Ding-dang! Ding-dang!
On the main road, a carriage approached rapidly, gradually revealing its full appearance.
This carriage was entirely made of agarwood, elaborately decorated, and adorned with strings of golden bells at its four corners. Even the slightest vibration caused the bells to emit clear and crisp sounds.
The bandit leader swallowed hard, willing to bet his pair of ears that those four strings of bells were all cast from pure gold.
Not only was the carriage extravagant, but the two horses pulling it were also exceptional steeds, carefully selected from hundreds. In any city, they could fetch a price of over a hundred silver coins!
Even the carriage driver wasn’t a rough, coarse stable hand, but a young girl dressed in a light green silk dress, with delicate features and beautiful eyes.
Not only the bandits, but even the people in the merchant caravan were stunned.
What kind of person could afford such extravagance?
Gulu!
The bandit leader’s body slightly trembled—not out of excitement at seeing an easy target, but sheer terror.
When something unusual occurs, there must be something wrong!
Years of experience as a highway robber told him that anyone who dares to travel so ostentatiously, and who charges headlong into a bandit ambush, must either be a complete fool or a highly skilled expert with formidable abilities.
And as for the former, they probably wouldn’t have made it this far—their bones would already be feeding the wild dogs by the roadside!
“Quick… quick…”
In an instant, even though he had killed countless men before, his teeth chattered slightly.
“Quickly, capture that girl!”
“Hurry up and move!”
But clearly, his subordinates misunderstood his intentions. And as for discipline among bandits…
When faced with wealth and beauty, and with a force of over a hundred men, how many could restrain themselves? Sure enough, dozens of riders charged forward immediately.
“Darn… stop right now!”
The bandit leader stared in shock at the dozen or so riders rushing forward and let out a furious roar that shook the heavens.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
“Master, there are bandits blocking the road!”
The pretty maid respectfully informed the person inside the carriage.
“Oh?”
A voice, unusually young, came from within the carriage. It showed no fear or anger—instead, it carried a hint of… excitement?
“Kill them!”
“Kill the men, and keep the women!”
At this moment, the first group of bandits had already reached the carriage. Seeing the silks and golden bells, their eyes burned with greed.
Xiu-xiu!
Suddenly, a white line shot out from inside the carriage, swirling around swiftly.
The leading bandits’ expressions froze. Their bodies suddenly disintegrated mid-charge, torn apart and scattered.
“Old Carpenter?!”
“One Eye?”
The other bandits looked on in horror. Those with sharper wits began to pull their horses around, but most were overcome with rage, ready to charge forward to avenge their comrades.
Chi-chi!
Soft slicing sounds continued. At this point, the other bandits finally saw clearly—what had flown from the carriage were streams of crystal-clear water, sparkling in the sunlight.
Yet these gentle streams of water, usually so soft and pliant, now seemed transformed into the chains of the King of Hell—sharp and deadly. Even armor and horses could not resist their slicing power.
Hundreds of meters away, both the bandit leader and the merchants stared in shock.
A dozen or so streams of water, as nimble as death itself, mercilessly reaped lives in a ruthless massacre!
In just a moment, the dozens of riders who had charged forth were already lying dead on the ground, limbs severed and scattered, turning the surroundings into a scene of carnage.
“Truly, when you’re sleepy, someone brings a pillow…”
That devilish voice sounded again. Amid the carnage, the scattered blood on the ground began to ripple unnaturally, floating into the air, transforming into countless crimson droplets. These coalesced into several blood-red dragons, which condensed and then vanished into the carriage.
“Ghosts! Ghosts!”
This scene was so terrifying that not only the bandits, but even the martial artists from the merchant caravan were so frightened they soiled themselves and scattered like birds and beasts.
“Run! Run quickly!”
As the bandit leader, the big man naturally had more experience than others. He knew that the person in the carriage was no demon or monster, but a martial artist of extraordinary skill.
The more he understood, the harder he whipped his mount, not caring at all about this expensive steed he had bought for a fortune.
“Projecting true energy outward, manifesting supernatural phenomena… this must be at least a martial artist of the Earth Origin Stage!”
That bunch of idiots with horse piss for brains actually dared to provoke this King of Hell. They truly have no idea what death means. The worst part is, they dragged me into this mess!
To his slight relief, after eliminating the challenging bandits, the expert in the carriage did not pursue further but continued on the journey.
Ding-dang! Ding-dang!
The crisp sound of the bells lingered in the air, yet the remaining members of the Luofeng Merchant Guild seemed to have seen Yama himself. They hastily cleared the path, their eyes filled with reverence as they watched the carriage pass by.
“Frightening…”
Everyone lay on the ground, barely daring to breathe, until the carriage had completely disappeared from sight. Only then did the steward rise, wiping cold sweat from his face: “Such a ruthless martial artist—probably one of those old masters at the Earth Origin Stage. That we survived this disaster is truly a stroke of luck…”
Others remained silent, looking at the former battlefield.
The grass there was green and lush, without a trace of blood, yet this made the scene even more horrifying.
The image of that carriage and its bells would surely become a nightmare that haunted them for the rest of their lives.
…
“Just when I wanted to find some test subjects, these bandits came knocking on their own. How fortunate…”
Inside the carriage at this moment, Wu Ming, whom the steward had called an “old demon,” was examining the solidified blood clumps in his hands, his face showing satisfaction.
