Bai Zhannian, having rested, said, "Everyone, these pills are only effective for five minutes. You should use them at critical moments for maximum effect."
"Understood, Mr. Bai," they replied.
After experiencing the pleasant surprise of the second level, everyone eagerly anticipated entering the third.
Naturally, Chen Fan was the one to open the door to the third level, as no one knew what lay within.
The door was kicked open.
On the wall, a golden "Wu" character stood prominently in the center, with weapon racks lining the area beside it.
"This is... mid-grade high-tier spiritual artifacts??" one of the Knights of the Undead exclaimed in surprise.
Everyone's gaze turned to the weapon racks, but Chen Fan's eyes were drawn to a small purple wooden box lying on the floor in the center of the room.
"Brother Chen Fan, aren't you going to take one?" Bai Zhannian asked, brandishing a weapon he had just picked up from the rack.
"No need, my Yun Cong Sword is one of the Seven Divine Weapons," Chen Fan replied.
This statement stunned everyone.
"What??? Brother Chen Fan, the sword you've been using is a divine weapon???" Even Bai Zhannian said incredulously.
"What's wrong?" Chen Fan asked, looking at their astonished expressions.
"Let me put it this way," Chris recovered. "Weapons bought from ordinary blacksmiths are considered common goods. High-level common blacksmiths can forge advanced common goods. Only blacksmiths with cultivation can forge spiritual artifacts. Currently, the best martial blacksmiths in this world can only forge mid-grade spiritual artifacts. The Yun Cong Sword you use, however, is a high-grade spiritual artifact, above that, referred to as a divine weapon."
"I know. I just thought you all already knew my Yun Cong Sword was a divine weapon. I didn't expect you to think it was just an ordinary weapon," Chen Fan said, picking up the box.
The box gave Chen Fan a feeling of familiarity from the first glance, though he couldn't pinpoint why it drew his attention.
Chen Fan opened the box, and his eyes fell upon a deep purple pill.
"What is this?" Bai Zhannian asked.
The others, having chosen their weapons, saw the pill in Chen Fan's hand shimmering with a dark purple light and also came to inquire.
Chen Fan didn't answer. He simply picked up the pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
"Brother Chen Fan, don't eat unknown pills indiscriminately! They can be fatal. I only take pills after recognizing the script on them, not just randomly," Bai Zhannian warned.
But Chen Fan had already ingested it. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground in agony, and Bai Zhannian, witnessing this, cried out, "Brother Chen Fan, what's wrong???"
The Knights of the Undead clearly saw this as well.
Chen Fan writhed on the ground, a tearing pain spreading from the soles of his feet to his forehead.
Suddenly, his veins bulged.
His blood vessels became clearly visible, rapidly circulating, pushing a black substance through them. The black substance within his body slowly converged towards his posterior.
His body's capillaries began to ooze black blood, and black droplets also seeped from his seven orifices.
Everyone watched in stunned silence. Even Bai Zhannian dared not approach to check.
A continuous stream of black substance was expelled from his pores. Chen Fan's joints began to emit crisp cracking sounds.
"Crack... crack... crack..." Chen Fan contorted strangely before their eyes.
At this moment, Chen Fan felt as if his body had entered a wondrous state. The pain vanished, replaced by a subtle warmth, with no sense of abnormality.
A stick of incense passed quickly. Chen Fan returned to his original appearance, though his body was now covered in a black, foul-smelling liquid. Still immersed in the comfortable sensation, Chen Fan drifted into a deep sleep.
Another stick of incense passed.
"Brother Zhannian, could Brother Chen Fan be dead?" Chris asked, seeing Chen Fan's lack of reaction after such a long time, mistakenly believing the pill had poisoned him.
"If you dare speak such nonsense again, I'll make all of you be buried here with me," Bai Zhannian's veins throbbed with anger upon hearing Chris's words, and he spoke without reservation.
A chilling cold permeated the air, making the atmosphere exceptionally grim. No one dared to make any significant movements, content to stand and watch.
Although Chris was displeased by Bai Zhannian's words, he dared not retort, as the strength of a favored disciple of Kunlun Ancestor was far superior to that of a mere rogue like himself. To be a disciple of the Kunlun Secret Realm was already a genius; to be the favored disciple of its sole ancestor was a genius among geniuses.
Chris acknowledged that killing all of them would merely require a bit of effort from Bai Zhannian.
"Great-uncle, please don't die," Chris prayed that Chen Fan would not perish so easily.
Time ticked by, and Chen Fan remained largely immobile.
Another quarter of an hour passed.
"He's moving! He's moving!" A member of the Knights of the Undead exclaimed, spotting a faint twitch in Chen Fan's toe. Bai Zhannian also noticed this and, without hesitation, rushed forward, tearing away the thick, black, foul-smelling substance with his bare hands.
Chris nodded, and in an instant, thirty Knights of the Undead swarmed forward to help Bai Zhannian pull away the viscous substance.
As the sticky material was slowly peeled away, first, a pair of flawless white legs were revealed, followed by a lustrous, milky white torso, and finally, the entire body was pulled out of the black goo.
At this moment, Chen Fan was a changed person. His tanned skin had transformed into a complexion as fair as rosy clouds.
Chen Fan breathed steadily but remained unconscious.