Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 329: Chapter 185: Shadow Concealment Skill, Breakthrough!_2

After collecting the Bone Cleansing Flower and silver note, the steward recorded the information onto Gu Sheng’s Identity Token: ”Come back in two days to pick up the pill.”

After leaving Spirit Pill Peak, Gu Sheng returned to the Fire Bamboo Forest.

As the sky gradually darkened, he couldn’t help feeling curious: ”Hmm? At this hour, Yiming usually delivers food to me early on. Why hasn’t he shown up today? Could something have delayed him?”

Liu Yiming bringing food for Gu Sheng had become a habit. Not seeing him today left Gu Sheng feeling like something was missing. Fortunately, martial artists were far more resistant to hunger than ordinary people, so going without food for two or three days wouldn’t pose a problem.

Gu Sheng didn’t dwell on it and instead climbed onto his bed to practice the Shadow Concealment Skill.

As dawn broke on the horizon, the light around Gu Sheng’s body suddenly warped. Soon, his form gradually faded into the darkness, and after just a few breaths, he completely vanished!

Gu Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, his face alight with joy. He hurriedly opened his panel to check.

[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 (First-level Strong Body), Snake Breath Skill (First-level Snake Breath), Flying Thunder Leg (First-level Speed), Golden Body Skill (Perfect 30%), Wrathful Blood Three Forms (Perfect 44%), Helian Weapon Casting Skill (Small Success 75%), Blood Activation Skill (Small Success 85%), Shadow Concealment Skill (Small Success 1%)

...

”Finally reached Small Success!”

Gu Sheng’s delight was no longer concealed. Earlier, he had felt a sharp surge in his understanding of the skill’s essence. Now that he’d checked the panel, he confirmed that his Shadow Concealment Skill had indeed broken through to Small Success!

With Shadow Concealment Skill at Small Success, one could achieve complete visual invisibility. When paired with Snake Breath Skill, it would result in full camouflage!

”Looks like it’s time to find an opportunity to venture alone into the Red Cloud Mountain Range!”

The 300,000 silver notes that Lu Junyi loaned to Gu Sheng, originally intended for purchasing martial arts techniques, had now been allocated to refining Bone Cleansing Pills. Even though Gu Sheng only needed 60,000 for his share, the remaining money was evidently not sufficient to acquire a first-rate martial art.

Before, Gu Sheng had no other choice. Now, with options available, Gu Sheng naturally preferred to choose martial arts with higher potential limits.

Although his panel allowed him to unleash power beyond the original capabilities of martial arts techniques, the grind required an extensive amount of time. Gu Sheng now had to simultaneously cultivate martial arts, alchemy, and casting skills. Time was tight, and he couldn’t afford any waste. His current goal was to secure several first-rate martial arts techniques to replace the ones that were gradually falling behind in effectiveness.

Gu Sheng didn’t set out immediately; instead, he opted to continue practicing his Golden Body Skill. His plan was to wait until he obtained the Bone Cleansing Pill and broke through to the Silver Bone Realm before entering the Red Cloud Mountain Range. This way, he would have a better chance of survival, even in extreme situations.

By the afternoon, Gu Sheng started to feel hunger. He opened his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing slightly: ”Strange, why hasn’t he come today either? Did something happen?”

Usually, Liu Yiming would deliver food whether Gu Sheng was present or not. The fact that he’d been absent for two consecutive days now stirred a sense of doubt in Gu Sheng’s heart. He decided to take the initiative and visit Liu Yiming’s wooden cabin.

Gu Sheng knocked on the door for a long time but heard no response, so he pushed the door open and entered directly.

The wooden cabins of the labor disciples were small and furnished simply: just a bed and a wooden table. The inside of the cabin was tidy and showed no signs of anything unusual.

Seeing other labor disciples passing by outside, Gu Sheng quickly ran out to ask them: ”Have you seen Liu Yiming?”

Ever since Gu Sheng severely beat up Shi Lezhi, all the labor disciples recognized him. The two labor disciples, upon noticing it was Gu Sheng, immediately responded respectfully: ”Reporting to Senior Brother Gu, we haven’t seen Liu Yiming all day.”

Hearing this, Gu Sheng felt his heart tighten: ”He didn’t show up for his duties today?”

The two shook their heads: ”No. It’s strange—I’ve been here for a while now, and I’ve never seen Liu Yiming miss a day. With his cultivation, he only needs a few more months of work to be promoted to outer sect disciple. Missing work doesn’t make sense.”

The labor disciples had fixed daily tasks, and failing to complete them carried severe penalties. Based on what Gu Sheng knew about Liu Yiming, Liu Yiming would never skip his duties.

