Yin-Yang Essence
Fantasy: In the Waste Pill Chamber, I Can Turn Trash into Treasure
Biodata
| Feature | Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Yin-Yang Essence (阴阳气) |
| Type | Renewable cultivation resource and refinement fuel |
| Associated Artifact | Yin-Yang Creation Cauldron, later recognized as an Emperor Artifact 271 |
| Primary User | Lu Chen |
| Status | Actively accumulated and expended. Lu Chen last explicitly holds 11,196 strands before spending 6,000 to reforge the Godslayer Dagger, leaving 5,196; he later gains another 1,620 strands during cultivation with Li Yunsheng, though no subsequent total is stated. 107 160 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 1 1 |
Background
The Yin-Yang Creation Cauldron awakened in Lu Chen’s dantian during his first dual-cultivation session with Liu Fuyao. Over the following three days, Lu Chen accumulated fifteen strands of Yin-Yang Essence. The cauldron’s emitted essence also nourished his flesh, bones, and muscles, quickly restoring him from physical exhaustion 1.
Yin-Yang Essence became the Cauldron’s operating resource: once an item is placed inside, the artifact displays the amount required to refine, synthesize, restore, or reshape it. Lu Chen’s first experiment consumed one strand to reconstruct a discarded pill into a lower ninth-grade Qi-Gathering Pill 2. He later discovered that a single strand could restore multiple low-grade waste pills in the same batch 4.
Its scarcity initially restricted Lu Chen’s plans. He exhausted thirteen strands to reconstruct thirty-nine waste pills, then sought further dual cultivation specifically to replenish his reserve 5. As higher-grade pills and artifacts entered his possession, the required amounts rose sharply—from tens of strands for Nascent Soul Pills to ten thousand for a Spirit Transformation Pill scrap 18 43.
As Lu Chen’s connection to the Yin-Yang Creation Cauldron deepens, Yin-Yang Essence generation becomes far more efficient. Early scholarly dual cultivation generally produces one strand per Greater Celestial Circuit, but certain exceptional partners initially yield ten strands. Later, the Cauldron’s gradual unsealing raises the ordinary documented yield to twenty strands per circuit for a single partner, while a five-person cultivation circle can generate forty strands per circuit 44 47 84 107.
The Essence also supports the Cauldron’s increasingly advanced functions. It can be spent to activate the Yin-Yang Eyes, restore failed high-grade pills, complete damaged inheritances, and reforge divine remnants. The successful reforging of the Godslayer Dagger with six thousand strands releases Yin-Yang Dao Resonance, giving Lu Chen contact with the Yin-Yang Great Dao required for a future Spirit Transformation breakthrough 99 107.
Power Progression
Yin-Yang Essence has no stated realm classification. Its documented progression is measured by Lu Chen’s stored reserve.
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15 strands | 1 | Accumulated during the Cauldron’s first three days after awakening. 1 |
| 81 strands | 15 | Produced after Lu Chen dual cultivates with Bing’er nine times in one night. 15 |
| 92 strands | 22 | Ninety new strands from Bing’er are added to the two he had retained. 22 |
| 147 strands | 28 | A further night with Bing’er yields seventy-two strands. 28 |
| 209 strands | 33 | Dual cultivation with Bing’er, Huo’er, and Qing’er produces 107 strands. 33 |
| 313 strands | 37 | Lu Chen gains sixty-five strands from the three Half-Demons and 248 from Yun Feiyan. 37 |
| 345 strands | 39 | Thirty-two additional strands form after Liu Yan’er becomes his controlled cultivation partner. 39 |
| 427 strands | 45 | Reserve reported before Lu Chen spends 302 strands restoring Realm-Breaking and Foundation Establishment Pills. 45 |
| 546 strands | 47 | After Qin Feiyan produces 490 strands through forty-nine Greater Celestial Circuits, Lu Chen reforges five Foundation Establishment Pills and retains 546 strands. 47 |
| 536 strands | 48 | Lu Chen spends ten strands to restore sixty discarded Advanced Body-Tempering Pills before entering seclusion. 48 |
| 1,426 strands | 60 | Lu Chen gains a major reserve during Li Yunsheng’s Nascent Soul breakthrough and subsequently uses the Cauldron to remove the Heart-Devouring Ten Thousand Poisons Gu. 60 |
| 2,506 strands | 64 | Cultivation with Jiang Yingyue completes 108 Greater Celestial Circuits at ten strands each, adding 1,080 strands. 64 |
| 2,196 strands | 75 | After spending 800 strands restoring a Nine-Turn Boundary-Breaking Pill and a Nascent Soul Pill, Lu Chen gains 490 strands from forty-nine circuits with Liu Yan’er. 75 |
| 3,276 strands | 82 | Li Yunsheng yields 1,080 strands over 108 Greater Celestial Circuits. 82 |
| 6,516 strands | 84 | A five-person cultivation formation with Liu Yan’er, Bing’er, Huo’er, and Qing’er generates 3,240 strands over eighty-one circuits. 84 |
| 6,364 strands | 94 | Lu Chen retains this amount after restoring sixty-six low-grade pills for two strands and ten Realm-Breaking Pills for 150 strands. 94 |
| 9,640 strands | 99 | Eighty-one circuits with Jiang Yingyue and Ye Chenyu generate 3,240 strands, bringing the stated reserve to 9,640. 99 |
| 10,356 strands | 106 | Reserve reported after Lu Chen’s cultivation with Jiang Yingyue. 106 |
| 11,196 strands | 107 | Forty-two Greater Celestial Circuits with Yun Feiyan produce 840 strands. 107 |
| 5,196 strands | 107 | Lu Chen expends 6,000 strands to reforge the Godslayer Dagger into a Divine Artifact. 107 |
| +1,620 strands | 160 | Eighty-one Greater Celestial Circuits with Li Yunsheng yield twenty strands each; the resulting total is not explicitly stated. 160 |
Generation
Yin-Yang Essence is initially obtained through dual cultivation. Lu Chen believes this is his only source during his early time in the Waste-Pill Repository, making the House of Ten Thousand Beauties central to his resource-gathering plans 1 9.
