Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 1553: Chapter 799: Narrow Escape (Part 2)

"Junior..."

The old man’s voice was hoarse and dry, like two bones grinding together.

"Do you still remember Blood Saber Village outside Wuyun City?"

Gu Sheng’s pupils shrank slightly.

"You’re the one behind Blood Saber Village?"

"Correct."

The old man slowly raised his withered hand, like a chicken claw.

"I laid my arrangements there for a thousand years, only for you to ruin them in a single day. Today, it’s time to settle this debt."

As he moved, nature’s spiritual energy frantically converged, forming a transparent cage dozens of zhang in diameter that locked Gu Sheng firmly inside.

The Martial Artists watching from afar were horrified to find the True Qi in their bodies turning sluggish; a few with weaker cultivation even dropped to their knees outright, blood flowing from their seven orifices.

"Domain suppression... so this is the power of the Venerable Realm?"

An old man with a white beard spoke in a trembling voice, his eyes full of fear.

The withered elder turned a deaf ear to the commotion around him; his ghostly green gaze never left Gu Sheng.

"I’ll give you two choices."

He extended one finger.

"First, hand over the trump card you used to annihilate Wanliu Sect, acknowledge me as your master, and serve for ten thousand years."

Then he extended a second finger.

"Second—die."

Before the words finished, the ground beneath the elder’s feet suddenly caved in, spiderweb-like cracks spreading out at high speed.

The land within dozens of li began to sink; several small hills in the distance collapsed with a thunderous roar, sending dust towering into the sky.

Some Martial Artists who failed to escape in time were crushed into blood mist by the invisible pressure, their screams rising and falling in succession.

"Three breaths."

The elder said blandly, yet his voice tolled in everyone’s hearts like a funeral bell.

"Choose."

"Three breaths have passed, junior. It’s time to give this Venerable an answer."

The gray-robed elder’s Shadow hovered in midair, his wide sleeves billowing without wind.

His face was gaunt and withered, but his eyes burned like two clusters of ghostly flame as he looked down at Gu Sheng below.

The Spiritual Energy within a hundred-zhang radius seemed to congeal; even the sound of the wind vanished.

Gu Sheng stood atop a field of ruins. The Wanliu Sect’s plaque was stuck slantwise by his feet, broken cleanly in two.

His right hand gripped a blood-stained Longsword, his left hand clasped behind his back, knuckles faintly white.

"An answer?"

Gu Sheng lifted his head, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile.

"In this lifetime, I, Gu Sheng, have yet to learn how to bow my head to an Evil Cultivator."

The ghostfire in the elder’s Shadow eyes suddenly surged, and then he let out a Night Owl-like cackle.

"Interesting. A mere junior in the Mystic Realm actually dares to act unruly before this Venerable. Wanliu Sect was only a chess piece, but the fact you were able to destroy it does make this Venerable somewhat curious about you."

Gu Sheng did not reply, his Spiritual Power quietly circulating within.

He could feel that this old man’s Shadow was at least of the Venerable Realm; even if it was only an Incarnation, it was far from something he could face head-on right now.

"Enough."

The elder’s Shadow suddenly withdrew his smile.

"Since you don’t know what’s good for you, this Venerable will send you on your way first, then refine you into a Corpse Puppet. Once I use the Soul Searching Technique on you, I’ll still learn everything this Venerable wishes to know."

Before the last word fell, the elder’s Shadow raised his withered right hand and pressed downward.

"Boom..."

Heaven and earth changed color!

The once-clear sky was instantly covered by pitch-black clouds like ink. Innumerable black ribbons dropped from the cloud layer, like tens of thousands of heaven-devouring pythons, twisting toward Gu Sheng to tear him apart.

Each ribbon carried a deadly toxin that corroded Spiritual Power; wherever they passed, even the air itself sizzled audibly.

"Die."

The elder’s Shadow said coldly.

Gu Sheng’s pupils constricted sharply, every muscle in his body tensing.

Just as the first black ribbon was about to brush the hem of his robe...

"Buzz!"

A blinding golden light erupted behind him, shooting straight into the sky and illuminating half the firmament.

Within the golden radiance, an ancient Bronze Cauldron slowly emerged, nine lifelike Golden Dragons coiled around its body, every Dragon Scale inscribed with mysterious runes.

"Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron, absorb!"

Gu Sheng roared.

"Rumble..."

Golden light flared around the mouth of the cauldron, transforming into a gigantic vortex.

The black ribbons that had been surging in ferociously were like mud cows plunging into the sea, completely devoured by the vortex.

Even more terrifying, the golden vortex actually began to tear at the elder’s Shadow itself!

"What?!"

The elder’s Shadow finally changed expression.

"This is... an Ancient Supreme Treasure?!"

