Bloodsucking Formation!

Jo Yuan sat in the dim light of his small room in Silverbrook, a single candle flickering on the table before him. He gazed out the window, watching the villagers go about their daily lives, blissfully unaware of his presence and his dark intentions. But as he contemplated his situation, frustration twisted in his gut.

"One by one is too slow," he muttered to himself, tapping a finger against the table. "The risk of being discovered is too high."

With each life he took, he felt the weight of his actions. The blood core granted him power, but sucking the vitality of townspeople one by one was draining—not just physically, but mentally. He needed a new approach.

...

Jo leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to think. "There has to be a better way," he thought. Each time he used the blood core, he risked exposure. If he kept this up, it wouldn't be long before someone connected the dots. The martial artists might still be looking for him; he could feel it in the air.

"I can't continue like this. It's too inefficient." The realization struck him: the longer he took to gain strength, the more vulnerable he became. He needed a plan—something that could allow him to gather energy from multiple people at once.

...

As he pondered, an idea began to form in his mind, merging his knowledge of formations with the mechanics of his blood core. "What if I could create a formation?" he thought, excitement bubbling within him. The more he considered it, the more it made sense.

Jo's fingers danced over a piece of parchment as he sketched out the rough design of the Formation. He envisioned a web of energy radiating from a central point, capturing the life force of everyone within its range.

To cover the whole town, he would need a network of nodes—small crystals that would act as anchors for the formation. He knew the right materials would be essential: dark crystals to amplify the energy, red herbs for vitality enhancement, and a special ink made from the essence of blood for the inscriptions.

"I'll need to gather supplies," he murmured, already calculating the costs. The crystals were rare, requiring him to visit nearby caves, while the herbs could be sourced from the woods. Each component would take time and effort, but the potential payoff was worth it.

...

He pondered what to call this new creation. "Blood-Sucking Formation," he finally decided, smirking at the irony. With this formation, he could drain the life from the townspeople all at once, without the hassle of tracking each individual down. The thought thrilled him, even as a part of him recoiled at the brutality of it.

"Now, when to set it up?" Jo thought, glancing at the calendar on the wall. He noted the upcoming full moon—a time when energy was at its peak. "Three nights from now." That would give him enough time to gather materials and prepare the town without raising suspicion.

...

With the date in mind, Jo's excitement simmered. He needed to act carefully, blending into the town as he worked. The full moon would provide the perfect cover for his actions.

"This will be my chance," he whispered to himself, "With the Blood-Sucking Formation, I will finally have the power I need."

As he finished sketching the final design, he felt a rush of anticipation. Soon, he would no longer be hunted. He would become the hunter.

...

Jo Yuan stood in the shadows just outside the center of Silverbrook, his heart pounding with anticipation. Tonight was the night he had been preparing for. He had spent days meticulously setting up the Blood-Sucking Formation, and everything was ready. As the full moon rose high in the sky, he activated the formation with a simple incantation.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, slowly, the ground began to pulse with energy. Red light surged from the center of the formation, spreading outward like ripples on a pond. Jo watched in awe as the glow enveloped the entire town.

The villagers were startled, their peaceful evening shattered by the strange light. Panic spread quickly as they realized something was wrong.

"What's happening?" a woman shouted, clutching her child.

"I don't know!" a man replied, looking around with wide eyes. "We need to get out of here!"

As the red light grew brighter, the atmosphere turned heavy with fear. People began to shove and push their way toward the exit of the town, desperate to escape. A stampede erupted, the sound of terrified cries and heavy footsteps filling the air.

In their final moments, despair spread over the villagers. They clung to each other, whispering words of comfort even as they sensed the inevitable doom closing in.

"I love you," an elderly man said to his wife, tears streaming down his face.

"Stay close to me!" she cried, pulling him tighter.

As Jo watched from a distance, a strange calm washed over him. The chaos below felt surreal, like a scene from a play. He felt no remorse for what he had done; instead, he experienced a rush of exhilaration.

"This is power," he thought, a smile creeping onto his face. "I am in control."

But then, just as Jo thought he had succeeded, a sudden surge of energy caused the formation to flicker. The red light pulsed violently before bursting outward in a shockwave. Jo's heart sank as he realized something was wrong.

The formation was overloaded. The energy it was meant to siphon off had instead exploded, sending a shockwave that knocked him off his feet.

Jo screamed as the vitality of the townspeople surged toward him, overwhelming his senses.

And then, everything went black.

...

Jo Yuan woke up beneath the familiar tree, disoriented. He was eighteen years old again, a body that was wet behind his ears, the memories of his past life flooding back. It felt surreal, like waking from a nightmare. As he sat up, he quickly realized what had happened.

"The Blood-Sucking Formation," he thought, shaking his head in disbelief. "It failed."

In his mind, he began to analyze what had gone wrong. The formation had absorbed too much energy too quickly, causing a catastrophic overload. He needed to modify it if he wanted it to work effectively next time.

"I need to control the energy flow," he muttered to himself, already envisioning how to adjust the formation. "Smaller nodes and better energy regulation."

'Fuck it! Don't I need advanced knowledge for that? I'm still stuck at the peak of intermediate knowledge...'

Jo Yuan cursed his lack of talent.

Even after repeated regressions, his formation knowledge was still intermediate. Other students he met while studying under Master Feng in his last four lives only took 30-40 years to reach the same level as him.

Why!!???