Rainy Night Manor

Outside the carriage, the rain pattered incessantly, a torrential downpour blanketing the world.

By the time night fell, the storm showed no sign of easing.

This was neither a peaceful golden age nor an era where the righteous path flourished; supernatural evils were far from uncommon.

Ordinary folk rarely traveled after dark, especially on a rainy night like this.

Under normal circumstances, the grandfather and grandson driving the carriage would never have dared, but with those four men inside, the pair felt significantly more at ease.

"Second Master, we are about to leave Yunze Prefecture," Old Huang's voice drifted in from outside the animal-hide curtain.

Inside the carriage sat three men and one Medicine Slave.

"Mm," Shen Yushu replied casually, toying with a vine seed in his hand.

In the corner, the Medicine Slave Li Si sat cross-legged, appearing almost sleep-deprived, needing no further instruction.

Third Senior Brother Zhu Li gazed out the window, lost in thought as he watched the curtain of rain.

Only Fourth Junior Brother Liu Feng remained undistracted, sitting cross-legged on the animal-hide mat, meditating in silence.

Of course, had Third Senior Brother Zhu Li not been present, Liu Feng would never have dared to cultivate like this; he feared what Shen Yushu might do.

The Fire Eater will hatch in two or three days. That Insect Crystal Lu Yao gave me! It should be just enough to help me stabilize the second Exotic Gu I just hatched. A sense of unease lingered in Liu Feng's heart.

Unable to pinpoint the reason, Liu Feng turned his focus inward to his bone structure.

Along the lowest vertebra of his spine, the "roots" had grown significantly stronger through his continuous practice of the guiding technique, now barely allowing him to channel a sliver of Buddhist power.

After these days of cultivation, he had gained some insight into the Buddhist path of the bone body.

This path cultivated the skeleton, and its explosive power was in no way inferior to that of a martial artist.

Combined with Buddhist dharma, it was hard to say who would emerge victorious in a head-on clash with a martial artist.

The flesh and skin are merely temporary vessels; I need only use Buddhist power to protect them and ensure they aren't smashed to pieces.

The essence of this path lies solely in the bones. If cultivated to the end, it is highly likely that, like the White Bone Buddha, one could discard the physical shell entirely...

As this thought crossed his mind, Liu Feng channeled his Buddhist power through his bones to the fingers of his right hand.

Crack, crack... A piece of hardwood in Liu Feng's sleeve was crushed into fine powder.

The force behind this move far exceeded his usual strength, reaching the threshold of a novice martial artist.

"What are you blindly crushing in your sleeve?" Shen Yushu's voice rang out without warning.

Liu Feng opened his eyes, ignored Shen Yushu, and reached out the window to shake the wood dust from his hand.

"Are you practicing the Diamond Demon-Subduing Sutra of that beast Yuan Wu?" Shen Yushu continued.

The Yuan Wu he spoke of was, of course, the Ape Spirit he had infected with Gu and brought into the valley; he knew everything about Yuan Wu's origins and the techniques he practiced.

Detecting the insult in Shen Yushu's tone, Liu Feng remained indifferent and nodded. "Indeed."

Knowing he couldn't hide it from Shen Yushu anyway, he simply admitted it, not caring that he was practicing the sutra right in front of him.

Shen Yushu chuckled. "Junior Brother is quite greedy, wanting the methods of a Gu Master while also coveting the tricks of those bald monks."

"However, does Junior Brother know how long it takes to achieve any real progress in Buddhism? It is far slower than the path of a Gu Master."

Liu Feng understood what Shen Yushu meant. The path of a Gu Master was like raising Gu—insects devouring one another until a powerful specimen emerged; it didn't take long to produce a formidable fighter.

Take himself, for instance: a Gu Master who survived a five-to-one culling was already sufficiently fierce.

Yet that wasn't enough; after becoming a Gu Master, he had immediately refined three more Exotic Gu of the same species, plus a segment of Blood Vine.

Over these past eight days, the medicinal power of the Exotic Gu and the Blood Vine had dissolved, further advancing his physique and Gu techniques.

