Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 90 - 87 Birds Fly High, Nine Levels of Ghostly Shadows

Chapter 90: Chapter 87 Birds Fly High, Nine Levels of Ghostly Shadows

"Hutou, I remember you usually follow the team that deals with medicine making and herb gathering. Our strength is lacking, so we can’t help the Third Miss when facing powerful enemies.

But in terms of herb gathering, we can certainly achieve great things..."

"Yes, isn’t the Third Miss very eager to find Seven-leaf Tithonia? And the Sunflame Flower as well, I’ve seen these two herbs in the herbal manual and recognize them.

I might as well apply to leave the city and spend the night in the deep mountains to try my luck.

Those country bumpkin herbalists, they complain about this and that, but they just don’t work hard enough.

If we really want to find herbs, we have to rely on ourselves."

Thinking of making a great contribution and getting rewarded for it,

Wei Hu was once again greatly energized.

He cheerfully set down the gifts, the mountain fruits he had gathered, and the cooked meats he had bought from the street.

Then he turned and left.

Only Lin Ziqi was left, standing by the window without moving.

Until the sky grew dark and the moon rose in the east.

"Just ten short days, only ten days, he has already become this strong?"

Lin Ziqi’s childhood was one of poverty; both his parents had passed away and he lived in destitution, bullied by cruel neighbors and barely managing to stay alive.

Later, he could only wander the streets, begging to make a living.

During his most difficult times, at the age of nine, he hadn’t found as much as a bite to eat for three days and nights.

The moon hung high in the sky, while snowflakes danced around him, and there he was, walking through the snow with his upper body bared.

His feet were frostbitten, his body numb, not knowing where he was going, he thought he was about to die.

But unexpectedly, heaven didn’t seal off all paths.

When a luxurious carriage happened to pass by, instead of someone lashing out with a whip and shouting at him to get out of the way, it stopped.

A sweet-sounding little girl said, "That person looks so pitiful, Mother; our house is so big and he is so small, maybe we could..."

"As you wish, it’s all up to you. Your uncle is so old now but still insists on planting the herbs himself.

It would be good to find more helpers to assist him.

My Yuer is so young and already has the heart of a bodhisattva; who knows which young man will benefit from her generosity when she grows up..."

"Yuer will always stay with Mother, I don’t want to marry anyone."

The immature voice of the little girl rang in his ears again.

For Lin Ziqi, it was like the sound of heaven.

At that time, he wasn’t called Lin Ziqi; that was a name he took on later.

He only remembered that his parents often called him Xiao Qi, and his original surname had ceased to matter.

Later, as Lin Ziqi grew up day by day after joining the Lin Family, and it was discovered that he had a talent for martial arts, becoming a Protector and mastering the Refined Energy...

The events of the past, he had almost completely forgotten.

Only the snowy skies and the high-hanging moon, like tonight, stayed in his memory.

"Don’t worry, Miss, I will save you, just as you saved my life that day.

If you keep going like this, there will truly be no way out..."

Lin Ziqi thought about how he still hadn’t learned the Tidal Breathing Technique; whereas the newcomer Zhou Ping’an, and even Tang Lin’er, had been taught the Breath Control Technique.

It was like a knife twisting in his heart.

He lit the oil lamp and with trembling hands, spread out a piece of fine white silk and wrote down a string of characters, the words "Seven-Colored Tuberose, Sunflame Flower" on his lips...

After writing, he closed his eyes and sighed, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes as he stored the silk in a bamboo tube and walked to a corner of the room.

A chirping and cooing sound came.

It was a small, exquisitely beautiful white bird with azure eyes.

"Cloudy, I’ve been feeding you well and never let you exercise your muscles and bones. You must be feeling stifled."

He tied the bamboo tube to the bird’s leg.

Then, holding the bird near the west window,

Lin Ziqi took advantage of the night and extended his palm to watch the bird silently shoot into the night sky, where he stood motionless for a long time.

...

The next day.

Afternoon.

Zhou Ping’an ate a carefully prepared feast in the small dining hall of the Lin Residence, and even unusually indulged in a pot of fruit wine.

Feeling good but having no one to show off to,

He wanted to invite Tang Lin’er for a couple of drinks but found that fellow, despite being injured, was still wandering around outside.

Thinking about the task he had entrusted to Tang Lin’er,

Zhou Ping’an had a good idea of what was going on.

Why was he in a good mood?

Of course, because his life-saving skills had improved again.

Ghostly Shadows Step had reached the Ninth Level.

Even though he had once again exhausted the Mind Threads he had accumulated in another world,

Overall, it was worth it.

Zhou Ping’an believed that prioritizing the training of Ghostly Shadows Step to the Ninth Level was even more important than focusing on Wave Subduing Jin.

Nine Turns Fubo Force was not weak.

On the contrary, this Sword Technique was powerful, and it was hard to find martial arts that could counter it.

But for one thing, he had the Third Miss practicing with him every day, showing the inner workings of the technique.

The other reason was that what he needed most at the moment was a stepping technique, the ability to either flee or launch a sneaky assassination.

That was related to his upcoming plan.

Ghostly Shadows Step at the Ninth Level, according to the secret manual, is "Nine Steps Ascend," also known as Ascend Steps.

It might sound low-class, but the effect is far from poor.

In Zhou Ping’an’s view,

this stepping technique, after reaching the Ninth Level, had already transcended the scope of what a mere footwork technique should encompass, beginning to develop towards a more comprehensive movement technique.

