Chapter 42: The Behemoth

"Rain of Pears Blossom Needles?"

Before the leader opposite could react, Shen Yu had already pressed the switch. The Rain of Pears Blossom Needles is known as the king of hidden weapons; although there is some exaggeration in that claim, the twenty-seven silver needles are swift and powerful, and once fired, they are guaranteed to draw blood, making them truly impossible to guard against.

Moreover, Shen Yu did not remain idle. Once the silver needles were released, he drew his sword and charged forward, the sword momentum he had been building up suddenly erupting with the most brilliant radiance.

The movement technique of the Wind God Leg, combined with the Spiral Nine Shadows and the Mid-Air Shift of the Nine Yin Manual, was inherently ever-changing, bizarre, and difficult to block. Coupled with a sword art like the Immortal Flying from Beyond, the power unleashed was beyond imagination. It was as if the most dazzling fireworks had lit up in mid-air, bringing with them the threat of death.

"Pfft!" The silver needles pierced into the body. Even though the leader had tried very hard to dodge, he still could not evade the silver needles of the Rain of Pears Blossom Needles. The title of "king of hidden weapons" was not just an empty name; it was earned through slaughter.

Fresh blood spilled from the corners of his mouth; he had been severely wounded before they had even truly exchanged blows. Waves of pain surged from all over his body, making it unbearable for a moment. But before he could react, another swift sword light came rushing toward his face.

Just as he tried to fight desperately to gain a moment to catch his breath, the figure opposite him split into several, making it difficult for him to distinguish the real one. What kind of Martial Arts were these? This was simply bullying!

At this moment, a sword came across the air, as if it had traveled through time and space, appearing suddenly. It left him with nowhere to avoid and nowhere to hide. As the blade swept past, blood sprayed, and spots of blood-red plum blossoms bloomed on the ground.

What a fast sword! The pain coming from his neck made him clearly feel the loss of his life; it was a gap that no amount of plugging could stop. His vitality, consciousness, and strength were all rapidly dissipating.

The most frustrating thing for him was that this strength he had just surged with had not even been put to use before he was taken down. His grand ambitions and his deep-laid plans had all become empty talk. This battle was fought in such a stifling way, and it had also buried his entire future.

At this moment, in the leader's heart, there remained only curses for Xu Mufeng. Cooperating with Xu Mufeng was the most wrong decision he had ever made in his life; to have provoked such a formidable enemy—it was just too damn treacherous!

"Dead, finally dead!" Looking at the leader who no longer had a shred of vitality, Shen Yu finally let out a sigh of relief. Just a moment ago, the leader had absorbed the power from the blood vines, and his own strength had surged, causing the threat he posed to multiply accordingly.

If not for the Rain of Pears Blossom Needles obtained from signing in earlier, he would likely have had to pay a heavy price to deal with the opponent, and might even have been unable to defeat him.

Fortunately, everything was relatively perfect, and this formidable enemy was finally resolved.

"System, sign in!"

"Sign-in successful, obtained the first eight levels of the Golden Bell Shield!"

As the system's prompt faded, it felt as if a ray of light surged into Shen Yu's body, plunging him into an ocean of Martial Learning, where he practiced this technique day after day, year after year.

Time passed like a blink of an eye, as if decades had gone by in an instant. The Golden Bell Shield finally reached the eighth level through constant, arduous practice, and Shen Yu opened his eyes, his aura suddenly surging.

At this very moment, he had completely mastered the first eight levels of the Golden Bell Shield. The Golden Bell Shield he obtained was not some common Cultivation Method, but a top-tier one that cultivated both internal and external strength. The first few levels focused primarily on external training and lacked obvious power, which is why it seemed somewhat common.

By the sixth level, apart from the "bell gate" (weak point), other parts of the body were difficult to injure with ordinary iron weapons. By the eighth level, only a three-inch bell gate remained on the entire body, and no matter how strong an opponent's attack was, it could be reflected back by an equally fierce force; it could be said to be already extremely powerful.

The further one went, the stronger the power of the Golden Bell Shield became. By the twelfth level, the bell gate would disappear completely, achieving true invulnerability. One would fear no poison, and fists, kicks, or swords would be unable to cause injury.

