inside.

"What an ingenious mechanical creation."

Gu Shen stepped forward, a flash of amazement in his eyes.

Although those Red Copper wires were much thinner than the ones he had dismantled at the metal and stone shop last time, they were numerous, densely interwoven like a spider web.

What interested him even more were the dark green jade plates embedded inside the cabinet.

The jade plates were extremely thin, made of a material that was neither metal nor stone, and densely branded with golden patterns.

"Formation Plate?"

Gu Shen reached out and took one of the dark green jade plates, examining it in his hand.

The Great Yu Cultivation World also had Formation Plates, but they were usually based on spirit wood or jade, with formation patterns carved using a mixture of Yao Beast blood and cinnabar. Yet, the "Formation Plate" before him had patterns cast from the purest mundane gold, and they were so fine it was outrageous.

"There is no Spiritual Qi fluctuation, but such precise golden formation patterns could never be crafted by a Mortal blacksmith. This Ancient Sect was actually extravagant enough to use gold to carve mechanical circuits."

Gu Shen tried to probe the jade plate with his Divine Sense. There was no reaction at all. The jade plate was like a dead object.

"Since it is a dead object, it only has value for refining."

Gu Shen's brow twitched slightly as he drew the dark green jade plate into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Refine!"

The [Heaven and Earth Furnace] phantom fire rolled over it.

The jade plate melted rapidly in the fire. The dark green base turned into ashes, while the fine golden patterns on top were stripped away, gathering at the bottom of the furnace into a shining golden bead. Besides that, there was also a trace of extremely weak refined red copper essence.

[Obtained: Mundane Gold (a fraction), refined red copper (a trace).]

"It really is gold and refined red copper."

Gu Shen felt relieved. Although mundane gold was not valuable in the Cultivation World—it took one hundred taels of gold to barely exchange for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone—there were hundreds, if not thousands, of these dark green jade plates in the cabinet! Coupled with the tangled mess of Red Copper wires, it would definitely be a small fortune when accumulated.

"Dismantle!"

Gu Shen did not stand on ceremony and swung his gold-severing saber. The blade, infused with geng metal sand, cut through refined iron like cutting rotten wood. He tore down the dark green jade plates and Red Copper wires from inside the cabinet by the handful, throwing them all into the [Heaven and Earth Furnace].

Half an hour later, the massive square iron cabinet was completely hollowed out. The refining in the Great Furnace also came to an end.

Gu Shen moved his Divine Sense, and two metal ingots fell into his storage ring. One was a bright yellow gold ingot, weighing about ten catties (one hundred taels). The other was a purplish-red piece of refined red copper, only the size of a fist, weighing about half a catty.

"One Low-Grade Spirit Stone, plus two and a half Spirit Stones worth of refined red copper."

Gu Shen calculated silently in his heart. Although it was not as lucrative as pulling cables like last time, he would never complain about such risk-free scavenging.

Just as he was preparing to scavenge the next square cabinet, a low whistling sound of wind came from the depths of the storeroom.

Gu Shen's movements came to an abrupt halt, his muscles instantly tensing. This was not a natural breeze; this storeroom was buried deep within the ruins, so where would wind come from?

He held his breath, gripped the gold-severing saber tightly, and stared fixedly in the direction from which the sound came.

In the darkness, two clusters of eerie green ghost fire quietly lit up. Immediately after, two more appeared. A total of four clusters of ghost fire slowly approached Gu Shen from two feet off the ground.

As the distance closed, Gu Shen saw the intruders clearly in the faint light. They were two Corpse Dogs! Their bodies were a size larger than the one he had killed earlier, and they exuded a nauseating stench of decay, their fangs in their mouths crisscrossing like daggers.

"So these beasts are pack animals."

Gu Shen's eyes were cold, without a hint of panic. Facing two peak Tier 1 evil spirits, he did not retreat; instead, he pushed off with his feet, his shadow shoes silently exerting force, and he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, meeting them head-on!

