Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 372 Absorption Technique, Battle of Taihu Lake

"you!"

Cao Zhengchun released the true energy he had condensed in his palm, but it was instantly blocked by another stream of true energy.

Zhu Wushi gripped Cao Zhengchun's hand tightly with his right hand, while his left hand pointed out a finger that struck Cao Zhengchun's vital point.

A stream of true energy, though not overwhelming, was still quite substantial, flowing from his fingertips into Cao Zhengchun's body.

Cao Zhengchun's expression suddenly changed.

Zhu Wushi's counterattack was within his expectations; he wasn't surprised that the other party could block his true energy.

However, the amount of true energy displayed at this moment was completely beyond his expectations.

"Impossible! How could you still have such abundant internal energy? I've starved you for days!"

Zhu Wushi stood up and laughed, "Let me tell you a secret. The big boss Iron Claw Flying Eagle next to you is actually someone I placed here. These days, he's been bringing me food, so I've never gone hungry."

"Impossible! The eighth level of the Heavenly Prison is heavily guarded by me; no one is allowed to enter, not even the Iron Claw Flying Eagle!"

"Heh, you don't know, but there's a secret passage on the ninth level of that prison!"

Zhu Wushi revealed a smug smile.

When he met Cheng Shifei and learned that he had mastered the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill, he realized that there was a loophole in the ninth level of the Heavenly Prison, so he went there to check it out.

It was later discovered that he was a master who had been imprisoned on the eighth floor of the Heavenly Prison and had dug a tunnel specifically to escape.

They dug up to the ninth level of the Heavenly Prison, and then dug upwards from there, eventually uncovering a secret passage leading to a room in the Eastern Depot.

After learning this, Zhu Wushi did not seal off the secret passage, but instead kept it a secret.

After all, this prison is under the control of the Eastern Depot.

This secret passage might come in handy in the future.

And in fact, it did come in handy.

Iron Claw Flying Eagle was, after all, a high-ranking official in the Eastern Depot. Although he was not allowed to enter the eighth level of the Heavenly Prison, he could freely enter and leave other parts of the Eastern Depot.

He used this secret passage to deliver food to Zhu Wushi, thus preventing the tragedy of Zhu Wushi actually starving to death.

"No! Even so, how can you withstand the damage caused by those nine dragon-head nails?"

"Nine dragon-head nails are indeed powerful, but they must be used to pin down vital acupoints throughout the body."

Zhu Wushi was even more smug: "Have you ever heard of the Western Demonic Sect's unique skill called the 'Heaven and Earth Shifting Great Acupoint Relocation Technique'!"

"You actually... are proficient in this kind of acupoint shifting technique?!"

Cao Zhengchun was truly shocked, and then his face turned ugly: "No, that's not right! You made all the preparations, so why were you still imprisoned in the imperial prison? This... was this also something you planned in advance?"

"Not bad!"

Zhu Wushi laughed and said, "If it weren't for that, how could I have found such a good opportunity!"

Cao Zhengchun exclaimed incredulously, "Even so... even so, I was still full of energy before we started the battle. It's impossible that I lost to you in terms of true energy. You've been cultivating for over twenty years less than me, how could you possibly have more true energy reserves than me!"

You'll find out why soon enough!

Zhu Wushi exerted force with his five fingers, and a peculiar attraction burst forth from his body, flowing into Cao Zhengchun's body through his palm.

Cao Zhengchun suddenly felt as if a vortex had appeared in his hand, and his own essence, energy, and spirit seemed to have turned into water, which was easily drawn by the vortex and flowed out of his palm into Zhu Wushi's body!

"This is... the Absorption Technique!"

Cao Zhengchun was even more shocked. There were quite a few martial arts techniques in the world that could absorb the internal energy of others.

However, the only evil technique that can directly absorb both the essence and spirit is the Absorption Technique created by the Strange Hero of Tianchi in the past!

"You! Zhu Tiedan! You are unworthy of being a member of the royal family, yet you practice such evil arts!"

Cao Zhengchun was furious.

"Hmph! There are many things you don't know!"

Zhu Wushi said with a hint of disdain amidst his smugness: "Cao Zhengchun, you always consider yourself my opponent, but in fact, your knowledge of me is extremely limited, while I know everything about you!"
An opponent? You're probably not worthy!

"you!"

Cao Zhengchun coughed up a mouthful of blood from the corner of his mouth.

The psychological damage caused by this passage was far more severe than any of the open or covert attacks he had encountered over the previous decades.

For Cao Zhengchun, this was tantamount to negating all the value of his life.

