Enlightenment of Life and Death

With the resolution of the Three Purities Hall finalized, Maoshan's massive machine immediately began operating with great efficiency.

The three elders, Xuan Ji, Qing Ming, and Qing Yun, personally led teams carrying the sect's finest array materials and vast resources as they rushed to the newly discovered fissure.

They began setting up isolation and purification arrays, striving to contain the influence of the Yellow Springs death qi within the smallest possible area.

At the same time, orders to track down the whereabouts of the "key" spread in every direction through various channels, making the undercurrents throughout the cultivation world even more turbulent.

Mo Yuan did not accompany the team to the fissure. His task was more long-term and central—to increase his strength and prepare for the eventual purification of the Yellow Springs Skeleton.

Sect Master Shi Jian granted special approval, opening the fifth floor of the sect's Scripture Pavilion to him without time limit. He could consult any books related to lightning arts, talismans, and arrays, while all cultivation resources were supplied to him as a priority.

However, Mo Yuan did not immediately immerse himself in the vast sea of books within the Scripture Pavilion.

He knew well that against an existence like the Yellow Springs Skeleton, one involving the origin of life and death and the level of laws, mere accumulation of knowledge was no longer enough. What he needed more was a profound understanding of the essence of the Great Dao.

After seeking permission from the sect master and his master, he decided to personally travel to the outskirts of the fissure, experience the might of the Yellow Springs death qi and the Nine Nether Forbidden Demon Array at close range, and seek a breakthrough amid danger.

Although Uncle Nine was worried, he knew his disciple's Dao heart was resolute and that his heaven-defying comprehension protected him. In the end, he nodded in agreement, though he repeatedly warned Mo Yuan never to approach the core of the demon array.

Several days later, Mo Yuan arrived alone at the edge of Burial Demon Valley once more.

From afar, the newly split fissure looked like a savage scar across the earth, gray-black baleful qi mingling with the heart-chilling gray-yellow Yellow Springs death qi.

It rose like curling smoke signals, staining the entire sky above it dark.

Even from such a great distance, an icy chill that seemed to herald the end of all things and the freezing of souls rushed toward him.

The disciples led by the three elders were busily working around the fissure. Streams of spiritual light and talismans were driven into the ground, while array flags were planted along mysterious paths.

They outlined the rudiments of a massive array, attempting to construct a powerful spiritual barrier to isolate and purify the leaking Yellow Springs death qi.

Mo Yuan did not disturb them. He chose a relatively high cliff several miles from the fissure and sat down cross-legged.

From this angle, he could clearly see the enormous black skeletal outline faintly visible in the depths of the fissure, as well as the dark-red, dizzying Nine Nether Forbidden Demon Array surrounding it.

He restrained the spiritual power around his body, maintaining his life force with only the most basic cultivation art.

Then, he cautiously opened a sliver of his divine sense barrier and took the initiative to contact and perceive the Yellow Springs death qi filling the air.

"Bzz—!"

It was as if icy needles had pierced his soul.

An intent of death, decay, and ending so pure it reached the extreme fed back through his divine sense.

In an instant, Mo Yuan seemed to see illusions before his eyes: all things withering, stars falling silent, the universe returning to thermal death, all existence losing meaning, leaving only eternal dead silence and nothingness...

The circulation of his blood and qi instantly slowed, his spiritual power became sluggish, and even his thoughts seemed about to freeze.

And this was only the death qi leaking from the outskirts, diluted countless times over.

The Soul Cleansing Banner shook violently within his sea of consciousness, releasing a brilliant clear radiance that firmly protected the core of his divine soul and blocked the terrifying intent of death outside.

The undying Thunder Emperor's Will also stirred on its own, radiating majestic heavenly might as it dispersed the cold death qi invading his body.

Mo Yuan held fast to the last point of clarity in his spiritual platform. Enduring the discomfort at the soul level, he did not immediately sever his perception. Instead, he activated his Primordial Comprehension and forcibly analyzed and understood the essence of the Yellow Springs death qi!

"Death... is not merely destruction and ending..."

Amid extreme pain and cold, his thoughts instead became increasingly brilliant and clear, like diamonds tempered in fire. "Death is also the beginning of life; yin is the root of yang... Yellow Springs connects yin and yang and governs death.

Beyond ending, could its aura also contain a trace... of an opportunity for reincarnation?

Could the Nine Nether Demon Array's configuration of 'life arising from death' be revealing exactly this?"

He recalled the faint Traces of Samsara Law he had received from the system's sign-in.

Now, stimulated by the dense Yellow Springs death qi, that previously dormant trace of law actually stirred slightly, resonating with his comprehension.

He no longer resisted the erosion of the death qi. Instead, he tried to use his own Dao foundation as a bridge, drawing upon that trace of Samsara Law to touch, contain, and analyze the law fragments hidden within the Yellow Springs death qi.

This was an extremely dangerous process, like walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss.

If his comprehension could not keep up, or if the Samsara Law failed to balance the death qi, his Dao foundation and even his soul could be assimilated by Yellow Springs, reducing him to dry bones that knew only death.

But Mo Yuan's Dao heart was unshakable, and his Primordial Comprehension was even more heaven-defying.

