Time is the constant, space is the balance; heaven and earth divide into Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.
Metal begets Water, Water begets Wood, Wood begets Fire, Fire begets Earth, Earth begets Metal.
Metal overcomes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, Water overcomes Fire, Fire overcomes Metal.
Metal at its utmost Yin becomes sharp and piercing, termed 'Shattering'; Metal at its utmost Yang gathers thunder, termed 'Drawing'.
Wood at its utmost Yin generates essence, termed 'Spirit'; Wood at its utmost Yang dispels evil, termed 'Breaking'.
Water at its utmost Yin condenses into crystal, termed 'Anomaly'; Water at its utmost Yang ascends as cloud, termed 'Illusion'.
Fire at its utmost Yin gathers souls, termed 'Nether'; Fire at its utmost Yang becomes inextinguishable, termed 'Nirvana'.
Earth at its utmost Yin becomes deathless, termed 'Profound'; Earth at its utmost Yang becomes impenetrably solid, termed 'Unbreakable'.
Upon opening the Taiyuan Record, such were the opening words. Hunyuan is the origin of chaos. At the beginning of creation, heaven and earth were in chaos, until the primordial mist was parted, heaven and earth were first divided, the sun and moon lay dormant, the four seasons alternated, the world found balance, and time's passage became constant. The Taiyuan Record revolves around the two characters 'Constant Balance'.
She then opened the Hunyuan Primeval Maiden Technique. The opening text had been replaced. As Mo Tiange studied it line by line, she couldn't help but marvel. To a Foundation Establishment cultivator like her, God Transformation Stage cultivators were truly celestial beings. Zhong Muling did not possess a Pure Yin Constitution, yet merely by probing the way her spiritual energy circulated within her body, this Hunyuan Primeval Maiden Technique seemed as if she herself had created it. Every detail fit perfectly. At a glance, she felt a profound sense of enlightenment.
After committing the contents to memory, she attempted to cultivate within the small hut.
Sitting cross-legged, she first completed a Grand Heavenly Cycle, then began guiding her spiritual energy to slowly circulate along her meridians. Her spiritual energy had all transformed into Yin-attributed energy. Now, following the key principles of the Hunyuan Primeval Maiden Technique, it flowed and circled through her meridians.
The energy completed one circuit and returned to her Dantian. It seemed to suddenly trigger something. She abruptly felt a contraction in her meridians, a sharp pain throughout her entire body, as if countless strands of spiritual energy were suddenly pouring in.
The spiritual energy within the Void Heaven Realm was originally dense. In an instant, it seemed as if boundless spiritual energy surged towards her, flooding into her Dantian. Knowing this was a normal occurrence, she didn't panic, slowly guiding this energy into her meridians, bit by bit, merging it with her own spiritual energy.
Outside the hut, beneath a tree, Zhong Muling and Yuanbao sat facing each other, playing a game of Go while chatting idly.
Yuanbao watched Zhong Muling glance frequently at the small hut at the edge, and teased, "Do you have to be like this? If something goes wrong, we're both right here. Are you afraid we can't save her?"
Zhong Muling curled his lip. "What could go wrong? I derived this cultivation technique using the Heaven's Evolution method. She won't have any problems cultivating it until she reaches the Nascent Soul stage."
"Then what are you looking at?" Yuanbao placed a stone carelessly. "This girl seems to have decent comprehension. In my opinion, just let her sink or swim. If she can't comprehend it even after being given the technique, there's no point pinning hopes on her."
This malicious suggestion was met with a glare from Zhong Muling. "She's a Foundation Establishment cultivator. You expect her to have our level of comprehension?"
