Inside the vortex.
Zhang Mingyuan passed through the spatial barrier, his feet landing heavily on a desolate, scorched earth.
Just as he stabilized himself, a gust of strong wind swept in from behind. Su Jinxue landed steadily, her red gown completely free of dust.
“Little Xuexue, you look much cooler in red.”
“Hmph, as if I need your opinion?”
“Tsk... Is this the space of the Twin Tribulation?” Zhang Mingyuan looked around.
The sky was a bizarre dark red, devoid of any sun, moon, or stars, and filled with a deathly silence.
He suddenly recalled the rules of the Heavenly Dao marriage certificate. With a roll of his eyes, he reached down and pinched his inner thigh hard.
“Sss—”
Beside him, Su Jinxue suddenly gasped. Her originally cold face instantly flushed red.
“Zhang Mingyuan! Have you gone mad?”
Zhang Mingyuan was amused. He leaned in to study her expression.
“So we really share it? Little Xuexue, you can't just beat me up whenever you want now. A blow to my body means pain in your heart.”
Su Jinxue remained expressionless. She raised her hand and delivered a hand-chop to her own left arm.
“Holy crap!”
Zhang Mingyuan clutched his left arm, grimacing in pain as he hopped around in place.
“You're actually this ruthless to yourself, woman?”
“Right back at you.”
Su Jinxue sneered. Then, she placed her hand against her own cheek and dazed for a moment.
Ultimately, with a blushing face, she pinched her own fair cheek and pulled it outward with force.
A sharp pain immediately flared on Zhang Mingyuan's cheek.
He quickly reached down, pinched the soft flesh of his own waist, and twisted it clockwise.
Su Jinxue let out a muffled groan. Her body went soft, and she nearly collapsed.
Standing three paces apart, the two stared wide-eyed at each other. Neither was willing to let go first, looking exactly like two bickering three-year-olds.
Just as they were at a standstill, a strange ripple emanated from the depths of the scorched earth, instantly sweeping over their bodies.
Zhang Mingyuan felt the spiritual energy within his body boil and churn as the bottleneck of his Mahayana Stage shattered with a bang.
An immortal law that transcended heaven and earth surged into his limbs and bones. With his every move, the surrounding space trembled faintly.
“This power...”
Zhang Mingyuan let go of his waist and clenched his fist, feeling the surging, mighty power within his body.
“The Red Dust Immortal trial card has actually been activated?”
Su Jinxue, however, knitted her brows.
The Frost Law surrounding her body had dimmed several times over.
That Red Dust Immortal realm, which allowed absolute control over heaven and earth, was forcibly suppressed by an invisible force, dropping her down to the Half-Step Immortal realm.
The laws of the Heavenly Dao forcibly equalized their cultivation, merging them into a peculiar realm that lay somewhere between Mahayana and Red Dust Immortal.
“So that's how it is.”
Zhang Mingyuan drew the Zhanxue Sword and twirled it with a flourish.
He looked at Su Jinxue with a hint of mischief in his eyes.
“Little Xuexue, you can't beat me now.”
Su Jinxue's crimson eyes narrowed slightly as the Xiyue Sword in her hand let out a crisp chime.
“You can certainly try.”
Before they could clash, a thunderous boom shook the area as the dark red sky suddenly tore open.
A colossal vertical eye slowly opened within the rift, gazing down coldly at the two below.
Endless black lightning gathered around the vertical eye, condensing into countless armored tribulation soldiers wielding long halberds, roaring as they charged toward the ground.
“The killing array of the Twin Tribulation is here.” Su Jinxue set aside her thoughts, her expression turning solemn.
“Perfect!” Zhang Mingyuan laughed wildly. He poured the power of the Half-Step Immortal realm into his sword and swung.
A green sword light spanned thirty thousand miles, instantly slicing the foremost armored tribulation soldiers into dust.
But the tribulation lightning was endless. A bolt of black lightning pierced through the net of sword qi, heading straight for Su Jinxue's face.
Zhang Mingyuan reacted swiftly. He lunged forward and took the hit squarely on his back.
