Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 145 The Death Furnace

Dr. Lei cleared a section of the ground and began to stop Lin Fan's bleeding and stitch up the excessively large wound.

Dr. Lei frowned slightly. This situation was very similar to the one before he set off, but he could sense that it was more serious than before.

While suturing the abdomen, Dr. Lei felt a foreign object. "Brother, there's something here."

Lin Fan kept crying out in pain, and it took him a while to speak, "Well, I have a life-saving treasure, but I'm always worried about keeping it on me."

Dr. Lei sighed, "But having a foreign object under the skin all the time isn't good in the long run."

"It's alright." Lin Fan waved his hand. "Aren't we about to return to the real world?"

Dr. Lei had no choice but to continue suturing.

When Dr. Lei collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, Lin Fan was once again wrapped up like a rice dumpling.

Lin Fan remained motionless, reflecting on and summarizing this breakthrough. Logically speaking, he had spent less time fighting with weapons during this period than before. However, the blades that grew during the breakthrough were larger and more numerous, and some were particularly deep, almost injuring his internal organs.

He wasn't sure if it was because the side effects of breaking through to the second stage were stronger or because it was calculated cumulatively. In any case, Lin Fan felt he needed to hurry up and get himself a wooden weapon, otherwise the breakthroughs would become increasingly dangerous.

As for the gains, well, that's a bit hard to explain.

It's clear that Miaozhuzi has many ways to use "clones," such as the tracking insect and the Yin-Yang separation talisman. It's unknown how many levels she has cultivated her "clones."

After the second round, his "clone" still only had the same spell as before: Flesh-Cutting Avatar. However, the avatar's strength was enhanced. If a forearm was cut off, the avatar could be completely equal to his own strength, and its duration was also longer than before.

However, this is not too surprising, since his "clone" is only at the second stage, and the strength of a human's cultivation is always limited.

A few days later, Lin Fan finally regained his freedom from the bandages and immediately found Chen Ergou, who was driving the carriage.

"Ergou, tell me, how does Brother Fan treat you?"

Chen Ergou's face darkened. "I won't lend it!"

Lin Fan chuckled, "I'm not asking you for money. Aren't you a carpenter? Could you make me a sturdy wooden sword?"

When Chen Ergou heard that it wasn't about borrowing money, his expression softened. "Okay, Brother Fan, make sure it's strong."

"The sturdier the better."

"Then it would be best to use the Crane Spirit Tree."

Lin Fan quickly nodded, "Okay!"

Chen Ergou stretched out his free hand.

Lin Fan asked in confusion, "What?"

Chen Ergou said, "Crane Spirit Tree timber! I can process it for Brother Fan for free, but where am I supposed to get such expensive material?"

After some discussion, Chen Ergou finally agreed to make Lin Fan a sturdy wooden sword using wood he could find along the way, on credit.

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and the caravan finally decided to stop for a day in a small village. The caravan needed to trade goods, and Lin Fan and his companions could also enter the village to make purchases.

This place is called Yuxi Village. The weather is getting cooler, and all the leaves on the trees have fallen. The stream flows in a narrow, thin stream, flowing into the distance.

Chen Ergou rummaged through his luggage and found two dog-skin Taoist robes and two wooden swords.

Lin Fan's lips twitched. "This is the way you're talking about making money? Aren't you a carpenter?"

Chen Ergou chuckled, "I was a disciple of the Xuanmen sect for a few years, but my master was too stingy, so I left."

Lin Fan asked, "Then what about your Taoist robe?"

Chen Ergou lowered his voice, "Of course it's fake. I prepared two sets myself, and we're using them now. As long as we don't get caught by those Taoist priests, no one will know we're not real. I've learned some rituals; it's not hard to make a few taels of silver by just putting on an act."

Lin Fan touched his forehead. Wasn't this the same method he had used in the Ghost Realm before?

I reached out and picked up a wooden sword, swinging it a few times. It felt quite heavy, and seemed to be made of a combination of different types of wood, probably to balance hardness and durability.

The wooden sword has no edge, but with his current arm strength, if he were to strike the forehead with this sword, an ordinary person would be seriously injured if not killed.