"I didn't say that," Yuanbao said shamelessly. "I won't talk about myself, but before you reached the Core Formation stage, you had absolutely no assistance. Now she's an elite disciple of a major sect, with elders and masters. If she still can't manage, then what's the point of nurturing her? To achieve something, one can't rely solely on elders. One's own aptitude and temperament are indispensable; otherwise, they'll still fall at the stage of advancement—ah, I suffered immensely from this in the past." By the end, his words came from the heart. Relying on his excellent aptitude, he easily reached the Nascent Soul stage, but was stuck for a long time unable to pass the God Transformation barrier. Although Mo Tiange's aptitude wasn't bad, her Pure Yin Constitution diminished the potential of her Hunyuan Spiritual Root. Naturally, she was not as good as Zhong Muling, nor as good as him. Presumably, many trials awaited her in the future.
Hearing this, Zhong Muling also fell silent.
The two played Go quietly for a while. Yuanbao said, "We've been in Tianji for some days now. How about returning to Yunzhong to take a look?"
"Hmm..." Zhong Muling pondered for a moment. "Alright. If there are no problems with this girl's cultivation technique, we can return to Yunzhong after she's done. We can also go find that old fellow Hanquan to have some fun."
Hearing this name, Yuanbao chuckled. "Good idea. His Phoenix-Feather Bird is about to molt. Let's go get some benefits."
"Hmph, it's you who wants benefits, right? Those bird feathers are useless to me."
"Hey, don't be so blunt! Anyway, what's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours. We've known each other for so long. Do we still need to distinguish between yours and mine?"
"Get lost!" Zhong Muling glared at him angrily. "Which of the things you live in and use aren't mine? What nice-sounding words!"
"Oh, if you don't like nice words, I won't say them anymore. I'll just use them from now on."
"You—" Zhong Muling's hand shot out, and a Square Seal appeared in his grasp, instantly swelling to the size of a small mountain as he hurled it at Yuanbao.
Yuanbao's figure flickered, instantly appearing a hundred zhang away. With a deafening "BOOM," the nearby flower field was smashed to pieces, while Yuanbao remained completely unscathed.
"I say..." Yuanbao was about to speak when Zhong Muling beckoned with his hand. The Square Seal was immediately retrieved and hurled at Yuanbao once more.
Yuanbao was shocked. He reached to his waist, and a small square shield appeared in his hand. The shield grew with the wind, barely blocking the Square Seal.
"I say—" Yuanbao struggled to speak while clashing spiritual power with Zhong Muling, "Aren't you afraid the spiritual energy fluctuations are too great, and that little girl cultivates incorrectly, goes berserk, or suffers a deviation?"
Zhong Muling was startled and immediately withdrew the Square Seal. His figure moved and vanished from the spot.
"Whew..." Yuanbao let out a sigh of relief, muttering to himself, "This kid, his cultivation really has grown fast. Beating him now would probably take some real effort. Ah, sooner or later he'll surpass me..." His tone was relaxed and carefree, completely devoid of the hardship from his clash with Zhong Muling. The implication was that his cultivation was far higher than Zhong Muling's.
Inside the small hut at that moment. Zhong Muling frowned, looking as if he had a terrible headache. On the meditation cushion, Mo Tiange lay slumped to the side, completely unconscious.
The pressure from two God Transformation Stage cultivators clashing—how could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like her withstand it? If not for her Pure Yin Constitution, her cultivation base would likely already be ruined. Even now, the situation wasn't much better—although her cultivation level remained, her spiritual energy had completely lost control under their spiritual pressure. Now, her meridians were utterly destroyed, and her Dantian was riddled with holes.
"Troublesome..." Zhong Muling pondered for a moment, speaking to himself. "Consider yourself lucky. Now I have no choice but to rebuild your Dantian and repair your meridians. Might as well use the Five Spirits Fruit to perform Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing for you."
Naturally, Mo Tiange didn't know what the Five Spirits Fruit was. This object was a spirit seed that grew at the beginning of heaven and earth. One tree divided into the Five Elements; five fruits formed one entity, hence called the Five Spirits Fruit. Ten thousand years to sprout, ten thousand years to grow branches, ten thousand years to become a tree, ten thousand years to bloom, ten thousand years to bear fruit—fifty thousand years for a single Five Spirits Fruit. Even in the ancient Primordial Era, this item was extremely rare. Yet, within this Void Heaven Realm, which simulated the spiritual energy environment of the Primordial Era, when he obtained it, two Five Spirits Fruits were already growing there. Now, one of them had ripened.
