Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 462 - 411: Stars Fall

Chapter 462: Chapter 411: Stars Fall

"Who are they? Dare attacking my fortress troops and horses without cause, underestimating Longmu as if no one resides?"

Ba Longmu backpedaled thirty feet, holding the two broken pieces of his staff, landing on another boat, looking sternly as his three-decked flagship slowly sunk into the water, his heart filled with both shock and rage, his hands trembling with anger.

Just now, the attackers had come from the shore, merely using two small pieces of wood to glide a hundred yards, and with the force still not fully spent, One Slash cut the air, the water, the soul, and the very intent, nearly severing Ba Longmu as well.

Thankfully, the Divine Wood Dragon Staff had autonomously protected him, bearing the brunt of that strike; otherwise, before he could even take this threat seriously, he would have already lost his life on the spot.

Looking at the not so strong Gang Qi and Martial Intent that didn’t even touch Celestial Star, nor drawing on the Heaven and Earth Vital Energy, how could this slash possess such formidable power?

Had he not seen the person who wielded the sword with his own eyes, Ba Longmu would have assumed some hidden Body Refinement old monster was playing a vast joke on him.

"Hehe, turns out to be an ignorant fool. You lead your troops to attack my jurisdiction, yet you don’t even know who your opponent is?"

Zhou Ping’an almost laughed out of frustration.

It seemed his fame was still not great enough.

Perhaps, to the local powers, he was invisible.

The classic logic of ’I will strike you, and it’s none of your business’...

These Southern Marsh troops are really so arrogant? Not even gathering intelligence, the leader wouldn’t explore the enemy he faces in this attack?

Truly asking for a death wish.

"Zhou Ping’an? It’s you, I didn’t expect to be underestimated by a junior, daring to seek death, coming here alone..."

"Too much nonsense, if you don’t want to retreat, then go to your grave."

Zhou Ping’an had no patience for his prattling, his right foot fiercely stomping on the deck of the ship.

Tremendous strength sent shockwaves rippling out in all directions, killing more than a dozen Totem Warriors who had been stealthily approaching for a surprise attack. He smashed half of the ship deep into the water with a heavy stomp, transforming his body into a blur as he pounced in front of Ba Longmu.

"Immeasurable..."

The sword light stirred up waves, as the vast sea overturned, and with a mountainous weight, the sword force heavily descended.

His first move showed no trace of cunning, all brute force, intent on dealing injury.

Zhou Ping’an noted that the ships ahead were slowing down while those at the rear were accelerating, with countless eyes upon him, all wielding Black Wood Longbows, staring intensely at him.

At the same time, he sensed a presence, once non-existent, now viciously awakened, from somewhere behind the ship, like a dormant volcano among green hills and blue waters suddenly spewing sparks and smoke.

The sensation wasn’t very definite, but it was enough to make his hair stand on end.

He heightened his caution silently.

Therefore, he decided to fight quickly for a swift resolution.

Not trying to take full credit, but he must deal a heavy blow to this fleet, delaying their assault.

And buying himself more time to cultivate and grow stronger.

To preserve the vital energy of the Three Counties of Liyou.

Without incurring excessive damage.

"Arrogance."

Ba Longmu was utterly enraged by Zhou Ping’an’s dismissive and bullish demeanor, his eyes reddening as he let out a roar, with his left hand the Snake Tail Dragon Staff whisked through the air, transforming into a huge blood-colored vine with large blossoms emitting a strong suction force. Within the blooms resided snarling fangs, the blossoms stretching towards Zhou Ping’an in an attempt to devour him.

The giant vine whipped about like a thousand pythons, coiling and lashing before him, creating layer upon layer of air explosions with their intertwining howls...

Even more, the white blossoms shrieked sharply while attempting to devour their target.

"Eh!"

Zhou Ping’an, upon smelling the fragrance, felt a slight dizziness in his head.

His vision began to double.

At that moment, as the giant Blood Vine whipped and entwined, his own blood seemed to boil, feeling as though it was about to leave his body.

’Blood-Sucking Vine...’

’Must not be hit!’

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Ping’an understood the nature of the enemy’s attack, but he did not retreat; instead, his charge became more urgent. His long sword spinning around his body, he transformed into a pale blue, towering wave, slashing down with increased force.

The blood-red vines could only block for a moment before they were violently shattered, turning into a mist of fine, blood-red powder by the sword light, clouding the view.

Ba Longmu was about to spin and strike with his staff again when he suddenly felt the overwhelming sword light, which had surged like ocean waves, suddenly converge into a hair-thin sharp wind that had already reached his chest.

His heart pounded with terror as he quickly moved aside.

But he felt a lightness in his left shoulder, and within the burst of blood light, his left arm along with half of his Divine Wood Dragon Staff had flown off his body.

"Ah..."

The fine thread of sword light in front of his eyes seemed to break through space itself, flashed, and reappeared in front of his throat.

His back and forehead were covered in cold sweat, his will to fight completely gone.

Without a second thought, he threw the remaining half of the Divine Wood Dragon Staff from his right hand.

"Explode..."

A point of seven-colored radiance emerged, and in the next instant, it exploded into a Seven-Colored Misty Haze enveloping dozens of yards, furiously blasting outwards...

Zhou Ping’an stepped out and retreated forty zhang, borrowing strength from the water to propel himself up and onto another boat with a sweeping slash of his blade.

Dozens of Totem Warriors were cut at the waist simultaneously.

The others, terrified, jumped overboard to escape.

"How strong is the poisonous miasma!"

