Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 291: 163, Who is holding the winning cards_2

At that moment, Hou Yuxiao's face bore a bit of schadenfreude. The reason Master Yuan Kong's expression was so dark, he roughly guessed.

The Great Luo Sect originally had over five thousand sect members, but having entered the city first, after enduring two waves of Blood Demon vines followed by a rampage of a great demon army, by the time Hou Yuxiao arrived, there were only over two thousand left. Adding Ding Peng, a mere Warrior in the Dan Embracing Phase, and about a dozen of the sect's Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm, it was no surprise that they were bewildered by the Hou Family Warriors, and Ding Peng got captured too.

Hou Yuxiao kept Ding Peng and those over a thousand captives precisely to threaten Ding Buhai. However, he did not expect that Master Fanyin would directly order a massacre, leaving not one of the Great Luo Sect's large army alive.

Including those over a thousand rebels of Ding Dian who were also killed, up to now, Leiyin Temple's planted agent, Ding Buhai, had completely lost his usefulness.

A heavenly Great Grandmaster is indeed formidable, but the problem is that Leiyin Temple wanted Tongling City, and without sufficient troops, it was impossible.

Right now, including the mansion army and Hou Clan people, Rakshasa Holy Sect still had thirteen thousand troops, Xuzhou had forty thousand, and Leiyin Temple was left with only Yuan Kong and more than a dozen disciples behind him. Their cultivation was indeed not bad, but the question is, does the other side lack them?

Not to mention Xuzhou, having been lurking in the shadows for so long, was absolutely well-prepared. Moreover, let's not mention Xuzhou, even the experts from just the Rakshasa Holy Sect's side are not much inferior...

How then can Tongling be contended over?

That means, Leiyin Temple's intention of taking over Tongling has utterly failed…

Hou Yuxiao also just realized this, and also understood that Master Fanyin's killing of these three thousand rebels served not only to serve as a warning but also to directly deter Leiyin Temple from even thinking about taking over Tongling, killing two birds with one stone.

This Zhan Taiqing is obviously another ruthless character similar to Sikong Yue...

Hou Yuxiao thought to himself and his wariness of Master Fanyin increased a bit.

His joy in their misfortune did not last long before a strong sensation of discomfort arose. Looking up towards the source of the discomfort, he saw that Master Yuan Kong, under the indication of Ding Buhai, was looking at him with eyes full of murderous intent.

Having offended Leiyin Temple, Hou Yuxiao was psychologically prepared. Thus facing Yuan Kong's gaze, he did not dodge nor did he use words to provoke the other side, but just obediently stood behind Master Fanyin, without saying a word.

It was unknown whether it was because Hou Yuxiao was too weak to be worthy of his attention or for some other reason, but Yuan Kong's gaze did not last long. He soon continued to project his gaze onto Master Fanyin and, with a trace of darkness, coldly chuckled, "Even if my Leiyin Temple cannot get Tongling, your Rakshasa Demon Sect has lost for sure today. Xuzhou's forty thousand troops will soon be here. With just your mere ten thousand or so surviving troops left, dreaming of defending Tongling is foolish..."

In Master Yuan Kong's tone, there was also some unwillingness. He had traveled from Jizhou all the way to the south. Ultimately, he came to seize Tongling, to have it as an enclave of Leiyin Temple in Yongzhou. But after all this effort, it was all for naught, and he was naturally not resigned, only able to scoff a couple of sentences.

However, his scoffing obviously did not achieve the expected effect. Zhan Taiqing's expression did not change at all, instead, he revealed a hint of disdain, a shadowy glint passing through his eyes, "What can forty thousand troops do? As long as I am here, Tongling today will definitely not be lost. Those fools in Xuzhou think they are sure of victory, but you, who have lived for hundreds of years, unexpectedly think so foolishly too..."

Master Fanyin's confident tone suddenly astonished everyone present. Everyone standing nearby in the air, including the people of Hou Clan on the ground, as well as the trio Fan Longhe, Gui Yutang, Fan Zhendong, and the seven thousand mansion troops, all displayed a look of confusion.

The only person who felt a vague sense of exhilaration in his heart was Hou Yuxiao alone...

