Another Method of Body Tempering

After the conflict with Zhang Yuan, Fang Huai was temporarily unable to work due to his injury and returned to his residence.

Jin Xiaoxiao, his roommate, was arranged by Wu Liu to accompany him back and help treat his wound.

Gently applying the herbal medicine, Jin Xiaoxiao comforted him, "Senior Brother, although this wound of yours looks terrible, there's no need to worry too much. It won't affect your arm's movement."

"Mm." Fang Huai replied absently.

Whether he got injured and how severe it was—all of it was within his control.

Skinning was a delicate operation; he wouldn't be foolish enough to ruin his own future just to trap Zhang Yuan.

He had deliberately claimed his tendons were damaged, solely to make Zhang Yuan's death more justified.

"Senior Brother, you're really ruthless. To buy Zhang Yuan's life, you actually promised the steward a thousand contribution points every year."

"Junior Sister Jin, these thousand contribution points of mine buy not just Zhang Yuan's life, but also my own safety."

"I understand..."

"I haven't even said it yet, and you already understand?"

Jin Xiaoxiao smiled. "Do you think my relationship with Wu Liu is pretty good? That's because I promised to give her three hundred contribution points every year..."

Fang Huai and Jin Xiaoxiao shared the same idea—both were spending contribution points to buy peace.

If he had a choice, Fang Huai wouldn't be so generous either.

But in a demon sect, the competition wasn't just about who was fiercer or stronger; it also required backing and a powerful patron.

Even Jin Xiaoxiao could see that the wound on his shoulder was only superficially serious, yet Wu Liu chose to go along with his lie.

This favoritism was owed to Fang Huai's promise of a thousand contribution points every year.

As long as Fang Huai lived, she could continuously reap benefits, so she would definitely favor him and grant him enough safety.

With some time left before sleep and nothing else to do, Fang Huai sat cross-legged to practice breathing and cultivation.

Before leaving the Skinning Room, he had traded for [Spirit Absorption (Gray)].

Now sitting quietly, he attempted to attract the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Because the spiritual energy composition in the Corpse Sha Sect was too impure, breathing it in would draw large amounts of resentment and toxic miasma. Before reaching Qi Refining, one could only choose to absorb purer spiritual energy in the cultivation chambers.

But after entering Qi Refining, the efficiency of purifying spiritual energy increased, and since the Hundred Sha Technique itself required Sha Qi as an aid, as long as one cultivated in moderation, it was possible to improve one's cultivation outside the cultivation chamber as well.

After only a short while of cultivation, he withdrew from his meditative state.

Although he had attracted a small amount of spiritual energy, he had also drawn in a large amount of toxic miasma and resentment. Over time, this would inevitably leave hidden dangers.

He had previously thought that the Corpse Sha Sect disciples' [Sha Qi Infusion] tag was a result of practicing the Hundred Sha Technique, but now it seemed it was caused by physical damage.

Thinking this, to ensure a stable foundation for future cultivation, Fang Huai gave up on further breathing exercises and decided to save up more contribution points and system points before going to the cultivation chamber to absorb pure spiritual energy.

That day, while Fang Huai was recuperating in his room, Jin Xiaoxiao rushed back in a hurry and told him that a batch of live demonic beasts had arrived at the Skinning Room.

"Live demonic beasts?" Fang Huai was puzzled. How do you skin something alive?

None of them, these half-baked cultivators, had practically ever learned any attack or defense techniques.

Skinning a live demonic beast—wasn't that just asking for death?

"Senior Brother, don't panic. 'Live demonic beasts' means these beasts have had their consciousness destroyed, or their physical bodies are damaged to the point of near death."

Jin Xiaoxiao explained, "These beasts are dead but not dead; their bodies still retain abundant blood and qi. When the skinners peel them, they plunder that blood and qi. At the same time, the hide from a live skinning has better spiritual essence and sells better.

Of course, there are dangers too. Occasionally, a beast will fake death and suddenly attack, so skinning live demonic beasts earns more contribution points.

