Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 405 - 363: Substitute for the Injured, Responding to the Heavenly Stars

Chapter 405: Chapter 363: Substitute for the Injured, Responding to the Heavenly Stars

"Hmm, I’ve found a treasure."

Zhou Ping’an carefully comprehended the Karma Fire Red Lotus in his Sea of Consciousness, which had become semi-transparent and semi-solid, and suddenly had a thought.

He discovered that there were two pieces of hidden information within it.

It seemed to be a legacy of the Karmic Fire.

His spiritual power transformed into fine threads, meticulously probing, and the leaping flames had already deciphered a segment of text and images.

"This is the Lotus Shadow Substitution Injury. When cultivated to a profound level, it can generate a shadow of a lotus that controls spirits and seizes souls, a spiritual killing technique... impressive."

Zhou Ping’an was silent for a moment.

He thought back to his previous battle with the Saintess Yunling, when he had injured her several times and was about to pursue his advantage to strike her down.

Yet, unexpectedly, when he turned around, Yunling’s injuries had healed.

She became invigorated once again, with a fierce attack.

So, the secret lay here.

"This must be the Red Lotus Secret Teaching Method that the Saintess Yunling obtained, hidden within the Spiritual Imaginary Lotus. By obtaining this Karmic Fire Red Lotus, not only has my soul’s origin been augmented, but I have also inherited her legacy."

It only took Zhou Ping’an a moment to understand exactly what this object was.

"The silver light spots are the Lotus Shadow substitute; then, what is this golden light spot?"

At that moment, Zhou Ping’an felt that this Saintess Yunling was truly a treasure trove.

It was not in vain that he had pursued her in battle for nearly two Shichen, from East Mountain to Pinghu, slaying her beneath the castle walls. Now was the harvest season.

The deciphering of the golden light spot was somewhat complex. With Zhou Ping’an’s current level of spiritual power, it took him nearly ten moments to grasp what it was.

"Lotus Garment Spirit Protection, impervious to myriad evils. It turns out it’s a soul defense method..."

Zhou Ping’an was overjoyed.

He now knew that the soul was actually much more fragile than the physical body.

Especially in this other world, where various divine skills and secret techniques exist, some methods are profoundly unfathomable and difficult to guard against.

Like Tang Lin’er, who had unknowingly been branded in his heart during his youth.

Even as he grew stronger, he was still controlled by others and would never doubt whether his loyalty came from his own heart.

Moreover, the most pitiful part was that the person whom he loved the most was just a method of control.

If he had fallen for such a trick as well, fighting and bleeding for an unworthy woman, death would indeed be preferable.

Lotus Garment Spirit Protection was a technique to defend against such attacks.

Although the Saintess Yunling hadn’t cultivated it to great achievement, she had already made some progress.

"No wonder during our previous clash, even Lady Wei, Ancient Crane True Man, Golden Boy, and other Protectors couldn’t resist the nefarious influence of my Invincible Martial Intent, but the Saintess Yunling felt nothing.

Despite her lower realm, her resistance was extremely strong.

If it weren’t for my overwhelming power, it would have been quite difficult to defeat her in a short amount of time.

"Rest assured, go peacefully; these two cultivation techniques, along with the Karmic Fire Red Lotus Visualization Method, I will develop them thoroughly and achieve something great."

Zhou Ping’an turned his head towards the nearby corpse of Yunling.

He felt a slight pang of guilt.

He shouldn’t have killed her so brutally; at the very least, he should have left her body intact.

The three thousand cavalry soldiers stationed below the castle were now in complete disarray, even fighting among themselves, as some shouted and cursed to marshal the troops.

Zhou Ping’an didn’t bother to pay attention.

In his view, without their commander and their fighting spirit, it didn’t matter whether they were three thousand or thirty thousand soldiers; he could come and go as he pleased.

There was no real threat at all.

Upon examining what Ran Sifei carried on him, the possessions were somewhat poor.

Besides some gold and silver notes, there were perfumes and a silk handkerchief, likely a keepsake from a lover.

Zhou Ping’an looked at the gold and silver notes—about eight thousand in gold and seventeen to eighteen hundred thousand in silver. It seemed Ran had not shied away from exploiting the local gentry after occupying Pinghu County.

This was not very surprising.

However, it was disappointing that he hadn’t collected any divine skills or secret techniques.

Zhou Ping’an casually threw his corpse into a pit, stamped a palm down, and the soil closed up, allowing him to rest in peace.

Though it wasn’t in an auspicious graveyard, it was better than nothing.

He had not held much hope of finding more legacies.

After searching the Saintess Yunling and finding some trinkets for women, he wasn’t inclined to continue searching the corpses.

However, on Yi Heavenly King, he found a pleasant surprise.

It was a map made of some animal’s fur.

The wedge-shaped characters appeared exceedingly profound.

Zhou Ping’an guessed and speculated, along with the vivid patterns, and casually interpreted a few phrases, his eyes beginning to shine.

"This, he actually carried the Sun Shooting Divine Arrow Score on his person, is this a gift for the enemy?"

To Zhou Ping’an’s amazement, he looked at the object before him.

He scrutinized it closely with a mental probe and understood why Yi Heavenly King Lian Yi had to carry this map with him.

For the drawing on this piece of leather held peculiarities, one could perceive vast and overwhelming power through spiritual power.

"It’s actually a True Intent Map, no wonder he kept it on him all the time, pondering day and night.

It must be that Yi Heavenly King hadn’t fully mastered it yet, the greatest possibility being that he hadn’t grasped its essence, thus needing to carry it with him for constant insight."

