122: A barbaric warrior? The "elixirs" of the Green Wood Sect.

On the edge of Qing Province, the Cui Ping Mountain Range.

Completely unlike the dead, barren, and oppressive lead-gray sky of the Savage Domain, the Spiritual Qi here was so dense it was nearly mist-like.

Every deep breath allowed him to feel a violent essence of plants and trees circulating wildly through his lungs, making Gu Yang's Meridians feel slightly swollen.

Gu Yang landed in a Spiritual Plant collection area called the "Medicine Hut."

The soil here was soft and fertile, exhibiting a fine, deep purple color like grease. Hundreds-year-old Spiritual Ginseng and Lingzhi grew wildly everywhere.

These treasures, which in the Lower Realm would be enough to cause bloody strife and deadly conflict between several top Sects, were here visible everywhere, like roadside weeds.

"Is this the Three Thousand Dao Provinces? The energy density in the air is ridiculously high."

Gu Yang frowned slightly, feeling waves of fine pressure on his skin.

The gravity here was stronger than in the Savage Domain, reaching over a thousand times that of a normal environment.

Even with his powerful Divine Demon Golden Body Second Turn cultivation, without activating his Force Field, every step he took left footprints several inches deep in the iron-hard ground, as if he were treading not on soil, but on Divine Iron reinforced by the Law.

This environment meant that the Laws of Heaven and Earth were more stable. Space that could be easily shattered in the Lower Realm was here as solid as pig iron.

Gu Yang tried swinging his fist. The resistance from the air was like thick mercury, meaning his large-scale attacks would be greatly compressed, but because the air density was higher, the force unleashed by each strike would be more condensed and lethal.

"Sniff, sniff—"

Gu Yang's nose twitched, and his gaze fixed on a valley not far away.

An extremely tempting medicinal fragrance wafted from there. Mixed within the scent was the rich Essence of Qi and Blood emitted by some high-grade Yao Beast being boiled in a hot Spiritual Spring. That raw life energy made Gu Yang's stomach rumble like muffled thunder.

"Smells like food, and the energy content is high."

Gu Yang carried his star shattering hammer, walking toward the valley with unhurried but heavy steps, each landing causing the ground to tremble slightly... At this moment, beside the Spiritual Spring Pool in the valley, several extremely luxurious carriages, pulled by fragrant, Emerald-Green Spiritual Deer, were parked.

A group of Cultivators, wearing cyan robes with exquisite Medicine Cauldron patterns embroidered on their cuffs, were gathered around a massive Medicine Cauldron over three zhang tall.

The leader was a white-haired old man with a sinister expression. The cultivation fluctuations emanating from him had clearly reached the Late Nascent Soul Stage, and a medicinal fragrance lingered around his every movement.

"Elder, although this 'Cloud-Treading Leopard' we captured is only at the Peak of the Fourth Rank, its flesh and blood have consumed Spirit Fruits year-round, giving it excellent vitality!

If we can combine it with the auxiliary ingredients for this batch of 'Form Transformation Pills,' and use our Sect's Secret Technique, we will definitely refine a top-grade Spirit Medicine, which will help your cultivation advance another stage!" A Disciple obsequiously handed over various rare Spiritual Plants nearby.

"Mhm." Elder Qingmu, the white-haired old man, stroked his beard and nodded, a hint of viciousness flashing in his eyes. "Although our Green Wood Sect is only a second-rate power in Qing Province, this 'Living Spirit Alchemy Method' for stripping the Essence Blood and Soul of living beings is unmatched for ten thousand miles around. Not a shred of essence will be wasted..."

Before his voice faded, a heavy, strangely rhythmic sound of footsteps boomed from the mouth of the valley.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

With every heavy step, the ground seemed to be enduring the trampling of some massive beast, and even the Spirit Liquid inside the Medicine Cauldron rippled due to the resonance.

Elder Qingmu frowned, stopped speaking, and turned his head to look.

He saw a muscular man nearly two meters tall, shirtless and covered in dark-gold Dragon Elephant Divine Runes, swaggering in without any reverence, carrying a massive black iron hammer covered in ferocious barbs.

There was no trace of True Essence or Magical Power fluctuations on the strong man's body; he hadn't even released a trace of Divine Sense. Beneath that dark-gold skin flowed pure Blood Qi, enough to drive any Alchemist mad.

But in the eyes of an experienced figure like Elder Qingmu, this person's Aura was abnormally heavy.

He looked like a desperate savage from the mortal world, but the imposing Aura that compressed the air as he walked made Elder Qingmu feel alarmed.

"Stop! Who dares trespass into the Green Wood Sect's Forbidden Ground, the Medicine Hut? Don't you know this place is a critical Sect location?" A Late Golden Core Stage Disciple stepped forward, his Spirit Sword drawn, his expression utterly arrogant.