In his perception, the Yellow Springs death qi, once filled with destruction and despair, began to reveal more complex "textures."

He "saw" within it the laws of "decomposition," "returning to silence," and "settling," while also faintly catching an extremely obscure intent of "transformation," "waiting," and "new life."

The cycle of life and death was not a simple repetition, but a spiraling movement of laws that rose ever higher.

Death was not the endpoint, but accumulation and preparation for life in another form.

"I understand!"

Mo Yuan suddenly saw the light. "The intent of 'creation and destruction' within the Five Thunder Divine Method does not merely refer to creation and annihilation. On a deeper level, it is the force that drives this cycle of life and death, the circulation of all things.

Lightning is not merely synonymous with destruction. It is also the first light that opens heaven and earth and gives birth to life! The lightning of creation contains this principle!"

His understanding of the Five Thunder Divine Method, especially the two intents of "creation and destruction" and "creation," underwent a qualitative leap at this moment! Though he was still far from truly mastering them, he had found the direction.

At the same time, the Thunder Source Dao Seed within his Dantian was stimulated by the intent of life and death and the Samsara Law. It trembled slightly, more mysterious patterns appearing on its surface as its growth accelerated by a fraction.

"System, sign in!"

[ Ding! Sign-in successful! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Top-Grade Spirit Stone x5, Yin-Yang Enlightenment Stone (Fragment) x1, Life-Death Talisman Basic Concept x1, residual aura of the Primordial World: one strand of pure Innate Yin-Yang Energy (weak)!]

[Yin-Yang Enlightenment Stone (Fragment)]: A fragment of a strange stone containing the mysteries of the Yin-Yang Great Dao. It can assist in comprehending yin-yang transformations and the cycle of life and death.

[Life-Death Talisman Basic Concept]: A rudimentary talisman art concept derived from insights into the cycle of life and death. If perfected, it can command life force and control death qi.

[One strand of pure Innate Yin-Yang Energy (weak)]: The source qi from before heaven and earth were separated. It can harmonize all things and balance life and death, making it one of the foundations for cultivating the supreme Great Dao.

The rewards once again perfectly matched his insights.

The Yin-Yang Enlightenment Stone could help him deepen his understanding, the Life-Death Talisman concept opened a new door to talisman arts for him, and that strand of Innate Yin-Yang Energy was an unparalleled treasure.

He immediately guided that strand of qi into his Dantian, allowing it to coexist with his thunder true essence, Chaos Qi, Demonic Origin Source droplets, and the rest.

As the yin-yang energy entered his body, he immediately felt his Dao foundation become more stable and harmonious.

The meridians and divine soul that had suffered slight damage from his forced comprehension of the Yellow Springs death qi rapidly recovered under this harmonizing power, becoming even tougher than before.

His understanding of the intent of life and death also became more lucid.

Just as he was immersed in the gains from his enlightenment, a sudden change erupted from the direction of the fissure.

Perhaps the isolation array set by the three elders had disturbed a certain balance, or perhaps the Yellow Springs Skeleton had instinctively sensed a threat.

"Roar—!!!"

A silent roar seemingly originating from the Nine Nether Hell, filled with endless resentment and violence, suddenly erupted from the depths of the fissure.

It was not a sound on the physical level, but an impact that struck directly at the soul.

In an instant, the winds and clouds changed color.

The Yellow Springs death qi erupting from the fissure surged several times over, sweeping outward like a tsunami.

The dark-red glow of the Nine Nether Forbidden Demon Array blazed brightly. Countless twisted demonic patterns writhed as if they had come alive, radiating an oppressive aura of despair.

"Not good! The demon array is acting up! The death qi is erupting! Reinforce the array!"

Uncle Xuan Ji's furious roar rang out.

The disciples setting up the array around the perimeter all turned pale. They desperately poured spiritual power into the incomplete formation.

Spiritual light violently collided with the surging gray-yellow death qi, producing sizzling sounds of corrosion. The light barrier shook violently, on the verge of collapse.

Even more terrifying was the invisible soul roar sweeping over them. Many Qi Refinement disciples immediately clutched their heads and screamed, black blood seeping from their seven orifices as their divine souls suffered severe damage.

Even several stewards in the early Foundation Establishment stage went pale and swayed on their feet.

Mo Yuan bore the brunt of it.

He was the closest, and because he had previously taken the initiative to sense the death qi, a faint connection had formed between his divine soul and the Yellow Springs Skeleton.

Now, most of this wrathful soul impact came crushing down upon him.

"Be careful!"

Uncle Nine's cry of alarm seemed to come from the distant horizon.

Mo Yuan only felt an indescribably terrifying will, gathering the dead silence of eternity and the resentment of a Demon God, stab fiercely into his sea of consciousness like hundreds of millions of ice awls.

The clear radiance of the Soul Cleansing Banner was instantly suppressed to its limit, letting out a mournful cry.

The Thunder Emperor's Will erupted with thunderous might on its own to resist, yet it was like a candle flame in a raging wind, swaying on the verge of extinction.

His consciousness was almost overwhelmed, frozen, and assimilated by this terrifying torrent of will.

Life and death hung by a thread!