He tried to break free, only to find that his Shadow was being dragged bit by bit toward the cauldron’s mouth.

The black ribbons he had been controlling now turned into chains binding him in place.

"Junior! How dare you!"

The old man’s phantom roared in fury.

"If you destroy this Incarnation of my true body, one day my true body will come in person and grind your bones to dust!"

Gu Sheng sneered.

"Old bastard, you sure talk a lot of crap."

"Ah..."

With an unwilling roar, the old man’s phantom was completely sucked into the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron.

The nine Golden Dragons on the cauldron’s body lit up at the same time, sealing the mouth of the cauldron, and faintly, miserable screams could still be heard from within.

A few breaths later, heaven and earth returned to clarity.

Gu Sheng let out a long breath, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

He quickly formed a hand seal, and the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron turned into a streak of golden light and merged into his body.

This Supreme Treasure was his greatest trump card; every use consumed a vast amount of Spiritual Power. If it weren’t a life-and-death juncture, he would never use it lightly.

"Master... Master’s Incarnation was destroyed?"

A trembling voice came from afar.

Gu Sheng turned his head and saw over a dozen Sect Realm Martial Artists standing there in a daze, their faces full of disbelief.

The Man in Green Robe at the front was even more ashen as death, the Longsword in his hand dropping to the ground with a clatter.

A cold light flashed in Gu Sheng’s eyes.

These people had shown no mercy when besieging him just now; now was the best time to get rid of them.

"Everyone, it’s time to hit the road."

He said softly.

A flash of light flickered in his left hand, and the ground suddenly trembled violently.

"What is that?!"

The Man in Green Robe cried out in shock.

"Puff, puff, puff..."

Dozens of pitch-black vine tendrils burst out of the earth, each as thick as an adult’s arm, their surfaces covered in sharp barbs.

These vines moved like living things, instantly twining around the bodies of those Sect Realm Martial Artists.

"It’s the Heavenly Demon Vine! Run!"

Someone recognized this infamous Demon Plant.

But it was already too late.

"Hoo..."

Gu Sheng exhaled a long breath, sitting cross-legged atop the desolate mountain.

The Heavenly Demon Vine’s tendrils squirmed around him like living things, forming an impenetrable defensive net.

"That was really a narrow escape."

Gu Sheng lowered his head to look at his palm; the imprint of the Nine Dragon Universe Cauldron in his palm was faintly visible.

"If that Treasure Cauldron hadn’t suddenly erupted in power, I’m afraid..."

Thinking back to the terrifying pressure when the old man’s phantom had appeared, Gu Sheng still felt lingering fear.

A Venerable Realm existence— even just an Incarnation— was enough to turn a Heavenly Martial Realm Cultivator like him to dust.

"However, this Treasure Cauldron seems to have a special suppressive effect on Martial Artists’ Incarnations."

There was a glint in Gu Sheng’s eyes as he tried to send his spiritual power into the cauldron.

"Buzz..."

A powerful repulsive force instantly bounced his spiritual power back, making his Sea of Consciousness throb with stabbing pain.

"Tsk..."

Gu Sheng drew in a sharp breath, but did not give up.

"Again!"

Once, twice, three times...

Every attempt ended in failure, but Gu Sheng keenly discovered that his spiritual power was becoming more solid at a speed visible to the naked eye with each repeated impact.

"Interesting."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Gu Sheng’s mouth.

"Although I can’t probe what’s inside the cauldron, this is actually a pretty good way to temper my spiritual power."

He took out two Storage Rings, which he had retrieved from those dried corpses.

With a sweep of his spiritual power, all the items inside were laid bare before his eyes.

"As expected, they’re from Great Wilderness City."

Gu Sheng let out a cold laugh.

"Looks like that old bastard is dead set on putting me to death."

Besides the usual Spirit Stones and Elixir Pills, there were also several Jade Scrolls recording Tracking Secret Techniques in the Storage Rings.

Without any hesitation, Gu Sheng crushed them, turning them into powder that scattered with the wind.

"Heavenly Demon Vine, keep watch around us."

At Gu Sheng’s mental command, the Heavenly Demon Vine rooted in the surroundings immediately stretched out more tendrils, sealing off a radius of ten miles so tightly not even wind could slip through.

After confirming it was safe, Gu Sheng took out two items from his own Storage Ring... an Elixir Pill that flowed with golden radiance and a crystalline, translucent Glazed Heart.

"Eighth Grade Golden Body Pill, Glazed Heart..."

A burning heat flashed in Gu Sheng’s eyes.

"Tantai Bingtang and Bai Yu are quite generous."

He summoned an ancient-looking Pill Furnace.

The Pill Furnace was pitch-black all over, its surface carved with complex patterns; it was the very one he usually used for Alchemy.