Gu Yang stopped, glanced at the boiling Medicine Cauldron, then looked at the skinned, bloody corpse of the Cloud-Treading Leopard beside it. His nostrils flared slightly, and his throat unconsciously bobbed.

"I'm here to eat. I smelled the fragrance from three mountains away."

Gu Yang's voice was low and oppressive. "I see the stuff in your pot is well-cooked. Give me half. I'll eat it and leave; I won't cause trouble."

"Impudence! That is utterly preposterous!"

The Disciple laughed in extreme anger, his eyes full of mockery.

"Where did this uncivilized savage come from, daring to covet the Spirit Pill refined by our Sect's Secret Technique? This leopard meat is the Medicinal Primer for a Soul Transformation Rank Medicinal Pill, and its essence has been locked by the Law! Is a lowly Body Cultivator like you worthy of eating it? Go look at yourself in a puddle of piss!"

"Don't be so quick to kill him. I see this savage has good physique. His Essence Qi is so abundant it's practically overflowing, his skeleton is like Divine Iron, and his blood is like Mercury Paste. He is an excellent ingredient for a 'Living Person Medicine.'

Since you delivered yourself right to our door, saving this old man the trouble of searching the mountains, step into the cauldron and help this old man complete this batch of Medicinal Pills!"

A red light, born of greed, flashed in the eyes of Elder Qingmu, the white-haired old man.

He could tell at a glance that the vitality of Gu Yang's Physical Body was astonishingly high. It was the best Alchemy Material he had ever seen in his life; even just draining his Blood Qi would be equivalent to ten thousand hundred-year-old Old Medicines.

"Elder's insight is profound! This savage seems never to have cultivated his Divine Soul, possessing only brute strength. This kind of 'Human Pill' material is rare in Qing Province. Capturing him could raise the grade of this batch of Medicinal Pills by at least thirty percent, perhaps even triggering a Pill Tribulation!"

Several Golden Core Disciples exchanged glances and instantly conjured several dark-green immortal binding ropes.

These ropes were woven from the young tendrils of ten-thousand-year-old Ancient Wood, covered in vicious Runes specifically designed to confine Qi and blood. They coiled and tangled in the air like spiritual snakes, blocking all of Gu Yang's escape routes.

"Capture me for Alchemy? And stuff me into this pot of soup?"

Gu Yang chuckled, his smile devoid of warmth. The green light in his eyes was even more intense than Elder Qingmu's, as if he were staring at a pile of walking "Old Cured Meat."

"Perfect. I also felt this pot of beast meat was too bland; it lacked that 'Immortal Flavor' found on old fellows from Prestigious Orthodox Sects like yours."

He did not lift the star shattering hammer from his shoulder. Using a weapon against opponents of this caliber would simply be an insult to Divine Iron.

Gu Yang casually stretched out a large hand, like a cattail fan, spread his fingers, and fiercely grabbed at the several immortal binding ropes flying toward him.

Crack!

The supreme-grade Spiritual Ropes, which could easily trap an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator and continuously constrict their Qi and blood, were like dried straw noodles in Gu Yang's hand. With a casual tug, they completely shattered into shimmering dark-green light particles, and even the Restriction Runes within them were directly pulverized by brute force.

"What?! How is this possible?!"

Elder Qingmu's expression changed drastically, and the hand stroking his beard trembled. He cried out in shock, "You shattered this old man's specially made immortal binding ropes with sheer Physical Body brute force? You are definitely not a savage... Are you a Peak Soul Transformation Stage Great Yao that escaped from the Savage Domain?!"

"Great Yao? Are those hairy beasts worthy of comparing themselves to me?"

Gu Yang took a step forward. His heavy Physical Body exploded the moment his foot hit the ground, and his figure left a distorted, translucent afterimage in the dense air.

While everyone watched in horror, unable to even send out a distress signal, he instantly crossed dozens of meters, appearing before the unfortunate Golden Core Disciple. He brought his five fingers together like a fan and slapped out a simple, unadorned Normal Attack.

Smack!

There was no blood mist flying, and even the sound of a heavy impact was compressed to the extreme.

The moment the slap landed, the extreme high pressure instantly destroyed the Disciple's life force.

His head was like a watermelon struck by a heavy hydraulic press, vanishing above his neck in a fraction of a second, turning into nothingness.

Because Gu Yang's power was too concentrated and his speed too fast, the Disciple's entire headless body hadn't even registered that it was dead, remaining stiffly upright where it stood. Not a single drop of blood had time to spray from the severed neck.

Gu Yang didn't even spare a glance for the corpse, his gaze, like that of a man-eating Vicious Beast, stabbing directly toward the pale-faced Elder Qingmu, who had already summoned his Lifebound Treasure.

"Old man, your Medicine Cauldron is decent, and the heat is just right."

"Now, are you going to strip down and jump in yourself to add flavor for me, or should I dismantle you and stuff you in?"