Inside the dim shop, Lin Feng's body went rigid. An involuntary flash of apprehension crossed his eyes.
He was consumed by anxiety over Lin Xingyuan — desperate enough for power to have stepped into the Grey Street Market's murky depths.
But as a core clan member who had grown up within Black Blood Stockade's family structure, raised from childhood on the privileges that structure provided — going Demonic.
Those two words carried a weight that was simply too heavy.
A person is the sum of their social ties.
Becoming a Demonic Path Gu Master was not a decision one could make on a moment's heated impulse.
It meant severing his noble identity entirely, abandoning his kin within Black Blood Stockade, forsaking the stable and comfortable cultivation environment he had always known — and from that day forward, living like a rat crossing the street, hunted and pursued across the entire Southern Border by every Righteous Path force in existence.
Even Fang Yuan in the original work — in his previous life, he had spent hundreds of years crawling through the mud at the very bottom of the world. Only after enduring countless betrayals and hunts, only when he was truly left with no road forward, had he made the choice to cultivate the Blood Path.
Lin Feng, for all his humiliation, was clearly not yet mentally prepared to make an enemy of the entire world.
The extreme resistance and hesitation within him plunged the shop into an awkward, suffocating silence.
In the side room — Lin Mu leaned against the wall, listening to every detail with perfect clarity. His face was utterly still. This was entirely within his expectations.
Out in the front room — Old Ma, a seasoned fox who had spent years navigating the underbelly of the world, read people with the ease of long practice.
He saw Lin Feng's predicament and the struggle playing out behind his eyes at a single glance.
"Ha ha ha!"
Old Ma let out a perfectly natural laugh and extended a graceful way out, easing the tension with practiced smoothness.
"Honored guest, you worry too much! I run a modest little business here — how could I possibly be one of those Demonic Path monsters the Righteous Path hunts down on sight?"
Old Ma lowered his voice, his tone carrying a suggestive ambiguity.
"It is nothing more than making use of certain little-known shortcuts to assist in one's cultivation. As the saying goes — great men do not trouble themselves with trifles. Black cat or white cat, the one that catches the mouse is a good cat. Would you not agree, honored guest?"
That offered step gave Lin Feng exactly the excuse he needed to deceive himself.
He stood there, weighing and hesitating for a long moment.
In the end, his desperate hunger for power won out over that last flicker of restraint.
He bit down and spoke in a low voice.
"Let me hear it first."
The moment those words left Lin Feng's mouth, the balance of this transaction had completely reversed.
In any deal — whoever carries the urgent need holds the weaker position absolutely.
Lin Feng, as he stood now, was a fat fish that had clamped its jaws around the bait and refused to let go.
Seeing the prey fully within the net, Old Ma let the fawning smile drop from his face. He straightened slightly in his seat, and his voice took on a deep, measured gravity.
"If we categorize by function, the Gu worms of this world can be divided into seven broad types: attack, defense, healing, scouting, storage, movement, and cultivation."
"Cultivation-type Gu worms are numerous beyond counting. But to directly elevate one's aptitude at the root — that is, as one might expect, extraordinarily difficult."
Old Ma released the bait at a leisurely pace.
"However, this old man happens to have a few unorthodox methods. Some cannot directly produce A-grade aptitude — but they can propel you to Rank 3, even Rank 4, in the span of a breath."
"And at that point..."
The corner of Old Ma's mouth curved into a sardonic arc.
"No matter how heaven-defying that A-grade genius's aptitude may be, catching up to your cultivation stage would still require years of grueling effort."
Every word landed squarely on Lin Feng's most vulnerable point.
Old Ma's devil-like murmur drifted slowly through the dim room.
"The first is called — the Man-Beast Life Burial Gu."
"Man-Beast Life Burial?" Lin Feng's brow furrowed slightly as he repeated the name under his breath.
Old Ma picked up the thread, his tone turning gravely serious.
"I can see that honored guest has already reached Rank 2. To shatter that wall and advance to Rank 3 swiftly, one must refine this strange and bloody Gu worm."
"It was a secret formula painstakingly devised by an ancient Demonic Path grandmaster — created specifically to rapidly elevate his subordinates' combat strength and forge death soldiers. It was designed exclusively for Rank 2 Gu Masters breaking through to Rank 3. Endure a measure of pain, and Rank 3 is yours for the taking."
Seeing a flicker of apprehension pass through Lin Feng's eyes at the mention of such a bloody method, Old Ma did not press. Instead, he unhurriedly produced his second offering.
"The second is called the Flesh and Bone Reunion Gu."
"Another rare cultivation-type Gu worm." Old Ma let out a low chuckle. "This one comes as a pair, each acting upon one of two Gu Masters who share a bloodline or hold deep mutual trust."
"It enables a form of dual cultivation between the two, allowing their Primeval Essence to flow in tandem. The one with the lower cultivation can draw nourishment from the higher-ranked Gu Master's Primeval Essence, advancing in lockstep — achieving twice the result with half the effort."
Old Ma struck the most vulnerable point with the precision of a seasoned hand.
"Unlike the Empowerment Gu, this one is completely unaffected by the conflict between different types of Primeval Essence. Not a single side effect."
"If honored guest can find a high-ranked Gu Master as a partner — one willing to lend you a hand — your cultivation will rise like water lifted by a tide, with no bottleneck whatsoever."
"And as for the last one..."
A feverish gleam ignited in Old Ma's eyes.
"This Gu worm is the real thing — something that can genuinely cleanse the marrow and refine the bones at the root, forcibly elevating a Gu Master's innate aptitude."
The moment those four words — elevating innate aptitude — landed, Lin Feng's breathing turned ragged in an instant. His chest heaved violently. He barely managed to hold onto the last shred of his composure.
"What is it?!"
Old Ma set down his teacup and enunciated three words, one at a time:
"The Blood Skull Gu."
Having spoken the name, Old Ma said nothing more.
He leaned back against his chair with perfect composure, savoring the shifting, unreadable expressions crossing Lin Feng's face.
The disclosure of three pieces of classified intelligence was more than sufficient to demonstrate the depth and sincerity of this establishment.
Lin Feng understood how these things worked.
He drew a long breath, forcibly suppressing the fever rising in his chest, and asked in a low, steady voice:
"What do you want?"
Seeing that the matter was settled, a barely perceptible cunning flickered through the murk of Old Ma's eyes.
He gave a casual wave of his hand, his tone entirely offhand.
"Honored guest is too kind. This old man seeks only wealth, not lives."
"I simply need honored guest to help me take care of a few small matters."