Chapter 282

The descent was too decisive and swift.

In fact, when the second bloodline appeared, Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi already knew what was coming next.

The likelihood of a significant increase in power was minimal because the absolute strength the tomb owner was currently exhibiting was already more than sufficient, even somewhat overflowing.

Therefore, the arrival of another entity merely to augment its power level would have been pointless.

Furthermore, they had to consider the host body's own capacity. Even if its Yin-Earthly Fiend countenance made it suitable for possession by a nether-official, there had to be a limit to how much it could hold.

Therefore, the direct change brought by this descent should target the rules.

When there was only one entity inside the tomb owner, it was constrained by the "Three Incense Sticks" rule, allowing it to lock onto only one opponent at a time.

Li Zhuiyuan had exploited this very rule to enable Run Sheng and Lin Shuyou to successfully confront the tomb owner.

Now, the rule was broken.

When the second entity descended, the tomb owner could lock onto two opponents simultaneously, and with the descent of the third, the number of targets it could engage at once rose to three.

To maintain the previous balance, Li Zhuiyuan would now need to add one to that number, meaning he had to deploy four people.

The numbers were actually sufficient. Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng were bound to the youth by red threads, allowing them to synchronize their actions. However, they had previously been positioned in front of the youth to guard against any potential flanking or sneak attacks from the tomb owner.

Zhao Yi, by his side, had also achieved synchronized aura and could serve as a reserve.

However, at this moment, it was clearly impossible for them to instantly appear on the front lines and join the battle.

The youth, who commanded formations, could achieve immediate battlefield entry. But even with him, the front line would only be three-on-three for a short time, which was insufficient for balanced suppression.

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng charged forward rapidly, with Zhao Yi moving even faster than them.

But the situation on the other end had already changed.

Earlier, the Liang sisters had been severely wounded, and that too happened in an instant.

Moreover, the opponent's swiftness was likely provoked by this balanced combat strategy; wanting to break the stalemate, they naturally knew how to seize the opportunity.

In an instant, both Run Sheng and Lin Shuyou felt completely targeted.

During previous exchanges, this sensation had been intermittent and had little impact. Now, however, a persistent "gaze" was fully and continuously fixed upon them.

One of the tomb owner's hands reached out. Run Sheng ignored it, refusing to be drawn into its rhythm, and instead swung his shovel sideways directly at the tomb owner's torso.

Yet even with such a swift swing of the shovel, it ultimately struck empty air.

The tomb owner's body twisted sideways in mid-air, perfectly evading the shovel's blade. Its legs kicked out, preemptively stepping onto Lin Shuyou's twin maces, which were swung in coordination with Run Sheng's attack.

The next moment, the tomb owner seized Run Sheng's Yellow River Shovel and rapidly pulled it back.

Run Sheng decisively let go of the shovel, but just as it left his hands, a tremendous suction force appeared out of nowhere, forcing his hands back onto the handle. He lost his balance and was pulled forward.

The tomb owner's legs twisted, first entangling Lin Shuyou's twin maces, then bending its knees and retracting.

Lin Shuyou, like Run Sheng, immediately chose to abandon his weapons, as it was incredibly unwise to engage in close-quarters combat with a being whose absolute power far surpassed his own.

But similarly, a strong gust of wind appeared around Lin Shuyou, forcing him to continue leaning forward.

The tomb owner, now with three bloodlines on its brow, once again displayed its astonishing power.

Next, its fingers lunged towards Run Sheng's chest, and its legs coiled around Lin Shuyou's neck.

Run Sheng possessed a formidable physique, and Lin Shuyou's True Lord's body was equally impressive. Yet, at this moment, both sensed an undeniable life-or-death crisis.

Although the Liang sisters were not renowned for their physical strength, they were highly skilled in close combat. They also carried protective artifacts from the Liang family, and their inner garments even had formation patterns drawn on them for crucial self-defense.

Yet all these proved futile in the face of absolute strength. Liang Yan's abdomen was pierced before she could even react, and Liang Li, attempting to divert the attack, watched helplessly as her own offense was turned into a "counter-thrust."

Thus, while Run Sheng and Lin Shuyou were indeed much stronger in this aspect than the sisters, they still appeared pale and powerless in the face of such a vast disparity.

However, although Li Zhuiyuan's reinforcements could not arrive in time, remedial measures were decisively issued.

At this critical juncture, Run Sheng's qi gates fully opened!

Lin Shuyou's back tensed, and with a contraction of two muscle groups, talisman needles burst from their box and pierced his body!

After experiencing the infusion of resentment beneath the True Lord Temple and the subsequent settling in the peach forest, the malevolent qi within Run Sheng became even more violent, significantly reducing the preparation time required for his qi gates to fully open.

Lin Shuyou, on the other hand, had simply been idle, exploring various ways to use the talisman needles with the young boy.

The young boy had initially resisted the talisman needles, viewing them as shameful, then came to grudgingly accept them, and now actively embraced them.

While their threshold for facing powerful opponents continuously rose, their bottom lines were also being pushed step by step.

In the past, Run Sheng with fully opened qi gates would have been enough to rampage unchecked, and Lin Shuyou, covered in talisman needles, could have looked down upon his surroundings with disdain.

But this time, the