Two Upgrade Points were invested into the Iron Body Skills, which instantly entered the state of Perfection.
At the moment when the Iron Body Skills reached Perfection, a vast amount of memories from training the skill surfaced in Gu Qingfeng's mind, and he felt an itch in his skin as a layer of dead skin peeled off to reveal a bronze-toned dermis.
When Gu Qingfeng brought over a blade and slashed at his skin with all his might, he felt only a slight touch, with no break in defense.
After that.
Gu Qingfeng channeled the Iron Body Skills again and delivered another full-strength chop.
As the blade touched his skin, a sound like the clash of metal rang out, and in the next breath, the long blade snapped in response.
"Good!"
Having truly tested the power of the Iron Body Skills Perfection, Gu Qingfeng's face lit up with joy.
Now, relying solely on his physical defense, he could completely ignore the attacks of Refining Skin Perfection Martial Artists. Whether he could withstand the attack of a Blood Refining Martial Artist if he used the Iron Body Skills with full force was yet to be seen.
But at least.
Completing two martial arts provided Gu Qingfeng with the capital to dominate the Refining Skin Realm.
Then.
Gu Qingfeng took out a Blood Refining Pill.
The Blood Refining Pill was entirely crimson, as if forged from fresh blood, exuding an extraordinary aura. Gu Qingfeng only sniffed it briefly and felt his vital energy and blood nearly boil.
At once.
Gu Qingfeng swallowed a Blood Refining Pill.
The elixir entered his stomach.
The power of the pill, ten times stronger than that of the Qi Blood Pill, exploded from his belly. His vital energy surged like the currents of great rivers, incessantly scouring his flesh and skin.
Under the immense power of the pill, Gu Qingfeng's skin turned bright red, resembling a boiled shrimp, and it took a long while before the effects of the pill subsided and his skin returned to normal.
"Hu!"
Gu Qingfeng exhaled deeply.
The effect of taking the Blood Refining Pill proved more beneficial than a year of arduous training.
Now, he could faintly sense the boundary of the Refining Skin Realm.
Normally.
To break through to the Blood Refining Realm, one must possess corresponding martial arts.
But nothing is absolute.
The Blood Refining Pill is a shortcut for Refining Skin Martial Artists to break through to Blood Refining.
However.
With his current cultivation level, Gu Qingfeng could only take one such elixir a day, as taking too much would only harm his foundation.
...
The next day.
Gu Qingfeng went to the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall.
The atmosphere inside the hall was heavy, and before he could understand what had happened, a disciple came forward to ask him to go to the hall's main lobby, explaining that the Hall Master had important matters to discuss.
Without overthinking, when Gu Qingfeng arrived at the main lobby, he saw Xu Jun, whom he had not seen in a long time.
Since joining the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall, Gu Qingfeng had scarcely met Xu Jun.
From what other instructors said, this man was constantly in retreat trying to break through to the Blood Refining Realm, thus rarely appeared in public.
However.
Now, as Gu Qingfeng looked at Xu Jun, he saw a strong aura about him, but it didn't exert much pressure on him, indicating that the other had not succeeded in his breakthrough.
On the other side.
Xu Jun also looked at Gu Qingfeng.
As his eyes landed on Gu Qingfeng, his expression changed slightly and he quickly smiled, "Instructor Gu, it has been a long time!"
"Have seen Hall Master!"
Gu Qingfeng also bowed in salute.
Xu Jun immediately stood up and pointed to an empty seat beside him, saying, "Since Instructor Gu has arrived, please take a seat first. Once the other instructors arrive, we will discuss the matters in detail."
"Hmm..."
Gu Qingfeng nodded his head in agreement, not declining the offer, and directly took the seat next to Xu Jun.
When the other instructors saw this, their expressions all turned strange.
Among the many senior instructors, Gu Qingfeng was not the oldest in terms of seniority. Xu Jun's enthusiasm was not usually seen when facing other senior instructors.
This change raised other thoughts in some people's minds.
However.
Before others could speculate for too long, they heard Xu Jun say, "I never expected our Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall to produce another Refining Skin Perfection expert. How long has Instructor Gu broken through to Refining Skin Perfection?"
"Just a few months ago by sheer luck," Gu Qingfeng replied with a slight smile, casually concocting a timeframe.
His own Qi Blood was subtle, but it could not escape the scrutinizing eyes of an expert like Xu Jun. It was normal for Xu Jun to see through his true state.
"Refining Skin Perfection!"
Upon hearing Xu Jun's words, all the instructors looked at Gu Qingfeng differently.
The previous suspicions and jealousy turned into reverence at that moment.
Indeed.
It was reverence.
The path of martial arts had always valued power and respect for the strong.
Now that Gu Qingfeng had stepped into Refining Skin Perfection, becoming one of the only two experts in the Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall, the rest could not dare to look down on him, not even in the slightest.
"Congratulations to Instructor Gu!"
"Our Golden Bull Martial Arts Hall has produced another Refining Skin Perfection expert. This is truly a joyous occasion!"
Everyone offered their congratulations, and Gu Qingfeng responded to each with a smile.
"You are too kind."
...
After a while.
The remaining instructors had all arrived.
The previously noisy hall suddenly became much quieter.
With a solemn expression, Xu Jun faced the crowd and said in a grave voice, "I won't beat around the bush today. We received news that a mysterious blood mist has appeared outside Lin County. All who entered the mist have died a strange death.
The people who died were all gutted, their five internal organs completely removed, identical to the various tragic incidents of a few months ago.
If I'm not mistaken, it's likely that Lin County has been targeted by an evil spirit!"
Evil spirit!
As these words were uttered, everyone's face drastically changed, as though they had heard something inconceivable.
Gu Qingfeng also looked startled and immediately asked, "What exactly is this evil spirit you mentioned, Hall Master? Why have I never heard of such a thing?"
Hearing this.
Xu Jun gave a wry smile and said, "It is normal for Instructor Gu not to have heard of the existence of evil spirits, for places affected by evil spirits often leave no survivors.
In my youth, I was lucky enough to learn of evil spirits from someone's account.
In a few words, it is not sufficient to explain what an evil spirit is. You all simply need to understand that it's an extremely terrifying entity. Where an evil spirit emerges, the lighter outcome is the destruction of a city, and at worst, it could turn an entire county into dead land."
"Take for instance the past incidents in Qingjiang Prefecture and Xuanshui City. External rumors suggested that an epidemic broke out, leading to the death of all inhabitants.
In truth, it was because an evil spirit catastrophe occurred in Qingjiang Prefecture and Xuanshui City, with all the citizens perishing at the hands of the evil spirit.
It was just the court fabricating an epidemic rumor to cover up the actual truth.
Now that such a situation has arisen in Lin County, there is a high probability that an evil spirit has set its sights on this place!"
Saying this,
Xu Jun's face was filled with regret.
If he had known about the evil spirit earlier, he certainly would not have continued to stay in Lin County, but now it seemed to be too late to say anything.