Chapter 65: The War Begins

  One move stunned everyone in the distance, and the true energy was sealed. There was such a battle strength, although he himself was seriously injured, but this was too strong. The pace of pursuit did not slow down, but after all, it was an evil sect person. This scene was shocking, but it was not unprecedented. After a pause, everyone came to their senses and immediately chased after him.

  Since he's already been seriously injured, if we don't capture him now, when will we?!

  Feeling the pursuers behind, Shen Cong's expression didn't change. The wound on his body was constantly squirming with flesh and blood, but this external injury wasn't as severe as he had imagined. As for the foreign true energy inside his body, it was mostly a nuisance. Shen Cong steeled himself and directly guided it into his dantian, intending to forcibly break the seal.

  "Rumble!"

  A flame burst forth, and all the disciples of the evil sect were thrown into disarray. The location of the explosion was where they had set up their formation, although it didn't cause any harm, but it still made them break out in a cold sweat.

  "Shen Shidi, come quickly!" Zhu Hong grasped his longbow and swung it with great force. The previous attack was actually launched by Zhu Hong, who knew where he had hidden another Qiankun bag.

  Shen's face broke into a smile, and the evil sect disciples in the back wanted to chase again. Another flame rose up, blocking everyone's footsteps for a while. When the flames dissipated, Shen was nowhere to be seen.

  "Don't chase, the formation is crucial. Although the explosion just now wasn't very powerful, we still need to carefully inspect it." Someone shouted loudly, and others thought about it but agreed. Moreover, even if one person went to chase, they didn't have the guts, and that trail of blood was still there.

  Even the disciples of the evil sect in the distance did not notice what was happening here, and even if they did, they didn't care. Previously, only a dozen or so people had really troubled Shen Cong, which allowed Shen Cong to escape by a fluke.

  In the jungle, two figures were moving quickly.

  "Are you alright?" Zhu Hong asked with concern, as Shen Cong looked quite miserable at the moment, his face also somewhat pale.

  "It won't kill me." Shen Zongyi smiled, the seal on his dantian had loosened, and with a bit more effort, he could break free and recover to normal strength, or even become stronger. Originally, he had planned to exchange injuries to subdue the three of them, which would be troublesome but still within his capabilities. But unexpectedly, his knife skills had advanced, making this step simple, directly killing them, an unexpected delight.

  "That's good." Seeing Shen Cong was not joking, Zhu Hong let out a sigh of relief.

  Looking at Zhu Hong, Shen Cong couldn't help but smile. Previously, he thought Zhu Hong would escape immediately, but in the end, he stayed and saved himself. If it weren't for this, trying to escape now would be a lot of trouble. People are indeed complex creatures, Shen Cong thought he understood Zhu Hong, but only later realized that it was just his own bias.

  "Return to the camp, and avoid those two fourth-rank Condensed Yuan peak experts." The images of Lü Ying and the other person appeared in his mind, and Shen Cong's expression also became solemn. Logically, with Wang Shi Lin present, those two were not worth worrying about, but since Lü Ying and the other dared to come, they must have their own confidence.

  Also, the formation I saw earlier, Shen Cong felt the summons was that formation. As for the formation's seal, Shen Cong didn't quite understand it, but by observing, he discovered that the formation had a sealing effect on spiritual energy. If one were to enter the formation, the dense array within would likely be filled with those evil energies. For orthodox cultivators, this was no different from poison, but for Shen Cong's undead body, it was somewhat nourishing.

  Zombies are monsters after all, and it's best to cultivate such evil skills. But Shen Cong is a human being in his heart, if he cultivates that kind of skill, it will only make him lose his rationality and become a monster who only knows how to kill, which is not what Shen Cong wants to see.

  Two people rushed along the way, fortunately everything was still smooth, and they didn't encounter any powerful demon beasts. At the same time, Shen Cong also broke through the seal and returned to the camp safely. The camp was very busy at this moment, but not panicked. Even when Shen Cong and the other person approached, they were discovered by someone, and only let go after seeing that it was their own people.

