Chaotic qi—she constructed her own Taiyin sanctuary, shaping the Yin Energy into objects in her mind. The Yin Energy gathered like stone, and Taiyin carved it into a stone pavilion with a stone table and chairs. On the table sat a stone teapot and cups, filled with Jade Nectar refined from chaotic qi.
Taiyin poured a cup for the Golden Crow and said, "Daoist brother, if you'd like to rest here, I'd be glad to keep you company."
Yin and Yang naturally attracted each other, bound by an unbreakable sense of kinship. That was why Taiyin had always been fond of the Golden Crow and often invited him to her Taiyin sanctuary to talk.
The Golden Crow enjoyed this feeling every time, like a born king, high above everyone else. At least in Taiyin's presence, he could maintain that sense of superiority.
He dreamed of becoming the master of the Great Dao. Then he would possess the supreme authority to make the world answer his every call. Pangu had to die. The Golden Crow had hidden among the other gods and watched them attack and wound Pangu, intending to strike him down while he was gravely injured.
He hadn't expected Pangu to be so formidable. Not only had he avoided being reduced to ashes by the Nine Dragon Skyfire Array, he had even helped the Golden Crow perfect one of his cultivation techniques. It seemed he'd broken through while inside the array. The Golden Crow felt that his Supreme Yang Qi was somewhat depleted, and it couldn't be replenished through his own cultivation alone.
He cultivated this technique to transform Supreme Yang into Yin in order to evolve Yin and Yang. Once perfected, Yang at its extreme could give birth to Yin; when Yin and Yang joined, they could transform into the Great Dao and create heaven and earth. This was the so-called principle of Wuji giving birth to Taiji, and Taiji giving birth to the two polarities: existence from nonexistence, one giving birth to two, two to three, and three to all things.
The Golden Crow had already begun to faintly touch the Heavenly Dao, but he couldn't wait. Since his Yin and Yang were incomplete, he would make them whole. The quickest way was undoubtedly to devour Taiyin's Supreme Yin.
Taiyin had no guard up against him at all. It was a heaven-sent opportunity.
Taiyin gazed at the Golden Crow as he pondered. He seemed to radiate a strange, captivating charm, and she felt increasingly drawn to him. She stared without blinking, as if she wanted to melt him into her heart.
Taiyin simply watched him in silence.
The Golden Crow also felt something strange stirring in him. Perhaps his confidence had grown.
He murmured, "When Yin reaches its extreme, Yang is born; when Yang reaches its extreme, Yin is born. Yin and Yang join, and life goes on without end. But what does it truly mean for Yin and Yang to join?"
As Taiyin listened, something stirred within her. The technique she cultivated was the opposite of the Golden Crow's, yet they shared the same origin. So this was her Dao. How foolish she'd been, still without the slightest clue, while Big Brother Golden Crow had already begun to grasp it. How could she help him?
The Golden Crow grew increasingly restless. Slowly, he began to show signs of madness, as though he were entering a demonic state.
Taiyin sensed a strange Yang Energy inside the Golden Crow, beyond his control. It surged wildly, battering his meridians and primordial spirit.
Taiyin hurriedly caught him and shook him. "Daoist brother, Daoist brother..."
The Golden Crow trembled all over and murmured, "Hot... hot..."
Taiyin's heart leaped. Right—her Taiyin Qi was cold and clear. Perhaps it could ease the Golden Crow's condition.
Without hesitation, Taiyin slowly guided her Taiyin Qi into the Golden Crow's body. But it was like a cup of water against a burning cart of firewood. No matter how much she poured in, it made no difference. What could she do? She was frantic. Right, she still had her source. If she gave it to him, it might not only calm his Supreme Yang Qi but also help him comprehend the Great Dao.
But she might lose her life and Dao in the process. As long as Big Brother Golden Crow could comprehend the Great Dao, her sacrifice would be worth it.
Taiyin felt herself growing weaker and weaker, yet she was happier with every passing moment. She had suppressed the surging Yang Energy inside Big Brother Golden Crow, and a vortex of balanced Yin and Yang had formed within him.
Just then, a voice as loud as thunder rang out. "May I ask if you're there, Daoist friend?"
The Golden Crow was startled. "That wretch Pangu actually followed me here!" His distraction broke the balance of Yin and Yang inside him, and most of the Taiyin Qi flowed back into Taiyin.
Seeing that most of the Taiyin Qi had not remained in his body, the Golden Crow realized his opportunity had slipped away. He rose and said bitterly, "I was just one step away from success. I risked my life to set this up, and it was all for nothing."
Taiyin was horrified. She asked blankly, "You planned all of this? Tell me it isn't true."
The Golden Crow laughed loudly. "What did you think? Since this was my only chance to fuse with you willingly, I had to force the fusion. It won't be perfect, but something is better than nothing."
The Golden Crow looked down at Taiyin sprawled on the ground, his gaze intense. "Would you give yourself to me and let me devour you?"
Taiyin murmured, "You really want to do this? Fine. I agree."
The Golden Crow cackled. "Since you love me so deeply, I won't let you suffer."
Taiyin's heart ached. She could only lament her bitter fate, but she still gave up resisting.
The Golden Crow revealed his true form and swallowed Taiyin in one bite.
Outside Taiyin's sanctuary, Pangu and Xuanhuang were both troubled. Pangu in particular sensed that his opportunity lay within the sanctuary. Now the aura that could help him seemed to be weakening, as though it might disappear entirely.
