Lin Yun watched as one Lin Family cultivator after another fell beside him, his heart aching like a twisted knife.
Because of his own mistake, the family suffered heavy losses, and he felt ashamed to face the elders of the family.
His eyes were bloodshot as he summoned a high-grade Flying Sword, exerting all his strength. The sword emitted a fiery red light as it slashed towards Wang Hong.
A sword blocked Zhang Chunfeng's shield, continuing its strike towards Wang Hong.
When the Flying Sword was three feet away from Wang Hong, it clattered to the ground.
More than a dozen Long Spears pierced through Lin Yun's body.
A soldier kicked Lin Yun's lifeless body to the ground without a second glance, continuing to advance...
The battle lasted only half an hour, and except for a few intentionally spared individuals, the rest were wiped out.
After clearing the battlefield, the bodies were piled up, ready to be set on fire. At this moment, two survivors crawled out from the pile.
One had a sharp face and a monkey-like appearance, while the other had a bitter melon face with an arched brow.
As soon as they emerged, they prostrated on the ground, begging loudly.
"I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. I implore the seniors to spare me, treat me as if I were nothing!"
"Senior, you are noble and upright. Overlook the faults of a small person like me, and I am willing to be a cow or a horse to repay you."
Wang Hong looked at the two with interest, saying, "In dealing with enemies, I have always believed in killing them swiftly, not leaving any chance for retaliation."
"We are known as the Loyalty and Righteousness Duo, absolutely loyal, never betraying," they declared, seemingly forgetting that they had already betrayed the Lin Family.
Wang Hong, unimpressed by their smooth talk, said, "Kill them!"
Someone immediately stepped forward, ready to decapitate them.
"Mercy! We are willing to establish a Blood Contract and serve for a lifetime."
"Yes! Yes! We are also willing to establish a Blood Contract, never to betray."
"Do you think your lives are worth a Blood Contract?" mocked the soldier about to swing the blade.
Seeing the impending blade, the two hurriedly said, "We have our own Blood Contracts, already prepared, with essence blood dripped in advance."
Everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected this level of preparation.
Wang Hong, intrigued, retrieved the two's Storage Bags from the spoils of war.
Sure enough, he found two Blood Contracts, each with a drop of essence blood. Once essence blood was dripped, the contract could only be used on them.
Thinking ahead, they were afraid of being killed, and someone using the Blood Contracts to sell for Spirit Stones.
To avoid wasting the precious Blood Contracts, Wang Hong decided to take them in, using them for miscellaneous tasks.
These two were cousins in the secular world, surnamed Ma. The one with the sharp mouth was called Ma Zhong, and the one with the arched brow was Ma Yi.
As for the nickname "Loyalty and Righteousness Duo," they had given it to themselves, perhaps expecting no one to recognize it.
Their principle was that it's better to live a wretched life than to die honorably. Dignity, face, and all that meant nothing compared to staying alive and having a chance to obtain everything.
They had gone all out to save their lives, even coming up with this bizarre method. Most of the items in their Storage Bags were life-saving treasures.
However, among the items, they found a damaged technique without a name.
After practicing it, one could conceal all vitality and breath. Even when scanned with spiritual awareness, it would appear like a piece of dead wood, devoid of any vitality.
Even if seen with the naked eye, it would seem like a lifeless corpse.
This should be the technique they used to feign death.
After cleaning up the battlefield, with no time to check the spoils of war, everyone rested on the spot.
Skinny Monkey suffered the most severe injuries, dropping to the third layer of Qi Cultivation, and his internal organs were shaken. It seemed like it would take a long time for him to recover.
In this battle, the most pressure was on the three responsible for defense. The rest didn't suffer much damage and could still fight after a short rest.
Observing from afar, most of the onlookers had already left as the battle concluded.
Everyone felt that this trip was not in vain; they had never witnessed such a style of battle in the Cultivation World before.
"Shouldn't we leave?" the youth in blue asked the youth in white, puzzled.
