In Emei, start by obtaining golden attributes.

Chapter 179: Can’t live, can’t die

At Shenshi (3-5 PM), in Wanjiang City, three hundred li away from Huaishan Prefecture.

Having just eaten something, Gu Shaoan strolled around the flower market in the town.

Gu Shaoan now possesses master-level medical skills.

He also has hundreds of prescriptions in his mind.

Besides the Bodhi Exquisite Pill, there are many other medicinal formulas that can enhance the strength of martial artists.

Even a skilled cook can struggle without rice, let alone concoct medicine.

To refine medicine, you first need the appropriate ingredients.

In ordinary pharmacies, most of the medicines sold are common ones.

The most expensive items are ginseng and lingzhi.

As for special medicines like Tianxiang Doukou, not many people recognize them, let alone sell them.

In addition to common flowers, people living in the nearby mountains and fields would also go up the mountain to pick some flowers and plants to sell to flower shops in the city.

Sometimes they encounter flowers and plants that they themselves don't recognize.

The rarer something is, the higher the price it can fetch.

The owners of flower shops will also purchase flowers depending on the situation.

Therefore, if you want to collect special medicines, it is easier to find your target in the flower markets in the city.

On his journey away from Wudang Sect, Gu Shaoan did not always make any gains, but he did collect some herbs that were rare in the past.

For Gu Shaoan, it was a taste of something new and exciting.

Unfortunately, after wandering around the flower market this time, Gu Shaoan couldn't find anything that caught his eye.

After wandering around without success, Gu Shaoan glanced at the sky and turned to find an inn in the city to stay for the night.

However, just as he turned a corner at a street corner selling bamboo lanterns and headed towards the main street, Gu Shaoan's brows behind his veil suddenly furrowed.

Immediately afterwards, a cold smile appeared on his lips, and he continued forward seemingly without any change in expression.

When they reached the intersection of two alleys, Gu Shaoan slightly turned his body and naturally stepped into one of the alleys, his movements still unhurried.

Just as Gu Shaoan stepped into the alley, two figures quickly approached the alley entrance and peered inside.

After waiting for nearly ten breaths, the two entered the alley one after the other.

Their steps were lighter, almost always landing on their toes.

Soon, the two had entered the alley near the corner.

Just as the two of them popped their heads out, they felt a blur in front of them.

Then, two slender fingers, swift as lightning, tapped the two of them.

Instantly, the two of them stood frozen in place, like two statues suddenly encased in ice, unable to move.

After scanning the two people in front of him, Gu Shaoan slowly asked, "Who sent you?"

The calm voice that came out made the hearts of the two people in front of him sink.

Faced with Gu Shaoan's question, the man on the left looked bewildered and said, "What do you mean, young master? We're just passing through here."

The people around them echoed this sentiment, revealing just the right amount of bewilderment.

Having received no answer, Gu Shaoan was too lazy to waste any more words.

He raised his hand and tapped the neck of the slightly fierce-looking man on his left, silencing him. Then, his long, jade-carved fingers rose a second time and swiftly struck the man's chest, three-tenths of the way down from his xiphoid procession point.

This is the most yin and dangerous place in the human body, connected to the heart meridian, and controlling subtle pain throughout the body.

Medical practitioners call it "angina pectoris," which causes excruciating pain that pierces to the bone, making life worse than death.

The moment the finger touched the ground.

The man felt an indescribable sensation, as if thousands of red-hot steel needles were simultaneously piercing deep into his bone marrow, then churning wildly.

The excruciating pain exploded from the depths of his chest like a flood bursting its banks or a snowdrift collapsing, instantly sweeping over and tearing apart every nerve ending.

His face was instantly filled with pain, and the muscles in his face even trembled.

He wanted to scream, but his throat felt completely frozen, filled with hot lead, and he couldn't even squeeze out a faint sound.

The immense pain made his expression increasingly ferocious.

Sweat mixed with snot, tears, and uncontrollable drool from the corners of his mouth, instantly soaking his entire face and front of his shirt.

In less than a hundred breaths, the man's head slumped down, and he fainted from the pain.

Gu Shaoan's face remained as still as an ice-cold well, without the slightest ripple.

He didn't even move an inch.

He simply joined his fingers together like a sword once more, the true essence gathered at his fingertips becoming even more refined and icy cold!

This time, he pointed to an acupoint on the back of the man's neck, specifically the Yuzhen acupoint, and applied force through his finger.

As the finger strike landed, the man who had just fallen into unconsciousness slowly woke up.

But the next second, as Gu Shaoan's finger pressed on his angina point again, the excruciating pain overwhelmed him once more.

This time, the man lasted even less time.

He fainted from the pain in less than a hundred breaths.

Gu Shaoan, on the other hand, remained an observer and continued to help him wake up.

This explains why many people in the martial arts world are unwilling to offend doctors.

Besides the fact that skilled doctors all have strong networks, it is also because any doctor with excellent medical skills also has methods that make people wary.

