"Master Meng, your arm..."

Gu Zheng’s gaze was fixed on where Meng Taiqi’s right arm should have been.

The space...

Was empty!

’Meng Taiqi fought two-on-one and lost his arm?’

’Were those two Tier 3 Silver Bones both at the peak of their tier?’

"It’s nothing."

Meng Taiqi smiled faintly. "It’s just an arm. It won’t kill me."

’Is whether you’ll die or not the issue here?’

Gu Zheng was at a loss for words. After sensing the area around them, he asked, "Where is Lord Ji? What did he say about this?"

"What did he have to say?"

Meng Taiqi snorted coldly. "He killed one Tier 3 Silver Bone, took the Demon Pill and a piece of bone, and then left. Said I should guard this place for a while longer and that he’d have Old Jiang come replace me after some time."

...

’Ji Tianping took a piece of bone?’

’The fifth Divine Weapon Fragment!’

’Ji Tianping took the last one.’

’With the Divine Weapon Fragment in his hands, I have basically no chance of getting it.’

’But for Ji Tianping, a Commander, to have this attitude... Meng Taiqi was injured and lost his right arm, no less... ’

"Master Meng, eat this Source Fruit."

Taking a deep breath, Gu Zheng took out the Regeneration Source Fruit, handed it to Meng Taiqi, and said earnestly, "Eat this, and your arm will grow back."

Without the Wandering God Falcon Wings from Meng Taiqi, Gu Zheng wouldn’t have dared to charge into the Demon Realm.

Xie Bisheng’s Sealing Sword Talisman was a trump card, a one-time use item.

Meng Taiqi’s Wandering God Falcon Wings, on the other hand, were the ultimate support item.

Empowered by them, Gu Zheng could move swiftly, unafraid of Tier 3 or Tier 4 Demon Fiends.

Only because of that was he able to reap all sorts of rewards.

Meng Taiqi had more than earned this Regeneration Source Fruit; Gu Zheng felt he was completely worthy of it.

"My arm will grow back just by eating this?"

Meng Taiqi was startled. "Ping’an, you..."

"Just eat it."

Gu Zheng stepped forward and brought the Regeneration Source Fruit to Meng Taiqi’s mouth.

"..." Meng Taiqi looked deeply at Gu Zheng, then exhaled. "Alright, I’ll eat it."

With that, he took the Source Fruit and put it in his mouth.

He swallowed it in two bites, and a ball of energy immediately began to form in his abdomen.

Gu Zheng took two steps back, sensing Meng Taiqi’s aura.

The first thing was a surge of Vitality!

A dense, immense wave of Vitality suddenly erupted from Meng Taiqi’s body.

A white halo of light immediately followed, surrounding his entire body before finally gathering at his severed arm.

Visible to the naked eye, the white light began to extend outward from the stump.

Inch by inch by inch...

It continued to lengthen.

During this process, Meng Taiqi’s eyes were tightly shut, his body trembling slightly.

Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and face.

When the white light extending from the stump reached the length of an arm...

FWOOSH!

The light flickered and vanished.

A new, pale arm replaced the white light, growing where Meng Taiqi’s right arm had been.

Regeneration!

’One Source Fruit, a whole new arm.’

Gu Zheng watched the miraculous scene, filled with a mix of awe and joy.

A one-armed Meng Taiqi versus a whole one... they were in two completely different leagues, both in terms of presence and power.

"Haha!"

Meng Taiqi’s eyes snapped open. He stared at his new arm, giving it a wave. He couldn’t help the excited laughter that burst out. "Excellent, excellent! Hahaha!"

Who would want to be missing an arm?

Given the choice, no one would.

Especially not a Demon-slaying Grand General like Meng Taiqi.

"Hah..."

Taking a deep breath, Meng Taiqi exhaled a long, pent-up sigh. He stood up, walked over to Gu Zheng, and clapped him firmly on the shoulder.

"I won’t waste words on thanks. From now on... Huh? You broke through?"