Roar! The two Corpse Dogs let out a low growl, one to the left and one to the right, turning into two gray shadows as they pounced to kill.

Gu Shen's expression was indifferent as his left hand instantly raised. Soul-Shocking Spike!

In his Sea of Consciousness, the tangible transparent spike split into two. Although its power was halved, it was incredibly fast, instantly piercing into the foreheads of the two Corpse Dogs.

Puff! Puff! Invisible muffled sounds exploded in his Sea of Consciousness. The pouncing motion of the two Corpse Dogs stalled abruptly in mid-air, the eerie green ghost fire in their eyes shaking violently, as if it would extinguish at any moment. Although the reduced power had failed to directly obliterate their Souls, the instantaneous tearing of their Divine Sense was enough to make them lose the ability to resist.

Taking this opportunity, Gu Shen slashed out diagonally with the gold-severing saber in his right hand. Swish! The dark gray blade light traced a perfect semicircle. Geng Metal Qi flickered.

Two large, ugly dog heads flew into the air, and foul-smelling black blood sprayed like a fountain onto the refined iron floor.

Clean and efficient. There were no superfluous movements, nor did he waste a single shred of mana to cast a large-scale Spell.

Gu Shen landed, twirled the saber, and shook the tainted blood off the gold-severing saber.

"Divine Sense interference combined with the Geng Metal blade is simply invincible in battles against Tier 1 and Tier 2 opponents."

Gu Shen was very satisfied with the results of the actual combat. He walked over to the two headless dog corpses and pressed a hand down. Gray mist swept over them, and the corpses turned into flying ash.

[Obtained: essence white dew (Inferior) x4 drops.] [Obtained: Broken Bone Spikes x4.]

Adding the harvest from the previous one, he now had six drops of inferior essence white dew and six Tier 1 bone spikes in his storage ring.

"For my current cultivation at the Perfection of Qi Refining Stage 4, the effect of this inferior essence white dew is already minimal. I can only keep it for quickly replenishing mana during future combat."

Gu Shen put the essence white dew and bone spikes into his storage ring. He looked around; this storeroom had been scavenged almost completely. Going deeper, the dangers were unknown. With his current cultivation, if he encountered a Tier 3 Cursed Corpse, he would only have a chance to run for his life.

"Calculating the time, three days have already passed in the outside world."

Gu Shen leaned against an iron rack, took out a can of iron-sealed meat paste from his storage ring, pried it open with the tip of his blade, and ate it silently.

Three days was enough for the dust to settle from a sudden encounter. The demonic cultivators of the Blood Fiend Sect could not stay on the periphery of the Black Wind Forest forever. The Righteous Path Sects of Great Yu would inevitably send experts at the Foundation Establishment Stage or even the Core Formation Stage to clear them out.

"It is time to go back."

Gu Shen finished the last mouthful of meat paste and tossed the empty iron can on the ground. The Black Wind Forest was dangerous, but it was also an opportunity. On that battlefield, who knew how many demonic cultivators and Righteous Path Disciples had died? Although the bulk of the spoils would surely have been taken by the Sects, as long as he was careful enough to "pick up scraps" in the peripheral areas, he might not come away empty-handed.

More importantly, he could not hide in the land without Spiritual Qi forever. Without Spiritual Qi replenishment, his cultivation would come to a complete standstill.

"Store." Gu Shen probed his storage ring with his Divine Sense, confirming that all items were safe and sound. Thirty-three and a half Low-Grade Spirit Stones, thirteen clumps of red blood essence glue, three Blood Crystal Pills, one animal skin map, one Tier 2 bone spike, six Tier 1 bone spikes, and six drops of inferior essence white dew. There were also the two Magical Artifacts: the black turtle shield and the resentful bone flute. This was his entire capital for survival at the moment.

Gu Shen took a deep breath, calming his mind. The next moment, his figure gradually faded into the gray mist.