But merely obtaining Gu Insects was not Fang Yuan's entire objective.
After tossing all these Gu Insects into his Empty Orifice, he turned his gaze toward Chang Shanyin's corpse.
He began using Gu Insects to help detoxify the body.
"Isn't he already dead?" Ge Yao asked from the side, her expression strange. Detoxifying a living person was one thing, but why detoxify a dead one?
Fang Yuan did not answer her directly. Instead, he ordered, "Don't just stand there. Use your Cleansing Gu to help."
Under Fang Yuan and Ge Yao's alternating efforts, the toxins in Chang Shanyin's body were gradually purged.
"Could he be Chang Shanyin? Your father?" Ge Yao suddenly had a realization, studying Fang Yuan with probing eyes. But she quickly denied it herself. "No, Chang Shanyin's son is a native of the Northern Plains. Looking at you, you're clearly an outsider."
Fang Yuan gave a cold snort, his face expressionless. "I told you — I am Chang Shanyin."
On Chang Shanyin's skin, as the toxins dissipated, the ghastly green color gradually faded, restoring his original complexion.
When Fang Yuan judged the timing was right, he told the young girl to step aside, then stripped all the clothes off Chang Shanyin's body and rinsed it clean with pure water.
"You… you want to bring his corpse back?" Ge Yao guessed.
But immediately after, Fang Yuan's actions overturned her guess entirely.
The young girl watched as Fang Yuan took out a cluster of black ants from his Empty Orifice.
Fang Yuan circulated True Essence, and the black ants instantly burst apart, falling onto Chang Shanyin's ghastly pale corpse and beginning to gnaw.
The swarm of black ants crawled all over Chang Shanyin's body, devouring every last bit of his skin, leaving behind only a corpse with exposed muscle, sinew, and flesh — utterly unrecognizable.
Seeing this scene, Ge Yao nearly retched from disgust.
Fang Yuan then gathered the cluster of black ants back up. He took out a seed and planted it in the ground.
As he fed True Essence into it, the seed sprouted at a speed visible to the naked eye — taking root, budding, and growing into a gorgeous flower.
The flower bloomed, but its heart contained a bizarre, thick membrane of blood-red flesh, resembling a human mouth. The inner ring of petals was lined with rows upon rows of tiny serrated teeth.
The black ants converged into a stream and climbed entirely onto the flower, burrowing into its center.
The flower closed shut once more. Inside, the serrated teeth spun wildly, grinding against each other, and the entire flower trembled, emitting a buzzing, humming sound.
Fang Yuan then took out another Gu — Ge Yao did not even get a clear look at it. The Gu instantly transformed into a mass of brilliantly colorful flames that latched onto the bizarre, terrifying flower.
Under the scorching of the flames, the flower twisted frantically, letting out shrill, piercing screams.
The screams were so piercing that Ge Yao was forced to retreat over a dozen steps, clamping both hands over her ears.
By this point, the young girl knew something was off. These strange and eerie methods reeked of the sinister Demonic Path. Ge Yao watched Fang Yuan with a pale face, while he stood in place without a flicker of expression, eyes fixed intently on the flower bud at his feet.
"Bloom." Suddenly, a sharp light flashed through Fang Yuan's eyes as he gave a curt command.
The crown of the flower cracked open just a sliver, absorbing all the colorful flames inside. Then the entire bud exploded open. A Gu flew out from within.
This Gu was brilliantly multicolored, its hues constantly shifting and transforming — now yellow-green, now blood-purple, drifting and hovering like smoke, like mist.
"Human Skin Gu — it's finally been refined." Seeing this, Fang Yuan let out a long breath of relief. Then he drew a clean, sharp dagger from his Cup Exchange Gu.
"What comes next will be a bit bloody. You can close your eyes." Holding the dagger, he first addressed Ge Yao.
Ge Yao's breathing quickened. She stared at Fang Yuan with a gaze full of unease and suspicion, saying nothing.
Then, the next instant, the young girl's pupils contracted sharply. She clapped both hands over her mouth, but could not stifle her cry.
Before her horrified eyes, Fang Yuan pressed the dagger against his own chest and sliced downward with a light, steady hand.
Tear.
The cut ran from his neck straight down to his lower abdomen.
But strangely, no blood flowed out — he had already used a Blood-stop Gu that had been prepared in advance.
With a face devoid of emotion, Fang Yuan drew the blade in a circle around his torso. Then he reached in and peeled the skin right off his entire chest.
Seeing this utterly nightmarish scene, the young girl stumbled back several steps, her face white as paper.
Fang Yuan clenched his jaw hard, sending a mental command. The multicolored mist in midair drifted over and settled upon his exposed chest.
Sssss…
With soft, eerie hissing sounds, Fang Yuan's exposed crimson muscle and sinew were covered over by a layer of newly forming skin.