Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 295: Chapter 168 The Confused Wen Mingyan_2

Wen Mingyan saw the restriction on the pavilion rise once again and could only leave dejectedly.

Back at War God Peak, Qin Xue hurried forward to greet him. ”Did you find out? What happened?”

Wen Mingyan looked utterly defeated. ”The old man didn’t say anything, just mentioned that the kid was deliberately placed there by him. He also repeatedly emphasized that this boy was to develop normally and explicitly warned me not to give him any special treatment. If he finds out, he’ll punish me severely.”

Having managed War God Peak for so many years, Qin Xue had a meticulous mind and immediately noticed something. ”It seems this boy isn’t ordinary! Otherwise, with the Great Elder’s usual style, he would have already sent him up to Cloud Saint Peak for personal coaching.”

Wen Mingyan didn’t say much but went straight to the boulder and started pulling out all the swords embedded in it.

”Why are you taking out all the swords for no reason?”

Qin Xue knew these swords weren’t just for decoration. Wen Mingyan pondered Sword Dao at this spot daily, and some of these swords had been lodged in the boulder for over ten years. Him suddenly removing them puzzled her greatly.

After gathering the swords, Wen Mingyan stored them all inside the house and even deliberately activated the defensive restriction. ”When I went today, the old man was refining pills. I couldn’t help but break the restriction and disturbed him, causing his pill cauldron to explode. Judging by the residual energy, the pills must’ve been priceless. He didn’t bring it up when I left, but knowing his character, he’ll certainly hold me accountable for the loss. Five years ago, I broke one of his fruit trees, and he retaliated by stealing one of my swords. This time, I caused his cauldron to explode, so he might just take all my swords! I have to hide them quickly!”

Qin Xue, familiar with the dynamics between the two, could only smile helplessly and head down the mountain to her duties.

Fire Bamboo Forest

Since tasks could only be accepted every three days, Gu Sheng had no choice but to return to his residence.

By now, the sunset hung at the horizon, and the orange-red sunlight cast a unique glow on the dilapidated wooden huts where the menial disciples of Fire Bamboo Forest lived.

When Gu Sheng returned, Liu Yiming was busy inside. Upon seeing Gu Sheng, Liu Yiming looked delighted and gestured to the freshly repaired bed as if expecting praise. ”Senior Brother Gu, I’ve already fixed up your house, even replaced the bed. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I brought you a meal as well; you should eat while it’s still hot.”

Gu Sheng noticed a brand-new wooden table with a meal container on it.

The new table looked like it was crafted from leftover wood Liu Yiming used to repair the house.

Gu Sheng laughed, ”Where did you get these meals? Don’t tell me our Holy Pill Sect provides food services now.”

Liu Yiming chuckled. ”Senior Brother Gu, you’ve got a sense of humor. The sect doesn’t do that. About two or three miles outside our mountain gate is Holy Pill City, which is under the sect’s jurisdiction. The meals are purchased from there. Holy Pill City is bustling; if you have spare time, you can visit. We menial disciples don’t get cultivation resources, but if you have money, you can buy them from the shops in Holy Pill City.”

After finishing the tasks for Gu Sheng, Liu Yiming hurried off to begin his own evening cultivation, as menial disciples could only train during the night after working during the day.

The wooden huts for menial disciples were simple dwellings without restrictions, but Liu Yiming had thoughtfully fixed the door latch for Gu Sheng. Once inside, Gu Sheng took out the hallucination boar’s bristles from the chest.

The vivid colors on the bristles hadn’t faded even after all this time, and their poison appeared to remain intact.

The hallucination boar’s poison was particularly nasty—it caused dizziness at even the slightest contact. Moreover, the bristles themselves were durable. If crafted into arrows, their power would far surpass that of the current special bolts for the stone-breaking crossbow. Combined with the added paralyzing effect of the poison, they’d be perfect for ambushes!

Unfortunately, without forging equipment, Gu Sheng couldn’t craft the bristles into arrows right away.

The recent expedition to the Red Cloud Mountain Range had given Gu Sheng a greater sense of urgency. He initially believed that avoiding the more dangerous areas would make the journey relatively safe. After all, as fellow disciples of the Holy Pill Sect, conflicts over interests shouldn’t escalate to lethal outcomes with minor concessions. But the attack on Mo Buwen showed the need to be wary of disciples from rival sects like the Thousand Poison Sect.