Though Liu Yiming was paid for helping him, Gu Sheng still valued the camaraderie they’d built over this time. Based on the current information, Gu Sheng strongly suspected that something must have happened to Liu Yiming.

Seeing Gu Sheng deep in thought, his expression changing constantly, the two labor disciples didn’t dare linger and quietly left.

Since Gu Sheng currently had no leads, he decided to solve his hunger first and headed toward Holy Pill City.

After eating a simple meal, Gu Sheng bought a large amount of dry rations to prepare for the coming days of cultivation.

Two days later, the day to retrieve the Bone Cleansing Pills arrived. Gu Sheng tidied himself briefly and first went to the Fire Bamboo Forest.

By this time, the labor disciples had already started their work for the day, but even after searching the area, Gu Sheng still couldn’t find Liu Yiming. Upon asking around, he learned that Liu Yiming had been missing for three days.

As Gu Sheng frowned and prepared to leave, he heard a cheerful whistling sound. Looking up, he saw Shi Lezhi strolling over with a casual air, here to inspect the work.

Shi Lezhi was unaware that Gu Sheng had already been promoted to outer sect disciple. However, he refrained from bothering Gu Sheng and chose to simply ignore him altogether.

When Shi Lezhi approached, the labor disciples who had been chatting with Gu Sheng hurriedly pretended to focus on their tasks.

Shi Lezhi made a show of inspecting the work, collected his money, and prepared to leave, treating Gu Sheng as if he didn’t exist throughout the entire process.

But Gu Sheng stepped forward and blocked Shi Lezhi’s path.

”What do you want? I haven’t caused you any trouble! Let me warn you—I’m part of the sect management. If you hit me for no reason, I’ll call the enforcement team to arrest you! Even if you know Lin Miaomiao, it won’t save you!”

Shi Lezhi was startled by Gu Sheng and quickly retreated a few steps to widen the distance.

Gu Sheng’s expression was serious, his brows furrowed as he declared coldly, ”Liu Yiming is missing.”

Shi Lezhi’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, but he quickly composed himself. He was certain that no one had witnessed anything that day!

Shi Lezhi sneered: ”Missing? So what? Why make a fuss.”

”You, as the labor disciple’s supervisor, shouldn’t you be looking for him?”

Faced with Gu Sheng’s question, Shi Lezhi mocked him with a sneer: ”Runaway labor disciples aren’t uncommon. Why should I bother looking for some insignificant labor disciple?”

Labor disciples were seen as little more than free labor in the sect. Losing one or two made no real difference.

Gu Sheng wasn’t satisfied with the answer but knew he had no grounds to press further. Based on what he knew of Liu Yiming, he was sure Liu Yiming wasn’t the type to bail on his duties!

Liu Yiming had been working in the Fire Bamboo Forest for a long time, and he was just about to become an official disciple. Running away at this point made no sense. Gu Sheng suspected a hidden story behind this, but without further clues, he could only glare at Shi Lezhi before leaving.

Gu Sheng arrived at Spirit Pill Peak’s Merit Hall and handed his token to the steward on duty: ”Hello, I’m here to retrieve my pill.”

The steward accepted Gu Sheng’s token, checked the recorded information, and quickly retrieved a custom jade box from the counter behind him.

”You’re in luck; Elder Huang really outdid himself this time. Seven pills came out perfectly! You’ve hit the jackpot!” The steward’s eyes sparkled with envy.

Gu Sheng opened the jade box, revealing seven black pills the size of dragon eyes neatly arranged inside.

A unique medicinal fragrance emanated from the pills, and as the scent entered his nose, Gu Sheng instantly felt his energy start circulating on its own, tempering his bones.

”Just smelling them has this effect? What happens when you eat one? Truly worthy of being graded pills!”

Gu Sheng marveled inwardly, quickly closed the jade box, and smiled brightly, feeling the money was well spent!

Low-grade Yellow Level pills on the market were priced at a minimum of 900,000 or higher! Some special pills could even fetch over 1.5 million!

The seven Bone Cleansing Pills, even at the lowest price, were worth 6.3 million!

Gu Sheng suddenly understood why so many disciples from the War God Peak of the Holy Pill Sect risked their lives venturing into the deeper regions of the Red Cloud Mountain Range to gather medicinal herbs. It was too profitable!

Bone Cleansing Herb itself was worth only tens of thousands, but once refined into pills, its price multiplied exponentially! Holy Pill Sect disciples had the advantage of cheaper refining services from elders compared to outside rates! This difference allowed them to make huge profits!