Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 475 - 423 Gathering of Star Spirits from All Directions

Chapter 475: Chapter 423 Gathering of Star Spirits from All Directions

"Summoning? The token hasn’t changed at all, and its energy has long been filled. Why has there been no response until now?"

Zhou Ping’an was initially delighted.

Then doubt arose.

Holding the token in his hand, he faintly sensed an inviting thought entering his mind.

It was waiting for his agreement.

Ever since that encounter with Fang Sheng, a disciple of the Penglai Immortal Sect, where he barely managed to pass and obtained the "Starlight Body Refining Technique," he had been waiting for the Nine Sons Subdue Demon Order to instruct him on how to proceed with the next challenge.

He had imagined many scenarios.

Perhaps it would start while he was asleep.

Or perhaps he would need to initiate a challenge through a ritual.

Or perhaps the token would sense his qualifications for the challenge once his cultivation reached a certain level and he could progress no further.

But he had never thought that this thing would humanely invite someone.

"If I ignore it, will I miss this opportunity?"

"Or perhaps, it will skip me and invite someone else..."

With these thoughts, Zhou Ping’an picked up the token, agreeing in his heart.

As soon as he confirmed, a mysterious light flashed on the token, and his body could no longer remain seated. He was drawn by that beam of light and was about to plunge headlong into the void.

"This is bad, it’s actually taking my real body this time."

Having used the Broken Mirror on his wrist to traverse between two worlds many times, Zhou Ping’an was very familiar with this sensation.

If being pulled by the mirror on his wrist was done silently, shifting his position without a sound, then this mysterious light was crudely yanking him. Space shattered into billions of pieces right before his eyes, and an infinite suction enveloped him.

At that moment, he reached out and grabbed Cang Yue’s precious blade from the desk. With a "whoosh," he disappeared from the Quiet Room.

Before him, a rainbow swirl of lights twisted and turned. It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it felt like just a moment.

In that instant, Zhou Ping’an completely lost his sense of time and space, feeling like he was riding in a vehicle for the first time, with his mind feeling nauseous and his head extremely heavy, his whole body swelling and overheating...

Exhaling...

The light and shadows before him changed, and as he stepped on solid ground, Zhou Ping’an staggered and barely managed to steady himself after several stumbling steps, taking a long breath.

Beside him, a petite and delicate woman in a light yellow Taoist robe was shaking her legs and stumbling, about to fall towards him.

He reflexively reached out to support her by the arm. Looking down, he felt she looked somewhat familiar.

This familiarity was not in her appearance, but in her demeanor—her breezy, sunny, and lively temperament made a deep impression.

"Fang Sheng?"

"Fang Sheng, Zhou Chu, it’s you. You’re here too. If I had known it was the real body coming, I would have prepared and brought some things with me. That was careless."

Fang Sheng was delighted at first, clearly recognizing Zhou Ping’an.

Then, as she felt around on herself, her expression soured.

Clearly, she had some powerful treasures that she hadn’t brought with her.

With empty hands, not even a sword was with her.

"We’re done for. This is my third time going through this, and they’ve stuffed in two weaklings from the Minor Demon Realm. This is infuriating. This challenge is definitely going to be tough. Listen to me."

Suddenly, a tiger’s roar sounded in his ear.

The great hall vibrated thunderously, and dust cascaded down.

Zhou Ping’an’s eyebrows twitched as he looked around and clearly saw the situation inside the room.

It was a very spacious hall with beams and pillars that were over ten meters high. The rough, original wood construction and thick wooden shafts lent an ancient and antique decor—or rather, excessively ancient. Zhou Ping’an even noticed stone urns and wooden bowls on the tabletops.

Aside from himself and Fang Sheng, there were five others inside.

An eight-year-old boy and a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl were sitting at the top, looking nervously in their direction.

Also standing in the center of the hall were two men and one woman.

The "person" speaking brashly stood right in the middle of the hall, presenting a striking figure about two meters and twenty centimeters tall, with abundant white hair on his head and black and white stripes on his face. At the center of his forehead was a ’king’ character mark, but most crucial was the long tail he dragged behind him.

Like a steel whip, even a light swing sent gravel flying from the ground.

He looked three parts human and seven parts tiger.

Clearly, this was a Tiger Demon, like the Old Crocodile, with an incomplete transformation and very apparent racial characteristics.

However, the Tiger Demon stood in the hall with a powerful aura and a mysterious essence, as if it merged into the wind at any moment, both heavy and nimble, contradictory yet unified.

He had likely reached the True Martial Refinement Realm.

Before the Tiger Demon could say anything more, a chilly voice came from the shadow of the pillars, somewhat indistinct: "You have failed to pass this trial twice in succession. Do we listen to you and fail again?"

The Tiger Demon turned and glared furiously. "Underworld Clan pests, always everywhere. You’re just at the first layer of the Foundation Path, and you dare provoke your Elder Bai?"

He spun around and roared, his hands snapping forward as they turned into sharp Tiger Claws, his Incarnation diving toward the shadow like a fierce wind.

This attack was incredibly fast, merging with the wind, its power extremely condensed. In front of his Claws, the air turned into ten fine strands of light, crisscrossing and slicing through without damaging even a hair of the interior design.

