After making a killing and ransacking the Yin Yang Domain, Xuanji immediately put some distance between himself and the place. He still had no intention of confronting the Yin Yang Spirit; the gap in their cultivation was simply too great, and he had little confidence in winning. Besides, he wanted to frame the Illusion Clan. He had learned about the Six Races of the Eastern Wasteland from the Yin Yang Spirit and witnessed the Shadow Clan's might. If he could provoke a war among the six races, it would bring him nothing but benefits.
"One top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Yin Yang Soil, and the Yin Yang energy. It seems my Ancient Wild World is about to undergo a major evolution. With the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao deriving Yin Yang, the world will take another step toward perfection. If all goes well, it'll deduce the profound truths of Yin Yang and help me break through my bottleneck, reaching the Hexu Realm." As he considered this, Xuanji sped away, once more heading toward the desolate, rugged wilderness. The vast forest of Demon Trees stretched as far as the eye could see, and there might still be members of the Six Races of the Eastern Wasteland within it. Cultivating there was hardly safe.
He returned along the familiar path to the cave halfway up the mountain and immediately sealed its entrance. The cave was spacious, with several vents, so blocking the entrance would not affect him at all.
As soon as he entered, he went to his stone platform and sat cross-legged. His consciousness entered the main soul in the Ancient Wild World. The world had changed dramatically: black and white light filled the sky, and dense Yin Yang energy blanketed it. The vast region he had previously cleared had now become a hundred-meter-wide Yin Yang area, with the Sun Moon Pearl gestating at its heart. With the Sun Moon Pearl's help, the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao had formed a Yin Yang spirit vein beneath the earth. It circulated without end, constantly releasing Yin Yang spiritual energy throughout the Ancient Wild World.
With a single thought, the main soul surveyed the entire world. It had now expanded to fifteen thousand li across. The mountains and rivers had grown more than twice as large, and the increase in the world's power was immense. The main soul's cultivation had also risen to the early stage of the Hexu Realm.
"This time, I can use the Yin Yang energy to forge a Yin Yang Dao Body." The main soul still had no physical form, and the Primordial Avatar could also absorb the Yin Yang energy to advance further.
The Primordial Avatar was now only half a step away from the early stage of the Earth Immortal Realm. By absorbing the Yin Yang energy to elevate its nature, Xuanji was confident he could reach the Earth Immortal Realm in one fell swoop. At that point, he would at least have a measure of power to protect himself.
Whoosh!
Under Xuanji's control, the Primordial Avatar soared into the clouds of Yin Yang energy. With the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao's help, the energy could not harm it. The avatar easily drew the Yin Yang energy into its body, merging and digesting it as it began to elevate its nature. As the energy entered, the Primordial Avatar suddenly exploded, forming a three-dimensional Taiji Diagram a hundred meters in diameter. The diagram contained the mysteries of the Eight Trigrams, while the powers of Heavenly Gang, Earthly Fiend, and Yin Yang flowed through it. The Primordial Origin stood firm at its center.
Great streams of Yin Yang energy poured into the Taiji Diagram. Gradually, the Yin Yang power reached equilibrium with Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend. After a long while, the forces had balanced, each holding its own, neither yielding to the other. At that moment, under Xuanji's control, the Taiji Diagram spun at tremendous speed, leaving phantom images in its wake. Following the movement of the Taiji, the Yin Yang power and the powers of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend began to merge.
Rumble!
Heaven and earth shook. The Yin Yang clouds surged into chaos, and a mighty aura swept over the entire Ancient Wild World. The Yin Yang power had fused with the powers of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend. Under the influence of the Primordial Origin, the Taiji Diagram dispersed, then gathered and took shape again.
Bang!
The Primordial Avatar shuddered, and the surrounding Yin Yang energy recoiled. Sensing that the avatar had reached the early stage of the Earth Immortal Realm, Xuanji felt no joy. His face darkened.
"The Three Disasters and Eight Calamities? I never expected this to be part of it." As he pondered the matter, Xuanji's breakthrough to the early stage of the Earth Immortal Realm had revealed many secrets to him, including the Three Disasters and Eight Calamities. Cultivating the Profound Art of Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend inevitably brought calamities. Heavenly Gang transformed into Eight Tribulations: drought, flood, plague, famine, pests, ghosts, beasts, and monsters. Earthly Fiend brought three calamities: lightning, fire, and wind. None were ordinary trials. If one's mastery of the Mysterious Art was too shallow to overcome the calamities, all one's cultivation would come to nothing.