"Brother Fan, this isn't for chopping people! You take one, I'll take one, it's a prop we'll use to dress up as Taoist priests."

Chen Ergou's plan was to find several ordinary families, charge each one a small amount, and accumulate the money little by little.

Lin Fan insisted on finding a wealthy family and securing the funds in one go.

To be honest, Lin Fan didn't really like this method; after all, this was reality, not a ghost town. At most, he could only accept getting some money from wealthy locals.

"Okay, okay, you're the boss, I'll listen to you." Chen Ergou finally couldn't persuade Lin Fan and had to agree.

The two men, dressed in their own clothes and carrying bundles, walked all the way into the depths of the village.

On the way, Lin Fan took out the small incense burner from his pocket and showed it to Chen Ergou. "Ergou, you said you were a disciple of the Xuanmen sect for a few years. Do you recognize this?"

This small incense burner was obtained from County Magistrate Lin, and Lin Fan studied it for a long time but couldn't find anything special about it.

However, magical artifacts like the Ruyi Jinli require specific incantations to be used, so it's normal that they can't be figured out.

Upon seeing the small incense burner, Chen Ergou gasped and took a few steps back, saying, "I...I don't know!"

Lin Fan grabbed his collar and pulled him back. "Judging from your reaction, I know. Tell me!"

Chen Ergou said unhappily, "This thing is called the Nine Netherworld Seeking Truth Furnace, but it is not usually called by its real name. It is usually called the Death-Sending Furnace. It is simple to use. If someone is killed, within twelve hours, take a drop of his blood, put it into this furnace, and light it. Then you can find the person who killed him. However, this furnace seems to be cursed. Everyone who uses it to find someone dies because of it. Therefore, it is called the Death-Sending Furnace."

Lin Fan was skeptical. "Seeking revenge is always risky. This curse is just a rumor, right?"

Chen Ergou shook his head like a rattle drum. "Brother Fan, it's better to believe it than not! Those in the know avoid this stuff. I think it's probably true."

Lin Fan didn't dwell on that, and instead asked, "Since this thing has supernatural properties, can it be sold for a lot of money?"

Lin Fan had considered this before. This thing looked valuable, but if it wasn't very useful to him, he might as well sell it for money and then he wouldn't have to pretend to be a Taoist priest.

“Those in the know definitely won’t use this stuff. One use costs a life, isn’t that a bit too much of a price to pay? Brother Fan, if you want to try fooling those who don’t know, you can give it a shot. But instead of looking for some white pig who needs this kind of thing, why don’t you just find something and say that offering incense and worshipping it every day will make you rich? You’ll definitely make a fortune.” Chen Ergou finished speaking and unconsciously licked his lips. Just thinking about it made him feel like he was already getting rich.

Lin Fan touched the small incense burner in his hand. He figured if he wanted to sell it, he had to deceive people. Since he was going to deceive people anyway, why bother with a genuine item? That made perfect sense. Oh well, he'd keep it for himself for now; after all, it was a magical artifact, and he might need it someday.

They chose a house with a rather large courtyard. At the gate, the two changed into Taoist robes and began to chat.

"Senior brother, I see this place shrouded in dark energy; I fear a great calamity is about to befall us," Chen Ergou said in a low voice.

Lin Fan didn't want to respond, so he just nodded vaguely.

Chen Ergou had no choice but to continue making up a story, "Senior brother, there's an evil spirit in this house. I reckon it's possessing someone. It's so pitiful."

They lingered at the door for a while, wondering whether to go in, when a servant rushed out and said excitedly, "Two Taoist priests, we heard what you said just now. You two are right, my family is indeed in trouble! The head of the family invites you two in to talk!"

Just as Chen Ergou was about to go in, Lin Fan stopped him, saying, "Junior brother, Master said that we shouldn't interfere in other people's affairs this time. Let's not get involved in karma. Let's go."

Upon hearing this, the servant panicked and quickly tried to persuade the servant to stay.

Chen Ergou was also stunned. "No, Brother Fan, I thought you wouldn't say anything just now, but you acted even better than me."