Later, Lu Chen discovers that intimate cultivation is unnecessary. When his vital essence and a female cultivator’s vital essence are circulated together through the Yin-Yang Creation Scripture and gathered within the Cauldron, Yin-Yang Essence is formed 41 44.
- Standard Greater Celestial Circuit — One completed circulation initially produces one strand of Yin-Yang Essence. 44 46
- Scholarly dual cultivation — Lu Chen’s term for palm-to-palm circulation and shared cultivation rather than intimate practice. It can generate essence while strengthening both participants’ vital essence. 44 46
- Martial dual cultivation — Lu Chen’s term for intimate Yin-Yang cultivation. It can likewise generate Essence and may bring greater physical or cultivation benefits to the participants. 44 64
- Qin Feiyan’s exceptional yield — Each Greater Celestial Circuit produces ten strands rather than one; forty-nine circuits generate 490 strands. 47
- Partner-dependent early yields — Bing’er produces eighty-one strands over nine intimate sessions, while Yun Feiyan yields 248 strands through orthodox Yin-Yang Union cultivation. 15 37
- Multi-person circulation — Lu Chen can link multiple partners into one circular Greater Celestial Circuit. With Liu Yan’er, Bing’er, Huo’er, and Qing’er, each circuit yields forty strands, or ten per woman. 83 84
- Cauldron-unsealing yield increase — Lu Chen later finds that a single partner yields twenty strands per Greater Celestial Circuit regardless of that partner’s cultivation realm. He attributes the change to the Yin-Yang Creation Cauldron gradually unsealing rather than merely to partner quality. 98 107
- High-yield later sessions — Li Yunsheng’s eighty-one circuits generate 1,620 strands at the twenty-strand rate. 160
Applications
Cauldron Fuel
Yin-Yang Essence is consumed to activate the Yin-Yang Creation Cauldron’s restoration, reforging, synthesis, and reshaping functions. The required quantity appears on the Cauldron when Lu Chen places an item inside, after which he can complete the process by thought alone 1.
| Operation | Yin-Yang Essence Cost | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Reconstruct one discarded Qi-Gathering Pill | 1 strand | Produces a lower ninth-grade Qi-Gathering Pill. 2 |
| Restore three early waste pills in one batch | 1 strand | Produces two Qi-Gathering Pills and one high-grade ninth-rank Body-Tempering Pill. 4 |
| Reconstruct thirty-nine waste pills | 13 strands | Produces usable ninth-rank medicinal pills of several types. 5 |
| Restore a Waste Nascent Soul Pill | 50 strands | Produces a lower seventh-grade Nascent Soul Pill. 18 19 |
| Reforge a damaged Transmission Copper Slip | 10 strands | Restores it as a lower-grade spirit artifact containing the Five Elements Swallowing Heaven Scripture. 19 |
| Reforge Black Tortoise Armor | 10 strands | Restores it as a lower-grade spirit artifact capable of blocking a Foundation Establishment Early Stage attack. 22 |
| Restore a Nine-Turn Boundary-Breaking Pill | 200 strands | Produces a lower fifth-grade pill with five pill patterns and nine flame patterns. 35 |
| Restore sixty Advanced Body-Tempering Pills | 10 strands | Produces sixty usable body-refining pills for Lu Chen’s Copper Skin cultivation. 48 |
| Restore a Failed Nascent Soul Pill | 600 strands | Produces a Grade-Five Nascent Soul Pill with five pill patterns. 74 75 |
| Restore sixty-six low-grade failed pills | 2 strands | Produces sixty-six Spirit-Gathering and Marrow-Washing Pills in one batch. 94 |
| Complete the Five-Elements Alchemy Manual | 3,000 strands | Required to restore the incomplete inherited alchemy manual; the restoration is planned rather than yet documented as completed. 99 |
| Reforge the Godslayer Dagger | 6,000 strands | Restores the ruined Divine Artifact into a soul-destroying divine weapon capable of threatening Nascent Soul cultivators. 82 107 |
| Restore a Spirit Transformation Pill scrap | 10,000 strands | Required to reconstruct a pill capable of aiding a Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivator’s advance to Spirit Transformation. 43 |
| Reforge a broken Immortal Artifact sword | 1,000,000 strands | Required to restore an Immortal Artifact recovered from the Ancient Immortal Secret Realm; restoration has not yet occurred. 76 |
The reported costs for Foundation Establishment and Realm-Breaking Pills vary between separate restoration attempts. Lu Chen first restores two Foundation Establishment Pills for ten strands total and three Realm-Breaking Pills for nine strands total, but later reports costs of thirty strands per Foundation Establishment Pill and fifteen per Realm-Breaking Pill 20 45.