Any True Intent Map is an exceedingly rare inheritance.

Fortunately, Zhou Ping’an still had some common sense.

He wouldn’t treat such an item as a common object and misplace it.

At once he cherished it dearly and quickly stored it within the space inside his carrying mirror, planning to study it thoroughly when he was free.

The map was, of course, the most important.

The fiery red bow in Yi Heavenly King’s hands was also very significant.

He held it in his hand and weighed it, finding it to be at least fifty or sixty pounds; the bowstring seemed to be made from the sinews of some creature.

When he casually pulled it, his arms felt heavy, and he estimated that it was about a hundred and twenty to thirty thousand pounds of bow force.

"Tsk, tsk, with such bow force combined with True Qi and spiritual power, no wonder it could shoot arrows of such might. Even my robust physique was penetrated by a single arrow."

From a certain perspective, this bow and the Sun-shooting Archery Technique surpassed the Particle Ripple Gun in Zhou Ping’an’s space in terms of power.

The Particle Ripple Gun, being a mechanical creation, attacks in a straightforward manner, constituting physical hits.

When facing an opponent with sharp spiritual senses, strong Martial Intent, and formidable Gang Qi, it is possible to block or dodge it.

That thing’s power ultimately has a limit.

But this bow and arrows could grow in power along with one’s spiritual power and True Qi, and there seemed to be no upper limit to its attack power at the moment.

"If Yi Heavenly King’s spirit had been stronger, and his Arrow Intent even more fierce, he could have suppressed my physique’s spirit and shot fatal arrows.

He couldn’t do it, but it doesn’t mean this archery isn’t formidable."

Thinking back to how he had approached Yi Heavenly King earlier, enduring the price of being turned into a hedgehog, with seventeen or eighteen arrows piercing three inches into his flesh before he could close in and strangle his opponent, Zhou Ping’an still felt lingering fear.

He dared to approach because his soul did not sense an imminent deadly crisis.

To guard against the Red Lotus Dharma King noticing something was amiss and starting to kite, he decided to strike swiftly regardless of the severe injuries, aiming to kill the opponent on the spot.

It turned out that this method of dealing was quite correct.

It was also because of Yi Heavenly King’s rapid defeat that Saintess Yunling’s fate was sealed.

Otherwise, with that fellow constantly shooting arrows to restrain him, this battle would have continued to drag on.

He had just finished organizing the spoils of war.

Below the city, the torches were brightly lit, and the disorderly three thousand cavalry had miraculously restored their military formation.

Two mounted soldiers rode forward.

The leader, dressed in red armor and a brown undergarment with neatly trimmed little mustaches above his lips, had a naturally gentle and warm gaze as his long eyes opened and closed.

Zhou Ping’an looked at him and was somewhat unsure of the man’s age.

He appeared to be in his twenties or thirties, but upon closer inspection, he seemed like he was in his thirties or forties.

With this demeanor, he seemed well-read, with a broad face and big ears, and surprisingly, he seemed not inferior to the deceased leading divine general Ran Sifei.

This man took the lead on horseback, galloped forward, and dismounted about thirty paces away from Zhou Ping’an, bowing with his sword in hand, "Is it General Zhou Ping’an, the possessor of the tyrant blade guarding Qingyang, who approaches? Pinghu County has long suffered from the Red Lotus Bandits, and we have been longing for your presence like drought-stricken land yearns for rain. Sorry for the late reception, I hope the General will forgive us."

As this man spoke, a young man holding a spear, who was half a horse’s length behind him, shifted his body subtly, and silently positioned himself right behind him. Holding his long spear pointed towards the ground, he slightly bowed his head as a sign of respect.

Though his appearance was unremarkable, within Zhou Ping’an’s mental induction, this seemingly twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old youth stood there as steadfast as pine and bamboo.

With just his presence, he overshadowed the splendor of the three thousand cavalry.

Zhou Ping’an felt his own body’s Qi-Blood vibrating slightly, and the Invincible Blade Intent in his mind was faintly roaring, signaling his desire to act.

"He’s indeed a formidable martial general, also corresponding to a heavenly star."

Zhou Ping’an turned his head to look at the young man, feeling greatly astonished...

This person might not be weaker than Ran Sifei. Surprisingly, he was hidden among the three thousand cavalry, keeping a low profile, willing to be a minor cavalry officer, which was interesting.

Looking at the middle-aged man with the mustache, Zhou Ping’an’s expression became slightly more cautious.

Such a great master loyally following behind him, showing genuine respect without any reluctance,

It was clear that the mustached man was not simple either.

"May I ask how this gentleman is addressed?"

The other party had treated him with courtesy, and moreover, they had put their troops in order, appearing to welcome him with the ceremony fitting for "welcoming the king’s division."

At this moment, putting up a stern face would be inappropriate.

Zhou Ping’an had been recruiting talent in Qingyang City for over a month and understood the nuances involved.

He immediately stepped forward without any semblance of defensiveness, and as the other side was about to bow, he quickly stepped forward and supported the man’s body.

His manner was extremely warm.

The middle-aged man with the mustache looked slightly surprised, his demeanor somewhat constrained, and he straightened his body with the support from Zhou Ping’an, smiling, "I am Xiao Yun, styled Chengfeng. I was coerced to serve in the Red Lotus Rebel Army, having no choice but to follow orders to survive. I am indeed a laughing stock to General Zhou,

This is my second brother Yu Hai, Yu Changlie. He is skilled in marksmanship and archery, truly a rare and valiant hero..."