Three Disasters and Eight Calamities

After making a killing and scouring the Yin Yang Domain, Xuanji immediately distanced himself. He had no desire to clash with the Yin Yang Spirit just yet; the gap in cultivation was too vast, and he lacked the confidence. Furthermore, he intended to frame the Illusion Clan. Having learned of the six clans of the Eastern Wasteland from the Yin Yang Spirit and witnessed the might of the Shadow Clan, inciting a war between the six clans would be entirely beneficial to him with no downside.

A top-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Yin Yang Soil, plus the Yin Yang Qi—it seems my Ancient Wild World is truly about to undergo a massive evolution. With the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao deriving Yin and Yang, the world is one step closer to perfection. It will smoothly deduce the profound mysteries of Yin and Yang, helping me break through my shackles and ascend to the Hexu realm. Pondering this, Xuanji sped away, heading once more toward the desolate mountains and treacherous waters. This endless forest of demonic trees likely still harbored members of the Eastern Wasteland's six clans; cultivating within it was far from safe.

Returning to the mountainside cave with practiced ease, Xuanji immediately sealed the entrance. The cave was vast and featured several ventilation shafts, so sealing the opening had no impact on him.

Once inside, he immediately sat cross-legged on his stone platform and allowed his consciousness to enter the main Primordial Spirit within the Ancient Wild World. He saw that the world had changed drastically; the sky was filled with black and white radiance, and the Yin Yang Qi blanketed the heavens, thick and potent. The large area he had cleared earlier had now formed a hundred-meter Yin Yang region, with the Sun Moon Pearl gestating within it. Beneath the earth, a Yin Yang spiritual vein had formed under the guidance of the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao using the Sun Moon Pearl, circulating endlessly and continuously emitting Yin Yang spiritual energy to saturate the Ancient Wild World.

With a single thought, his main Primordial Spirit perceived the entire world. It had evolved to a size of fifteen thousand li, and the mountains and rivers had more than doubled in scale. The increase in world power was immense, and his main Primordial Spirit's cultivation had already risen to the early stage of the Hexu realm.

This is the perfect opportunity to use the Yin Yang Qi to forge a Yin Yang Dao Body. At present, his main Primordial Spirit lacked a physical form, and his Primordial Avatar could also absorb the Yin Yang Qi to advance further.

His Primordial Avatar was currently only half a step away from the early stage of the Earth Immortal realm. With this absorption of Yin Yang Qi to elevate its essence, Xuanji was confident he could reach the Earth Immortal realm in one go, at which point he would possess at least a modicum of self-preservation.

Whoosh!

Under Xuanji's control, the Primordial Avatar soared upward, entering the midst of the Yin Yang clouds. With the aid of the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao, the Yin Yang Qi did not harm him. The Primordial Avatar easily absorbed the Qi into its body, fusing and digesting it to begin elevating its own essence. As the Qi entered, the Primordial Avatar exploded with a roar, forming a three-dimensional Taiji Diagram a hundred meters in diameter. Within the diagram lay the profound mysteries of the Eight Trigrams, with the powers of the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend flowing alongside the Yin and Yang, while the Primordial Origin stood firmly at the center.

Great surges of Yin Yang Qi poured into the Taiji Diagram. The Yin Yang power gradually balanced with the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend forces. After a long while, the two forces stood in equilibrium, rivaling each other without yielding. At that moment, under Xuanji's control, the Taiji Diagram spun rapidly, leaving trails of afterimages as the Yin Yang power and the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend forces began to merge into one under the momentum of the Taiji.

Boom!

The world trembled, and the Yin Yang clouds churned in chaos. A formidable pressure permeated and enveloped the entire Ancient Wild World. The Yin Yang power had successfully merged with the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend forces; under the influence of the Primordial Origin, the Taiji Diagram dissipated, then gathered and condensed into shape.

Bang!

The Primordial Avatar shuddered, and the surrounding Yin Yang Qi retreated. Sensing that the avatar's cultivation had reached the early stage of the Earth Immortal realm, Xuanji felt no joy, his face instead turning dark and gloomy.