Although it looked ferocious, it was actually quite precise.

Zhou Ping’an even suspected that this creature’s ferocity was a facade.

However, regardless of whether it was an act or not, its strength was undeniably ferocious.

The fierce aura of the ten strands of light stabbed at one’s eyes, causing a faint pain. The oppressive force that came with the wind was heavy, making Zhou Ping’an feel as if the tiger’s strength was even greater than that of the Old Crocodile.

Although he hadn’t used any Body Refinement techniques, just his basic offensive power showed his adeptness in harnessing the Primordial Spirit Qi of heaven and earth.

With a swing of his Claws, Yuan Qi was drawn from all around, causing Zhou Ping’an to have the illusion that he was not standing on solid ground, but in the void.

Suddenly, a chill surged in the main hall, as if the heat of summer had abruptly turned into the deep cold of winter.

A sharp black gleam forcefully thrust into the ten strands of light.

Making a sharp "clang" sound.

The white-haired Tiger Demon arrived quickly and retreated swiftly; the black gleam arced, advancing and retreating, and in a flash, it was at his brow.

A dense Death Qi rushed towards him.

Without thinking, Zhou Ping’an slightly dodged and drew the large sword from behind him, the fierce wind swirling around him causing tables and buildings to tremble.

This was the beginning of a real fight.

In the next moment, these two were no longer restraining their power, and the entire wooden hall might turn into pieces.

Zhou Ping’an and Fang Sheng simultaneously moved in a flash, reaching the two children—a boy and a girl—at the head of the room and swiftly retreating towards the outside.

Before they could actually unleash their full aura,

Two bright lights shone inside the room.

One as blazing as the sun, the other as cool as the moon, whistling as they penetrated the mid-fight of the two combatants.

Those were two odd-shaped wheels.

Held in the hands of a tall, cold-faced woman; her right hand’s Sun Wheel dispelled the black light, her left hand’s Moon Wheel locked the sword move. "You two, stop fooling around. If you want to fight, go outside and settle life or death, don’t affect the mission."

Though the woman’s voice was soft, it carried an undeniable air of cold authority. She was dressed strangely, like in armor, shining metallically yet flowing softly like water when she moved. On the helmet, there were two antenna-like projections, giving her an enigmatic look.

Seeing that the two had calmed their anger and showed no signs of resuming the fight,

A slight smile appeared on the woman’s face as she formally said, "Brother Hu, don’t be hasty, every mission has a chance of success. The Subduing Demon Order wouldn’t send us on a fatally doomed task, otherwise, it defeats the purpose of a selection trial.

This mission, I’ve entered for the second time. The first time, due to overwhelmingly strong enemies and getting caught in an encirclement, I had to forcibly break away and took a whole month to recover from injuries, barely surviving. I advise against infighting; if we collapse internally before the enemy attacks, it’s bad enough to fail the trial, but losing lives would be an utter misfortune."

The group was engrossed in their discussion, paying no mind to Zhou Ping’an and Fang Sheng or asking for their opinions.

Zhou Ping’an didn’t really care. From the looks of it, this group had deep-seated conflicts, making the trial likely difficult to pass. It was his first encounter, and if it didn’t work out, he could always withdraw and try another time.

However, hearing the cold-voiced armored lady mention the risk to their lives, his heart grew cold.

Indeed, this time it was his true body that had come.

Zhou Ping’an quickly connected spiritually with the Nine Sons Subdue Demon Order, only to find it was like dead, offering no option to exit.

Only a piece of information remained, presumably the test.

[Break the siege and raise the king’s banner.]

Aside from this task, no other information was spared, not a word about who the enemies were or who the allies were.

How to complete the trial wasn’t specified; they were left to figure it out themselves.

’This is trouble!’ Zhou Ping’an thought, turning to see Fang Sheng, usually brimming with confidence and never knowing what anxiety was, also frowned slightly.

Clearly, she too had discovered the information left by the Subduing Demon Order.

The armored lady continued to speak eloquently and powerfully.

Even the man who had been lurking in the shadows stopped hiding his weapon and listened closely.

"You may think that encountering two newcomers who haven’t reached the Space Fusion Realm might drag you down, making it difficult to pass this stage, but I don’t see it that way. Have you noticed? Although their cultivation is shallow, their movement technique is not slow at all."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "You two only exchanged one move, and they had already rescued the people and left the house. With such speed, I might not even be able to catch up. If it comes to fleeing, with them protecting the Commandery Princess and the young master, wouldn’t that be ideal?"

"Even faster than that flying creature?"

Hutou sneered in response, giving Zhou Ping’an a second glance, "Fine, let’s give it one last try. But just so it’s clear, if anyone disobeys orders, don’t expect me to show mercy—I’ll sacrifice a couple to raise the flag first."

"Of course, collaboration is the only way we might have a chance to break through. Otherwise, it’s tantamount to seeking death. Brother Hu, don’t think this team’s formation is too poor. The last team I was with was even worse, nearly got me killed."

A flicker of terror crossed the armored lady’s eyes, barely noticeable.

She then added, "Let’s introduce ourselves to get better acquainted. We’re about to fight side by side; it’s no good if we don’t even know the basics about our own teammates."