Meng Taiqi’s hand rested on Gu Zheng’s shoulder. His eyes widened, but his voice dropped to a whisper. "You’ve reached the Heroic Body Realm?"

Though they had been close before, Gu Zheng had concealed his aura well. Plus, Meng Taiqi had been distracted by his own injury. It was only now, with his hand on Gu Zheng’s shoulder, that he realized his student’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit had formed a Primordial Chaos Unity.

This was the manifestation of Tripartite Unity!

"Yes."

Gu Zheng smiled faintly. "I got lucky. After rushing into the Storm Bone Demon Fiend’s territory, I found a silver fruit growing in a pile of white bones. I couldn’t resist eating it, and it directly helped me achieve Tripartite Unity and break through to the Heroic Body Realm."

"A silver fruit in a pile of white bones?"

Meng Taiqi frowned, thought for a moment, and said in surprise, "A Celestial Yin Fruit! You most likely ate a Celestial Yin Fruit! That’s an extremely rare Treasure Medicine! Besides increasing Spiritual Power and helping achieve Tripartite Unity, it can also greatly improve one’s physical aptitude, making them more in tune with heaven and earth, which facilitates future advancements and breakthroughs!"

"Ping’an, you have incredible luck."

Meng Taiqi clapped Gu Zheng’s shoulder again, his relief genuine. "But you earned it," he said, his voice full of pride. "If you hadn’t lured away that third Tier 3 Silver Bone, everyone else would be dead. I could hold off two of them, but I couldn’t protect the others. Even then, a peak Tier 3 Silver Bone still shattered my arm. If it weren’t for you, I’d be a cripple for life."

"You’re being too formal, Master Meng."

Gu Zheng said earnestly, "If not for the Wandering God Falcon Wings you gave me, Master Meng, I wouldn’t have dared to enter the Demon Realm, let alone be lucky enough to find a Celestial Yin Fruit."

At the mention of the Celestial Yin Fruit, Gu Zheng felt a strange sense of irony.

’So such a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure actually exists!’

’The excuse I just pulled out of thin air is actually real.’

’Breaking through to the Heroic Body Realm requires years of accumulation and time. The fastest it could be done is several years.’

’Since I succeeded instantly, I had to come up with an excuse.’

’In the past, I’ve used fortuitous encounters in the Domain as an explanation.’

’This time I went to the Demon Realm, so naturally, the excuse had to be related to it. No one else was there to contradict me, anyway.’

’And as it turns out, such a Treasure Medicine really exists.’

’Well then. I’ll be borrowing this excuse.’

...

"Speaking of the Storm Bone Demon Fiends."

Gu Zheng added, "After I entered the other side of the passage, I killed quite a few Bone Demons. Then I broke through to the Heroic Body Realm and killed a Tier 3. On my way back, I ran into another injured one at the passage entrance. It took some effort, but with the Sealing Sword Talisman from Master Xie, I managed to slay it as well."

"Here are the two Demon Pills."

Afraid Meng Taiqi wouldn’t believe him, Gu Zheng took out two Demon Pills from his Storage Pouch.

Meng Taiqi was speechless.

His mouth agape, he stared at Gu Zheng, his eyes filled with astonishment.

"...You kid, you really are a Demon Fiend’s bane."

Taking a deep breath, Meng Taiqi raised his hand and patted Gu Zheng’s shoulder again, his face alight with excitement. "Good, wonderful! You killed two Tier 3 Silver Bones, one of which was even late-stage Tier 3. Even though it was heavily injured, you were the one who killed it in the end, so the credit is all yours!"

"Counting the one Ji Tianping killed, all three Tier 3 Silver Bones are dead. The pressure on the Grand Canyon Mountain passage will finally ease up."

"Uh..." Gu Zheng thought for a moment, then decided to add, "More than ease up. After I killed the Tier 3 Silver Bones, I went back and killed most of the other Storm Bone Demon Fiends as well."

PAT.

Meng Taiqi clapped Gu Zheng firmly on the shoulder. "Then the situation is resolved!"

