Chapter 217: Bai Yixin

When Zuo Zhicheng came out of White Cloud Valley holding Ziyun, with the Snow Domain Silver Wolf following behind him in low spirits, he saw a group of men and women in white facing off against the Underworld King Snake. The Underworld King Snake had arched its body, its vertical pupils full of caution, yet it had not taken any action.

After noticing Zuo Zhicheng’s appearance, it immediately shook its body and moved to Zuo Zhicheng’s side.

The two Shadow Corps members who had been with the Underworld King Snake earlier were lying unconscious on the ground, and it was unclear whether they were alive or dead.

Seeing this, a shadow of gloom flashed across Zuo Zhicheng’s face, and he looked at the people in white with faint killing intent in his eyes.

The leader of the white-clad group, who had the presence of someone embodying the old, middle-aged, and young all at once, seemed not to care about this. When he saw Zuo Zhicheng emerge from the valley, he said softly, “You must be the Heavenly Serpent King. I am Bai Yixin from the Heavenly River Sect. Your subordinates were being a bit unruly, so I took the liberty of teaching them a lesson on your behalf. I hope you don’t mind.”

Zuo Zhicheng sneered coldly, casually tossing Ziyun onto the Underworld King Snake, and got straight to the point: “If you want this woman, then make your move!”

The man in white seemed surprised that Zuo Zhicheng was so straightforward and immediately ready to fight, making all the prepared remarks he had planned useless.

But since he was also a Human Phase Master, how could he simply follow the other’s pace? He let his eyelids droop slightly and sighed softly, saying, “Heavenly Serpent King, do you know that your life is hanging by a thread? Do you really think Zhu Yuwen is promoting you as the leader of the Four Kings because he admires you?”

“If you truly think that, then you are incredibly foolish. How long have you been in the Shadow Corps? By promoting you like this, he simply wants to use you as a target to draw the Yama Holy Son’s attention. Don’t think that just because you and the Shadow Corps killed three Dharma Kings, the Dìyù Gate is that simple.”

“The terror of the Yama Holy Son is beyond your understanding.”

After saying this, the white-clad man saw that Zuo Zhicheng remained unmoved, so he could only frown slightly and continue reluctantly: “Heavenly Serpent King, you are already on the Yama Holy Son’s kill list, yet Zhu Yuwen still sent you to Central Governance near the Northern Wasteland to hunt down members of the Dìyù Gate. What kind of malicious intent lies behind this? Do I need to spell it out?”

Zuo Zhicheng wore a cold smile, his gaze at Bai Yixin now tinged with a trace of contempt: “Bai Yixin of the Heavenly River Sect is also a Human Phase Master, right? If talking alone could defeat an opponent, why would I even bother training in Martial Arts?”

A flicker of anger passed through Bai Yixin’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. At his level as a Human Phase Master, he had almost complete control over his emotions and would not easily lose his temper.

He nodded and said, “Very well. The rumors are not wrong, Heavenly Serpent King, you are indeed a talent. There’s no need for you to try and provoke me to gain an advantage; my Martial Arts are beyond your imagination.”

“Fine, today I will make a move to properly extinguish your arrogance before we discuss what comes next.”

With that, Bai Yixin closed his mouth and did not intend to speak further. Originally, he had thought that Zuo Zhicheng, being young and a recent Human Phase Master, might not have the mental fortitude of seasoned experts like himself, so he had tried to break through the other’s mental defenses with words.

But he had not expected Zuo Zhicheng’s mind to be as solid and unyielding as a boulder. Thus, he decided not to try to suppress the other with words anymore and instead directly taught this young man a lesson.

He did not plan to kill Zuo Zhicheng, as Southern Bay and Central Governance were currently united against the Yama Holy Son and Xiao Tianyou, and it was not appropriate to engage in internal strife given the bigger picture.

However, it would be very beneficial to teach the Heavenly Serpent King, the leader of the Four Kings, a lesson, then take Ziyun and study the Magical Artifact used to summon the Ancient Beast.

