clutching the freshly acquired Bitter Bamboo, Di Jiang flew through the spatial passage, happily pondering how he seemed to have just dealt a precise blow to the future West.
He had been searching high and low without success, only to find it without even trying. His mood was like heading out to take the trash and happening upon a lottery ticket that turned out to be a jackpot winner.
Far beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, in Purple Cloud Palace, Jieyin and Zhunti listened to Hongjun's lecture in rapt fascination, wishing they could etch every Dao pattern he spoke of into their minds. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, both felt a pang of unease, as though something vitally important to them, something deeply tied to their fate, were quietly slipping away!
The sorrowful expression on Daoist Jieyin's face grew even more mournful. He subconsciously tried to divine the cause, but the secrets of heaven were a chaotic blur. He assumed it was because he had been so absorbed in listening that he had exhausted his mind.
Daoist Zhunti furrowed his brow and glanced around suspiciously. "Strange. Why do I feel like the fortune of Mount Sumeru just wavered a little?"
But he was soon drawn back in by the profound Great Dao Hongjun was describing. He put the odd feeling out of his mind and continued immersing himself in the grand idea of "how to combine the Profound Sect's Great Dao with the methods destined for the West."
The two had no idea that the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Root—the Bitter Bamboo—growing right outside their home, which they might have sensed before but had been unable to claim because the time wasn't right or it was shielded by an array, had already been uprooted and carried off, pot and all, by some passing "spatial courier"!
If Jieyin knew, he might put on a display of "weeping bitterly and crying that the West is already so impoverished, so why must it suffer this calamity as well?" Zhunti, meanwhile, would probably beat his breast and heave a long sigh toward the sky!
"We've always been the ones to go to the East to beg for alms and guide those destined for us, taking whatever treasures are meant for us. But today, someone's come and fleeced us right at our own doorstep! What a terrible karmic calamity!"
Alas, they had no idea. They probably wouldn't discover this surprise until they had finished listening to the lecture and returned to the West, full of hope and ready to search carefully for whatever remaining opportunities awaited them there. The looks on their faces then would surely be quite something.
As he traveled through the spatial passage, Di Jiang let his thoughts wander.
"Hmm, this Bitter Bamboo has a fine Dao charm. I'll take it back and plant it on Mount Buzhou. Then I can brew tea with its leaves and serve it to guests... Though it seems like no guests would ever come. Never mind, I'll drink it myself. It'll clear my mind and keep me alert. A cup would hit the spot."
"Come to think of it, Mount Buzhou already has the Gourd Vine and Bitter Bamboo. If I could bring over a Peach Tree, a Ginseng Fruit Tree, and the like... planting them on Mount Buzhou would count as protecting the Primordial World!"
"Still, I'll have to think carefully about the karma involved. If I can claim them when the time comes, I will!"
Di Jiang thought about all this without a shred of guilt, even feeling a little amused. He could already picture Mount Buzhou in the future, covered in spiritual roots and blessed with rain made of spiritual energy—a truly extravagant sight.
"Home, home! I need to hurry up and take care of the Netherworld and Reincarnation. Only then can I focus on protecting the Primordial World!"
Spatial ripples spread as Di Jiang sped toward Mount Buzhou, leaving behind only the empty site of the former innate array by the bitter sea at Mount Sumeru in the West.
Ten thousand years later, Di Jiang quietly appeared inside Pangu Divine Hall. The familiar, primordial aura washed over him, filling him with a sense of peace.
The first thing Di Jiang did was send his divine sense toward Pangu Blood Pool. The six blood embryos, each a different color, still floated in the vast pool, breathing in and out pure blood essence. Their auras were steady and even more powerful than before. Their gestation was proceeding smoothly.
Di Jiang nodded in satisfaction. These little ones would be capable subordinates in the future; nothing could be allowed to go wrong with them.
Then Di Jiang took out the golden Bitter Bamboo. As soon as it appeared, its clear, bitter Dao charm and abundant wood spiritual energy faintly clashed with the blazing blood essence within Pangu Blood Pool.
With a thought, Di Jiang transplanted it to a corner of the hall far from the pool. He then invoked the Earth Law to create a patch of innate Spirit Soil suitable for its growth.
"Put down roots here. It's better than staying in that desolate West."
Di Jiang patted the bamboo stalk and felt its joyful response. Only then did he turn to deal with the important business.
Di Jiang sat cross-legged in the center of the hall and sank his mind into his Primordial Spirit space. There, a gray mass of energy revolved continuously, radiating Extreme Yin Power and the Dao Charm of Reincarnation—the nascent Netherworld—floating quietly in place.
