Most of the people who could afford to drink and eat meat at the tavern were hot-blooded martial artists. Hearing such arrogant words, some immediately wanted to teach the speaker a lesson.
But when they turned to look, they saw County Magistrate Yang Chenwu standing behind the young man. The tavern guests' anger instantly sank back down.
Anyone who could make the County Magistrate follow behind him clearly had an extraordinary background. He was not someone ordinary martial artists like them could afford to offend.
Seeing everyone standing there stunned and afraid to speak, Lu Yunfei looked even more haughty.
Yang Chenwu followed behind him and merely gave an awkward smile. He had also been shocked when he learned that this youth was from the Jizhou Lu Clan.
The Jizhou Lu Clan was a thousand-year Noble Family whose ancestors had produced a Blood Transformation Grandmaster. Even now, members of the Lu Clan held important positions throughout Jizhou, and powerful experts were as plentiful as clouds within the clan.
In a small county town like Yong'an City, the Lu Clan could sweep through it without resistance by sending out any random expert. They would be invincible!
Yang Chenwu did not care about Lu Yunfei's attitude. In his view, the Jizhou Lu Clan ought to have such an arrogant bearing.
A Noble Family with a thousand years of inheritance had subtly reshaped every martial artist's understanding. Most of them naturally believed that the Jizhou Lu Clan should be composed of strong cultivators who stood above ordinary commoner martial artists!
Even Li Xuanhai, a Viscera Tempering expert, thought the same way.
The tavern's rear courtyard.
Chu Feng was chatting idly with Li Zhenshan.
"Kid, although you've now cultivated the skin, flesh, and sinew realms to their limits, you absolutely mustn't slack off because of that and assume you're some one-of-a-kind genius."
Chu Feng could not help asking, "Are there really many people like me?"
He possessed a cheat and had spent several hundred years reaching the limits of the first three stages of Body Tempering. Converted to the real world, he would probably have needed to cultivate for several lifetimes without eating or drinking to achieve it.
He could not imagine that this world had geniuses so heaven-defying!
Li Zhenshan smiled and said, "It's extremely difficult to cultivate a realm to its limit. Even a top-tier genius would spend more than ten years of time and effort to reach the limit in just one area."
But then he suddenly changed course. "Since I can recognize the Flesh Vajra you cultivated, naturally, someone in the past must have reached it."
He rose to his feet and gazed into the distance.
"This world will always produce some geniuses so heaven-defying that they can complete the power ordinary people would painstakingly cultivate for hundreds of years in just a few short years. Those thousand-year Noble Families have even more unique secret techniques that can accelerate the process."
"So every disciple from a Noble Family will certainly have cultivated one, or even several, of the skin, flesh, and sinew realms to their limits. If you encounter one, you absolutely must not let your guard down."
Chu Feng nodded to show that he understood.
All cultivation arts stood on the shoulders of those who came before.
No one could stand apart from the world. Since he could cultivate it, someone else must have reached it too.
At that moment, Chen Shi Tou came running over and said hurriedly,
"C-County Magistrate, the County Magistrate is here, and he brought two very imposing people..."
Chu Feng was not surprised by Yang Chenwu's arrival at all.
The disturbance last night had been so great that if he still had not come looking, then the County Magistrate really would have been nothing but a figurehead.
Just after Chen Shi Tou finished speaking, the old tavernkeeper arrived with three people.
Among the three, Yang Chenwu was a familiar face. The County Magistrate took the initiative to fall behind the other two.
Chu Feng first noticed the middle-aged man in the black robe at the head.
His face was square and dignified, his entire body knotted with muscle. He walked with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, his bearing extraordinary.
"Chu Feng, let me introduce you. This is Lord Li Xuanhai, the Demon Suppression Captain sent by the Demon Suppression Division."
Apparently afraid that Chu Feng did not know how formidable Li Xuanhai was, Yang Chenwu deliberately explained,
"Within the Demon Suppression Division, only martial artists who have reached the late Viscera Tempering stage can be conferred the title of Demon Suppression Captain.
