Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World Chapter 1235 641: Strange Aura (Part 2)

Upon witnessing their desperate gazes, Gu Sheng's grip on his sword loosened slightly.

"You all..."

Before Gu Sheng could finish speaking, the cultivators collapsed onto their knees, desperately pleading for their lives.

"Spare us, senior!"

"We swear not to reveal a single word!"

"We beg for your mercy..."

A sigh escaped Gu Sheng.

"You may leave."

With a sweep of his sword, he severed all their bindings, and the cultivators fled the scene of carnage like startled animals.

Only the elder with white hair bowed deeply to Gu Sheng before departing.

"Thank you, friend, for saving my life; I shall never forget this kindness."

Gu Sheng merely waved his hand, offering no further words.

In another area, common folk were already busy freeing the bound girls.

Most of them appeared stunned, visibly shaken by the ordeal.

Those who found their loved ones alive embraced them, tears streaming, while others, whose families had perished, sat in a daze, their eyes vacant.

Gu Sheng's chest felt heavy as he observed this scene.

He then turned towards the deceased Qingsheng City Lord and removed the void ring from his hand.

He also collected the storage bags from Nie Shan and several other Earth Palace Realm experts.

"Where is Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge?"

Gu Sheng stopped a departing cultivator, inquiring about the location.

The cultivator trembled in fear and quickly gestured towards the northwest.

"Go... go about three hundred miles in that direction, and you'll find a black mountain range..."

Gu Sheng gave a slight nod and moved on without further comment.

Casting one last glance at the devastated City Lord Mansion, he transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the northwestern sky.

Departing from Linyuan City, Gu Sheng did not pause for rest, flying continuously for a hundred miles before halting in a desert expanse.

As night approached, the desert's temperature plummeted, though this posed no obstacle for a cultivator.

A fierce wind whipped up the sand, creating shifting dunes that stretched across the vast landscape.

Gu Sheng, dressed in white, strode against the gale, yet not a single grain of dust settled upon him.

In his hand, he idly spun a jet-black spirit stone.

"What exactly is this item..."

The spirit stone, roughly the size of a clenched fist, bore densely packed, blood-colored patterns on its surface that seemed to writhe like living tendrils.

Remarkably, these crimson markings were actually exuding fresh blood, staining Gu Sheng's fingertips a deep red.

A palpable wave of malevolent Qi radiated from the spirit stone, and even with Gu Sheng's cultivation, prolonged contact induced a disquieting sensation.

"Why would the Qingsheng City Lord hoard such an unholy artifact?"

Gu Sheng pondered aloud.

"And keep it so hidden..."

He recalled that upon breaking the seal on the void ring, this spirit stone was found separately within a sealed black box, indicating the Qingsheng City Lord's profound attachment to it.

Even more peculiar, as Gu Sheng touched the spirit stone, he caught a faint echo of countless ghostly wails, hinting at a mysterious connection between this stone and Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge.

"Perhaps I will find answers once I reach Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge."

Gu Sheng deposited the spirit stone into his own void ring, discarding the Qingsheng City Lord's ring with nonchalance.

The discarded ring vanished into the yellow sand, swiftly swallowed by the desert.

According to the information gleaned from the cultivators, Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge lay approximately three hundred miles to the northwest.

At Gu Sheng's current speed, he could expect to arrive in under three days.

He gazed skyward, where the setting sun bathed the desert in a blood-red hue, mirroring the color of the spirit stone.

"I must make haste."

Gu Sheng murmured softly.

"The people from the Qinghe Holy Land must have located me by now."

Just as Gu Sheng had anticipated, Qingsheng City was in turmoil at that very moment.

Numerous beams of light descended from the heavens, landing upon the ruins of the City Lord Mansion.

Leading the contingent was an elder with white hair, adorned in the distinctive robes of the Qinghe Holy Land. Seven golden stars were embroidered on his chest, signifying his status as a seven-star elder.

"Search!" the elder commanded, raising his hand.

"Within a hundred-mile radius, do not overlook a single clue!"

Dozens of Qinghe Holy Land disciples immediately fanned out.

After half a day, not the slightest trace of Gu Sheng could be found.

"Curious..." the white-haired elder's brow furrowed deeply.

"The disciples reported sensing Gu Sheng's aura here; why has it vanished completely?"

One disciple cautiously ventured.

"Elder, could it be that Gu Sheng employed a secret technique to conceal his aura?"

"Impossible!" the white-haired elder retorted with absolute certainty.

"Unless a figure at the Holy Master level intervened, no one can entirely obliterate their aura. Continue the search!"

Meanwhile, in a secluded valley situated over two hundred miles from Qingsheng City, Gu Sheng sat in meditation atop a massive boulder, regulating his internal Qi.

