Longevity: Starting as a menial servant in the Green Wood Sect

Chapter 96 Rotten Reef Black Market

Those clusters of dark red tentacles, like the withered arms of vengeful spirits from the deep sea, carrying a nauseating fishy smell and slippery slime, instantly wrapped around the hull of the Black Shark.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and the sturdy ironwood planks groaned under the crushing weight of these tentacles. The rotting sea monster's carcass seemed to have become a nutrient supply station for these "blood algae," and with the force of the tentacles, the entire carcass slammed into Gu An on the deck using its buoyancy.

"Hmph, you're asking for it."

Gu An stood on the swaying deck, his body as still as a nail. In his dead fish-like eyes, there was no panic, only a cold killing intent.

Perfect, I'll use you guys to test this newly developed technique.

He didn't draw his sword, nor did he move an inch. He simply slowly raised his scarred right hand, his five fingers spread wide, and a ball of dark blue spiritual light suddenly condensed in his palm.

The light was not dazzling; instead, it conveyed a sense of profound mystery and weight, like that of the deep sea.

"go."

Gu An gave a low shout and suddenly clenched his fingers downwards.

The dark blue spiritual energy did not transform into the usual wind blades or fireballs, but instantly disintegrated into countless fine raindrops, like an invisible net, covering the incoming tentacles.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!

The raindrops did not collide violently with the blood algae; instead, they simply seeped into it.

Then, something truly chilling happened.

Those dark red tentacles, which were originally as tough as iron and capable of breaking bones, now seemed to have had their spines removed, trembling and twisting violently. Their originally vibrant colors turned gray and withered at a visible speed, as if they had undergone a hundred years of weathering in an instant.

This is the domineering nature of the "Azure Sea Dragon Wood Manual".

Water nourishes wood, but it can also drown wood; wood can harbor poison, even more potent than poison.

The spiritual power that Gu An unleashed contained extremely yin water evil energy and corpse poison. For the Blood Fiend Algae, which is also a variant of the wood attribute, this was not nourishment, but the most deadly death warrant.

"break!"

Gu An clenched his fist suddenly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The clumps of withered blood algae instantly exploded, turning into black powder that drifted in the sea breeze.

Without the support of the Blood Fiend Algae, the enormous sea beast's corpse turned back into a pile of rotten flesh with a "whoosh."

It tumbled back into the sea with a splash, sending up a cloud of murky spray.

Gu An withdrew his hand, looking at the wisp of dark blue smoke slowly dissipating in his palm, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

Although his cultivation level has dropped, the quality of his mutated spiritual energy is indeed far superior to before. Even without using the broken sword, this method of using spiritual energy to neutralize poison makes it difficult for mid-stage Qi Refining demonic beasts to get close.

He ignored the body that had sunk to the bottom of the sea, and instead bent down to pick up a piece of blood algae root that was not completely crushed from the side of the ship.

Although this thing is ferocious, it is also a rare yin-attribute material. It would be quite good if used to refine some tiger and wolf medicines that stimulate potential.

"There are ferocious creatures like Bloodfiend Algae on the outskirts of this chaotic reef forest. It seems the road ahead won't be easy."

Gu An put the remaining root into his storage bag and turned his gaze to the dark sea ahead.

After pushing aside the floating corpse that had crashed into the hull, the view opened up a bit. Through the gaps between the layers of black reefs, a few dim, yellowish lights could be faintly seen in the darkness in the far distance.

The lamplight flickered in the cold mist, offering no warmth but instead exuding an eerie, ghostly aura.

Gu An took out the rough nautical chart he had scavenged from the mind of the Black Shark Gang's helmsman from his pocket and carefully compared it with the faint phosphorescence.

"Located in the southeast—at the edge of the chaotic reef forest—there lies a natural haven—"

Gu An tapped his finger on the small dot with a skull drawn on the nautical chart.

"Rotten Reef".

This is the only small supply point in this barren sea area, and also the black market tacitly acknowledged by the Black Shark Gang and several other minor forces in the vicinity.

Compared to the legendary "City That Never Sleeps," where you can buy anything with spirit stones, this Rotten Reef is nothing but a garbage dump. There are no rules, no order, only the most primitive bartering and murder-robbery.

But precisely because of this, this place is the most suitable for Gu An now.

He needed to repair the Black Shark, which was on the verge of falling apart; he needed to purchase specific elixirs to suppress the poison damage in Shen Wan's body; and even more importantly—

A new identity.

