Discourse in the Void, First Trial of Lunar Yin

The eternally silent moonlight suddenly overturned the Douluo Continent at this moment.

The once clear and normal night sky was devoid of wind and clouds, and there were no strange phenomena or roars. All sounds, fluctuations of Soul Power, and the breaths of living beings in the world were silently swallowed up.

The entire sky shed its daytime azure and nighttime inky black, transforming into an extremely pure, cold, and boundless silver-white. It was not the luster of mortal stars and moon, but the Lunar Divine Radiance of the moon that transcended the three realms and six paths, surpassing all earthly deities.

Yun Jingheng stood in the void, and the moonlight Soul Power surrounding him suddenly froze.

That book, having consolidated and integrated Lunar Yin lunar energy over many years, and accumulated the essence of several years of cultivation, touched upon the ultimate source of the moon.

But in that instant, he clearly sensed a gaze descending from beyond billions of stars and from the vast expanse of time.

This was not a spy from Titled Douluo, nor a scrutiny from a god; it was a distant perception from a higher-dimensional divinity that transcended time and space, a supreme being who alone wielded the destiny of the Lunar Yin, and the ultimate glimpse of the world's only Moon Daoist.

No one can see the true face of the God-King, and no one can explore the realm of the Yue Shen God.

In the vast, boundless divine void, a soft, faint female voice, carrying an ancient indifference yet concealing a hint of surprise, rang out, ethereal and distant, settling upon this humble sub-plane:

[Oh? A mere lower realm can actually produce someone Lunar Yin energy resonates perfectly with mine, sharing the same origin and essence?]

That's quite rare.

In the eyes of all beings, only the Moonlight descended from the sky, gentle yet carrying an absolute sense of superiority. The rules of heaven and earth of the entire Douluo Continent, and the shackles of Godhood positions remaining in the Divine Realm, all quietly melted away under this cold and holy gaze.

All the Moonlight in the world, the essence of the moon that has fallen on the earth for millions of years, nourishing living beings and nurturing Soul Power, all flowed backward into the sky, crossed the void barrier, and gathered around Yun Jingheng.

The fragmented Yue Shen power flowing around him, the subtle imperfections that had prevented him from ever reaching the true origin, were gradually filled, repaired, and perfected in this cold and vast divine gaze.

A faint, clear ringing sound emanated from deep within the bones, and the pure and immaculate Lunar Yin light surged in the sea of the soul. The originally mottled and incomplete rudimentary Godhood position rapidly solidified, took shape, and became perfect under the infusion of endless lunar power and the crowning of the Yue Shen's will.

At this moment, Yun Jingheng heard a whisper that transcended eternity, ethereal and cold, holy and gentle, without sorrow or joy, yet it resonated throughout the very source of his soul and was etched into the trajectory of his destiny:

[You tread my path, receive my moon's grace, and have traversed the world for many years, your original heart unchanged.]

[Now, with a single glance, I grant you the fulfillment of your path and bestow upon you the Yin Force.]

[From this day forward, the mortal realm will have no moonlit path, for you alone will hold the power of the Lunar Yin.]

Yun Jingheng opened his eyes.

As far as the eye could see, there was neither Maple Leaf Forest nor the night sky of Star Luo City, nor any place he was familiar with.

It was a silvery-white void, without sky or earth, without up or down, without near or far.

He stood there—no, he wasn't sure if he was really "standing," because there was no ground to step on, no gravity to rely on.

He simply exists here, like a drop of water falling into a boundless silver ocean.

The voice still echoed in his ears, ethereal, clear, and sacred. Every word seemed to be engraved into the depths of his soul, and even his heartbeat was drawn by the lingering resonance of the voice, one beat after another.

"And you are?" Yun Jingheng asked.

The voice carried far, far away in the silvery void, so far that he himself felt it wasn't his voice, but rather someone else asking on his behalf from a great distance.

silence.

The silence lasted for a long time, so long that Yun Jingheng thought the owner of the voice had withdrawn his gaze, so long that he thought this silvery-white void would remain silent forever.

Then the voice rang out again.

It was closer than before, no longer a distant whisper from beyond billions of stars and countless ages, but as if someone were standing in front of him, a step away, answering him in a tone he could hear clearly but couldn't understand.

People call me: Lunar Primordial Sovereign.

"Lunar Yin... Lunar Primordial Sovereign?!"

Something seemed to explode in Yun Jingheng's mind.

He had heard the name Lunar Primordial Sovereign before, not in the Douluo Continent, but before he transmigrated.

In my spare time from researching my past life, I had an experience visiting a dojo...

The moon represents the essence of Lunar Yin, and symbolizes the empress and ministers.

It governs the Five Sacred Mountains, the Four Great Rivers, the Five Lakes, the Four Seas, the Twelve Streams, and all the offices of Fengdu and Luoshan.

