As time passed, the fighting on Azure Firmament Mountain grew ever fiercer.
For the moment, Jiang Chen did not intervene. He devoted all his attention to refining the Grotto-Heaven fragment.
"Heaven is yang, earth is yin. Heaven governs motion, earth governs stillness. Heaven brings forth life, earth gathers it back. With every breath in and out, yin and yang turn."
At one moment, inspiration struck and insight welled up in Jiang Chen's heart. He suddenly saw heaven and earth in a new light.
At that same moment, the black hole within him evolved further and gained a true sense of unfathomable depth. Its devouring of the Grotto-Heaven fragment abruptly quickened. Threads of Grotto-Heaven power arose, continually washing through Jiang Chen's Heavenly Dipper True Form and nourishing the Hundred Fruit Garden Secret Realm.
Throughout the process, both Jiang Chen's Heavenly Dipper True Form and the Hundred Fruit Garden Secret Realm changed in essence, drawing ever closer to heaven and earth.
A long time passed before Jiang Chen's consciousness finally broke free from the myriad wonders of heaven and earth.
"Eighth-turn astral qi. That was an unexpected gain."
Looking inward and seeing astral qi arise on its own, Jiang Chen showed a trace of surprise.
He had spent most of this time refining the Grotto-Heaven fragment and comprehending the principles of heaven and earth, paying little attention to honing his astral qi. He had never expected a willow planted without thought to grow into shade. By maintaining his Heavenly Dipper True Form and devouring the Grotto-Heaven fragment for so long, he had honed his astral qi as well. It had transformed naturally and reached the eighth turn.
"Astral qi is a tool. My teacher's astral qi actually originated from the True Qi of the ancient Qi Refiners. Its nature is subtle: a