Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 367 - 329: Sudden Attack in the Forest, Karmic Fire Divine Flame

Chapter 367: Chapter 329: Sudden Attack in the Forest, Karmic Fire Divine Flame

"Purifying Lotus!"

Fang Buping watched the tree-lined clearing as Zhou Ping’an wielded his sword, seeming to absorb all the cold moonlight before him into a fierce sword Qi that left him gasping in surprise.

He not only knew what this sword light, which seemed to split the void and turn into a black mark, was all about.

He was even more acutely aware of the tremendous power the body that was roughly three meters tall could unleash.

What was most despairing was that he had already recognized who had suddenly blocked his way and launched an attack against him.

Previously, near the Guangji Institute at the western part of Qingyang City, Zhou Ping’an had not used the "Purifying Lotus Body," relying solely on his own sword technique and the strength of his True Qi. His power was already difficult to control, and his killing method was startling.

Now, building upon that foundation and erupting with tenfold strength, such an attack was unimaginably powerful.

"Start..."

In the first instance, Fang Buping’s blood had already ignited. Martial Intent in his mind was in chaos, compressing into a thin line. The [Unsettled Halberd] in his hand made a "pop" sound, bursting into fiery red flames. In a critical moment, he chose to fight attack with attack and had already thrust out.

At this moment, Fang Buping had no thoughts of victory or defeat, nor a sense of injustice in his heart.

He was merely following his most primal instincts, drawing a mysterious trajectory with a fiery red halberd light.

Mixing defense with attack, locking, and dragging with hooks.

It appeared he was adopting an entirely defensive stance, yet it was like the calm before a volcanic eruption.

"Good halberd technique."

Zhou Ping’an silently praised in his heart.

His spirit was concentrated to the extreme.

He sensed everything clearly.

Fang Buping, who had lost a leg, had become even more dangerous.

In that split second when he was suddenly attacked, all the Gang Qi and Martial Intent in his body had violently collapsed into a single point, like a burning fireball reversing into a pinpoint of bright light.

Then, like an explosion of dynamite, fierce flames surged like boiling waves, unexpectedly parting Zhou Ping’an’s Abyssal Wave Slash in a flash of light.

At the same time, the blade of the halberd accelerated a second time, aiming at his chest.

Because of the difference in height.

The blow that was originally aimed at the throat could only reach the chest.

It was an unavoidable circumstance.

A glimmer of surprise flashed in Fang Buping’s eyes.

In a life-and-death moment, he naturally entered a state of Divine Clarity.

Suddenly, he was acutely aware of a lifeline.

His attack was ever so slightly faster than his opponent’s, and furthermore, the chaotic Martial Intent of the Spirit Infusion State, at the most desperate moment, seemed like divine will, creating possibility out of the impossible.

It actually made Zhou Ping’an’s overwhelmingly strong power become utterly useless.

Watching Zhou Ping’an’s slash miss, with the sword edge moving far away from his side, he felt boundless joy rise within him.

Thud...

The point of the halberd reached Zhou Ping’an’s chest.

Huh?

The feeling of emptiness under his hand made Fang Buping’s heart sink.

He felt Zhou Ping’an’s left chest rapidly moving away from the halberd blade; his entire body was like a spinning top, turning from extreme stillness to extreme motion, rapidly revolving.

The sword edge that was speeding away beside him managed to circle around his body. One moment it was on his left side, and the next it was at his right neck.

The sword light rolled over like water, the coolness penetrating, faster than his thought process, its amazing and ingenious changes caused even Fang Buping to sigh deeply.

His halberd had used up its force, and he hadn’t yet retracted the short halberd.

With one leg pinned to the ground and the Fire Jin in his body ready to burst but not yet released,

His head had already soared into the sky.

Boom...

Zhou Ping’an put away his sword, and his figure shrank back to its original size.

Turning his head, he glanced at the spot behind him where the halberd light had missed, and the three or five large trees that were simultaneously pierced showed explosive traces.

Then turning back to look at Fang Buping’s headless body, slowly falling,

He opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of brilliant red Fire Qi, the flush of red on his eyebrows and face slowly fading away, "Perhaps you would think that a person of great stature and strength would be clumsy in their movement techniques, yet you never expected that my strongest aspect is actually skill and maneuvers."

Fang Buping’s death was not at all unjust.

Although, in that moment, the combat power he unleashed had indeed climbed to a certain pinnacle.

But accustomed to straightforward advancing and relying on brute force in battle,

He never considered that Zhou Ping’an, who seemed to charge like a mad tiger, would fight with such ingenious and ever-changing tactics.

A simple and effortless switch of sword hand and turning of the body broke his attack thoroughly clean and, in an instant, chopped off his head.

It was so fast that he couldn’t react in time.

"Brother Zhou’s fighting method is truly too peculiar; even if it were me, I couldn’t avoid that slash," said Lin Huaiyu as she slowly emerged from behind a tree nearby.

Her face was full of admiration.

It wasn’t an intentional flattery.

She truly thought so.

Every time she saw Zhou Ping’an make a move, she felt an illusion, as if she were seeing a white-foreheaded tiger in the forest, whose moves turned out to be as flexible and varied as a little cat.

It was the incongruity of a burly man standing eight feet tall handling a needle and embroidering.

Yet every single one of his moves was beautiful beyond measure, showing no sign of strain.

"They are just some minor tricks. The way of martial arts is an extension of the physical body. When people practice and reach high levels, they often pursue sheer power and lose the true essence of martial arts," Zhou Ping’an said with a sigh. "To truly speak of it, no matter what level one cultivates to, even if there are real immortals or monsters, when facing someone of the same level, don’t they still need to struggle for a chance, to match wits and courage? To plant oneself stationary and absorb attacks is truly a last resort."