However, Shen Yu had only obtained the first eight levels for now, which had already benefited him immensely. As long as he protected his bell gate and didn't run into divine weapons like the Yuanhong Sword, generally no one could cut him, and his ability to protect himself had greatly improved.

Sure enough, the more evil these people were, the greater the harvest he gained. This adventure was a huge profit!

Having resolved the greatest threat, Shen Yu set his mind at ease and began to think about how to deal with these harmful blood vines. Sword light poured down, cutting these vine roots into large pieces; he didn't believe they could still live after their roots were severed.

"What are these?" When Shen Yu cut through the layers of vine roots, he suddenly discovered that hidden within the layers of blood vines seemed to be a large iron box. After the outer blood vines were cut away, it appeared right before his eyes.

With one sword strike, he shaved off the iron lock. Shen Yu stood a bit further back before using Sword Qi to sweep the box open, fearing that some hidden weapon or poison might suddenly spring out from inside. In the world of Jianghu, stability is paramount.

Facts proved that he had overthought it; there was no threat inside. After waiting for a long time without any abnormal situation, Shen Yu finally approached.

In the large box, the most conspicuous items were a blood-colored token, a set of blood-colored brocade robes, and a blood-colored cloak. This was a complete outfit, and it looked as if it had been hidden here with extreme care.

"Executive of the Thousand Blood Sect!" This title made Shen Yu's heart skip a beat. Shen Yu had heard of the Thousand Blood Sect before. That was a behemoth that had swept across several provinces thirty years ago.

More than thirty years ago, there was a great drought across the land, affecting several provinces. In many places, there was not even a single grain of harvest. At that time, many merchants took the opportunity to hoard goods for speculation, leaving the common people starving everywhere, even resorting to exchanging children to eat. On the roads, there were people starved to death everywhere.

Shen Yu had not seen these words recorded in books with his own eyes, but he could imagine the tragic state at that time.

Just as the people were in despair, the Thousand Blood Sect took the opportunity to rise. The doctrine of the Thousand Blood Sect advocated saving oneself before saving others, and killing to protect oneself!

That is to say, if you want to save others, save yourself first; the best way is to protect yourself through slaughter. Only by protecting yourself first can you have a future. Kill for survival, kill those who spy on you, kill those who threaten you—as long as it is beneficial to you, you must kill!

Those who joined the sect had to swear an oath with their blood; under the fusion of a thousand bloods, all were brothers connected by blood. At first, it quickly attracted many people to join. Moreover, it was rumored that the Thousand Blood Sect had a fast-track Cultivation Method that could strengthen oneself through constant slaughter.

Especially in such chaotic years of disaster, countless people starved to death, and there were endless fights and looting, with unknown numbers of casualties every day. The Thousand Blood Sect was like a fish in water, its strength surging, until in the end, they became unscrupulous and even began to coerce starving refugees to attack cities and seize land.

According to records in books, at its peak, the Thousand Blood Sect's forces once surged to hundreds of thousands, among whom were countless experts, and they even defeated the imperial court's suppression armies several times.

In the end, it was rumored that because they were too arrogant, daring to kill even the disciples of top sects and noble families, they finally angered countless sects and families. Therefore, under the joint suppression of the imperial court and the martial arts world, they were finally completely annihilated.

Looking at it now, this leader of the Zhangnan Bandits should be an Executive of the Thousand Blood Sect, and he could mobilize tens of thousands of people under his command. Thinking about it this way, although the Thousand Blood Sect had disappeared, it was not completely extinct and could still potentially rise from the ashes!

The rest of the items in the box were some letters of correspondence, which Shen Yu also looked at. How to put it, there were not only letters from the Prefect, Xu Mufeng, but also from many other high-ranking officials, and even generals commanding troops. Officials and bandits colluding to get rich together—little did they know they were also leaving behind evidence against themselves.

From this, it can be seen that this leader had grand designs. With these, it was equivalent to holding the vital weaknesses of these people. In the future, if this leader were to raise his arms and call out, where would these people go? It seems they would have no choice.

How many others like the leader of the Zhangnan Bandits had the Thousand Blood Sect buried in various places? Hiss, it seems he had single-handedly dug up an unexpected major event; this was truly a headache.