No poison or medicine is needed.

With just a basic understanding of the human body, the simplest acupressure technique is enough to make someone wish they were dead.

And so, in Gu Shaoan's hands, the man on the left, after being awakened by Gu Shaoan for the third time, once again fainted from the excruciating pain spreading from his angina.

After several rounds of torture, the man on the left had turned quite pale.

Even after he had passed out, beads of cold sweat continued to drip down the man's chin.

Meanwhile, the man on the right, who had also been immobilized by Gu Shaoan's pressure points, watched the entire process.

Seeing his companion being tortured like this, his face was filled with terror.

Just then, the hat turned slightly, and Gu Shaoan's eyes, hidden beneath the veil, pierced through the thin black fabric and locked onto another person on the right.

Immediately afterward, amidst the terrified expression on the man's right, Gu Shaoan's voice slowly came from beneath the veil.

"Would you like to give it a try too?"

A flat, emotionless voice clearly reached the ears of the man on the right, who was already in a daze, yet it made him shudder.

"No, no, I'll tell you, I'll tell you."

Seeing that the man's defenses had been breached, Gu Shaoan remained calm.

Because of his identity and stance, Gu Shaoan set more boundaries for himself.

But this doesn't mean that Gu Shaoan is a rigid and pedantic person.

In Gu Shaoan's eyes, methods are only a matter of suitability, not good or bad.

Given the behavior of these two people, let alone just using some methods to interrogate them.

Even if Gu Shaoan shattered their skulls with a single slap, they would still deserve it.

Immediately, Gu Shaoan said calmly, "After you finish speaking, I will wake him up. If what you say doesn't match, you know the consequences yourself."

A single sentence, like an icicle with barbs, pierced the young man's heart, which was already filled with fear.

His last remaining thoughts vanished at that moment, and he spit out his identity and the reason for following Gu Shaoan in a fluent and clear manner.

Upon learning that the other party was a disciple of the Sun Moon Divine Sect, a look of understanding flashed across Gu Shaoan's face, and the solemnity in his heart gradually faded. Originally, Gu Shaoan had thought that the two people in front of him would be from the Great Yuan Kingdom or from the Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi.

I never expected they were from the Sun Moon Cult.

As for the reason, Gu Shaoan knew perfectly well that what happened at the post station last night had been discovered by other members of the Sun Moon Cult.

"The response was pretty quick."

After muttering to himself, Gu Shaoan slowly withdrew his hand.

"Your acupoints will automatically release in one hour. Notify your Sun Moon Cult members that I will be waiting for you at the Guiyun Inn in the city."

After saying that, Gu Shaoan took a step to the side and walked past the man on his right.

Half an hour later, sensing that Gu Shaoan should be far away, the disciple of the Sun Moon Sect in the alley finally let out a trembling breath.

But my heart was still pounding, trying desperately to calm the fear within.

Yesterday at the post station, Gu Shaoan killed members of the Sun Moon Cult.

Once things have started, they should have an ending.

Now we'll see how the Sun Moon Cult reacts.

If one is sensible enough to accept defeat, then the matter can end here.

If they wanted to continue pursuing this matter, Gu Shaoan wouldn't mind making a trip to Blackwood Cliff after returning from the capital to personally inquire about Dongfang Bai's attitude.

If we really can't reach an agreement.

Gu Shaoan was also curious about how many achievement points the people on Blackwood Cliff could provide him.

Evening, inside Guiyun Inn.

After washing up, Gu Shaoan sat in the room. In front of him was a small stove with a small iron pot on it.

At this moment, some medicinal liquid in the pot is boiling continuously.

During the process, Gu Shaoan would occasionally take some powder from the pre-processed medicine in front of him and put it into the pot, while constantly observing the situation in the pot.

After a short while, once all the excess water in the pot had been steamed away, leaving only a little brown powder stuck to the bottom, Gu Shaoan moved the pot away.

After cooling, the powder was ground into a fine powder, mixed with other different medicines, and then Gu Shao put it into a palm-sized wooden gourd and poured in some water.

"Next, simply mix the medicine with water to allow the toxic fumes to condense, and the Cold Smoke Corrosive Gas Disperse will be complete."

After shaking the wooden gourd, Gu Shaoan put it into his package.

Inside the package, there were five more identical wooden gourds.

Inside these five gourds were poisons that Gu Shaoan had concocted over the past few days.

Its purpose, of course, was to prepare for this trip to the capital.

"I hope I'll never need these things!"

After glancing at the five wooden gourds, Gu Shaoan put them away and prepared to return to his bed to practice his internal energy cultivation.

Just as Gu Shaoan got up, a knock came from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, the waiter's trembling voice rang out from outside.

"Guest, sir, there are some gentlemen outside who say they have come as arranged."

Upon hearing the waiter's words, Gu Shaoan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He then slowly stood up, put his bamboo hat back on his head, picked up the Heaven-Slaying Sword, and walked slowly toward the door.

