A Bountiful Harvest

"Bang, bang..."

To the surprise of Qin Dongcheng, just as he was about to bypass this dense forest, two Five Elements Sect disciples who had been robbing a True Inheritance Disciple of the Shadow Sect were suddenly struck by hidden weapons and sent fleeing out of the forest, landing right in front of him.

The Shadow Sect was one of the top sects in Heyuan Prefecture, occupying tens of millions of square kilometers of territory, but like the Zhao Kingdom, it had suffered attacks from a massive number of demons and monsters, leading to the total collapse of the sect.

Many disciples had fled to the neighboring Luo Cloud Prefecture, and this ambushed True Inheritance Disciple of the Shadow Sect was one of them.

Looking at the two Five Elements Sect disciples sprawled before him, Qin Dongcheng could tell from the fluctuations of blood energy radiating from their bodies that both were Martial Artists in the Flesh Phase Realm, qualifying them as first-rate experts; no wonder they dared to rob others around the Bamboo Forest Black Market.

Seeing Qin Dongcheng standing before them, the eyes of the two lit up, and they scrambled to plead for help.

"Senior brother, save us! A True Inheritance Disciple from the Shadow Sect is trying to kill us. Please, save us, and we will surely reward you handsomely."

"If you save us, senior brother, we are willing to hand over all our sect contributions to you. We have a Transfer Jade on us that can transfer our sect contributions to you."

At this moment, the Shadow Sect True Inheritance Disciple also chased them out. Wearing a cloak that obscured his face, he immediately stopped in his tracks, eyeing Qin Dongcheng with vigilance.

Faced with this trouble landing on his doorstep, Qin Dongcheng was speechless. He glanced at the group and shifted his feet, preparing to leave: "Solve your own problems; just don't bother me."

Having said that, he prepared to walk away.

But to his surprise, even though he had been quite reasonable, the Shadow Sect disciple was unwilling to let it go, perhaps fearing that he would go and report them.

After all, according to what the two Five Elements Sect disciples had said, the man was their senior brother; even if it was likely a ruse, one could not afford to be careless.

After all, this was near the headquarters of the Five Elements Sect, where Five Elements Sect disciples were everywhere, and he could not afford any slip-ups.

"Whoosh..."

A poison needle silently streaked toward Qin Dongcheng.

This True Inheritance Disciple of the Shadow Sect was also a Martial Artist in the Flesh Phase Realm, and he had already reached the perfection of the Flesh Phase Realm.

The Shadow Sect was the most famous sect for hidden weapons in the surrounding prefectures, and their various techniques were at the pinnacle. Qin Dongcheng was puzzled as to what the two Five Elements Sect disciples were thinking; knowing the opponent was a Shadow Sect disciple, they still dared to rob him.

As it turned out, not only did they fail to rob him, but they were instead severely wounded by him, and they even tried to drag him into the mess. Did they really think he was a fool?

"Hoo..."

Facing the sneak attack from the Shadow Sect True Inheritance Disciple, Qin Dongcheng's expression shifted. He had originally intended to spare the man and not interfere, but he hadn't expected that even after he let the man go, the man would not return the favor.

Did he really think he was a soft target?

He moved his feet, phantoms flickering, and in a single stride, he covered nearly a hundred meters.

He arrived directly in front of the Shadow Sect True Inheritance Disciple, and before the man could react, Qin Dongcheng's fist landed on his vital chest and abdomen.

"Diamond Pestle Pounding!"

One of the striking techniques from the Diamond Skin Refining Fist, it could be considered a top-tier supporting combat skill. With the training method and striking method combined, it was an absolute bargain for the few sect contributions it cost.

"Crack..."

Directly destroying the man's internal organs, the Shadow Sect True Inheritance Disciple looked at Qin Dongcheng in disbelief, never having expected his strength to be so great.

If he had known Qin Dongcheng was this powerful, he wouldn't have tried to silence the witnesses.

Qin Dongcheng had clearly already let him go, yet he had sought his own death; he was truly full of regret.

Heaven may forgive those who sin, but those who bring disaster upon themselves cannot live.

Faced with such an idiot, Qin Dongcheng could only send him on his way.

He searched the body and retrieved several hidden weapons, the most numerous being poison needles—a full thousand of them, known as the Seven Star Bone-Piercing Needles, a set of intermediate-grade weapons.

The value of this set of Seven Star Bone-Piercing Needles alone was likely worth tens of thousands of taels of silver; as expected of a True Inheritance Disciple of the Shadow Sect, he was truly wealthy.

More importantly, besides this set of Seven Star Bone-Piercing Needles, there was actually a top-tier combat manual.

Thousand Threads and Myriad Strands!

A supreme hidden weapon technique, a top-tier combat skill, and one of the most formidable hidden weapon methods of the Shadow Sect, its value was simply immeasurable.

If he could master it, it would surely become one of Qin Dongcheng's trump cards. Combined with this set of Seven Star Bone-Piercing Needles, even a Martial Artist one or two realms higher than him could potentially be easily assassinated.

With just these two items, he had struck it rich this time.

He looked at the other two Five Elements Sect disciples; they were already dead, killed by the Shadow Sect True Inheritance Disciple's Seven Star Bone-Piercing Needles.

While attacking Qin Dongcheng, the man had taken the opportunity to shoot two needles at the two Five Elements Sect disciples. Although Qin Dongcheng had noticed, he did not intervene, watching as the two were killed.

These two guys were robbers and murderers; they were no good, and they deserved to die.

They had even tried to drag Qin Dongcheng into the water just a moment ago, showing truly malicious intent.

He searched them as well, obtaining over three thousand taels of silver and two low-grade weapons worth several hundred taels of silver.

Murder and arson bring golden belts; he had truly made a killing this time.

Qin Dongcheng left happily with his spoils, ignoring the corpses on the ground, only taking care to clean up his own tracks to avoid being implicated.

After returning to the Osmanthus Garden, he began to study Thousand Threads and Myriad Strands.

Faced with such a highly practical combat skill and its accompanying hidden weapon technique, Qin Dongcheng had no intention of missing out; he always needed to add a few more trump cards to his arsenal.

Combat techniques and secret arts involving hidden weapons were exactly what he lacked; learning them would not only boost his strength but also familiarize him with the experience and tricks of the trade, making it easier to deal with such attacks in the future.

The difficulty of comprehending Thousand Threads and Myriad Strands was not high, far less than that of Heaven Concealment Art, and within a few days, he had grasped most of it and could begin his practice.

This top-tier combat technique was divided into several levels: Entry, Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, and Perfection. Entry allowed one to skillfully manipulate ten sharp needles, Minor Achievement allowed for one hundred, Major Achievement allowed for three hundred, and Perfection enabled the manipulation of one thousand sharp needles.

When unleashed all at once, Thousand Threads and Myriad Strands would be truly inescapable, penetrating every nook and cranny.

This reminded Qin Dongcheng of Dongfang Bubai from his past life, and he felt a bit strange while practicing it, but as long as it was effective, that was all that mattered; perhaps he could even master a secondary profession through this.

Without further thought, Qin Dongcheng began practicing Thousand Threads and Myriad Strands, quickly stepping into the Entry stage, barely enough to be used in actual combat.

However, the power was a bit low, making it difficult to deal with Martial Artists of the same rank, so he still needed to practice for a while; he would need to at least approach Minor Achievement to unleash any significant power.

Before Thousand Threads and Myriad Strands had even reached Minor Achievement, Qin Dongcheng's cultivation realm was already on the verge of a breakthrough.