Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 359 Two Kings vs. Queen: Willpower and Spirit

Shi Guanyin had long known that she was being targeted by the Xingluo Sect.

However, upon seeing the army with her own eyes, she showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, she remarked with interest, "Clad in gray robes, moving like the wind, impervious to swords and spears... So that's it! I was wondering why such an almost invincible bandit force suddenly appeared in the Western Regions. It turns out they were the Rakshasa Army under the Star Luo Sect in disguise. That gray robe was just to conceal the iron armor beneath!"

Otherwise, anyone would be able to see the origins of this so-called bandit 'Grey Wind'.

After all, there wasn't a single force in the entire Western Regions that could equip its cavalry with a full set of iron armor!

The Star Luo Cult, established only in the last few months, possesses such formidable foundation and strength.

"Stone Guanyin..."

Black Scorpion King, one of the three kings of the Star Luo Sect, leaped lightly to the front of the army, his voice low and cold: "Your biggest mistake was interfering in the power of the Gui Zi Kingdom. Unfortunately, there is no place reserved for you at the Western Regions' table."

"Haha, whether there are seats or not isn't up to you!"

Shi Guanyin arrogantly declared, "Even if there isn't one, I will still snatch one!"

It's really hard to predict a person's character, especially after decades of change.

That girl from the Li family in Huangshan probably never imagined that she would one day abandon her husband and children without hesitation.

She, who submitted herself to Tianfeng Shisilang in search of the power to seek revenge, probably never imagined that one day she would be so arrogant in front of a powerful force that had destroyed the Demonic Sect.

When did she begin to change, having endured humiliation and hardship in her youth?
It probably started when she settled down in a remote corner of the Western Regions, took in disciples and male lovers, and enjoyed the awe and endless flattery that others felt in the face of fear.

Countless mediocre rulers have used their own experiences to tell others that being in an environment where everyone is adoring you for a long time can really lead you astray.

If it were the young Shi Guanyin, under the current circumstances, her first thought would undoubtedly be to escape and find another opportunity.

However, in her middle age, Shi Guanyin regarded the thousands of Xiantian cultivators as nothing, and paid no attention to the two leaders in front of this army whose martial arts cultivation was far inferior to hers.

"Why waste words with her? The leader orders that everyone present be killed without exception!"

Tie Zhan's body crashed down next to Tuotuo, and he said in a rough voice.

Faced with the imposing presence of the Three Flowers Grandmaster, he was not afraid at all; instead, a fighting spirit appeared in his eyes.

He took out a yellowish-brown celestial crystal and a beast-head energy box from behind his back, assembled them, and fastened them to his waist.

Tuotuo remained silent, yet performed the same action.

In an instant, two voices, seemingly bursting forth from ancient times, resounded throughout the desert.

【Earth Kunlun】

[Mysterious Chaos]

Two beams of light leaped out, shining in all directions, and landed on the two people, transforming into two sets of battle armor.

Iron Warrior's armor was heavy, resembling a roaring lion.

The armor was ethereal, with layers of gauze covering it, through which faint wisps of gray aura could be seen.

Behind it was a long whip, like a scorpion's tail.

Tie Zhan made the first move, manipulating the power of the Heavenly Crystal to stir up the sand and transform it into a huge lion's head, which roared out and slammed towards Shi Guanyin.

Shi Guanyin activated the Heavenly Martial Scripture, her true energy as vast as the sea. With a flick of her finger, a blade of energy slashed out, colliding with the lion's head. The sharpness of the blade completely cleaved the lion's head in two!
"Tianjing... I've heard a bit about it. It's said that the leader of the Star Luo Sect used this treasure to suppress and kill Yu Luosha. But now it seems that it doesn't have much power?"

Shi Guanyin's tone was tinged with doubt, yet also subtly revealed a sense of sarcasm.

"Then pick me up again!"

Tie Zhan was completely unfazed. He unleashed the power of heaven and earth, once again stirring up endless yellow sand, which transformed into a giant fist and slammed into the sand.

Tuotuo, however, remained calm and ordered, "Kill!"

At his command, the thousands of Rakshasa soldiers behind him, who had been standing motionless like statues, seemed to be instantly brought to life.

Clad in iron armor and wielding a sharp blade, he charged into the enemy's ranks on horseback.

The three thousand men from the Kingdom of Guizi were all cavalry.

However, it is clear that cavalrymen cannot be compared with each other at all.

The horse he was riding, the weapons in his hands, and especially the armor he was wearing.

Most of them had no armor at all, wearing only cloth clothes, while a few wore leather armor.