When he was three steps away from the door, Gu Shaoan formed his fingers into a claw, and a terrifying suction force suddenly burst out from his palm, pulling the previously closed door open.

Without the door obstructing his view, Gu Shaoan could see the waiter standing outside, as well as another woman.

It was none other than Sang San Niang, the elder of the Sun Moon Cult whom I had met four years ago.

Today, she was not wearing the distinctive attire of the religion, but only a slightly loose dark gray cloth skirt and a matching headscarf, looking as plain as an ordinary peasant woman, deliberately concealing all traces that could reveal her identity.

Only those eyes, with their restrained brilliance and calm as a deep pool, carried a hint of inquiry and apprehension.

After a slight pause, Sang San Niang said, "My master has prepared a banquet and invites you to join us."

After speaking, Sang San Niang gently turned to the side and made a clear but silent gesture to Gu Shaoan. She raised her right hand, made a "please" gesture, and then turned to lead the way.

Without saying a word, Gu Shaoan stepped over the threshold and followed Sang San Niang.

Before long, the two had walked out of the inn.

The moment I stepped out of the inn, the cold wind and snow of the night immediately swept over me.

The streets were sparsely populated and dimly lit, but Gu Shaoan's true energy had already quietly begun to circulate.

After walking less than a hundred steps, Gu Shaoan's gaze fell upon the restaurant ahead.

It was quite different from the bustling atmosphere of other parts of the street.

In front of the restaurant, dozens of strong men dressed in various casual clothes had surrounded it.

They all had sharp eyes and cold expressions.

In addition, the weapons these people were carrying deterred passersby from approaching.

As the two approached, the disciples of the Sun Moon Cult at the entrance all turned to look.

Gu Shaoan seemed not to hear, continuing to follow behind Sang San Niang step by step, strolling leisurely as if in his own garden, his demeanor always composed.

Just as he was still several feet away from the door, wisps of music pierced through the cold and murderous aura before his eyes could see, drifting into his ears and causing Gu Shaoan to raise his eyebrows slightly.

Once inside the restaurant with Sang San Niang, the world inside and outside the door seemed to have changed instantly.

The restaurant's ground floor hall, which was unusually spacious, was now unusually empty. The blazing fires in the stoves made the temperature in the hall quite pleasant, as warm as spring.

All the tables, chairs, and benches were removed, leaving a large expanse of cold stone floor. Only in the very center of the hall stood a lone mahogany round table and a large armchair.

On the table, there was a set of exquisite dishes, a pot of wine, and two jade cups.

In the open space in front of the table, four or five musicians, some holding pipa, others jade flute, and still others gently playing konghou, were focused on their instruments.

Seven or eight beautiful women dressed in colorful feathered robes, their sleeves fluttering, were dancing gracefully to the rhythm of string and wind instruments.

The colorful ribbons she held in her hands fluttered in the air, and she lightly touched the ground with her toes, spinning and leaping.

The sounds of string and bamboo instruments came from four or five musicians sitting on the ground next to them; the music was melodious and the dance steps were enchanting.

The air was filled with the scents of perfume, wine, and candle smoke, yet it wasn't unpleasant to smell.

Gu Shaoan's gaze swept over the scantily clad women before settling on the fiery red figure on the armchair.

Looking at the fiery red figure sitting on the armchair, Gu Shaoan's eyes, hidden behind his veil, flashed with a hint of surprise.

I thought that only other members of the Sun Moon Cult would come this time.

I never expected that Dongfang Bai would come in person.

"interesting!"

A few breaths later, a smile appeared on Gu Shaoan's lips.

Seemingly sensing Gu Shaoan's gaze, the scarlet figure sitting on the armchair stirred slightly and then casually and extremely slowly raised his right hand.

With his gesture, the stirring sounds of string and wind instruments were abruptly cut off as if by an invisible blade. All the instruments came to an abrupt halt, and the graceful dancers were as if frozen in place. All their movements instantly froze in mid-air, their gorgeous sleeves stopped fluttering, their spinning figures stopped like sculptures, and even the smiles on their faces were still frozen. However, their eyes were already tinged with a trace of astonishment and fear caused by the sudden stop.

Then, Dongfang Bai, who was sitting in the armchair, slowly turned around and looked at Gu Shaoan, who was standing behind Sang San Niang at the door.

Those slender eyes stared silently at the veil beneath the conical hat, their gaze seemingly trying to pierce through it.

Seemingly worried that it would obstruct Dongfang Bai's view, Sang San Niang quickly moved a few steps to the side.

Just as Sang San Niang and Gu Shao An separated, Dongfang Bai, who was sitting in the armchair, suddenly moved!

　I wrote particularly slowly today; I'm a bit overwhelmed by the consecutive all-nighters. I'll take a break with two updates today, and start posting three updates again tomorrow! A new month is almost here, so please give me some monthly votes tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)