13: Refine your internal organs! Your five internal organs are like a furnace, and your qi and blood flow like a dragon!

Deep within Yinfeng Cave, by the side of a stalactite pool.

Gu Yang sat cross-legged, facing a pool of "Earth Core Spiritual Milk" that emitted an enticing fragrance.

This substance was the essence formed by the convergence of the earth's Spiritual Veins over a hundred years. For a Martial Artist, a single drop was enough to cleanse the marrow and temper the bones; it was worth more than gold.

If the Martial Artists outside saw this pool, they would likely go mad with envy.

"Whatever, bottoms up!" Gu Yang had no sense of "wasting a heavenly treasure."

He directly picked up a broken gourd ladle used for scooping water, scooped up a full ladle of the milky-white spiritual liquid, and tilted his head back to gulp it down. Gulp, gulp— Like a cow chewing peonies? No, this was a whale's swallow!

The spiritual liquid entered his stomach and instantly transformed into majestic Life Qi, rushing into Gu Yang's limbs and bones like a flood breaking a dam.

[Ingesting high-energy spiritual liquid... Converting...]

[Obtained energy points: 5 points... 10 points... 15 points...]

Gu Yang drank ladle after ladle until his stomach bulged, not stopping until he had licked the last drop of spiritual liquid clean. Only then did he let out a satisfied burp.

At this moment, on his attribute panel, the value of energy points had reached a staggering— Energy: 168 points!

"System!" Gu Yang's eyes were blood-red, a sign of overflowing internal energy that needed to be released. "Add points! Breakthrough to the Viscera Refining Realm! Strengthen my five viscera and six bowels to the absolute limit!"

[Command accepted! Realm Breakthrough in progress...]

[Consumed energy points: 80 points!]

Boom! Gu Yang's body shook violently as an unprecedented upheaval occurred within him.

The Viscera Refining Realm was a watershed in martial cultivation. Before this, whether it was skin tempering or bone forging, one cultivated the "external." But refining the viscera was cultivating the "internal," the source of life force!

First was the heart.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Gu Yang's heartbeat began to grow heavy and slow. Every beat was like the striking of a war drum, vibrating the entire cave with a faint hum.

The heart was strengthened into a "Demonic Engine Furnace." What it pumped was no longer ordinary blood, but "True Blood" that was thick as mercury and carried high temperatures.

Next were the lungs. With every breath Gu Yang took, two white arrows of air would spray from his nostrils, shooting out three feet. Between the rising and falling of his chest, the sound of wind and thunder faintly exploded.

"Wind and Thunder Lungs"—exhaling like arrows, roaring like thunder. His lung capacity reached the human limit, allowing him to hold his breath underwater for several hours.

Then came the liver, spleen, kidneys... Under the washing of the extreme energy, the five viscera and six bowels underwent earth-shattering mutations.

Half an hour later.

Gu Yang slowly opened his eyes. Buzz— Two beams of golden light, seemingly solid, shot from his eyes, illuminating the dim cave.

His skin's surface constantly maintained a staggering high temperature, causing the surrounding air to distort from the heat. If an ordinary person came within three feet of him, they would likely be scorched by this heatwave.

"Is this... the Viscera Refining Realm?" Gu Yang clenched his fist.

No need to build up power; with just a thought, the heart would instantly pump blood, and his strength would explode to its Peak in an instant. "The current me, even if I stand still and let that Blood Young Master hit me, he wouldn't be able to break my defense."

With the Breakthrough complete, next was the crowd-pleasing segment—looting the bodies.

Gu Yang stood up and began a grand sweep of Yinfeng Cave.

"Oh, these few chests are gold bars? Funding for the White Lotus Sect's rebellion, I assume? Confiscated."

"These bottles are Corpse-Nurturing Pills? Though I don't use them, I could feed them to... never mind, I'll sell them for money."

"What's this? Bone Prayer Beads? A Magical Artifact? I'll crush them just to hear the sound."

Adhering to the principle of "every grain to the granary," Gu Yang packed everything valuable in the cave into a massive bundle and slung it onto his back. Before leaving, he glanced back at this demonic den filled with corpses.