The Three Calamities and Eight Disasters? I didn't expect this to happen. Pondering inwardly, as his cultivation reached the early Earth Immortal stage, Xuanji gained insight into many mysteries, among them the Three Calamities and Eight Disasters. Cultivating the Profound Art of Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend required these calamities to descend. The Heavenly Dipper transformation brought the Eight Disasters—Drought, Flood, Plague, Famine, Insects, Ghosts, Beasts, and Monsters—while the Earthly Fiend transformation brought the Three Calamities—Lightning, Fire, and Wind. None were trivial; if one's mastery of the profound art was shallow and one failed to survive the calamities, the cultivation would be nothing but a pipe dream.

Xuanji did not know much about the Eight Disasters of the Heavenly Dipper, but he was familiar with the Three Calamities of the Earthly Fiend from descriptions in his past life's Journey to the West. When Sun Wukong cultivated the Earthly Fiend Profound Art, Patriarch Bodhi had said: "This is an extraordinary path, seizing the creation of heaven and earth and invading the mysteries of the sun and moon. Once the elixir is formed, gods and demons will not tolerate it. Though it grants longevity, after five hundred years, heaven will send a lightning calamity to strike you; you must see your nature and clear your mind to dodge it in advance. If you dodge it, you will live as long as heaven; if not, your life will end. Another five hundred years later, heaven will send a fire calamity to burn you. This fire is not heavenly fire, nor is it earthly fire; it is called Yin Fire. It will rise from your Yongquan acupoint, pierce straight to your Niwan Palace, turn your five viscera to ash, and rot your four limbs, rendering your thousand years of bitter toil a mere illusion. Another five hundred years later, a wind calamity will blow upon you. This wind is not the wind of the four directions, nor the gentle breeze, nor the wind of flowers and trees; it is called the Guai Wind. It will blow into your six entrails from your fontanelle, pass through your Dantian, pierce your nine orifices, and dissolve your flesh and bone, and you will know it yourself."

The Three Calamities of the Earthly Fiend would descend over fifteen hundred years. With the knowledge from Journey to the West, Xuanji was not afraid. The lightning calamity was the easiest; with the aid of the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao, it was no different from a supplement for the Dao. The Yin Fire and Guai Wind were harder to survive, as they were inextinguishable, but they required the art of transformation; as long as he transformed away his Yongquan acupoint and fontanelle, he could pass through them easily. Over fifteen hundred years, Xuanji felt the difficulty was manageable.

His only concern was the Eight Disasters of the Heavenly Dipper, which were terrifying. They were certainly not trivial, and Xuanji had no idea when they would arrive or how to survive them. This was a massive problem; if they struck at a critical moment while he was unprepared, he would surely perish!

Everything follows a sequence. The Three Calamities are like this, and so are the Eight Disasters. The Eight Disasters of the Heavenly Dipper follow the order of Drought, Flood, Plague, Famine, Insects, Ghosts, Beasts, and Monsters. These are not worth mentioning for now. Although my supernatural powers are not yet perfected, minor arts like flying, shifting, summoning wind and rain, or controlling ghosts are not difficult. But I fear things will not be so simple! Xuanji was puzzled. When he thought about it, the Eight Disasters were all mundane troubles that should pose no pressure to a cultivator. However, the power of the Heavenly Dipper transformation was even greater than that of the Earthly Fiend; even if the number of disasters was higher, the gap should not be this large.

Sigh! There is no other way for now; I must take it one step at a time. Improving my cultivation is the priority. With formidable strength, passing the Eight Disasters should not be difficult. Unable to find an answer, Xuanji put the matter aside for the moment and began his cultivation. Now that his Primordial Avatar had broken through the shackles to the early Earth Immortal stage, the path to the peak of the Earth Immortal realm was smooth, and he need not worry for now. What he needed to do was forge the Yin Yang Dao Body, which required the power of the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao.

Possessing an abundance of Yin Yang Qi and his memories from his past life, he understood the mysteries of the human body well. Integrating the principles of the One Origin, Two Instruments, Three Talents, Four Symbols, Five Elements, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, and Ten Directions, it was not difficult to derive a Yin Yang Dao Body with the help of the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao.

Whoosh!

