Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 326 The Situation Reverses, Blood Packs for a Thousand People

The Iron Guards were all martial artists, wielding sharp blades distributed by the Imperial Sword Manor. With their inner energy infused into their weapons, cutting down these wooden stakes was a piece of cake for them.

Those with high cultivation can be killed with one sword strike, while those with low cultivation can be killed in three sword strikes at most.

With the combined efforts of thousands of people, the entire wooden stake formation was cleared of most of it in just a few minutes.

The wooden stake formation was Yin Zhong's living space.

After most of them were cleared away, he could only wander back and forth among the few remaining wooden stakes.

But this obviously couldn't stop the situation.

His living space is getting smaller and smaller.

Before long, only the last thirty or forty wooden stakes remained.

Yin Zhong's figure was faintly visible among these wooden stakes.

As the wooden stake array was destroyed, the array's disorienting effect and the speed boost it provided to Yin Zhong also disappeared.

Thousands of iron guards surrounded them, with Granny Long and Yin Hao blocking the sides, while Tong Bo stood on a wooden stake and proclaimed, "Yin Zhong, your death is near!"

"is it?"

Despite being surrounded, Yin Zhong showed no panic whatsoever; instead, he revealed a strange smile.

"I'd like to know, you destroyed these stakes, but why did you cut them in half instead of just pulling them out?"

why?
Of course, it's because cutting it off from the middle is quicker and more convenient.

Those wooden stakes were buried underground by two hundred Iron Guards over two or three days. No one knows how deep they were buried, but each stake was at least half a meter underground.

If we were to pull it out, I doubt most of the Iron Guards would have the strength.

Moreover, Yin Hao was urging them urgently, so naturally they had to remove the danger of these wooden stakes as quickly as possible.

But at this moment, everyone's expression changed drastically when faced with Yin Zhong's question.

"Get out!"

Yin Tianxue shouted and was the first to leap up.

Yin Hao, Long Po, and Tong Bo immediately attacked Yin Zhong.

However, it was too late.

The pool water beneath their feet suddenly rose up, transforming into three water curtains that blocked the attacks of the three grandmaster-level experts.

Beneath the water curtain, Yin Zhong laughed loudly, "You only realize something's wrong now? It's too late. Did you think I was wandering around this formation just because that kid was chasing me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a bright blue light suddenly burst forth from beneath each of the severed wooden stakes, followed by a chilling aura emanating directly from the center of this blue light.

The simultaneous eruption of hundreds of blue rays of light and the resulting chill instantly froze the entire small lake into ice.

Everyone still standing in the water had their feet frozen solid by the ice.

But it's not over yet.

The next moment, lines of blood extended from beneath those wooden stakes, piercing directly into everyone's bodies.

In an instant, blue light and blood-red light intertwined throughout the artificial lake, and thousands of people were connected by blood threads.

"You!" Everyone exclaimed in shock, "What have you done?"

"Take a guess?"

Yin Zhong burst into wild laughter, and countless blood lines spread out, converging at his feet and sending a crimson glow into his body.

A single line of blood-red light is incredibly small, but when thousands of lines of light intertwine, the resulting crimson glow illuminates Yin Zhong's entire body, turning him a blood-red color.

Yin Zhong's body trembled, and the solid ice beneath his feet suddenly rose into the air, transforming into nine ice dragons that slammed towards the three of them.

It carries an unparalleled, immense power.

Yin Hao and Granny Long dodged one attack and blocked another, but were blasted away by the third one below.

Only Tong Bo, with the power of his Whirlwind Sword, managed to sever all three ice dragons that were attacking him.

However, the falling ice dragons instantly recovered, and together with the three that had knocked Yin Hao and Granny Long away, a total of nine ice dragons attacked Tong Bo.

Even with Tong Bo's strength, he was unable to cope with such an attack and was quickly hit by the two ice dragons, sending him flying backward.

Yin Zhong, once in power, showed no mercy.

Suddenly, a sharp, pointed ice spike rose up along the path from which Tong Bo was sent flying backward, waiting for him to deliver himself to it.

Tong Bo noticed this and quickly released his whirlwind power to support his body, thus avoiding being pierced by the ice spike.

He leaped into the air and landed on the cliff behind him, looking down at the frozen lake with a thoughtful expression.

How could Yin Zhong suddenly display such immense power?
Was it something that was hidden all along, or was it something that simply couldn't be used before?

Tong Bo prefers the latter option.

