The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

Night fell completely, and Ye Sheng walked alone in the wilderness. The wind blew in from all directions, making his clothes stick to his body and feel cold. He couldn't help but shiver.

He had a newly replaced wood-chopping knife tucked into his waistband; the handle was tightly bound with hemp rope, making it feel very secure in his hand.

The three-day deadline has passed, and Ye Sheng has decided to make a trip to the Chaotic Bone Forest to complete the task assigned by the old man from the Ghost Market.

The Luan Gu Lin (Lost Bone Forest) is located further west of Heishi Town, more than 60 li (approximately 30 kilometers) from Shuilongdu.

That place has a bad reputation. It is said that it was an ancient battlefield in the past, and later became a mass grave for dumping corpses. Over the centuries, there are more bones buried in the ground than stones.

That place is filled with yin energy; few people dare to approach it even during the day, let alone at night.

Ye Sheng walked quickly, his worn-out straw sandals rustling softly as he stepped on the fallen leaves.

He wasn't thinking about anything else but the hundred coins and the bottle of healing medicine.

Money is a good thing; it can buy rice and medicine for my younger brother. Healing medicine is even more useful for treating injuries. Last time, he fought with the underage Ironback Jackal, and the wound on his arm is still throbbing.

After walking for about two hours, the air began to become cold and damp, with a chilling atmosphere.

Ye Sheng knew they had arrived at the Forest of Chaotic Bones.

He slowed his pace and his eyes became wary.

The forest in front of me was a dark, dense mass, with trees that grew in strange shapes and twisted branches, like ghostly claws reaching towards the sky.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, which felt soft and spongy underfoot. Occasionally, you would kick something hard, and when you looked down, you would see half of a yellowed human bone.

"Damn, this place is really creepy. Could there really be ghosts here?" Ye Sheng cursed inwardly.

He took out the small cloth bag given to him by the old man from the ghost market from his pocket and emptied its contents: a drawing of a ghost grass and a small porcelain bottle containing exorcising powder.

He looked at the blueprints again, memorized them, then uncorked the porcelain bottle, poured some grayish-white powder into his palm, and smeared it evenly on his body.

Immediately, a pungent smell spread, somewhat like burnt mugwort.

After doing all this, Ye Sheng gripped his machete tightly, took a deep breath, and walked into the Bone Forest.

It was darker inside the woods than outside; almost no light could get in.

Ye Sheng could only rely on the keen senses brought by his [Scavenging] skill to carefully move forward.

His skills in herbal identification were also at work in his mind as he carefully discerned the scent of each plant around him.

"A snake's tongue is poisonous."

"Ghost face flower, hallucinogenic."

"Black rot grass, it makes your skin rot if you touch it."

He silently repeated this to himself, avoiding the dangerous plants.

As Ye Sheng walked along, he discovered that there were more poisonous creatures in this forest than he had seen along the riverbank before.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, he stopped.

The [Herbal Identification] panel flickered, and an extremely faint but unique chilling aura emanated from not far to the left.

That's... the Ghost Grass!

Ye Sheng was overjoyed and immediately headed in that direction.

Passing through a thicket of bushes about waist-high, he saw a few inconspicuous little grasses growing under a crooked old tree.

The grass was entirely black, with slender leaves and a pale white flower at the tip, gleaming eerily in the darkness like ghostly eyes.

Ye Sheng crouched down and carefully dug out a plant. The roots and stem were still covered in mud, and the leaves were intact. Just as he held the herb in his hand, the panel in front of him flashed.

[Herbal Identification: 15/100 → 16/100]

Become!

Feeling much more at ease, he dug up the other few Yin Soul Grasses as well, carefully wrapped them in cloth, and tucked them into his pocket.

The job is done, time to leave.

Ye Sheng didn't linger; he turned and walked back. He didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place for even a second longer.

However, just as he had taken a dozen or so steps, he suddenly heard a very light footstep behind him.

The sound was strange; it didn't sound like a person stepping on fallen leaves, but more like the claws of some wild beast silently scraping across the ground.

Ye Sheng felt a chill run down his spine, turned around abruptly, and gripped his wood-chopping knife tightly.

Three zhang behind him, a beast a size larger than the juvenile ironback jackal from last time was staring intently at him.

The beast was the size of a calf, with iron-gray fur that gleamed with a metallic sheen in the darkness.

Its eyes were blood red, filled with cruelty and hunger. Most terrifying of all was its back, arched high as if covered with a layer of iron armor.

It was a fully grown ironback jackal!

At that moment, the old man from the Ghost Market's words exploded in Ye Sheng's mind: an adult Ironback Jackal is equivalent to a martial artist in the late stage of the Entry Realm.

Ye Sheng felt as if his heart had been violently squeezed, and even breathing became difficult.

Damn it, that juvenile Ironback Jackal almost killed me last time. This one in front of me is a full-grown Ironback Jackal, and its sheer presence is several levels stronger than the juvenile one.

There's no way to escape now.

Ye Sheng took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He slowly lowered his center of gravity, assuming a stance resembling a standing meditation, his feet firmly planted on the ground. He held the machete horizontally in front of his chest, the blade pointing towards the beast.

The iron-backed jackal let out a low growl, its saliva dripping from its fangs onto the ground, sizzling as it corroded the fallen leaves.

It didn't pounce immediately, but paced around Ye Sheng, as if searching for a weakness in its prey.

At this moment, cold sweat had already seeped from Ye Sheng's forehead. He could feel an intense killing intent surging towards him like a tide, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

This beast's strength is definitely above mine. A direct confrontation will only lead to certain death; I must find a way.

Ye Sheng's mind raced as he scanned his surroundings. The woods, the bushes, the dead bones on the ground… was there anything he could use?

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the plant he had tossed aside when he was digging up the Yin Soul Grass.

Ghost face flower, hallucinogenic.

Ye Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and an extremely risky idea popped into his head.

Just then, the Ironback Jackal seemed to lose patience. It let out a low growl, exerted force with its limbs, and pounced on Ye Sheng like an arrow released from a bow.

The speed was beyond imagination, and the strong wind it generated made Ye Sheng's cheeks sting.

Ye Sheng's pupils contracted sharply. Without thinking, he instinctively turned to the side and swung his sword at the same time.

"when!"

The blade struck the back of the iron-backed jackal, producing a metallic clang and sparks flying everywhere.

The immense recoil sent Ye Sheng's entire arm going numb, and he nearly dropped the machete.

The Ironback Jackal merely swayed slightly, its back armor remaining completely unharmed.

Missing its first strike, the Ironback Jackal landed and whipped its tail, the steel whip-like tail whistling through the air as it swept towards Ye Sheng's lower body.

Ye Sheng hurriedly retreated, but he was still half a step too slow. The tail swept across his calf, and a piercing pain shot through him. He groaned and staggered back a few steps, almost falling.

"Damn, this beast is really hard!"

Ye Sheng gritted his teeth and steadied himself. He knew the gap between him and this beast was too great. He was completely outmatched in strength, speed, and defense.

The iron-backed jackal seemed to enjoy this cat-and-mouse game. Instead of immediately giving chase, it paced back and forth, its blood-red eyes full of mockery.

Ye Sheng was panting heavily, cold sweat sliding down his cheeks. He thought to himself: Damn it, I can't stay on the defensive anymore. I have to take the initiative to have any chance of survival.

His eyes were fixed on the ironbacked jackal, and although his feet seemed to be stationary, he was actually moving slowly towards the ghost-faced flower.

The Ironback Jackal seemed to sense Ye Sheng's intention, let out another roar, and pounced.

This time, its target is Ye Sheng's throat!