Unable to contain himself, he shouted. Inside, there was no response, and the aura continued to fade.
Pangu said anxiously, "Daoist friend Xuanhuang, should we break in? I have a bad feeling that something's happened."
Xuanhuang calculated with his fingers. "It's urgent. We can't worry about anything else. Let's break the array."
Pangu and Xuanhuang easily broke through the protective array around the sanctuary and saw the Golden Crow forcibly devouring Taiyin.
Pangu roared, "You villain, how dare you!" He raised the Sky-Opening Axe and sent a strike imbued with the Law of Strength crashing toward him.
The Golden Crow saw Pangu and Xuanhuang and was shocked. Seeing the Law of Strength bearing down with unstoppable force, he hurriedly spat out Taiyin, whom he couldn't refine in such a short time, and fled in panic—but not before losing a leg.
Pangu was furious. "You're one of the Four Spirits of Heaven and Earth, a Fire Spirit, yet you'd do something so vile!"
Taiyin was barely alive, her source damaged. She rose and bowed. "Thank you, Daoist friend. I did it willingly."
Xuanhuang said, "You knew what he was like. Why be so foolish?"
Taiyin said sorrowfully, "If I can help him, I'll die without regret."
Xuanhuang said with regret, "I'll die without regret."
Taiyin studied the newcomer and cried out, "Could you be the Chosen One? I understand now. This was fated for me. I can't blame anyone else." She said no more, but spat out a stream of essence qi to wrap around her source. Her body quickly turned transparent.
At last, a strand of divine sense came to them. "I can sense that the Yang Energy within you is too strong. Isolated Yang cannot give birth to life; you need my Taiyin Qi. I know you won't force yourself to take it, but my life is nearly over. My Taiyin Qi is here. Whether you take it or not is up to you. If there's another life, I hope you can help me fulfill this wish and give me a happy ending."
Pangu gazed at the Taiyin Qi floating in midair. It contained almost all of Taiyin's essence. If he absorbed it, he could gain a great boon. It was not only Supreme Yin Qi; it also contained Taiyin's insights, and even some of the Golden Crow's. These insights belonged to the Dao of Yin and Yang.
"Yin and Yang are the way of heaven and earth, the guiding principles of all things, the parents of change, the beginning of life and death, and the home of the spirit and illumination." [Huangdi Neijing: Treatise on the Correspondences of Yin and Yang in the Natural World]
Xuanhuang said, "All of this was arranged by the Great Dao. We're powerless to change it. You may take it and use it to perfect your Dao. Perhaps you can fulfill one of Taiyin's wishes. If you refuse, we'll be abandoned by the Great Dao."
Pangu hesitated for a moment, then swallowed the Taiyin Qi and began refining it. Xuanhuang stood guard beside him.
At that moment, violent changes were taking place in his sea of consciousness. The nine streams of Yang Qi, which had once been calm and glowed with golden light, quickly condensed into a sphere of light, like a radiant sun. The sphere began to tremble violently. As the Taiyin Qi seeped into it bit by bit, the grain-sized flecks of Taiyin Qi began to circle the sun. They gradually grew and fused with it, forming two intertwined Yin Yang Fish that spun without pause. A violent aura quickly spread through his entire sea of consciousness. The pain in his soul shook Pangu's primordial spirit. This was Pangu's primordial spirit splitting in two, with the Yin and Yang spheres merging into half of it. One became golden, the other silvery white. When the two primordial spirits joined, a gentle aura soothed the pain. Then Yin and Yang separated from the primordial spirit, and the pain returned, even more intense. They fused again, over and over.
This was the process of Yin and Yang changing and continually fusing with his primordial spirit. Pangu's primordial spirit had originally been chaotic, with Yin and Yang undivided and no capacity to evolve all things. Now, that had changed. In the end, Pangu's primordial spirit was reshaped: brilliant golden light radiated from its exterior, while within, it was as gentle and still as water.
Next, the Yin and Yang Qi began to transform Pangu's body. Pangu felt himself become chaos. Two beams of light swept through his body, and chaos split apart, the clear and light rising to form heaven, the murky and heavy sinking to form earth.
Thus, the Huangdi Neijing states: "The clear Yang emerges from the upper orifices, while the turbid Yin emerges from the lower orifices; the clear Yang spreads through the interstices of the skin, while the turbid Yin moves through the five viscera; the clear Yang fills the four limbs, while the turbid Yin returns to the six bowels." His body, too, was transformed by Yin and Yang into a body capable of evolving all things.
Pangu placed the Yin and Yang spheres, which had been quietly circling his primordial spirit, into his left and right eyes. As they opened and closed, two beams of divine light shot forth. His left eye burned like the blazing sun, while his right was as cold and clear as the moon.
"Congratulations, Daoist friend. Your Path of Creation has advanced another step."
Pangu said with some dejection, "Every step has already been arranged by the Great Dao. We're merely carrying out its will."
Xuanhuang said, "The greater currents cannot be defied. But if you hadn't made up your mind just now, everything would have changed."
Pangu nodded. "After this insight, I understand. Everyone has the ability to evolve all things; they probably just haven't comprehended the Dao within it."
Xuanhuang said, "That's right. There's Tai Xuan and his divine ability of Enlightenment in Dreams, and the Golden Crow and Taiyin's Dao of Yin and Yang."
Pangu nodded and gazed at the sky that wasn't quite a sky.
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