If he simply shoved this fragile nascent form beneath Mount Buzhou, it would probably collapse under the impact of the mountain's unconscious, overwhelming Pangu pressure and chaotic earth energy.
Di Jiang's divine sense swept quickly across Mount Buzhou. At last, his gaze settled on the five Innate Five Directions Banners floating in the air, suppressing the four directions!
"The Five Elements Power is the primordial force that builds worlds and stabilizes the cosmos! I can use the power of the Five Elements Great Array to create a gentle yet sturdy incubating ground, protect the nascent Netherworld inside it, and continuously provide the Five Elements essence it needs to evolve. This plan will work!"
He acted as soon as the idea came to him. Di Jiang formed a Dao seal with his fingers and invoked the immense power of the laws within him!
The Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, Eastern Azure Lotus Treasure Color Banner, Southern Earth-Leaving Flame Light Banner, Western Plain Color Cloud Realm Banner, and Northern Xuanyuan Water Control Banner all shone brilliantly at once!
Five-colored divine light surged into the sky. As the Five Elements Power of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth flowed in a perfect cycle, it formed a stable, restrained sphere of five-colored light before Di Jiang. Within it, the Five Elements Power generated and overcame one another, evolving the forces of earth, water, fire, and wind to create a small, stable cosmos of its own!
Carefully, Di Jiang sent the gray mass formed from the nascent Netherworld into the core of the Five Elements sphere.
The instant the two touched, the gray mass trembled slightly. The pure Extreme Yin Power within it seemed somewhat repelled by the Five Elements light.
But the Five Elements Great Array was incredibly profound. Under Di Jiang's precise control, it did not forcefully suppress the nascent Netherworld. Instead, it slowly let the powers of the Five Elements' generation and destruction seep inside, nourishing the fragile nascent form, stabilizing its structure, and accelerating the growth and refinement of its internal laws.
At that very moment, the pure Extreme Yin Law within the nascent Netherworld reacted wondrously as it continuously interacted and clashed with the Five Elements essence outside!
Di Jiang focused all his attention on maintaining the array and sensing every change within it. At the core of the Five Elements sphere, stimulated by the circulating Five Elements Power, the Extreme Yin Power no longer lay dormant. Instead, it began to evolve on its own!
At the extreme of yin, a trace of pure yang seemed about to emerge! As the Five Elements Power seeped in and nourished the Netherworld, it too was transformed and refined by the Extreme Yin Law!
This was an evolution that arose spontaneously from the very origin of the Great Dao!
"Yang arises within yin; the Five Elements transform! This is yin and yang!"
In a flash of inspiration, Di Jiang seized that faint Dao charm hidden in the depths of the mysteries!
Di Jiang guided a trace of the Netherworld's Extreme Yin Power into his body. As soon as it entered, it began to reverse and intermingle of its own accord! Under the Five Elements Law, metal generated water, water generated wood, wood generated fire, fire generated earth, and earth generated metal. This was the natural cycle of generation, the way of creation.
But at that moment, in Di Jiang's understanding, the Five Elements could also flow in reverse! Metal overcame wood, wood overcame earth, earth overcame water, water overcame fire, and fire overcame metal. At the extreme point where generation and destruction reversed, where energies clashed and annihilated one another, lay the supreme truth of yin and yang in opposition and transformation!
"At yin's extreme, yang is born; at yang's extreme, yin is formed! The Five Elements are only the outward manifestation. Yin and yang are the fundamental pivot that harmonizes all things and transforms the myriad laws!"
Boom!!!
A thunderclap seemed to explode in Di Jiang's sea of consciousness! His understanding of the laws instantly rose to an entirely new level! The Five Elements Law, which he had previously only known how to wield proficiently, seemed to have found its common source. Under its rule, it became more harmonious and fluid, and its circulation grew many times more efficient!
And through this opportunity, he had successfully grasped and begun to understand the mysteries of the Yin-Yang Law! Though he had only just taken his first steps, its significance was extraordinary!
Di Jiang slowly opened his eyes. Yin Yang Two Qi swirled in his pupils, while phantoms of the Five Elements appeared and vanished. He looked at the nascent Netherworld, whose aura had grown increasingly substantial and stable under the nourishment of the Five Elements Great Array, even expanding slightly. A delighted smile spread across his face.
"I never expected that settling the Netherworld would bring such an unexpected reward! The Yin-Yang Law! Wonderful!"
With this, he had even greater confidence in establishing Reincarnation in the future! After all, the Dao of Reincarnation involved the transformation between life and death, yin and yang.
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