Although after the Ninth Level, there was no further content to learn, no further advancement,

it still left Zhou Ping’an utterly satisfied.

What is the effect of Ascend Steps?

If it’s said that the first eight levels of the Ghostly Shadows Step focused on mastery of "illusion" and "speed," venturing far in these two aspects,

Then the ninth level adds an element of "lightness."

Initially, if Deng Yuanhua, the Hall Master of Baicao Hall, had cultivated the ninth level of the Ghostly Shadows Step, it would have been very difficult for him to be trapped by the Third Miss Lin’s Wave Subduing Blade Energy.

Even my own final killer move might not have been able to cut him down.

Because he wouldn’t just be skimming along the ground; he could soar straight into the high sky...

With one more direction to dodge, there are endless choices.

Take now, for example.

Zhou Ping’an took a step.

His figure flickered, vanishing on the spot.

The next moment, when he was seen again, he had already appeared on the roof.

Under the high-hanging bright sun, his every move was like a ghost shadow, silent and breathless.

The transition between stillness and motion had no sign whatsoever.

It was as if he had always been standing on the edge of the roof.

"So fun, so fun, I want to play too."

Watching Zhou Ping’an make a "swoosh" sound, appearing in the courtyard, then another "swoosh," appearing on the eaves, moving so fast...

In the courtyard, above and below, on all four sides, there were bluish illusions everywhere, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.

The peculiar scene before her made Little Jiu’er, who had just finished eating lunch and was preparing to come and listen to stories, drool with envy.

"Alright, I’ll take you with me."

Training with added weight was also a form of discipline.

The little tyke only weighed about forty pounds, which to Zhou Ping’an, wasn’t even considered heavy.

Carrying Little Jiu’er around, he was somewhat worried for her: "But if we keep playing, the White Bone Spirit won’t be defeated, so do you want to listen to the story or do you want to fly around?"

This sentence directly silenced the little girl.

She wanted both.

Of course, that was impossible.

Because Lin Huaiyu had arrived.

Seeing Zhou Ping’an’s flickering form, the Third Miss was extremely surprised, her eyes also flashed with envy.

’I admire such geniuses who can learn instantly and master once they start practicing.

I practiced all night long just to reach the fifth level; the higher levels I couldn’t manage to master, and it would take a great deal of time to practice...’

’He must already be at the ninth level.’

Lin Huaiyu watched Zhou Ping’an elegantly and unpredictably move like a ghostly figure, and imagined herself attacking in his place.

She realized that it would be very difficult to hit him with a sword from any situation.

Indeed, there is no such thing as an unbeatable technique, and no such thing as an invincible cultivation method.

Once the Ninth Turning of Wave Subduing is executed, it dissipates the force of the opponent’s energy, borrowing that force to strike back effectively.

It’s also a sword technique that can defeat the strong with the weak.

But, facing an opponent who has cultivated a superior footwork technique to the extreme, it feels like a rat trying to catch a turtle, with nowhere to strike.

’Luckily, Deng Yuanhua can’t do it.’

The Third Miss thought.

And said nothing.

On the other hand, Little Jiu’er seemed like a mouse that had seen a cat and couldn’t make a scene.

She quietly asked Zhou Ping’an to put her down, while pouting, "Brother Ping’an, look, look, I said I wanted to rest for a while and prepare to practice writing, I don’t have much time to play...

You insist on dragging me around flying, sigh, you really don’t know how to save worry, playing so much at such an age."

"Uh..."

Lin Huaiyu was astounded.

All her prepared words suddenly failed to come out.

Zhou Ping’an was stunned.

This little tyke, she couldn’t be turning into a tricky spirit, could she?

Her blaming technique was used in such a way that it left one with nothing to say.

Seeing that she left the two adults speechless with her words, and that no one was coming to trouble her,

Little Jiu’er hung her head low and darted out of the courtyard, vanishing from sight.

Presumably, she knew that this was absolutely not the time to provoke her sister’s "tiger might" and that it was wise to make herself scarce.

"I disturbed you, didn’t I? Little Jiu’er still doesn’t quite understand, she always likes to make a fuss."

Lin Huaiyu’s expression was apologetic.

"It’s no trouble at all. The rarest thing for a child is to have genuine happiness and innocence; there’s no need to demand they be as mature and steady as adults at such a tender age.

When they grow up, they’ll understand that such happiness really does disappear and never return..."

Zhou Ping’an spoke with deep feeling.

When he was very young, he was often scolded by both parents for being mischievous and lazy...

"An inch of time is worth an inch of gold," they said, urging him to study hard during the best years of his life.

He was maxed out on all kinds of classes; he even enrolled in as many extracurricular interest classes as possible.

Only later in life did he realize.

The joy of childhood couldn’t be found again.

Looking back on it, it all felt heavy.

Who can really explain the distinctions between loss and gain?

"Third Miss, are you here because there’s a problem with the Precious Pharmacy?"

Lin Huaiyu seldom came to the east wing at noontime.

If it wasn’t necessary, she basically wouldn’t show herself, possessing something of a homebody nature.

Her actively approaching him must certainly mean there was an issue.

"Not with the Precious Pharmacy, the business might be a bit sluggish, but it doesn’t affect much.

However, now our herbalists can’t even leave the city, and some have even secretly defected to Baicao Hall."

Lin Huaiyu looked somewhat frustrated.

She spoke slowly.