After all, once they saw Yin Zhong's condition clearly, they realized that although he was highly skilled, his injuries were extremely serious.

Currently, it is likely that he has recovered somewhat from his injuries, which is why he was able to unleash such a technique and demonstrate even greater strength.

And the way he recovers from his injuries... is probably through those lines of blood.

"Above the bloodline, a crimson light surged, seemingly infusing Yin Zhong with something? What kind of power is that?"

In fact, that is vitality.

It is the vitality of thousands of Iron Guards in the frozen lake.

Yin Zhong set up a wooden stake array with two layers. The wooden stakes on the surface could enhance the power of his sonic attack, creating a confusing effect, and could also gather the power of heaven and earth from the surrounding area to bless him.

However, because the scope is limited, the blessing of this power of heaven and earth is also limited.

Yin Zhong used this to prevent the Iron Guard from surrounding and killing him, while preparing to carry out his primary objective: to quickly kill Yin Hao, and then, relying on his prestige and the trusted confidants he had cultivated over the years, to seize control of the Iron Guard, and then to seize control of the Imperial Sword Manor.

Because beneath the Imperial Sword Manor lies a dungeon and a mercury pool that he painstakingly built, a means to prevent his injuries from worsening.

This was a precautionary measure, since he couldn't be sure that he would be able to find the Spirit Mirror after entering the Water Moon Cave.

Even if you find the magic mirror, it may not be able to heal your injuries.

Yujian Manor was his fallback plan, and he was naturally unwilling to give it up easily.

Unfortunately, the enemy's numbers and strength far exceeded his expectations, making the situation extremely unfavorable for him.

Yin Zhong had no choice but to demonstrate the second effect of the wooden stake formation.

It can draw life force from others to heal its own injuries.

Expanding the pool into such a small lake was not only to hinder the Iron Guards' cavalry charge, but also primarily to work with the cold air to confine them within the range of this wooden stake formation.

To be honest, he was also very reluctant to see this happen.

The draining of life force will have a huge impact on these Iron Guards. Even if they survive afterward, they will probably be crippled.

Moreover, after such an ordeal, even the most loyal person would only be filled with hatred towards him.

This will directly affect his chances of taking control of the Imperial Sword Manor.

If things escalate to the most extreme scenario, he might have to personally destroy the entire Imperial Sword Manor to ensure that it remains under his control.

Moreover, these people's vitality actually has little impact on his recovery.

If Yin Zhong was able to recover 10% of his injuries through decades of treatment at the Mercury Pool, then now his condition should only be 3%.

A person's vitality can only restore their injuries to about five percent at most.

Beyond this limit, life force becomes useless to him. Therefore, it can be seen that although Yin Zhong absorbs the life force of these people through the formation, he does not drain all of their life force at once. Instead, he draws a little bit from each person, restoring their health bar to five percent, and then stops drawing.

If he keeps drawing blood, even if all these people die, his health bar will still be at five percent and won't increase at all.

So much vitality, it's as if it will all be wasted.

Yin Zhong in his current state can be said to be even stronger than when he clashed with Tong Bo in the Dragon God Skill.

Most importantly, with these thousands of blood packs, he doesn't have to worry about his injuries recurring halfway through the fight, allowing him to fully unleash his skills.

Even if it's just a means to an end under the current circumstances.

Besides being a martial artist, Yin Zhong is also a powerful magic cultivator.

This is the time to showcase your abilities.

A chilling aura shot into the sky, and the nine ice dragons coalesced together.

Yin Zhong unleashed his strongest power at that moment, transforming the ice dragon into a long spear and blasting it towards Tong Bo.

A gust of wind swirled around Tong Bo, and with a light leap, he dodged the attack.

The spear, carrying immense power, slammed fiercely into the cliff face.

The entire cliff was instantly pierced with a large hole, and cracks were everywhere.

But at the same time, an even more powerful force emerged from behind the cliff, blocking the ice spear from going any further.

Yin Zhong's eyes flickered slightly, and a hint of regret could be seen in his expression.

He then laughed heartily, manipulating his ice spear to slash downwards, carving a ten-meter-long, nearly palm-deep gash into the cliff face, and said, "See? This is my strength! Do you still wish to contend with me?"

Yin Hao's face paled slightly.

Although Luang Phor still looked hateful, he was quite shocked by this power.

Tong Bo is the same.

But he still had trump cards up his sleeve and wasn't afraid of such power, so it wasn't too bad.

