Dragon and Phoenix Reversed
Scripture Repository, Lin Ming looked at the sphere of light in the center of the seventh floor.
The sphere of light was smaller than the surrounding millstone-sized spheres, but the fluctuations it emitted were more condensed and profound than any of them, like a neutron star compressed to its limit, small in size but containing enough mass to crush everything.
Lin Ming walked toward the ball of light. With each step he took, he felt the air around him grow heavier, and the resistance under his feet was several times stronger than when he was climbing the stairs, as if an invisible hand was pushing him backward.
He gritted his teeth and moved forward step by step, the Four Elements Origin Power circulating wildly in his meridians, and the World Power like a thin layer of armor covering his body, dismantling the resistance layer by layer.
When he finally reached the sphere of light, the ground beneath his feet began to change. Fine lines appeared on the originally smooth Blue Stone tiles, spreading outwards in all directions from his feet, like a huge map being drawn.
Lin Ming looked down and saw that the patterns were black and white, intertwined with each other, like a white fish and a black fish spinning head to tail.
That was clearly a Tai Chi diagram. And right in the center of that Tai Chi diagram, on the dividing line between the Yin and Yang fish, he was standing at the eye of the white fish.
He raised his head and looked towards the other end of the Tai Chi diagram. At the eye of the black fish stood a graceful figure.
She was none other than Qing Yanjing, the goddess of the Buddha Ancient Clan.
At this moment, Qing Yanjing stood at the eye of the black fish, her Elegant Long Skirt fluttering gently in the dark blue light, and the silver Spiritual Runes on her forehead shining like a star.
Her clear, cool eyes gazed at Lin Ming across the entire Tai Chi diagram, her gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny and understanding, like a chess player seeing the opponent he had been waiting for on the other side of the chessboard.
Her aura was deep and restrained, even more profound and refined than when she underwent Perfect Baptism in the Heavenly River. Clearly, she had thoroughly consolidated the gains from the baptism and was only a thin veil away from reaching the threshold of Earth Sovereign.
Lin Ming looked at Qing Yanjing over there, and they stared at each other for a moment across the Tai Chi diagram.
In an instant, the Tai Chi diagram slowly rotated beneath their feet, with the black and white fish connected head to tail, like a giant millstone turning silently.
At this moment, Qing Yanjing spoke first in a cold voice, "The Master of the Star Residence's array inheritance is in your hands."
She spoke with certainty, her gaze fixed on Lin Ming, carrying a hint of scrutiny and an unquestionable air.
"That was my destiny. The Buddha Ancient Clan has a deep connection with the Ancient Heavenly Palace, and their clan's records clearly document the inheritance of the Master of the Star Residence. My greatest goal on this trip was that inheritance. I don't blame you for getting there first; that's your skill. But that inheritance may not be useful to you, but it's crucial to me. If you're willing to hand it over, I can exchange it for other treasures of the Buddha Ancient Clan."
Lin Ming stood at the position of the white fish's eye, and upon hearing this, he merely raised his eyelids slightly.
The array formation inheritance of the Master of the Star Residence was obtained through his own abilities; how could it be taken away by someone else with just a few words?
Without even looking up, he simply replied, "No."
Qing Yanjing's expression darkened slightly, and a hint of displeasure flashed in her clear, cold eyes, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.
She was never the type to pester or beg. Given her status as a goddess of the Buddha Ancient Clan, when had she ever been so humble as to negotiate with anyone?
However, the array formation inheritance of the Master of the Star Residence was far too important to her. The array formation system of the Buddha Ancient Clan that she practiced had a very deep connection with the Master of the Star Residence's inheritance. If the two could be combined, it would play a vital role in her future achievements in array formation.
Now that she couldn't get through to reason with him, she had no choice but to resort to force.
Then Qing Yanjing moved, her Elegant Long Skirt shimmering in the dark blue light like a cloud being blown by the wind.
She extended her right hand, her five fingers pressed together like a knife, and a stream of emerald green Spiritual Energy shot out from her fingertips, like a jade sword as thin as a cicada's wing, slicing towards Lin Ming's shoulder.
That strike was not fatal, and even carried a hint of probing. However, the Law contained within that emerald green Spiritual Energy were extremely sharp. Wherever it passed, space was cut with a thin emerald green mark, like ripples left by a blade cutting through the surface of water.
Lin Ming casually raised his hand without even lifting his eyelids. A flash of Spiritual Energy appeared in his palm, and the emerald green Spiritual Energy struck his palm, making a crisp "snap" sound, like a bamboo chopstick being broken. Emerald green light spots flew in all directions.
Qing Yanjing frowned slightly, and the second attack followed immediately.
