Chapter 191: Chapter 142: Smell Upgrade
Chen Ku had successfully broken through to the Second Layer of the Mystic Barrier.
But he didn’t experience any of the dangers his two masters had warned him about, such as "Feigned Death," "Coma," or "being possessed by the Devil." Instead...
He revived in an instant.
Chen Ku recollected the sensation of that instant when he had exerted all his Qi Power to break through the Death Gate.
At that time, it felt as if one foot had already stepped up to death’s door, his mind stiffening, as if frozen within the Death Gate.
Recalling it now, it felt as if he had spent several years within the Death Gate.
Then, a thunderclap seemed to explode behind his head.
He woke up.
The Death Gate had opened.
He was completely unharmed.
Furthermore, in the outside world, the time it took for him to break through the Death Gate had indeed only been a moment.
Is this what it feels like at the moment of life and death?
Chen Ku muttered, "The ancients truly did not deceive me."
Death is an instant.
At the Death Gate, the difference lay in whether one made it through. If you did, the breakthrough happened in a flash. If you didn’t... that instant became eternity, a complete spiritual Feigned Death.
That was a close call, but no real danger.
Chen Ku took a heavy breath.
Looking at his sister-in-law and Hu Zi, who were curiously inquiring at the door, he said calmly, "It’s alright, no need to ask for leave on my behalf. I will go to work as usual today."
There was no need to explain the intense terror and danger of that moment to the women and children at home.
After his sister-in-law and Hu Zi obediently left the room, Chen Ku began to experience the Cultivation Realm that now belonged to him.
Second Layer of the Mystic Barrier!
Thinking back, he had only stepped into the First Layer of the Mystic Barrier on the fifth day of the New Year, and today was only the eleventh, yet he had broken through again.
Chen Ku couldn’t help but be surprised by his own speed of Cultivation breakthrough. Am I cultivating a bit too fast?
He couldn’t help but wonder. In Baojiao County, he was surely unique. He wondered if there was anyone in Qiu Dragon Mansion, or even the entire You State, who cultivated at such a pace.
Then, he stood before a bronze mirror.
Chen Ku looked at his reflection, focusing on his eyes, and let out a slight sigh of relief. Good. The changes in my eyes after breaking through the Second Death Gate aren’t too significant. It won’t be easy for others to discern I’ve made another breakthrough just from the sharpness of my gaze.
It wasn’t that he intentionally wanted to hide it. He was mainly worried that the rapid pace of his Cultivation might scare his two masters. He feared they might think he had taken some Evil Path, which could then lead to some ’well-intentioned scolding’...
It was best to avoid being showered with spit.
The changes from breaking the Second Layer Death Gate aren’t reflected in the eyes or Spirit, but rather in a life metabolism several times more vigorous than before.
Chen Ku took a Pill, clearly feeling that the speed of digesting the Pill and breaking down Vital Energy in his body was more than ten times faster than it had been in the First Layer.
Previously, if he took one Qi Replenishing Pill a day, he needed two or three days to digest it. Now... he felt he could eat Pills like meals three times a day and still digest them.
This was the change brought to his body after breaking through the Second Death Gate.
It was like people: when young, they are strong and energetic, eating heartily. But as they age, everything declines. They lose strength and Spirit, and both Life Force and metabolic capacity greatly diminish.
Opening the Death Gate was like making an elderly person twenty or thirty years younger, rejuvenating their vitality.
Chen Ku was now just seventeen or eighteen, in the prime of Life Force. Combined with his martial practice, which had especially increased his physique, he didn’t need to reverse aging. He already possessed a Life Force and metabolic rate several times higher than his peers with similar Root Bone.
After briefly experiencing the realm of the Second Layer of the Mystic Barrier, Chen Ku pushed open the door and went to work at the Medicine King Hall, but his mind was also occupied with the lingering issues from Yan Longhao’s death.
Although no one suspects me yet, it’s better to clean things up after work.
Today was his shift at the Butcher Court.
Chen Ku asked, as usual, if there were any Demons sent to the yard that needed his help with slaughtering.
It was just a casual question.
Unexpectedly, Qin Sheng responded, "There is one, a Second Realm Skinny Dog Demon, suspected to contain ’Dog Treasure’ within. The Hall spent a lot of money to acquire it from Hunter’s Forest. Master Shi Xianghong is coming to help slaughter it later today, so there’s no need to trouble you, Young Shopkeeper."
This time, his use of the title "Young Shopkeeper" was perfectly appropriate.
After all, just yesterday, in front of everyone, Chen Ku’s position had been firmly established.
It was said that this morning, the Second Shopkeeper’s Disciple, Zhang Renfeng, had already boarded a carriage and been sent back to the Prefecture City.
This completely announced the loser’s departure, a clean and utter retreat.
However, Chen Ku’s attention was not on the title "Young Shopkeeper." His eyes lit up at the words "Second Realm Skinny Dog Demon."
Skinny Dog? Demon? And Second Realm?
Chen Ku suddenly felt wide awake and said formally, "Since Master Shi hasn’t arrived yet, it’s no trouble for me. I’ll do the slaughtering."
A Second Realm Skinny Dog.
Chen Ku suddenly felt rooted to the spot. After all, many of the changes he’d experienced began with a Skinny Dog.
Not to mention, the Fine Dog Sense from that Skinny Dog, which merely possessed some demon bloodline, was a Natural Ability he could still use to this day.
A genuine Second Realm Skinny Dog...
Qin Sheng was startled, finding it unbelievable that Chen Ku, even after truly becoming the Young Shopkeeper, could still be so considerate of his subordinates.
His heart burned with warmth.
It seemed he had already anticipated that if Chen Ku served as Shopkeeper for the next forty years, the atmosphere among the Medicine King Hall’s clerks and Apprentices would transform entirely. Everyone would find a sense of belonging there.