However, under these circumstances, Cao Zhengchun calmed down. With a flicker in his eyes, he asked, "Even if you cultivate such an evil art, you could never reach the level of a Three Flowers Grandmaster, let alone have such profound and pure true energy... How many masters in this world have died at your hands!"

Absorbing internal energy from others can make you stronger very quickly, but it also has endless consequences.

Few people who cultivate this kind of skill can break through to the Grandmaster level, let alone the Three Flowers Grandmaster.

However, there is a solution to this dilemma: absorb as little energy as possible, and only absorb the true energy of powerful masters.

In this way, one can gain a great deal from absorbing it once, and the true energy obtained is also very pure.

Even the Absorption Technique faces such a dilemma.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be a divine skill below the level of a grandmaster.

Zhu Wushi practiced this martial art and actually reached the Three Flowers Grandmaster level, which shows that he must have followed this path as well.

In fact, it is true.

For example, this time, he was clearly not hungry, nor was he affected by the nine dragon-head nails. His own strength was higher than Cao Zhengchun's, but he pretended to fight Cao Zhengchun to the point of being almost powerless.

Their goal was not merely to kill Cao Zhengchun, but to obtain the Heavenly Gang Boy Skill that Cao Zhengchun had cultivated for decades!

However, Cao Zhengchun's martial prowess was also considerable.

He even cultivated the Heavenly Gang Boy Skill to the point where it could be used for self-defense.

Killing Cao Zhengchun is very simple.

However, to absorb all of his power, one would have to completely deplete Cao Zhengchun's internal energy, to the point where even his Heavenly Gang Boy Skill would be unable to be activated.

It's fair to say that Zhu Wushi won this round decisively.

His original purpose was merely to plot against Cao Zhengchun; he did not expect to achieve any great results in the end.

However, through Cao Zhengchun's actions, Zhu Wushi first obtained the second Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, which he had been searching for for decades without success.

Then, taking this opportunity, he could legitimately kill Cao Zhengchun.

Finally, it absorbed the power that Cao Zhengchun had cultivated for decades.

As the victor, he completely ignored Cao Zhengchun's accusations, recalling them as the cries of a wild beast before its death.

The internal absorption technique was operating at full power, continuously absorbing Cao Zhengchun's essence, energy, and spirit.

To be fair, Cao Zhengchun's strength as a Grandmaster of the Three Flowers is absolutely not to be underestimated.

Despite all the effort and the act, and despite some concealment, Zhu Wushi's remaining internal energy was definitely not much, which resulted in the low efficiency of the Absorption Technique.

But Zhu Wushi didn't care.

This allowed him to slowly appreciate Cao Zhengchun's face before his death. "The Battle of Taihu Lake!"

Suddenly, Cao Zhengchun uttered four words that made Zhu Wushi's heart skip a beat.

"Everyone says that in the Battle of Taihu Lake, all 108 masters from the eight major sects died at the hands of the invincible Gu Santong. But this is just your opinion."

Now it seems that this was probably a complete lie. The one who truly killed the masters of the eight major sects was you, Zhu Wushi!

Zhu Wushi's expression changed slightly.

This was the deepest secret hidden in his heart.

Back then, he and Gu Santong went on an adventure and obtained the legacy left behind by the Strange Hero of Tianchi in Tianshan. There were two unique skills: one was the Absorption Technique, and the other was the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill.

However, the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill requires a virgin body to cultivate. As a prince, he was no longer a virgin, so he could only choose the Absorption Technique.

After practicing this skill, he secretly found many people to absorb his power, and his strength increased rapidly.

But Gu Santong became famous in the martial arts world even faster!

At this time, the two had a conflict because of Su Xin, who not only liked Gu Santong but was also Gu Santong's fiancée.

Driven by jealousy and resentment, Zhu Wushi decided to kill Gu Santong.

However, the difference in strength between the two is too great.

Therefore, Zhu Wushi took advantage of Gu Santong's bad reputation and rampant misconduct in the martial arts world, which led the eight major sects to send 108 masters to besiege Gu Santong.

Zhu Wushi, however, struck first, secretly killing all 108 masters and absorbing all their internal energy.

This is what gave him the ability to fight Gu Santong.

Emotionally speaking, Zhu Wushi has absolutely no regrets about what he did.

Otherwise, he would probably have been forced to watch helplessly as Gu Santong and his beloved woman lived happily ever after for decades.

But rationally speaking, this is definitely not a wise move.

Firstly, the eight major sects are very powerful. If it is discovered that he killed all these people, then even if he is a member of the Zhu family royal family, he will not be able to withstand the wrath of these eight major sects.

Secondly, he absorbed the power of 108 masters, but he did so too hastily and carelessly, resulting in the power being absorbed but becoming murky and impure.

