Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World-Chapter 270 - 156: Holy Pill Sect’s Senior Sister of the Outer Sect, Lin Miaomiao

Gu Sheng smirked, deftly loading the crossbow arrow, aiming, then shooting.

Gu Sheng’s movements were fluid, resembling those of a skilled crossbow sharpshooter. Unfortunately, his accuracy left much to be desired—he missed the Wind Thunder Bird entirely. He fired several more arrows, but none hit their mark.

Each arrow grazed the edges of the Wind Thunder Bird before flying off.

After four consecutive shots, the Wind Thunder Bird flew out of the Stone-breaking Crossbow’s range. Gu Sheng shrugged with an exasperated expression: "This thing is too slippery—I just can’t hit it!"

Watching the Wind Thunder Bird escape, Mu Qingyuan’s rage practically erupted like smoke from his head: "Useless! Can’t even handle something this simple!"

Gu Sheng couldn’t help rolling his eyes. "Boss, I’m just at the Blood Refining Realm. Hitting something once is like a blind cat bumping into a dead rat. And you actually expect me to take down the Wind Thunder Bird? If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it yourself?"

Mu Qingyuan was about to explode in anger and berate Gu Sheng when Mu Qinghe stepped forward and said: "Brother Yuan, this task might’ve been a bit much for him. Now that the Wind Thunder Bird has escaped, it won’t be long before the Holy Pill Sect’s people arrive. We should hurry to extract the Iron Thunder Wood and Thunder Fruits and get out of here! If they corner us, we’re done for!"

Mu Qingyuan heard this, glared at Gu Sheng angrily, then turned to Gu Sheng and the middle-aged man who’d survived and barked: "You two stand at the entrance and keep watch! Report any movement immediately!"

Gu Sheng exchanged a glance with the middle-aged man, then quietly retreated to the mouth of the canyon to stand guard.

At the canyon entrance, the middle-aged man eventually regained some composure. He cupped his hands towards Gu Sheng and said, "Young brother, thank you for saving my life earlier!"

Just moments earlier, he had almost entirely lost mobility. If Gu Sheng hadn’t dragged him away in time, he’d likely be dining with the ancestors by now.

Gu Sheng waved his hand and laughed, "It was just a minor effort, nothing worth mentioning."

Gu Sheng chatted idly with the middle-aged man, though the bulk of his attention remained focused on Mu Qingyuan and his group.

Mu Qingyuan and the other two approached the massive tree, then pulled out a dagger from their waists that appeared to be made of jade. Mu Qingyuan carefully inserted the dagger into the purple-black section of the trunk and began prying the entire piece out bit by bit.

This tree wasn’t entirely made of Iron Thunder Wood; only the section eroded by lightning, now turned purple and black, contained the valuable material for Artifact Refining.

The chunk of Iron Thunder Wood wasn’t small—it measured roughly forty centimeters square after being extracted.

Once the Iron Thunder Wood was fully excavated, its entire appearance was revealed. This piece of Iron Thunder Wood had three faint golden stripes running across it.

"Three-streak Iron Thunder Wood! No wonder the Holy Pill Sect’s folks were nurturing it here—they must’ve aimed to use it to cultivate Thunder Orbs!"

Mu Qingwen and Mu Qinghe’s faces lit up with excitement as they spotted the golden streaks on the Iron Thunder Wood.

"Brother Yuan! We’ve hit the jackpot this time. If we bring back this three-streak Iron Thunder Wood along with the Thunder Fruits, the clan will definitely reward us handsomely. We might even use this opportunity to break through to the Silver Bone Realm!"

Even Mu Qingyuan couldn’t entirely hide his excitement. However, he didn’t get carried away. After a brief celebratory moment, he quickly ordered, "Don’t get too excited yet! Hurry up and take out the jade box. Pack it up along with the Thunder Fruits—let’s get out of here!"

Mu Qingwen swiftly retrieved a specially-made jade box and placed the Iron Thunder Wood inside. Mu Qingyuan then brought out a pair of jade-white gloves and approached the Thunder Fruits.

"Tsk, tsk! These four Thunder Fruits can easily be refined into over a dozen Thunder Body-tempering Pills. If the three of us each get one, achieving Silver Bone Realm is practically guaranteed!"

Suppressing his inner thrill, Mu Qingyuan carefully picked all four Thunder Fruits and gently placed them into the jade box.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

Suddenly, a cry rang out from the sky. This time, the Wind Thunder Bird’s call sounded quirky and proud—it clearly carried the vibe of someone who’d gone to summon reinforcements to settle the score.

Gu Sheng looked outside the canyon, faintly glimpsing shadows of figures moving rapidly through the dense forest towards them.

Realizing the danger, Gu Sheng dashed towards Mu Qingyuan and warned, "Boss, seems like people are heading our way from outside!"

Upon hearing the Wind Thunder Bird’s cry, Mu Qingyuan immediately knew the Holy Pill Sect had arrived.

"Put your masks on—retreat!"

The three of them each pulled out a mask, secured it over their faces, then retrieved mountain-climbing hooks from their waists and attached them to the Stone-breaking Crossbows.

"Bang!"

The three fired their crossbows, launching the climbing hooks towards the top of the cliff. The hooks were connected to long ropes of sturdy hemp. Once the hooks secured themselves, the trio grabbed the ropes and began scaling the cliff.

Mu Qingyuan’s group climbed with speed and precision, clearly experienced at this type of operation.

Noticing the worsening situation, Gu Sheng frantically grabbed a rope and tried to climb. Seeing this, Mu Qingyuan immediately pulled out a small knife and sliced through the rope beneath him.

The rope snapped, sending Gu Sheng, who’d barely climbed a few steps, tumbling to the ground.

Before Gu Sheng could get back up, Mu Qingyuan glared at him viciously and threatened, "If either of you dares expose our identities, your families and friends will pay the price—we’ll hunt them to the very end!"

With that, the three swiftly climbed to the mountain’s peak, severed the ropes completely, and fled without a trace.

The cliff was nearly vertical. Without tools, it was impossible for those of their cultivation level to ascend.

Gu Sheng cursed Mu Qingyuan’s entire lineage in his heart with elaborate venom.