Profound Yin Palm

"Impossible!" Du Tianchou shot backward. He had just dodged Zhao Xin'er's sword thrust, then struck back with his palm to force her away.

He had never expected Zhao Xin'er to show no fear and meet him head-on with a palm strike. Then he discovered that the internal power flowing from her palm showed not the slightest sign of weakening. Vaguely, he even sensed that her internal power seemed stronger than before.

He could not help being shocked. She must be fighting like a cornered beast. That must be it. Zhao Xin'er must have used some technique to forcibly raise her power. Yes, that's right. It must be that.

"Hahaha! Zhao Xin'er, you truly are an outstanding disciple of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion. In terms of strength, I, Du Tianchou, am no match for you. You've probably forced your power higher now, but let's see how long you can last!" This time, Du Tianchou was exceptionally certain of his judgment.

Zhao Xin'er ignored him and gave a cold laugh instead. Her sword quivered in her hand, instantly transforming into myriad sword shadows that enveloped his entire body.

Du Tianchou was an expert, after all. He dodged swiftly, managing to keep countless vital acupoints out of harm's way, but his body did acquire quite a few wounds. They were shallow, yet his white robes were speckled with blood, making for a rather shocking sight.

The first few times, Du Tianchou secretly rejoiced at narrowly escaping Zhao Xin'er's fatal attacks. But as it continued, he came to understand that she seemed to be toying with him now. Every thrust of her sword left a wound on his body, yet none was fatal.

Though the wounds were small and not fatal, before long, Du Tianchou had over a hundred of them, and the blood on his body had stained his white robes red.

How could this be? Terror filled Du Tianchou's heart. He knew that if this continued, he might truly die here. He could not believe that Zhao Xin'er really had not been poisoned. If she had been poisoned, she would certainly want to finish him off as quickly as possible, rather than toy with him as she was doing now.

"Enough. It's time to settle this. Consider these wounds a little interest collected. Now, prepare to die!" Zhao Xin'er said.

"Zhao Xin'er, don't push me too far!" Du Tianchou had never imagined that his scheme would fail completely, but he would not simply surrender his head.

"Whatever moves you have, hurry up and use them. Let me see the martial arts in your Peaceful Heaven Sect's supreme Scripture of Great Peace!" Zhao Xin'er said.

"Hmph! I admit I'm no match for you, Zhao Xin'er. But if I want to leave, you can't stop me!" Du Tianchou said, his face livid. This time, he had truly failed to steal the chicken and lost his bait rice besides.

"Hmm? Good, not bad. You're forcibly raising your power. It seems this alone will set your cultivation back several years, perhaps even more!" Sensing the change in Du Tianchou's aura, Zhao Xin'er sneered. "But raising your power by this little still doesn't make you my match. If you want to leave now, you'll have to pay a price."

With that, Zhao Xin'er slid her sword back into its scabbard with a swish, then continued, "To tell you the truth, swordsmanship isn't my greatest strength."

Zhao Xin'er turned the sheathed sword in her hand, then abruptly flung it aside. Sword and scabbard sank into one of the wooden pillars in the main hall.

Such profound internal power! Du Tianchou was deeply shocked.

But immediately afterward, he was even more astonished. Zhao Xin'er's aura suddenly surged, and a fierce presence faintly emanated from her palms.

"Th-this? What is this?" Du Tianchou stared at Zhao Xin'er in disbelief.

"If you haven't mastered the techniques in the Scripture of Great Peace, then death is your only path today." With that, Zhao Xin'er flashed forward and charged at Du Tianchou.

"Profound Yin Palm!" Du Tianchou finally cried out the name of the move that terrified him. He had never expected Zhao Xin'er to have mastered this palm technique, one of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion's true supreme arts. Among internal cultivation methods, the Bliss Canon naturally reigned supreme, but the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion also possessed techniques and moves that could astound the world. The Profound Yin Palm was one of the most formidable of these supreme arts.

Du Tianchou could not believe Zhao Xin'er knew this technique, because he knew that mastering it required extremely profound internal power. Both he and Zhao Xin'er were very confident in their own power. Yet their power was still insufficient to practice martial arts of such depth. Forcing themselves to do so would only send their cultivation berserk.

As Zhao Xin'er's palms struck, Du Tianchou violently thrust out both fists. Then he screamed and was blasted away.

"The Peaceful Heaven Fist Technique really is formidable." Zhao Xin'er gave a cold laugh. As she landed, she tapped her foot against the ground and charged once more at Du Tianchou before he could steady himself.

"Zhao Xin'er, are you really determined to kill me and leave no way out?" Terror filled Du Tianchou's heart. He had just used a martial art from the Scripture of Great Peace, but he had forced its execution. Although he had blocked Zhao Xin'er's Profound Yin Palm, the technique's backlash had severely wounded him. Together with the injuries from the Profound Yin Palm, he now had wounds piled upon wounds.

"Save your breath!" All Zhao Xin'er wanted now was to tear Du Tianchou into ten thousand pieces. If not for this man, how could she have lost her chastity? Moreover, the one who had taken her virginity was someone she did not know at all. But she had had no choice. If she had not done so, she would only have fallen into Du Tianchou's hands in the end, and her fate would have been even more miserable.

Thud! Zhao Xin'er kicked Du Tianchou in the chest, sending him crashing into a wall behind him. How could the wall withstand such a tremendous impact? It immediately cracked and collapsed.

Du Tianchou spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled up from the ground. When he raised his head, he suddenly discovered a figure lying before him. At first, he was puzzled about why someone else was here, but when he saw Huang Xiao, his expression changed drastically. Then he suddenly began laughing wildly, as though he had gone mad.

Du Tianchou's wild laughter aggravated his injuries, making him spit out several more mouthfuls of fresh blood.

When Du Tianchou smashed through the wall, Zhao Xin'er's expression also changed, instantly turning exceptionally ugly.

"Hahahaha! So that's it! So that's it! To think that I, Du Tianchou, schemed for so long, only to sew another man's wedding robes in the end. How tragic, how lamentable!" Du Tianchou staggered to his feet, then laughed loudly. "Zhao Xin'er, outstanding disciple of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion, you gave everything to this stinking ox-nosed Daoist before us? Hahaha! You're even more ridiculous than I am. No wonder your power wasn't greatly diminished after you were poisoned with Spirit-Transforming Powder. No wonder you were unharmed even after being poisoned with that lecher's aphrodisiac, Instant Bewitchment. I understand it all now. Though I, Du Tianchou, failed to possess you, I believe the pain in your heart must be beyond words. Of course, I also understand your hatred for me. But I don't care. I don't care! What an enormous scandal this is!"