Gold and Silver Transform Calamity Qi

Li Shun wept bitter tears and kowtowed in thanks for Fang Xun's life-saving grace.

Fang Xun was deeply moved as well. Li Shun had actually survived such a calamity.

After putting on a show, Fang Xun said, "I recall that your hometown is East Mountain Town. As it happens, this official..."

Fang Xun abruptly stopped, a trace of bitterness flashing across his face. In an instant, he changed his wording. "As it happens, I too am being demoted to serve as the garrison commander of East Mountain Town. Are you willing to travel with me?"

Li Shun naturally agreed in great delight.

They did not set off at once, instead resting where they were and waiting for a new day to arrive.

The snowy ground was silent and still. No one could see through what lay in their hearts.

"The possibility that someone is still watching us in secret cannot be ruled out. We still need to put on the proper show."

"Great Qian has thirteen provinces, one hundred and eight prefectures, and three thousand six hundred counties. Cold Mountain lies on the northwestern frontier, while East Mountain Town is in the east."

"The journey is long. Though we can take the official roads, these are troubled times, and twists and turns will likely be unavoidable. Better to depart tomorrow. With Three Reflections here, even if something unexpected happens, we can trace it back and avoid it."

The two closed their eyes and feigned sleep, though their hearts remained filled with vigilance.

At the same time, within the Square Inch Space, Fang Xun had already undone the seal on the hidden compartment containing genuine gold and silver.

Li Shun did not attend to the gold for now. Instead, he first drew over a small amount of silver and examined it closely.

"As expected."

Beside the silver he had drawn over floated another tiny silvery-white metal sphere.

This metal sphere was precisely the accidental byproduct created when Li Shun had previously cultivated Cold Mountain Venerable.

Though Li Shun had vaguely suspected something before, he had ultimately been unable to prove it.

Now that he had silver in hand once more, comparing the two finally confirmed that they were the same substance.

A question immediately welled up in his heart.

"Why would cultivating and hastening the growth of Cold Mountain Venerable be accompanied by the birth of silver?"

After carefully searching Fang Xun's memories, Li Shun found a possible answer.

"When yang reaches its extreme, it transforms into red gold; from supreme yin, white silver is born."

"This is the natural circulation of Heaven and Earth. However, that was before Emperor Gan Chi Riluo."

"In the one hundred and sixty-fifth year of the new calendar came Emperor Gan Chi Riluo's fall. From then on, the yin and yang of Heaven and Earth fell out of balance, with yang flourishing and yin declining."

"Yet yin and yang can transform into one another. After so many years, an unseen hand has naturally brought them back into balance..."

Thinking this far, Li Shun could not help feeling a headache coming on.

Fang Xun belonged to the Confucian School lineage. Though he understood the path of yin and yang, he was far from proficient in it.

Especially after the abnormal changes in the yin and yang of Heaven and Earth, much of the common knowledge of the past had already changed.

"No matter what, the manifestation of supreme yin's power must have accompanied the cultivation of Cold Mountain Venerable. That is why silver was born."

"In Great Qian, gold and silver are truly good things." Li Shun felt the chill of the silver sphere, his gaze flickering.

He had once read in the Indra Scripture about Emperor Gan gathering the gold and silver of Heaven and Earth, but at the time, he had merely thought it was a means for Emperor Gan to unify the currency.

Only after taking in Fang Xun had he learned from his memories that the wondrous uses of gold and silver were even more closely tied to the Twelve Longevity Method.

"As the saying goes: Gold and silver transform calamity qi!"

"The greatest use of gold and silver is that they can delay the calamity of Heaven's Lifespan Demand!"

All manner of information flashed swiftly through Li Shun's mind. "In the Mortal Embryo Realm, no matter how many years one borrows from Heaven, Heaven's Lifespan Demand will only descend and erupt in the final year."

"But as one's realm rises and the number of times one borrows lifespan increases, the time at which Heaven's Lifespan Demand descends keeps moving forward."

"There is no fixed rule for how far it moves forward; it varies from person to person. But generally speaking, in the Profound Insight Realm, once one's borrowed lifespan has barely passed its halfway point, Heaven's Lifespan Demand may descend."

"This is why, though Great Qian cultivators generally practice the Twelve Longevity Method, their appearances still differ between old and young." Li Shun suddenly understood.

"Gold and silver can delay the point at which Heaven's Lifespan Demand descends."

"Or, more accurately, they can keep pushing back the time of its eruption."

"If a Profound Insight Realm cultivator borrows a hundred years of lifespan, then without gold and silver on hand, after roughly fifty years, he will pass from Imperial Prosperity into Withdrawal and Concealment, turning from flourishing to decline. Though he can still live another fifty years, he will ultimately no longer possess the youthful, vigorous body of the past. However..."

"If he has enough gold and silver, he can keep dragging the repayment of the latter six realms into the remainder of his life."

"In theory, the most extreme case is to compress the latter six realms into the final year, just as in the Mortal Embryo Realm. Zhou Xunzhen is an example. Of course, the amount of gold and silver this consumes is nearly unimaginable. Even the high ministers of the imperial court may not be able to afford it. Thus, people generally act according to their means."

"Gold and silver truly are good things!"

Li Shun could not help looking toward the two hundred taels of gold and silver within the Square Inch Space.

"I have mastered the method of cultivating Cold Mountain Venerable. Does that not mean I can likewise produce silver without end?"

At this thought, Li Shun's heart began pounding even harder.

Then all that Fang Xun and Changle Marquis had experienced flashed through his mind again.

"Cold Mountain Soul."

"That is the existence I sensed at the pinnacle of Cold Mountain Grass's evolution. If Cold Mountain Venerable can manifest silver, then this Cold Mountain Soul..."

"Could it not produce genuine gold?"

Li Shun recalled the details of when Changle Marquis had rewarded Fang Xun with gold.

"Perhaps that really is possible."

"Her status may be precious, but not so precious that she can casually produce two hundred taels of genuine gold as thanks."

"Moreover, Fang Xun merely borrowed twenty-three laborers. That was nowhere near worth such a reward. It looked exactly like someone who had suddenly come into a windfall and, for a short time, misjudged the value of gold and silver..."

The more Li Shun thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

Then he sighed deeply within his heart. "What a pity. That Cold Mountain Soul seems to have been taken away by that woman. Otherwise..."

In reality, Li Shun could not help opening his eyes and looking toward where the Cold Mountain Mine Cave had once stood.

Because of the catastrophe of heaven collapsing and earth splitting, the mine cave had long since been deeply buried underground.

To search again now would be like seeking a door into the earth where none existed.

"No wonder Changle Marquis rushed here despite knowing this place was dangerous."

The night passed amid the surging currents of Li Shun's thoughts.

Early the next morning, the two set out on the road to East Mountain.

Before leaving, Li Shun cast one final glance at Cold Mountain.

Everything from the past had been buried beneath the boundless snow.

Heaven and Earth remained deathly silent, broken only by the occasional howling of the wind.

"Twenty-six years... no, today is already the second day of the first month. I have been trapped on Cold Mountain for a full twenty-seven years."

"At last, I can leave this place openly and honorably."

An indescribable emotion suddenly surged up within Li Shun's heart.

There was loss, a trace of confusion, and a measure of unease.

But in the end, Li Shun suppressed every emotion, turning them into longing for the future.

"With the Square Inch Space upon me, my future holds infinite possibilities."

He drew a deep breath and repeated those words once more in his heart.

"Cultivate the method of longevity, expand the Square Inch land, and gather the heroes of the world!"

Then, his steps firm, he strode away.