For the following three days,
Gu Qingfeng had not gone to the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall but had been silently refining the Blood Refining Pill, hoping to break through to the Blood Refining Realm as soon as possible.
However,
although the Blood Refining Pill was powerful,
the breakthrough from the Refining Skin Realm to the Blood Refining Realm could not be crossed in a short time.
In the case of refining three Blood Refining Pills within three days, Gu Qingfeng could clearly feel that his cultivation had reached the limit of the Refining Skin Realm, just lacking an opportunity to complete the significant transformation.
But this transformation was not so easy to achieve.
If he could give himself a few more days, Gu Qingfeng was fairly confident he could break through to the Blood Refining Realm.
But now,
he did not have that much time.
Because today was the day he had arranged to meet Xu Jun.
With other instructors of the martial arts school serving as bait and being buried with them, the probability of leaving Lin County was much higher. Without Xu Jun and the others, even if he were to break through to the Blood Refining Realm, Gu Qingfeng was not confident he could leave Lin County safely.
Indeed.
After understanding Xu Jun's intentions, Gu Qingfeng had the same plan.
Xu Jun regarded him and the other instructors as bait, and he had the same idea.
In these troubled times, death was a common occurrence.
Over the past thirty years, Gu Qingfeng had seen plenty of dead bodies and was not much moved by it.
Immediately,
Gu Qingfeng simply packed up his belongings, which weren't many to begin with. The only thing he had to take with him was some Silver Taels.
Then,
he left the house with Gu Yang.
Compared to three days ago, the sky above Lin County was now filled with a faint blood mist. Pedestrians and citizens all had distressed and panicked expressions, but it had not yet descended into chaos.
Gu Qingfeng did not want to concern himself with too much right now; he only wanted to leave Lin County as quickly as possible. After all, the blood mist had already appeared in the sky, and no one could guarantee when new anomalies might occur.
However, Gu Yang showed a look of curiosity in his bright eyes when he saw the blood mist.
"Dad, what is that?"
"You don't need to worry about these things. Just remember to stay close to me," Gu Qingfeng earnestly cautioned, and Gu Yang nodded his head, half-understanding.
Before long,
the two arrived at the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall.
But seeing the martial arts school as usual, Gu Qingfeng's brows furrowed slightly—the more normal the scene appeared, the more abnormal it seemed.
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Gu Qingfeng was led by a disciple of the school to the grand hall of the hall, where several instructors from a few days ago, including Xu Jun, were present.
Upon Gu Qingfeng's arrival, Xu Jun rose to greet him warmly.
"Instructor Gu is here!"
"I've seen the Hall Master. Today, my son and I came as agreed. But by the looks of it, are you not planning to leave Lin County anymore?" Gu Qingfeng first gave a customary salute and then seated himself, turning to Xu Jun and the others with an unhappy expression.
As his voice fell,
many instructors revealed strange expressions.
Only Xu Jun managed to squeeze out a smile and said helplessly, "Instructor Gu may not be aware, but just yesterday, the Evil Suppression Bureau sent people, commanding that all citizens must stay within the county and are not allowed to leave.
As for the problem of the Evil Spirit, they will take care of it."
"The Evil Suppression Bureau?"
Gu Qingfeng's expression shifted slightly.
Without him having to ask, Xu Jun timely answered, "Instructor Gu may not be aware, but the Evil Suppression Bureau is a mysterious organization under the court, primarily aimed at dealing with evil spirits across the lands.
Everyone who joins the Evil Suppression Bureau possesses remarkable strength.
Now that the Evil Suppression Bureau is getting involved, it seems that the evil spirit in Lin County shouldn't be a problem.
Given this, there's no need for us to take the risk of leaving Lin County; we can just wait until the Evil Suppression Bureau takes care of the evil spirit.
Moreover, the command that no one is allowed to leave comes from the Evil Suppression Bureau itself, and we dare not disobey it. Otherwise, angering a master from the Evil Suppression Bureau would lead to unimaginable consequences!"
The words of Xu Jun also caused the other instructors to nod in deep agreement.
Who wouldn't want to live in safety rather than risk their lives needlessly?
Since the Evil Suppression Bureau is the court's agency against evil spirits, they could certainly wait until the Bureau had dealt with the situation.
And furthermore,
leaving Lin County would be equivalent to offending the Evil Suppression Bureau.
An organization affiliated with the court was best left unprovoked if possible.
The words of Xu Jun also clarified for Gu Qingfeng the situation at hand.
Subsequently,
he said no more and took Gu Yang with him as they left.
"Practice well!"
Once they reached their residence, Gu Qingfeng instructed Gu Yang before he returned to his own room, readying himself to start refining the Blood Refining Pill and accelerate his breakthrough to the Blood Refining Realm.
The arrival of the Evil Suppression Bureau had given him an uneasy feeling.
It wasn't that Gu Qingfeng distrusted the Evil Suppression Bureau, but everything was just too coincidental.
As Xu Jun had previously mentioned, Lin County wasn't a significant place—its remote location meant that a small town like this, especially with the blood mist sealing it off, could hardly send any messages out.
Yet the Evil Suppression Bureau arrived almost immediately after the blood mist appeared, which was a bit too convenient.
Too convenient,
often implies that it's not a coincidence at all!
There was another point.
That was the order from the Evil Suppression Bureau for all the residents not to leave Lin County, which also made Gu Qingfeng feel something was amiss.
Had it been just this order alone, there would have been no issue.
But combined with the previous events and the current order, Gu Qingfeng understood that things were definitely not as simple as Xu Jun had described.
The purpose of the Evil Suppression Bureau became something worth pondering.
Nevertheless,
these thoughts were kept to himself by Gu Qingfeng, who chose not to voice them aloud.
Engaging in deep discussions where the bond was shallow was a taboo matter.
Although Gu Qingfeng had been an instructor at the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall for several years and knew Xu Jun and the other instructors only superficially, he certainly couldn't share these thoughts with them.
If the Evil Suppression Bureau had ulterior motives and someone passed these thoughts on to them, it would just be causing trouble for himself.
Therefore,
Gu Qingfeng kept quiet to everyone.
At the same time, he solidified one thing in his mind: he couldn't stay in Lin County any longer.
"The people of the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall can't be relied upon. To leave Lin County, I must rely on myself. In the end, it all comes down to strength.
If I were in the Blood Refining Realm or even above that level as a martial artist, many issues wouldn't be issues at all.
The most critical thing right now is to achieve a breakthrough to the Blood Refining Realm first. Although I'm not certain of the strength of the members from the Evil Suppression Bureau, given that the Refining Skin Perfection level Xu Jun is so wary of them, the strength of those coming must also be extraordinary."
With this thought,
Gu Qingfeng set aside all distractions and swallowed a Blood Refining Pill, beginning to refine the power of the elixir and forcibly pushing for a breakthrough to a higher realm.