Xuanji knew little about the Eight Tribulations of Heavenly Dipper, but he was familiar with the Three Calamities of Earthly Fiend. They had been described in Journey to the West in his previous life. Sun Wukong had cultivated the Earthly Fiend Profound Art, and Patriarch Bodhi had once said: "This is no ordinary art. It seizes the creations of heaven and earth and steals the mysteries of the sun and moon. Once your elixir is complete, even ghosts and gods will find you intolerable. Though it preserves your youth and prolongs your life, after five hundred years, Heaven will send a lightning calamity to strike you. You must see into your nature and understand your mind, and prepare to evade it in advance. If you survive, your lifespan will equal Heaven's; if you fail, your life will end. After another five hundred years, Heaven will send a fire calamity to burn you. This is neither heavenly fire nor mortal fire, but Yin Fire. It will rise from the Yongquan acupoint beneath your feet and burn straight through to the Niwan Palace. Your five organs will turn to ash, your limbs will rot, and a thousand years of arduous cultivation will become an illusion. After another five hundred years, a wind calamity will descend upon you. This is not the wind from the four directions, nor the gentle spring breeze, nor the wind through flowers, willows, pines, or bamboo. It is called the Guafeng. It will blow in through the crown of your head, pass through your six viscera, cross your dantian, and pierce your nine apertures. Your bones and flesh will waste away, and your body will perish."
The Three Calamities of Earthly Fiend would strike once every five hundred years, over a span of fifteen hundred years. With what he knew from Journey to the West, Xuanji was not afraid of them. The lightning tribulation would be the easiest; with the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao's help, it would be no more than nourishment for the Heavenly Dao. Yin Fire and Guafeng, however, would be harder to overcome. They could not be extinguished, so he would need the art of transformation. As long as he transformed away his Yongquan acupoints and the crown of his head, he could pass through them with ease. Fifteen hundred years did not seem too difficult to him.
What worried him was the terror of the Eight Tribulations of Heavenly Dipper and the Three Calamities of Earthly Fiend. The Eight Tribulations of Heavenly Dipper certainly would not be ordinary. What's more, Xuanji had no idea when they would arrive or how to overcome them. That was a serious problem. If they came at a critical moment, while he was completely unprepared, he would surely die!
"Everything follows a set order. The Three Calamities do, so the Eight Tribulations must as well. In order, the Eight Tribulations of Heavenly Dipper are drought, flood, plague, famine, pests, ghosts, beasts, and monsters. None of those seem worth mentioning at my current level. Though my divine arts and Dao techniques are not yet fully mastered, flying through the sky and burrowing underground, casting spells, summoning spirits, calling the wind and rain, and commanding ghosts are all within reach. But I'm afraid it won't be that simple!" Xuanji turned the matter over in his mind, yet could not make sense of it. The Eight Tribulations of Heavenly Dipper seemed like nothing more than mortal hardships, posing no challenge at all to cultivators. But the power of the Heavenly Gang Transformation surpassed that of the Earthly Fiend Transformation. Though it had more tribulations, the trials should not be much less difficult than the Three Calamities of Earthly Fiend.
"Alas, there's nothing I can do now. I'll just have to take things one step at a time. Raising my cultivation is more important. With enough strength, overcoming the Eight Tribulations shouldn't be difficult." Unable to figure it out, Xuanji set the matter aside for now and began cultivating. The Primordial Avatar had broken through its bottleneck and reached the early stage of the Earth Immortal Realm; the path to the peak of the Earth Immortal Realm was clear, so he did not need to worry about it for the time being. What he needed to do now was forge a Yin Yang Dao Body, and that would require the power of the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao.
With an abundant supply of Yin Yang energy and the knowledge of the human body he had gained in his previous life, Xuanji understood many of its mysteries. By incorporating the principles of the One Origin, Two Forms, Three Powers, Four Symbols, Five Elements, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, and Ten Perfections, he could use the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao to derive a Yin Yang Dao Body. It would not be difficult.
Whoosh!
