Longevity: Starting as a menial servant in the Green Wood Sect

As his cultivation progressed, Gu An gradually mastered the control over the circulation of his body's energy, and slowly merged with the rhythm of Tai Sui's energy.

He was jolted awake when he opened his eyes again.

The flesh walls trembled rapidly. This was not the wriggling motion of the Tai Sui as it devoured something; it was more like something residing beneath the skin was frantically digging holes.

Gu An abruptly withdrew his fist from the white bone, lowered his body, pressed his back against the half-human-sized beast leg bone, and held his breath instantly.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss."

The faint sound of flesh breaking echoed in the confined space.

Suddenly, several large lumps bulged out of the dark red stomach folds in front of them, followed by a splatter of pus, and several fist-sized, blackish-red, hideous worms crawled out.

This insect resembles a carrion beetle, but it is covered with a thick layer of keratinous carapace, its back is covered with barbs, its mouthparts are a pair of black iron pincers that open and close, and its six blade-like legs scratch bloody marks on the slippery flesh.

[Identification: Corpse Blood Worm (Tier 1, Mid-Grade)]

[Description: A parasitic worm that infests high-level flesh-and-blood demonic beings. It feeds on carrion and drinks poisonous blood. It has a hard exoskeleton, poisonous pincers, lives in groups, and is extremely ferocious.]

Gu An's eyelids twitched.

A mid-grade first-order beast, equivalent to a fourth-level Qi Refining demon beast. If he were outside, he could easily kill one of these creatures, but now five of them had suddenly emerged, and they were inside the narrow, cramped, and acid-filled belly of the Tai Sui.

"squeak--!"

The leader of the corpse-blood worms turned its compound eyes and instantly locked onto Gu An, who was hiding behind the bones. The scent of a living person's blood and vital energy was like a torch in the dark in this lifeless stomach.

It let out a sharp screech, and with a sudden kick of its hind legs, it shot out like a black cannonball, carrying a foul stench straight at Gu An's face.

Gu An subconsciously reached for his waist, his fingertips gripping a Flame Burst Talisman.

But the next moment, he abruptly stopped his movements.

This is the stomach of the Tai Sui. If it were to be blasted open with a Flame Explosion Talisman, the intense flames and shockwaves would inevitably irritate the Tai Sui. Once this behemoth is startled, its stomach walls will contract violently, or it will secrete concentrated acid strong enough to melt metal, instantly turning it into dust.

Damn it.

Gu An cursed under his breath, stuffed the talisman back in, and gripped the broken "Cloud Piercing" flying sword in his other hand.

Although the sword is damaged, it is still sharp.

when!

Gu An sidestepped, his broken sword sweeping across, precisely striking the carapace of the lunging corpse-blood worms.

Amidst the flying sparks, Gu An felt a numbness in his hand. The insect was blasted away, bounced twice against the fleshy wall, and then rolled over and got up unharmed, leaving only a shallow white mark on its carapace.

"Such a hard shell."

Gu An's expression suddenly turned cold. This hardness was several times stronger than that of the corpse beetles outside.

Before he could adjust his posture, the remaining four corpse blood worms had already surrounded him, attacking him simultaneously from four directions: above, below, left, and right.

There was nowhere left to retreat; beneath their feet lay puddles of strong acid, and behind them were hard animal bones.

"Then we'll have no choice but to confront them head-on!"

A fierce glint flashed in Gu An's eyes. He didn't use his spiritual energy shield; in this enclosed environment, the greater the fluctuations in spiritual energy, the faster he would die. He needed to rely on this newly forged "Iron Bone Prototype".

Gu An stomped his right foot heavily on the ground, advancing instead of retreating, and charged towards the corpse blood worm on his left.

puff!

The insect's pincers clamped tightly onto Gu An's left shoulder.

The force of the jaws, enough to crush ordinary iron, erupted, producing a teeth-grinding scraping sound. Gu An's clothes tore at his shoulder, revealing a flash of sparks on his bronze skin, leaving only two deep purple bruises, without drawing blood.

"Get the hell out of here!"

Gu An withstood the blow, then his left hand shot out like an iron clamp, grabbing the insect's carapace and applying force with his five fingers.

The brute force brought by the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique erupted instantly.

Click!

The insect's carapace cracked with a sharp sound; though not crushed, the force of the grip stiffened its entire body. Gu An used it as a shield, slamming it hard against another insect that pounced from the right.

Bang! The two insects collided, and juices splattered.

But then, two more insects arrived.

One claw grabbed Gu An's calf, its mouthparts frantically gnawing at it; the other claw, extremely insidious, scurried up his back, its pincers aimed straight for the carotid artery at the back of his neck.

"court death!"

Gu An jerked his neck back to avoid a vital spot, while his blood and qi surged, his back muscles bulged like steel plates, and he leaned back sharply.

Boom!

The insect on his back was squeezed hard between him and the animal bones behind him.

Even with its shell protecting it, the heavy blow left it somewhat dazed. Taking advantage of this opening, Gu An reversed his grip on the broken sword in his right hand, no longer using it for slashing, but rather as a chisel.

The Geng metal finger strength is channeled into the sword! A point of dark golden light condenses at the tip of the broken sword, no longer a dispersing sword aura, but a "bone-penetrating" inch force refined to the extreme.

"die!"

Gu An roared, and his broken sword, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, pierced with unparalleled precision into the mouthparts of the insect on his leg.

puff.

This sword strike bypassed the hard carapace and went straight into the brain through the soft mouth.

The malevolent energy of Geng metal erupted within the insect's body, instantly turning its internal organs into a mushy mess.

