Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World-Chapter 73: Harvest

Tick-tock, tick-tock—

Blood dripped continuously from the short blade. Gu Sheng gasped for air, though this wasn’t the first time he had killed—it was only the second time he had engaged in close combat.

The first time was in the forest, when he split Li Yan in half with a hatchet. This time, he had stabbed his pursuer straight through.

Now, the thin Martial Artist’s chest was a mangled mess. Gu Sheng had stabbed him over a dozen times, leaving a bowl-sized hole that was gushing blood.

But this time...

Gu Sheng felt he had adapted much better. A few deep breaths were all it took to completely stabilize his emotions. His gaze gradually became calm.

He squatted down and pulled off the thin Martial Artist’s veil, revealing a long face beneath it that startled Gu Sheng.

"He’s from the Black Sand Gang..."

Gu Sheng hadn’t interacted with this man directly before, but he remembered seeing him standing behind Han Lu on the day the Black Sand Gang came to collect the annual tribute. That moment had stuck in his memory, even after so much time.

"An Iron-Skin Martial Artist, and adept at lightweight movement techniques. Within the Black Sand Gang, he’s probably considered a minor leader, right?"

A flicker of anticipation lit up in Gu Sheng’s eyes.

He began meticulously searching the man’s body.

A moment later.

"As expected... nothing worth getting excited over after all..."

Gu Sheng looked at the scattered pile of items before him, disappointment visible in his eyes.

He had hoped to find the lightweight Martial Arts technique on this man’s body; the movement technique had amazed him not long ago. Even over a short distance, it narrowly evaded an arrow aimed straight for the heart.

If it had been an ordinary Martial Artist, under Gu Sheng’s strategic setup to lure the snake out of its hole, they would’ve already been finished with a single arrow. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

What a pity.

Reality wasn’t a video game. Killing an enemy and finding rare techniques as loot happened, but not often.

No one would go to the black market with a Martial Arts manual on them—unless they wanted to do charity work for their enemies.

Occasionally, some Martial Artists carried manuals to study or jot down insights, but most would memorize them completely and then burn the originals.

"Martial Arts manuals are incredibly difficult to come by. When I looked in the black market before, nine out of ten were fake, or outrageously expensive. There was only the Shapeshifting technique that was barely worth considering..."

Gu Sheng sighed and redirected his focus to the scattered pile of items before him.

"At least it’s not entirely fruitless."

To start, there were eleven portions of Body Refining Ointment. This man had probably bought them fresh from Master Ge’s representative’s stall, and they all conveniently fell into Gu Sheng’s hands.

Adding in what Gu Sheng had purchased himself, he now had twenty-two portions—a supply that would last him for a very long time to recover from consumption.

Next, there was a pile of bottles and jars and a few willow-leaf throwing darts.

Two bottles were recognizable to Gu Sheng.

One was a poison called Green Frost, more potent than Black Blood Powder. This must have been the toxin coated on those willow-leaf darts.

The other was Corpse Dissolving Water. As the name suggested, a small amount could completely dissolve a corpse.

These were items Gu Sheng had seen for sale on stalls in the black market before. He had been tempted at the time, but they were out of his budget. He hadn’t expected them to be delivered into his hands by someone else.

As for the rest...

Gu Sheng didn’t recognize them, but he decided to keep them for now. Perhaps he’d figure out what they were later, after seeing more in the future. He wasn’t in a rush to deal with them right away and planned to evaluate whether to sell or use them gradually.

Finally, there were a few silver coins and some large money pieces—adding up to about five or six taels of silver.

It wasn’t a lot, but it still made Gu Sheng’s nearly-depleted finances a bit fuller again.

This man’s total wealth certainly wasn’t limited to what he carried, but when venturing to the black market, no one would bring everything with them.

"If all of this were converted to silver, the total haul from this would probably be worth about thirty taels!"

Gu Sheng couldn’t help but marvel internally.

Last year, even with good luck hunting a Silver Fox, his entire accumulated fortune amounted to no more than this.

"It’s true: horses need nighttime grazing to grow fat, and people need windfalls to get rich. Ventures like this, where there’s no cost, no wonder so many want to do it."

"But, as they say, you can’t wade by the river without getting your feet wet. This man relied on the Iron-Skin Martial Artist realm and lightweight techniques to be both offensive and defensive. Even so, faced with my beyond-average archery, he still ended up dead!"

"I must never foster such thoughts, or someday I won’t even know how I died."

Gu Sheng suppressed the faint greed creeping into his heart.

No one could guarantee they’d forever be undefeated. To live long, one had to be cautious.

Unless one truly possessed overwhelming power and had absolute confidence, then fishing for treasure was something he wouldn’t mind doing.

Clearing his thoughts.

Gu Sheng put all the gains into his leather pouch, reclaiming his arrows and the toxin-coated willow-leaf darts as well. By now, the sky was beginning to brighten.

Gu Sheng didn’t hesitate.

He dripped a few drops of Corpse Dissolving Water onto the long-faced Martial Artist’s remains.

Sssss—

The Corpse Dissolving Water took effect quickly. Within moments, faint yellow smoke rose. A nauseatingly pungent odor filled the air as the corpse began to dissolve steadily and slowly.

"Buddy, at least you finally got some use out of that Corpse Dissolving Water you bought. Not a waste..."

Gu Sheng clicked his tongue and silently turned to leave.

In the black market, everyone concealed their identities. Nobody would know that it was Gu Sheng who had killed this Black Sand Gang Martial Artist.

He ran cautiously along the way. Passing by an abandoned well, he flung his blood-stained night coat into it.

The rest of his journey was untroubled.

Gu Sheng safely returned to the side yard of Gu’s Manor, silently climbed back into his room, and examined the hairs he left at the door and window. Everything was undisturbed, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief, his expression easing.

Since entering the black market, Gu Sheng’s nerves had been taut.

He couldn’t help it—being weak in strength meant he could only rely on vigilance to prolong his survival.

By now, daylight was growing bright.

Gu Sheng rested briefly. When he heard movement in the courtyard, he quickly woke up and opened his door.

Seeing Gu Renbing, Gu Sheng gave a sheepish smile:

"Good morning, Manager Gu."

Gu Renbing smiled and nodded:

"We should finish our purchases today and return to the manor tomorrow. If there’s anything urgent, take care of it now."

Gu Sheng also smiled and nodded.

...

Next.

Gu Sheng pretended as though nothing had happened. He avoided Gu Jingang—concerned that Martial Artists at the Blood Refining Realm might sense the lingering scent of blood on him, even though he had cleaned up thoroughly.

During the day, he returned to the marketplace from the day before and successfully sold the rest of his animal hides. Several wealthy families even approached him in advance to request future orders. Gu Sheng’s hides were well-preserved and easily stood out.

Gu Sheng felt delighted.

This way, he would have a stable channel to sell hides in the future, without the trouble of setting up stalls himself.

After finishing his sales, Gu Sheng visited the storyteller’s spot to listen for a while. Though most of the tales were repeats, occasionally there was some new information worth hearing. When time allowed, it didn’t hurt to gather knowledge.

What Gu Sheng truly wanted to hear were updates about the outside world, such as recent news about the Sect of Fire Worship or the Flying Thunder General. Unfortunately, those stories mostly came from roaming refugees, and now that the new emperor had ascended the throne and the situation had somewhat stabilized, there were no rumors of unrest.

Perhaps there were hidden currents beneath the surface, or perhaps the new emperor genuinely possessed the ability to restore order.

To be honest.

Gu Sheng hoped it was the latter, as it would allow him to live more peacefully and pursue Martial Arts without distraction.