Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

White Bone Plain, this place doesn't even have an official name on the map of the Great Chu Kingdom, yet it occupies an area of ​​countless miles.

Legend has it that the tomb of a god is buried here, and the god's blood has soaked the soil, so nothing can grow. There are no trees, no grass, and not even the most tenacious thorns can take root.

It was desolate, just land.

Located at the southernmost tip of Jinzhou, it was beyond the reach of the Great Chu Kingdom and the Demon Kingdom was too lazy to care about it. Over time, it became a gathering place for all sorts of people.

Here you'll find traitors expelled from their sects, desperate fugitives, and bounty hunters who hunt these fugitives for rewards.

Murder and robbery are commonplace here. If you steal someone's elixir today, someone will skin you alive to make boots tomorrow.

No one cares about your background, and no one will reason with you. Whoever has the strongest fist is the law of White Bone Plain.

After leaving Hengjiang County, the two traveled at high speed and arrived at Baiguyuan in just over twenty days.

Looking around, the earth was cracked like a spider web, and the reddish-brown soil gleamed with a dark, bloody light.

The wind swept across the open fields, carrying only dry dust and a faint stench of decay, with occasional glimpses of white bones half-buried in the earth.

At this moment, Pu Xi had also returned to her previous appearance in the dilapidated temple. Her lazy, charming, and alluring face was gone, replaced by an ordinary face with unremarkable features, which would be impossible to spot in a crowd.

Her original appearance was too flamboyant.

In a place like the White Bone Plain, a beautiful woman walking on the road is like a piece of fat meat, attracting countless troubles.

Her extremely ordinary appearance was actually the best talisman.

"This place is really unlucky." Pu Xi wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, her tone clearly showing her disgust.

Hong Lang's gaze swept across the surroundings. All that could be seen between heaven and earth was red earth and sandstorms. Not even a single withered tree could be seen, and the air was filled with an indescribable fishy smell.

The two rode for half a day without encountering a single person, but they did see several corpses lying by the roadside, their flesh and blood long since devoured, leaving only skeletons scattered on the ground.

"There are people ahead." Hong Lang suddenly pulled on the reins and squinted at the road ahead.

About two hundred paces away, several huge rocks lay across the road.

The two slowed down and approached. When they were about fifty paces away from the pile of rocks, a figure emerged from behind the boulder.

The thing had a human body, walked upright, wore tattered leather armor, and had two thin, dry arms exposed.

But its head was not a human head; it was the head of a huge insect, with a shiny black shell, like a beetle, but with a triangular head like a mantis.

Its two compound eyes gleamed with a ghostly green light in the sunlight, and its two pairs of jaw teeth opened and closed constantly, making a soft "click-click" sound.

It was carrying a rusty, large knife with dried bloodstains on its blade.

Hong Lang had never seen this demon before, but he was very familiar with the aura emanating from it—it was from the Meridian Opening Realm.

He's on a completely different level.

"Human..." the demon spoke, its voice squeezed from its mouthparts with an eerie buzzing sound, "This road is mine, these stones are mine, if you want to pass..."

It paused, as if recalling something, then suddenly raised its voice: "Leave your toll!"

Pu Xi glanced at Hong Lang, her eyes conveying the same thought: Has this monster been listening to too many stories?

"You two, Marrow Cleansing Realm." The demon's compound eyes darted around, staring at both Hong Lang and Pu Xi. A trail of viscous saliva spilled from its mouthparts. "Not strong, just right. Hand over the pills, silver, and weapons, and I'll let you leave alive. Don't..."

It raised its large sword and slammed it down on the boulder beside it.

Sparks flew everywhere, and the boulder cracked open with a deep fissure.

Hong Lang took the long halberd off his back and spurred his horse to charge towards him.

clang!

A sharp clang of metal rang out!

Hong Lang's body traced an arc in the air before crashing onto the red earth.

A burning pain shot through his back, and he groaned as he rolled over and got up.