The corpse-blood worm that was still frantically tearing at Gu An's calf stiffened, its eight legs twitched twice, and then it went completely still.

[Slay a mid-tier Tier 1 demonic insect, gain +5 combat experience]

Gu An ignored the prompts, kicked the insect corpse away, and used the momentum to turn around.

By this time, the two insects that he had initially knocked away had recovered and were rushing up again, hissing. Together with the one behind him and the first one, there were four more.

A cramped space, a slippery floor, and vicious poisonous insects.

This is the most primitive and bloodiest hand-to-hand combat.

Gu An abandoned any unnecessary defensive thoughts and even gave up most of his dodging.

He was like a sophisticated killing machine, using animal bones as cover to maneuver within a radius of less than five feet.

With each additional bruise on his body, his movements became faster, each sword strike aimed directly at the insect's joints, mouthparts, and abdominal soft flesh.

This is not just a battle, but also a sharpening of the sword.

In this space between life and death, his control over power is transforming at an astonishing speed.

The somewhat awkward "Gengjin Finger" gradually sheds its magical flair and becomes concise and ruthless through repeated close-quarters assassinations.

No longer pursuing the brilliance of light, but pursuing that moment of penetration.

*Pfft!* Another insect was stepped on by Gu An's tail, and the broken sword pierced diagonally through the gap in its carapace, pinning it to the flesh.

"There are three left."

Gu An was panting heavily, his face covered in dark green insect blood, making him look even more ferocious than the demonic insects themselves.

The remaining three corpse blood worms seemed to be intimidated by the human's ferocity, surrounding him without attacking, their mouthparts emitting a low, grinding sound.

They are communicating and searching for weaknesses.

Suddenly, the three insects opened their mouths at the same time, and three streams of pitch-black venom shot out like arrows.

Gu An's pupils contracted slightly. The venom corroded upon landing, even scalding the flesh of the Tai Sui, causing it to emit white smoke.

He suddenly grabbed a dead insect from beside his feet and held it in front of him.

Sizzle—the insect carcass was instantly corroded by the venom, leaving it pitted and uneven.

The moment their vision was blocked, the three insects moved.

Instead of launching a direct attack, they spread out. Two feigned an attack on the lower body, while one, using the elasticity of the flesh wall, propelled itself to the top of the cave and pounced on Gu An's crown from directly above.

"What a beast, he even knows military strategy."

Gu An smirked and hurled the insect corpse shield in his hand downwards, knocking away two feinting insects.

He didn't dodge or flinch at the deadly sneak attack from above, and didn't even raise his head.

Just as that foul-smelling mouthparts were about to touch the tip of his hair.

Gu An moved, his left hand spread out and formed a hand seal, his index and middle fingers joined together. He did not hold a sword, but used his fingers as a sword.

The wisp of malevolent energy refined from blood essence within his body, mixed with Geng metal spiritual power, was compressed to its limit at his fingertips.

"Geng metal indicates...penetration!"

Without turning his head, he pointed his finger upwards in the opposite direction.

This happened as fast as a thunderbolt.

puff!

The bloodworm that swooped down from mid-air had its softest white spot on its abdomen strike Gu An's finger.

The dark golden finger force, like a red-hot iron rod piercing into butter, penetrated the insect's abdomen without any resistance, emerging from its carapace and bringing with it a spray of green blood.

Gu An bent his finger, hooking it like an iron hook around the insect corpse, and flung it downwards, slamming it hard onto the two insects that had just crawled up on the ground.

boom!

One against two, with overwhelming strength and momentum.

The two insects were stunned by the impact, and before they could even turn over, Gu An pounced on them like a wolf.

The broken sword was brandished, its cold light flashing repeatedly.

puff!puff!

Two muffled thuds, and two hideous insect heads rolled off.

The battle is over.

The narrow cavity fell silent once more. Only the sizzling sound of acid corroding the corpse and Gu An's heavy breathing could be heard.

He slid down onto the ground, leaning against the animal bones, and wiped the blood off his face.

My whole body aches, and the places where I was pinched by the pliers, though not broken, are swollen and burning painful.

But Gu An's eyes were frighteningly bright.

Panel appears:

[After a fierce battle, the body and technique merged]

[Practical Skills: Proficient (60/200)]

[Geng Metal refers to: Proficiency (120/600)]

[Mastery: Inch Punch (Close-range explosive power +20%)]

"This place is really a great place to level up."

Gu An grinned, which aggravated the bruise on his lip, causing him to gasp in pain. After resting for a while and regaining some strength, he got up and began cleaning up the battlefield.

Although these corpse blood worms are disgusting, they are a treasure trove of resources.

The hard carapace is an excellent material for crafting defensive magical artifacts, especially the pairs of black iron pincers. If ground into powder and added to weapons, it can increase their armor-piercing properties. Furthermore, the poison sac is the main ingredient in several potent poisons recorded in the "True Explanation of a Hundred Poisons."

Gu An skillfully pried open the insect's shell, took out the venom sac, and put it into a specially made jade bottle.

When he dealt with the first worm that emerged, the leader, his movements suddenly stopped.

This insect was the largest; it was the one that had just crawled out from a hole deep inside the flesh.

At that moment, Gu An looked into the hole.

Deep within the originally dark, foul-smelling flesh walls, a faint yet exceptionally gentle light was faintly emanating.

The light was neither the dark red of blood essence nor the eerie green of stomach acid, but rather... a pale golden color, pure and warm, carrying an aura of holiness and solemnity, completely out of place in the filthy environment inside the Tai Sui's abdomen.

Gu An was stunned, and his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

How could there be such light in this man-eating den of demons?