Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World Chapter 1243 - 645: Forgot the Situation (Part 2)

Ling Xiao swiftly moved forward, his fingers probing Gu Sheng's pulse. A sigh of relief escaped his lips.

"He's still breathing."

Just then, Long Yi arrived nearby. His eyes warily swept the surroundings before settling on Ling Xiao.

"Who are you? What is your connection to this Gu Sheng?"

Ling Xiao offered a nonchalant smile, spreading his hands.

"Just passing through. I have no ties to this individual."

Long Yi's gaze fell upon Ling Xiao, who stood conveniently within the shadow of a Taotie Stone Pillar. Alarm bells rang in his heart.

In a treacherous place like Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge, the concept of 'just passing through' was practically nonexistent.

"No matter who you are, having witnessed that which you ought not, you must perish!"

Long Yi let out a cold sneer and raised his Spirit Sword. Although his Spiritual Power was depleted, it was more than sufficient to deal with a cultivator merely at the Nascent Soul Stage.

Ling Xiao let out a soft sigh.

"Must it truly come to this..."

Before his words fully escaped, he abruptly turned and fled, vanishing into the dense Stone Forest in a flash.

"Attempting to escape?"

Long Yi bellowed in anger, giving chase without a second thought.

"Today, all of you shall meet your end!"

The two figures rapidly moved away from the spot where Gu Sheng lay incapacitated, one in hot pursuit of the other.

The further Long Yi pursued, the more astonished he became. The speed of the individual ahead was comparable to his own at his peak, leaving him to question how this could possibly be the true strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator!

"Just who in the blazes are you?"

Long Yi shouted, simultaneously reaching into his pocket for a Communication Jade Scroll. He crushed it, sending a signal to his sect members for an encircling maneuver.

Ling Xiao offered no reply. Instead, he suddenly rounded a colossal stone pillar and disappeared from Long Yi's sight.

Long Yi gave chase, only to find a barren expanse ahead, with a single Taotie-patterned stone pillar standing silent guard.

"Playing tricks!"

Long Yi sneered, preparing to continue his pursuit. Suddenly, his body froze.

He slowly lowered his gaze, witnessing a pallid hand emerge from his chest, clenching a still-beating heart.

"You..."

Long Yi twisted his head with immense difficulty, catching sight of Ling Xiao standing behind him, having appeared at some unknown moment. Ling Xiao's expression was a peculiar mix of a smile and a frown.

What terrified Long Yi the most was the sight of Ling Xiao's eyes, which had turned completely black, devoid of any white, resembling two unfathomable black abysses.

"Thank you for the ring."

Ling Xiao whispered into Long Yi's ear before withdrawing his arm.

Long Yi collapsed to the ground with a resounding thud. His fading consciousness observed the pattern on the Taotie Stone Pillar begin to writhe, greedily siphoning the blood gushing from his chest...

...

"Why has Senior Brother Long not returned yet?"

Gong Xuefeng nervously wrung his hands, having waited for over an hour.

"Perhaps we should investigate?" suggested another cultivator.

After a brief deliberation, they resolved to search in the direction Long Yi had departed.

They had not ventured far when a piercing scream shattered the stillness, sending chills down everyone's spines.

"That's Senior Brother Long's voice!"

The expressions of the Luotian Sect cultivators shifted dramatically, and they rushed towards the origin of the sound.

As they pushed through the final cluster of the Stone Forest, the scene that greeted them was chilling, as if they had descended into an icy abyss—

Long Yi's lifeless body lay sprawled on its back, a gaping, bowl-sized hole marring his chest, his heart conspicuously absent.

Even more unsettling, the pattern on the nearby Taotie Stone Pillar pulsed with an eerie crimson luminescence, suggesting it had just feasted.

"It's... it's the Taotie Beast Soul!"

Gong Xuefeng's voice trembled.

"Senior Brother Long was devoured for his soul!"

Every single one of them took several steps back in unison, a primal fear gripping them that the pattern on the stone pillar might animate and descend upon them.

"Quick, let's get out of here!"

Someone yelled, and the Luotian Sect members scattered like startled prey, scrambling to escape the confines of the basin.

Unbeknownst to them, Long Yi's Void Ring had vanished without a trace.

...

"A flock of cowards."

Within the confines of a cave, Ling Xiao idly twirled an ancient-looking ring, a sardonic smile gracing his lips.

A dark luminescence flickered at his fingertips, effortlessly dismantling the restriction Long Yi had placed upon it. He delved into the ring's spatial storage with his Divine Sense.

"Quite the haul."

He flipped his palm, causing the Ancient Reincarnation Bell to materialize in his hand.

The intricate runes etched onto the bronze bell seemed to recognize Ling Xiao's aura, emitting a subtle radiance.

"So it truly was you..." Ling Xiao murmured softly.

The Ancient Reincarnation Bell landed with a heavy thud on the cave floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.

With a wave of his right hand, a spectral Qing Feng materialized from thin air, sweeping the accumulated dust out of the cave entrance.

