35: Exception message

"Martial Dao has reached Major Achievement, and the killing intent is firm. The path of a Martial Artist lies in killing and abstaining!"

"This Reincarnation evaluation: Grade D Top."

"This Reincarnation reward: 12 Reincarnation Points."

"You now have 25 Reincarnation Points. You can use Reincarnation Points to exchange for: Damaged Military Knife (2 points), Current Cultivation (20 points)."

Deep in his consciousness, Gu Chang awoke again, feeling no surprise at this death.

Or rather, if a Major General of the Marrow Refining Realm couldn't kill him, that would be the real surprise.

The further one progresses in Martial Dao, the greater the difficulty, and the greater the difference in strength between each Realm, truly a new mountain with each Realm.

"My strength has finally reached Major Achievement in Refining Bone. Among ordinary people in the real world, I can definitely be considered a strong person. I just don't know how I compare to Martial Artists in the real world?"

After a brief thought, Gu Chang directly chose to exchange for current cultivation, and immediately his main body's strength broke through to the Major Achievement of Refining Bone Realm.

At this moment, his bones were like tempered steel, and his entire skin was exceptionally tough, a perfect blend of hardness and flexibility. Even charging through a chaotic army, he wouldn't need to fear.

If he focused solely on escaping, even facing a Major General of the Marrow Refining Realm, he could remain alive until his internal Qi was depleted.

"However, breaking through to the Marrow Refining level next won't be so easy."

After a simple stretch, Gu Chang began to ponder how he should proceed with his path.

The so-called Marrow Refining is not just about strengthening the bone marrow; it involves strengthening all fragile areas, including internal organs, bone marrow, Meridians, and even the brain.

After completing Marrow Refining, the Martial Artist's life essence will be enhanced, and their internal Qi will greatly increase. At that time, they will have extremely strong resistance to various harsh environments, toxins, and so on.

However, precisely because it involves those crucial and fragile parts of the body, the Marrow Refining stage is also very difficult to Breakthrough, and even a slight mistake could lead to death.

"According to the records of the Xuanbing Blood Fiend Skill, one should first start with the five internal organs and six viscera, then continuously refine the Meridians with sufficient internal Qi, allowing internal Qi to flow throughout the body, and finally begin refining the bone marrow, tendons... But to complete these processes, the required items are not simple."

The Marrow Refining Realm no longer requires common blood-replenishing foods like tiger meat, tiger bone, or savage ox horns, but rather various potent medicines and treasures that can assist in Marrow Refining!

"Phew, forget it, let's deal with the current matters first."

After these days of consumption, the coarse salt, cooking oil, and other daily necessities he bought last time were almost gone.

As for food, tiger meat and fish could still suffice, but other daily necessities had to be purchased.

"Linhu Town cannot be visited, otherwise, it would be asking for trouble. Although with my current strength, I'm not necessarily afraid of the Great Green Gang, who can guarantee that they don't have something related to Cultivators behind them?"

After a simple wash-up and meal, Gu Chang set his sights on another market town near Taihu Lake for his next destination.

"Splash ~ Splash ~"

The fishing boat cut through the lake. The low winter temperatures meant there were hardly any boats sailing on Taihu Lake; even fishermen would dock on an island to spend the winter during this time.

After rowing for about two hours, Gu Chang finally arrived near another market town.

This time, he did not choose to disembark at the market town's pier but instead moored his fishing boat in a patch of reeds by the lake.

Then, Gu Chang took some silver he had exchanged and went ashore towards the nearby market town.

This market town was named Baihe Town, and its scale was much smaller than Linhu Town. However, due to its proximity to Taihu Lake, the town's population was not small, certainly having over a thousand households.

"Waiter, bring the wine!"

In a certain restaurant, Gu Chang, who had changed his attire and looked like a Jianghu person, directly shouted after arriving.

This world is quite tolerant of Jianghu people, after all, powerful martial arts truly exist in this world!

"Alright! Customer, please take a seat!"

The waiter's voice reached Gu Chang's ears before he even arrived, and then a nimble and capable figure appeared before Gu Chang.

"Hm."

"Customer, what would you like to eat?"

"Our restaurant has eight signature dishes, paired with our specially brewed Jade Spring, the taste is superb!"

As Gu Chang sat down, the other person deftly poured tea while introducing the restaurant's specialties to Gu Chang.

Reading people's expressions was their specialty as waiters. Seeing that Gu Chang was a new face, he proactively started talking.

"What specific dishes do you have? Tell me, if I'm satisfied, serve them all!"

Gu Chang didn't care about these details. After all, he was no longer the small fisherman who had to be cautious to survive; he was now a fledgling Jianghu Knight (Xia Ke).

"Alright, our restaurant has braised lion's head, braised pork trotters, steamed white snow fish, secret recipe marinated duck... If you can't finish it all at once, you can order a mixed platter to try various dishes."

The waiter's tongue was exceptionally nimble, rattling off a long list of dish names, clearly all good dishes that made Gu Chang's stomach rumble with hunger.

"Good! Then bring one of everything!"

"Oh, and another jar of wine!"

Who knew how long Gu Chang, who had been eating fish or plain stewed tiger meat for a long time, hadn't tasted anything else?

So this time, he was quite extravagant. With his current digestive ability, eating it all shouldn't be a big problem.

"Alright! Customer, please wait a moment!"

Hearing Gu Chang's words, the waiter's face immediately lit up with joy, and he promptly went to the kitchen to instruct the chef to start cooking.

"Phew."

Gu Chang gently blew on and drank the hot tea in his cup, and his mood instantly improved a few points.

"Indeed, one really shouldn't treat oneself too poorly!"

The fragrance of the tea in his mouth made Gu Chang a little intoxicated. He used to only be able to afford foamy tea, but now he could finally be extravagant for once.

"Oh my, you guys don't know, the ghost haunting in Linhu Town to the east has caused quite a stir!"

"Hiss ~ Really? No one is managing it?"

"Managing? How could no one manage it? Several batches of imperial constables went, and even the local power, the Great Green Gang, sent several Elders. And guess what happened?"

"What happened? Hurry up and tell us!"

"Hehe, no rush, no rush, let's drink first! Drink!"

"This place's Jade Spring is really good wine!"

"..."

However, just then, conversations came from a nearby table. Several men dressed as Jianghu individuals were talking about something.

"Customer! Here's your wine, and a few cold dishes! Please enjoy these first, the hot dishes will be right out!"

Just as Gu Chang was about to listen carefully, the waiter came over with a tray.

"Hm."

Gu Chang nodded and then began to pour wine and eat, but his attention was now on the other side.

"It was tragic! That scene, anyone who saw it would be terrified!"

"Several groups of people went in, and not one escaped alive. Finally, after the ghost subsided, their shriveled corpses were found."

"Then, then did any Immortal take action?"

"Probably, but Immortals come and go without a trace, no one knows."

"..."

Gu Chang never expected such a thing to happen in Linhu Town. Fortunately, he was cautious enough not to go to Linhu Town this time, otherwise, he would inevitably be drawn into such an affair.

'That's right, since there are Cultivators in this world, it's only normal for demons, monsters, and ghosts to exist!'

'It's just, why haven't I heard of such things before? Why did it appear at this time?'

'Is it a coincidence? Or is there some special reason?'

Gu Chang drank wine and ate dishes while pondering. This matter was relatively close to him, and who knew what hidden secrets lay behind it.

"I must get relevant information, otherwise, living in Taihu Lake might also be dangerous!"

After a brief thought, Gu Chang immediately made a decision. As for how to obtain the information, Gu Chang already had some ideas in his mind.