Great surges of Yin Yang Qi began to gather and fuse under the power of the Heavenly Dao. Enveloped by various profound principles and the mysteries of creation, the Heavenly Dao used the Yin Yang Qi as a foundation to shape a human Dao body according to the most perfect method: five viscera and six entrails, bones and meridians, flesh and facial features, skin and hair...

Time passed, and eventually, a perfectly formed human Dao body floated in the sky. By now, the Yin Yang Qi had grown thin; creating both the Primordial Avatar and the Yin Yang Dao Body had consumed a vast amount.

Whoosh!

The main Primordial Spirit transformed into a golden rainbow and plunged into the Yin Yang Dao Body. In an instant, he took control, moving with ease and natural grace. The Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao had been shaped according to the main Primordial Spirit, so they were naturally compatible—if not one hundred percent, then at least ninety-nine. As the Primordial Spirit merged with the Yin Yang Dao Body, a ripple emanated outward, causing the entire world to tremble and all vegetation to bow in submission.

Mid-stage Hexu? Merging with the Yin Yang Dao Body has boosted me by a small realm. It seems that after a period of cultivation and refinement, reaching the peak of the Hexu realm will not be difficult. Xuanji was overjoyed. With the Yin Yang Dao Body, his main Primordial Spirit could exert his magic power exponentially, and his cultivation speed would increase significantly.

With all tasks completed, Xuanji began to have the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao use the Sun Moon Pearl to deduce the principles of Yin and Yang, helping his original demon body break through its shackles and ascend to the Hexu realm.

While Xuanji cultivated in the mountainside cave, the Yin Yang Spirit, having learned of the Shadow Clan from Xuanji, had gone to investigate. After confirming the information with a member of the Shadow Clan, it was in a state of turmoil when it suddenly discovered its lair was empty. Its guardian treasure, the Sun Moon Pearl, was gone, not a trace of Yin Yang Soil remained, and even the Yin Yang Qi had been completely drained—it was cleaned out to the extreme. Enraged to the point of vomiting blood, it immediately concluded that the Illusion Emperor was responsible.

In the Yin Yang Spirit's understanding, only the Illusion Clan of the Eastern Wasteland could shapeshift, and to change into a physical form required the royal bloodline of the Illusion Clan. It was convinced that the Illusion Emperor had stolen the treasure. It was arrogant enough to believe that only the six clan emperors could accomplish such a feat, and since Xuanji had led it to suspect the Illusion Clan, it naturally thought of the Illusion Emperor.

After a fruitless search, the Yin Yang Spirit's body churned, and two balls of black and white mixed flames emerged like eyes. The Yin Yang Qi condensed, forming a giant three zhang tall, with bulging muscles and hundreds of Yin Yang spikes manifesting on its back. Yin Yang flames steamed and scorched atop its head, and its eyes, nose, and ears were all formed from Yin Yang flames.

If this ancestor does not destroy the Illusion Clan, the hatred in my heart will not be quelled. Since he wants to deal with the Shadow Clan, I will help the Shadow Clan. Hmph, it is the perfect time to find a few friends to conspire! Having decided, the Yin Yang Spirit transformed into a rainbow of Yin and Yang and streaked across the sky, heading straight for the southeast depths of the demonic tree forest. Along the way, it spread news claiming that the Illusion Clan was gathering the blood of giant beasts to manifest a true God-Devil body, while also framing the Shadow Clan. The Yin Yang Spirit was determined to use the power of the Shadow Clan to annihilate the Illusion Clan, reclaim the Sun Moon Pearl, and vent its fury.

In an instant, the entire Eastern Wasteland was thrown into chaos. A massive, brutal war was brewing. The Illusion Emperor was furious, the Shadow Emperor was anxious, the other four emperors had their own agendas, the hundred-odd minor clans under the six major clans were plotting, and the giant beasts were uniting in self-preservation.

At this time, Xuanji's cultivation of the Hexu path was gradually getting on track. The Hexu chapter of the Eight Meridians Mystic Pole was basically perfected, and with the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao using the top-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Sun Moon Pearl, to deduce the principles, the mysteries of Yin and Yang were continuously flowing from simple to profound into Xuanji's mind. As he grasped these principles, his aura began to surge and rise.

The Hexu realm—it was already right before his eyes!