Marquis Dongling's Residence.
Eastern courtyard.
Sunlight spilled across the lake, making the rippling waters shimmer.
By the lake, Jiang Ning half-closed his eyes as all manner of insights collided and converged within his heart.
The five elements circulated, the five elements transformed...
The five animals, five stances...
Gradually, he saw something deeper.
The five elements generated one another, cycling without end; all things were born from this.
The five elements restrained one another, balancing in orderly fashion; all things existed because of this.
Above the five elements, there were the twin forces of yin and yang.
Above yin and yang, there was chaos returning to unity.
And all of this was the path he had walked, all of it already grasped and comprehended by him.
The Five Animals Fist had initially merely imitated the forms of the five animals, stirring the qi of the five viscera and tempering it.
Yet it had never truly touched upon the foundation of the five elements, much less the profundity of yin and yang or the singularity of chaos.
All at once, his heart jolted violently.
The fog in his heart was suddenly torn apart by a streak of light, and inspiration flashed!
Within his mind, the qi of the five elements found their respective places among the five animals, their auras beginning to intertwine, merge, and evolve.
Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth cycled over and over, their vitality endless.
The five elements generated one another, yet also restrained one another.
They merged on a higher level, gradually forming a perfect cycle.
Within that cycle, a speck of chaos suddenly emerged.
It was the initial stage before yin and yang had divided, before the five elements had been determined.
It was the source of all things, the beginning of heaven and earth.
At