Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 1515: Chapter 780: Far from Simple (2)

The scar-faced man trembled all over, and the Nine-Ring Great Saber instantly swung across his chest.

”What’s going on?!”

Chaotic footsteps echoed from the cave, and of the six who entered, only three scrambled out, rolling and crawling.

The forefront man known as Third was half-covered in blood, his lips quivering too much to speak.

”S-something is...”

Another martial artist collapsed to the ground, a wet patch spreading over his crotch.

”Old Zhang... suddenly just... disappeared...”

The young martial artist grabbed his collar.

”Rubbish! What thing could silently devour three Qi Sea Realm martial artists?”

Third finally caught his breath, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth.

”It’s not devoured... it’s dragged... those vines... they move...”

Before his words could settle, a martial artist standing on the edge suddenly froze.

He looked down at his chest, where somehow a piece of dark green vine tip had appeared.

”Save...”

He barely opened his mouth before his entire body was yanked underground by an invisible hand.

Amidst the surging soil, countless vines squirmed like giant pythons.

”Be alert!”

The scar-faced man roared, and the Nine-Ring Great Saber emitted a dazzling red light.

But the second victim had already emerged... a female martial artist’s ankle was caught by the vine, dragged into the nearby bushes in the blink of an eye.

The scream abruptly stopped, replaced by a chilling sucking sound.

”Back-to-back, form a circle!”

Cold sweat seeped from the scar-faced man’s forehead.

”Lighting Talismans! Use the Lighting Talismans quickly!”

A dozen talismans flared up simultaneously; the glaring white light illuminated within a hundred meters as if it were daylight.

Only then did they see the ground beneath them had somehow turned a dark green... not moss, but densely intertwined vines!

”Blood... Blood Demon Vine!”

An experienced old martial artist screamed in shock.

”It’s a thousand-year Blood Demon Vine! Run quickly!”

But it was too late.

Thousands of vine heads rose like venomous snakes, each end splitting open into suction cups lined with sharp teeth.

The three martial artists closest were entwined into cocoons before they could raise their weapons.

Through the semi-transparent vines, their bodies visibly shriveled at an astounding speed.

”Form up! Fire attack!”

The scar-faced man screamed hoarsely, cutting forth a scorching Sword Qi with his Nine-Ring Great Saber.

Three vines snapped upon impact, spraying foul-smelling purple-black liquid from their severed ends.

But more vines surged from the ground, endless in number.

The young martial artist was paralyzed by fear, his short sword swinging haphazardly.

”No... don’t come closer!”

A vine seized his wrist, its sharp teeth piercing his vein.

He watched as his arm became skin and bones within mere breaths.

”Save me... Scar Lord, save me...”

The young martial artist collapsed to his knees, with greed in his eyes replaced long ago by sheer terror.

Just as the scar-faced man was about to step forward, he suddenly stumbled... somehow, vines had already bound both his legs.

”Get off!”

With a loud roar, the scar-faced man exploded with dazzling red light.

The Nine-Ring Great Saber spun wildly, severing all nearby vines.

Yet in the moment he gasped for breath, a main vine as thick as an adult’s waist broke through the earth, its top opened, a suction cup so large it could swallow a cow.

”Run quickly! These vines are odd!”

As the scar-faced man shouted, everyone finally reacted, realizing the power of these vines far exceeded their imagination.

However, it was too late; the Heavenly Demon Vine had been activated thoroughly, thousands of ink-black vines attacking from all directions like awakening pythons.

”Ah...”

A martial artist of the Third Level Heavenly Martial Realm just summoned his Protective Gang Qi, but was simultaneously ensnared by three vines.

The Qi, strong enough to ward off blades and swords, shattered like paper before the vines.

Vine tips pierced his body, in a blink sucking him into a dried corpse.

”What... what kind of monster is this!”

The scar-faced man’s face turned pale, his long saber slashing madly, only to leave shallow marks on the vines.

Though the Heavenly Demon Vine was weak in intelligence, it instinctively knew these intruders were nourishing supplements.

Especially after absorbing the aura left by Gu Sheng, its ferocity was even greater than before.

The sound of vines breaking through the air was like the death chant of the Grim Reaper, playing a symphony of death in the night.

”Form the formation! Quickly form the formation!”

