Chapter 297: Clouds of Suspicion

Wang Yu pondered this, returned the fruit to the box, stowed it back in his storage pouch, then flicked his sleeve—another box and a verdant gourd appeared on the ground.

He opened the box, revealing inside a purple lingzhi with six leaves—the very "Six-Pupil Purple Lingzhi" he had long possessed.

This Foundation Establishment treasure was a spoil from killing a demonic sect disciple; swallowing it raw boosted his Foundation Establishment chance by half a percent, while refining it into Purple Lingzhi Pill granted a full one percent chance.

The verdant gourd was the Tongming Gourd left behind by Chongyun Daoist, containing half a gourd of Tongming Spirit Liquid.

With these two items plus the Fire Spirit Ginseng and Nine-Turn Bamboo, he now had four Foundation Establishment treasures; other treasures mattered little, but this Tongming Spirit Liquid…

After a brief pause, Wang Yu picked up the verdant gourd and examined it closely.

Since acquiring it, he had never seen the spirit liquid inside, for Chongyun Daoist's final words warned that once opened, the liquid would dissipate upon contact with air, losing all efficacy.

Yet through ancient texts and inquiries, he learned that while Tongming Spirit Liquid indeed could not be exposed to air, the Tongming Gourd itself could be opened for inspection—if proper preparations were made.

Wang Yu recalled this, reached into his storage pouch, and pulled out two pre-prepared talismans—one white, one silver.

He tossed the pale silver talisman into the nearby void, instantly summoning a silver light barrier that sealed off a space of one zhang in diameter; then he tossed the pale white talisman as well, holding his breath and closing his nostrils.

A hiss—air nearby surged violently into the white talisman like a whale inhaling, and within moments, a temporary vacuum formed inside the barrier.

Wang Yu did not hesitate—he yanked off the gourd's lid, swept his spiritual sense inside, then his expression subtly changed.

He suddenly extended a hand, tilted the gourd gently, and a single drop of transparent liquid fell into his palm.

Wang Yu brought his palm to his nose, sniffed lightly, then extended his tongue to taste the liquid—his face twisted into a look of helpless amusement.

The liquid had no color, no taste—it was not Tongming Spirit Liquid as recorded in the texts, but plain water.

Wang Yu simply upended the entire gourd, and only water poured out.

He swept his spiritual sense through the gourd several more times, confirmed it was truly empty with nothing hidden, sighed, formed a hand seal—and the silver barrier shattered, air rushing in, restoring the surrounding void to normal.

The Tongming Gourd contained no spirit liquid—only water. This was intriguing.

He was certain that since acquiring it, he had never let the gourd out of his sight.

Wang Yu's mind flashed with Chongyun Daoist's voice, face, and final moments before death—he was enveloped in a cloud of suspicion.

He suddenly felt an urge to return immediately to Huangshi City, dig open Chongyun Daoist's grave, and check if the corpse was still inside.

After long deliberation, he shook his head, tossed the empty gourd carelessly into his storage pouch, and turned his gaze back to the box before him.

Chongyun Daoist's matter would have to wait—he could only bury it deep in his heart for now.

Fortunately, even without Tongming Spirit Liquid, he still had three other Foundation Establishment treasures, and his future Foundation Establishment remained unaffected.

Undoubtedly, he would need to seek out Fan Tian, the second-rank alchemist, to refine the Purple Lingzhi Pill—unless his alchemy advanced astonishingly fast before Foundation Establishment, giving him confidence to refine it himself, but such a possibility was negligible.

The most urgent matter now was passing the True Disciple examination and securing this vital status.

Though he did not know what the sect would test, improving his strength as much as possible beforehand could only help.

As he pondered, Wang Yu stowed the box, grabbed his waist storage pouch, and three pieces of Green Light Armor flew out, hovering before him under the control of his Golden Touch ability.

He gestured with one hand.

The three armor components flew toward him, and after three flashes of green aura, he had already donned all three pieces.

His head, torso, and right arm were fully encased in pale green armor.

A grotesque demon mask covered his face, three sharp spikes protruded from the helmet's crown, and golden curved horns jutted from each shoulder—making Wang Yu radiate an aura of overwhelming might and majesty.

Wang Yu looked down at the grotesque armor, then at the green arm guard on his right arm.

The entire arm was sheathed in dense green scales; on the back of his hand, a pale golden spiritual pattern glowed.

Curious, Wang Yu infused a trace of spiritual energy into the hand's spiritual pattern.

The next instant—hiss, hiss.

Five pale golden spiritual marks surfaced on the pattern, then five pale golden blades coalesced on his handback, forming a golden claw embedded in his palm.

Wang Yu's eyes brightened—he flicked his arm slightly, and the claw vanished in a blur.

The next moment, piercing shrieks erupted in the surrounding void—countless golden claw shadows surged forth, as if ready to shred the air to pieces.

Wang Yu flicked his arm again—the shrieks ceased instantly, the golden claw shadows dissipated.

"Good."

Wang Yu was deeply satisfied with the new arm armor.

Previously, his Breath Method's Thunderclap Fist had considerable power, but against opponents with extraordinary defenses, he couldn't kill them in a few strikes; now, with these blades on the armor, he had another tactic in battle.

After testing the arm armor's power, Wang Yu channeled spiritual energy into each armor component. The three Green Light Armor pieces resonated with a hum, radiating fresh waves of green aura that enveloped him.

Five, seven, then twelve golden spiritual marks flickered across the armor components, and a solid emerald-green barrier solidified against the armor's surface.

This was the Green Light Armor's defensive ability!

Wang Yu stared at the emerald barrier, muttered to himself, then took a deep breath—his upper body suddenly swelled dramatically, and the green half-armor expanded with him.

Seeing this, Wang Yu could not help but rejoice.

With this half-armor, he no longer needed to change clothes every time he activated his Breath Method's expansion.

The next instant, he raised his right arm—the entire arm, covered in green scales, thickened; he clenched his fist and slammed it hard into his chest.

A dull thud.

The green barrier on the armor did not budge—not even a ripple.

Wang Yu's heart leapt in surprise.