Lin Huaiyu nodded again and again as she listened.

In fact, this theory was not new.

Especially for martial artists who had fought for their lives step by step in the Jianghu, they understood it extremely deeply.

However, in the course of cultivation, when the level of strength becomes strong enough, some people often forget how they survived before, without exception, all wishing for greater power and swifter speed to crush their opponents outright.

A single slash could kill an opponent.

If one slash wasn’t enough, then a few more would do the job.

If strength was lacking, one would crazily increase their realm and burst forth with power...

Why waste any effort studying exquisite techniques?

There’s no need.

In Zhou Ping’an’s view, that was actually not correct.

The inertia of thought could be deadly.

That was the principle.

Listening to Zhou Ping’an, a defensive-type expert who had trained his body to be ten or a hundred times tougher than iron, say such things, Lin Huaiyu still found it somewhat amusing.

With his immense strength and a body trained to be indestructible like a diamond, wasn’t he the best at being a ’stationary output’ warrior?

Taking hits head-on should be the best option, right?

And yet, he chose this sort of clever combat style, which was quite bizarre.

"After all, he was a local overlord, and there should be some good things on him; it would be a waste not to take them."

Lin Huaiyu knew how to manage a household.

A person who came to Qingyang City with some family guards to develop their base obviously understood the principle that wealth comes from accumulation.

She wasn’t the least bit averse to getting her hands dirty. Squatting down, she eagerly searched Fang Buping’s body and found a cloth bag, emptying its contents into her hand.

Things like golden notes and silver ingots didn’t need too much attention.

However, two beads wrapped in a small piece of silk caught her interest.

"Brother Zhou, take a look, do these seem like the True Intent Beads we got from Emerald Ridge?"

"It’s not just similar, it’s the same thing."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping’an leaned over, held the beads in his hand, and sent his spirit to examine them. A smile appeared on his face.

This trip, it seemed, was not made in vain.

That day, when they went to the Cloud Water Sect’s Emerald Peak, it could be said the journey was full of twists and turns.

Originally, the two of them were ready to take advantage of the invasion of external enemies to fish in troubled waters and make a final grab before running away...

But what happened?

They did achieve the goal of making a grab.

However, they encountered the return of the master of Emerald Peak, who, by coincidence, was very kind to them. Not only did she take them as direct disciples, but she also generously taught them various secret techniques and arts.

This made things a bit awkward.

Stealing things that couldn’t see the light of day was out of the question.

Like some valuable items they had collected after killing the "cheap master" Su Wenhao in Xinyuan, who harbored evil intentions.

Or, the few True Intent Beads they had grabbed when they joined forces with the witch Ye Xiaoqian from the Reincarnation Sect and Ran Sifei from Red Lotus Sect to attack the summit pavilion.

These things became extremely hot potatoes...

Even if they wanted to confess and apologize to their newly acknowledged master Su Lianxue, they couldn’t find an opportunity.

Wouldn’t that just put the master in a difficult position?

Forcing the Master of Emerald Peak to clean house by herself, leaving her devastated and sending the older generation off before the younger?

There was no need for such trouble.

Therefore.

Zhou Ping’an and Lin Huaiyu, without consulting each other, tacitly decided to bury those secrets deep in their hearts, vowing never to speak of them even upon their death.

Sometimes, deceit can be well-intentioned.

The two of them truly felt Su Lianxue was a good master and did not wish to cause hostility and turn against each other as master and disciple.

Why bother at all?

As a result, three "True Intent Beads" remained in their possession.

Later on, Su Lianxue brought a few more of the same True Intent Beads as gifts, making matters even more embarrassing.

These objects, though valuable, were not particularly so, for achieving the qualification to inherit them was not difficult, the hardest part was the identity of a direct disciple.

What did those beads record?

One contained Canghai Sword Intent, personally infused with the spirit and will by Law Enforcement Elder Gu Qingqiu;

The other two recorded the Ice and Snow Sword Intent and the three Ultimate Blade techniques of the Canghai Sword, which were produced by Su Lianxue herself.

They counted as Sect’s secret inheritances.

Zhou Ping’an and Lin Huaiyu had both carefully contemplated the intentions within the beads; with their current state, they could not yet fully comprehend them. After learning the Ultimate Blade techniques, Zhou Ping’an slowly cultivated further and kept the beads as foundational knowledge in his space, taking his time to understand.

Because of this, they recognized these spirit light beads.

At this moment, they became very interested.

"It’s the ’Flame Control Technique’ and ’Heart Imprint Karmic Fire Divine Flame,’ the secret arts of the Red Lotus Sect..."

Zhou Ping’an looked up in surprise.

He saw Lin Huaiyu also looking at him with a strange look in her eyes.

"Brother Zhou, if you learn this, even if you deny being the direct disciple of the Red Lotus Matriarch, no one would believe you."

"Yeah, this is too much of a coincidence."

Zhou Ping’an laughed wryly.

He hadn’t kept his various skills a secret from Lin Huaiyu.

She knew that by pure chance, he had intercepted the Red Lotus Holy Maiden and learned the ’Karmic Fire Red Lotus Visualization Method.’

Moreover, he had unexpectedly encountered the Divine General of Red Lotus Sect, Tang Lin’er...

And this Divine General, just beginning their journey, did not cherish the ’Purifying Lotus Body’ at all, so he casually traded it away.

This in itself would have been enough, but having learned the Visualization Method and the explosive technique...

After all, he hadn’t learned the combative secret techniques of the Red Lotus Sect, which couldn’t count as the true inheritance.

But now, with the addition of the ’Flame Control Technique’ as well as the ’Karmic Fire Divine Flame’ offensive secret technique, he had everything.

From cultivating Karmic Fire, to exploding with power, and then using the flame to harm the enemy—all in one shot.