Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World Chapter 1255 - 651: No Escape

Gu Shengsheng firmly declined.

"Just listen to my plan!"

Ling Xiao implored.

"They are after me. I will lure some of the pursuers to the east, and you should head west..."

A flash of blood-red sword light sliced towards them, forcing the pair to separate in a hurry.

Quan Yangping blocked their path with a sinister grin.

"Attempting to flee?"

Gong Xuefeng caught up from behind, fixing his cold gaze upon Gu Shengsheng.

"Do you believe that by relying on that broken bell you can..."

"Clang!"

Gu Shengsheng struck the Reincarnation Bell once more, but Gong Xuefeng, now prepared, summoned a Bone Shield, nullifying the majority of the sound waves.

"Pfft!"

Gu Shengsheng coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, having forced the Reincarnation Bell's backlash, which sent agonizing pain through his meridians.

"Hahaha!"

Gong Xuefeng let out a triumphant laugh.

"You dare to put on a show at the very end of your strength?"

Witnessing this, Ling Xiao abruptly hurled three talismans at Gong Xuefeng.

"Gu, be careful!"

The talismans detonated, erupting into a fiery downpour. Gong Xuefeng was momentarily stalled, and Ling Xiao seized this instant to dash off to the east.

"Pursue him! Do not let him get away!"

Quan Yangping moved to give chase but was halted by Gong Xuefeng.

"Idiot!"

Gong Xuefeng sneered coldly.

"Wasting your Qi on some insignificant nobody? The true prize is right here!"

His gaze fell menacingly on Gu Shengsheng.

"How does it feel to be abandoned by your companion?"

Gu Shengsheng remained silent, merely wiping the blood from his lips, his eyes growing ever colder.

"Tsk, tsk, so this is the kind of person you are, Gu Shengsheng?"

Gong Xuefeng continued his taunts.

"Sacrificing your brother just to save your own skin?"

Far in the distance, Ling Xiao, having already put considerable distance between himself and his pursuers, slowed his pace upon hearing the words.

Although logic dictated this was the wisest course, his heart felt as though it had been impaled.

"Never mind..." Ling Xiao offered a bitter smile.

"Consider it repayment for a past kindness..."

Just as he prepared to accelerate and depart, a ground-shattering explosion suddenly roared from behind him!

"Gu Shengsheng, you cannot escape!"

Gong Xuefeng’s voice reverberated through the depths of Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge, laced with absolute certainty of his victory.

Gu Shengsheng leaned against a strange, pitch-black stone, his chest heaving erratically.

A gaping wound on his right arm bled profusely, saturating his robes in a dark crimson hue.

Jagged, étrange stones formed a chaotic ring around him, emanating a suffocating pressure, yet to Gu Shengsheng in this moment, they offered the only semblance of refuge.

"Gong Xuefeng, do you not fear heavenly retribution for scheming against me?"

Gu Shengsheng scanned his surroundings, desperately searching for an opening to break free.

Gong Xuefeng’s laughter boomed upon hearing this.

"Heavenly retribution? Within this Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge, strength dictates all! Gu Shengsheng, surrender the 'Mystic Sky Technique', and I shall grant you a swift demise."

Gu Shengsheng's heart plummeted.

The 'Mystic Sky Technique' was an outright fabrication by Gong Xuefeng, a ruse designed to incite everyone to hunt him down; no such technique actually existed.

His peripheral vision caught sight of Ling Xiao, held captive by two cultivators. Though pale, Ling Xiao subtly shook his head, signaling him not to be concerned.

"Do you truly believe I would fall for your lies?"

Gu Shengsheng sneered and lunged directly towards a chasm filled with sharp, pointed stones.

This maneuver stunned the onlookers.

"Is he out of his mind?"

Quan Pingyang's eyes widened in disbelief.

"The sheer pressure from those stones makes it agonizing even for those in the Nascent Soul stage to endure!"

Gong Xuefeng smirked.

"Who cares what desperate gambit he's attempting, pursue him! Do not let him slip away!"

Gu Shengsheng moved with blinding speed, placing each foot with exquisite precision into the narrow gaps between the stones.

This was not a reckless flight but a deliberately chosen path.

The intense pressure emanating from the stones was formidable, but for an individual practicing a specific cultivation technique, it could paradoxically serve as a protective barrier.

"Ling Xiao, once I've created enough distance, flee west without delay!"

Gu Shengsheng transmitted his thoughts silently.

Ling Xiao felt a jolt of surprise.

He had presumed Gu Shengsheng would use this opportunity to plunge deeper into the perils of Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge, where the legendary Supreme Treasure Sword lay hidden, potentially altering the course of their fate.

He had never imagined Gu Shengsheng would engineer an escape route for him!

"Gu! You mustn't!"

Ling Xiao protested urgently, but Gu Shengsheng cut him off.

"Save your breath! Remember this: a Transmission Array lies three hundred miles west of Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge. Activate it to escape!"

With his final words, Gu Shengsheng suddenly increased his pace, his form blurring into near invisibility.

Behind them, Gong Xuefeng and his companions found their progress severely hampered by the bizarre rock formations, their speed drastically reduced.