  They arrived at the horse carriage of Li Sancai, where Wang Shilin was also waiting inside, so Shen Conglian didn't have to run around. The guards saw Shen and Conglian, first startled, then overjoyed, thinking they had received news. Without saying much, they let them pass, Shen nodded in acknowledgement and entered the carriage.

  Zhu Hong had never been to this carriage before, and seeing the changes inside and out, he was stunned for a moment. Shen Cong looked around and found that there were many people here, including Zhao Shi and Lin Liting.

  Zhao Shi saw Shen Congjin coming, his eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't say anything, and his expression turned cold. On the other hand, Lin Liting saw Shen Cong, her gaze was a bit strange.

  "What's going on ahead and what's with the smoke?" Li Sancai looked tense, this cargo was his, and there were other things that couldn't be lost.

  "Where are Zhou Hao and the others? Why have only you two returned?" Zhao Shi suddenly asked, his tone full of indignation.

  "We've been caught." Shen Congdao said.

  "You two are only at the second stage, while Zhou Hao and others have already reached the third stage of Tongli. The ones with higher cultivation were caught, while those with lower cultivation escaped, there must be some story behind this!" Zhao Shi sneered coldly.

  "Even if the elder brother doesn't ask, the younger brother will still say it, no need to rush." Shen Cong smiled and bowed to Wang Shi Lin and others, "We seven people are ordered to go to the front line to investigate the cause of the shock..."

  Shen Cong recounted the events from start to finish, and everything else remained unchanged. He only attributed the reason for Zhou Hao's capture to the enemy being too powerful. After listening to Shen Cong, Zhao Shi's expression turned gloomy. He felt that there was something fishy about it, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. At the same time, he thought that Shen Cong was extremely lucky and that such a scheme hadn't gotten him killed yet, which was truly detestable.

  Zhu Hong remained silent on the side, leaving Shen Cong in charge, which was actually pre-arranged during their return journey.

  Wang Shilin's face was expressionless, but those who knew him understood that the calmer he appeared, the more intense the anger burning within him. Shen Cong's account of events had only been about five people coercing Shen Cong into doing something, and Wang Shilin's anger had already reached a boiling point; he had assigned tasks himself, yet someone dared to take revenge on their own accord - how could this be?!

  "Indeed, you are a good disciple of Luo Water Sect!" Wang Shi Lin suddenly smiled.

  "These are just his words, don't believe them all," said Zhao Shi with a smile.

  "Among those five people, wasn't one of them recommended by you?" Wang Shilin suddenly turned his head to look at Zhao Shi.

  Zhao Shi was startled, knowing that his previous words had aroused Wang Shilin's suspicion. He thought quickly and said: "It was a disciple who recommended him, but the disciple only knew him superficially and they hadn't interacted deeply."

  "Is that so?" Wang Shilin smiled and didn't say anything else, but looked at Shen Cong and saw that his shoulders and chest were still injured. He said, "You two go ahead and rest first. If there's a fight later, you don't have to rush to the front."

  "Thank you, Uncle."

  Shen nodded and exited the carriage, looking at Zhu Hong beside him, "There will inevitably be a battle later, are you following me or going to find someone else?"

  Zhu Hong hesitated for a moment, "I still have some other friends, I need to inform them, but they can't follow you."

  "All right, be careful yourself." Shen Cong nodded and turned to head forward. Meng Ran and the others didn't know what was happening ahead, but they wanted to go up and remind them a bit. Moreover, they were all friends who knew each other's bottom line, and if they really fought later, they could also help each other out.

  In the carriage, Wang Shilin tapped lightly on the table top, his eyebrows furrowed.

  "But is there something difficult?" Li Sancai asked.

  "It's inevitable that we'll encounter difficulties. That group of evil sect disciples is guarding the road we must take, and even if we want to detour, it's still difficult. We can only force our way through!" Wang Lin raised his head, with a fierce glint in his eyes. "If it were just this, it would be easy to say, but it's just a bloody battle. But according to the intelligence we received earlier, they have set up an array, and I'm sure it's meant to lure me away."

