Chapter 5: Passive: Old Skin

“Since you have passed the test, I might as well tell you some things!”

Wei He placed the numerous Bloodthirsty Gu he had collected into a small bag and then shared some information with the two people in front of him.

It turned out that the information Zhou Feng had obtained was fake.

This was not the Tri-Gu Sect’s headquarters, and there were not many cultivators here.

Naturally, the dining hall Wei He had mentioned earlier was a lie as well.

There was also the matter of personally teaching everyone this morning, which was also a lie.

Almost everyone had died that morning… What was there to teach!?

Next, as an official disciple, Zhou Feng would be brought to Mount Gu, where the headquarters of the Tri-Gu Sect was located.

After that, the matter of eating would have to be settled by oneself.

The purpose of this place was to fool the nearby villages into sending the children over.

In layman’s terms, this place was just a recruitment point.

It was all to attract more disciples. After all, the Tri-Gu Sect’s disciples were considered consumables.

If they did not recruit more people, it would be a huge waste. Hence, they had set up a stronghold here to attract the surrounding villages to send their children over.

At the same time, this was also the resource point the Tri-Gu Sect controlled.

Every year, they would send food and Blood Qi Gu to Mount Gu.

The so-called Blood Qi Gu was actually what they called the Bloodthirsty Gu after the host died.

Every Blood Qi Gu carried a human life.

After understanding this cruel truth, Zhou Feng could not help but clench his fists.

“Alright! You will naturally understand the other things when you reach Mount Gu!

“You two better get to know each other. After all, it’s not easy to survive in Mount Gu!”

After giving a few simple instructions, Wei He departed, leaving Zhou Feng and the skinny girl who looked like a zombie behind.

“They’re dead! They’re both dead…”

Zhou Feng glanced at the skinny zombie-like girl and noticed that she kept talking about death.

It seemed that some of her relatives and friends had died in this entrance test, and she could not bear the blow.

Regarding this, he did not have any intention of consoling her.

Firstly, he was not familiar with others, and secondly, he did not have the energy to care about others at all.

Right now, everyone was like a clay Bodhisattva crossing the river, unable to protect themselves.

However, it was also somewhat ironic. He still remembered that as he had waited for the Gu to be planted yesterday, the huge crowd was still divided into three, six, and nine grades.

There had also been many so-called villagers who looked down on the abandoned people who had been pushed to the edge.

Everyone was equal in the blink of an eye, and almost all of them had died here.

‘Eh? The progress bar is almost full?’

Zhou Feng found a shady spot and sat down, then opened the skill panel.

After opening the skill panel, he was surprised to find that the progress bar below was almost full.

He remembered that after obtaining Gluttony (Passive), the progress bar had been cleared to 0.

Why was it suddenly almost full? What kind of rule was this? Or could it be that doing something would speed up the progress of the progress bar?

‘Forget it! It’s better to circulate the Blood Qi!’

Zhou Feng couldn’t figure out the reason, so he started practicing the Blood Solidification Art on the spot.

Meanwhile, he put the dried meat hidden in his clothes into his mouth and started chewing on it.

During this process, Yin Ling even chatted with him a little.

That’s right! The girl, who was the same age as him, was called Yin Ling.

Unfortunately, the two of them did not have much in common to talk about. After a simple awkward chat, there was no meaning to continue the conversation.

At some point, Wei He finally appeared again.

The one who brought them to Mount Gu was not Wei He but another senior disciple from the Tri-Gu Sect.

At this time, Zhou Feng also saw a few withered figures. Those were the other survivors.

He also saw a familiar face. That person had been standing at the front on the day of the Gu-planting ceremony, but the few people beside that person did not seem to see him.

Soon, they were brought to the foot of the mountain.

There were a few huge rhinoceroses in front of them.

If they guessed correctly, these rhinoceroses were the ones that would bring them to Mount Gu.

These rhinoceroses were gargantuan, and there was a huge saddle on their backs, enough for many people to sit on.

At the same time, it was worth noting that these rhinoceroses only had white eyes, no pupils!

Furthermore, these rhinoceroses did not make any small movements. They were just like a car, without any signs of life.

How had they accomplished this?

Zhou Feng looked a little dull on the surface, with a blank expression, but he was crazily asking questions in his heart.

The atmosphere on the rhinoceroses’ backs was silent and strange. No one spoke, and no one was looking around. Almost everyone had their heads down and did not speak.

This was probably because what they had experienced before had dealt a huge blow to everyone.

On the third day of the journey to Mount Gu, Zhou Feng discovered that his skill panel’s progress bar was full.

He started to randomly draw new passive skills.

[Drawing…]

[Passive skill obtained, Old Skin!]

Old Skin (Level 1): Every time you are injured and recover, Defense +1.

‘It is actually a defensive passive skill!?’

Zhou Feng raised his eyebrows.

To be honest, he really needed a defensive passive skill.

After all, he was in such a dangerous environment right now, so it was necessary for him to have some life-saving measures.

But when he saw the description of this passive skill clearly, an indescribable expression appeared on his face.

What did it mean ‘Every time you are injured and recover, Defense +1’? What kind of trigger condition was this?

This meant that if he wanted to trigger this passive skill, he had to take a beating first!

After taking a beating, he had to recover from his injury. Only after recovering from his injury could he increase his defense by a little.

He didn’t even know what to say about this passive skill.

This was an exclusive skill tailor-made for masochists and battle maniacs!

He had no interest in being a masochist, and his character was not that kind of battle maniac.

Not to mention, how did this Defense +1 measure up? Or rather, what was the actual effect of this Defense +1?

All of this was unknown, and he must intentionally injure himself when the benefits were unknown!?

Especially in an evil sect like the Tri-Gu Sect, the risk was too great.

After thinking about it, Zhou Feng felt that this newly gained passive skill was somewhat useless.

If there were other passive skills, such as faster recovery from injuries, then this passive skill would be useful.

Perhaps this passive skill would be useful.

Zhou Feng’s mood was a little complicated after obtaining a mediocre passive skill.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the kind of passive skill that defied the natural order. For example, the type that could increase one’s attributes just by hacking.

However, if you wanted to say how much of a pity it was, then it wasn’t.

After all, this was practically a free-for-all. It was better than nothing. After thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t a loss at all.

What else could he do? He could only do this!

‘I only need a period of time to gain a passive skill! Doesn’t that mean that as long as I stay in the game long enough…’

At that moment, he realized a very crucial issue.

If he could obtain a passive skill every once in a while, then, as long as he dragged on the time, wouldn’t he be able to gain thousands of passive skills?

At that time, he might not be the strongest, but he would have the ability to protect himself!

At that moment, Zhou Feng’s mentality slightly changed. At the same time, his future plans also changed.