Sitting beside his desk, Ye Jing set aside everything he had heard and seen earlier, picked up a volume of history from the desk, and began to read with all his attention.
The book recorded a folk myth that had been passed down since ancient times.
Legend had it that in the Primordial Era, when Heaven and Earth first opened and the primordial chaos first appeared, countless mighty Demonic Creatures ran rampant, and Innate Spiritual Energy was so dense it had reached its peak.
There were countless demons whose bodies were as vast as mountains. Some were even more fearsome: when the Emperors of the Demon Race manifested their Dharma Forms, they could blot out half the Primordial Era.
Back then, the Human Race did not exist. It was not until an extraordinary being with a human head and a serpent's body was born on Kunlun Mountain that the Empress Wa appeared.
Though the Empress Wa was of the Demon Race, she disliked slaughter and devoted herself to cultivating the Dao in the depths of Kunlun Mountain.
At dawn, she devoured the purple qi of the rising sun; at night, she absorbed the light of the stars throughout the heavens to refine her body. Her roots were already exceptional, and after only a few hundred thousand years of such arduous cultivation, she became one of the Primordial Era's most powerful figures.
The Empress Wa's cultivation grew increasingly unfathomable, but she never took part in the battles raging across the Primordial Era. She spent her days in seclusion deep within Kunlun Mountain.
Then one day, she realized that her path ahead was blocked. Her cultivation had stagnated, without the slightest increase for a thousand years. The Empress Wa awoke from seclusion, left Kunlun Mountain, and went into the Primordial Era to seek an opportunity.
Across the Primordial Era lay the remains of Great Demons, their bones piled into mountains and their blood flowing like rivers.
As the Empress Wa traveled, she saw Demonic Creatures battling everywhere. Their blood had already dyed the rivers red. The once-prosperous Primordial Era now seemed like a living hell.
The Empress Wa could not bear the sight and wanted to change this landscape of slaughter.
But even after traveling throughout the entire Primordial Era, the Empress Wa still found no solution.
One day, exhausted from her journey, the Empress Wa rested by a river. Suddenly, she saw her reflection in the water, and her eyes lit up. The problem that had long troubled her finally had an answer.
If all the myriad races of the Primordial Era loved to fight, why not create a race like her, one that did not relish slaughter?
But creating life and granting it intelligence was the Dao of Life. Although the Empress Wa's cultivation reached the heavens, she was versed only in the Dao of Nature and had no way to bestow life upon the beings she created.
So, from that day on, the Empress Wa roamed the lands of the Primordial Era, comprehending the growth of all things and the workings of nature. At last, on Ziwei Mountain, she created the Primordial Scripture of Creation and comprehended the Great Dao of Creation.
After comprehending the Great Dao of Creation, the Empress Wa used it to create the Human Race, modeling them after herself and wielding a Great Divine Ability.
[You comprehended the Empress Wa's life. You were deeply focused, and your Heaven-Defying Comprehension was activated.] [Your comprehension defied the heavens. You comprehended the Primordial Scripture of Creation.]
The Empress Wa! This was remarkably similar to the legends from his previous life. But wasn't this a myth? How could he comprehend a cultivation method from it?
Could this myth not be made up, but instead a true account of past events?
The doubt flickered through Ye Jing's eyes and was gone in an instant. He quickly focused his attention on the cultivation method in his mind.
Whether the account was true or not, at least this cultivation method was real.
Creation gives birth to Yin and Yang; Heaven and Earth gather all wonders. The Primordial Scripture of Creation taught one to comprehend the Yin and Yang energy within the body.
Yang energy was a healing art. It could create life, restore flesh to bare bones, and raise the dead. Yin energy was a means of repelling enemies, capable of stripping all things of life.
The Power of Creation was the very foundation of all the transformations of Heaven and Earth. The Primordial Scripture of Creation stated that if one cultivated the Great Dao of Creation to its utmost limit, one could make the entire world flourish.
