Swallow Sun and Moon

There are six days left until the First Emperor arrives at Langya.

That day, under the guidance of Jiang Yan, Chen Jin had just completed a visualization of the Zhuangzi. Feeling mentally fatigued, he sat opposite Jiang Yan in a quiet room beside the library to drink tea.

Chen Jin set down his teacup and brought up the topic: "Libationer, it is rumored outside that the First Emperor's eastern tour is for the purpose of traveling to Langya Terrace to offer sacrifices to the Lord of the Four Seasons and to welcome the elixir of immortality that the alchemist Xu Fu is bringing back from the sea. Have you heard of this?"

Jiang Yan lifted his eyelids slightly, blew the tea foam aside, and said indifferently, "News travels fast. Indeed, that is the case."

Chen Jin leaned forward slightly, asking a question that had been circling in his mind for a long time: "There is one thing this junior does not understand. If that Xu Fu truly obtained the elixir of immortality on the immortal mountains overseas, the world is vast and wide—why would he return? Wouldn't it be more pleasant to consume it himself and live as a carefree immortal? Why return to the strictly governed Xianyang to bow and serve as a subject?"

Hearing this, a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of Jiang Yan's mouth. He set down his cup and looked at Chen Jin: "Little friend, you have mistaken a key cause and effect."

"Oh? Please enlighten me, Libationer."

"It is not because the First Emperor believed Xu Fu could obtain the elixir of immortality that he sent him to sea," Jiang Yan said. "Rather, it is because the First Emperor possessed the means to ensure Xu Fu had to return no matter what, that he entrusted him with such a heavy responsibility, granting him massive resources like giant ships, young boys and girls, craftsmen, and grains."

"The means to ensure his return?"

"Correct," Jiang Yan nodded. "The First Emperor is a man of great talent and bold vision, calculating every move without error; would he ever make a losing deal? Xu Fu is merely a pawn that has been released; the string has always been firmly held in His Majesty's hand. His return was never a choice, but an inevitability."

"But this junior once heard that Xu Fu is hailed as the world's foremost alchemist, particularly skilled in stove-side alchemy, summoning gods, and exorcising ghosts. His strength should be quite formidable, right? And he seems to be a native of Langya in the Qi region. I wonder if you know him, Libationer? And did he ever study at Jixia Academy?"

Jiang Yan smiled without answering, pointing to the unrolled scroll of Zhuangzi: Qie Qie on the desk: "Daydreaming all day—put your energy into your studies. Let me test you today: 'If the sages do not die, the great thieves will not cease.' You have been studying Taoist texts recently; what is your insight on this statement?"

Chen Jin pondered for a moment: "Libationer, in my humble opinion, perhaps Zhuangzi does not mean that the sages themselves are evil. Rather, it refers to the drawbacks that arise when the world excessively promotes and solidifies a certain standard of a 'sage'—such as absolute wisdom, flawless morality, or some unquestionable paradigm of the elite."

He gathered his thoughts and continued: "This deified benchmark of a 'sage' invisibly draws a line. Those who fit are revered, while those who do not are viewed as 'mediocre,' 'fools,' or even 'heretics.' While this is intended to encourage goodness and progress, it can also create a vast number of 'unqualified' people and incite antagonistic identities. If I can never reach your standard of a 'sage,' why should I follow your rules? It would be better to become a 'great thief,' enjoying vengeance and gratitude, and thus breaking free from the shackles. Therefore, it is not the sage himself who invites the great thief, but the act of establishing an unquestionable, perfect idol, whose exclusion and repression give birth to opposition and rebellion."

Jiang Yan listened quietly, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the bamboo slips.

Chen Jin's answer was novel, even somewhat heterodox. After a long while, Jiang Yan neither expressed agreement nor offered a rebuttal, only sighing leisurely: "...An interesting perspective. The principles of the world are indeed like mountains that look different from every angle. Little friend's perspective is always unexpected."

"I am a bit tired today; let us continue another time."

With that, Jiang Yan rose and left.

After seeing Jiang Yan off, Chen Jin couldn't help but pat his forehead in annoyance.

His seven precious daily opportunities for guidance had not yet been exhausted, and his [Daoist Technique Mastery] had just reached 50%. With Jiang Yan leaving now, today's progress was effectively stalled.

He had been too full of himself, chatting about philosophy until he chased the man away.

He shook his head helplessly and turned back to dive into the vast collection of the library, hoping to find some lower-threshold Taoist classics suitable for his current level of visualization.

Hard work pays off; he actually found a black jade slip that felt cold to the touch in an inconspicuous corner.

[Secret Record of Taiyin Eclipse]

Category: Skill Visualization Object

Quality: Rare

Basic Requirements: Daoist Technique Mastery 50%, Classical Literature Mastery 60%

"In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of the Tao, every day something is dropped. Drop and drop again, until you reach non-action."

"This is it!" Chen Jin did not hesitate. He paid the Yanfu Points, gripped the jade slip, and his mind sank completely into the visualization realm of the "Taiyin Eclipse"...

The scene of the library before him instantly dissolved, and his consciousness was pulled into a void of darkness.

In the center of this boundless darkness, a bright, full moon quietly emerged, emitting a cold and pure radiance, becoming the only light source and center of this world.

The moonlight poured down like liquid silver, full of tranquility, perfection, and an inviolable quality—this symbolized the "fullness" state of things at their peak.

Chen Jin's consciousness, like a tiny speck of stardust, hovered before the bright moon, feeling this ultimate "fullness."

Suddenly, a trace of indescribable "power of void" quietly permeated the space.

It had no shape, no temperature; it was more like the manifestation of a rule, like the shadow cast by the "Heavenly Dog" in mythology, gently touching the edge of the moon.

The edge of the moon that was touched naturally dimmed.

A tiny gap appeared in the perfect circle; the "first contact" had begun.

The spread of the "shadow" was steady and irreversible.

The gap gradually widened; the moon changed from a full moon to a crescent, then to an even thinner hook... Finally, the last sliver of silver was "eaten away," and the entire moon completely merged into the darkness behind it, returning the world to total gloom.

This was the "totality of the eclipse."

The fullness had been "dropped" to the extreme, completely turning from "solid" to "void."

A majestic vitality, "waiting for rebirth," was gestating in this moment of extreme darkness.

He truly realized that "void" was not "nothingness," but contained the infinite opportunity for the next "fullness."

Just at the peak of this darkness, a tiny point of light stubbornly lit up again from the edge of the moon, like the first seed sprouting in the dark. The radiance expanded slowly and firmly, dispelling the "shadow" and reshaping the moon.

From a sliver of silver edge to a half-disk of clear radiance, the full, luminous moon finally hung once more in the darkness, completing its return from "void" to "fullness."

The cycle of the Heavenly Dao is eternal and repetitive, and the essence of the Secret Record of Taiyin Eclipse lies in teaching one to grasp the mystery of "diminishment"—to guide an opponent into a state of "void" precisely when they are at their "fullest."

You have comprehended a new skill and may name it freely.

The skill has been named: [Swallow Sun and Moon]

[Swallow Sun and Moon]:

Upon activating this skill, the essence of anything you come into contact with will be forcibly extracted and stripped away. These plundered essences are rapidly refined and purified within your body, used to mend your injuries and strengthen the foundation of your physical form.