Yin-Yang Essence can also make otherwise unusable market purchases valuable, including damaged artifacts and inadequately aged spirit herbs, provided Lu Chen can afford the Cauldron’s displayed cost 15.
Bodily Nourishment
The Cauldron can emit Yin-Yang Essence to nourish Lu Chen’s physique, alleviating weakness and strengthening his physical body 1. This complements his body-refining cultivation, though most of his major physical breakthroughs come from restored Body-Tempering and Marrow-Washing Pills rather than from essence alone 5 49.
Through dual cultivation, the Yin-Yang Creation Scripture also guides and tempers circulating vital essence. This allows Lu Chen to use his partners’ refined essence to strengthen his body while the Cauldron collects Yin-Yang Essence as a separate product 37 160.
Dual-Cultivation Exchange
The vital-essence circulation that creates Yin-Yang Essence can also benefit Lu Chen’s partners.
- Bing’er, Huo’er, and Qing’er respectively reach Qi Refining Third, Second, and Fourth Layer through scholarly dual cultivation and medicinal support. 44
- Su Qingqing reaches the middle stage of Foundation Establishment after eighty-one Greater Celestial Circuits with Lu Chen. 46
- Qin Feiyan’s refined vital essence returns to her body purer than before, bringing her close to a Nascent Soul breakthrough. 47
- Li Yunsheng completes her Nascent Soul formation after Lu Chen stabilizes and purifies her vital essence through scholarly cultivation. 60
- Jiang Yingyue reaches the Nascent Soul Realm after completing 108 circuits with Lu Chen, while Ye Chenyu later benefits from the Grade-Five Nascent Soul Pill made possible by Lu Chen’s Essence expenditure. 64 83
- Group circulation with Liu Yan’er, Bing’er, Huo’er, and Qing’er accelerates the women’s cultivation, brings Liu Yan’er near Golden Core formation, and visibly manifests the Half-Demons’ elemental spiritual roots. 84
- Ye Chenyu and Jiang Yingyue approach the Nascent Soul Intermediate Stage through dual cultivation, with Jiang Yingyue showing signs of forming a Nascent Soul Incarnation. 99
- Liu Fuyao enters a state of Epiphany after dual cultivation with Lu Chen produces Yin-Yang Dao Resonance in the Joyful Union Sect’s Spirit Spring. 116
Divine Ability Activation
Yin-Yang Essence can be directly expended to operate abilities unlocked by the evolving Cauldron.
- Yin-Yang Eyes — Activating the technique consumes two strands of Yin-Yang Essence. It permits Lu Chen to see through clothing and discern concealed physical traits, including Shen Li’s disguised sex. 99 102
- Yin-Yang Dao Eyes — The later-named form can perceive the flow of power, reveal weaknesses in formations and techniques, and identify openings in an opponent’s attacks. 112 281
- Divine-sense burden — The Eyes also consume immense divine sense. Lu Chen initially can maintain them for less than a minute before suffering severe mental exhaustion. 99
Constraints
- Finite reserve — Essence is fully consumed during restoration. Lu Chen exhausts his initial supply after reconstructing forty-two waste pills, forcing him to seek new means of dual cultivation. 5
- High-grade materials are costly — Lu Chen spends seventy-nine of eighty-one strands on a Nascent Soul Pill, two Foundation Establishment Pills, and three Realm-Breaking Pills, leaving only two strands. 20
- Escalating restoration costs — Major objectives require immense reserves: 6,000 strands for the Godslayer Dagger, 10,000 for a Spirit Transformation Pill scrap, and one million for a broken Immortal Artifact sword. 43 76 107
- Production does not guarantee personal energy gain — When the Cauldron refines Bing’er’s demonic aura, it absorbs most of the resulting spiritual energy itself and leaves Lu Chen only a small portion. 15
- Cauldron evolution can withhold converted energy — During its mass absorption of Pill Poison, the Cauldron converts the poison into spiritual energy but keeps all of it rather than returning any to Lu Chen. 20
- Pill Poison conversion is separate from essence consumption — The Cauldron can refine Pill Poison into spiritual energy without expending Yin-Yang Essence. 10
- Yin-energy refinement is likewise separate — Lu Chen can refine dangerous Yin qi and Yin Spirit energy through the combined protection of the Yin-Yang Creation Art, Five Elements Swallowing Heaven Scripture, and Cauldron; this does not itself establish a direct Yin-Yang Essence cost. 266
- Divine abilities have secondary costs — Spending Essence on the Yin-Yang Eyes does not remove their heavy divine-sense drain, limiting Lu Chen’s duration and frequency of use. 99 112