Someone shouted.

Seven or eight Martial Artists stood back to back in a circle, each deploying their strongest defense.

However, the number of vines was simply too many. One cut down, ten more immediately took its place.

In just a few breaths, screams sounded continuously, followed by a swift return to silence.

The scar-faced man watched in despair as he was surrounded by dozens of vines, finally understanding why Gu Sheng left so assuredly.

The terror of these vines far exceeded his understanding. Even a strong Sect Realm expert would likely struggle to escape unharmed.

”Gu Sheng... you...”

Before his consciousness dissipated, the scar-faced man saw his arm rapidly shrivel as the essence of his blood and flesh was greedily devoured by the vines.

Moments later, only mummified corpses remained on the ground, even the bones fragile beyond bearing.

After the Heavenly Demon Vines slaughtered all the Martial Artists, the vines slowly retracted underground, as if nothing had happened.

The night wind blew, carrying a few dead leaves, covering up this silent massacre.

Meanwhile, inside a cave ten miles away.

Gu Sheng sat cross-legged, surrounded by True Qi rushing like a river.

The Nine Dragon Heaven and Earth Technique operated to the extreme, nine dragon-shaped True Qi coursing through his meridians, solidifying with each completed circulation.

”It’s now!”

Gu Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, and the True Qi within him erupted with a roar.

A visible pillar of energy shot skyward, piercing through the cave ceiling and into the night sky.

”Rumble...”

The clouds in the sky were scattered by this aura, revealing a brilliant galaxy.

The spiritual energy within a hundred-mile radius frantically converged, forming a funnel-shaped vortex, continuously pouring into Gu Sheng’s body.

”Heavenly Martial Realm, break!”

Gu Sheng let out a long roar, his body slowly rising into the air.

He felt the surging power within, every inch of muscle and bone undergoing transformation.

True Qi liquefied, forming a small True Yuan lake in his Dantian.

However, Gu Sheng frowned slightly.

”Strange, this Spiritual Spring Water should have been enough to break through to the Third Level of the Heavenly Martial Realm, yet it stopped at the First Level?”

He examined himself inwardly and quickly found the reason.

The Nine Dragon Heaven and Earth Technique refined True Qi far beyond ordinary cultivation techniques. The same spiritual energy, after transformation through the technique, resulted in higher quality but lesser quantity.

”However...”

Gu Sheng clenched his fist with a satisfied smile.

”Although my realm is only the First Level of the Heavenly Martial Realm, the amount of my True Qi is comparable to that of a Fifth or Sixth Realm Martial Artist, and its quality far surpasses others of the same level.”

He gently threw a punch, the air bursting with sound, a deep fist seal appearing on the cave wall.

”Without relying on Origin Power, I can also battle against ordinary Sect Realm experts.”

Gu Sheng withdrew his aura, and the celestial phenomena gradually dissipated.

He quickly packed his belongings, and stored the Heavenly Demon Vine in his Storage Ring.

Just as he was about to leave, his expression suddenly tensed.

”Not good, the disturbance from the breakthrough was too great, surely someone has noticed.”

Without hesitation, Gu Sheng’s figure flickered as he dashed out of the cave.

In the night sky, he could sense several Divine Senses sweeping in this direction.

One of them was particularly powerful, at least at the late Sect Realm level.

”I must leave quickly.”

Gu Sheng, his True Qi circulating along a specific route in his body.

His figure suddenly blurred, and in the next moment, he appeared a hundred feet away.

”Ghost Shadow Escape!”

This was an escape technique Gu Sheng had learned in his previous life from a top expert, unmatched in speed within the same realm.

Though he could only utilize a fraction of its potential with his current cultivation, it was enough to shake off most pursuers.

Shortly after Gu Sheng left, three beams of tunneling light descended from the sky, landing in front of the cave.

”This is the place.”

The white-haired elder in the lead, his eyes flashing with brilliance.

He reached out into the air and caught the lingering aura.

”Such pure True Qi, the cultivation technique practiced by this person is anything but simple.”

Another middle-aged man checked the interior of the cave and said in a deep voice.

”The breakthrough was recent, they shouldn’t have gone far.”

The last was a young woman, holding a crystalline compass, the needle swaying violently before pointing eastward.