The monster didn't even give chase; it simply stood there, its two compound eyes staring at him, its mouthparts clicking as if mocking his overestimation of his abilities.

The gap between the Marrow Cleansing Realm and the Meridian Opening Realm was even greater than Hong Lang had anticipated.

When that blade came down, he felt an immense force surge towards him, and his defenses were as fragile as paper in the face of that power.

It's like trying to poke a wild bull with a bamboo pole; no matter how skillful the technique, it can't bridge the fundamental gap.

Pu Xi yawned.

"What kind of attitude is this?" The monster was clearly dissatisfied with her reaction, its jaws snapping open and closing more rapidly, producing a more frequent "click-clack" sound. "I...I'm robbing you! Be serious! Hurry up and hand over everything!"

Pu Xi turned to Hong Lang: "Should I make a move?"

Hong Lang nodded slightly.

Before the demon could react to what the two ants were saying, it smelled a strange fragrance.

Its compound eyes suddenly contracted, its body began to sway, and the demon-headed broadsword fell to the ground with a clatter.

With its last bit of strength, it raised its hand, pointed at Pu Xi, and squeezed out a few words from its mouth: "You...you cheated..."

After saying that, he collapsed straight down.

Hong Lang got up from the ground, walked to the monster's side, and kicked its black shell.

The beetle's head was tilted to one side, and the eerie light in its compound eyes had gone out.

Hong Lang crouched down and carefully examined the monster: "But I'm curious, how does your sleeping incense work only on it? I was so close to you just now, and I couldn't smell a trace of it."

"My 'Sexual Enchanting Incense' isn't actually an incense."

Pu Xi opened her palm, and Hong Lang leaned closer to look. He saw that her palm was covered with a dense layer of extremely fine and tiny insects, smaller than grains of sand, almost transparent, and almost blending into her skin.

If he hadn't had exceptional eyesight, he would never have noticed.

"This is called the Hidden Beetle, but to avoid suspicion, I call it the Shadowy Fragrance."

Pu Xi gently blew a breath, and the tiny insects surged in her palm like a living gray mist.

"Whether human or demon, they can penetrate the meridians through the pores and secrete a paralyzing toxin. Those who are affected will immediately become weak all over, as if they are drunk. The fragrance you smell is the toxin they secrete."

The reason it is ineffective against martial artists in the Qi Gathering Realm is because those in the Qi Gathering Realm have true qi protecting their bodies, preventing insects from burrowing into them.

Besides that, I also kept venomous creatures like scorpions and centipedes, but unfortunately, I left in a hurry and couldn't take them with me.

Hong Lang stared at the insects and asked, "How do you control them?"

"I grew up surrounded by insects."

Pu Xi clasped her hands together, and the hidden worms obediently shrank back into her body.

"When I was six years old, the cult leader threw me into an insect cellar and locked me up for three whole years. The cellar was full of poisonous scorpions, centipedes, and a bunch of other poisonous insects whose names I didn't know. They crawled all over my body. If I could come out alive, I could control them."

She spoke without a change in expression, as if she were telling someone else's story.

Hong Lang opened his mouth, but said nothing more, and squatted down to observe the monster.

This monster has an outer shell as hard as iron, but its weakness is below its mouthparts, where there is a small piece of soft flesh not covered by its shell, which is its only flaw.

Hong Lang's short blade pierced the soft flesh with precision, penetrating straight into the brain.

The monster's body convulsed violently, then remained completely still.

A notification sounded simultaneously:

[Defeat a beginner martial artist in the Meridian Opening Realm and gain 150 Martial Arts Points.]

Hong Lang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

One hundred and fifty martial arts points are equivalent to three Blood Essence Pills!

In a place like the White Bone Plains, any monster blocking the way can provide 150 martial arts points, which is many times faster than in the Great Chu Kingdom.

Coming to this White Bone Plain was definitely the right decision.