Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 401 - 359: Three People Make a Tiger

Chapter 401: Chapter 359: Three People Make a Tiger

"It turned out to be a pleasant surprise indeed."

After Zhou Ping’an applied the seal and issued commands to prepare to claim Dongshan City, he intended to lift his foot and continue the pursuit.

Suddenly, both the Taichong and Dadun acupoints on the sole of his right foot pulsed, and his True Qi surged like floodwaters breaching a dam, and with a whoosh, it fully circulated.

His body trembled and then froze on the spot.

He felt that after the Liver Meridian of Foot-Jueyin’s all subtle acupoints had been thoroughly penetrated, his whole body responded simultaneously—the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming, the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming... The Twelve Primary Channels responded at the same time as the previously penetrated Eight Extraordinary Meridians, forming a complex and smooth network of Qi.

As True Qi continued to flow through his body, filling every minute limb, with a single thought, the massive torrents of True Qi responded accordingly.

"So fast."

Zhou Ping’an pointed forward with his blade, barely focusing on activating the True Qi within his body, yet a shimmering, rippling Sword Qi already appeared on the tip of his blade. With a light flick of his left palm drawing an arc, a huge vortex materialized in front of him.

"Compared with circulating the Grand Circulation and forming the Qi network, the speed of True Qi circulation was at least three times faster."

"Furthermore, when the True Qi circulated through the meridians to regulate the entire body, the loss was also much reduced.

Although it was just the penetration of the last three acupoints, it was a qualitative breakthrough, circulating throughout the body continuously, able to spontaneously replenish the True Qi lost from the air."

Zhou Ping’an silently investigated the change in the Sword Qi within his body and was greatly delighted.

Although, in the eyes of those experts, a mere state of Great True Qi Completion isn’t something to be overly excited about.

But in Zhou Ping’an’s view, it represented a small step for the world, but a giant leap for personal transcendence.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

A nine-floor pagoda starts from the ground up...

After achieving Great Completion Cycle, it meant that his own Sword Qi can also be squandered in large amounts, without having to be as frugally calculated as before.

Moreover, it laid a solid foundation for the next step of Transforming Mastery.

In plain language, his combat power had greatly improved.

If he had such potent and smooth-flowing True Qi during the encirclement by Saintess Yunling and Lady Wei earlier, he would have won much more easily, and likely, without even a scratch on his skin.

He could have easily manipulated the opponents, borrowing and deflecting their powers, performing Dou Zhuan Xingyi, and instantly killing both on the spot without giving Saintess Yunling a chance to escape.

"The reason I can overpower opponents above my level and handle them easily, particularly the second level of the Sword Heart Clarity within the Intricate Realm, lies in the control over strength and True Qi—it really feels like cheating.

Lady Wei’s swordsmanship isn’t weak at all, with her sword bringing winds and thunders, turning the intangible into tangible. If it really hit, even with my constitution, I couldn’t bear it and would have been severely injured in one strike.

Furthermore, the Sword Flight to Immortality technique of Saintess Yunling was utterly elusive.

When she launched her moves, I couldn’t sense any sign at all...

But in the state of Clarity, I could predict her attack method and angle even before she executed her moves.

With this foresight, no matter how these two attacked, they had no secrets from me, and how could they possibly not be at a disadvantage?"

This was exactly the reason.

After two moves with Saintess Yunling, she lost all confidence and could only flee in disarray.

Moreover, she called upon various "Divine Generals" to resist desperately, trying to buy time to escape.

It must be said, Saintess Yunling’s decisions and choices were absolutely correct.

The only slightly criticized point was that she doesn’t seem to value the lives of her subordinates very much.

Doesn’t she know that against an enemy like me, sending "Divine Generals" with the Fourth Level Lotus Body to obstruct was merely sending them to their deaths and delaying for a bit of time only?

Yet, she still did so.

Put nicely, it’s "those aiming for great achievements do not fuss over minor details". But putting it bluntly, this is "cold-hearted by nature", never soft-handed in exploiting her own people."

"The Intricate Skill of the Clarity Realm, whether in group battles or one-on-one fights, always places me at an invincible position, seeing opportunities in advance...

With such a divine talent and secret technique to protect me, it’s enough to preserve my victories in this competitive world.

But to achieve even more, the current level of strength may still not be enough."

Although Zhou Ping’an had succeeded in one battle, saved people, and even acquired East Mountain County,

he became even more vigilant inside.

Because, the disparity between the strong and the weak in this world is too enormous, as marked as the difference between humans and ants.

In this Southwest corner, I may be considered an expert capable of claiming some territory, but I must never become arrogant.

I should not act rashly but continue to develop prudently.

Thinking of the resentful and defiant look of Saintess Yunling before she fled, Zhou Ping’an seemed to read something from it.

It was merely her confidence that she had enough resources, with stronger reinforcements at her back.

"But first, your reinforcements must arrive in time, even before I have fully grown. Otherwise, any backup plans are just fleeting clouds."

After acquiring Dongshan City, Zhou Ping’an felt that his cultivation speed was further accelerated.

It seemed as if some force was indeed aiding his cultivation.

As the saying goes, "When the time comes, the whole world will co-operate."

It was probably this feeling.

There was nothing but success ahead.