"The Black Shark Gang's third patrol boat has gone missing, and that idiot One-Eyed Dragon's soul lamp has probably been extinguished too. It won't be long before the Black Shark Gang comes looking for us like sharks smelling blood."

Gu An's eyes gleamed. "This ship is too conspicuous; it needs a makeover. And us—"

He turned and went into the cabin, and soon came out carrying two stinking jars.

Those were the leftover corpse oil from his previous preparations, and a bottle of "Corroded Skin Water" that he had found in the one-eyed dragon's storage bag.

This potion was originally used by evil practitioners to destroy evidence of corpses or to torture people. When applied to the skin, it causes effects similar to severe burns and ulcers, and is slow to heal.

Without any hesitation, Gu An poured out a little of the "flesh-corroding water" and, facing the polished bronze mirror, applied it expressionlessly to his left cheek.

"Zzz—"

A wisp of smoke rose, followed by excruciating pain as flesh tore open.

Gu An didn't even frown.

A moment later, a face appeared in the mirror, half of which was festering and oozing pus, looking grotesque and terrifying. Combined with his deathly aura, he looked exactly like a madman who had gone mad from practicing evil magic.

"Not enough."

He then smeared the corpse oil on his hair and clothes, and the stench of the rotting corpse instantly masked all other smells on his body.

After finishing his business, Gu An went to Shen Wan's side.

Looking at the girl who still had a furrowed brow even in her unconscious state, Gu An sighed.

"I'm sorry, but to save my life, I have no choice but to make you a drug slave this once."

He didn't use the corrosive water on Shen Wan's face—that would be too cruel and could easily damage her skin. Instead, he smeared specially made disguise mud on her face to make it look like she had a face full of poisonous sores, and then poured some pungent medicinal residue water over her body.

After doing all this, Gu An controlled the bone boat, extinguishing all the spiritual light, and like a ghost ship, silently sailed towards that dim yellow light.

About half an hour later.

After navigating around a massive group of reefs, the Black Shark suddenly found itself in a breathtaking view.

The so-called "Rotten Reef" is actually the remains of an ancient sea monster that has been dead for countless millennia.

This sea monster was enormous; its vertebrae, which were visible above the water, resembled small mountain peaks, stretching for miles. Countless massive ribs stood like archways, and among these bones were densely packed, simple huts resembling bird nests.

There is no land here; all the buildings are attached to a framework and connected by cable cars and piers.

A strong, fishy stench filled the air—a mixture of rotting seafood, cheap cosmetics, and some unknown spice.

Gu An steered his boat closer to a huge bone spike that looked like a dock.

Numerous dilapidated ships were already moored here, some flying skull and crossbones flags, others with sails sewn from single pieces of demonic beast hides. Various strangely shaped cultivators roamed the dock, most with gloomy faces and wary eyes.

"Stop the boat! Do you know the rules?"

An elderly man, his body wrapped in bandages with only his cloudy eyes visible, leaned on a cane made of human bone and blocked the entrance to the pier.

He was the "dock manager" here, with a cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining. Although it wasn't high, his aura was extremely sinister.

Gu An didn't speak, but just gave him a cold glance.

The strong smell of corpse oil emanating from him and his half-festering face looked particularly eerie in the dim light.

"Smack."

A blood-red stone the size of a thumb was casually tossed by Gu An, rolling to the old man's feet.

The old man used his cane to pick up the blood-red stone, weighed it in his hand, and a glint of greed flashed in his cloudy eyes before he stepped aside.

"Go in. Don't cause trouble. If you die inside, your body will be confiscated," the old man said with a sinister smile.

Ignoring the pointless threat, Gu An picked up Shen Wan, who was wrapped in tattered cloth, and jumped onto the pier.

He casually tied the Black Shark to the bone spikes, not worried about anyone stealing it—he had already modified the formation on the ship, and if anyone dared to forcibly break it, the few Yin Thunderbolts left in the hold would teach them a lesson.

Stepping inside the decaying reef, Gu Ancai truly understood the "cruelty" Shen Wan had described.

The streets here are extremely narrow, with shops or stalls formed by hollowing out bones on both sides.

The items they sold were incredibly diverse, yet all of them reeked of blood.

On the left, a stall displayed several human heads that were not yet completely dried, and the stall owner was enthusiastically peeling off the scalp with a small knife; on the right, a cage held several female cultivators who were barely clothed, with numb eyes and signs around their necks that read "Furnace Cauldron".

Some people are even selling all sorts of strangely colored poisons, magical artifacts made from living souls, and even some kind of strange insect with a human face.

Here, human life is the cheapest commodity.