  "The formation is dead, as long as we don't enter the formation, I suppose they won't be able to do anything to us either." Li Sancai asked uncertainly.

  "It's usually the case, but those people dare to set up their formation so openly, they must have a way to counter it." Wang Lin rubbed his forehead, "I'm afraid there's a trick in it!"

  "Master Shu, why so worried? They are just two fourth-rank cultivators at the peak of their power." Zhao Shi toyed with a jade ruler in his hand, a transparent and clear shadow, a top-grade treasure of the fourth rank. "Lin Shimei's thunder method is unparalleled, she can certainly hold off one person. As for me, although I'm not talented, I also have confidence to drag down one of them. And isn't there also a fourth-rank guard beside Master Li? With so many disciples outside, what's there to fear?"

  "Can you stop a 4th rank expert?" Li Sancai looked surprised.

  "If it's just a delay for a while, I still have some confidence!" Zhao Shi said with a light smile, his eyes gleaming with pride.

  "Alright, since it's come to this, what are we afraid of? Let's just charge in and attack!" Li Sancai slapped the table and laughed loudly.

  Wang Lin didn't smile, nor did he object to this opinion. The road was blocked, and the only way out was to kill his way through. This was a straightforward plan; even if you suspected there were hidden dangers, you had to move forward.

  In the camp, Meng Ran and others were preparing separately, while Shen Cong hid in his tent with his legs crossed, regulating his breath. A faint ripple appeared on his skin, which was imperceptible to the naked eye unless one looked closely - this was Shen Cong activating his computer time acceleration ability.

  The war is imminent, Shen Cong must restore himself to the best state, and also make the fusion of three styles of Blood Wind Knife more perfect. Breaking through the fusion knife method on the eve of the battle, there are still many details that need to be improved, only in this way can the power of the knife method be further enhanced.

  The computer in his mind was shining brightly, with sufficient electricity, and the time acceleration function had an additional option, which was to adjust the time ratio. In the past, it was 1:8, but now that time was pressing, Shen Zong directly adjusted it to the current limit of 1:20, and as a result, the power consumption naturally increased exponentially.

  If it were in the past, Shen Cong would not have given up. But now that there is sufficient electricity and time is pressing, he cannot help but do so.

  His injuries were recovering at a visible rate, and his knife skills were also becoming more refined. Previously, without true energy or the assistance of the Dragon Bird Knife, he could already kill a third-tier Tong Lian peak expert. Although there were factors such as surprise attacks and intentionally switching wounds, the power of his knife skills themselves should not be underestimated. And according to Shen Cong's current estimate, using this fusion knife skill, he could now openly fight against a fourth-tier early-stage martial artist.

  If it were an ordinary fourth-order warrior or mage, they should be able to win, but it would likely be a narrow victory after all. If it were an elite early fourth-order warrior or mage, Shen Cong might be able to hold his ground and even escape, but winning would still be out of reach.

  Fourth-order cultivator, has already left the Refining Body stage, combat power is much stronger than before the third order. Last time on Jade Maiden Peak, being able to make Cao Yu so helpless, aside from catching him off guard, the key was Lin Liting's Palm Thunder helping out, which had that kind of effect.

  To enhance combat power, the key is still cultivation. If one's own cultivation is strong enough, why bother with this? The true energy produced by the second-order combined force cultivation and the fourth-order condensed yuan cultivation are too different.

  "Clang!"

  A crisp sound came from outside, and Shen's eyes opened. The ripples outside disappeared instantly, and Huang Wei's figure also appeared inside the tent.

  "You're awake, that's great! The order has been given, we're about to charge into battle!"

  "Shall we begin?"

  Shen Cong smiled and stood up, his joints rubbing against each other with a faint sound. Strength emerged from the soles of his feet and spread throughout his body, bringing him to his peak state.

  The dragon bird knife let out a soft hum, and was already grasped in Shen Cong's hand, its sharp blade thrusting towards the sky!