“And the Xuan Shui Zhen Fa—just a small demonstration, yet its power is extraordinary!”
After reading through all the scriptures of the Sanyang Sect, he had decided to set out on his journey. Since he had promised to help Lin Xinlan seek revenge, naturally he headed straight for Cangwu Prefecture.
Ding Jiao had tried every means to persuade him to stay, finally personally escorting him thirty miles outside the city walls and presenting this carriage. Of course, he had also insisted on sending seven or eight of his personal disciples as carriage attendants, but Wu Ming had politely declined.
Along the way, he had finally experienced the chaos of the Shenwu World—where the common people struggled to survive and bandits roamed everywhere.
But these were all minor troubles, easily dealt with by Lin Xinlan. Today’s encounter, however, was the largest group yet, giving Wu Ming a chance to test the power of the Xuan Shui Zhen Fa.
The internal energy cultivated through this technique could be either hard or soft. With just a slight change, it easily took the lives of dozens of bandits—an ability extremely difficult for ordinary martial artists at the Earth Origin Stage to achieve.
“After the Earth Origin Stage, martial artists can manifest various supernatural abilities. At the ultimate level, these abilities can even influence the weather of an entire region. My Xuan Shui Zhen Fa is the source of all waters, granting the ability to control water after reaching the Earth Origin Stage…”
In fact, if Wu Ming’s martial cultivation were to advance further, reaching the Heaven Manifestation level, he could have effortlessly extracted the blood from every living being within dozens of miles.
But at that point, he would truly be branded as a great demon, inevitably earning a title like “Blood Sea Patriarch.”
Of course, his previous collection of the bandits’ essence blood was not out of any special fetish, but purely for research purposes.
“Indeed…”
Wu Ming slightly closed his eyes. His celestial-level Yuan Shen instantly penetrated the blood clump, removing nearly ninety-nine percent of impurities. Immediately, he sensed a mighty and vast energy.
This energy carried a wild, ancient flavor, yet was chaotic and difficult to utilize.
“All the human race in the Shenwu World… carries mixed divine and demonic bloodlines, perhaps inherited from the ancient beasts of the primordial wilderness. They might be called ‘Descendants of Gods and Demons.'”
This was a unique phenomenon of this world.
At least, in the Great Zhou World, or even other cultivation worlds, Wu Ming had never seen a large-scale presence of such divine and demonic descendants.
“Therefore… after reaching the sixth level, martial artists in this world walk the path of developing their bloodline potential, transforming their physical bodies to achieve the forms of gods and demons?”
Although everyone in this world carries mixed divine and demonic bloodlines, they are extremely chaotic and difficult to use.
Only after reaching the Heaven Manifestation level can one begin to develop and purify these bloodlines. Once accumulated to a certain stage, one enters the Nirvana Phase, completely transforming the body, awakening the most suitable divine or demonic bloodline, and using the power of the world to forge a divine or demonic body, entering the Divine-Demonic Stage!
Martial artists in other worlds… do not have such uniquely favorable conditions… I must change that…
Wu Ming shook his head and casually tossed the blood clump out the window.
“Master?”
From the front of the carriage came Lin Xinlan’s startled voice.
“It’s nothing… How is your progress with the ‘Nine Rivers and Eight Mountains Circulation Method’?”
“Thanks to your guidance, I’ve just begun to grasp the basics!”
Lin Xinlan’s voice carried sincere gratitude.
“Good… Now, run the technique again!” Wu Ming suddenly said, after pondering several thoughts.
“Now?”
Holding the reins, Lin Xinlan was momentarily at a loss.
“Divide your mind—no matter how the world collapses around you, your inner self must remain undisturbed. If you wish to master profound internal techniques, this is an essential condition!”
Wu Ming’s voice came again, now with a comforting tone: “Also… feel free to try. I’ll be watching over you!”
Hua-la!
As soon as he finished speaking, a surge of water flowed out from the carriage, hovering around Lin Xinlan. It even transformed into fine threads, entering her acupoints and internal passages.
If Ding Jiao had seen this scene, he would have dropped his jaw in disbelief.
Although he could also emit flame-like sword qi, he could never manipulate it as effortlessly and precisely as Wu Ming, who could wield it with both softness and hardness, capable of both killing and healing.
This was the difference in Yuan Shen control.
Without a doubt, even martial artists at the Heaven Manifestation level could not match Wu Ming in this aspect.
“Un… Understand!”
With a grateful look, Lin Xinlan obeyed solemnly, beginning to circulate the technique.
However, the surrounding streams of water seemed to have eyes of their own, making her feel completely exposed. Her cheeks involuntarily flushed red.
“Focus your mind! Don’t let your thoughts wander!”
Wu Ming’s voice came again, and it seemed he had even detected this tiny emotional fluctuation.
“Yes!”
Lin Xinlan forcefully gathered her focus, steering the horses while circulating the technique.
She believed this was Wu Ming deliberately guiding her martial cultivation, unaware that Wu Ming was also using her body to glimpse more secrets of the Shenwu World.
“Indeed… whether male or female, deep within their acupoints lies the ancient divine and demonic bloodline of the primordial wilderness… For them, cultivating internal energy also means nurturing the essence blood within their acupoints…”
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