At these words, Yang Gan slowly retracted his gaze, turned, and left without a word.
Only after Yang Gan was gone did Xu Yunfan feel warmth return to his body, his blood and qi surging.
'What a vicious gaze.'
Xu Yunfan flexed his hands and feet in silence, a storm raging in his chest.
Being looked at like a chick that could be killed at any moment didn't feel good at all.
Besides…
Xu Yunfan silently glanced at Li Haomiao.
'As long as I'm by this Prince Yan's side, Yang Gan will definitely find a chance to eliminate me.'
'I have to keep increasing my Skill Level.'
"That man's Cross Training Skill is impressive. He has reached Great Mastery of Skin Cultivation, making his skin tough and resilient. Ordinary blades can hardly pierce it. After reaching Great Mastery of Skin Cultivation, Horizontal Training practitioners gain immense strength. They can easily lift massive cauldrons and shatter stone steles. He is indeed a rare master of Cross Training Skill. If he were in the army, he would surely become a fearsome general.
Unfortunately, because of this Cross Training Skill, he has been unable to break through to the muscle and bone realms. As long as you cultivate the Copper Body Skill to Great Success, you will naturally have no reason to fear him. Don't worry about it."
Seeing the silent Xu Yunfan, Li Haomiao couldn't help but speak.
"Cultivating a Cross Training Skill is extremely arduous. Few people can endure it. Even fewer are willing to suffer the constant pain of their muscles and bones being damaged."
Xu Yunfan looked up, a curious expression on his face.
"Uh, I was just wondering, can this Grain Avoidance Pill really let you avoid grain?"
Seeing that Xu Yunfan seemed completely unaffected by the encounter with Yang Gan, Li Haomiao was momentarily speechless. He had even been preparing some words of comfort.
After a moment of thought, he said, "This Grain Avoidance Pill is refined from dozens of precious and rare medicinal herbs. It's shaped like an iron pellet. If your body isn't strong enough, eating it rashly would be like taking a potent poison."
Hearing this, Xu Yunfan stepped forward and picked up the porcelain bottle, only to feel a sudden weight in his hand.
So heavy!
He was surprised. The palm-sized porcelain bottle weighed a good twenty or thirty pounds.
After opening the bottle and pouring one out, Xu Yunfan looked at the iron-like Grain Avoidance Pill in his palm. Puzzled, he held it out to Li Haomiao.
"Is this really a Grain Avoidance Pill?"
Li Haomiao took the Grain Avoidance Pill, sniffed it, and then swallowed it in one gulp.
Xu Yunfan, standing to the side, could even hear a GULP, like a rock dropping into his stomach.
Xu Yunfan asked, "Aren't you afraid it's poison?"
"I'm already crippled. Killing me wouldn't require such elaborate measures. While some want me dead, others naturally want me alive. My survival brings sufficient benefits to certain people.
That demoness sees me as a thorn in her side, but others see me as their rightful lord. At the very least, if I were to die, their own interests would suffer an unacceptable loss. For their sake, I cannot die."
Li Haomiao let out a breath. A rumbling sound echoed from his abdomen. As his withered blood and qi were nourished, a hint of red rose to his pale, gaunt cheeks.
"It's authentic. And it's a top-grade Grain Avoidance Pill."
He looked at Xu Yunfan.
"Want one?"
Xu Yunfan was silent for a moment.
"Didn't you say that if your body isn't strong enough, eating a Grain Avoidance Pill is like swallowing poison metal?"
"Top-grade Grain Avoidance Pills are an exception. After swallowing one, it digests slowly instead of poisoning the body. In fact, it provides immense nourishment. You're in luck."
Li Haomiao said languidly, "This is a one-time opportunity. For Yang Gan to bring this bottle of Grain Avoidance Pills to keep me alive means the person behind him is already at their limit. Something big must be about to happen for them to risk letting me recover even a little."
Hearing this, Xu Yunfan no longer hesitated. He poured out a Pill and, under Li Haomiao's appreciative gaze, swallowed it.
GULP.
He felt his stomach plummet, and his body swayed twice.
Li Haomiao asked with great interest, "How is it?"
"Feels like I have a prolapsed stomach."
"A prolapsed stomach?"
When Li Haomiao understood, a look of stunned amusement appeared on his face.
"A little interesting."
After lying on the ground for a long time, Xu Yunfan finally began to adapt. A single thumb-sized Grain Avoidance Pill packed more than two pounds of weight into its small form. The sinking feeling in his stomach made him move with uncharacteristic care.
Gradually, as his stomach began to digest it, wisps of warmth started to spread from his belly, gently seeping into his limbs and bones. His constantly hungry stomach was rapidly filled, and a feeling of fullness washed over him.
Xu Yunfan was astonished. He felt as if his body were a long-dried sponge thrown into the sea, beginning to absorb endless nourishment. He felt his previously somewhat malnourished body being completely replenished.
'If I practice martial arts in this state, my efficiency and Skill Level gains will definitely soar.'
'Compared to just eating those rock-hard biscuits, how many Skill Level points could I even get in a day?'
He immediately sat up and asked Li Haomiao.
"This Pill works great! Are there any other Elixirs?"
It seemed that besides the Martial Dao, there were many other things worth exploring in this world.
Li Haomiao replied, "What do you think? Getting even one bottle of Grain Avoidance Pills was already no small feat."
Resigned, Xu Yunfan could only get up and lift his Iron Pickaxe. He was surprised to find that the tool, which had felt just right before, now seemed several pounds lighter.
He flicked his wrist. The Iron Pickaxe felt as light as a feather in his hand, letting out a WHOOSH WHOOSH as it cut through the air.
Seeing such a change in Xu Yunfan in such a short time, Li Haomiao had some guesses. He said with a hint of regret, "If you had joined the Taoist Sect, you might have had a great future. What a pity..."
"A genius like me is like gold—I'll shine anywhere."
Hearing Xu Yunfan's shameless words, the corner of Li Haomiao's eye twitched, and he was rendered speechless.
After taking a moment to get used to the long-lost feeling of being full, Xu Yunfan cleared away the rocks piled in front of the Jade Wall. He stared at the wall, which glowed with a faint green light under the torchlight. Gazing at it for too long felt like it could draw in one's very Heart and Spirit.
He pulled his gaze away and continued to swing his Iron Pickaxe.
'You continue to mine and seem to have gained the ability to discern the quality of ore. Your Mining Skill Level has increased.'
'In a flash of insight, you applied the force-emitting technique of the Copper Body Skill to your mining. Your Red Rope Copper Body Skill Level has increased.'
'...'
'You swung your legs and seemed to grasp the force application for Flying Leg, but upon closer reflection, you came up with nothing.'
'...'
For the next few days, aside from necessary rest, Xu Yunfan ate, drank, and relieved himself entirely within the mine. He threw himself wholeheartedly into mining to temper his body and practicing the Flying Leg skill. The notifications about his Mining and Copper Body Skill Level rose constantly, almost flooding his vision.
A single Grain Avoidance Pill was enough to keep him from feeling the slightest bit of hunger for five full days.
Meanwhile, Zhou Feng never appeared again. The last time Xu Yunfan saw him, he was moving iron ore. He was whispering with several other miners. When he saw Xu Yunfan, he just gave him a cold glance and left quickly with a sigh.
Xu Yunfan didn't try to strike up a conversation either. After learning about the strength of that Supervisor, Yang Gan, he naturally understood that Zhou Feng and his group's efforts were likely futile.
Over these past few days, the number of people who died in the mine wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. Every day, someone died down in the mine and was carried out.