Closing his eyes, Ye Jing followed the instructions in the Primordial Scripture of Creation and began to comprehend the Yin and Yang energy within his body.
The Yin and Yang energy was mysterious and elusive, its whereabouts uncertain and difficult to grasp. Even with his Heaven-Defying Comprehension activated, Ye Jing spent a very long time before he managed to catch hold of it.
Once he had caught hold of the Yin and Yang energy, he began refining it within his body and making it his own.
But even then, he could not yet be said to have comprehended the Dao of Creation. Only when the Yin and Yang energy were in balance would he have truly comprehended it.
This was the most difficult step, and also the most perilous. If he failed to maintain the balance, the Yin and Yang energy could easily fall into disorder and turn him into a monster.
Ye Jing's face, once fair and full of vitality, gradually turned sallow and wrinkled, until it looked like the bark of a dead tree. A heavy air of twilight emanated from him.
Fortunately, the desk where he sat was in a secluded part of the Hanlin Academy, and the other officials would never come here. Otherwise, seeing his face change like this, they would surely have thought he was a monster.
This was caused by Ye Jing refining the Yin energy in his body. Once his skin had turned to withered bark, the decay stopped.
Instead, he gradually grew younger, until his skin was as tender as an infant's. The cycle repeated again and again, and in the end, he returned to normal.
Ye Jing slowly opened his eyes and sensed the changes in himself. A flicker of bewilderment crossed his eyes.
Had he really broken through to the Peak of Humanity Realm?
The Peak of Humanity Realm was a stage at which one comprehended Dao Principles. Just now, when he had balanced the Yin and Yang energy in his body once more, he had comprehended the Creation Dao Principles and broken through to the Peak of Humanity Realm.
The Peak of Humanity Realm had four stages: Dao Enlightenment, Entering the Dao, Dao Master Realm, and Dao Attainment. Ye Jing had only just entered the Peak of Humanity, and was currently at the Dao Enlightenment stage.
Though Ye Jing had reached the Peak of Humanity, his overall strength had not improved much.
The Creation Dao Principles were among the highest Dao Principles between Heaven and Earth, but unlike the Lightning Dao Principles, they began at the tiniest things and held limitless potential.
As long as Ye Jing continued refining the Yin and Yang energy within his body, his understanding of the Creation Dao Principles would deepen. If he cultivated them to their utmost limit, he could even give form to all things in Heaven and Earth.
After returning to Ye Manor, Ye Jing continued refining the Yin and Yang energy within his body. The more it accumulated, the stronger he would become.
Over the next few days, Ye Jing worked at the Hanlin Academy during the day and studied and cultivated diligently at night.
Seven days later, Ye Jing awoke from seclusion.
After seven days of unceasing cultivation, a considerable amount of Yin and Yang energy had accumulated within Ye Jing's body. At last, the Creation Dao Principles could reveal a fraction of their power.
Ye Jing rose from bed and went to the desk. A potted bonsai sat on it, and he held his hand over the plant.
The bonsai, once lush and green, slowly turned yellow and withered, until it had completely died.
This was a Dao art recorded in the Primordial Scripture of Creation, called Devour. It could devour the life force of all things. However, his cultivation of Devour was still shallow, and for now, he could only drain plants and low-level Demonic Creatures of their life force.
As for the life force of powerful martial artists, his understanding of the Creation Dao Principles was still far from sufficient.
But if he cultivated Devour to a high enough level, he could drain the life force of not only powerful martial artists, but even the God of Heaven and Earth, leaving nothing behind.
A martial artist's life force was not endless. The more abundant it was, the more tenacious their vitality. Once their life force was exhausted, their Lifespan would be at an end as well.
Now that he had mastered Devour, if he could cultivate it to a high enough level, it would become his greatest means of repelling enemies.
Just as Ye Jing was reveling in his success at mastering Devour, a disturbance arose in his Sea of Consciousness, making him freeze.
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