After the Sun Goes Out, the Moon Appears

Before the Spirit Gathering Formation was set up in the Orchid Pavilion, the three of them cultivated separately, constantly consolidating and improving their Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation. After the Spirit Gathering Formation was set up on the second floor, the four of them gathered together to cultivate, exchanging cultivation experiences in their spare time, and reaping great benefits.

For example, Lu Yang knew that Man Gu would not recite the "Words of the Sage" while practicing the horse stance, considering it disrespectful to the sage, but Man Gu would practice the horse stance while reciting the "Words of the Sage".

For example, Man Gu learned that Meng Jingzhou often visited brothels during the day to train his mental strength, only listening to songs and doing nothing else, which was admirable.

For example, Meng Jingzhou knew that Lu Yang would use his "cow hair Sword Qi" to pick out food stuck between his teeth when he ate, which was a completely new way of cultivation.

For example, Lanting learned that the Central Continent was once refined from stars.

"Such a thing actually happened." Lan Ting was stunned, this news greatly shocked her, and it also resolved some of her confusion.

"What's puzzling you?"

Lanting thought for a moment and decided that this wasn't something that couldn't be said, "As you all know, the name of our Moon Laurel Palace has a double meaning. First, the palace is full of laurel trees, and second, the palace believes that the moon has a special significance."

The Moon Palace was built atop a snow-capped mountain to be close to the moon, demonstrating the moon's importance to the palace.

"When I joined the Moon Laurel Palace, I asked my master why the moon has a special meaning, what about the sun, and other stars? Can we draw power from the stars, like the Big Dipper?"

"My master said that the moon and the sun are one, and as for the other stars, she just smiled meaningfully and didn't say anything."

"But since Master always smiles like that when he doesn't understand something, I didn't pay any attention to it."

"After hearing what you've said, I think she probably knows the truth about the stars."

Lu Yang frowned. "The moon and the sun are one?"

Lanting nodded. "I didn't know what it meant at first either, but then one time after class, two senior sisters were talking and one of them said, 'After the sun goes out, the moon comes out.'"

"After the sun goes out, there is the moon?" Lu Yang asked in surprise, as he had never heard of such a thing before.

Could it be that the countless stars are illusions, while the sun and moon are real, and even two sides of the same coin?

Is the sun burning during the day and the moon extinguished at night?

The energy of the sun is terrifying. Some believe that the sun is the source of all life. Even today, some people use the sun for cultivation, meditation, or enlightenment.

If the sun is the moon, then where did all that energy go after it went out? What an enormous amount of energy that must have been!

At night, the sun retracts this power, hiding it within itself, transforming into the moon?

"Speaking of which, why did the nameless High Antiquity person refine all the stars in the sky, but not the sun?" Lu Yang murmured to himself.

Without the sun, the world would be dark, all living beings would perish, and countless lives would die. According to Chief Chu, the nameless High Antiquity people regarded human life as worthless, and probably would not preserve the sun out of mercy.

Meng Jingzhou suddenly asked, "Do you know about the Yaoyang Cult?"

"The Radiant Sun Sect, one of the Four Great Demonic Sects?" Lu Yang knew very little about it.

"Yes, the Radiant Sun Cult worships the sun and believes that the sun has some kind of divine power. When the sun revives, all things perish. They advocate self-destruction before the sun revives and going to the Kingdom of Elysium."

Meng Jingzhou said, "I have no intention of offending the Celestial Palace. If the sun and the moon are one, then the views of the Radiant Sun Sect and the Celestial Palace are similar. Both believe that the sun and the moon have special significance and terrifying power."

Lan Ting shook her head, not feeling that Meng Jingzhou was being offensive. She felt that this view was also held within the Immortal Palace, and there were even more radical views.

Meng Jingzhou offered his conjecture. "It's possible that High Antiquity, nameless person is hidden inside the sun. The sun has been hanging in the sky since ancient times, so no one has questioned it; it's a blind spot in our thinking."

Lu Yang offered another guess. "It's also possible that the sun contains some kind of immense power, which even the High Antiquity, nameless beings were unwilling to touch."

Whichever the possibility, the sun and moon are certainly not as peaceful as they appear.

"Forget it, let's not think about it anymore. It's a rare opportunity to celebrate the Spring Festival, let's go out and have some fun." Meng Jingzhou gave up thinking and encouraged everyone to relax.

Instead of thinking about this and that here, you might as well go home and ask the clan elders.

Those people definitely know more than I do.

It's like they know they have a single Spirit Root, but they refuse to tell me, saying that they'll find out what their Spirit Root is once they come to the Ask Dao Sect.

As the Spring Festival approaches, the atmosphere is getting stronger, and various shops are launching promotions to welcome a large influx of customers. Barbecue restaurants are also entering the pre-holiday phase, offering tofu masks as a gift with every skewer purchase, which is very popular with children.

Everywhere you look on the streets are brightly colored Squad Commander, a tradition of Yanjiang County, organized by the government to imitate the colors of spring and welcome the season.

I heard that Prefect Li specifically instructed that the flags be planted quickly so as not to disturb the normal lives of the people, and that many people had been mobilized for this purpose.

In reality, the speed at which the flags were planted would not affect the lives of the people; it was merely a show put on by Prefect Li for the people's benefit.

"With this Squad Commander planted, it really adds to the festive atmosphere," Meng Jingzhou said with a smile, noting that even the barbecue restaurant had a small red Squad Commander stuck in front of it.

"Take a look! These are books that are rarely seen!" The old man with yellow teeth called out on the street, piquing the interest of the four people.

What kinds of books do you sell?

"Martial arts manuals and rare Cultivation Method are all available," the old man with yellow teeth laughed.

Meng Jingzhou casually flipped through the pages, when suddenly his eyes lit up as he found a martial arts manual. "Lu Yang, take a look. This book is absolutely perfect for you. If you're willing to practice it, I guarantee you'll reach the highest level."

Lu Yang glanced at the cover: Toad Style Kung Fu.

"Roll!"

Soon, Lu Yang also found a martial arts manual and suggested that Meng Jingzhou practice it. "This martial arts manual is practically tailor-made for you. If you are willing to practice it, it is not impossible for you to become a martial arts immortal in the future!"

Meng Jingzhou glanced at the cover and saw it was the Sunflower Manual.

The two exchanged a glance, chuckled, and each kindly bought the secret manual for the other.

Upon seeing the words "To practice this skill, one must first castrate oneself" on the first page of the Sunflower Manual, Man Gu fell into deep thought, "Does this mean women cannot practice this martial art?"

Lanting didn't hear Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's banter; she was engrossed in reading a traditional chapter-based novel.

The novel tells the story of a famous courtesan who, in order to redeem herself and pursue true love, entrusts her life to a scholar. However, the scholar is weak-willed and selfish. Although he also truly loves the courtesan, he is too embarrassed to marry her. Furthermore, due to the instigation of his friends, he ultimately betrays the courtesan, leading to the tragedy of her drowning herself in the river.

Lanting was moved to tears, feeling utterly sorry for the famous courtesan.

Lu Yang was so engrossed in reading the Orchid Pavilion that he craned his neck to look at it, finding the story truly vivid and moving.

He turned sideways to see the book title.

<The Dream of the Brothel>

Lu Yang: "..."

He felt the book title had a particularly unsettling, grassy feel to it.