On the three Yuan days, all the officials and assistants of the underworld would go to the Moon Palace to examine the records of life, death, sins and blessings of mortals and present them to the Supreme God. This was called the Book of Death in the Underworld.

"You... you..."

Yun Jingheng opened his mouth several times, his voice hoarse and unlike his own, "Are you the one worshipped by Daoists... the Moon Palace Lunar Primordial Sovereign? The Moon Lord who governs the sins and blessings of the dead? The Moon Palace Huanghua Suyao Yuanjing Shenghou Lunar Primordial Sovereign?"

The silvery-white void flowed slowly around him, like a river stirred by his words.

The voice rang out again, softer and fainter than before, but with a very subtle hint of surprise in its tone.

[You actually know my name? You are merely a lowly being from the lower realms, you shouldn't have any records of me. How did you learn this?]

[No, you are not a being of this world, nor do we share the same origin or spiritual essence; our divine senses cannot connect. Deep within our souls, you and I share the same lineage.]

Yun Jingheng's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

He traveled from that world to this place, carrying memories of his previous life and a vague impression of the Daoist scriptures.

"I... I'm not from the Douluo Plane."

His voice was hoarse. "I came from another world, a place called Earth. When I was on Earth, I saw your portrait in a Daoist temple and read your records."

"I thought it was just a legend, a myth created by the ancients. I thought you didn't exist."

The voice did not answer immediately.

A silvery-white void flowed slowly around him, as if digesting his words.

[You traversed heaven and earth to arrive in this place; how did you manage to achieve such an encounter?]

"... Actually, I haven't figured it out completely; I only know a general direction."

[That's interesting. I'll figure it out after I make some deductions.]

Can you tell me?

[The root of Yongzhen's wisdom lies not in seeking externally, but in introspection; then one can gain profound insight.]

???

I don't quite understand, could you be more direct?

Yun Jingheng stood there, in that boundless, silvery-white void, and suddenly felt very tired.

He just wanted to live a good life, to protect his friends, his family, and those who entrusted their lives to him.

Why does he carry so many burdens he doesn't want to bear, things he didn't choose to carry?

He didn't choose to travel through time, he didn't choose to become Godhood, and he didn't choose the Yin Force.

You are lost.

"... yes."

Yun Jingheng's voice was soft, "I don't know where I should go, I don't know if what I'm doing is right, I don't know if I can live up to these powers. I'm not sure about anything."

The voice did not sound again.

A silvery-white void flowed around him, like a river gently breathing in the night breeze.

A long time passed, so long that Yun Jingheng thought He had withdrawn His gaze, so long that the silvery-white void began to fade, before the voice rang out again.

Do you know the difference between humans, immortals, and gods?

Yun Jingheng was taken aback; he hadn't expected Him to ask this so suddenly. He thought for a moment.

"Humans are born, grow old, get sick, and die; they have seven emotions and six desires; they can cry, laugh, feel pain, and feel fear."

"Immortals... I'm not sure if immortals or gods exist in this world. I know that there are deities and Godhood in the Divine Realm. Gods don't age, get sick, or die, and they have immense power."

The voice remained silent for a moment.

[He's nothing but a brute with no substance, a mere facade of a false god.]

Yun Jingheng remained silent.

"False god."

Yun Jingheng repeated the word, his voice very soft, as if he were savoring its weight.

He had considered this question before—those deities in the Divine Realm, possessing Godhood, divine duties, and power surpassing that of mortals, but do they truly deserve the title of "god"?

Anger, jealousy, fear, Greed —they had it all.

They will fight for power, kill for personal desires, and sacrifice countless lives for their own interests.

They are not gods; they are people with great power.

They are far more powerful than ordinary people, but their essence remains unchanged.

[I have existed for countless ages, traversing all the lower realms and observing all the myriad Divine Realm.]

[ In the Divine Realm, all things are alike: gods vie for power, carve out their own territories, and establish their own laws. They boast of their superiority over all beings, looking down upon all living things, and presumptuously claim to be the very foundation of heaven and earth.]

[However, in my view, such beings are merely fortunate to have gained extraordinary power, but their character is far from befitting it.]

[Their Godhood were not obtained through arduous cultivation and enlightenment, but rather through cunning and force; they were not ordained by Heaven itself, but rather bestowed upon them through self- usurpation; they were not the result of countless ages of refinement and accumulation, but merely rose to prominence through a sudden stroke of luck. Such beings are unworthy of the title of deity.]

The voice paused for a moment, and a silvery-white void flowed around him, like a river gently breathing in the night breeze.

[You say that the gods of the Divine Realm possess only great power, and this is true. They lack the magnanimity and compassion of gods; ultimately, they cannot escape their mortal nature and are merely mortals with greater power.]

[However, they are actually inferior to ordinary people. Ordinary people understand their own limitations and the impermanence of life and death, therefore they cherish life, are grateful, have feelings, and hold reverence.]

