Chapter 149: There Needs to be a Lot

"What kind of sword technique is this, exactly!"

Facing this sword strike, everyone seemed to be forcibly frozen. Not only were they unable to counterattack or defend against him, but even moving an inch became a luxury.

It was as if, under this sword light, they had all turned into pieces of wood; besides watching the sword light approach bit by bit and pierce into their bodies, they could do nothing else.

"No!" The lean, elderly man's eyes widened to the size of saucers; he could not imagine how such a sword technique, which did not seem of this world, had come to be. He had just absorbed everyone's power, and the terrifying strength he could now wield at will gave him endless self-confidence.

Yet, before he could even begin his performance, he was struck by a bucket of cold water, leaving him chilled to the core.

Facing such a nearly unsolvable sword technique, he possessed a body of immense power but was unable to use even a fraction of it. As the Sword Qi pierced his body, he could neither speak nor move, and could only watch helplessly as his life slipped away.

He was unwilling; he still had a bright future and infinite possibilities. If he were given more time, he could have built a world of his own.

But what use was his unwillingness? To lose was to lose; losing this time meant he now had nothing left!

"Hoo!" As the dust settled, Shen Yu felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him, as if he hadn't slept for days and nights. If it were possible, he would have collapsed and fallen asleep right then.

Sword Twenty-Three was useful, but the consumption was also extraordinary. With his current strength, it was still a bit too strenuous.

"System, Sign-in!"

"Sign-in successful, obtained Drawing Sword Technique!"

Streams of information flooded into his mind, and Shen Yu's hand even rested on the hilt of his sword unconsciously. A terrifying Sword Intent seemed to emerge faintly, growing stronger and stronger.

Although he stood there without moving, the impression he gave was like the calm before a storm. It felt as if he would not strike, but once he did, it would be earth-shattering.

Slowly opening his eyes, Shen Yu took his hand off the sword hilt, and that terrifying Sword Intent vanished along with it.

Drawing Sword Technique, a very simple movement, consisting of only one strike. Draw the sword, unsheathe it, and then return it to the sheath. This move, however, condensed all of one's Sword Intent, Sword Qi, and total cultivation into this single point. One strike to shock the heavens; once the sword is drawn, the target must die. One move—if you don't win, you die!

This was a terrifying move, and its terror was no less than Sword Twenty-Three. Its most powerful aspect was that as one's cultivation increased, the power of the sword technique would increase geometrically.

Moreover, the Sword Intent condensed by the Drawing Sword Technique had a reinforcing effect on himself. It could be mixed into all his other sword techniques, making them increasingly sharp, fierce, and indomitable.

Fists have fist intent, and swords have Sword Intent. Practicing martial arts is not just about strength, but also about intent. Before the Innate realm, one competes with True Qi; after the Innate realm and above the level of Grandmaster, one competes with the will of the martial Dao.

If one cannot transform their spirit and condense their true martial intent, no matter how strong they are in the early stages, they will never achieve greatness in the future. Fortunately, Shen Yu was already ahead of the vast majority of people.

Taking a deep breath to digest the extra knowledge in his mind and resting for a moment, Shen Yu held his sword and charged out again. Outside, there were still large numbers of Thousand Blood Sect disciples.

However, these people were relatively much weaker. With Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin controlling hundreds of sharp blades, everywhere Shen Yu passed was a scene of blood. It made the Dongning Army soldiers who were also charging in feel their scalps tingle.

The great army pushed forward, a brutal crushing force under the Military Formation. Facing the Military Formation, these Thousand Blood Sect disciples were like waves crashing against a giant rock, only to be smashed to pieces.

And Shen Yu's killing was like art. The sword light dancing across the sky made people dizzy and mesmerized. Yet, beneath that dazzling brilliance, sheets of blood were being spilled.

"Kill!" With the inside and outside working together, the Thousand Blood Sect quickly collapsed. The true experts had already been eliminated by Shen Yu; these ordinary disciples alone could not make the slightest difference.

"Lord Shen, come over here quickly!"