For decades afterward, he struggled with these issues related to skill level.

Fortunately, he was indeed a genius. He created the Heart Lotus Method to solve his mental problems and continuously refined his true energy through other methods. With decades of hard work, he finally solved the problem completely.

Over the years, he had been wary of this secret being exposed.

When Cao Zhengchun suddenly exposed him, Zhu Wushi felt a pang of panic, even though he knew no one was around.

It's not that I'm afraid of anything.

Rather, for decades, he had been afraid of the truth being exposed and had been on guard, which had become an instinct over the years.

That's why I suddenly felt panicked when I heard about it.

But in an instant, he became somewhat annoyed.

After all, he had already achieved a complete victory, while Cao Zhengchun was certain to die.

How can one not be angry when one's heart races because of a single sentence from the other party?
"Hmph," Zhu Wushi sneered, "You do have some wit, managing to guess it was me?"

Cao Zhengchun said, "Many people have probably forgotten what happened twenty years ago, but I know it very well. Moreover, it seems to be something that your great enemy experienced."

Hahaha, poor Gu Santong, who was known as the Invincible Rascal, had tricked countless people in the martial arts world, but in the end, he was thoroughly fooled by you, Zhu Tiedan, who seemed to be loyal and honest, and became a notorious villain in the martial arts world.

In the very end, I'll be thrown into the Heavenly Prison by you, to solidify your reputation as the Iron-Blooded Marquis!

"Are you done talking? If you are, then die!"

Zhu Wushi's smug mood plummeted after his top secret was exposed. His face turned ashen, and he involuntarily accelerated the circulation of his Absorption Technique.

This evil technique was incredibly terrifying. Under its influence, Cao Zhengchun, who had white hair and a youthful face, developed wrinkles on his face at a visible speed, and his originally tall body gradually became hunched over.

He didn't look like he was in his sixties, but rather like he was in his eighties or nineties, on his deathbed.

Cao Zhengchun could feel his life force rapidly draining away, but he felt no fear. Instead, he gave a mocking smile: "Zhu Tiedan, I'm down there... waiting for you!"

As these vital energies flowed into Zhu Wushi's body, the power of Zhu Wushi's Absorption Technique gradually recovered.

At that moment, as soon as Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, all his energy and spirit had been completely absorbed by Zhu Wushi.

At this moment, the former head of the Eastern Depot was nothing more than a skeleton, with only a thin layer of old skin clinging to his bones.

If it weren't for the magnificent crimson robes he wore, no one would have guessed that this terrifying skeleton was actually Cao Zhengchun of the Eastern Depot.

"What nonsense is this? Trying to scare me before you die?"

Zhu Wushi scoffed and waved his hand, unleashing a palm strike that instantly reduced Cao Zhengchun's corpse to ashes.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a gust of wind behind him.

Zhu Wushi turned around and his expression changed drastically.

A lean old man landed lightly on the ground with superb lightness skills, stroking his silver-white beard as usual, and looked at Zhu Wushi with an extremely complicated gaze.

"Iron-Blooded Marquis, it's been a while since I've seen you."

Zhu Wushi's face was ashen, his eyes revealing endless ferocity and murderous intent: "Zhuge Zhengwo! How long have you been hiding and eavesdropping?!"

Yes, 'them'.

Accompanying Zhuge Zhengwo were a dozen or so people.

Song Yuanqiao of the Wudang School, also known as Master Ziyang.

The Great Compassionate Zen Master of Shaolin Temple, Elder Jingming.

Yue Songtao, a master of the Huashan School of Plum Blossoms.

Master Shenxi of the Emei Sect, Abbess Miejue.

Kunlun Sect, Diancang Sect, Kongtong Sect, Qingcheng Sect...

Eight renowned martial arts factions, each sending two masters.

These eight forces happened to be the ones who, twenty years ago, dispatched 108 experts to gather on the shores of Taihu Lake to discuss how to deal with the eight major sects led by the invincible and unruly Gu Santong.

Clearly, this is no coincidence!
Cao Zhengchun's face appeared before Zhu Wushi's eyes.

His dying words, which had become extremely weak as he gradually lost his strength, now resounded in Zhu Wushi's ears like a thunderclap.

Zhu ignored the redness in his eyes.

He understood; he had figured everything out.

Cao Zhengchun's sudden mention of the Battle of Taihu Lake was clearly an attempt to trick him into giving a confession.

The purpose, of course, was to let the masters of these eight major sects hear it!

Who in this world could make Cao Zhengchun obey orders? Who could summon masters from the eight major sects all at once?
Hehehe... The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!

Brother, you've really given birth to an extraordinary little thing!

(End of this chapter)