However, there were only a handful of people wearing iron armor.

The difference in military strength between the two sides is like night and day.

Among the Guizi cavalry, there were only a few martial artists, and those who had reached the Innate Realm numbered less than a handful.

But the entire Rakshasa army was composed of innate beings!

The collision between the two was like a stone hitting an egg.

It can be smashed in one go!

Upon seeing this, Tuotuo leaped up, took the scorpion-tail whip from his back, and charged towards Shi Guanyin!

Even when facing the combined attack of the two, Shi Guanyin remained calm, freely unleashing her inner energy to easily block their repeated assaults.

"Too weak! With your meager strength, you dare to lecture me?"

Shi Guanyin scoffed, "And your so-called leader, did he really kill Yu Luosha? Is this all the so-called supreme treasure, the Heavenly Crystal, has?"

Tie Zhan, annoyed, retorted, "You woman are so noisy! Since you want to see the power of the Heavenly Crystal, then I'll let you see it properly!"

He immediately patted his waist, and a white light flew out, which he caught.

It was just a card about two finger joints long, with gold and silver outlines along the edges, and in the very center was an earth-yellow lion's head roaring to the sky.

Tie Zhan inserted the card horizontally into the beast's mouth in the energy box, and the beast swallowed the card whole with a twitch of its mouth.

The next instant, that same deep, ancient voice rang out again.

【Raging Lion's Fury】

A dense, easily perceptible power of heaven and earth erupted from his body, forming a visible, earth-yellow flame that enveloped Tie Zhan.

He leaped into the air, let out a loud shout, and the dense power of heaven and earth around him transformed into a roaring lion's head, which plunged straight down from the sky.

The target, naturally, is the Stone Guanyin!

Stone Guanyin's expression changed slightly.

A deadly sense of crisis surged into my heart.

In that instant, she felt as if she were facing Lu Xiaofeng's Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique.

No, it should be said... even more terrifying!
She immediately tried to escape, but a black whip lashed out, its surface wreathed in powerful energy.

Even the Stone Guanyin could not ignore this whip.

However, she was also quite intelligent. She immediately condensed her true energy into a five-foot-thick protective aura around her body and continued to supply it with true energy, causing the protective aura to grow to six feet in the next instant!

Thus, it can be said that she was defending with all her might, which could both block this whip and try to block Tie Zhan's amazing move.

In an instant, the black whip lashed out, but was easily blocked by six feet of internal energy.

The stone Guanyin resembles a large tree, its roots firmly planted in the earth. It has already made ample preparations to face the coming storm.

And the earthen-yellow lion's head, carrying the sound of a lion's roar, followed with a thunderous boom.

boom!
A surge of air swept through the air, and yellow sand filled the sky!
With a deafening roar, all the sand and stones around the Stone Guanyin exploded.

The rising yellow sand obscured the stone Guanyin's traces, making it impossible to see the inside story.

Tie Zhan landed, confidently declaring, "With this move, she is doomed!"

Tuotuo shook his head: "That's not necessarily true!"

With a flick of his long whip, he unleashed a blade of energy that cleaved through the swirling yellow sand.

A crater tens of meters wide appeared at the point of impact.

In the middle of the pit, Shi Guanyin was somewhat disheveled, but clearly had not suffered any injuries!
"He's really not dead?! How is that possible?!"

"Hmph! It's because your willpower is too weak!"

Tuotuo snorted coldly and charged out again.

Tie Zhan gritted his teeth and charged at Shi Guanyin as well.

Within his personal space, Zhou Ming was also watching the battle unfold.

"Although it is still in the experimental stage, theoretically, that attack just now should have reached one-third of the power of a Grandmaster's attack, but in reality, it was only close to one-fifth. Tuotuo was right, Tie Zhan's willpower was too weak."

Willpower and spiritual strength are both ethereal and intangible, but they are not the same thing.

Those who cultivate the Dharma possess spiritual power as vast as the sea, yet their will is incredibly fragile. Such people are easily struck down and prone to mental errors.

There are also ordinary people who know nothing about cultivation, yet possess an iron will and are fearless in the face of any mental or spiritual challenges.

Spirit is the breadth of the soul, and will is the strength of the soul.

In terms of utilizing the power of heaven and earth, both are indispensable.

A powerful spiritual force can manipulate a vast amount of the power of heaven and earth. But only a strong will can condense this power of heaven and earth.

A ton of cotton does not cause as much damage as ten pounds of iron.

Zhou Ming calls this integration of will and spiritual power "intentional energy".

If Tianjing is a treasure trove with endless mineral resources, then the user's willpower is the tool used to mine this treasure.

