Chapter 6: Fire in the Belly

Of course it's expensive!

You want to buy a Wu Xiu's life for just one silver bean?

How is that possible?

This is "forced buying and selling"; the commercial law cannot be fulfilled, and because the price difference is too great, it severely backfired on the Fa Xiu.

Xu Yuan knew this fact well, which is why he took the Fa Xiu's life-buying money without any hesitation.

The Rank Dan Xiu rushed forward without hesitation, spitting twice into his palm with a "pfft pfft."

The spit droplets struck out sparks!

Two flames quickly ignited on his palms, and the Rank Dan Xiu waved both hands, slapping them toward Xu Yuan!

A Rank Dan Xiu refines pills relying on a "Fu Zhong Huo," and can also spray the 【Fu Zhong Huo】 out to fight enemies.

However, this Rank Dan Xiu was not yet of a refined caliber; his "Fu Zhong Huo" had not yet taken shape, so he could only draw out fire to attach to his palms and increase their power.

Xu Yuan darted up onto a large boulder nearby; the Rank Dan Xiu chased close behind, slapping both palms onto the stone, instantly leaving two scorched black hand seals!

The Rank Dan Xiu's "fire" naturally suppresses many evil spirits; something unknown in the Lin Zi, which had been secretly spying from the darkness, heard this "fire" emerge and immediately scurried away with a rustling sound.

Xu Yuan, looking down from above, suddenly took out that bamboo cage, tossed it straight over the Rank Dan Xiu's head, and shouted: "Catch!"

The bamboo cage fell through the air; the Rank Dan Xiu lifted his head, saw a small bamboo cage used for catching insects, sneered with a curled lip, and slapped upward with a raised hand.

Blazing flames roared on his palm, about to surge up and burn that tiny bamboo cage to ash.

But the bamboo cage suddenly opened; though clearly small, it was quite elastic!

Those bamboo strips stretched out, and the gaps between them grew larger.

Originally, when used to catch insects, these gaps were very small so the insects could not escape.

Now used to catch a person, having slightly larger gaps was naturally no problem.

Thus, the small bamboo cage instantly grew to the size of half a room; the Rank Dan Xiu looked up and slapped upward with one palm, and from a distance it looked very much like he had voluntarily drilled into the bamboo cage!

Whoosh—

The bamboo cage fell, covering the Rank Dan Xiu inside.

The Rank Dan Xiu paid no attention; he spread his hands and flames gushed out.

The bamboo strips were thin and light, easy to break by hand; once burned by fire, they would surely turn to flying ash.

But the result was vastly different from what the Rank Dan Xiu expected; under his "Fu Zhong Huo," the bamboo strips actually acted like steel, burning redder and redder yet failing to ignite!

He pushed his hands apart, but the bamboo strips did not break.

Not only that, the bamboo cage contracted inward, and the sharp tips of the bamboo strips pierced into the Rank Dan Xiu's body from different angles in an unbelievable manner!

The tighter the cage contracted, the deeper those bamboo strips pierced!

The bamboo strips, glowing red and scorching hot from his own "Fu Zhong Huo," pierced into his body, burning his flesh and skin until they hissed and smoked, wafting up a smell of burning pig hair...

Moreover, every single one of these bamboo strips either struck an acupoint or precisely severed a certain meridian.

This absolutely could not be a coincidence!

The Rank Dan Xiu instantly became unable to move.

Two bamboo strips aimed at his eyes, and four bamboo strips crossed through his mouth; he could not even speak.

The severely injured Fa Xiu's eyes bulged wide: "You, you, you... are you a Jiang Xiu!?"

Xu Yuan was certainly not a Jiang Xiu—his stepmother was.

When his stepmother drove Xu Yuan out of the house, she had to give him something for self-defense.

As for this cage, let alone an unrefined cultivator, even a seventh-rate Rank Dan Xiu's "Fu Zhong Huo" could not hope to burn it damaged.

The "copper skin and iron bones" of a seventh-rate Wu Xiu would also be pierced through with a single strike under the bamboo strips.

Xu Yuan walked toward the Fa Xiu, who, terrified, kept retreating: "You, you, don't come over!"

At this moment, in the "Green Life" of both men, the scarlet ill omen had almost completely covered the color of their own lives.

