Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Xu Hao was working in the torture chamber, a place that always reeked of blood.

He was holding a tattered rag covered in blood, and was now carefully wiping a skinning stool.

This stool is quite old. It was originally mahogany, but it has been stained blackish-purple by blood. Years of skin and flesh scraps are stuck in the crevices of the stool, and these scraps have long since dried and hardened.

Xu Hao wasn't disgusted at all. He used his fingers to dig into the crevices and carefully removed the old grime bit by bit.

As the last bit of meat fell to the ground in his hand, the image in his mind trembled slightly.

[Progress in clearing torture devices: 100/100]

[Blessed Land Level Upgrade: City Death Row LV2 (Yin Sha)]

[Special Treasure Drop: Bones Nail (Consumable)]

Xu Hao opened his palm, revealing a three-inch-long nail in his hand.

The bone nail was deathly white, and its touch was icy cold, as if it had been ground from the bones of a dead person.

[The Vengeful Bone Nail: Formed from the accumulated resentment of a hundred years in a death cell. When inserted into specific acupoints, it can seal off the recipient's five senses and six consciousnesses, causing their qi and blood to stagnate, resulting in a state of "apparent death" that lasts for twelve hours.]

"suspended animation……"

Xu Hao rubbed the nail with his thumb, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

To get Chen Yuanzhi, a living person, out of death row, forcing his way out is the worst possible option. The best way, of course, is to turn him into a "corpse".

As Xu Hao was pondering this, the heavy iron door of the torture chamber was suddenly kicked open from the outside.

"Hey, Guo Shan, you're pretty diligent."

The one who came in was an old jailer with a fierce face; everyone called him Lai Tou'er.

He's a gambler, and lately he's been having a really bad run of luck. I heard he lost all his salary for the month last night in Chang Le Fang, he almost lost his underwear.

Lai Tou'er slammed the door shut behind him, his cloudy old eyes fixed on Xu Hao.

Xu Hao immediately stored the Resentment Bone Nail into his Sumeru Warehouse. He slowly turned around, a simple, honest smile on his face, and his back slumped down: "Master Lai, what are your orders? I'll take care of it right away."

"Hehe, it's nothing serious."

Lai Tou'er grinned, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth stained yellow by smoke, tossing a rusty boning knife in his hand as he approached Xu Hao step by step. "I'm a little short on cash, aren't I? I heard you slipped a big silver ingot to the jailer when you came in? I'd like to borrow some from you too."

Xu Hao shrank back, his back pressed against the cold skinning stool: "Master Lai, you must be joking. I'm broke. I've poured all my money into this job, and now my pockets are emptier than my face."

"Bullshit!"

Lai Tou'er slammed the boning knife down on the skinning bench with a loud clang, revealing his menacing nature. "Don't play dumb with me! Anyone who can afford to pay for a job must have some money on them, right?"

As he spoke, Lai Tou'er leaned closer to Xu Hao, "Either you take it out yourself, or I'll strip you naked and search you! In this place, a servant dying is no different than a dead rat!"

Suddenly, Lai Tou'er reached out and grabbed Xu Hao's collar.

Xu Hao did not dodge.

He simply stared silently at Lai Tou'er's face, contorted with greed, without moving.

This is death row, but it's his blessed place.

In this small piece of land, he can be king if he so desires.

"Brother Lai, this place is eerie, don't scare me." Xu Hao's voice suddenly became somewhat ethereal, as if it came from a very distant place.

Lai Tou'er's hand had just touched Xu Hao's collar when he suddenly froze.

The surrounding temperature instantly dropped to freezing point.

In the originally dimly lit torture chamber, the oil lamp flames turned an eerie, ghastly green.

Lai Tou'er felt a chill running down the back of his neck, as if something was pressed against his back and blowing directly into his ear.

"Give it back to me..."

"My skin...give me back my skin..."

A piercing roar suddenly exploded in Lai Tou's mind.

In the old jailer's view, the timid country boy was gone, replaced by a series of bloodied and mangled faces—all prisoners who had died at his hands. Some were blind, some had their tongues pulled out, and they were stretching out their withered, claw-like hands, vying to grab him.

"The murderous aura is awe-inspiring."

Xu Hao stood still, but mobilized the evil energy accumulated in the blessed land, instantly shattering Lai Tou'er's already fragile mental defenses due to gambling and staying up all night.

"Ah—! Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

Lai Tou'er's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints, and his whole body convulsed violently as if he had been electrocuted.

He flailed his arms wildly, scratching haphazardly in the air, his fingernails slicing across his face, drawing blood.

"A ghost! There's a ghost! Help!"

Lai Tou'er screamed and collapsed to the ground, his crotch instantly soaked, the stench of excrement and urine filling the torture chamber.

In just a couple of breaths, the man foamed at the mouth, his eyes rolled back, and he completely passed out. He had been muttering incoherently, clearly having gone mad.

Xu Hao covered his nose in disgust, stepped over the filth on the ground, squatted down and began to skillfully touch the corpse.

Lai Tou'er, that gambling addict, had nothing but a boning knife and a few copper coins left.

Undeterred, Xu Hao rummaged around inside his undergarments for a while until his fingertips touched a stiff piece of parchment.

Xu Hao raised an eyebrow when he took it out and looked at it.

This is not a banknote, but a tattered topographical map.

The edges of the drawing are rough and have a yellowish-brown hue from years of use. Several crooked lines are drawn on it with vermilion pen, and the words "sewage ditch" and "covert gate" are marked on it.

The line begins on the third underground level of the death row, and ends at a dry well outside the moat.

"Is this scoundrel planning to use the death row map to gamble for money?"

Xu Hao smiled slightly; this way out was now in his own hands.

He carefully put the remaining map away from his body, stood up, and kicked Lai Tou'er so that he rolled over and lay face down in his own vomit.

After doing all this, he straightened his clothes, grabbed the blood-stained rag, pushed open the door, and went out.

The passageway outside the door was deep and secluded. Xu Hao, with his hunched back and dragging steps, was none other than Guo Shan, the honest and unassuming handyman from before.

Even if someone were to pass by at this moment, they would never associate the horrifying scene they had just witnessed with this good-for-nothing who even walked close to the wall.

As for the crazy Lai Tou'er?

In this death row filled with resentment, what's so surprising about being driven mad by vengeful spirits?

It will only make this place's ominous reputation spread even further.

As night deepened, Xu Hao, carrying a food box, headed towards the lowest level where death row inmates were held.

The once-glorious young master Chen is now chained to the bone, his body covered in sores, and he is sleeping soundly against the wall.

"Young Master, have something to eat." Xu Hao put down his rice bowl, and using his body as cover, he tapped the bottom of the bowl three times with his fingers—a secret signal unique to the Chen family's guards.

Chen Yuanzhi suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with astonishment.