The Way of Life and Death, Half-step Entering the Dao

Chang Buzai's eyes were like the Nether Abyss—dim and unfathomably deep.

He looked at Zhong Mingshou and asked in a distant voice, "Has a conclusion been reached regarding Xiang Yuan's death?"

Zhong Mingshou's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Island Master, we have confirmed that the force that attacked Yellow Springs Hall was indeed the Yunxiao Yang Family."

He knew Chang Buzai certainly did not know what kind of force the Yunxiao Yang Family was, so he continued explaining, "A hundred years ago, Yang Zhengshan, the master of the Yunxiao Yang Family, encountered an opportunity in the Sun Cave Heaven, successfully formed his core, and embarked upon the Golden Core Great Dao. Afterward, Yang Zhengshan joined Baiyun True Lord, Jian Changhe, the master of Hidden Sword Mountain, and Que Lingyu, the Demon King of Cangyu Mountain, to establish the Tianyun Sword Sect!"

"In the battle at True Sun Immortal City, the Tianyun Sword Sect suffered a crushing defeat. Baiyun True Lord was killed by An Wusheng, and the Tianyun Sword Sect disbanded soon afterward."

"However, when the Soul Controlling Hall attacked the Yunxiao Mountain Range, Yellow Springs led an army to attack the Yang Family Blessed Land. They were met with the Yang Family's counterattack, Yellow Springs disappeared, and the Yin Ghost Army of Yellow Springs Hall collapsed!"

"Presumably, the Yang Family attacked Yellow Springs Hall this time as an act of revenge!"

Zhong Mingshou briefly recounted the rise of the Yang Family, as well as the grievances and feuds between the Yang Family and the Wuchang Ghost Sect.

After listening, Chang Buzai remained completely calm. In an indifferent tone, he asked, "So how powerful is this Yunxiao Yang Family now?"

Zhong Mingshou glanced at Hun Ji beside him and said gravely, "According to our investigation, there were three Golden Core cultivators involved in the attack on Yellow Springs Hall. One of them had once joined the Tianyun Sword Sect. He was a Sword Cultivator named Yunxiao."

"The other two are relatively unfamiliar. One of them once routed Yellow Springs Hall's Yin Ghost Army outside the Yang Family Blessed Land, but we found very little information related to him."

"As for the last one, he should have formed his core only recently. His exact identity still requires further investigation."

"Furthermore, the Yang Family mobilized more than a thousand Divine Generals this time. These Divine Generals are all Yin Souls, each possessing strength comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator or Ghost General. However, unlike Ghost Cultivators, their auras are extremely calm!"

Chang Buzai's expression shifted slightly. "Divine Generals—the Golden Armored Divine Generals?"

"Yes!"

"That is the Yang God Method! I never thought the Yang God Method still existed in this world!" Chang Buzai said.

"The Yang God Method? What is that?" Zhong Mingshou asked, puzzled.

Chang Buzai explained, "What you cultivate is the Yin God Method, which leans toward the yin attribute. Its counterpart is the Yang God Method."

"These two methods of Divine Soul Cultivation both originated in the Ancient Era, a hundred thousand years ago, and were created by the Soul Dao Master."

"The only difference between them is their attributes. In essence, there is no great distinction."

Whether it was the Eight Divine Curses or the Divine General Chessboard, both had actually been passed down from the Soul Dao Master of a hundred thousand years ago. It could even be said that the Dao Path of Ghost Cultivators had been pioneered by the Soul Dao Master.

Of course, the Eight Divine Curses and Divine General Chessboard of the present day differed greatly from the Yang God Method originally created by the Soul Dao Master. They were cultivation methods refined by countless predecessors over a hundred thousand years.

The Myriad Flower Domain was a Realm Boundary with a long history, so many miraculous cultivation techniques existed in this world. Though these techniques were not widely renowned, all of them possessed profound foundations.

Once someone cultivated one of these techniques to the Golden Core Realm, they would shine brilliantly.

The inheritance of the Eight Divine Curses was extremely ancient. Nor had it been created by the Soul Dao Master. Back then, the Soul Dao Master had merely built a Dao Path of his own upon the foundations laid by his predecessors.