This time she didn't hold back. She formed a hand seal, and emerald green Spiritual Energy condensed into a miniature array in front of her palms. The array was about a foot in diameter, and its entire body was emerald green like jade. Ancient runes of the Buddha Ancient Clan could be faintly seen flowing within the array.
She pushed the formation towards Lin Ming, and the formation enveloped Lin Ming like a rotating jade plate. The runes on the plate lit up at the same time, emitting an extremely sharp cutting force, like thin blades hidden in the jade plate.
Lin Ming then slightly raised his eyelids and raised his hand again. This time, four-colored light condensed in his palm into a small light shield, about the size of a washbasin.
The emerald jade disc struck the light shield with a muffled "boom." The pagoda runes on the surface of the light shield flickered wildly for a moment, and then the entire miniature array cracked open from the middle, turning into countless emerald green light spots that dissipated into the air.
As the two were exchanging blows, the Tai Chi symbol beneath their feet suddenly began to spin.
The Tai Chi diagram, which had been spinning very slowly, like a lazy millstone, was now spinning faster and faster. The outlines of the black and white fish, which were connected head to tail, became blurred, as if two swimming dragons, one black and one white, were chasing each other and turning into a Chaos vortex.
The vortex surged upwards from beneath their feet, enveloping them in a black and white interwoven light and shadow.
Countless fine black and white Spiritual Runes appeared in the space, intertwining and Spiritual Runes with each other, like a giant spider web trapping the two of them.
At that moment, the ancient voice of the Spirit of the Scripture Pavilion murmured in the void.
"Although one of you possesses a unique Five Elements Body and has inherited the legacy of the Master of the Lin Residence, and the other comes from the Buddha Ancient Clan and is empowered by their array formations, this Dragon and Phoenix Reversed Yin-Yang Array is both an array and not an array. It primarily stirs up the most primal desires within people. So, experience it for yourself!"
The voice trailed off with a barely concealed chuckle as it spoke the last few words, like an old man watching two young people fight, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
At this moment, Qing Yanjing's expression began to turn alluring.
A faint blush rose on her originally aloof and frosty face, like a peach blossom opened by the spring breeze.
Her gaze gradually became hazy, and a layer of water welled up in her once clear and cold eyes. The sharp scrutiny and calculation in her pupils were replaced by a hazy mist, like a pool of turbulent spring water.
Her breathing quickened slightly, and her chest heaved more dramatically than before. A patch of flushed skin was faintly visible at the neckline of her Elegant Long Skirt.
She shook her head, seemingly trying to suppress the strange feeling welling up from the bottom of her heart, but the feeling was like a swarm of ants crawling in her bones, becoming clearer and more turbulent the more she shook her head and suppressed it.
At that moment, Lin Ming also sensed that something was wrong.
The warm, moist power beneath his feet became viscous the instant the Tai Chi diagram accelerated its rotation, like invisible hands drilling into his body along his meridians.
Wherever those hands touched, his meridian walls became exceptionally sensitive, his blood flow accelerated suddenly, and his heartbeat quickened like a drumbeat.
His heart sank slightly, and he immediately tried to enter the Inner World.
That was his territory. Once inside his Inner World, any external interference could be crushed by his World Power.
But then he discovered that he couldn't get inside.
That barrier leading to his Inner World was like a welded-together Iron Gate; his mind crashed into it and was bounced back, like someone trying to enter their own house only to find the key locked from the inside.
At this moment, his mind wavered for a split second. After all, his Inner World was his greatest reliance, and he had never encountered a situation that could prevent his mind from entering it. This was the first time in all these years that such a situation had occurred.
At that moment when Lin Ming was divided, the formation, arousing his inner desires, seized the opportunity to enter.
A fiery and tyrannical impulse surged up from the depths of his dantian, like a long-suppressed volcano suddenly erupting, shattering his reason.
His vision began to blur, Qing Yanjing in his eyes was no longer an adversary who came to demand the inheritance, but a woman with a charming face and eyes as clear as water.
The curves that were faintly visible beneath her Elegant Long Skirt became exceptionally clear, the cool, delicate fragrance emanating from her became exceptionally strong, and her rapid breathing became exceptionally alluring.
At this moment, Qing Yanjing appeared in front of Lin Ming without anyone noticing.
Her movements were like those of Puppet being led by the formation, yet each step carried a certain instinctive urgency.
The sash of her Elegant Long Skirt loosened slightly as she walked, revealing a section of her snow-white shoulder.
She walked up to Lin Ming, her dreamy eyes looking up at him, her lips slightly parted, her warm breath brushing against his chin.
Then she reached out her hand, the movement swift and precise, as if she had performed it a thousand times in a dream.
At that moment, Lin Ming instantly felt something grab him, the touch was warm and soft, like a slippery little snake coiling around him.
At the same time, something soft invaded his lips, exploring them with a mixture of clumsiness and eagerness, like a lost fish searching for its way home.