Yin Zhong added, "I'll say it again: my only purpose is to see the Spirit Mirror, and I have no intention of killing you!"
"As long as you're willing to open the Water Moon Cave and let me in, I can release everyone immediately!"

It sounds very tempting.

But Tong Bo sneered and said, "Yin Zhong, stop spreading rumors! You think you can let us go? Who are you trying to fool?!"

Your move just now seemed to be an attack on me, a display of your strength, but I'm afraid that's not your real purpose. Your true purpose is to attack the barrier of Water Moon Cave!
But in the end you failed; the attack didn't break the barrier, which is why you immediately changed your mind.

"Do you think you can fool me with such a little trick?"

Yin Zhong's face darkened.

In fact, his idea was exactly the same as Tong Bo's guess.

That ice spear strike was already his strongest attack.

If this attack breaks through the barrier of the Water Moon Cave, then everything will be fine.

If you can't break through it, then use it to intimidate everyone, and then use words to confuse them.

Unfortunately, Tong Bo wouldn't listen at all.

He knew all too well what gave Yin Zhong his confidence, and how vengeful this man was.

The history of the Long family is proof of this.

"If you don't eat the toast, you will be punished with alcohol!"

With his thoughts exposed, Yin Zhong simply stopped pretending: "The lives of these thousands of people are in my hands right now. The Tong family has always been kind-hearted and compassionate. Are we just going to stand by and watch these thousands of people die before our eyes without doing anything?"

Tong Bo sneered again: "I've already told you, I'm from the Long family, not the Tong family. Even if you kill them all, what does it have to do with me?"
On the contrary, the Tong clan of Water Moon Cave has an alliance with my Long family since ancient times. As a member of the Long family, I, Li, should protect Water Moon Cave!

"you!"

Yin Zhong gritted his teeth.

This kid really won't budge, no matter what you say.

Of course, he couldn't possibly kill all these thousands of people, since they were currently his blood donation bags.

In that case, let's just let our strength prove us right!
He refused to believe that the kid could hold out with a knife to his throat!

A burst of cold air erupted in an instant, and ice spikes shot out from the frozen lake, hurtling towards Tong Bo and his companions.

Knowing they were no match for the enemy, the three retreated repeatedly, hiding further and further away.

Then they suddenly realized that Yin Zhong's attacks also had a range limit.

Normally, if the enemy dodges, the attacking side can simply pursue them.

But unfortunately, Yin Zhong is not up to the task now.

Because he needs the Iron Guard as his blood bank.

To avoid aggravating his injuries, he couldn't stray too far from the Iron Guard.

In other words, by using the wooden stake array and the frozen lake to control the entire Iron Guard's actions, he was actually binding himself to that area.

In this way, once Tong Bo and his two companions have escaped to a certain distance, Yin Zhong will be unable to continue the pursuit.

Or rather, he could pursue her.

But without the blood pack, he would face a counterattack from the three men, and he would likely suffer a relapse of his injuries after only a few moves.

Realizing this situation, Yin Zhong's expression grew even more unpleasant.

He swore that in the more than five hundred years since he was brought back from the dead, he had never hated his injuries as much as he did now!

To avoid a relapse of his injuries, Yin Zhong had no choice but to return to the frozen lake.

However, they were completely helpless against Tong Bo and the other two.

They couldn't even make a threat.

Because Yin Tianxue reacted quickly, she was not frozen inside the icy lake.

Tong Zhan had been taking care of Tong Xin. He had originally come to check on Tong Xin's condition, but after confirming that she was alright, he joined the battle.

But unexpectedly, the situation changed drastically within just a few minutes.

He narrowly escaped death.

The remaining Iron Guards posed no threat to the three of them.

Even some of the most loyal members of the Iron Guard were willing to commit suicide to avoid becoming pawns in Yin Zhong's hands to threaten the manor lord.

If Yin Zhong hadn't reacted quickly and brought them under control, he probably would have lost dozens or even hundreds of blood packs in an instant.

Yin Zhong was unable to pursue them.

Tong Bo, on the other hand, was also reluctant to leave.

On the one hand, it's because there are thousands of Iron Guards, and we can't really ignore them.

On the other hand, it is naturally because this place is the entrance and exit of the Water Moon Cave Heaven barrier, and Yin Zhong cannot be allowed to guard this place.

After thinking for a moment, Tong Bo said, "I have a move that might be able to defeat Yin Zhong..."

Upon hearing this, Yin Hao exclaimed with delight, "Since Young Hero Tong possesses such skill, he should have shown it long ago."

(End of this chapter)