Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 121 - 118: The Mouse Pulls the Turtle, Unity of Hardness and Softness

Chapter 121: Chapter 118: The Mouse Pulls the Turtle, Unity of Hardness and Softness

However, the elderly monk had reached the True Qi Realm in his cultivation and specialized in Body Refining Techniques, so his basic strength might already be between eight thousand to ten thousand jin.

With the amplification of True Qi, there’s generally a five to ten times boost in attack power.

His attack strength was roughly around forty-five thousand jin, or possibly eighty to a hundred thousand jin.

Of course, this method of calculating combat strength was just Zhou Ping’an’s habit from modern society, using numerical values to make judgments.

In fact, in this world, there are many wondrous skills and secret techniques that defy logic.

Sometimes, overcoming enemies across different realms isn’t even considered strange.

Take Li Yuankang for example. If it weren’t for encountering methods that counter mental attacks, his Five Desires Impact would have held a great advantage, not to mention that the King of Light’s Golden Body Technique he practiced is particularly resilient; ordinary people couldn’t really kill him.

Thinking of the King of Light’s Golden Body Technique,

Zhou Ping’an’s gaze towards the elderly monk became increasingly strange.

He spotted the biggest problem.

It wasn’t about whether he could withstand the opponent’s attack but whether he could break through their defenses.

Although his mind was filled with thoughts,

Zhou Ping’an’s movements did not stop.

The blade light touched and withdrew instantaneously.

With a flick of his wrist, the blade edge turned into soft ripples, grazing the edge of the imprint left by the elder monk’s forceful palm strike.

His body, light as if weightless, created faint shadows, darted behind Monk Guangming, and promptly followed with a backhanded slash.

"Eh..."

"So it was you that night?"

The elder monk had struck down with his palm, thinking that his condensed True Qi would lock down the air in all directions, making it hard for the opponent to escape.

Unexpectedly, after his palm strike, it felt as though he was grasping at air.

The young man in front of him was elusive like an eel, impossible to hit solidly.

The blade light, as gentle as spring water, borrowed and dissipated the force, turning into a burst of shimmering white light that had already reached in front of him.

"Good sword technique,"

Without looking back, the elder monk raised his right hand to support the sky, his arm slightly sinking, and completely captured the sword energy in his palm.

His left hand made a light flicking motion as if carelessly, and already deflected a long, autumn water-like sword that attacked like lightning.

"Pfft..."

Zhou Ping’an’s slash came down.

Striking into the palm of the elder monk’s hand, it felt as if he had hit a heap of steel ingots.

The more he pressed downwards, the greater the rebounding force.

The blade itself buzzed with vibration.

And yet the elder monk’s palm remained smooth and jade-like, with gleaming golden light flowing...

"Didn’t even break the skin?"

Zhou Ping’an’s heart sank slightly.

He had sharp eyes and had already seen clearly that a red mark was sliced into the palm lines of the elder monk’s hand by his blade, and the skin and flesh indented slightly, dispelling the force of the edge.

It wasn’t without effect.

At the very least, the elder monk’s legs also sank down with it, pressing two deep footprints into the muddy ground, the mud flooding over the tops of his feet.

This proved that the force behind his own slash wasn’t completely ineffective.

And the Green Lady who attacked like a fluttering butterfly from the front, her sword thrust was deflected off the blade by the elder monk’s flick; her body tilted, the blade nearly bent into an arc, and she floated backward, retreating.

"Crack..."

Monk Guangming’s blocking, grabbing, and flicking all displayed the demeanor of a master.

When his palms came together, he even took a chunk the size of a fingernail out of Zhou Ping’an’s blade.

"So young, yet so difficult to handle, truly a gifted individual - I must not leave you alive,"

The elder monk took a slash.

Although uninjured, he felt a slight sense of danger rising within himself.

His Buddhist cultivation was profound, his mind as clear as a candle flame, already sensing the thick intent to kill in Zhou Ping’an’s heart; a faint blood red gleamed in Nameless’s eyes as he moved.

He turned half around, stepping forward, his left arm embracing as if holding something, mixing dragging with smashing, employing a move called "Vajra Drill", aiming it at Zhou Ping’an’s chest and abdomen with a thunderous force.

He wasn’t tall, but his charge was quick.

Even if Zhou Ping’an’s Ghost Shadow Step Technique was at the ninth level of perfection, in terms of straight-line speed, he was still a cut below him.

After all, cultivation was what it was.

With the support of True Qi, any martial arts could turn decay into a wonder.

Sensing the mountainous weight of the punches, Zhou Ping’an saw through the opponent’s intentions at a glance.

All cultivators of Body Refining Techniques cherish close-quarters combat without exception.

The elder monk abandoned his ranged True Qi attacks and instead charged in close, bullying him with his inferior body strength.

He could withstand countless strikes from Ping’an, but Ping’an could not take even one solid hit from him.

Trading injury for injury.

It wouldn’t be worth it.

All sorts of strategies and tactics flashed through Zhou Ping’an’s mind.

With a subtle unfolding of his blade and elusive movement, he dodged left and right, diverting and borrowing force, completely neutralizing the opponent’s punch and launching two counter-attacks, touching and going without lingering.

The elder monk charged straight, like a wild bull, triggering a series of heavy booms in the air.

As for Zhou Ping’an, his figure was ghostly, creating countless shadows, now on the left, now on the right - unpredictable.

For a short time, neither of them could gain the upper hand.

However, it was visibly apparent that Zhou Ping’an’s breathing gradually became more rapid.

Going all out with each move, it was somewhat taxing to defend and counter consecutively.

On the other side, the elder monk seemed unhurried in motion, undoubtedly possessing an abundance of stamina, ready to persist in this deadlock, able to fight another shichen without trouble.