Master Yuan Kong also spotted Master Fanyin's confidence, his brows furrowed, clearly sensing that something was amiss. After pondering for a long time, he slowly said, "Regardless of what you can do, since Bailu Academy and Wanjian Holy Sect have joined forces, they will definitely send experts. When the time comes, they only need to hold you back, with the city's barrier already destroyed, what strength do you have to resist that forty thousand strong army?"

Master Fanyin looked up at the sky, as if he noticed something. His saintly face slowly lifted into a stunning smile and softly said, "Whether their experts can hold me back, whether they can storm the city, is still questionable. Even if they take Tongling, do you think the Wanjian Holy Sect can rest easy then..."

"The turmoil in Tongling began at the end of last year, and so far only the thirty thousand troops of Tongling have been involved. Do you think my Holy Church has no soldiers at its disposal?"

The crowd's faces showed hesitation, not understanding the meaning behind Master Fanyin's words. However, her next statement, delivered lightly, instantly changed everyone's expression, including that of Hou Yuxiao.

But that wasn't the end...

"Now, people throughout the world believe that my Holy Church is declining. The fools of the Wanjian Holy Sect, leading an army of forty thousand, dare to cross the state boundary to attack us. They really think my Holy Church has no soldiers or resources left. The moment they crossed the boundary marker, their Wanyang County, and even Guangling Prefecture, were already in grave danger..."

Hou Yuxiao and everyone else's heads were reeling with shock...

Master Fanyin did not elaborate, but the meaning of her words was clear; as the army from Wanyang County crossed the boundary, did some troops from the Xingnan Prefecture Army also take a roundabout route to attack Xuzhou?

A cry of realization thundered in Hou Yuxiao's mind as he understood.

As Master Fanyin said, the apparent decline of the Rakshasa Holy Church was exactly why the Wanjian Holy Sect dared to blatantly send people to probe into Bailu Academy three or four times. Their focus had shifted from earlier in Zhaoyang to now in Tongling, coveting merely a county or a prefecture's worth of land.

Thus, the deployment of troops had evolved from the initial forces of the Mountain Sword Sect to now, the entire army of Wanyang County.

The demonic chaos in Tongling has been fierce, and the Xingnan Prefecture Army had not moved, leading them to assume either the Mansion Army dared not intervene, or the Holy Church had nobody left to deploy. They would never have imagined that the weakened Demon Sect would dare dispatch the Xingnan Prefecture Army to cross the border and attack Xuzhou just like them!

Was this a strategy of showing weakness before striking preemptively?

If Hou Yuxiao could figure this out, Zen Master Yuan Kong and the others naturally could too. Their minds were flooded with thoughts, and their expressions continuously changed.

Zen Master Yuan Kong looked up, sensing the two presences in the sky. His eyes brightened, and he shook his head as he said to Master Fanyin, "Impossible. Ji Yanzhi is here. As long as we slay the Blood Demon, the shift in control of Tongling will logically follow. Not only that, but your troops that have entered into Xu territory are likely doomed!"

The others looked at the sky and nodded in agreement. Currently, Ji Yanzhi posed the biggest threat to Tongling and even to the Demon Sect, looming above them. After disposing of the Blood Demon, he wouldn't even need to act; Tongling would naturally fall.

Unexpectedly, Master Fanyin also looked up at the sky, but her face revealed a mocking smile. She shook her head and even chuckled lightly.

"Do you really think Ji Yanzhi is here to slay demons and aid the Wanjian Holy Sect in capturing Tongling?

Do you know the true identity of this Blood Demon? Ji Yanzhi is just at a cultivation bottleneck and came here to clear his mind and comprehend the Dao!

Since the start of the Zhaoyang Disturbance last year, he has been scheming to revive this Blood Demon, deceiving the Wanjian Holy Sect by claiming it was to throw Tongling into chaos, to find an opportunity to legitimatize their deployment of troops to Yongzhou. In reality, it is for his own cultivation.

Once he slays the Blood Demon, he can make a breakthrough, return to Yangzhou to assume a position as headmaster. Do you really think he has the spare time to worry about a mere Tongling County?

By the time he leaves, the east side's Wanyang County will also be captured by my Xingnan Prefecture Army, leaving Tongling's forty thousand troops isolated and doomed..."

This series of statements contained an overwhelming amount of information, leaving everyone unable to calm down for a long time. But before they could settle, Master Fanyin, looking into the sky, suddenly added another profoundly meaningful remark...

"And this still depends on Ji Yanzhi successfully making a breakthrough. If he fails..."