Black-and-White Yamas

But there was indeed a problem with the existence of the "Black-and-White Yamas." In truth, there was no solid proof—only conviction.

To explain it, one had to start with this world's cultivation system.

It was said that this world had originally been nothing more than a thin shell. There was no life, no mountains, no rivers. But later, Celestial Humans appeared and used supreme divine powers to piece together the thin shells drifting through the Great Void, forming an enormous sphere—symbolizing completeness—called the Heavenly Sphere.

Only then did this world gain plants and living creatures, mountains and rivers.

The Celestial Humans created mortals and taught them divine arts and methods. But once mortals gained power, they tried to challenge the Celestial Humans. Thus, the Celestial Humans destroyed the world and remade humanity as it was now. Seeing that these new humans lived in hardship, while mighty demons still roamed the world, they once again passed cultivation methods down to the lower realm.

This was what cultivators called the "Heavenly Heart Orthodox Law."

The Heavenly Heart Orthodox Law, one method with three divine powers, established the three inheritances of the Dao Tradition, Sword Sect, and Painting Sect. It was said that all the various methods mortals developed from cultivating the Heavenly Heart Orthodox Law could, upon reaching the highest realm, shed their mortal forms and ascend into immortality, becoming Celestial Humans as well.

But the Painting Sect was now known to few, and among the remaining Dao Tradition and Sword Sect, no one had ever heard of anyone truly ascending.

The current Book Sage of the Dao Tradition and Sword Sage of the Sword Sect were the two most highly cultivated people in the world. They had lived for nearly three thousand years. To mortals, people like them were not merely immortals, but the kind of immortals whose existence was almost impossible to believe—immortals who seemed no more than legend.

Yet even these two strongest figures of the age had long failed to shed their forms and ascend.

Some said that the Twin Sages had long possessed the strength to shatter the void, and were merely waiting for something. But no one truly knew.

This meant that for more than three thousand years, cultivators had known that Celestial Humans and True Immortals truly existed. They could even occasionally hear immortal music, yet no one had ever seen them.

As for the Hall of Senluo in the Netherworld, it was said that at the time of creation, two Celestial Humans had willingly sacrificed themselves, personally entering the Heavenly Sphere where humans lived. They became the Black-and-White Yamas, gathering the souls of all living things and carrying out rebirth.

Thus, the Black-and-White Yamas were in fact True Immortal Celestial Humans as well.

Compared with the Celestial Humans dwelling high above the Nine Heavens, the Black-and-White Yamas were rather more approachable. The two of them always had dealings with people, and sometimes they would entrust dreams to them.

Cultivators who had developed the divine powers of soul projection and visualization in dreams would occasionally see the two Yamas in their dreams.

But that was no good thing.

Most likely, the two Yamas had come to notify those True Persons who had attained the Dao: your allotted lifespan has ended. In three days, we will come to seize you.

Over time, tales of the Black-and-White Yamas spread, and they became figures known far and wide, believed in without the slightest doubt.

Li Yunxin knew that his original world had such legends too, with two similar figures. But there, they were called the "Black-and-White Impermanence."

He thought about it all the way, and then realized that his dream...

Perhaps he truly had seen the two Yamas for some reason.

For example, perhaps they had come to seize Qiao Jiaxin's soul.

Then... Qiao Jiaxin's soul had not yet been taken away? Was it still wandering somewhere in the Living Realm?

Or perhaps, from now on, anyone connected to him who died would have their soul linger in the Living Realm, unable to depart?

Li Yunxin did not know whether the little cat demon's current state was connected to that matter either.

As for what they had mentioned—that two thousand years ago, someone had "fought his way into the Hall of Senluo and slaughtered his way through"...

Who had that been? Who possessed such divine powers? And what did it have to do with him?

A deduction seemed ready to burst forth from his heart, but in the end, he could not think any deeper.

Because they had arrived at Weicheng.

From the place where they had met Yu Meng to Weicheng, they had traveled for a total of four shichen. Yu Meng did not speak to him much, only drove the cart and occasionally glanced at Li Yunxin. He seemed to want to stay close to him, yet feared Li Yunxin would become like those people from before.

How could Li Yunxin not understand what he was thinking? With this youth's temperament and intelligence,

he handled him with effortless ease. Thus, throughout the journey, only Liu Laodao kept chattering endlessly to him about Weicheng.