Chang Buzai did not elaborate on these matters, because they were unimportant.

What had always restricted a force's development was not cultivation techniques, but resources.

There was no peerless divine art or secret method in this world capable of suppressing everything beneath it. There were only powerful individuals and forces built up from countless resources.

"Since this Yang Family enjoys stirring up trouble so much, find them and destroy them!" Chang Buzai ordered calmly.

It was merely a small Yang Family. It was not worth taking to heart.

Although the Wuchang Ghost Sect had suffered heavy losses in the Wanhua Mountain Range and the Yunxiao Mountain Range over the years, those losses had not yet reached the point of making the Wuchang Ghost Sect suffer heavy losses.

The foundation of the Wuchang Ghost Sect did not consist of a few Golden Core cultivators, but the boundless Corpse Sea and the mysterious Ghost Island.

Even Chang Buzai, the Sect Master, did not know exactly how many Yin Soldiers were in the Corpse Sea. Nor did he know how many ancient ghosts hidden on Ghost Island had remained unknown to the world.

It was not that Chang Buzai did not pay attention to these things. Rather, some of them had existed for even longer than he had. They had not appeared in the world for several thousand or even ten thousand years.

"Yes!" Hun Ji replied.

Ghost Island had few channels to the outside world, while the Soul Hooking Hall served as the intelligence agency of the Wuchang Ghost Sect. Much of the intelligence was collected by the Soul Hooking Hall.

The task of finding the Yang Family's base naturally fell to the Soul Hooking Hall.

At this moment, Yang Zhengshan still did not know that the Yang Family had attracted the attention of the Wuchang Ghost Sect. In the past, the Wuchang Ghost Sect truly had not taken the Yang Family seriously. Whether Yang Zhengshan had been in the Tianyun Sword Sect or had killed the Yellow Springs Old Ancestor, the higher-ups of the Wuchang Ghost Sect had never regarded the Yang Family with importance.

But things were different now. Chang Buzai had already turned his attention to the Yang Family and had even ordered its destruction.

It was not difficult for the Wuchang Ghost Sect to find the Yang Family. Although Yang Zhengshan had placed the Cave Heaven Portal in Chunyang Valley, the Spirit Source Land had still left behind many traces in the outside world.

For example, its trade with the Hengshan Sect. As long as someone paid attention, it would be easy to follow the merchant fleet and locate Chunyang Valley.

White Jade Capital knew nothing of this at the moment, so it had made no preparations against it.

Yang Zhengshan was still in secluded cultivation. He had already been in seclusion for ten years, showing no sign of awakening from his comprehension.

Inside the Quiet Room, Yang Zhengshan still sat cross-legged on the Cattail Mat, his eyes tightly shut and his expression tranquil. His aura was calm and completely without fluctuation.

If no one knew he was there, someone who entered the Quiet Room might well overlook his existence.

He had remained seated like this for ten years, his mind completely immersed in Dao Intent and unable to extricate itself.

Time flowed slowly, yet it could not leave the slightest trace upon him.

Another three years passed.

The aura around him finally showed the faintest ripple.

"When flourishing, do not grow proud; when withered, do not grieve. Such is the ordinary course of life and death."

"Observe how grass and trees wither once each year, and learn that life and death are neither beginning nor end, but a cycle."

"Do not seek immortality; seek neither life nor death. Do not flee death and destruction; flee obsession and delusion. The Dao lies between life and death, not beyond them."

"Forgetting both life and death, wandering together with the Dao—this is what it means to be imperishable."

Yang Zhengshan's mind was filled with Dao Intent both profound and mysterious. He understood it bit by bit and comprehended it bit by bit.

He had long since developed his own insights into Dao Intent and found certain patterns suited to himself.

What he was comprehending now was Life Control, but the essence of Life Control was still the Way of Life and Death.

He comprehended the Way of Life and Death within Life Control, searching for the points that resonated with the Way of Wither and Flourish.

He weighed his comprehension of the Way of Life and Death in his heart, recalling his former insights into the Way of Wither and Flourish and using the two to verify each other.