"So, if I could claim more territory and gather more refugees, would my strengthening speed be even faster?"

Thinking this, a glint flashed in Zhou Ping’an’s eyes, and with one step, he crossed over forty to fifty zhang.

His body moved up and down, almost merging into the moonlight.

Even someone in the Late Stage of Martial Will with remarkable eyesight, upon careful observation, could only see a faint, semi-transparent silhouette.

That was the speed reaching its utmost limit, making one doubt if there was an illusion in their eyes.

"Run as hard as you can, better yet, bring in all the experts who have come to the Three Counties of Liyou this time, so I can catch them all in one net,"

Zhou Ping’an had this confidence, which allowed him not to rush in pursuit of Saintess Yunling.

He had locked onto the aura of that saintess and even faintly sensed the flavor of her spiritual power.

Even if he let her escape tens or hundreds of li ahead, he could relentlessly follow that trail of Qi without any deviation.

Indeed, the "Treading Void Step" of Saintess Yunling was very strong, but just like Zhou Ping’an’s own "A Stone’s Throw, Worlds Away" stepping technique, these were supreme life-saving and enemy-killing movement techniques used to turn the tide at critical moments.

Using it to travel was somewhat amusing.

With Zhou Ping’an’s level of True Qi cultivation, if he really went all out, he wouldn’t make it 30 li before he drained his True Qi and had to sit down to recover.

Saintess Yunling’s Gang Qi was of course much stronger, but even so, continuously using "Treading Void Step" over a hundred li was extremely difficult.

Besides, who would dare to deplete their True Qi so wildly knowing someone was chasing them?

Aren’t they afraid of having no power to counterattack when caught by the enemy?

Therefore, Zhou Ping’an dared to assert that if the opponent kept escaping at such incredible speed, after 50 li, she would have to switch to a less effective movement technique.

Possibly, she might even resort to purely running on physical strength.

In principle, given Saintess Yunling’s constitution, strength, and stamina, no matter how she ran, she would ultimately not escape from his pursuit.

In terms of True Qi, he was still ’younger brother’.

In terms of physical strength and endurance, Zhou Ping’an dared to say that the opponent was not even a ’little sister’ to him, at most a ’daughter’.

"Moreover, in the previous battle, I didn’t even activate the ’Purifying Lotus Body,’ which was meant for a moment like now,"

This chase lasted from when the moon was high in the sky to when it dipped westward.

The peaks ahead formed a V-shape, enclosing a city within a plain tightly within them.

On the right side of the city, a river over a hundred meters wide glittered with the scales of light, reflecting the faint moonlight, flowing silently and slowly...

In the air, besides the wet and cool evening breeze carrying a hint of fishy smell, there also hung a faint, almost undetectable scent of long-lasting fragrance.

That was the scent of Saintess Yunling.

Zhou Ping’an by now was no longer an inexperienced country boy.

Having visited the Cloud Water Sect, he had somewhat seen the world and experienced the lavish expenses of great sects.

He recognized that this scent was actually from the Soul Settling Incense.

Su Lianxue often lit one during her cultivation sessions and generally refrained from using it on normal days.

It was said the ingredients were very rare, and within the Cloud Water Sect, only those of Elder Rank could get some every month.

Zhou Ping’an and Lin Huaiyu, at the level of inner sect disciples,

were considered privileged to even smell the fragrance outside the sect building and calm their minds.

But clearly, Saintess Yunling frequently used it.

She was almost marinated in the fragrance of this Soul Settling Incense.

Even after an hour and a half and more than ten li away, Zhou Ping’an could still smell the scent.

You can imagine how much daily enjoyment the saintess had.

"So, this is your trump card, huh?"

Zhou Ping’an felt the dangerous air blowing in the wind, that familiar edge as if a fierce blade on his back, and suddenly cracked a light smile.

He knew an old acquaintance had arrived.

Last time, he was shot by an arrow from the opponent and had no chance to even retaliate.

This time, however, the situation was vastly different.

"I have become stronger."

Ahead of the city, the gates wide open and torches blazing brightly, about three thousand Red Armored Elite Cavalry stood imposingly below the city walls.

Along with a thunderous roar that erupted, a bulky figure with a beard like a lion’s mouth, wielding a halberd, charged forward on his horse.

"Kill..."

The shouts of killing startled the birds in the nearby forests into flight, and even seemed to scatter the dark clouds, making the moonlight brighter...

"Yi Heavenly King, Ran Sifei!"

Seeing this combination, old and new grievances surged to Zhou Ping’an’s heart.

He decided to no longer trail slowly behind Saintess Yunling.

He didn’t know how the opponent managed to send messages or how she had prepared for reinforcements in advance,

but the first principle of war is to prevent the enemy from doing what they want.

Striking where the enemy is weakest is the best tactic.

With a drawn sword in hand, he forcefully gathered a mouthful of True Qi.

His figure transformed into a streak of light, rushing through forests and over ridges, and in a whoosh, he was mere hundreds of feet behind Saintess Yunling.

At this time, Saintess Yunling was extremely disheveled.

The wound on her chest had not yet healed, and excessive movement during their continual escape caused blood to drip down gradually.

Her face was deathly pale.

Even the jade hairpin on her head was askew.

Clearly seeing a chance at survival yet also feeling the crisis,

she shouted loudly, "Take action."