165: Bandits and the Youth in Red

Twelve figures, like crouching Vicious Beasts, suddenly erupted from the valley!

All their killing moves were unleashed at once!

Various colors of spiritual light flashed, carrying a deadly aura, aimed straight at Zhang Sheng!

“Coming for me?” A cold light flickered in Zhang Sheng's eyes as he sneered inwardly. “Heh, twelve True Fetus Realm Cultivators ganging up on a single Divine Breath Realm minor? A sneak attack? And they're all fucking coming at once? Cautious enough, and shameless enough!”

With a thought, the Profound Light Shield hummed as it protected him, and hundreds of cold, crescent-shaped blades—Moon Slash—instantly condensed around him!

“Not good!” The leading bandit's pupils constricted. Zhang Sheng had cast both the Profound Light Shield and Moon Slash instantly, without even a single hand seal!

His mind buzzed as he clearly recalled that sensational technique from the Heavenly Injury City auction a few years ago—the Tier 2 Heaven-Grade Spell, Moon Slash! To be able to cast this Spell instantly... what the fuck did that mean?!

“This guy's a tough nut to crack! Don't hold anything back, give it your all!” the bandit leader roared, his voice cracking.

Actually, he didn't even need to shout; the others were already scared witless—the Spells they had unleashed together couldn't even break through the three layers of the Profound Light Shield in front of Zhang Sheng!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The chillingly cold moon blades tore through the air, arriving in an instant!

The bandits were terrified, hurriedly bringing out their trump card protective jade talismans.

Spiritual light flashed as defensive Spirit Shields were hastily formed one after another.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

In the bandits' terror-widened pupils, the protective Spirit Shields they were so proud of shattered like fragile glass!

They were, after all, fierce bandits who lived on the edge; their reactions were extremely fast!

The moment the Spirit Shields shattered, the glow of various Spiritual Artifacts lit up. They desperately parried the lethal moon blades while frantically retreating!

“Brother! A mistake! It's all a huge misunderstanding!” the leading bandit shouted via Divine Sense as he fled for his life. “We were blind! We'll meet again someday, so how about we each go our own way?”

“Each go our own way?” The corner of Zhang Sheng's mouth curled into a cold arc. “I think... you'd better stay here forever!”

With another thought, the cold light of the newly condensed moon blades was suddenly tinged with an incomparably sharp golden glow—Metal Element Moon Blade!

Like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, the bandits scattered and fled, covering over two hundred kilometers in an instant.

Just as they thought they were about to escape the range of Zhang Sheng's Divine Sense lock and a flicker of hope rose in their hearts... Chi! Chi! Chi!

The bone-chilling cold light, like life-taking Talismanic Incantations, ignored the distance and suddenly closed in!

Pu! Pu! Pu!

Their protective Spiritual Artifacts were like rotten wood or tofu before the moon blades, snapping instantly!

Next were their proud True Fetus Realm bodies—torn! Sliced! Falling apart!

Minced meat, foul blood, and broken bones fell from the sky like a rain of blood, becoming a gluttonous feast for the desolate beasts below.

Xiu, xiu, xiu... Eleven storage rings turned into streaks of light and landed steadily in Zhang Sheng's palm.

He had intentionally left one survivor—the bandit leader.

Watching his brothers, whom he spent every day with, instantly turn into a mist of blood, the bandit leader's liver and gallbladder nearly burst from terror, and his soul almost fled his body!

Several cold moon blades had completely surrounded him, hovering at his vital points. If he dared to harbor even a single thought of moving, his head would be separated from his body the next second!

“My Lord! Mercy! Spare my life, My Lord!” he wailed, tears and snot streaming down his face, his voice shaking uncontrollably. “I was blind! I beg you... please just let me go like a puff of air! This is my entire fortune!” Trembling, he slid off two storage rings from his fingers and held them up high.

Zhang Sheng didn't even look at the storage rings, his voice bone-chillingly cold. “Speak. Why did you ambush me?”

...A flicker of eerie blue flame ignited silently, incinerating the last traces of the bandit leader.

Zhang Sheng extinguished the flame and continued flying toward Heavenly Injury City.

“A pity the Slave Seal can only control those in the Divine Breath Realm...” He shook his head slightly. “Otherwise, he would have made a decent scout.”

From that unlucky fellow, he learned that in this desolate region, bandit groups like theirs were as numerous as the hairs on an ox, specifically targeting “New Prefecture” Cultivators.

These “fat sheep” who had just ascended from the Lower Realm were often blindly confident in their own strength and carried treasures obtained from their assessments, making them walking purses in the eyes of bandits.

