Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow

Chapter 109

A faint white light pierced the pre-dawn darkness, and an eerie silence blanketed the earth.

The crisp sound of swords leaving their sheaths, like a startling thunder, tore through the dawn light, startling countless birds in the forest, and the earth suddenly became lively and vibrant.

The Thirteen Iron Guards surrounded Huai En with their self-created formation.

The greatest strength of the Thirteen Iron Guards lay in their ever-changing formations. Individually, they were only considered second-rate experts, with strength comparable to Zuo You Ying, but when together, their power was endless. Each of the thirteen had their own formation. Even if only two remained, they had their own tactics. There were formations for killing one person, and formations for besieging a hundred. The Thirteen Iron Guards were well-known in the martial world, terrifying all who heard of them. No one had ever been able to escape unscathed when facing the Thirteen Iron Guards attacking together.

Huai En had encountered the Iron Guards' various killing formations several times before and had even participated in setting up formations, so he was quite familiar with these tactics. However, the Thirteen Iron Guards immediately used their ultimate move. This Dragon Cloud Formation could be used for offense or defense. If one side was broken, there were still two sides that could quickly fill in. With at least eight people left, they could maintain a fierce formation. Even the most outstanding experts would find it difficult to break the formation without paying a price. It was clear that they intended to take him down in one strike.

Even with knowledge of the formation and how to break it, it was extremely difficult to escape.

The leader of the Iron Guards covered his face with a mask again. The thirteen men looked extremely similar, moving around Huai En, their footwork mysterious and unpredictable, their positions constantly changing. In the blink of an eye, they could confuse someone's sense of direction. Huai En gripped his sword, his eyes fixed straight ahead, his whole body flawless.

The voice of the Iron Guards' leader came from afar and then from near, making it impossible to determine where it originated. "Young Master, although you have learned this formation while studying within the sect, you have never successfully broken it. Why waste your effort now?"

Huai En coldly said, "That's because I didn't strike to kill, so now we can't talk in the same way."

A soft sigh reached Huai En's ears, and suddenly, a murderous intent surged behind him. Huai En swiftly turned around, the sound of swords clashing resonating. The entire formation began to operate at a strange speed, and Huai En felt surrounded by killing intent, as if it were seeping into every inch of his skin.

Narrowing his eyes, Huai En remained cautious and suddenly asked, "Do you know what the biggest difference is between today and the past?"

There was a long silence in the formation before a voice responded, "What?"

Huai En shot out like an arrow released from its string, his figure like a rainbow. Even the actions of the Thirteen Iron Guards swinging their swords were not seen by him. All he heard was a muffled groan from within the formation. Huai En leaped back to the ground, and his sword was already adorned with a string of blood beads.

Huai En said coldly, "You never used to waste words."

There was no more sound from the formation, but Huai En had already obtained the information he wanted.

The center of the Panlong Chuiyun Formation was the leader of the Iron Guards. To break the formation, one must find the center, but the center is the most unpredictable variable. With the changes in the positions of the Thirteen Iron Guards, the center could be at any one of the thirteen spots. If one were to try them one by one, the people in the formation would have died long ago. However, once the center is found, combined with his understanding of the formation's operation, it is equivalent to knowing the trajectory of the formation's changes. Because no matter how the formation changes, it follows a set rule. To change this rule, one must stop everything and restart the formation. If the incomplete Panlong Chuiyun Formation is stopped and reorganized, Huai En would have enough time to kill two to three people, making it even more difficult to restrain him.

The leader of the Iron Guards hesitated for a moment and had already lost the initiative.

Without further hesitation, the Thirteen Iron Guards began their attack.

Huai En's speed was now invisible to the naked eye, moving through the formation and blocking the blades attacking from all directions.

Huai En was in a desperate situation against the thirteen Iron Guards. He knew he couldn't hold on much longer. The quickest way to break the formation was to destroy its eye, but every attempt he made was blocked by the guards, leaving him with more wounds and no critical hits on anyone. The Iron Guards' attacks were relentless, leaving him with little room to maneuver. He had to simultaneously focus on breaking the formation's eye and defending against their attacks, making it nearly impossible. Unless he broke the formation quickly, he'd be done for before help could arrive.

In a duel between experts, victory or defeat can be decided in an instant.

Xiao Yu, hiding behind a rock, was stunned by the scene.

Within the formation, sand and stones flew, and the world seemed to lose its color. With her level of skill, she could only see a dozen or so figures entangled in a mysterious and intense battle, accompanied by the sounds of fighting and occasional cries of pain.

To her, everyone within the formation seemed to merge into one entity, with no openings. She felt anxious, fearing that Zongzheng Yuzhan and the elders would catch up, and then there would be no hope at all.

Should she go help?

Xiao Yu hesitated as she watched the chaotic battle.

If an external force intervened in the formation, it could be disrupted, but with her limited skill, she was more likely to be pulled into the formation and torn apart. After all, once a formation was activated, one couldn't control their actions. Even if someone noticed her, they couldn't stop. And if someone did manage to stop, they might not be willing to, because stopping could disrupt the formation, leading to their comrades falling into Huai En's hands, resulting in instant defeat.

"Should we risk it? Is there another way?"

Xiao Yu's mind raced as she looked around, feeling somewhat lost. Time passed quickly, yet it felt like an eternity had passed.

Suddenly, a dark shadow was thrown out from the formation. It landed with a thud, stirring up the sand. Xiaoyu looked closely and saw it was one of the Thirteen Iron Guards. She was overjoyed as the mysterious and intricate formation finally showed a gap.

Huai En had traded a three-inch-long knife wound on his back for a breakthrough in the formation. He hadn't intended to get injured at this moment, but if he was caught by Zongzheng Yuzhan, his strength would be greatly diminished. However, continuing to drag on like this was not a viable option. With a gap in the formation, Huai En fought like a god of war, his attacks becoming even more fierce, filled with killing intent.

The impregnable Panlong Chuiyun Formation was finally starting to crumble, as one by one, the Iron Guards fell, and the formation became harder to maintain.

Huai En had no intention of lingering in the fight. He broke free from the killing formation, picked up Xiaoyu, and ran. Even his ears could hear the chaotic sound of hooves. Once they joined up with Zuo Youying and the others, they would have a chance to fight Zongzheng Yuzhan and the elders. The strong killing intent from the direction they came from was already palpable; they would arrive soon. It seemed that fighting to the death was unavoidable.

The remaining Iron Guards followed closely behind. Xiaoyu was on Huai En's back, and her front was soaked. She looked down and saw it was all bright red blood. Her heart shook, but she clenched her teeth and instinctively pressed on several acupoints to stop the bleeding.

Huai En didn't look back, still struggling to move forward.

Ahead, Huai En's left and right shadows were riding their horses, with over a hundred people behind them.

Behind them, several white shadows in the sky could faintly be seen, getting closer and closer...