"The Dao has neither beginning nor end, while things possess life and death. Life is not the beginning, and death is not the end. They are like a ring without a starting point, like the changing of the four seasons. One who understands beginning and end neither delights in life nor loathes death, but follows transformation and nature, wandering together with the Dao. Even Heaven and Earth cannot endure forever, so how much less can man? Only by being one with the Dao can one attain eternity."

"The Way of Wither and Flourish or Life Control—their essence is the Way of Life and Death!"

"Life and death are the traces of the Dao; the Dao is the root of life and death. Guard the One and forget the two, see the Dao and forget life and death. Unite the heart with the Dao, and let the Dao govern life and death. Though dwelling amid life and death, it is like dwelling in a land where nothing exists. This is the Way of Life and Death, and it is also the Way of Longevity."

In an instant, Yang Zhengshan seemed to grasp something. Countless flashes of Spiritual Light appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

At once, the Wither and Flourish Taiji Diagram appeared behind him again. Its azure and gray yin-yang fish slowly revolved, radiating the auras of withering and flourishing.

Yet before long, the Taiji Diagram began to change.

The azure radiance slowly faded, while pure white light continuously spread outward, gradually swallowing the azure radiance. No—that was not swallowing. More accurately, it was assimilating it.

The gray also grew increasingly dense, changing from gray-white to pitch-black. The aura of the Taiji Diagram became even more obscure, more profound, and more impossible to see through.

Immediately afterward, Yang Zhengshan's aura changed as well. It went from calm and still to spilling out faint ripples. The ripples were not intense, yet they contained a terror that made people dare not look directly at it.

Faint ripples echoed through the Quiet Room. Moments later, they broke through the Formation within the room and spread outward.

The Formation could not block the fluctuations from his body. They spread from the Quiet Room throughout the Longevity Palace, then across the entire Immortal Palace, and even reached every corner of the Life Realm Immortal Palace.

These fluctuations were not strong, only exceedingly faint. The vast majority of people did not sense these strange ripples, but some did notice something unusual.

Inside the Spirit Deer Palace, Yue Yao raised her head in astonishment, sensing the unusual fluctuations with puzzlement.

"What is this?"

"How strange!"

She reached out, trying to grasp something, but wisps of spiritual energy slid across her fingertips, and she caught nothing.

Inside the Green Ox Palace, the Green Ox Demon King awoke from his slumber, his face filled with bewilderment.

"What happened?"

He looked at the Planting Ball in his arms, then at his surroundings, still wearing a dazed expression.

Inside the Wuzhen Dao Palace, Xuan Zhen, who was in the process of transforming Divine Generals, also looked toward the sky in confusion. He seemed to have sensed an unusual fluctuation in the aura, but the fluctuation was extremely well concealed, making him wonder whether he had sensed it incorrectly.

Several Golden Core cultivators noticed it as well, but none could determine what the fluctuation was or where it came from. Thus, after being puzzled for a short while, they cast the matter to the backs of their minds, because the fluctuation had caused no effect whatsoever.

What they did not know was that every one of their movements was appearing in Yang Zhengshan's Sea of Consciousness.

Yang Zhengshan's Divine Soul had already become connected with the Twelve Golden Crystal Lotus. The invisible and mysterious Dao Intent had infected the Twelve Golden Crystal Lotus, allowing Yang Zhengshan to sense the entire Life Realm Immortal Palace.

It was as if he possessed a god's-eye view, looking down upon the entire Life Realm Immortal Palace.

Everything in the Life Realm Immortal Palace, every living thing and every Yin Soul, appeared within his heart.

"So this is Entering the Dao?"

Yang Zhengshan found the experience extremely novel.

"Unite the heart with the Dao, let the Dao govern life and death, and wander together with the Dao—this is what it means to be imperishable. So that is how it is!"

His heart trembled with excitement, while his Divine Soul leaped and cheered.

The Twelve Golden Crystal Lotus seemed to be cheering and trembling as well.

The Life Realm Immortal Palace seemed to be cheering and trembling too.