He crouched, examining Gu Sheng’s pulse, his expression softening slightly.

"Fortunately, his life is quite resilient."

From his pocket, he produced a Jade Bottle and poured out a red Elixir Pill, the size of a dragon’s eye.

Golden runes adorned the surface of the pill, emitting a faint glow within the dim cave.

"Seven-turn Soul Pill, lucky for you, kid."

Ling Xiao gently pried open Gu Sheng’s mouth, placed the elixir pill inside, and then laid his right hand upon Gu Sheng’s chest. He channeled a pure stream of spiritual power to help refine the medicinal properties.

As the spiritual power flowed, Gu Sheng’s pale complexion gradually regained some color.

The deep, bone-reaching wounds began to heal at a visibly rapid pace, new flesh wriggling and knitting together.

"This recovery speed... it’s simply inhuman."

Ling Xiao expressed a touch of surprise and increased his spiritual power output.

Under the combined effect of the elixir pill and his spiritual power, the damaged meridians within Gu Sheng’s body started to mend, and his depleted Dantian slowly showed signs of circulating spiritual power once more.

A quarter of an hour later, Ling Xiao removed his hand and stood up, dabbing the fine sweat from his forehead.

"Finally managed to snatch back a life."

He murmured softly, then moved to the cave entrance. Sitting cross-legged, he vigilantly kept watch on the world outside.

...

After an indeterminate period, Gu Sheng’s fingers suddenly twitched.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling upon the rough stone ceiling of the cave.

His consciousness gradually returned, and the memories preceding his coma rushed back—Long Yi’s relentless pursuit, his desperate resistance with the Ancient Reincarnation Bell, and his final, all-out escape towards Ling Xiao...

"Awake?"

A familiar voice emanated from the cave entrance.

Gu Sheng turned his head with considerable effort, finding Ling Xiao seated at the entrance, his back to him.

"Where... is this?"

Gu Sheng’s voice was hoarse, his throat feeling as though it had been scorched.

Ling Xiao turned around and tossed a water pouch towards him.

"A mountain cave on the outskirts of Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge. You were unconscious for three days."

Gu Sheng accepted the water pouch and drank deeply, the cool liquid offering much-needed relief to his parched throat.

He attempted to sit up; while his muscles still ached, he found he could move with relative freedom.

"Where is Long Yi?"

Gu Sheng scanned the cave, but the enemy was nowhere in sight.

Ling Xiao’s lips curved into a slight smile.

"Dead."

Those two simple words caused Gu Sheng’s pupils to contract sharply.

He distinctly recalled Long Yi being an expert of the Tribulation Crossing Realm, while Ling Xiao appeared to be merely at the Nascent Soul Stage.

"Did you kill him?"

Gu Sheng inquired tentatively.

Ling Xiao offered no direct reply but instead tossed an object his way.

Gu Sheng caught it, realizing it was the Ancient Reincarnation Bell. Its bronze surface was still intricately carved with ancient runes, though its luster had dimmed somewhat.

"Returned to its owner."

Ling Xiao stated casually.

"I used you as bait to draw Long Yi’s attention, creating an opening for me to deliver a fatal blow."

Gu Sheng ran his fingers over the bell’s surface, sensing its familiar resonance, and felt a measure of relief settle within him.

He looked up at Ling Xiao.

"Thank you. But... how did you manage it?"

The gulf between the Tribulation Crossing Realm and the Nascent Soul Stage was immense; defeating someone of a higher realm was normally impossible.

Ling Xiao seemed mildly amused.

"Some truths are better left unknown."

He paused.

"All you need to know is that we are now even."

Gu Sheng, exercising wisdom, refrained from probing further.

He assessed his own condition, noting that while his external injuries had healed, his internal spiritual power had only recovered to less than thirty percent.

"I need to meditate for a while."

Gu Sheng sat down cross-legged and initiated the Taiqing Unity Skill.

Instantly, the spiritual energy of the natural world within the cave seemed to be drawn in, surging frantically towards Gu Sheng.

The density of the spiritual energy became so profound that it formed a faint mist encircling him.

"Stop!"

Ling Xiao’s voice suddenly boomed.

"Are you attempting to summon every ferocious beast from Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge?"

Gu Sheng suddenly grasped his error and swiftly halted his cultivation technique.

The vortex of spiritual energy gradually dissipated, though wisps of mist still lingered.

"Sorry, I forgot about the circumstances."

Gu Sheng offered an awkward smile and retrieved a crimson, blood-like crystal stone from within his robes.

The moment the crystal materialized, the temperature within the cave sharply increased.

It seemed as though liquid flames flowed within the crystal stone, emanating a potent energy fluctuation.

"Vermilion Bird Tear Stone?"

Ling Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"You certainly carry many valuable items."

Without offering an explanation, Gu Sheng simply cradled the crystal stone in his hand, commencing the slow absorption of its contained energy.

While this method of drawing power from the crystal was undeniably luxurious compared to the direct assimilation of natural spiritual energy, it offered superior concealment and safety.