The fire inside the Domain burned with a strange, vertical perfection. The smoke didn't drift; it rose in a straight line, dictated by Wuxu's local law of airflow to avoid signaling their location to the rest of the forest.
Luo Yi sat on the opposite side of the fire, clutching a skewer of roasted wolf meat. The fat merchant was still trembling, his eyes darting between the darkness of the forest outside the invisible barrier and the boy sitting across from him.
Wuxu ate mechanically. He didn't taste the spices Luo Yi had pulled from his sack. He didn't savor the texture. To his Artificial Layer 5 body, food was simply biomass required to repair micro-tears in his muscle fibers.
"So," Luo Yi stammered, grease staining his chin. "You... you really intend to enter the Iron Grave Sect? With that token?"
Wuxu swallowed a chunk of meat whole. "Is there a problem?"
"No! No problem!" Luo Yi waved his hands frantically. "It's just... the Iron Grave isn't like the Azure Cloud Sect. They don't care about Dao scriptures, meditation, or tea ceremonies. They are Body Cultivators and Weapon Madmen."
Luo Yi leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"They believe that the body is a piece of metal, and the world is a hammer. To join, you have to survive The Pit. They throw fifty hopefuls into a deep underground cavern with no food and no weapons. The last ten standing get to be Outer Disciples."
Wuxu stared at the fire. The reflection of the flames danced in his dead eyes.
"No weapons?" Wuxu asked.
"None," Luo Yi confirmed.
"No food?"
"Only what you... find," Luo Yi grimaced.
Wuxu looked down at the iron token in his hand. It was cold, heavy, and smelled of dried blood.
"They don't check for background?" Wuxu asked calmly.
"No," Luo Yi shook his head. "But they check for strength. If you walk in there looking weak, they won't even let you into the Pit. They'll just break your legs at the gate."
Wuxu didn't speak. He simply pulled up a command in his mind.
'System. Aura Simulation: Maximum Output.'
[Aura Simulation: Active.]
[Projecting Density: Artificial Layer 5.]
BOOM.
There was no wind, but the air around the campfire suddenly became heavy, as if gravity had doubled.
Luo Yi choked on his meat. He felt a crushing pressure radiating from the boy across the fire. It wasn't the flowing, mystical pressure of normal Qi. It was a dense, suffocating weight—like standing next to a falling boulder.
Wuxu smiled. It was a terrifying expression.
"Perfect."
He sat down across from Luo Yi, the crushing aura retracting slightly but still humming in the air.
"We have a lot to discuss, Merchant. And lucky for you..." Wuxu gestured to the dead wolves. "...we have plenty of food while we wait for the sun to rise."
The Appraisal
Two days passed.
Wuxu didn't let Luo Yi leave the circle. The merchant was restless, but he wasn't stupid. He saw the beasts prowling outside—Rank 1 Boars and Wind Wolves—sniffing the perimeter.
Wuxu spent the time meditating—or pretending to. In reality, he was organizing his Inventory and letting his Artificial Body stabilize.
"Brother Wuxu," Luo Yi broke the silence on the second night. He was fidgeting with a small, monocle-like artifact. "I... I feel I should earn my keep. You saved me, you fed me. In the merchant world, unpaid debt is bad karma."
Wuxu opened his eyes. "You provided the token. That is payment."
"No, that was for saving my life," Luo Yi insisted. "But for the food and protection... I offer an appraisal. I need to know if my investment is safe."
He held up the monocle.
"This is a Spirit-Grade Appraisal Lens. It allows me to see the density of Qi in objects... and people. If you enter the Iron Grave, you need to know what others see when they look at you."
Wuxu remained motionless. 'System, maintain Aura Simulation. Mask the internal void.'
[Aura Simulation: Active. Masking Void Signature.]
"Look," Wuxu said.
Luo Yi placed the lens over his right eye. The glass glowed with a soft blue light. He looked at Wuxu.
Luo Yi gasped.
He expected to see a swirling vortex of Qi in the lower abdomen—the Dantian.
Instead, he saw a Wall.
Wuxu's body, through the lens, didn't look like flesh. It looked like a solid block of compressed tungsten. The muscles were woven so tightly that the "Qi" (the simulated aura) wasn't flowing; it was trapped, pressurized within the fibers like steam in a boiler.
"Monstrous," Luo Yi whispered, taking the lens off. He wiped sweat from his forehead. "Your foundation... it's not liquid. It's solid. You practice an Ancient Hard-Body Technique, don't you? That's why you don't use spells. You've turned your entire body into a blunt instrument."
Wuxu didn't correct him. It was the perfect cover story.
"Will it pass the inspection at the Iron Grave?" Wuxu asked.
"Pass?" Luo Yi laughed nervously. "Brother, they will fight over you. But..."
Luo Yi's face grew serious.
"There is a man you must watch out for. Guo Jincheng. He is the son of the Iron Grave's Vice-Sect Master. He is entering the Pit this year just to 'test his blade.' He is a psychopath who enjoys crippling geniuses. If he sees your body type... he will want to break it just to hear the sound it makes."
Wuxu picked up a heavy leg bone from the wolf carcass. He squeezed.
CRACK.
The bone shattered into dust.
"Let him try."
The Walk
The next morning.
"How far?" Wuxu asked, kicking snow over the fire.
"Close," Luo Yi said, pointing South. "About five kilometers. The Iron Grave Sect is built into the cliffs of the Razor Canyon. We are practically on their doorstep."
Five kilometers.
For a mortal, that was an hour's walk. For Wuxu, it was a warm-up.
"Let's move."
They stepped out of the Domain.
Luo Yi immediately tensed up, looking around for the pack. "Brother, should we move stealthily? The scent of blood might draw—"
Wuxu began to walk. He didn't crouch. He didn't hide. He walked with the heavy, rhythmic thud of a machine.
"We do not hide," Wuxu said calmly. "We are walking to a sect of warmongers. If we arrive looking like rats, they will treat us like rats."
He radiated his Artificial Layer 5 Aura. The intense pressure pushed the insects and small animals away. To any observer, he was simply a powerful, body-focused cultivator walking with absolute confidence.
Luo Yi watched Wuxu's back, sensing the dense, unyielding strength radiating from him. It wasn't the flashy power of a spellcaster; it was the quiet, dangerous solidity of a loaded cannon.
Luo Yi scurried to catch up, his fear replaced by a greedy excitement.
"Brother Wuxu!" Luo Yi called out, trotting beside him. "When we get to the Sect, let me handle the registration. I know the clerks. I can get us good odds on the betting pools!"
Wuxu looked at the fat merchant.
"Betting pools?"
"Oh yes," Luo Yi grinned, his eyes disappearing into his fat. "People bet on who survives the Pit. With your odds... we could make a killing."
Wuxu looked ahead. The trees were thinning. Through the gaps, he could see massive, jagged black cliffs rising like tombstones against the sky. The air smelled of iron and sulfur.
"Bet on me, Luo Yi," Wuxu said quietly. "Bet everything."
[Next Location: The Iron Grave Sect.]
[Distance: 500 meters.]
[Objective: The Pit.]