Upon seeing Shen Yu, Lu Shaozhi immediately ran over. Too busy to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he pulled Shen Yu along, seemingly having discovered something extraordinary.

"These, these are... Heart Melting Blood Vines!" Following Lu Shaozhi into a massive cave, Shen Yu saw blood-colored vines covering the cave passages, piercing into the secret tunnels from the stone walls.

These familiar blood vines reminded Shen Yu of the Zhangnan Bandits he had wiped out before. At that time, while suppressing the Zhangnan Bandits, he had seen such blood vines.

Previously, Shen Yu did not know what these were, but after obtaining the "Hundred Herbs Classic," he learned they were called Heart Melting Blood Vines.

The Hundred Herbs Classic recorded in detail the habits, effects, and even the mutual generation and restriction of various strange flowers and herbs in this World, and the Heart Melting Blood Vine was naturally among them.

The greatest function of this vine was that both the vines and the roots could connect with human flesh and blood; the only difference was that the vines absorbed the essence and power of people, while the roots could release a portion of this essence.

The vines absorbed energy and continuously supplied it to the roots; the one located at the roots was the ultimate beneficiary.

Back with the Zhangnan Bandits, those people on the blood vines with vines inserted into their bodies were the poor souls they called Blood Slaves.

However, this Heart Melting Blood Vine actually had another function: at the main root, during the process of absorbing energy, it would accumulate over time to form a Vine Heart. Consuming it could not only cause one's cultivation to skyrocket but also had the miraculous effect of beautifying the skin and nourishing the face.

Of course, for the vast majority of people, this latter effect could actually be ignored.

Walking slowly into the cave, the view suddenly opened up, and red light entered his eyes, seemingly illuminating the cave like a sea of blood. Densely packed, blood-red roots were intertwined, looking like enlarged blood vessels.

The blood-red sap within those roots looked as if blood were flowing, clearly visible under the reflection of the firelight. Illuminated by dozens of fire basins, it appeared exceptionally eerie.

The scale here was more than ten times larger than that of the Zhangnan Bandits, and there was no telling how many people were densely entangled by the vines at the top. Most of these people were in rags and were likely poor people from unfortunate backgrounds.

Recalling that when the previous Prefect left, he had told him that large numbers of beggars had been disappearing from Songnan Prefecture every year for no reason. At the time, he had thought it was those families harming so many people just to grow Bliss Flowers.

Now it seemed that a few Bliss Flowers could not consume that many people; it turned out those people had all been secretly sent here!

"Save them!"

Under Shen Yu's order, a large number of Dongning Army soldiers rescued the people here one by one. Afterward, Shen Yu found the main root, cut the blood vine with a single sword strike, and grasped the condensed Vine Heart in his hand.

The Vine Heart was like a vermilion fruit, round and red, emitting a strange fragrance. Just by smelling it, he felt the cultivation within his body accelerate its circulation significantly.

Ordinary Vine Hearts were only the size of a grape, but this one was as large as an egg; there was no telling how long it had been condensing. Seeing this small detail, one could tell just how many people had been harmed over the years.

After the main root was severed, all the vines and roots began to writhe frantically, and the mountain walls even appeared shaky under their movement. It was as if a wounded beast were struggling in pain.

"Set fire, burn this place down!"

"Yes!" Soon, large amounts of fire oil were poured inside, and the raging flames quickly swallowed all the vines. The firelight reflected on Shen Yu's face, making him look exceptionally heavy-hearted.

In such a World where martial power is supreme, there were countless situations like this. In order to gain power, some people were willing to lay hands even on their own relatives, let alone these unrelated ordinary people.

In this world, there is never a shortage of people who want to take shortcuts. As long as they can increase their cultivation and gain so-called fame and status, what does it matter how many people they harm? In this vast world, there is no telling how many more situations like the one before him still exist.

Serving as an official, one should bring benefit to the region; there was still much he needed to do.

"System, Sign-in!"

"Sign-in successful, obtained three Heavenly Fragrant Cardamoms!"