The old man knew that they had caused great trouble this time, and he feared the matter getting out even more than Li Yunxin did. Again and again, he warned him that there were people in this city whom they absolutely could not provoke. Or rather, he felt Li Yunxin could probably afford to provoke them, but he himself could not bear the consequences.

For example, the city housed the stations of two sects.

The Pure High Alchemy Sect of the Dao Tradition, and the Voidsoar Sword Sect of the Sword Sect. The thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two sects were indeed a group of "immortal people," but not all immortals lived on clouds and rosy mists. Eating, drinking, shitting, pissing—every last thing required silver.

Though there was more than one Great Qing Dynasty in the world, and every court had granted them fiefs and Attendants to some extent, additional income was always welcome. Besides, the mortal world was not peaceful. Demons occasionally appeared, and experts were needed to subdue them.

Therefore, Grotto Heavens and sects had stations in major mortal cities. Those who felt they could advance no further on the path of cultivation, or who happened to be entering the world to undergo tribulations, would come to these stations. Sometimes they slew demons and exterminated devils, accepted Attendants, or selected disciples at irregular intervals...

Or did things no one knew about.

With a sect station in the city, even the authorities had to yield them three parts of respect. If one of the "experts" from a sect station happened upon a case and passed judgment on it, then even if the county magistrate objected, he would have to report it to the prefectural government and await a final ruling.

Then there were the city's great and powerful households. Weicheng was not the capital, nor was it even the seat of a prefectural government. But it had once been the old capital of the previous dynasty. After that dynasty fell, its remnants had continued operating in Weicheng for another sixty-odd years, only to finally collapse. After Great Qing forces stormed into Weicheng, they slaughtered the city for three days before sheathing their blades. The nobles of the new dynasty then deemed Weicheng inauspicious and established the capital in Jinghua.

Yet Weicheng was, after all, a place where waterways converged and commerce changed hands. In the hundred-odd years since the founding of Great Qing, it had flourished once more. Retired officials came to settle in Weicheng, and wealthy merchants came to settle there as well. As time passed, the city became a place where tigers crouched and dragons coiled—even court officials from the capital dared not act wantonly there.

However, Li Yunxin had no patience to remember which clan or household the old Daoist was talking about. He had not come to Weicheng to stir up trouble. He only wanted to find a way to lift the restriction on his Snow Mountain Qi Sea, then focus on studying that Tongming Jade Slip. This was not merely because of curiosity, but because of his "background."

He realized that the Painting Sage...

was absolutely no ordinary person.

When they entered the city, Li Yunxin noticed Weicheng's soldiers. The four guards at the gates wore bright armor and were strong and sturdy, their complexions far better than those of the runners in Qinghe County.

He also noticed how those gate guards behaved when they saw Yu Meng.

They had been lazy and indifferent toward passersby. When they occasionally saw unfamiliar faces who looked like they had some grease to squeeze, they would interrogate them and skim a little profit.

But the moment they spotted Yu Meng amid the crowd, they straightened their chests, picked up the blades and spears leaning against the city wall, and shouted as they cleared a path through the incoming pedestrians. When they approached Yu Meng and saw Qiao Duanhong unconscious with grievous wounds in the cart, along with Qiao Jiaxin covered in blood, their eyes widened. In exaggerated tones, they bellowed, "Guild Head! Which blind fool wounded your people?! Hm? This little one will have the brothers seize him at once!"

As they spoke, they walked alongside the cart, looking as though they faced a great enemy.

Li Yunxin frowned—if they wanted to curry favor, their performance was far too overacted.

But he soon understood what the four soldier-thugs were after.

Yu Meng frowned as well and waved them away. "Go, go! I don't need you to handle it! We ran into tigers and leopards! Get out of here!"

But the soldier-thugs pretended not to hear. They continued guarding him while shouting at pedestrians to disperse, determined to clear the way for him.

Yu Meng grew angry. He seemed to dislike being treated this way, so he reached into his robes, took out silver, and tossed it to the ground. "A reward for you. Go away, go away! Don't block my road!"

Li Yunxin had sharp eyes and saw that they were three five-tael ingots of silver.

Fifteen taels of silver... by this world's purchasing power, it was probably equivalent to thirty thousand yuan in his former time.

Casually scattering thirty thousand yuan in the street...

That was what the four soldier-thugs had been after. It seemed this was not their first time doing such a thing. The Yu Household was one of Weicheng's great clans, and Yu Meng was its only young master, yet he was being bullied like this.

Still... he probably had never felt that this was bullying.

After all, that was simply the sort of person he was.