Almost in a flash of thought, Jian Chou’s sword-bearing figure appeared before the demon woman Jian Chou!

The Wind-Riding Dao Seal was indeed exquisite, and to others it would be like going with the wind, leaving no trace and difficult to capture. But the opponent she now faced was Jian Chou!

Never mind that her cultivation had now skyrocketed – just based on her comprehension of the Wind-Riding Dao Seal alone, it would be impossible for her to escape!

After all, this dao seal was created by Jian Chou herself in the Black Wind Cave years ago, and with her various knowledge and experiences regarding the Wind-Swallowing Stone in the polar domain, how could this demon woman’s understanding and comprehension compare?

Xie Buchen still needed some time to capture her traces, but Jian Chou had already struck with her sword!

On that face identical to Jian Chou’s, deeper astonishment immediately flashed.

Compared to when they were trapped in the mustard seed over twenty years ago, although the other’s realm seemed unchanged, her cultivation appeared to have terrifyingly improved.

Every gesture and movement carried a kind of overwhelming might!

In just twenty years, how could one person’s cultivation advance so much?!

Almost instantly, she had already realized something was wrong and suspected the mustard seed. But at this moment, where was there room for her to be distracted by such thoughts?

Jian Chou’s sword struck down without any flourish, but just the aura flowing from this single sword was already chilling!

In the flash of thought, she actually didn’t dodge or avoid, stopping abruptly!

Her form originally hidden in the wind also immediately revealed itself.

In just a blink, Jian Chou’s sword edge was already falling toward her, and the next moment would split open her skull, destroying both her spirit and soul.

But at this moment, the Burning Lamp Sword suddenly paused.

Because Jian Chou had said earlier, “Stop, or die,” meaning that as long as she stopped, Jian Chou wouldn’t immediately kill, and would certainly show mercy.

And she was waiting for exactly this moment!

“Whoosh!”

At this critical juncture, a fierce wind suddenly arose, directly sweeping this demon woman away and making her disappear from Jian Chou’s sight in an instant!

As expected!

How cunning, how bold!

The moment her sword hesitated and paused, Jian Chou felt a wonderful sensation in her heart: her current choice seemed to be within that demon woman’s calculations. She had deliberately stopped to confuse her, seeking a thread of survival!

Every action of this demon woman, every expression, even this lightning-fast choice and scheme just now, were remarkably similar to her own!

Fighting against her actually gave Jian Chou a mirror-like illusion.

If positions were reversed, assuming she was the demon woman just now, Jian Chou believed she would make exactly the same choice. The only difference might be due to strength—

In that moment of pause, the demon woman chose to flee, but if it were her now, she would choose to counterattack!

Because now she had that strength!

Too wonderful, and too mysterious.

Jian Chou vaguely felt there was some secret hidden here. For a moment she couldn’t help but laugh, and following the direction of that fierce wind with her gaze, she disappeared from her original position again.

“A cornered beast still fights – do you think you can escape?”

At this moment, the gap between them was no longer simply between Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages, but also the chasm between a damaged divine soul and one that had cultivated the Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Dharma Body to minor achievement!

No matter which direction that demon woman Jian Chou fled, she would always be intercepted by Jian Chou halfway.

Only she was clearly not someone who would easily surrender, actually escaping from Jian Chou’s hands several times through quick thinking in urgent situations!

If not for her cultivation being truly insufficient, Jian Chou might have already fallen for her tricks.

In terms of schemes and strategies, the victory between the two was actually evenly split!

Comparatively, Jian Chou had no particularly great advantage, at most only slightly higher than her opponent!

This was truly beyond her expectations.

Jian Chou only felt there should be some strange connection between this female cultivator and herself, so she harbored thoughts of testing and didn’t strike hard, only controlling her power and gradually probing the other’s limits.

The more they fought, the heavier that strange feeling became.

Gradually, the situation above this Two Principles Pool began a dramatic reversal.

From beginning to end, Xie Buchen stood in this Two Principles Forbidden Pool, watching with folded arms, seeing everything clearly.

At first, Jian Chou was caught off guard and repeatedly escaped through the other’s schemes; but soon, Jian Chou vaguely realized something and could often anticipate the enemy, as if she could know whatever the other demon woman Jian Chou was thinking.

Thus, the scene became eerily strange.

Often the demon woman had just escaped through great effort, seeming about to escape the next moment, but the next moment she would run right into Jian Chou’s sword; or she would just raise her hand, wanting to use the Heaven-Overturning Seal, when Jian Chou’s even stronger Heaven-Overturning Seal would come crashing down on her head!

In an instant, she was in complete passivity!

Looking at it now, this unequal battle above the Two Principles Forbidden Pool had completely become a cat-and-mouse-like probing.

Only that demon woman who was constrained by Jian Chou at every turn actually didn’t utter half a word of pleading.

In her tightly furrowed brows and eyes, Xie Buchen actually saw a point of shocking familiarity, momentarily causing him to feel dazed…

At some unknown time, people had arrived around them.