"Damn it! These rocks are peculiar!"

Cold sweat beaded on Quan Pingyang's forehead; each step forward felt like wading through thick mud.

Gong Xuefeng sported a rather sinister appearance.

"Hold back, allow him to descend further. We shall strike when he is at his most desperate!"

Deep within the chasm, the peculiar rocks grew more concentrated and menacing in their forms.

Gu Sheng could distinctly feel the Evil Qi emanating from these stones gnawing at his meridians.

"I must endure just a little longer..."

Gritting his teeth, Gu Sheng pressed onward into the depths.

An open expanse lay ahead, dominated by a colossal, blood-red rock at its core, radiating an oppressive, suffocating aura.

In that precise moment, the entire world fell into an unnerving silence.

A surge of alarm coursed through Gu Sheng's heart as he abruptly spun around.

He observed three figures suspended in mid-air, their imposing auras causing the surrounding rocks to tremble ever so slightly.

"Not good!"

Gu Sheng's pupils constricted sharply; the cultivation level of these three far surpassed his wildest estimations.

Upon witnessing this, Gong Xuefeng's face lit up with delight, and he quickly offered a respectful bow.

"Three venerated sirs, your humble junior Gong Xuefeng is honored to greet you!"

The foremost among them was a man clad in gray.

He cast a glance at Gong Xuefeng and inquired with an indifferent tone.

"Was it you who disseminated the news of the Exotic Treasure's appearance?"

"Indeed, senior, it was we."

Gong Xuefeng replied with utmost respect.

"This junior ascertained Gu Sheng's location and devised this stratagem to draw the venerated sirs here."

The gray-clad man's gaze intensified.

"Gu Sheng? Does he possess the 'Mystic Sky Technique'?"

"Absolutely, senior!"

Gong Xuefeng gestured towards the pit's interior. "He is currently positioned within!"

The one-armed man accompanying the gray-clad figure furrowed his brow and remarked.

"Elder brother, there's something peculiar about this pit..."

"Mere peculiar rocks, nothing of consequence."

The gray-clad man scoffed and drew a weathered, rusty Iron Saber from his back.

The blade appeared unremarkable, yet with a simple sweep, it produced a sharp, piercing hum.

Dozens of incisive Sword Qi assaults were unleashed towards the strange rocks within the pit.

"Boom!"

Where the Sword Qi struck, rocks capable of impeding a Nascent Soul cultivator were reduced to fragments.

Gu Sheng hastily retreated, yet a glancing blow from the residual energy grazed his shoulder.

"Is this the might of the Divinity Transformation Stage?"

Gu Sheng's mind reeled in horror.

He had erroneously believed the rocks would serve as a bulwark against his pursuers, but in the face of such absolute power, these defenses proved utterly fragile.

The gray-clad man delivered his second strike, this time with even more ferocious Sword Qi, nearly obliterating all the rocks in the pit.

As the rocks disintegrated, the previously dense Evil Qi rapidly dissipated.

"Gu Sheng, you cannot escape!"

The gray-clad man's voice resonated with icy coldness as he advanced, dragging his Iron Saber.

Realizing escape was impossible, Gu Sheng abruptly bit his own tongue, expelling a mouthful of Essence Blood, and swiftly began forming hand seals.

"Void Crossing!"

With a low shout, the space before Gu Sheng warped and rippled, his form beginning to blur.

"Attempting to flee?"

The gray-clad man let out a cold snort, unleashing his third strike. The Sword Qi tore directly through the void, yet the majority of Gu Sheng's figure had already vanished.

"Pursue him! He shall not stray far!"

The gray-clad man commanded, giving chase.

His two companions followed closely, as did Gong Xuefeng and his retinue, all eager to witness Gu Sheng's inevitable demise.

At the precipice of the pit, Ling Xiao finally broke free from his restraints.

He gazed in the direction Gu Sheng had disappeared, tears welling in his eyes, understanding that an impulsive action now would render Gu Sheng's sacrifice in vain.

"Gu, deep within the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge lies a Blood River. Once you reach it..."

Ling Xiao employed secret transmission, uncertain if Gu Sheng could receive his message.

He cast one final glance towards the direction the pursuers had gone before turning and sprinting westward.

With every stride, his heart felt as though it were being savagely twisted by a knife—he knew the chances of Gu Sheng's survival were exceedingly slim.

Having escaped the pit, Gu Sheng ran towards the deepest recesses of the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge.

Ling Xiao had imparted that safety would be assured once he managed to reach the Blood River.

"Blood River... I must reach the Blood River!"

Gu Sheng ceaselessly repeated these words, the sole conviction propelling him forward.

His legs were already numb, sustained only by sheer willpower.

The pressure pursuing him, vast as an abyss or an ocean, drew ever nearer; in the distance, countless beams of light converged towards his location.

"Gu Sheng, today you cannot escape even if you had wings!"

The voice of the gray-clad man pierced through the dense layers of the forest.

Gu Sheng paid no heed, his gaze locked onto a faintly discernible blood-red hue in the sky.

The spectral crimson light reflecting from beyond the great mountain stood out conspicuously within the gloomy expanse of the Ten Thousand Ghost Ridge.