"Too dirty, let me help you clean up." He pulled a fire starter from his robe and ignited the curtains and accumulated corpse oil in the cave.

Boom! Raging flames rose. Carrying a bundle larger than himself and humming a little tune, Gu Yang strode out of Yinfeng Cave.

Behind him, the fire consumed all evil and covered all traces. A professional at destroying evidence never looks back at the explosion... Morning, Qingyang City. The guards at the city gate were yawning, preparing for the shift change.

Suddenly, a rhythmic tremor came from the ground. Everyone looked up and was instantly startled awake.

They saw a giant like an iron tower, carrying a "small mountain" on his back and holding a dripping cloth bag in his hand, walking out of the morning mist.

"Lord... Lord Gu?" The guards recognized Gu Yang's iconic physique and the Copper Badge at his waist. They hurriedly bowed, their eyes full of awe.

Gu Yang nodded and tossed over a piece of silver: "Is the breakfast stall over there open? I'm hungry." "Open, open! Just opened!"

Half an hour later, at the Demon Suppression Division. Zhao Wuji had just picked up his teacup to moisten his throat when he was startled by Cold Edge rushing in.

"Division Chief! Big news! Gu Yang is back!" "He's back, so what? Why the fuss?" Zhao Wuji blew on the tea leaves. "Where did he go to cause trouble this time?" "He... he brought back the Blood Young Master's head!"

"Pfft—" Zhao Wuji sprayed a mouthful of hot tea across the table. Ignoring the heat, he stared wide-eyed. "Who?! The Blood Young Master? That Protector of the White Lotus Sect's Qingyang Branch who's in the top ten of the bounty list?" "Exactly!"

A moment later, in the main hall. Zhao Wuji looked at the head on the table, which had been preserved with lime. Even in death, that feminine face still bore the traces of terror and despair from before he died.

Confirmation complete. It was indeed the Blood Young Master who had been a headache for the Demon Suppression Division for three years!

"You..." Zhao Wuji felt his throat go dry as he looked at Gu Yang, who was gnawing on a pig's trotter nearby. "You wiped out his nest?"

Gu Yang swallowed the meat in his mouth and gave a simple, honest smile, looking completely innocent: "Division Chief, you really can't blame me for this. Last night I was sleeping soundly at home, and he just had to send a few zombies to tear down my front door. You know I have a bit of a morning temper."

"I got a bit angry and chased them out. Chasing and chasing, I ended up at a cave. Not only did they not apologize, they even called a bunch of people to hit me."

"I figured this counted as self-defense, right? So I used a little bit of force to fight back."

The corners of Zhao Wuji's and the surrounding guards' eyes twitched.

A little bit of force?

You killed their Protector, burned their branch, and even hauled back their rebellion funds (Gu Yang had handed over a small portion to show his loyalty). You call this a little bit of force?

This is a damn extermination!

"Good! What a fine 'self-defense'!" Zhao Wuji took a deep breath to calm himself, his eyes flashing with brilliance.

"Gu Yang, you've done a great service this time! Normally, according to the rules, a promotion to Silver Badge Guard requires seniority, but your record is too solid. I'm specially authorizing your promotion to Silver Badge! Ten thousand taels of silver! Choose any Cultivation Technique you want!"

Gu Yang's eyes lit up. Money and techniques were secondary; he had a more pressing need right now.

Last night, when he was dismantling the Bone Bodhisattva, although the fight was satisfying, smashing his fists against those hard bones still rattled his hands a bit.

Furthermore, with the explosion of his strength, he found his attack range to be a bit short. Although he was 2.2 meters tall with long arms, it still wasn't enough when facing those massive demons.

"Division Chief, I don't need the Cultivation Technique." Gu Yang wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and stood up, his massive shadow looming over Zhao Wuji.

"Can you get me a handy weapon?"

"Ordinary swords and sabers are too light, like toothpicks. They don't feel right."

"I want the kind that's... big enough, thick enough, and hard enough!"