While the two were speaking, Jin Shuixian and the others behind Bai Yixin had already retreated several hundred meters away. The Underworld King Snake, under Zuo Zhicheng’s command, also retreated into the valley.

Because when two Human Phase Masters fought, once their Heartscapes were deployed, along with their high-speed movements, the area within several hundred meters could be affected by the aftermath of the battle. Anyone on the battlefield of Human Phase Masters would be in great danger.

As the two sides gradually moved away from the battlefield, something like faint water vapor rose from behind Bai Yixin’s head. The vapor-like substance gathered into a ring, flowing incessantly like a small stream, forming a constantly circulating circle that appeared behind Bai Yixin’s head.

As Bai Yixin activated his Heartscape, Zuo Zhicheng also activated his. Ice-blue runes rose behind his head, carrying a chill that could end the earth and freeze all things, spreading in all directions.

Unlike the spar with He Zizai, the two of them used their Power of Mind and Spirit from the very beginning this time.

And as soon as they moved, the feigned contempt in Zuo Zhicheng’s eyes completely vanished. Clearly, he had only been pretending earlier to try and provoke his opponent. In reality, he would never underestimate any Human Phase Master.

But when the other’s Heartscape activated, he still did not sense anything unusual.

‘A flowing ring of water? What kind of Heartscape is this?’

Just as Zuo Zhicheng could not figure out what kind of attack the other’s Heartscape was, he still detected something wrong. He felt that his body—his blood, heartbeat, pulse, and various other bodily changes—seemed to be slowing down bit by bit, as if the passage of time itself had slowed down for him.

A master of Zuo Zhicheng’s level had reached the limit in controlling his own body. Not only his muscles, but even his heartbeat, blood flow, and the movements of his internal organs—he could sense them all clearly.

But now, for no apparent reason, he felt as though the time in his body had been slowed down.

‘It seems…’

‘Even my thoughts…’

‘Are… slowing… down…’

This sensation of time slowing down made Zuo Zhicheng extremely uncomfortable. And it was precisely during this discomfort that Bai Yixin opposite him moved. His movement was as fleeting as a white steed passing a crack, as swift as the shifting stars, carrying an indescribable sense of the unstoppable, unreachable passage of time.

However, it was noticeable that although his movements were extremely fast, his stiff fingers and bluish cheeks showed that his body was still being eroded by the Ice Soul Frost Demon Field. This meant that while the essence of his fist technique remained, his actual physical speed was slower than usual.

He struck out with his palm, aiming it to hit just an inch in front of Zuo Zhicheng’s chest, but Zuo Zhicheng raised his hand to block it, firmly stopping the strike.

Seeing that Zuo Zhicheng had managed to block his palm, Bai Yixin was slightly surprised, but only for a moment. He clenched his five fingers, transforming his palm into a fist, and struck again.

Zuo Zhicheng twisted his muscles, his single arm moving like a guillotine, aiming to sever Bai Yixin’s incoming fist.

But then, Bai Yixin’s fist underwent seven consecutive shifts in force, forcefully breaking through Zuo Zhicheng’s defense and landing a punch on Zuo Zhicheng’s chest, sending him stumbling back three steps.

Zuo Zhicheng’s first thought was that it was impossible. This was the first time, since gaining the ability to observe force flow and energy with his Infrared Vision, that he had been outmatched in the changes of moves.

But he quickly realized the truth.

‘It’s not that I am inferior to my opponent in move changes, but that my movements—even my thoughts—have slowed down. Everything around me, whether the white clouds in the sky, the wind and snow in the air, or Jin Shuixian and the others in the distance, or the Underworld King Snake and the rest—everything has slowed down.’

It seemed as though time itself was decelerating, and only Bai Yixin maintained his original speed, albeit slightly slowed due to the frostbite from the Ice Soul Frost Demon Field.

An impossible thought surged into Zuo Zhicheng’s mind: ‘Could this person slow down the flow of time? Or did he speed up his own time? How is that possible?’

He absolutely refused to believe that this Bai Yixin before him could actually manipulate time.