A Sudden Turn of Events

"Sure. I only need the magic arts for gathering the Void Qi of Water, Fire, and Earth!" Chen Ming said.

Hearing this, Situ Yuelan breathed a sigh of relief. They were only a few magic arts for gathering the Void Qi of the Five Elements—not anything particularly important.

She had once been a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm, and knew quite a few magic arts for gathering Void Qi.

"That's simple. You and I can swear an oath with our Divine Souls, and then I'll give you the magic arts!" Situ Yuelan readily agreed.

Chen Ming hadn't expected her to agree so readily.

"However, if I can't get my hands on the Spiritual Item formed from your body because I'm not strong enough, or if doing so puts me in danger, you can't blame me. That won't count as breaking the oath!" Chen Ming added.

"Of course!"

Situ Yuelan's expression turned solemn as she swore an oath with her Divine Soul.

Chen Ming followed suit. Deep within his Divine Soul, he sensed that the oath had taken effect.

The two of them had become allies. If either one broke the oath, they would suffer an unforeseen calamity.

"Now that the oath is made, Fellow Daoist, give me the magic arts first. I'm stronger, so I'll be able to handle many things more easily!" Chen Ming didn't hold back and directly asked Situ Yuelan for the magic arts.

Once he had the complete set of Five Elements magic arts, the Creation Lotus Platform in his Sea of Consciousness could continue evolving.

This time, what the Creation Lotus Platform evolved would surely be the cultivation method best suited to helping him attain the Spirit Condensation Realm.

That was why Chen Ming was in such a hurry to ask. It concerned his own Dao Path, after all.

Situ Yuelan smiled gently, her hairpin swaying in her glossy black hair. "The art of gathering Qi isn't some secret technique. Why are you in such a hurry, Fellow Daoist? I'll give it to you right now!"

With that, Situ Yuelan brushed her hand over the Bronze Mirror. A stream of Yin Cold Qi condensed into a talisman and fell into Chen Ming's hand.

"This one is called Taiyin Cold Water. It originated from the Void Qi of Hai Water in the north. Take a look, Fellow Daoist, and see if it'll work for you."

Situ Yuelan herself cultivated Yin Cold Qi, which had its roots in the Water Path. She had several such magic arts. Taiyin Cold Water was neither particularly powerful nor particularly weak, making it just right to offer him.

Chen Ming carefully studied the art of Taiyin Cold Water. As soon as he circulated it a little, the Creation Lotus Platform in his Sea of Consciousness responded.

"It'll work. I just need the arts for Fire and Earth now," Chen Ming said gravely.

Situ Yuelan turned her magic art around and said, "Though I specialize in Yin Cold Qi, I've also studied other methods. As it happens, I have an art for gathering Fire Qi called Sacred Sun Fire. I once thought I could combine it with my Yin Cold Qi to create a cycle of yin and yang, but I never managed to cultivate it successfully. You can have it."

But when Situ Yuelan tried to activate it, the Bronze Mirror condensed a talisman that had only a shape, with no actual content.

Situ Yuelan's expression changed. Could my injuries be so severe that I can't remember the contents of Sacred Sun Fire?

Chen Ming also noticed something was wrong. "What's the matter, Fellow Daoist?"

"It's nothing. I'm probably too badly injured to condense the art of Sacred Sun Fire. I still have another one, Cave True Five Stars Bestow Earth Scripture. It was once the fundamental Daoist tradition of a sect, and its cultivation method could take someone all the way to the Spirit Condensation Realm."

"That sect has long since been wiped out, and its tradition came into my hands. Now I'll pass it on to you!"

As Situ Yuelan spoke, she circulated her magic power, and another talisman began to form on the Bronze Mirror.

But this time, even the talisman formed haltingly, incomplete and broken. In the end, it abruptly dispersed. The talisman had failed to take shape!

"What's going on?"

Situ Yuelan's expression grew even more grave.

"I abandoned my physical body, but these magic arts are memories engraved in my Divine Soul. How could I be unable to summon them?"

"Something must have gone wrong!"