The jade pendant resting on his chest emanated a faint luminescence, projecting an invisible barrier that effectively masked his aura from any external detection.

"The 'Hidden Sky Jade' bestowed by the Great Elder is truly remarkable."

Gu Sheng's eyes fluttered open, his fingers lightly brushing against the jade pendant. "Even a Seven-star Elder from the Qinghe Holy Land was unable to detect me." This jade artifact had been a parting gift from the Great Elder, whispered to possess the ability to mask the wearer's aura, rendering them invisible to detection. Now, it appeared its efficacy surpassed even the most generous rumors.

With a rise from his resting place, Gu Sheng resumed his journey. He consciously chose to skirt the main thoroughfares, opting instead for desolate and untrodden wilderness. Throughout his travels, he could sense potent divine senses occasionally probing the skies, yet none registered his presence.

The following evening, Gu Sheng abruptly halted his progress. A subtle shift in the atmosphere registered with his keen senses. The wind, previously arid and searing, now carried a discernible chill. "It's Yin Qi..." A flicker of excitement ignited within Gu Sheng. "The Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge cannot be far." As he pressed onward, the concentration of Yin Qi intensified.

By the dawn of the third day, the landscape had undergone a dramatic transformation. The ubiquitous yellow sand gradually gave way to coarse, gray-black gravel, the sparse vegetation dwindling until it vanished entirely. The heavens themselves seemed to dim, as if an unseen veil muted the sun's rays, rendering them feeble and ineffective. Ascending a sand dune, Gu Sheng gasped at the vista unfolding before him.

An endless panorama of barren ridges stretched into the distance, the mountains a stark, unnatural gray-black, their jagged peaks resembling skeletal claws. The entire range was enveloped in a murky haze, utterly devoid of any semblance of life. More disturbingly, the contorted formations of the towering rocks seemed, from afar, like agonizing figures trapped in their final moments.

"So this is the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge..." Gu Sheng breathed out the words, a mix of awe and dread in his voice. "The site where the Ancient Divine Spirit met its end..." Ancient legends told of a cataclysmic battle in bygone eras between a mighty divine spirit and its nemesis, a conflict that ended in mutual destruction. The lingering, malevolent will of the divine spirit, it was said, fused with the very earth, creating this blighted zone. Any living entity that dared to trespass would be consumed by the surrounding lifelessness, reduced to mere bone.

Gu Sheng cautiously approached the foothills, a bone-chilling cold seeping into him. The wind here whispered with faint, mournful cries, as if legions of tormented souls were murmuring secrets directly into his ears. "Such potent malevolence..." Gu Sheng channeled his spiritual power, erecting a defense against the corrosive aura of the dead land. "No wonder ordinary cultivators shun this place."

Just as he was preparing to seek a passage into the mountains, his ears twitched. In a flash, he concealed himself behind a substantial boulder. Moments later, the distant sound of footsteps and voices grew progressively louder. "Senior Sister, must we truly venture into the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge? They say few who enter ever emerge alive..." "Silence! The Holy Master's decree demands we locate that traitor, Gu Sheng. Reports indicated he was headed this way; he might be hiding within this very ridge."

Gu Sheng's pupils contracted – disciples of the Qinghe Holy Land! Six figures cloaked in azure materialized from the swirling gray mist. All were formidable cultivators of the Heavenly Palace Realm, and not merely average practitioners; their auras suggested they were at least in the mid-stage of the Heavenly Palace Realm, with their leader possibly at the peak.

"Halt!" The leading individual, possessing sword-like eyebrows and eyes like shooting stars, sported a Green Jade Token bearing the inscription "Qinghe" on his waist. His gaze, sharp as a newly forged blade, swept over Gu Sheng. "Who are you? What is your business here?"

Gu Sheng, his face concealed by a bronze mask, revealed only a pair of placid eyes. He had already employed a secret technique to disguise his voice, replying in a rough, altered tone. "I am Qing Feng, a wandering cultivator, merely passing through."

"Qing Feng?" The man casually probed Gu Sheng with his divine sense, his demeanor dismissive. "Remove your mask." Gu Sheng remained motionless. "Fellow Daoist, your actions are beyond what is proper."

"Insolent cur!" A female disciple standing nearby berated him sharply. "We, the disciples of Qinghe Holy Land, have the right to question whomever we deem fit!" The Qinghe Holy Land! Gu Sheng's heart clenched; they were indeed from the Holy Land. He intentionally hunched his shoulders, his voice laced with feigned apprehension. "Ah, it is the esteemed disciples of the Holy Land. My apologies." The man scrutinized Gu Sheng for a prolonged moment before speaking again. "Your aura feels peculiar, not at all like that of a common wandering cultivator." Gu Sheng felt a knot of tension tighten within him, yet his tone remained steady.