Zhou Ping’an looked at the two boats enveloped in the poisonous miasma, which were now slowly dissolving into sewage along with their occupants, falling into the River, as corpses surfaced in great numbers. He too felt a secret chill in his heart.

Although he possessed the Life and Death Unpredictable Needle that could turn Death Qi into life force, he still had no desire to test whether the toxic miasma could damage his flesh.

Setting aside whether it could be resisted or not, just the sight of it was enough to make one’s stomach turn. The stench of decay, mingled with various bizarre fragrances, seemed able to contaminate one’s soul through mere sight, giving a sense of discomfort throughout the body.

Was it snake venom or toxic mist from flowers? What method was the enemy using? These were things Zhou Ping’an didn’t particularly care about. His killing intent grew stronger, and with a reflexive grab, he seized a half-submerged piece of the boat’s deck. With a twist of his body, he hurled it with force.

The wooden plank, around three zhang in size, spun like a pinwheel, tumbling forward with a whooshing howl.

The smoke along its path was torn apart by the fierce wind, instantly clearing a path.

Zhou Ping’an, with his sword in hand, became a shadowy figure as he passed through the smoke. He saw Ba Longmu had already escaped over three hundred zhang away. His left arm was severed, and his right hand was empty, clutching at his neck which was still bleeding profusely as he sped towards a strange wooden boat.

The boat was painted black with a huge wooden basin placed inside, and there was water shimmering on it.

The boat traveled on the water while carrying water onboard.

It was unclear what this meant.

However, Zhou Ping’an had his own conjectures. Just a moment ago, a great fierce and brutal aura had risen from this boat, sending shivers down one’s spine.

If there was someone hidden among this fleet who was stronger than the Fortress Chief of Longmu Camp by several or even ten times, then there could be no other than the Southern Scale Demon Chief, the Old Crocodile himself.

It was unknown why, amidst the thunderous battle ahead, he remained unmoved in his boat.

Was it disdain for everyone else or was he unable to split his attention, engaged in something more important?

Zhou Ping’an activated the Steps of Worlds Apart and space around him turned into flowing light; hundreds of zhang were traversed in just a few steps, and he rapidly crossed the expanse of air.

Arrows rained down around him, shattering into countless fine particles and exploding into oblivion as they were stirred up by the Gang Qi surrounding him.

He stepped on several boats, each step puncturing a hole and causing the vessels to list and people to cry out in alarm.

His sword light turned into thunder and lightning. With man and blade as one, in just an instant, he stood before Ba Longmu again.

This man, cunning with various methods, had managed to escape from Zhou Ping’an’s blade twice.

And those Totem Warriors still endeavored to pursue and block with all their might, showing no intention of retreat.

This made it evident that Ba Longmu’s prestige within Longmu Camp must be extraordinarily high.

At his command, people were willing to embrace death.

Without killing this man and preventing a wild counterattack, Zhou Ping’an himself could potentially confront a wounded Ferocious Beast, not just pushing back the enemy to buy time. It was highly probable that the enemy would Accelerate their attack instead of slowly progressing eastward.

"Demon Chief, save me."

At this moment, Ba Longmu had lost all traces of ferocity, revealing a look of panic that gave way to a hint of vulnerability.

Even the most ruthless and domineering individuals, when it came to life and death, were not so different from normal people.

They too would cling to life and fear death.

Their past cruelty was only because they clearly knew that no one could threaten them.

At this moment, Ba Longmu felt like a small boat caught in a stormy sea, at any moment at risk of capsizing.

Life was as fragile as a candle in the wind, about to extinguish the next moment.

Even if crying for help was a disgrace, it was much better than losing one’s life.

"Pathetic!"

A slight sneer echoed from within the black boat, as if resonating in everyone’s hearts.

A violent and brutal aura exploded forth like a volcanic eruption. Amidst the roaring, water vapor in the sky condensed to form a massive turquoise claw, plunging towards Zhou Ping’an.

Within a hundred zhang radius, the ripples in the water froze, and the Totem Warriors stiffened their movements, unable to move. Some held their swords in a screaming pose, some posed with bows ready to shoot, and others were captured mid-flight...

In this moment, the entire hundred zhang range turned into a sticky glue, including Zhou Ping’an. The River, the boats, men, and demons alike were like insects trapped in amber, unable to move.

Only the gigantic, ten zhang-spanning turquoise claw in mid-air continued to fall swiftly, almost reaching his head.

Ba Longmu, fleeing desperately, showed a fleeting joy on his face, knowing he would survive this encounter.

Once he regrouped and quickened his pace, he would slaughter into the lands of Pinghu, vowing to leave no survivors in the Three Counties of Liyou as retribution for this profound shame.

As he glanced around, Ba Longmu saw the flesh of Zhou Ping’an, where the bare skin was visible, suddenly crawling with countless tiny, petal-like patterns, seeming as if countless blue veins appeared.

Above his head, Essence and energy flared towards the sky, vast and majestic, forcing the turquoise claw to pause involuntarily.

In the same instant.

The frozen air around Zhou Ping’an suddenly exploded, like thousands of tiny mirror shards scattering into myriads of light points. Amidst his long howl, a streak of sword glow flickered, as if shedding Celestial Stars from the heavens.

Ba Longmu witnessed a Sea of Blood and mountain landscapes, saw the Celestial Stars plummeting, and before he could react, his throat ached once more, his perspective spinning and shifting.

A wave of immense regret flooded his mind, gradually dulling.

He only felt the River’s wind was cold, like frost knives and ice swords, and his Spiritual Sense merely flickered, then dispersed with the wind.

All around, cries of pain erupted: "Fortress Chief!"