The stronger one's mental energy, the more mineral deposits one can unearth each time.

For example, Kunsha was able to unleash a Three Flowers Gathering at the Top level attack using White Cloud Smoke, and then killed Jade Rakshasa with endless attacks.

However, Tie Zhan and Tuo Tuo's combined willpower was not as strong as Kun Sha's, so the power of their individual attacks could only reach the level of a Second Flower Grandmaster.

Such an attack would naturally be insufficient to deal with Shi Guanyin, whose strength had reached the Three Flowers level.

However, the power of the Heavenly Crystal is inexhaustible, so the two of them can remain undefeated and unleash the same attack indefinitely.

The enemy, on the other hand, must deplete their own true energy.

Once his true energy is exhausted, he will be no match for the two of them.

Even the Stone Guanyin is no exception!

Although she cultivated the Heavenly Martial Scripture and possessed incredibly abundant true energy, even the most abundant true energy would eventually be exhausted.

In a war of attrition, she could defeat many Three-Flower Grandmasters, but she could never defeat the two who possessed the Heavenly Crystal!

However, if it really is a war of attrition, then this battle will probably drag on for a very long time.

The one used by Iron Warrior is an experimental research project within the organization, named 'Intent Combat Card'.

It stores a large amount of spiritual power, and after use, it can manipulate the power of heaven and earth to unleash a powerful skill in a fixed form.

However, it has many drawbacks. First, it can only store spiritual power, while the more ethereal will is currently impossible to detect, let alone store.

Secondly, even if such a card is used, the power of heaven and earth is still centered on the user, and therefore will still be limited by the user's own willpower.

Just like the [Raging Lion's Fury] that Tie Zhan just used, theoretically its power could reach one-third of that of a Grandmaster, but in reality, the power he unleashed was only one-fifth.

That is why Shi Guanyin was able to withstand this attack with her own six-foot-long internal energy!
It must be said, the Stone Guanyin is truly remarkable.

Three flowers gather at the top, the final leap.

Grandmaster and Grandmaster are completely different concepts. Not to mention one-fifth, even one-tenth of the power would be impossible for an ordinary Three-Flower Grandmaster to withstand.

However, Shi Guanyin blocked it with her six-foot-long protective aura, which she had condensed from her incredibly powerful true energy!

However, no matter what happens, her fate will not change at all.

The next move, though it caused her no harm, still terrified Shi Guanyin with its immense power.

She suppressed her arrogance, and as she channeled her inner energy to defend against the two men's attacks, she couldn't help but look around.

The Guizi cavalry were almost completely overwhelmed by the enemy cavalry and offered virtually no resistance.

Even the few innate generals among them were defeated in the encirclement.

Not to mention her disciples and male lovers.

No one was free to participate, and even if they were, they probably wouldn't be qualified to join the fight on her side.

If things continue like this, even if she is not defeated by the enemy, she will eventually be surrounded by thousands of innate cavalry.

At that time, she would surely die!

Shi Guanyin immediately felt the urge to retreat.

With twisting waists and fluttering clothes, the battle was instantly transformed into a beautiful dance.

His self-created special skill, "Men Can't Bear to See," was used once again at this moment.

Its power is indeed formidable, especially to a man seeing it for the first time.

Even a war-obsessed person like Tie Zhan was stunned by this move.

Shi Guanyin's consistent use of this ultimate skill was to kill the opponent in that instant.

However, upon seeing Tie Zhan's thick armor, Shi Guanyin abandoned the idea without hesitation. Instead, she seized the opportunity when the opponent was momentarily stunned and fled directly from Tie Zhan's side.

"Hmph! More capable than competent, but incompetent at getting things done!"

As a woman, Tuotuo had a strong resistance to this move, and her willpower was also strong. She quickly got rid of the move's effects. When she saw that Shi Guanyin had run away from Tie Zhan, she was furious and lashed out at Tie Zhan with her whip before immediately giving chase.

Fortunately, the Rakshasa army was also surrounding them. Although it did not form a tight enough encirclement, it could still be considered an obstacle.

If Shi Guanyin wants to escape successfully, she still needs to get past them.

At Toqto'a's command, the numerous Rakshasa soldiers completely disregarded the difference in strength between the two sides and charged towards Shi Guanyin, brandishing their spears.

Shi Guanyin was only interested in escaping and had no desire to fight.

Upon seeing that the large number of Rakshasa soldiers were all men, he immediately resorted to his old trick and once again used the "men cannot be seen" technique.

However, this was her biggest mistake!
(End of this chapter)