Dozens of magical artifact lights like meteors left faint traces in the azure sky, then landed on both sides of this distinct black and white intersecting Two Principles Pool.

This place was originally the forbidden ground of the Yin-Yang Two Sects. With such a great commotion occurring now, how could it not draw attention?

The confrontation between the northern domain’s Yin-Yang Two Sects had lasted thousands or even tens of thousands of years, beginning from ancient times, always using this Two Principles Forbidden Pool as the boundary.

Strangely enough—

The side of the forbidden pool near the western Yang Sect was exactly ink black; the side near the eastern Yin Sect was snow white.

The people who came now were all cultivators from the two sects.

The Two Principles Forbidden Pool concerned the foundations of both sects – no small matter. Almost when Jian Chou and Xie Buchen broke open the mustard seed and appeared from thin air, that unusual fluctuation had already spread.

Cultivators from both sects arrived almost simultaneously.

Yang Sect in the west, Yin Sect in the east.

Both sects had their respective elders leading elite disciples. Before coming, they all thought their longtime mortal enemies were going to break their agreement and do something to the Two Principles Forbidden Pool.

But after arriving and looking, they actually saw two identical female cultivators fighting above the pool, so fast their forms couldn’t be seen clearly.

At the black and white junction of the Two Principles Pool stood a male cultivator.

Seeing them arrive, though he glanced over and slightly frowned, he seemed not to take it to heart, then continued watching the battle between those two female cultivators above the pool.

Across this broad yin-yang pool surface, cultivators from the Yin-Yang Two Sects immediately looked at each other in confusion.

The elders all didn’t know the origins of these three people, but among the disciples of both sects, people successively revealed the identity of that female cultivator in mid-air—

“Yashan’s Jian Chou?”

“Isn’t this Yashan’s eldest senior sister?”

Xie Buchen naturally didn’t know these two people’s identities.

But if Jian Chou had the spare attention now, she would probably recognize these two at a glance:

One stood somewhat forward among the eastern Yin Sect crowd.

Wearing pure black dao robes, with sword-like brows that were snow white, but with his right eyebrow tip stained with some ink color. His face had distinctly exotic deep features, paired with those ink-blue eyes, truly memorable.

Who else could it be but Tang Buye, who had once fought boldly with Jian Chou at the small assembly using Nine Zhang Ji and body cultivation techniques?

The other hid among the many cultivators of the western Yang Sect.

Snow-white dao robes, handsome features, carrying an aura of masculine vigor. Those ink-black brows originally had nothing special, but on his right long eyebrow were stained with some snow white. Between his eyes, calculating light faintly flickered.

Exactly the Yin Sect traitor Pei Qian, who had encountered Jian Chou at Black Wind Cave years ago and been tricked by her into revealing his dual sect techniques!

These two originally had some minor grudges, and now being in opposing sects, enemies meeting were especially hostile. Only the current situation was delicate, making it inconvenient to act, so neither made any moves.

Thanks to these two, both Yin and Yang sects immediately knew Jian Chou’s identity.

Now the current situation became much clearer.

Twenty years ago, above the snow domain’s holy hall, a battle that shocked the entire Nineteen Continents erupted.

The great power cultivators who acted were all Dharma Kings and Sky Dancers from the new and old school factions, and later even high monks from the Chan sect side – Monk Yichen and Master Xuelang – intervened.

How terrifying were their methods?

The entire holy hall was razed to the ground, and even the holy mountain collapsed by more than half!

The power of the snow domain’s new school was severely damaged in this battle, directly affecting their plan to unite with the polar domain and immediately attack the Nineteen Continents.

These years they were forced to lie low, only recently showing activity.

The Chan sect and old school didn’t fare much better either.

Sky Dancer Yangchen, who had sided with the old school, was severely injured and reportedly went to the Chan sect to recuperate; while the Chan sect’s foremost of the new generation, Little Wise Monk Liao Kong, was even more seriously affected by directly facing Treasure Bottle Dharma King’s strike, entangled by evil forces with uncertain life and death.

Even the Chan sect’s treasure, the mustard seed, was seized by a demon woman with unknown whereabouts.

But what drew the attention of the entire Nineteen Continents even more were probably those two from Kunwu and Yashan.

After an inexplicable death match between them, they were absorbed into the mustard seed, but the mustard seed was seized by the demon woman, with unknown whereabouts for twenty years.

Apart from their respective life tablets and soul lamps still burning, no one knew more about their situation.

The Yin-Yang Two Sects, being in the northern domain, had also contributed effort during the initial search and understood this matter very clearly. But none of them had expected that these two living people would emerge from their own territory twenty years after the incident!

For a moment, they couldn’t help but look at each other.

If the intruders to the Two Principles Pool were some bandits, they would probably have attacked without question, making these bold people leave their lives here.

But these two before them happened to come from Kunwu and Yashan, and both had considerable cultivation.