Chen Ku was unaware of Qin Sheng’s thoughts.
It wasn’t far. He soon arrived at the cage of the Skinny Dog.
GRRR! ROAR! ROAR!
This Second Realm Skinny Dog barked furiously upon seeing Chen Ku. It appeared twice the size of an ordinary Skinny Dog. Standing there, it resembled a white lion-tiger. If not for its paws, still as soft as hemp stalks, its slender waist, and long ears, one might truly hesitate to classify it as a canine.
It also had some mangy patches on its skin, which was why it was suspected to have Dog Treasure inside.
[The Skinny Dog intends to harm its master...]
Chen Ku sensed the warning from the Evil Qi.
After having someone unlock the cage, he stepped forward, picked up a sharp boning knife, and dispatched the Skinny Dog with a few swift movements. From its belly, indeed, he extracted a fist-sized lump of gold.
Dog Treasure, also known as Dog Gold, or Golden Elixir.
The Dog Treasure inside ordinary wild dogs was worth a Hundred Taels.
This fist-sized Dog Treasure was worth at least Over a Thousand Taels of Silver, and with the added medicinal properties from the Demon, the price could potentially double.
Although the Medicine King Hall didn’t know how much they had spent to acquire this Demon Skinny Dog, this venture, much like gambling on raw stones, had paid off.
[Diagram Master kills Skinny Dog, obtains a strand of Second Realm Demon’s Evil Qi]
However, Chen Ku was momentarily absorbed by the strand of Evil Qi from this Second Realm Skinny Dog.
Let’s try it.
[Skinny Dog Transformation!]
[Skinny Dog Transformation Shape Shifting]
[Transformation Part: (Nose) Hundred Li Tracking Technique]
Chen Ku was thrilled.
Hundred Li Tracking Technique? It sounds like an enhanced version of the Skinny Dog’s Ten Li Sense. But on this demon Skinny Dog, it has become a ’Demon Art’...
But he also seemed to notice a pattern.
The first time the Skinny Dog Transformation affected a part, it was the nose. This time, it’s the nose again... Could it be that Shape Shifting isn’t random, but follows the biological patterns of different creatures?
But on further reflection, that didn’t seem entirely correct, so he set the thought aside for the moment.
Subconsciously, he tried the "Hundred Li Tracking Technique".
Dachen Village, in the countryside of Snake Fish Town, was roughly seventy or eighty li from the county seat. Chen Ku sniffed in that direction.
With this sniff, he instantly felt the Demonic Qi inside him boil like hot water and surge into his nasal cavity. Suddenly...
To Chen Ku’s sense of smell, the world seemed to expand, becoming vaster and filled with myriad colors and diverse illusions, which formed into images in his mind’s eye, as if perceived by his nose.
He immediately smelled the locust tree at the entrance of Dachen Village. Many villagers were sitting there, basking in the winter sun as there was no farm work to do. This included the brothers Guo Fu and Guo Qiang, and the Long-term Worker from the village chief’s family. He could even faintly sketch out images in his mind from the scents.
A moment later, when he retracted the Hundred Li Tracking Technique, Chen Ku felt a small portion of his Demonic Qi had been consumed.
From being able to smell for ten li to tracking for a hundred li?
Chen Ku, feeling the changes in his Fine Dog Sense, thought to himself, I wonder if one day I’ll be able to hunt a Great Demon Skinny Dog. Then I could experience what ’Boundless Universe, Myriad Li Tracking’ truly feels like.
However, just as he was reveling in his upgraded sense of smell, a warm and gentle voice suddenly spoke from not far outside the Butcher Court,
"This must be Junior Brother Chen, right? I didn’t expect that you, now one of the Hall’s representatives, would still find time to help the apprentice Junior Brothers slaughter Demons."
At this sound, Chen Ku snapped back to reality and slowly turned to look toward the source of the voice.
Looking over, he saw a scholar in a blue robe standing at the arched gateway of the Butcher Court’s courtyard.
He appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His eyes were very clear, resembling those of a child, with distinct black and white pupils. His skin was very fair, as delicate as a woman’s. Although he was somewhat lean, his height made him appear quite refined.
"Who are you?" Chen Ku asked instinctively.
"Big Senior Brother!" Qin Sheng, standing beside him, quickly bowed deeply. Then, not forgetting, he lowered his head and whispered to Chen Ku, "This is Kou Ming, the Store Manager’s Disciple, our Big Senior Brother."
Chen Ku’s expression became composed. So it’s Senior Brother Kou.
"I was away from the Hall for most of the time before the New Year," the newcomer said. "I’d heard of you but never had the chance to meet. After the New Year, I went to the Prefecture City to celebrate and attend to some matters, so I missed the Hall’s selection of representatives and our chance to meet then. Fortunately, I hurried back today, and we finally meet."
The young scholar in the blue robe smiled, stepped forward, and extended his hand to Chen Ku. "Junior Brother Chen, hello. I am Kou Ming."
Chen Ku, seeing this gesture of shaking hands, felt somewhat bewildered.
He had long heard that the customs in the Prefecture City were somewhat similar to those of the Republican era from his previous life. There, the high-born, the powerful, and scholars preferred handshakes over clasped-fist salutes, unlike in remote, less cosmopolitan places like Baojiao County.
But seeing this handshake still caused Chen Ku’s thoughts to drift for a moment before he slowly extended his hand.
"Senior Brother Kou, hello."
Their hands firmly clasped together.
But in that instant, Chen Ku felt the strength in the scholar’s hand pressing down on his.
Hmm? Trying to compete with me in strength?
His gaze flickered. This Big Senior Brother... could it be he hasn’t heard of my Divine Power?