Two Formless Apertures

Eight-sided and buttressed on all sides, it was the most magnificent style of ancient treasure pavilion, and this pavilion was also the most intact one in the ancient hall.

The door was densely covered in evolving runes, gleaming with golden light, dazzling to the eye.

Xu Yan sat cross-legged before the hall doors, his eyes closed as his mind sank into the ancient jade.

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes, and a faint gleam of spiritual light flashed through his glass-like pupils.

With a flick and circling motion of his fingers, the Literary Gold Shuttle stabbed out point by point. One evolving rune after another shattered, turning into ripples that scattered through the air.

He was not stabbing at random. If he struck the wrong position, the killing move of the evolving formation would be enough to reduce a Spirit Bridge cultivator to ashes.

Xu Yan had spent several days deducing it within the ancient jade before daring to make his move.

What greeted him was an ancient, weighty aura, along with the scent of ink.

The interior was very dim, with cobwebs covering every nook and cranny.

Xu Yan held the Literary Gold Shuttle as spiritual power burst forth. The darkness immediately vanished from the pavilion like receding seawater.

There were no heavenly treasures, magical artifacts, or medicinal pills in this treasure pavilion—only row after row of towering bookshelves piled full of thick Dao scriptures and classics.

At the deepest part of the pavilion stood a sandalwood-and-gold bookshelf. Only several ink-black jade scrolls rested upon it, but they were extremely thick and enormous, each stretching several zhang when unfurled.

"Hunyuan Great Method."

Upon seeing the name of the jade scroll, Xu Yan raised a brow. He spread the scroll across the ground and examined it carefully.

This was the complete Hunyuan Dao Scripture. For each of the five realms of the mortal world, it contained exceptionally thorough and detailed cultivation steps.

"A method of utmost yin. No wonder they raised clam spirits." Xu Yan studied it, thinking to himself.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.

The clam spirit demoness leaned against a nearby bookshelf with a giggle, her narrow eyes half-lidded as she appraised Xu Yan.

From the corner of his eye, Xu Yan could see that she was completely naked. Her alluring figure was like a water snake, curving outward in all the right places. Her skin was as snow-white and smooth as congealed cream, as though water could be squeezed from it, stirring restless thoughts in anyone who looked.

She was a demon, and one who had only recently taken human form. Why would she know anything of shame?

Perhaps she did not care, but Xu Yan was different. Though it was a feast for the eyes, he still found it somewhat awkward.

"Still pretending you can't see me? Why isn't the young master saying anything?"

"Fellow Daoist, is there something else?" Xu Yan said casually.

"You called me Brother Clam before, so why am I Fellow Daoist now? It sounds so distant. I don't like it." The clam spirit demoness giggled.

Xu Yan ignored her and merely focused intently on the Hunyuan Great Method.

Seeing this, the clam spirit demoness grew a little unhappy. She stuck out her tongue at him, bared her teeth, her sharp fangs gleaming as she opened her mouth as if to devour him. Then she said, "Young master, meeting here in this underground palace counts as a fated bond decreed by heaven. Don't forget me. Come to think of it, I still don't have a human name. Why don't you think of one for me? It should sound nice, and it should be poetic. You've read so many books, so it should be easy for you, right?"

Xu Yan felt as though the demoness's voice were a mosquito buzzing by his ear. He frowned, growing somewhat impatient.

Having lived two lives, he was mild-tempered.

But since childhood, what he hated most was people chattering and disturbing him while he read. He immediately turned and snapped, "I'm not your father!"

"What did you say?!"

At those words, the clam spirit demoness's beautiful eyes flew wide open. So angry that her hair fluttered wildly, she indignantly raised a fist as though to strike him, but it stopped abruptly in midair. It was not that she wanted to stop; the contract's restraints made her utterly incapable of doing anything to harm Xu Yan.

"You little human brat, who are you pretending to be an adult? I don't know how many generations older than you I am. You should call me Great-Grandmother!"

With that, she flung her hand and flew off in a huff.

Xu Yan only heard a splash as the demoness leaped into the underground river. Like a swimming fish, she vanished without a trace.

Xu Yan put away the black jade scroll and placed it in his storage pouch.