Situ Yuelan fell into a daze. The Bronze Mirror trembled in her hand, and Yin Cold Qi swirled around her.

"This shouldn't be happening!"

"I remember that my Divine Soul was somewhat injured, but I shouldn't have forgotten even these things!"

Situ Yuelan murmured to herself as her figure grew increasingly insubstantial.

"Fellow Daoist Situ!"

Seeing that something was wrong with her, Chen Ming infused his voice with magic power and shouted.

Situ Yuelan's expression stilled, and her eyes cleared. She looked at Chen Ming, seeming to remember something.

"So I'm not me!"

Situ Yuelan murmured softly. Her dim figure turned into a stream of Yin Cold Qi and fell into the Bronze Mirror.

Faced with this situation, Chen Ming couldn't figure out what had happened to Situ Yuelan.

He waited for a long time, but the Bronze Mirror remained as still as a dead object.

"Fellow Daoist Situ!"

"Situ Yuelan!"

Chen Ming circulated his magic power and called out several times, but the Bronze Mirror remained unresponsive.

He probed it with his Spiritual Sense, but the Bronze Mirror seemed exactly like an ordinary mirror. He couldn't sense anything unusual.

But Chen Ming knew for certain that Situ Yuelan was inside the Bronze Mirror. He just didn't know why she had ended up like this.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Chen Ming had no choice but to put the Bronze Mirror away for now and wait for Situ Yuelan to awaken and show herself before deciding what to do next.

He had only just put the Bronze Mirror away when a sudden tremor stirred in Chen Ming's heart.

"It's coming from Cuiping Mountain!"

Chen Ming closed his eyes and made a quick deduction, discerning the source.

He silently recited an incantation. Illusory Wings sprouted from his back and beat the air, filling it with swirling mist. The mist swept up Qing Ling beside him, and they headed for Cuiping Mountain.

The closer they got to Cuiping Mountain, the heavier Chen Ming's heart grew.

Qing Ling's body had been formed from the Spirit Tree on Cuiping Mountain, so she could sense the mountain's spiritual energy. Now she felt it too.

"True Person, I'm afraid someone has disturbed the spiritual energy of Cuiping Mountain!"

Qing Ling had barely gotten the words out when a tremendous boom rang out from the mountain.

Immediately afterward, several beams of different-colored light rose and descended upon Cuiping Mountain.

Blue light flashed in Chen Ming's left eye, and golden light glimmered in his right. He saw that the spiritual energy of Cuiping Mountain had been completely blasted apart.

Chen Ming uttered an invisible incantation, and the Illusory Wings on his back beat the air. He sped up even more.

Just then, Yin Cold Qi suddenly gathered within the Bronze Mirror, and Situ Yuelan's voice reached Chen Ming's ears.

She had actually awakened again at this very moment. "Fellow Daoist, has something happened at Cuiping Mountain? I sense that things are amiss. If you go there, I'm afraid disaster awaits!"

Chen Ming said gravely, "Cuiping Mountain may not be a place of abundant spiritual energy, but I also have my own Grotto-Heaven Dojo where I cultivate!"

"But if someone comes to my doorstep, destroys my home, and I just hide away, what kind of thing would that make me? Besides, I have two Registered Disciples cultivating on the mountain. How could I turn my back on them?"

"Whoever came looking for trouble will pay the price!"

"Otherwise, everyone would think I was easy to bully. How could I make a place for myself then?"

Chen Ming's voice burned with anger as he continued to pick up speed, racing toward the mountain.

Those beams of light looked powerful, but Chen Ming could see clearly that they were only at the Contemplation Realm.

As long as they didn't exceed the Contemplation Realm, he would make sure they came and never left.

After hearing Chen Ming, Situ Yuelan didn't try to dissuade him again. "Since you've made up your mind, I'll help you when we get there. Once we've dealt with what's happening on the mountain, I'll tell you more about those two magic arts!"

"Uh-oh!"

Chen Ming and Situ Yuelan cried out in unison.

After destroying Cuiping Mountain's spiritual energy, those beams of light rose again and descended toward the Daoist temple where Chen Ming lived.