The tavern servant recounted that he heard a clamorous racket coming from the priest's chamber and rushed to investigate.There, he beheld the Taoist standing and scolding himself in a frenzy, before suddenly biting his own tongue off until it was severed—blood splattered in all directions!He staggered blindly about the room, then violently wrenched the sharpened pins from his hair bun; holding them in both hands, he plunged them deep into his own eyeballs with all his might!At last, he collapsed, writhing in agony on the floor until he breathed his last... yet, the Taoist's bundle vanished for reasons unknown.
But the tale of the mystical armor did not fade into silence; for it was the dawn of a grim omen: whenever the Black Iron Armor appeared, a trail of death was sure to follow!Jianghu legend whispers that this is born of a malevolent curse from vengeful spirits, which act as a beacon for demons and devils to possess the regalia.As time waned, the number of those slain by it multiplied, and the curse of the Black Iron Armor grew ever more virulent, brewing a storm of slaughter that left corpses strewn far and wide.Some ended their own lives, while others were butchered by their peers; some perished in the greed to seize the treasure, while others were slaughtered for no reason at all.Yet, it was observed that death by one's own hand—the act of self-mutilation unto demise—became the most frequent of these tragedies.
With the passage of many moons, the warriors of the martial world discovered that whoever possessed or even drew near the Black Iron Armor would inevitably fall into a state of horrific madness and meet a ghastly end.Nevertheless, in the fleeting moments before insanity or death claimed them, those who donned this suit became truly invincible sovereigns—no armament in the world could hope to harm them!
The toll of the dead rose continuously until the people of the Jianghu began to harbor a deadly fear, staying their hands in the struggle or even abandoning their search for the armor.Yet, there remained many who thirsted for its possession, dismissing the rumors of a malevolent curse as nonsensical rubbish.Such was the case of a prominent and wealthy merchant who, upon hearing of the Black Iron Armor's renown, coveted the treasure for himself.Believing nothing of ghosts or specters, he squandered vast sums of gold and silver to hire a company of martial artists to search for it.At last, the Black Iron Armor was delivered into his hands. However... he had merely taken possession of it and had yet to don the regalia.Rumor has it that the merchant simply stroked the metallic scales—which moved with a will of their own—before concealing it away.Yet, before a single day had passed, he suddenly fell into a violent frenzy and went on a mad rampage.
Brandishing his blade, he went on a mad rampage, leaving the members of his household slaughtered and strewn far and wide.Most wretched of all was the state in which he was found before his demise: he was seen stooping to devour the flesh of a newborn infant—his own flesh and blood!Then, rising up, he wedged his blade against the bedframe with the edge facing upwards, and threw his bloated frame upon it, landing with his plump neck squarely on the cold steel.His head was severed and rolled onto the floor, yet his eyes remained wide and staring, twisted in a ghastly, blood-stained grin with the infant's flesh still within his maw—a truly horrific sight to behold.
As for the martial artists who had delivered the regalia to the merchant, it is said that shortly after receiving their payment, death began to claim them one by one.Some drew their weapons and threw themselves into a senseless slaughter against their own companions; others sought their own ends for no discernible reason.One among them, who wielded a long spear, after spending a moment butchering his peers, suddenly drove the shaft of his weapon firmly into the ground with the point aimed at the heavens.He then soared into the air and plunged his chin onto the spear's tip!The blade pierced through his jaw and emerged from the crown of his skull, as brain matter mixed with gore surged forth to pool upon the earth.It is whispered that all seven martial artists involved in that affair were sacrificed to the armor's curse; not a single soul was spared.
Many such tales have been whispered since, a mixture of truth and fabricated legends, embellished to make the horror even more vivid.Nevertheless, the mystical armor that once promised absolute protection is now rumored to be a malevolent regalia possessed by vengeful ghosts and demons; whoever ventures near is destined to meet a violent end.Yet, despite these harrowing rumors, many still thirst to possess it, and tales of calamity surrounding the black iron regalia continue to emerge unceasingly... until at last, it became known throughout the Jianghu as the Blood-Stained Black Iron Armor!