[These false gods, who boast of their immortality, remain aloof and arrogant, utterly disdainful of everything. They have no appreciation for what they have, no understanding of gratitude or righteousness, no love or affection, and are fearless. Neither god nor human, their souls are empty, utterly worthless.]

Yun Jingheng felt as if something was choking him.

He thought of many things: the war in the Divine Realm in the original story, the things destroyed because of the gods' fighting, and the people who died because of the gods' selfish desires.

The joys and sorrows of countless lives are nothing but fleeting clouds in the eyes of those high and mighty false gods.

What are you thinking about?

"I'm thinking... he can do whatever he wants here, even the Plane Master has changed."

[The Plane Master? Is that the very person I just casually suppressed?]

???

"Ha?"

A silvery-white void flowed around him, and then the scene before Yun Jingheng's eyes changed.

It wasn't that boundless expanse of silvery white; it was another space.

A space he had never seen before, gray and shattered as if crushed by something.

The edge of the space was covered with countless tiny cracks, like a shattered piece of glass, slowly and irreversibly breaking apart.

In the center of the space, a person was lying down.

His body was pressed against a similarly shattered, gray, lifeless void.

His limbs were stretched out at an unnatural angle, as if he had been thrown from a height and injured like that.

His clothes were torn, revealing a scarred, aged yet robust body beneath.

His hair was gray-white, scattered on the ground, mixed with the shattered fragments of space.

His face was turned to the side, pressed against the shattered void. Yun Jingheng couldn't see his features clearly, only a closed eye and a bleeding wound that ran diagonally from his forehead to his jaw.

Yun Jingheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

He looked at the man's silhouette, at his figure, and at the fierce courage etched into his bones—a courage that couldn't be concealed even when he was lying on the ground, a courage honed through countless battles.

He knew this person, not from the Douluo Continent, but from those texts before he transmigrated.

That person's name is Tang Hao.

"... Tang Hao?"

Yun Jingheng's voice was hoarse, "That's... Tang Hao?"

The voice did not answer immediately.

A silvery-white void flowed slowly around him, as if giving him time to process the information.

[I do not recognize this person; judging from his expression, I can see he harbors malicious intentions.]

"How much force did you use?"

[Barely one in ten thousand chance; if it weren't for the protection of this world, how could he have survived until now?]

Only one ten-thousandth? Does that mean if the force were any greater, this entire plane would collapse?!

They have to be from the same hometown...

[Ignore these petty villains and continue our previous conversation. What are the images of immortals and gods in your mind? And what path do you yourself wish to embark on?]

Yun Jingheng looked at the silvery-white void, then glanced at Tang Hao in the scene, who was lying on the ground, unable to move under the pressure of even a fraction of the force.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his chaotic thoughts, and seriously considered the question of the Lunar Primordial Sovereign.

He remained silent for a long time.

A silvery-white void flowed slowly around him, like a patient, unhurried river.

He finally spoke, his voice not loud, but every word was clear.

"I don't want to be a god high above... I want to be an immortal, but what is an immortal?"

"One person and one mountain, that is immortality! The one who stands atop the mountain, that is immortality!"

The voice remained silent for a long time.

Yun Jingheng waited for a while before the voice sounded again, softer and fainter than before.

[A person standing atop a mountain is an immortal.]

The voice repeated his words, as if savoring the weight of each syllable.

[Yun Jingheng, this interpretation of the word "immortal" is the first I have ever heard of. I have lived through countless ages, traversed all the lower realms, seen countless cultivators, and met countless people who falsely claim to be immortals and gods, yet no one has ever interpreted this word with such simplicity, yet with such profound insight. It is not that people have never discussed the Dao, but rather that no one has ever spoken of it in this way.]

[People say that immortals are transcendent, dwelling high in the clouds, isolated from the mundane world. But you alone say: Immortals are those who stand atop mountains, born of mountains, and depend on mountains for their existence.]

Only with such insight can one live up to the legacy of the Chinese people.

The voice of Lunar Primordial Sovereign sounded quite satisfied.

[good.]

[Since that's the case, then by borrowing the laws of this world, I will bestow upon you a great destiny!]

[The Nine Trials of the Lunar Moon God, now beginning!]

[First Trial: Gazing Moon to Clarify the Mind - Stand under the moon and gaze at the full Full Moon for seven days. The illusion will conjure up the person you cherish most in your life, fame and fortune, regrets and grudges. The moonlight will amplify the greed and obsession in your heart.]

It requires maintaining a calm and undisturbed mind, a clear and pure Daoist heart, not being misled by illusions, and being able to forget worldly concerns while gazing at the moon.

Success: One Moon Dao Divine Power (according to the rules of this plane, this is a God-Bestowed Soul Ring).

Failure: Beset by inner demons, cultivation regresses, and one is forever barred from ever Moon-Touching Path again.

[The First Trial for the Taiyin Moon Goddess begins!]