"Thank you for the advice, Senior Brother. I know what I am doing." Liu Feng closed his eyes, offering no further response.

He was unsure of the progress of other Buddhist practitioners, but Liu Feng was very clear about his own situation; perhaps his progress in Buddhist cultivation would not be much slower than refining Gu!

"Whoa..." The carriage slowed to a crawl.

The three brothers inside all sensed the carriage changing direction.

Outside the animal-hide curtain, Little Fuzi's voice sounded: "Second Master, there is a manor ahead. May we go inside to take shelter from the rain?"

"Why not? Go in," Shen Yushu replied.

"The manor looks abandoned by others and somewhat dilapidated, but there is smoke rising from the kitchen. Perhaps... refugees or beggars are staying inside."

Though Little Fuzi spoke of refugees and beggars, he felt a flicker of panic in his heart.

After all, in this world, aside from mountain spirits and wild monsters, even bandits were more than capable of taking a life.

No one in the carriage responded. Little Fuzi and Old Huang exchanged a glance before driving the carriage into the manor.

They discovered the manor was quite large, though it lacked even a main gate.

"That main house, the kitchen, and several side rooms all have smoke rising from them, and they all smell of meat!" As a hunter, Old Huang easily caught the scent of meat, even in the rain.

Little Fuzi shook the rainwater from his straw cape and asked, "Should we just find an empty room, or go and greet the others here?"

Although anyone could stay in an abandoned manor, Little Fuzi, sticking to his old habits, did not want to offend anyone lightly.

Before they could hesitate any longer, the broken door of the kitchen opened, and two men—one old and one middle-aged—stepped out.

The old man and the middle-aged man both had ruddy complexions and moved with agile, vigorous steps.

"Oh? You've come to take shelter from the rain, haven't you?"

"Judging by your attire, you're hunters? My son and I are hunters as well." Upon seeing Old Huang and his grandson, the two men beamed with smiles.

"You are too kind, sirs. We are just passing through for the night," Old Huang said, cupping his hands in a salute to the elderly hunter.

Little Fuzi stole a few glances at the pair; their gait and clothing certainly appeared to be those of hunters.

Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that their limbs seemed somewhat stiff.

"There's a stable over there; go settle your horses. The game in the kitchen was caught in the nearby mountains—don't stand on ceremony, feel free to roast a fawn and eat your fill."

"Thank you, brother. Please, you must accept this small token of our appreciation."

While Old Huang exchanged pleasantries with the two men, Little Fuzi pulled back the animal-hide curtain of the carriage.

The two men watched as four people stepped out: three young men and a middle-aged hunchback who looked like a madman.

"Brother, are those other travelers in the side rooms as well?" Old Huang asked, appearing to speak quite casually.

"Just some poor souls from ordinary families who have fallen on hard times. They keep to themselves and don't like to be disturbed, so there's no need to mind them."

"The four of you, please come inside and take a seat as well."

Shen Yushu walked at the front of the group, followed by Liu Feng and Zhu Li, with the Medicine Slave Li Si bringing up the rear.

They did not stand on ceremony; they told Little Fuzi to go settle the carriage and horses while they followed the two hunters inside.

Yet, none of those present—neither Old Huang and his grandson nor the overly familiar hunters—knew that thousands of Gu insects had already crawled out into this place!

These Gu insects were jet-black, blending almost perfectly into the night as they silently crept into the side rooms.

Before they had even reached the kitchen, Shen Yushu sighed in a voice only the three of them could hear: "Ordinary people being gnawed on by Gu insects, yet not a single sound!"

The Gu insects he had released carried a potent venom that caused excruciating pain; any normal person with a functioning brain would have let out at least a whimper.

"Then we should..." Zhu Li's eyes turned cold.

"No matter. Since they wish to host us, let us eat and drink our fill first," Shen Yushu said, stepping into the kitchen.

As for worrying about being poisoned? That was not something they needed to dwell on.

Attempting to poison a Gu Master who was saturated with toxins was a joke! There were truly very few experts capable of poisoning a Gu Master to death.