In later years, there arose a virtuous monk of supreme attainment named Master Zhi Kong (智空大师 : Zhì Kōng Dàshī), known throughout the land by the moniker "Venerable Grand Monk of Sunyata." This Master possessed preternatural powers and, moved by a heart of profound compassion, he rushed forth to seize the Black Iron Armor and sought to safeguard it within his monastery. Yet the tidings of death surrounding the regalia did not fade into silence; for while it was enshrined in the temple, a temple boy and a young novice monk, driven by a forbidden curiosity, stealthily infiltrated the vault to behold the cursed relic.Alas... they met a wretched and ghastly end!
Scarcely two double-hours after they had peered upon the armor, a sudden madness seized them. The temple boy lunged and embraced the novice, sinking his teeth into the boy's neck and violently tearing at his flesh with animalistic force! The novice's artery was severed, and his blood surged forth like a crimson fountain. Yet the novice uttered no cry; his face remained frozen, his eyes wide and staring without a single blink. He snatched a heavy brass candlestick and swung it with a bone-shattering force into the temple boy's skull, crushing it utterly as brain matter and gore splattered in all directions! Both perished together right then and there.
Following this atrocity within the temple, Master Zhi Kong constructed a secret chamber to entomb the armor and erected a nine-story pagoda over it as a seal.He bestowed upon it a new name: "The Divine Power Armor" (神力甲 : Shenli Jia). Every day, the Grand Monk remained within the pagoda, chanting scriptures and radiating benevolence to suppress the virulent curse, forbidding any soul to draw near. He persisted in this vigil for thirty years, until the Master finally passed into Nirvana from old age, and only then did the armor's malice begin to wane. The dark history was shrouded in secrecy, and the harrowing events that once shook the Jianghu became a forgotten legend. Most men came to believe the tale was but a phantom myth. Isolated from the mortal world, the cursed armor lay silent within the temple for hundreds of years... until the destined day arrived when it returned once more to the Jianghu!
The tale unfolds thus: A disciple monk, consumed by an obsessive infatuation with the martial arts, learned of the legend regarding the mystical regalia enshrined within the pagoda. He relentlessly implored his teacher, the Abbot, to grant him passage into the secret chamber to behold the armor. Upon witnessing the treasure, avarice took root in his heart; he launched a treacherous strike against the Abbot to seize the armor for his own. Yet, before breathing his last, the Abbot managed to unleash a powerful palm strike, leaving the monk with a severe internal injury. Nevertheless, the wretch was able to conceal the "Divine Power Armor" (Shenli Jia) within a bundle and stealthily flee the monastery... thus, tidings of this divine treasure began to resound throughout the Jianghu once more.
In his youth, shortly after ascending to the seat of Master of the Divine Eagle Sect, Chen Shuyuan heard the whispers of the armor's resurgence and his mind drifted back to the days of his childhood. He recalled once beholding a bizarre object—jet-black scales linked together like fish skin—hidden within the bundle of a mysterious monk who had imparted martial lessons to him at a dilapidated shrine. He realized then that what he had deemed a mere "toy" in his innocence might indeed be the Divine Power Armor, a treasure capable of bestowing absolute invulnerability upon its wearer!
The "Celestial Sword Divine Eagle" surmised that this enigmatic figure was the very same monk who had stealthily liberated the Divine Power Armor from the pagoda.Consequently, he dispatched his subordinates to scour the land, tracing the threads and knots of information from the regions he had known in his youth.
Though decennia had passed, for one who wields such monumental power, all things are within the realm of possibility.At last, Chen Shuyuan received word from his retainers that they had located an elderly monk of deranged mind, whose appearance matched the one he sought; the man now dwells in seclusion, hidden within a mountain cavern amidst the depths of a primeval forest.