After wrapping the bristles in cloth and storing them away, Gu Sheng sat cross-legged on the bed and began to review the day’s battles, replaying each detail in his mind and analyzing them carefully.

This introspection was a habit of Gu Sheng’s—he would reflect after each significant battle to identify areas for improvement so he could refine his techniques. This practice greatly accelerated his combat prowess.

In today’s battle, Gu Sheng faced four opponents, resulting in three deaths and one injury—an undeniably impressive achievement. He now had a clearer understanding of his current capabilities.

With his current strength, he was virtually unmatched in one-on-one combat within the Copper Bone Realm. In group fights, he could handle three to four enemies simultaneously if he unleashed all his techniques. Any more, and he’d have no choice but to retreat.

Today’s victory owed a great deal to the Blood Activation Skill. Without its final burst of power, Gu Sheng might have been overrun and dragged down by the three opponents.

Gu Sheng opened his personal panel.

[Name]: Gu Sheng

[Age]: 17

[Realm]: Bone Refining Realm (Copper Bone)

[Martial Arts]: Chopping Wood (First-level Tear), Archery (First-level Penetration), Iron Stone Fist (First-level Strength), Shapeshifting Technique (First-level Strong Body), Snake Breath Skill (First-level Stealth), Flying Thunder Leg (First-level Speed), Golden Body Skill (Perfect 30%), Furious Blood Trio (Perfect 44%), Helian Weapon Casting Skill (Small Success 69%), Blood Activation Skill (Small Success 85%), Shadow Concealment Skill (Entry-level 2%)

...

Gu Sheng hadn’t had the time lately to properly focus on cultivation, resulting in his martial arts progress stagnating.

After checking the panel, Gu Sheng quickly planned how to use his time.

Since the Helian Weapon Casting Skill required forging equipment, which was unavailable, he decided to set it aside for now. As for Chopping Wood, Archery, Iron Stone Fist, Shapeshifting Technique, Snake Breath Skill, and Flying Thunder Leg—those had reached the First-level special effect realm, their ultimate stage, making further training pointless. Currently, Gu Sheng could only continue cultivating Golden Body Skill, Furious Blood Trio, Blood Activation Skill, and Shadow Concealment Skill.

Among these, Golden Body Skill seemed promising in its interplay with Iron Stone Fist and Flying Thunder Leg, as the progress in the fusion of the three techniques had started accelerating. Gu Sheng had a hunch that when Golden Body Skill reached the special effect level, the complete fusion of the three martial arts would be achieved. He believed this union would yield incredible results!

Training in Golden Body Skill was imperative!

Aside from the Golden Body Skill, Gu Sheng also planned to train the Shadow Concealment Skill.

The Shadow Concealment Skill was exceptionally practical. Once trained to the Small Success realm, it would essentially grant invisibility to the naked eye. Combined with Snake Breath Skill, it was the ultimate choice for stealth and ambushes!

As for the Furious Blood Trio, Gu Sheng wasn’t in a rush. Fire Bamboo Forest was crowded with menial disciples, making overt cultivation inconvenient. He decided to postpone the Furious Blood Trio until he was promoted to an outer disciple, at which point he could find a more secluded location for training.

”Let’s start with Shadow Concealment Skill then!”

Following Qian Jin’s written cultivation methods and insights, Gu Sheng understood that the core principle of Shadow Concealment Skill was leveraging light refraction to achieve invisibility. The essence of this technique was to convert one’s energy through specialized training into a unique force called ”Mirror Force.”

This force would create a unique halo on the body’s surface, altering the refraction of light and rendering the body invisible.

Although Gu Sheng’s prior academic knowledge was limited, he had learned enough middle school physics to understand the concept. He realized that humans perceive objects primarily through light refraction, which the eye, a specialized optical organ, processes into images in the brain. The ”Mirror Force” of Shadow Concealment Skill worked like a mask to deceive human vision!

Of course, this was only the effect at the Small Success realm. If cultivated to Great Success, ”Mirror Force” could even obscure sensory perception, achieving true invisibility where one couldn’t be seen or felt. Its effect was extremely powerful!