"You kid! First you dealt with four Tier 2 passages, and now you’ve resolved a Tier 3 passage!"

"Demon Fiend’s bane... you truly live up to the name! Hahaha..."

Meng Taiqi laughed heartily. "I have to tell the others this news. Let everyone finally relax."

Then, as if remembering something, his voice dropped. "Don’t say anything about the Regeneration Source Fruit. I’ll say I used my own accumulated resources, something I’d saved from before."

"Understood!" Gu Zheng replied respectfully.

The issue wasn’t just the priceless Regeneration Source Fruit that had regrown Meng Taiqi’s arm. It was also the fact that Gu Zheng could identify the specific abilities of a Source Fruit!

This point was also crucial.

No one else knew what abilities a Source Fruit possessed before eating it.

’If word of this got out,’ Gu Zheng knew, ’countless people would have designs on me.’

’The Jing Country’s royal family might even summon me to be their exclusive Appraiser of Source Fruits.’

’To serve as a Source Fruit Appraiser!’

The job would be easy, and the pay would likely be substantial.

But there would be no freedom.

He would be under someone’s thumb for the rest of his life.

If Meng Taiqi hadn’t taken care of him before, Gu Zheng wouldn’t have been so forthcoming.

So he understood Meng Taiqi’s warning perfectly well.

...

"One more thing."

Meng Taiqi added, "Stay away from Ji Tianping."

"Old Scoundrel Xie might walk around with a permanent scowl, looking like he despises everyone, but deep down, he’s a decent person. He has principles."

"Ji Tianping does not!"

Meng Taiqi switched to a private voice transmission. "Do you know why Ji Tianping didn’t show up for so long? The Demon Slayer Bureau’s official story is that the Commander entered the passage near Silver Mansion and has been in the Demon Realm, constantly slaying Demon Fiends to alleviate the pressure from their overwhelming numbers."

"In reality, when the Domain at Silver Mansion opened, Ji Tianping obtained some opportunities and has been in secluded cultivation to achieve a breakthrough this whole time!"

Gu Zheng was speechless.

’So that’s the real reason!’

’The highest authority in the Demon Slayer Bureau, the number one expert in Fengzhou, and he was in secluded cultivation this whole time.’

’Ignoring the Demon Fiends rampaging outside.’

’The generous interpretation is that he was trying to become stronger so he could kill more Demon Fiends.’

’The blunt truth is that he’s a selfish bastard who only cares about himself, not anyone else.’

"I understand!" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Gu Zheng bowed again.

"As long as you understand."

Meng Taiqi let out a breath, his smile returning. "Come on, let’s go tell everyone the good news."

With that, he led the way, opening the door and stepping outside.

Gu Zheng followed closely behind.

"Greetings, General Men—huh? General Meng, your arm... it grew back?"

A Commander was just about to bow when he suddenly saw Meng Taiqi’s new arm and cried out in surprise and joy.

"What? General Meng’s arm grew back?"

"Is it true... Haha, it’s real! This is wonderful!"

"It’s a new arm, and so pale and smooth! General Meng, you’d better take good care of this one. Don’t let it get all tanned and rough like the other one!"

"Hahaha..."

A group of Hundred Households and Commanders saw Meng Taiqi’s new arm. Their spirits lifted, and they began to joke and cheer.

Meng Taiqi wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. His face was all smiles as he waved his new arm.

"As you can all see, this new arm cost me all the precious resources I’d saved up for years."

"Great!"

"Worth it!"

The crowd cheered, and no one was suspicious.

After all, Meng Taiqi was a Demon-slaying Grand General, a peak Heroic Body Realm expert who had been a renowned figure in the Martial World for two hundred years.

Others could only imagine the wealth of treasures he must have accumulated.

"There’s one more thing!"

After a moment, Meng Taiqi waved his hand again and announced with a broad smile, "Besides the peak Tier 3 Silver Bone that Lord Ji killed, my student—your very own Mr. Gu, Lord Gu—also killed two Tier 3 Silver Bones in the Demon Realm..."

"Impossible!"