“Pfft!” Zhang Mingyuan spat out a mouthful of blood, the flesh on his back torn open.
Su Jinxue felt a tearing, excruciating pain in her own back. A surge of blood welled up in her throat, and she spat it out as well.
“Are you stupid?!”
Su Jinxue wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and glared at him in exasperation.
“We share injuries! What's the point of you blocking it for me?!”
Zhang Mingyuan wiped his face and coughed dryly. “Force of habit... Damn, this stupid rule is really a pain in the neck.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Su Jinxue soared into the sky. With a single strike that could freeze fourteen provinces, she froze the armored tribulation soldiers on the right into ice sculptures.
“Back to back. Don't distract me.”
One red and one white figure darted through the sky filled with black lightning.
Having been nemeses for five thousand years, their moves and techniques were already engraved in their very bones.
As sword qi and frost intertwined, a strange resonance actually blossomed under the pressure of the Twin Tribulation.
Zhang Mingyuan's swordplay was wide and powerful, while Su Jinxue's was gentle yet lethal. Without needing a single word, their every attack and defense fit together seamlessly.
Before long, the final armored tribulation soldier dissolved into ash under the Zhanxue Sword.
The two landed back on the ground, both covered in minor wounds and panting heavily.
Zhang Mingyuan wiped the blood from his mouth and turned to look at Su Jinxue.
Su Jinxue's red gown was torn in several places, revealing her snow-white skin. The blood seeping from her wounds was a shocking sight.
Those were the injuries Zhang Mingyuan had sustained, synchronized onto her body.
Zhang Mingyuan stopped joking, his gaze turning solemn.
“Feeling sorry for me?” Su Jinxue caught his gaze and snorted coldly.
“Bullshit,” Zhang Mingyuan retorted stubbornly. “I'm just worried you'll lose too much blood and drag me down.”
Just as his voice fell, the vertical eye in the sky suddenly erupted with a blinding red light.
The desolate, scorched earth shook violently, and a deep abyss cracked open in the ground.
Two cold bodies emitting terrifying auras slowly rose from the abyss.
Upon seeing the faces of those two bodies, both Zhang Mingyuan's and Su Jinxue's pupils contracted in unison.
They were, shockingly, another "Zhang Mingyuan" and another "Su Jinxue."
“A Mirror Tribulation?” Su Jinxue gripped the Xiyue Sword tightly.
“No.”
Zhang Mingyuan stared intently at the "himself" opposite them, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
“That guy's cultivation... is that of a genuine Red Dust Immortal!”
The opposing "Su Jinxue" also opened her eyes at the same time, her crimson eyes completely devoid of emotion.
With a casual wave of her hand, the laws of extreme cold instantly locked down the entire space.
This ripple was also of the peerless Red Dust Immortal realm!
Two genuine Red Dust Immortals!
Zhang Mingyuan gripped the Zhanxue Sword, his palms drenched in sweat.
He and Su Jinxue were currently equalized at the Half-Step Immortal realm. Two against two...
Facing two Red Dust Immortals at their peak, this was a completely hopeless situation.
“Holy crap... How are we supposed to fight this?” Zhang Mingyuan cursed. “The Heavenly Dao is trying to play us to death.”
“This is already beyond the capability of the Heavenly Dao.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Su Jinxue did not reply. She simply took a step forward, shielding Zhang Mingyuan.
“Step back. I'll hold them off. You perform that move.”
Zhang Mingyuan grabbed her wrist, pulled her back to his side, and said in exasperation:
“Step back my ass! What kind of man lets his woman go up and take a beating while he charges a big move in the back? You step back!”
Opposite them, the two mirrors had already raised their swords.
Zhang Mingyuan took a deep breath and shielded Su Jinxue behind him.
He gripped Zhanxue with his right hand and pulled out Dog Slaughterer with his left.
“Little Xuexue, use that move—the one you almost killed me with a thousand years ago. I bet it has evolved by now!”
Su Jinxue looked up at Zhang Mingyuan's broad back. A strange light flashed in her eyes, and she nodded heavily.
“Yes!”
...
Rate on N.U.