Thinking of this, Zhong Muling's heart ached again. He hadn't even warmed that Five Spirits Fruit yet, and now it was about to be used by someone else! It was all that bird-man's fault!
Just then, that bird-man's noisy voice sounded in his ear again: "A-Ling, someone else has entered the Illusion Heaven Formation!"
Wei Jiasi opened her eyes in confusion. The previous scene remained in her mind—five demon beasts continuously attacking her. Her Water Spirit Banner was already destroyed. Of her other magical tools, few remained. She had thought she was doomed—but no. Before her eyes was nothing, only trees continuously receding.
Receding? She was startled, raised her head, and immediately froze. It took her a long moment to find her voice. "Mas... Master-Uncle..."
Qin Xi nodded. Seeing she was awake, he stopped and released his hold.
For a moment, Wei Jiasi didn't know what feeling stirred in her heart. Only one thought remained: Master-Uncle, Master-Uncle had come to save her!
"Senior Sister? Second Senior Sister!"
Wei Jiasi immediately composed her expression. Turning her head, she saw Luo Fengxue rushing over from not far away. Seeing her safe and sound, Luo Fengxue smiled through tears. "It's great you're alright! Second Senior Sister, I was terrified. Thankfully, Master-Uncle Shoujing was nearby."
Before Wei Jiasi could speak, she heard Qin Xi speak calmly. "Alright, Fengxue. I'll send you two back now."
"Huh?" Luo Fengxue was taken aback, then said urgently, "Master-Uncle, but Tian Ge is missing!"
Qin Xi's brows furrowed. "Hmm?"
Luo Fengxue explained, "We were originally with Tian Ge, but just now when I was talking with Senior Sister, Tian Ge went to keep watch nearby. Then the demon beasts came. Senior Sister told me to find Tian Ge and return first, but I couldn't find her!"
Qin Xi recalled that when he sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations and came over, Luo Fengxue had indeed been calling "Tian Ge." He thought for a moment, waved his sleeve, and a Flying Cloud appeared beneath their feet. "Don't act so recklessly in the future. I'll send you back first."
"What about Tian Ge?" Luo Fengxue asked anxiously. This was a dense forest. If Tian Ge was left here alone, she feared...
Qin Xi said, "I have my own plans regarding this matter. You need not concern yourselves."
"Oh, alright..." Luo Fengxue was momentarily stunned, then assented. Master-Uncle had always looked after Tian Ge. Surely he wouldn't abandon her?
The Flying Cloud rose, swiftly speeding towards Luoyan Cliff. The speed of a Core Formation cultivator's flying treasure was astonishing. In mere moments, they arrived at Luoyan Cliff.
Setting Wei Jiasi and Luo Fengxue down, Qin Xi said, "You two return for now. Fengxue, report to your master that I am safe and sound. If I find Tian Ge, I will return."
"Master-Uncle, you're going to look for Tian Ge?" Hearing this, Luo Fengxue hurriedly stepped forward.
Qin Xi smiled slightly. "Don't worry. I'm fine now. Just explain to your master."
"But..."
Luo Fengxue still wanted to say something, but Qin Xi had already activated the Flying Cloud and turned to leave. She could only sigh. Naturally, she was worried about Tian Ge, but was it appropriate for Master-Uncle to leave because of Tian Ge just after returning?
"Second Senior Sister?" Seeing Wei Jiasi's silent expression, Luo Fengxue called out cautiously.
Wei Jiasi glanced at her and shook her head. "I'm fine."
Her face was full of preoccupation, yet she said she was fine. Luo Fengxue naturally didn't believe her and said seriously, "Second Senior Sister, no matter what, don't take the wrong path again."
Wei Jiasi, however, gave a faint smile. "I know what you want to say. Don't worry." Having said that, she said no more and turned to walk towards the large tent.
Luo Fengxue thought for a moment and followed. "Second Senior Sister, wait for me."