He did not intend to cultivate the Hunyuan Great Method in the future. This art could be considered an evil technique—it required one to devour all manner of yin qi under heaven to attain the Dao, with a woman's primordial yin being the greatest nourishment, followed by innate yin qi.

Still, several of the divine abilities recorded within this method were rather interesting, and he could study them in the future.

The Hunyuan Sect had many treasure pavilions. There were seven or eight pavilions filled solely with heavenly treasures, spiritual materials, and spiritual pills.

However, the years had been too long. Many spiritual materials and pills had decayed, leaving less than one in ten intact. Even so, it was still an enormous stockpile of cultivation resources.

Xu Yan spent nearly half an hour gathering up everything in the treasure pavilions that remained intact.

Then, standing atop the Literary Gold Shuttle, he flew down to the cold pool beneath the cliff.

"The yin qi and spiritual power are richest here."

Xu Yan looked around, thinking to himself.

Moreover, the innate yin qi here was nearly inexhaustible, constantly erupting from the underground river. Who knew what spiritual veins might lie beneath its waters?

"Baihui cultivates utmost yang, while Juque cultivates utmost yin. With yin and yang complementing each other thus, it is truly exquisite beyond compare!"

Xu Yan raised his brows as he calculated inwardly.

Ever since opening his apertures, he had become increasingly attentive to his own cultivation.

He possessed Formless Apertures; any kind of spiritual power could be transformed for his use, and all manner of wondrous arts could be wielded.

Yin and yang gave rise to the five elements, and the five elements gave rise to ten thousand forms. If one had to say what sort of heaven-and-earth spiritual power was most suited to Formless Apertures, it was undoubtedly the two qi of yin and yang.

After lighting a stick of incense, Xu Yan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion without wasting any time.

He slowly closed his eyes, and his state of mind gradually settled.

He silently recited the aperture-opening incantation.

The surrounding innate yin qi and spiritual power trembled faintly, continuously gathering toward Xu Yan.

Slowly, a huge black spiritual power vortex formed half a zhang above his head.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A sound like divine beings beating war drums reverberated within Xu Yan's Juque aperture.

With Formless Apertures, every aperture opened required nearly double the cultivation resources and difficulty of the last.

Yet even so, it exceeded Xu Yan's expectations.

He had secluded himself here for a full two months. The yin qi spiritual essence accumulated in over a hundred cold pools around him had all run dry.

Several empty storage pouches lay discarded nearby. Xu Yan had also used up more than half the spiritual pills and materials obtained from the treasure pavilions.

Now, only a little over a hundred earthly treasures remained.

These earthly treasures were what Xu Yan intended to use to refine Meridian-Penetrating Pills, so he had not touched them recklessly.

Buzz—buzz—

Beneath the cliff, dense black spiritual mist billowed and surged, condensing into jade beads like black gemstones that hung from the cavern walls and fell into the earth veins.

Gusts of yin wind rose from Xu Yan's body and howled outward. His Daoist robe billowed, and his black hair flew loose in the wind!

Behind him, a colossal black-as-ink Formless Juque spiritual aperture manifested and slowly rose, like a newly rising sun—except it was pitch-black.

Within the Juque spiritual aperture, yin qi rolled and surged like a great river. A single wisp weighed a hundred jun and was as sharp as blade or sword, seizing the soul with terror.

Within the black Juque spiritual aperture, a pale Formless face appeared. It still had no eyes, mouth, or nose, making it utterly horrifying.

Suddenly, Xu Yan opened his eyes, and an unsettling ink-black gleam flashed through his pupils.

He immediately withdrew his technique and took a deep breath.

The manifestation of the Juque spiritual aperture slowly shattered, while the yin mist beneath the cliff was instantly drawn back in.

"It actually took so long!"

It had taken two months of seclusion just to open the Juque spiritual aperture, and Xu Yan could not even count the resources he had consumed. Of the spiritual items and precious medicines obtained from the Hunyuan Treasury, he had already used up ninety percent.

"If I want to open a third aperture, I'm afraid even opening Great Yin's treasury wouldn't be enough."

Xu Yan pressed a hand to his forehead, his expression helpless as a headache came over him.