Under the power of the Heavenly Dao, great streams of Yin Yang energy began gathering and merging into one. Countless profound principles and mysteries of creation enveloped them. Using Yin Yang energy as its foundation, the Heavenly Dao followed the most perfect method to forge a human Dao Body: the five organs and six viscera, bones and meridians, flesh and features, skin and hair...
No one knew how much time had passed. A perfectly formed human Dao Body floated in the sky. By then, the Yin Yang energy had grown faint; creating both the Primordial Avatar and the Yin Yang Dao Body had consumed a tremendous amount.
Whoosh!
The main soul transformed into a golden streak and entered the Yin Yang Dao Body. In an instant, it took control, moving with effortless ease. The Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao had been created based on the main soul, so the fit was naturally exceptional. It might not be a perfect match, but it was at least ninety-nine percent compatible. As the main soul merged with the Yin Yang Dao Body, a wave of power radiated outward. The entire world trembled, and every plant bowed its head.
"The middle stage of the Hexu Realm? I've just merged with the Yin Yang Dao Body, and my cultivation has already advanced by a minor realm. After cultivating and adjusting for a while, reaching the peak of the Hexu Realm shouldn't be difficult." Xuanji was overjoyed. With the Yin Yang Dao Body, the main soul could wield twice its former magical power, and its cultivation speed would also increase greatly.
Once everything was in order, Xuanji had the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao use the Sun Moon Pearl to deduce the principles of Yin Yang, helping his demon-body true form break through its bottleneck and ascend to the Hexu Realm.
Xuanji continued cultivating in the cave halfway up the mountain amid the desolate wilderness. Meanwhile, after learning about the Shadow Clan from Xuanji, the Yin Yang Spirit left to investigate. A member of the Shadow Clan confirmed what he had heard. Still confused, the Yin Yang Spirit suddenly discovered that its lair had been emptied: the Sun Moon Pearl, the treasure it had guarded, was gone, and not a trace of the Yin Yang Soil or Yin Yang energy remained. The place had been cleaned out to the last speck. It was so furious it nearly spat blood, and immediately decided that the Illusion Emperor was responsible.
In the Yin Yang Spirit's understanding, only the Illusion Clan among the Eastern Wasteland's races could change its form, and only members of the Illusion Clan's royal line could transform into physical objects. It had no doubt that the Illusion Emperor had stolen everything. It believed that only the six races' emperors could pull off such a feat, and since Xuanji had led it to suspect the Illusion Clan, it naturally concluded that the Illusion Emperor was behind it.
After an unsuccessful search, the Yin Yang Spirit's whole body churned. Two flames, one black and one white, emerged like its eyes, formed from condensed Yin Yang energy. It transformed into a giant three zhang tall, with bulging muscles and hundreds upon hundreds of Yin Yang spikes sprouting from its back. Yin Yang flames blazed above its head, and its eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were all made of Yin Yang fire.
"If I don't wipe out the Illusion Clan, I won't be able to quell this hatred. Since they want to deal with the Shadow Clan, I'll help the Shadow Clan. Hmph, I'll find a few friends and plan something big!" Once it had made up its mind, the Yin Yang Spirit transformed into a streak of Yin Yang light and sped through the air toward the southeast depths of the Demon Tree forest. It also spread the rumor that the Illusion Clan was gathering Giant Beast blood to transform into a God-Devil True Body, while framing the Shadow Clan. Now, the Yin Yang Spirit was determined to use the Shadow Clan to destroy the Illusion Clan, reclaim the Sun Moon Pearl, and vent its fury.
In an instant, turmoil erupted throughout the Eastern Wasteland, and a great battle was brewing. The Illusion Emperor was furious, the Shadow Emperor was uneasy, and the other four emperors each had their own thoughts. The hundred-odd minor clans under the six great races made their own plans, while the Giant Beasts, fearing for their lives, banded together. That was another matter entirely.
Xuanji's cultivation of the path to the Hexu Realm had gradually settled into a steady rhythm. The Hexu Chapter of the Eight Meridians Mystic Pole was now largely complete, and the Ancient Wild Heavenly Dao was using the top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Sun Moon Pearl, to deduce the principles of Yin Yang. These truths grew ever more profound as they entered Xuanji's mind. As he grasped them, the aura around him began to surge and rise.
The Hexu Realm—was already within reach!