A faint halo was embedded in the Sky Vault, interweaving with the sunlight. It was the joy of the Life Realm Immortal Palace.

"It is a pity that I have only taken a half-step into the Dao!"

The corners of Yang Zhengshan's mouth unconsciously lifted.

A half-step into the Dao was still Entering the Dao!

He had actually advanced from minor mastery of Dao Intent straight into the Entering the Dao level, touching the threshold of Entering the Dao.

This single step had crossed the levels of great mastery and perfection in Dao Intent, utterly surpassing his imagination.

The one that had caused all this was the Authority Artifact, the Evergreen Bamboo Staff.

The Evergreen Bamboo Staff contained the Divine Path Intent of Life Control. Its essence was still the Way of Life and Death, and this Way of Life and Death happened to be in perfect accord with Yang Zhengshan's Wither-Prosper Dao Intent.

Yang Zhengshan had originally been more skilled in the Way of Great Void, but now the Way of Life and Death had overtaken it from behind and arrived first. This had greatly exceeded Yang Zhengshan's expectations, far beyond what he had anticipated.

Inside the Quiet Room, Yang Zhengshan exhaled heavily and slowly opened his eyes.

One of his eyes was black and the other white. The white was bright, while the black was deep and shadowy, yet they did not make him look strange. Instead, they were filled with a sense of harmony.

That was life and death, as well as yin and yang. Of course, it also contained withering and flourishing.

His Wither-Prosper Dao Intent had already advanced into the Way of Life and Death, and Yang Zhengshan had reached the level of Half-step Entering the Dao through the Way of Life and Death.

His cultivation was still at the Golden Core Mid Stage, but his Divine Soul realm had already reached the peak of the Golden Core Stage. He might still be inferior to those veteran experts at the Half-step Entering the Dao level, but he should be a match for the vast majority of Golden Core Peak cultivators.

The Way of Life and Death controlled life and death. It could control not only one's own life and death, but also the life and death of others.

Its abilities were actually not much different from those of the Wither and Flourish Divine Ability. It was simply that when Yang Zhengshan used the Wither and Flourish Divine Ability, the Lifespan he consumed would be greatly reduced.

At the same time, because of his comprehension of the Way of Life and Death, Yang Zhengshan had become more sensitive to life force, life, Undead Spirits, Yin Souls, and so on.

Everything related to life and death would be unable to escape his perception.

Yang Zhengshan gently brushed his hand over the Evergreen Bamboo Staff before him and said softly with a smile, "This is a Longevity Artifact!"

He had entered the Dao because of the Evergreen Bamboo Staff, and the Evergreen Bamboo Staff would also advance because of him.

It would advance from an Authority Artifact into a Spirit Treasure.

An Authority Artifact was a special existence. It stood between a Spirit Artifact and a Spirit Treasure. Because it lacked a Spirit of Artifact, it was inferior to a Spirit Treasure, but it had been formed from the Dao Intent of Heaven and Earth and thus possessed formidable might.

An outsider who wished to wield it had to pay a tremendous price—namely, Lifespan.

Yang Zhengshan had entered the Dao through the Evergreen Bamboo Staff and comprehended the Way of Life and Death. At the same time, the Evergreen Bamboo Staff had obtained the resources of the Way of Life and Death, broken free of the restraints imposed by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and advanced into a Spirit Treasure.

Although this would diminish the might of the Evergreen Bamboo Staff, it allowed Yang Zhengshan to wield it freely.

"But is a staff really appropriate? I am still young and have no use for a cane yet!"

Yang Zhengshan raised the bamboo staff, smiled, grasped its end, and gave it a light flick.

In an instant, the bamboo staff shortened drastically, leaving only about two chi. From the dragon's head at its tip, a tuft of silk thread emerged from the dragon's mouth, and the bamboo staff transformed into a Fly Whisk.

Yang Zhengshan draped the Fly Whisk over his arm, its snow-white silk threads falling to his knees.

"You are quite clever!"

The New Spirit of Artifact was still very immature, but this Spirit of Artifact had been born with extraordinary advantages.