Clearly, he had reserved strength.

The Green Lady was not of no help either.

Her attacks were neither slow nor merciful.

But in the end, the attack power was still weak.

Latter on, all one could see was a yellow figure circling the old monk, coming and going. The opponent didn’t even block; only when faced with the sword light aimed at his eyes would he slightly tilt his head and dodge.

Then, the Green Lady’s sword moves were completely non-threatening.

The more the Red Lotus Celestial Maiden fought, the darker her face grew, yet she was utterly helpless.

She was beginning to regret not bringing her Jade Zither with her. Otherwise, under the strains of the Oblivion Melody, she wouldn’t have been so powerless.

It could have affected even a sliver of the old monk’s spirit and would have aided Zhou Ping’an.

Just as the Green Lady was secretly anxious, her vision suddenly blurred and she saw Zhou Ping’an’s figure flying backwards, heavily colliding with the city wall, completely collapsing a small segment that had previously been half-destroyed.

In the midst of the rising dust and smoke,

Another burst of water-like sword light suddenly shone.

Shhh...

Amidst the sharp whistling of sword energy, the old monk switched from offense to defense, rapidly retreating. He guarded his chest, and on his neck, a line of blood appeared.

Accompanying the sound of the sword, a crisp laugh tinged with a husky note echoed in the air.

"Brother Zhou, this time, I’m one step ahead of you," the voice said.

The sword light was somewhat different from Zhou Ping’an’s. It contained softness within hardness and hardness within softness, bizarrely creating an extraordinary variety of changes.

The old monk’s Protective True Qi was scattered and split by this strange sword energy as if being cut by waves, leaving a mark on his flesh and suddenly erupting with extreme sharpness.

If the old monk hadn’t sensed something amiss and retreated in time, it would have been more than just a small cut.

"Wave Subduing Blade Force at the Completion Realm, impressive," the old monk remarked, his face showing surprise for the first time, his killing intent growing even stronger.

He took a deep breath towards the sky.

His small stature suddenly grew, transforming into a towering nine-foot-tall giant, his monk’s robes bulging, his skin gleaming with golden light.

"However, young lass, though your Blade Force is strong, your cultivation is a bit too low. Not even your internal organs have reached perfection. How could you possibly withstand me?" the old monk said.

The old monk stepped back, then advanced, his fists crashing down like mountains. This time, he was unrestrained, aggressively seeking to attack.

He was willing to endure minor injuries just to kill all three of them right then and there.

"Now is the moment."

Zhou Ping’an had just retreated and collided with the city wall when he sensed a very familiar and intimate presence not far behind him. He deliberately created an opportunity for Lin Huaiyu to make a sudden move.

Meanwhile, he used an extremely soft force to entangle the old monk’s fists.

Indeed, the Third Miss never disappointed him.

She actually grasped the Unity of Hardness and Softness within the Wave Subduing Blade Force before him.

And she managed to injure Elder Guangming.

Regrettably, the old monk’s skin and flesh were too tough. Even though the attack penetrated his defenses, it only caused minor injuries, doing no real damage to his fighting capability.

The only result was that it enraged him, causing him to transform a second time and exert full power using the King of Light’s Golden Body Method.

Logically, at this moment, Monk Guangming, with heavier punches and a stronger body, akin to a temple’s vajra, should have been even more difficult to deal with.

But Zhou Ping’an saw an opportunity.

After the old monk’s figure expanded, his strength might have increased, but his speed dropped to an exasperatingly low level.

His agility was reduced by at least one-third.

Zhou Ping’an had endured for so long, never revealing his trump card until now, only lacking cooperation.

Lin Huaiyu needed no reminder.

Instantly, she rushed forward again, her sword light whirling and slashing relentlessly, weaving in and out of the sweeping fists, appearing on the verge of collapse yet never retreating.

After blocking three punches, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but her gaze remained unchanged, her expression as cold as ice and snow.

The old monk roared furiously. Even though all his opponents were far inferior to him in realm, he couldn’t hit or kill them. He let out a wild roar to the sky, his golden light exploding. With a sinking waist, he struck a horse stance and his fists thundered out.

No more retreats, let’s see if you can block this.

Lin Huaiyu’s face turned slightly pale.

A smile appeared on her face for the first time.

The sword light turned into rippling waves, swaying from side to side, as her figure gracefully retreated, no longer intercepting those two fists.

As she retreated...

"Crash..."

A piercingly sharp noise suddenly filled everyone’s ears.

A faint, thin afterimage shot towards the right eye of the old monk before the loud noise had even reached the ears.

Heavenly Mechanism Crossbow.

The Needle Crossbow shot through the air, swift and precise.

The old monk’s face didn’t even have time to register shock, only managing to close his eyes and lower his head slightly.

The Needle Crossbow had already pierced his upper eyelid, breaking through the skin, shattering bits of the eyebrow bone, refracting into the eyeball, penetrating three points deep into the flesh.

At the end of the Needle Crossbow, it buzzed in a circle, unable to advance further, not reaching deep into the brain matter.

"Aooo..."

The old monk cried out in pain.

Instead of retreating, he advanced.

He stomped heavily, rushing madly towards Zhou Ping’an.

He understood all too well.

The opponents had always been holding onto a great weapon that specialized in breaking True Qi and hard techniques.

If it hadn’t been for his cultivation of the King of Light’s Golden Body to the eighth level, refining his body until it was as tough as refined steel and his bones as strong as meteoric iron, that shot would have penetrated his head.

Even so, he still lost an eye, the immense impact of the force rattling his brain, making him feel dizzy and causing his True Qi and blood energy to fluctuate.

If one arrow could be shot,

It wouldn’t be the only one.

Now injured, if he couldn’t deal with that young man, there was a possibility he’d be left behind here.