Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 244 Yin Wood Thorn

At the same moment, the old man's hands moved like the wind, and several thick wooden shields appeared in front of him in an instant, attempting to block the five sharp sword energies that rushed towards him like lightning.

A deafening "bang" resounded, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, followed by four more equally loud sounds.

Five sword energies struck the wooden shields simultaneously, and the powerful impact shattered the originally sturdy wooden shields into pieces instantly!

The old man's heart sank, and his face changed drastically. He never expected that the opponent's attack would be so fierce, shattering his fully-forced wooden shield defense with just one strike.

Without a second thought, he dodged the five menacing sword strikes with a swift leap, his feet pushing off the ground. He leaped into the air like an agile cheetah, narrowly avoiding the oncoming sword energy.

Meanwhile, the burly men who formed the formation displayed an astonishing increase in strength. After a series of ingenious formations and coordinated actions, their attack power skyrocketed like a rocket, far exceeding the power limits that a fifth-level Earth Rank cultivator could unleash.

What's even more terrifying is that the combined attack of these five people was not only incredibly powerful, but also coordinated perfectly with each other, possessing a terrifying strength that could threaten the old man's life.

Faced with such a powerful opponent, the old man knew he could not underestimate him and dared not be complacent in the slightest, much less rashly launch a head-on attack.

However, the magic array on the Han side had already been firmly established. The level of teamwork among the thirteen people was astonishing, with the five inside acting as the main attackers, constantly unleashing various sharp and ruthless moves, launching wave after wave of fierce attacks on the old man trapped in the middle;

Meanwhile, the eight people outside firmly held the line, protecting the safety of their teammates inside and ready to provide support at any time. With such coordinated efforts from both inside and outside, the old man was trapped in an impenetrable net. No matter how hard he tried to break through, he could not escape this unbreakable defense.

After several rounds, the old man gradually began to lose his strength and showed signs of fatigue. His once bright red and green Taoist robe was now tattered and torn in many places by the sword energy. Several deep wounds appeared on his shoulders, back, and legs, from which bright red blood gushed out, staining a large area of ​​the ground red.

However, the thirteen men on the Han side weren't faring much better. The tall one leading the attack was whipped on the shoulder by the old man, leaving his shoulder lacerated and the bone exposed. His left hand was almost crippled. Fortunately, he was also a wood-element cultivator with strong self-healing abilities, so he didn't lose his fighting ability.

The other four attackers also suffered minor injuries, but none of them were seriously injured.

The burly man, who cultivated fire-based techniques, had a volatile temper. Especially after the old man's vine whip left a bloody gash on his chest, he became even more ferocious, wielding his knife wildly and slashing wildly, clearly intending to fight to the death.

"You old bastard, prepare to die!"

Seizing the opportunity, the burly man raised his flaming broadsword and slashed down at the old man. At that moment, the old man had just jumped up from the ground, intending to dodge the combination of the skinny man's sword strikes and the black-faced man's spear.

He was immediately blocked by the burly man's flaming blade, and it seemed he was about to be struck head-on with no way to dodge. The old man broke out in a cold sweat, but after all, he was a seasoned veteran with a knack for many battles, and his ability to react was superb.

In a flash, he swung his vine whip to block the blade. With a 'bang,' it was a full-force collision. The old man's vine whip was cut in two by the broadsword, and the old man was also thrown back and crashed to the ground.

The old man suffered a backlash from the damage to his natal artifact, which injured his internal organs, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

However, the big man wasn't much better off. His flaming broadsword cracked at the edge and was flung away, landing ten feet away. His hands, which were gripping the sword, were also split open, leaving them a bloody mess.

He was thrown several meters away and knocked unconscious. It can be said that the result of this head-on collision was that both sides were seriously injured.

Although the burly man had lost his fighting ability, he still had twelve men on his side who could fight. Therefore, the old man's situation was even more dangerous.

"Fine, fine, you've really put me in this situation. You're quite something. I, 'Caiyunfei,' was careless. But do you think you've won? You think you can take my life? Haha, you're overestimating yourselves!"

The severely injured old man was acting like a madman, spitting out blood while laughing loudly.

"You're about to die and you're still being stubborn. Your weapons are all useless, what do you have to fight us with! One kick from each of us and we can crush you into a pulp!"