"The battle isn't over yet. Why rush to leave when the most exciting part is still ahead?" the youth in white said calmly.
The young cultivator looked even more puzzled.
"The cultivators below obviously had planned this in advance, intentionally luring Lin Family cultivators here to kill them."
"The terrain is favorable for them in this battle, and judging by their reaction speed, they were clearly waiting for a long time."
"At a time when they know Lin Family's patriarch will seek revenge, yet they are not in a hurry to leave, it indicates a bigger scheme."
The youth in white, based on some subtle clues, had already analyzed the entire event almost completely.
"Yeah! Look, there's a cave on that cliff over there. They all went inside. Should we follow?" The youth in blue sought the opinion of the youth in white, indicating that the latter usually took the lead in their interactions.
"Let's wait here. Who knows what kind of arrangements they've made in that cave."
Just a moment ago, Wang Hong received a message that within the Lin Family residence, a furious roar erupted, accompanied by a violent Foundation-Building Pressure.
Shortly afterward, there was another message at the city gate: Lin Family's patriarch had left the city, flying on a Flying Sword towards them.
Wang Hong quickly led his group into the cave. The setup of the Three Elements Formation required some time, so the formation had been prepared in advance. This included a cave left for escape, also prearranged.
Wang Hong, fearing that these arrangements might be accidentally triggered or destroyed, something that could be a matter of life and death, sent He Yuan to guard inside the cave.
Once the Three Elements Formation was set up, it couldn't be moved. They had to wait for the opponent to step into the formation voluntarily.
Wang Hong also purchased a concealment formation array plate, placing it inside the Three Elements Formation.
Everyone entered the concealed formation, pretending to be heavily injured and healing, luring Lin Family's patriarch into the Three Elements Formation.
At the same time, the fluctuation of the concealed formation array confused and concealed the existence of the Three Elements Formation.
Lin Family's patriarch, Lin An, was flying swiftly between the mountain ranges on his Flying Sword.
Not long ago, a servant hurriedly reported that the life lamp of Lin Yun, the legitimate son, had extinguished.
In Cultivation Clans, important figures usually leave a life lamp in the ancestral hall. When a person dies, the lamp goes out.
Almost simultaneously, several message symbols flew into the Lin Family. The escaped cultivators reported the information about the battle, outlining its general course.
Learning the ins and outs of the matter, Lin An was both shocked and enraged. The losses suffered by Lin Family in this battle were immense.
Lin Yun was groomed as his successor. Even with substantial resources, achieving late Qi Cultivation in his twenties was no small feat. Lin Yun had the potential to reach Foundation Building, and with Lin Family's strength, they could only cultivate one Foundation Building cultivator in each generation.
Lin Yun's death meant that the resources invested in the early stages were all in vain.
Although Lin Yun's temperament lacked a bit of maturity, it was merely a lack of experience. A few more years of experience would have made him mature.
There were also more than fifty cultivators taken out, which accounted for over half of Lin Family's manpower. Such a loss of manpower greatly wounded Lin Family's vitality.
Lin An had never hated someone so much before. He wanted to peel the person's skin, break their bones, and inflict every cruel punishment he could think of.
Following the traces, he quickly found the flat ground where the two sides had fought.
The scene still bore the marks of the recent battle, with the terrain being somewhat uneven due to magical arts bombardment.
On the flat ground lay a pile of white ashes, and Lin An knew exactly what it wasdozens of Lin Family cultivators, whose cultivation had consumed countless resources, were now reduced to meaningless ashes.
"Ah! I will tear you apart into ten thousand pieces!"
Lin An's eyes were filled with fury as he raised his hand and struck the ground with a palm. Dust flew, and after the dust settled, a palm imprint several yards in size appeared on the ground.
Such terror in a single Foundation Building strike!
The onlooking cultivators in the distance dared not even breathe, afraid that this Foundation Building senior would unleash his anger on them.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Lin An struck out a few more palms, venting his anger. Only then did he feel a bit calmer.
After sweeping his spiritual awareness, Lin An strode towards the cave entrance on the cliff.
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