Gu An carried Shen Wan on his back and walked through the crowd without looking to the side. His attire as a sinister cultivator, which kept strangers at bay, coupled with the extremely cold and sinister aura emanating from him, which, although not high, was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, caused many malicious gazes to turn away in disgust when they saw his rotten face.

This is also the effect Gu An wanted.

In this godforsaken place, playing dumb won't work. Because here, pigs really do get eaten. Only by behaving like a mad dog, or a toad covered in sores, will others be wary or disgusted and dare not provoke you.

He walked around a few stalls but didn't rush to make a purchase.

Until he came to the depths of the market, to a stall with a sign that read "General Goods".

The stall was in a very remote location, built in the shadow beneath a huge rib. The stall owner, a short, dwarf-like man, was squatting on the ground fiddling with a pile of foul-smelling mud.

Gu An's gaze fell on a dark jar in the corner of the stall.

It contained a thick, black, tar-like substance.

Deep-sea collagen

This is a top-grade material for repairing bone artifacts and ships, requiring 49 days of simmering with the marrow of sea beasts over a hundred years old to take shape.

"How much is this?"

Gu An stopped in his tracks, his voice hoarse as if two rusty iron pieces were rubbing against each other.

The dwarf stall owner raised his head, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth. His small, beady eyes darted around Gu An and Shen Wan behind him.

"A new face?"

The dwarf chuckled, holding up three short, carrot-like fingers. "Thirty spirit stones a jar. This is freshly brewed, top-quality stuff, with added 'Black Water Snake' bile—it's incredibly sticky."

"Thirty yuan?" Gu An sneered. "Why don't you just rob someone?"

On the edge of this chaotic star sea, thirty spirit stones are enough to buy the life of a cultivator in the early stage of Qi Refining. This dwarf clearly mistook him for a stranger and a fat sheep who had just fled here.

"Buy it or don't, it's up to you." The dwarf shrugged, looking like he had you cornered. "In this rotting reef, you won't find another place selling bone glue besides mine. Judging from your appearance, your boat must be damaged, right? If you don't repair it, you might not be able to get out of this chaotic reef forest."

Gu An remained silent for a moment.

He didn't take out any spirit stones—in fact, he didn't have that many spirit stones on him. Although blood-fiend stones could be used, they were too bulky and too conspicuous.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound.

Gu An slammed a heavy, dark red sword, its blade still stained with blood, onto the stall.

That was the one-eyed dragon's personal magical artifact, a masterpiece among mid-grade magical artifacts. Although there were some minor nicks on the blade, the dense baleful aura emanating from it was undeniable.

"I don't have any spirit stones."

Gu An stared at the dwarf, his eyes cold. "But this knife, in exchange for two cans of bone glue, plus a few stalks of cold-water algae over there."

The dwarf's eyes lit up the moment he saw the ghost-headed knife.

He was a connoisseur and could tell at a glance that the knife was worth far more than thirty spirit stones. In fact, if it were taken to the "Never-Sleeping City" to be reforged, it could easily fetch a hundred or so spirit stones.

"Hey, great knife, really great knife."

The dwarf reached out and stroked the blade, his greed evident in his eyes. But then his eyes darted around, and he began to nitpick: "However, this knife has too much murderous aura; it's clearly a stolen product from a recent murder." "Fellow Daoist, you want me to help you dispose of stolen goods—that's no small risk."

"Change it, or not?" Gu An didn't waste any words, placing his hand on the hilt of the knife, as if to pull it back.

"Change it! Of course we'll change it!"

The dwarf quickly pressed down on the blade, afraid that he would lose this big deal.

He deftly moved two cans of bone glue from behind, grabbed a handful of wet, chilly blue seaweed, and shoved them all in front of Gu An.

"Two jars of bone glue, ten stalks of cold water algae, payment settled," the dwarf said with a smile.

Gu An looked at the pile of things, but did not immediately reach out to take them.

In his seemingly cloudy eyes, the pupils contracted slightly, and the [Spirit Plant Affinity] talent deep within his mind quietly began to operate.

Among that pile of seemingly fresh cold water algae, there was one plant with a slightly duller color and a faint, sweet, fishy smell emanating from its roots.

Furthermore, a layer of fluorescent powder, barely visible to the naked eye, had been applied to the seals of the two cans of bone glue.

[Followers]

A powder made from luminescent jellyfish, if applied to the body or a boat, will not dissipate for up to three days.

In the dark underground sea, this is the most conspicuous lighthouse.

This dwarf not only wanted to steal his knife, but also wanted to double-cross him, track him down to his hideout, and then kill and rob him!