The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

As soon as the silver-masked man stepped into the miasma zone, Ye Sheng's muscles tensed instantly as he closely watched the man's every move.

He didn't rush to make a move, but waited for an opportunity, a chance to strike and kill.

However, the silver-masked man was very cautious. Even with the pills and protective qi, he still slowed down his pace, making sure that every step he took was on the "safe route" where Ye Sheng had sprinkled the mixed powder.

At this moment, the mockery in his eyes deepened, as if he were laughing at the naivety of his prey.

"Heh, this little brat, thinks he can stop me with this little bit of miasma?"

He walked along, muttering to himself.

However, the silver-masked man failed to notice that with each step he took, the special plants beneath his feet, mixed with the powder of the decaying bone flower, emitted a faint and eerie sweet fragrance, which was perfectly masked by the sour and rotten smell of the miasma.

When the silver-masked man reached the center of the poisonous miasma, his expression suddenly changed, and he finally realized something was wrong. He found his head was heavy, and his vision was beginning to blur.

"Hmm? Could there be hallucinogenic components in this miasma?"

He frowned slightly, immediately realized what was happening, and his heart tightened. He stopped abruptly, held his breath, and simultaneously channeled his inner energy to expel the poisonous gas he had inhaled.

Now! This is the pause Ye Sheng has been waiting for!

He sprang from the grass like a cheetah, his feet slamming into the ground, his body blurring as he lunged at the silver-masked man from behind.

There are no fancy moves, only the simplest and most direct [Basic Knife Technique - Thrust]!

At this moment, the tip of the wood-chopping knife in Ye Sheng's hand was tightly wrapped with a piece of rag.

That piece of cloth was no ordinary cloth; it had been soaked in the black blood that Ye Kai had vomited before it arrived!

The body of Dao Calamity devours Yin energy!

Ye Sheng was gambling that his younger brother's strange physique could restrain this Bone Forging Realm expert!

"Hmph! You're asking for it!"

The silver-masked man sensed the murderous aura behind him and flew into a rage. He hadn't expected his prey to not only not run away, but to dare to launch a sneak attack.

He suddenly turned around, his left arm, with its intact hand forming a claw with its five fingers, was filled with dense black energy, and he grabbed directly at Ye Sheng's wood-chopping knife.

In his view, even if a mere beginner-level martial artist launched a sneak attack, he wouldn't be able to break through his protective aura.

However, the moment his hand made contact with the tattered wood-cutter's knife, something unexpected happened!

"Sizzle—!" A piercing sound rang out.

The silver-masked man's protective aura, powerful enough to crush metal, was instantly corroded and dissolved the moment it came into contact with the black blood-stained cloth!

The next second, a tremendous fear originating from the depths of his soul surged into his heart.

"Could this be... the power of the Dao Calamity?"

The silver-masked man let out a horrified scream. He tried to pull his hand away and back, but it was too late.

At this moment, Ye Sheng's eyes flashed with killing intent as he poured all the internal energy he had been accumulating in his dantian into the blade without reservation.

"Pfft!"

Without the protective aura to hinder him, the woodcutter's knife pierced the silver-masked man's chest as easily as cutting tofu, emerging from his back.

"Well……"

The silver-masked man looked down at the protruding blade in his chest, and his body trembled violently.

He looked on in disbelief, trying to speak, but only mouthfuls of blood gushed from his mouth.

"You...you..."

The silver-masked man stared intently at Ye Sheng, his eyes filled with resentment and bitterness. He couldn't understand how he, a master of the Bone Forging Realm and a silver-ranked assassin of the Blood Pact Merchant Guild, could die at the hands of a lowly commoner.

Ye Sheng stared coldly at him without saying a word. Then, expressionless, he pulled out his wood-chopping knife and let the man's body fall limply into the mud.

"puff!"

Ye Sheng could no longer hold on, knelt on one knee, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

That attack had drained all his internal energy and aggravated his old injuries. He felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and the pain was excruciating.

