Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World Chapter 1236 642: Cut the Crap

"I once stumbled into an ancient grotto, acquiring some unexpected blessings and absorbing a peculiar aura."

This explanation held water, as fortuitous encounters altering a cultivator's aura were not unheard of in the Cultivation World.

The man's expression eased slightly, yet his vigilant gaze remained firmly fixed.

"Have you encountered a young man in his early twenties, possessing a cultivation base at the Earth Palace Realm?"

"No, I have not."

Gu Sheng replied, shaking his head.

"In this desolate mountain range, it's rare to spot any other soul for days on end."

The man seemed inclined to press further, but a disciple beside him interjected with a whisper.

"Senior Brother, this person is not young, and his cultivation is merely at the Earth Palace Realm. He cannot possibly be that Gu Sheng. Let us not squander more time."

Gu Sheng's ears twitched almost imperceptibly.

They were indeed hunting for him! And their precise knowledge of his age and cultivation level indicated a leak; someone must have divulged the information.

The man contemplated for a moment before gesturing dismissively.

"Let's depart, the search must continue. That traitor is surely in this vicinity."

The group of six turned and moved away.

They did not venture far, instead dispersing to a distance of about a hundred feet, subtly forming a cordon.

"It appears they are still not entirely convinced..."

Gu Sheng mused inwardly.

The night breeze carried fragments of their conversation.

"Did that individual truly glimpse Gu Sheng?"

"Undoubtedly, he is the Holy Master's personal disciple, and his 'Heavenly Vision' ability never errs."

"Yet, we have scoured hundreds of miles and haven't even found a trace of that fugitive."

"Unless... he has ventured into the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge..."

Gu Sheng's heart lurched. A direct disciple of the Qinghe Saint Master? Since when had his location been compromised?

There was no time for further thought; the six individuals were already approaching him once more.

Delaying any longer would only escalate the peril.

Gu Sheng's gaze swept towards the ominously looming Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge nearby, and his body suddenly shot forward!

"Trying to flee?"

The man exclaimed sharply, and a streak of green light erupted from his sleeve.

Gu Sheng veered aside instantly, not daring to look back, and hurtled towards the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge. Behind him, several disdainful remarks echoed.

"He courts his own demise!"

"An Earth Palace Realm cultivator daring to trespass into the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge?"

"He's likely lost in a daydream of immense riches!"

Gu Sheng paid them no mind. After a few swift bounds, he reached the precipice of the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge.

A palpable wave of dense Yin Qi surged towards him.

Without a second's hesitation, he plunged into the swirling gray miasma.

"Senior Brother, shall we give chase?" the female disciple inquired.

The man gazed in the direction Gu Sheng had vanished, his expression unreadable.

"The Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge is fraught with extreme peril; even a figure of Master's stature would hesitate to venture deep within. This individual is hastening his own doom, no need for us to intervene. We shall maintain watch on the perimeter, and should he by some miracle emerge alive..."

"Then we shall ensure he dies once more!"

Another disciple added with a sneer.

The six separated, each taking up a vantage point, extending their Divine Senses to form an unseen net.

One of them produced a Jade Bottle and meticulously poured out a wisp of an aura.

It was the residual aura sample Gu Sheng had inadvertently left at the Holy Land previously!

"With the trace provided by the Holy Master guiding us, he cannot escape, not even to the ends of the earth!"

Unbeknownst to them, the Hidden Sky Jade adorning Gu Sheng's chest pulsed with a faint warmth, completely nullifying that tracking aura...

Deep within the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge, Gu Sheng advanced with an unsteady gait.

A crunching sound emanated from beneath his boots; a bleached bone lay half-submerged in the earth.

The surrounding fog was thick and gray, reducing visibility to less than ten feet. The skeletal branches of dead trees writhed as if desperate, ghostly arms reaching out.

A cold gust of yin wind swept through, causing countless indistinct human faces to materialize within the mist, emitting chilling wails.

Gu Sheng felt a prickling sensation on his scalp, swiftly activating the 'Clear Heart Technique' from the Mystic Sky Sacred Land to steady his mind.

"Such potent malevolence!"

He felt a surge of inner shock.

"An understandable reason for its designation as a Death Forbidden Zone."

Legend held that the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge was formed from the demise of an Ancient Divine Spirit, its lingering resentment suffusing the land and giving rise to myriad unnatural phenomena.

Over millennia, countless cultivators had sought treasures within its confines, only to ultimately join the ranks of the skeletal remains littering the ground.

Gu Sheng pressed onward with extreme caution, pausing to survey his surroundings every hundred paces.

He observed that while the outer regions were unsettling, they posed no genuine threat.

The spectral visages in the mist were mere phantoms born of lingering resentment, incapable of inflicting harm upon those with an unshakeable mental fortitude.

"The rumors appear to be accurate; the peril within the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge escalates with every step deeper we venture."

"If a legendary Supreme Treasure Sword truly exists, it must surely lie at the very heart of this place."

Gu Sheng produced the peculiar black stone, observing that the crimson threads etched upon its surface pulsed with an unusual vitality, as if drawn to some unseen force.

"There is... a definite resonance..."

A subtle narrowing of Gu Sheng's gaze.

"Could this very stone be the key to unlocking the path to the deeper zones?"

As these thoughts occupied his mind, a faint "rustling" sound drifted from a distance, reminiscent of something scuttling across dry, fallen leaves.

Gu Sheng swiftly concealed the black stone and turned his attention, sharp with caution, towards the origin of the noise.

Emerging from the spectral gray mist, a hunched form began to materialize...

Meanwhile, beyond the oppressive confines of the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge.

The six Disciples dispatched from the Qinghe Holy Land had maintained their vigil for an entire day, yet not a single trace of Gu Sheng could be detected.

"Most peculiar..."

The foremost disciple frowned, his brow creased in thought.

"Even if he met his demise within, some residual aura should surely remain detectable."

The female disciple offered a possibility.

"Perhaps he managed to egress through an alternative route?"

"Or could it be that he plunged directly into the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge?"

However, a significant number felt the place was far too perilous, deeming it highly improbable that Gu Sheng would willingly court such a certain death.

A decision was reached: a contingent would be sent to probe the depths of the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge, while the remaining disciples would extend their search perimeter.

Deep within the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge, an unnerving silence reigned.

Gu Sheng moved forward, his boots crunching upon a carpet of brittle bones.

The pervasive gray mist swirled around him, behaving like a sentient entity, keeping a measured distance as it flowed.

He had journeyed for what felt like half a day, and aside from a palpable increase in the ambient Yin Qi, no direct threat had presented itself.

"This is... unsettling..."

Gu Sheng halted his advance.

A Death Forbidden Zone, a place from which even cultivators of the Heavenly Palace Realm never returned, how could it possibly exhibit such profound tranquility?

This unnatural stillness was infinitely more unnerving than confronting a Ferocious Beast head-on.

The Hidden Sky Jade nestled against Gu Sheng's chest emanated a faint warmth.

He retrieved the enigmatic black stone once more, discovering that the blood-like threads adorning its surface were now demonstrably more agitated, almost vibrating as if eager to detach themselves from the stone itself.