The elders of both sects were in difficulty, only frowning and observing vigilantly, temporarily not daring to act.

At this time, the two battling figures in the field had begun to slow down.

Not because Jian Chou couldn’t keep up, but because the demon woman fighting her was already exhausted. After all, her cultivation was far below Jian Chou’s – how could she possibly win, and how could she last too long!

From beginning to end, she was being beaten down by Jian Chou!

“Boom!”

Using her last bit of spiritual power, enduring the pain, she actually summoned the Dijiang Wind Thunder Wings!

Between heaven and earth, thunder suddenly arose!

Golden wing phantoms immediately soared high, swinging toward Jian Chou!

All the water in the pool was stirred up by its might, black and white colors rising like two giant dragons circling around the Wind Thunder Wings, roaring and howling!

The Yin-Yang sect cultivators standing on both sides all changed color in shock, and watching Xie Buchen’s eyes also flashed with subtlety.

But in Jian Chou’s eyes was genuine astonishment.

The Wind-Riding Dao Seal and Heaven-Overturning Seal were dao techniques – one she created herself, one from Qingfeng Nunnery’s hidden realm. It was fine that this demon woman who looked exactly like her could also use them. But the Dijiang Wind Thunder Wings were derived from a drop of bone marrow from Dijiang bone jade, branded on her shoulder blades…

How could she also know this?

That feeling finally reached its peak.

Jian Chou looked up at the approaching Dijiang Wind Thunder Wings, also watching the opposite female cultivator’s almost desperate advance and disregard for her own safety. A thought that couldn’t be suppressed no matter what suddenly popped into her mind:

At this moment, who am I fighting against – “her” or “me”?

Just this moment of distraction, the Wind Thunder Wings had already reached her face. People around couldn’t help but cry out in alarm, seemingly worried and fearful for Jian Chou.

But Jian Chou felt none of these emotions.

This was the first time she was attacked by her own dao technique. Though the feeling was strange, she felt no sense of crisis.

The reason was simple – at this moment, she was truly too strong!

Even if Qu Zhengfeng, who had left his name on the Fourth Heaven Tablet for nearly four hundred years, came, Jian Chou dared say she would remain invincible!

Without even using the Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Dharma Body newly learned in the mustard seed pagoda, she simply raised her hand to block!

“Boom!”

Under the coverage of incomparably powerful spiritual consciousness, all spiritual qi within ten li of heaven and earth gathered into the palm-shaped phantom above her head!

Heaven-Overturning Seal!

One hundred percent, genuine Heaven-Overturning Seal!

Jian Chou actually had no intention of holding back anymore!

She had fought this demon woman for quite a while. The other’s unsupported state had long been apparent, but from beginning to end she had shown neither half a intention to beg for mercy nor half a intention to admit defeat. Where was the appearance of someone who would answer her doubts?

Since it was impossible to ask what she wanted to know, then such evil spirits must be killed!

A flash of indifference in her eyes, Jian Chou didn’t care what her identity was or whether she had some scheme now. She simply hardened her heart and struck ruthlessly!

The high-raised palm fell like parting clouds and breaking waves, light as if weightless.

In an instant, the magnificent spiritual qi and roaring palm print had already pressed before the demon woman. The next moment it would strike her head, shattering her body and scattering her soul!

But at this moment, a golden Buddha lotus suddenly bloomed before the demon woman, beneath this palm print!

Above the distinct black and white Two Principles Pool, Buddha light immediately shone everywhere.

A figure wearing a great red kasaya, accompanied by rippling spatial fluctuations, appeared on the Buddha lotus.

That clean palm extended, thumb touching the middle finger, forming the flower-picking mudra, carrying infinite compassion, meeting Jian Chou’s heaven-overturning palm perfectly!

Silent, soundless.

Neither tremendous earth-shaking commotion nor shocking heaven-moving sounds.

Only that seemingly ordinary finger lightly pinching, and the enormous Heaven-Overturning Seal that could originally shatter the entire Two Principles Pool collapsed instantly like brocade with its bone threads pulled!

The magnificent heaven and earth spiritual qi immediately returned to peace.

From whence it came, to whence it went.

In just a blink, all the previous terrifying scenes had disappeared, as if they had never appeared moments before.

How could Jian Chou have expected this situation?

She remained motionless in place, but her brows had already furrowed the moment she recognized this monk’s origins. Under her sharply contracted pupils was suddenly rising wariness!

She stared at the newcomer without speaking.

The newcomer also made no further moves.

The kasaya-wearing monk stood on that Buddha lotus, with clean skin and a slightly plump face, appearing dignified and kind.

Only in his eyes, there was ultimately some complexity.

“This poor monk is Yichen, greetings.”

Retracting the flower-picking mudra, he bowed to Jian Chou, calmly stating his dharma name. His next sentence was a gentle sigh.

“Acting urgently, much discourtesy. Only this demon is related to our Chan sect’s causation and has intimate connections with Benefactor Jian Chou. I hope the benefactor will show mercy.”