Xu Yuan repeatedly compared the Fa Xiu and the Rank Dan Xiu, then finally took out the skin he had shed and stuffed the Rank Dan Xiu inside it.

Xu Yuan is sixteen this year and still growing.

The Rank Dan Xiu was taller than him and also somewhat fat.

Xu Yuan had to use some "family heritage" craftsmanship to stuff him in.

This kind of craftsmanship was learned from his stepmother before the New Year; his stepmother's hometown had the custom of slaughtering New Year pigs and stuffing sausages.

Anyway, since his stepmother married in these past few years, Xu Yuan's standard of eating and drinking has greatly improved.

The Fa Xiu watched from the side, his hair standing on end—not because of Xu Yuan's "family heritage craftsmanship," as he had done similar things many times himself; in these times, it was not strange at all.

What he feared was... that skin was clearly this boy's own!

Do humans... shed their skin?!

Nor has anyone ever heard of any cultivation school possessing such a method!

Could this fellow have already turned into an evil spirit, lurking in the Seven Harmony Platform Town?

But looking at his "lifelike" appearance, he really did not seem like one.

"You, what are you doing?" the Fa Xiu's voice trembled; the backlash of his spells grew stronger and stronger, leaving him extremely weak.

Xu Yuan glanced at him, pointed at the large boulder nearby, and said: "Stand under that, and I will tell you."

The Fa Xiu instinctively felt: I cannot go over there!

This boy is going to make a move on me!

Although knowing that in his current state he probably could not escape, anyone facing life and death would struggle desperately.

The Fa Xiu rushed in the opposite direction without hesitation—and plunged headfirst into the Lin Zi!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Dense, strange sounds rang out in the forest, followed immediately by the Fa Xiu's screams.

The snake vines finally had their fill!

Before, when the snake vines wanted to eat Xu Yuan, they always felt deceived, as if they were looking at a piece of meat but ended up with a slice of ginger in their mouths.

Xu Yuan did not make the mistake of the big-eyed man or the burly fellow; after the sounds inside ceased, he smeared a layer of realgar powder on his body and walked into the woods.

The snake vines had grown utterly disgusted with this fellow; every time, he used this stuff against us!

Yet we were completely powerless.

We are snakes; how could we not fear realgar?

The snake vines hissed back into the depths of the woods, then, among the trees and grass, raised their heads and hissed at Xu Yuan in defiance.

Xu Yuan ignored them and checked; only a skeleton remained in the woods, still stained with fresh blood.

The skin, flesh, and organs had all been eaten by the snake vines.

A bag lay on the ground; Xu Yuan picked it up and saw it was full of money.

One small gold ingot, about five taels.

Two ten-tael silver ingots, plus ten pieces of broken silver and silver beans of various sizes.

Additionally, there were dozens of copper coins.

All were "Life-Buying Money" crafted by Law Cultivators.

Xu Yuan took them without hesitation.

By the time Xu Yuan withdrew from the woods, that skin and the Dan Xiu inside had shrunk into a single plaster.

Just like the dog-skin plasters Uncle Shen next door sold.

But Uncle Shen's goods were cheap and plentiful, with a thick layer of medicinal ointment inside.

This plaster, however, contained only a thin layer.

Xu Yuan suddenly felt this comparison was inappropriate; this is my own skin, how can it be a dog-skin plaster?

Xu Yuan stuck the plaster onto his navel.

That layer of ointment was visibly absorbed rapidly, and then Xu Yuan felt a fire rise within his belly.

The Dan Xiu's "Fu Zhong Huo"!

Now, Xu Yuan was not only a Life Cultivator but also a Dan Xiu.

This shed skin was not waste; it had another use: "Refining."

When shedding this layer of skin, Xu Yuan already knew this thing had an additional purpose.

However, one layer of skin could only be used once, and each layer had a different function—what effect the next shed skin would have, Xu Yuan did not know yet.

At that time, Xu Yuan had already sensed: this June Bug was no ordinary Life Cultivator's medicine guide!

Previously, not only had he never heard of a Life Cultivator having a Life Fate that could immunize against the corruption of evil spirits, but he had also never heard of a Life Cultivator shedding skin...

(End of this chapter)