Normally, this kind of good fortune wouldn't come to us, but with the frequent battles, the sect has issued a large number of demon-beast hunting missions to ensure logistics.

The volume of skinning has increased greatly, and the higher-level Skinning Rooms need to handle high-grade demonic beasts. That's why the sect has allocated these low-grade live demonic beasts to us."

Fang Huai understood after hearing Jin Xiaoxiao's explanation, and his heart stirred with interest.

He had already rested for quite some time; it was time to get back to work.

Returning to the Skinning Room, Wu Liu only gave him a slight nod before turning her attention back to the other disciples.

The incident where a Foundation Establishment demonic beast faked death and destroyed a room had left her shaken; she had to keep a close eye on every skinning disciple to avoid her cash cows getting hurt.

Fang Huai's gaze swept over the mountain of demonic beast carcasses, carefully examining their tags.

[Morbund], [Soul Lost], [Consciousness Destroyed]... [Fake Death]

[Fake Death: It's playing dead, waiting for a destined soul to fight to the death]

Scanning around, two demonic beasts were in a state of fake death—

One was a Sharp-Toothed Porcupine, and the other was an Ink Eagle.

Fang Huai randomly borrowed [Skinning Expert (Gray)] from some unlucky soul, hoisted a [Soul Lost] Spine-skinned Wolf, and made a quick cut.

"This kid doesn't even check if the beast is really dead?"

"Heh, so reckless. He'll die at the skinning table sooner or later."

"..."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

When handling a live demon beast, one must carefully inspect its soul and body to ensure there is no remaining threat before making the cut.

They had never seen someone as brainless as Fang Huai before.

Wu Liu was about to scold Fang Huai, but recalling that he was not a reckless man, she ultimately swallowed her words.

Extracting blood and qi... slitting open the hide and belly... carefully peeling along where bone, blood, and skin connect...

A complete Spine-skinned Wolf pelt was thus born.

The feeling of handling a living creature was vastly different from handling a dead one.

With a dead thing, the flesh and blood were stiff, requiring only mechanical operation.

With a living thing, one could clearly feel the body gradually shift from warm to cold, could feel life slipping away through one's hands.

From timid and hesitant, to killing a person for the first time, to now steadying his hands while taking a life, Fang Huai had changed a lot.

Wiping the fine sweat from his brow, he looked at the panel data with satisfaction:

[Body Forging Technique Beginner: 74/100]
[Skinning Technique Beginner: 29/100]

Body Forging Technique had increased by 7 points, Skinning Technique by 12 points.

Only three hours had passed; if he hurried, he could still handle another demon beast.

Just as he was feeling pleased, he suddenly heard a piercing scream.

Looking up, he saw a disciple who had been inspecting a "feigning death" Sharp-Toothed Porcupine get his face caught in the suddenly erupting beast's jaws.

Wu Liu struck immediately, piercing the demon beast's skull, but it was too late—the disciple's face had already been mangled beyond recognition.

Wu Liu waved her hand, ordering someone to carry the disciple away.

If he was lucky enough to survive, the Corpse Sha Sect might arrange for him to tend spirit fields or mine spirit stones.

If he was unlucky and died, he would be thrown into Miasma Valley to nurture Sha Qi.

Fang Huai sighed inwardly. He could not save that man, nor could he save that man. All he could do was strive to improve himself.

Another three hours passed, and Fang Huai finished handling another demon beast.

Seeing that there was little time left, he left the Skinning Room and returned to his dwelling.

Shortly after he came back, Jin Xiaoxiao returned with five or six poisonous herbs in hand, smiling brightly.

Poison Heart Grass, Snake Bone Grass, Ten-Step Sway...

This woman really understood what he was thinking.

"Why so diligent today?" Fang Huai didn't believe she would be nice to him for no reason.

"Senior Brother Fang, you were so fast handling that Spine-skinned Wolf today~"

"Want to learn? I'll teach you..."