Ye Sheng struggled to his feet, walked to the silver-masked man's corpse, and without hesitation began to loot the body. He planned to collect all the treasures and leave before the poisonous miasma took full effect.

Ye Sheng rummaged around in the corpse's arms for a while and pulled out three items.

A heavy money bag, when opened, contained a dozen or so pieces of silver and dozens of copper coins, totaling at least twenty taels. A palm-sized black wooden box, cool to the touch, its material unknown. Also present was a thin book wrapped in animal hide.

Ye Sheng didn't have time to examine the items closely. He quickly stuffed them into his pocket and staggered towards the tree hollow. He didn't know if there would be other pursuers, so he had to hurry back and take his younger brother away from this dangerous place.

However, just as he was about to run out of the poisonous miasma, his legs suddenly gave way, his vision went black, and he felt dizzy.

It seems the hallucinogenic effects of the Bone-Rotting Flower did have some effect on Ye Sheng after all. He collapsed to the ground, completely losing consciousness.

After he fell into a coma, the silver-masked man's corpse in that poisonous miasma rapidly shriveled and decayed at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually turning into a pool of black water that merged into the silt, as if it had never existed.

Meanwhile, inside the tree hollow where Ye Kai was hiding, his body was emitting faint wisps of black mist, slowly drawing in the surrounding poisonous miasma...

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Sheng was awakened by a violent cough. He opened his eyes abruptly and found himself still lying on the edge of the poisonous miasma.

"Brother! Brother! You're finally awake!"

Ye Kai's voice rang in my ears, filled with sobs and worry.

Ye Sheng struggled to sit up, feeling as if his head was filled with lead, and the internal injury in his chest made him gasp for breath.

"Brother, I'm alright..."

He turned his head and saw Ye Kai leaning against the tree trunk, looking at him with a worried expression.

Ye Sheng noticed that although his younger brother's face was still pale, his eyes were much clearer and his breathing was much more steady.

"Little brother, why did you run out?"

Ye Sheng frowned.

"I...I woke up and didn't see you, so I ran out to look for you..."

Ye Kai said, pointing to the surrounding miasma, "Brother, the fog here seems to be thinning."

Upon hearing this, Ye Sheng looked around and indeed found that the poisonous miasma that could kill people had thinned out at some point. Although it still had a sour and rotten smell, it was no longer so deadly.

A thought struck him, and he looked at Ye Kai, wondering: Could it be that his younger brother's "Dao Calamity Body" has also absorbed the toxicity of this poisonous miasma?

This idea both surprised and delighted him.

"Brother, let's go quickly, it's too dangerous here." Ye Kai grabbed his arm.

"Um."

Ye Sheng nodded and, with Ye Kai's help, swayed as he stood up. He glanced back at the spot where the silver-masked man had fallen; all that remained was a pool of black mud, with no trace of his remains.

Ye Sheng felt no more turmoil. He immediately carried his younger brother on his back, determined the direction, and left the treacherous swamp.

Half an hour later, the two found a secluded cave and finally settled down temporarily. Ye Sheng sat cross-legged and began to examine their spoils. The silver in the money bag was already a huge sum for them. Then came the black wooden box. Ye Sheng opened the box, and a strong smell of blood wafted out. Inside the box lay three blood-red pills, each the size of a longan.

"This is... a Qi and Blood Pill?"

Ye Sheng picked one up and smelled it. Indeed, it smelled exactly like the Qi and Blood Pill that Liu the Cripple had sold him, but its medicinal power seemed even purer.

"I never expected that this silver-masked man would carry such a good thing with him," Ye Sheng couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.

He closed the wooden box and carefully put it away. These three pills were treasures; if he took them all, his strength would increase dramatically once again.

Finally, there was the thin leather-bound book. The cover had no title, but Ye Sheng casually flipped to the first page, where four large, flamboyant characters were written in vermilion ink—"Burning Blood Blade Technique"!