"So Lord Li Xuanhai is also an extremely powerful figure within the Demon Suppression Division. He even possesses the authority to recommend reserve members for the Demon Suppression Division!"
The entire courtyard fell silent.
The old tavernkeeper and Chen Shi Tou listened in a daze, but that did not stop them from imagining how honored and exalted this lord's status was.
Even Li Zhenshan was slightly astonished. He looked at Li Xuanhai, deep in thought.
He had originally assumed that the Demon Suppression Division would casually send an early Viscera Tempering martial artist. He had not expected them to send a Demon Suppression Captain.
Figures like this had fought demons and monsters hundreds or thousands of times. Their strength was terrifying beyond measure.
Such an imposing lineup made Li Zhenshan realize that the demon was probably no ordinary creature either!
Li Xuanhai smiled. "I happened to be on leave. When I suddenly heard that a Fifth Realm Demon had appeared here, I came by to take a look. Tell me about the demon you encountered last night..."
Chu Feng could sense the surging power within the other man's body, like a sleeping volcano. Once it erupted, it would surely possess the power to shake the heavens and earth!
He nodded and began, "Yesterday, Master Li and I finished work as usual and were heading home when we heard the tavern attendant crying for help. That was when we encountered the Fox Demon committing murder..."
Chu Feng briefly explained the whole sequence of events.
Li Xuanhai nodded, then studied Chen Shi Tou a few more times. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.
"Have you recently been full of energy, always feeling as though you aren't tired?"
Chen Shi Tou nodded. These days, after finishing his work, he would practice martial arts bitterly. Even after returning home, he would secretly train for several more hours, yet he did not feel tired in the slightest.
Li Xuanhai moved as swiftly as lightning. He seized Chen Shi Tou's wrist, then touched several acupoints around his body.
Afterward, he said coldly, "You appear to have vigorous qi and blood, but in truth, you're a rootless duckweed floating on water. This is the phenomenon caused by the Blood Gu Pill refined by the Heaven Heavenly Demon Alliance. That demon is incredibly bold—it intends to turn everyone in this city into blood food!"
Seeing the puzzled looks around him, Li Xuanhai took the initiative to explain:
"The Blood Gu Pill is an evil pill refined by the Heaven Heavenly Demon Alliance. It only needs to hatch inside a human body to infect tens of thousands of people. The qi and blood of those infected will be stimulated to their limits. Within two days, they will be unable to move, becoming the finest food for demons and monsters."
"And the person serving as the hatching host will have their potential squeezed dry to nourish the Gu Worm inside their body. Once the Gu Worm spreads, their qi and blood will wither, and they will die!"
Chen Shi Tou's face turned deathly pale. He had thought he had escaped disaster, but he had never expected death to come searching for him after all.
He racked his memory, yet could not remember swallowing any pill.
Chen Shi Tou did not know that, to ensure the Blood Gu Pill's perfect development that day, the Fox Demon had deliberately used deep charm, making him forget the memory of swallowing the pill.
After hearing this, Chu Feng pressed on, "May I ask, my lord, is there any way to save him?"
Li Xuanhai shook his head. "This pill isn't a poison. It merely squeezes the body's potential and stimulates its qi and blood. Unless one can provide the vast quantity of qi and blood required for the Blood Gu Pill to hatch, there is only a dead end!"
"Then can the Nourishing Soup Medicine required by martial artists during cultivation eliminate the pill's side effects?"
Chu Feng pondered for a moment before asking.
Li Zhenshan spoke up. "Nourishing Soup Medicine is merely an ordinary qi-and-blood tonic. I'm afraid it won't satisfy the vast quantity of qi and blood this pill requires..."
After hearing this, Chen Shi Tou suddenly felt that the world had turned gray. In a low voice, he said, "Master, I'm sorry. I won't be able to practice martial arts with you anymore."
Now that he knew he was about to die, Chen Shi Tou instead felt somewhat relieved. Perhaps it was time for him to go find Afu.
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