At the skinny man's signal, the remaining twelve men immediately surrounded the old man who had fallen to the ground again, ready to attack him en masse at any moment.

"The formation is broken, and you still want to kill me? Do you think I'm made of clay?"

Surrounded by twelve people again, the old man showed no panic. Instead, he calmly sat down on the ground and began to heal his injuries. The attack had indeed caused him great harm, and he no longer had the strength to get up and fight back.

"The formation is broken, but we still have twelve men who can fight. We can still kill you! Brothers, charge in together and slaughter him!"

The big man fainted, and the skinny man took over command, directly directing the others to attack the old man.

"Ah! Why can't I move?"

As the tall man raised his long stick to strike the old man, he suddenly found that he could not move his hands, then his head and neck, and then the motion quickly spread to his feet. In less than a breath, he was frozen in place.

"Me too!"

Dark-faced, muscular, skinny… they all gasped in surprise.

A dozen or so breaths later, the twelve people who were surrounding the old man and preparing to attack were all frozen in place. Apart from being able to speak and blink, they couldn't even move their fingers.

"Kill me? Heh, why aren't you moving?"

The old man, sitting on the ground practicing his internal energy to heal his injuries, said in a sarcastic tone.

"You old geezer, what have you done to us?"

"I can't believe it," the skinny man said in a panic.

"You're also a wood-element cultivator. Look at this, do you recognize it?"

The old man slowly stood up, picked up a very small thorn from the ground, and held it up to the tall man's eyes.

"Yin Wood Thorn! You are a Yin Wood cultivator!"

The tall man said in a terrified voice.

Wood is divided into Yin and Yang; Jia is Yang and Yi is Yin. All things in the world are divided into Yin and Yang. Only when Yin and Yang are in harmony can all things live and thrive.

Because men belong to Yang and women to Yin, when people cultivate profound arts, the vast majority of men cultivate Yi Wood and women cultivate Jia Wood, in accordance with the laws of nature, in order to achieve balance and realize the effect of Yin-Yang harmony and continuous life.

Alternatively, one could cultivate both Yin and Yang, but this would be far more difficult. As the saying goes, "Isolated Yin cannot grow, and solitary Yang cannot produce." If this natural law is violated, going against the grain will result in a backlash. At best, one will suffer from qi deviation and lose all cultivation; at worst, one's meridians will shatter and one's body will explode, leading to death.

But there are always exceptions. Take this old man who calls himself "Caiyunfei" for example. He defied the heavens and cultivated Jia wood. If that's all there is to it, when he cultivates to a certain level, he will only have the Yang energy left in his body. In the end, he will inevitably go into qi deviation and be burned to death by his own Yang energy.

Even if he were lucky, his cultivation would be completely destroyed, turning him into a cripple. However, due to his special physique—a dual-cultivation physique of fire and wood, just like the old witch doctor of Shangyuan City—he follows the path of Jia wood and Ding fire.

However, because Ding Fire is weak, it is countered by Jia Wood, thus achieving a delicate balance within its body.

This kind of physique is extremely rare and extremely difficult to cultivate. Just like the old witch doctor, who was originally of excellent talent, but after living for hundreds of years, he still found it difficult to break through to the Heavenly Rank.

Although it's difficult to break through to the Heavenly Rank, cultivators with this special physique possess unique strengths, which can be described as exceptionally advantageous. Ordinary cultivators, upon encountering them, either keep their distance or avoid them altogether.

Just like that old witch doctor, his specialty was healing people. He didn't need to examine symptoms or take pulses, nor did he need to prescribe medicine. He could treat any disease, and the effect was very good.

This "Caiyunfei" specializes in stealing and killing people by taking advantage of their unpreparedness. He can scatter extremely poisonous wooden needles called "Yinmu Thorns" around the area without the enemy noticing, causing them to fall onto the enemy's body and invade their body to control them.

These 'Yinmu Thorns' are as thin as hair, grayish-black in color like charcoal ash, and extremely sharp at both ends. They can penetrate through tiny gaps in an opponent's armor and invade the flesh unnoticed. By the time the 'Yinmu Thorn' toxin takes effect, it is too late to offer any help.