To ensure success, they specifically targeted those traveling alone, striking with thunderous force, like a lion pouncing on a rabbit.

Twelve bandits had contributed thirteen storage rings.

As he probed them with his Divine Sense, even someone as strong-willed as Zhang Sheng couldn't help but take a deep breath, the corners of his mouth curling upward uncontrollably!

Twelve Tier 2 Low Grade storage rings and one Tier 2 High Grade. The mountains of resources inside were dazzling!

The bandit leader's collection was particularly abundant.

Piles of defensive, offensive, and healing jade talismans; jars and bottles of various Medicinal Pills; and dozens of Spiritual Artifacts like Flying Swords, long sabers, and giant hammers!

The biggest surprise was a flying boat! Unlike ordinary Spiritual Artifacts, even the lowest-grade version of this item in a merchant guild in a prosperous area would start at a price of a million spirit crystals—a true sky-high luxury!

Besides that, there was something truly blinding—a small mountain of spirit crystals! A rough sweep with his Divine Sense revealed there were as many as ten million!

“I'm rich!” Zhang Sheng roared inwardly. “Cultivate and farm honestly? Heh, how could that ever be as fast as robbery!”

Of course, he didn't know that these bandits were all desperadoes and loners; they naturally carried all their belongings with them, and once they died, everything belonged to someone else.

Aside from legitimate cultivation resources, Zhang Sheng also turned up some things that made him frown—a few pieces of revealing women's underwear made of special materials and some adult toys, still smelling of strong, pungent mixed powders and perfumes. “...They really collect all sorts of garbage.” He curled his lip in disgust.

He quickly organized: all the spirit crystals were transferred to his own storage ring; practical resources like jade talismans and Medicinal Pills were placed in a separate one; and those communication jade slips and foul-smelling “sundries” were directly incinerated into ash with blue flames.

Zhang Sheng set off again at a leisurely pace, maintaining only one-fifth of his maximum speed.

Even so, it was still four times the speed of an ordinary Divine Breath Realm Cultivator!

However, before he had flown sixty thousand kilometers, another group of bandits bumped into him.

There were fewer this time, six of them, all in the True Fetus Realm.

Zhang Sheng didn't even bother with words.

Moon blades tore through the air! Blue flames incinerated the corpses! storage rings were collected!

His movements were as smooth as flowing water, all done in one breath!

Another few million spirit crystals were added to his account.

“These bandits are a far cry from Feng Shaoqin,” Zhang Sheng compared secretly.

As a Prefecture Lord who had ascended ten years ago, Feng Shaoqin's strength far exceeded these small fry. If he were to face them, although he might not be able to wipe them all out, defeating them would not be difficult.

One could imagine that for an ordinary “New Prefecture” Cultivator who had just ascended, encountering such an ambush would mean certain death.

After flying another few tens of thousands of kilometers, the familiar “welcome ceremony” played out once again... “This business is truly lucrative!” Zhang Sheng weighed the bulging bag of storage rings at his waist, which was nearly too full to hold any more, and sneered, “Unfortunately, you've kicked a steel plate today!”

Having dealt with this batch of blind fools, Zhang Sheng was about to leave when the edge of his Divine Sense caught intense spiritual energy fluctuations ahead.

A fierce battle was unfolding!

A Youth in Red was being besieged by four fierce bandits! Three bandit corpses already lay on the ground. The youth was surprisingly also at the Divine Breath Realm, yet he unleashed astonishing combat power!

His vital energy surged like mercury, and his Protective Aura flowed powerfully. He brandished a Spiritual Artifact long saber like a dragon, its blade aura bursting with dazzling crimson light!

“A Body Cultivator?” A hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Sheng's eyes.

He didn't change his flight path or speed, intending to pass straight by.

“Fellow Daoist! Help! Assist me in escaping, and I will offer a million spirit crystals!” the Youth in Red's urgent Divine Sense transmission cut through the air.

Zhang Sheng acted as if he hadn't heard.

Immediately after, a threatening Divine Sense transmission pierced his mind: “Kid! If you don't want to die, get lost! Don't fucking meddle in other people's business!”

Zhang Sheng's figure suddenly stopped mid-air. He slowly turned around, a bone-chilling smile appearing on his face. “Heh, I didn't want to get involved... but since you put it that way...”

A sharp light flashed in his eyes. “I've suddenly changed my mind!”

Before his voice had even faded,

Moon blades startled the sky! Cold light flashed like lightning!

Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu!

Four fine heads soared into the sky!