Shi Yi felt the surging power within him, and a smile rose unbidden to his lips. He lowered his head to look at his hands, beneath whose skin golden patterns faintly flowed. Recalling the battle against a True One Realm opponent just now, he found it truly hair-raising. Had his body not been so formidable, those terrifying attacks would likely have left him unable to move long ago.
"A powerful body really does make a difference," Shi Yi murmured, a trace of relief flashing through his eyes.
His wounds had closed, and his broken bones had knit together. In the past, recovering quickly from injuries like these would have required the Heaven Mending Technique. Yet using it under those circumstances had clearly been impossible. Now, relying solely on his body's ability to heal itself and precious healing medicines, he had already recovered most of the way.
At that thought, Shi Yi took out two stalks of sacred medicine that shone with strange light. One was pitch-black as ink, yet crystalline and translucent, radiating a bone-piercing chill: the legendary Netherworld Grass. The other blazed with golden light like a miniature sun: the Sun Flower, which both nurtured and counteracted its counterpart.
The moment the two stalks of sacred medicine appeared, the surrounding temperature began to fluctuate violently. Tiny ice crystals condensed around the Netherworld Grass, as though even the air would freeze, while the Sun Flower released scorching light that instantly vaporized the nearby crystals. Two utterly opposing forces intertwined in the air, forming a strange yin-yang pattern.
Shi Yi gazed at the two stalks of sacred medicine, a trace of solemnity flashing through his eyes. He knew they were the key to entering the Yin-Yang Pool.
The Yin-Yang Pool was a wondrous place between heaven and earth. Half its water was bitterly cold and half fiercely hot, containing the purest power of yin and yang.
Only with the aid of these two stalks of sacred medicine could he temper his body in the Yin-Yang Pool without being harmed by its extreme forces.
Before that, however, he still needed some time for his final preparations. He had to inscribe the fourth section of the Heaven-Refining Grand Array to the limit his current body could withstand. Then he could use the Yin-Yang Pool to complete it fully and strive for the Supreme Realm.
He returned to his cultivation quarters, where the tranquil atmosphere brought a wave of ease, and sat cross-legged to complete his current cultivation goal.
As he inscribed the array patterns into his flesh, a faint golden glow began to emerge from Shi Yi's body. He could feel subtle changes taking place in every inch of his flesh and blood, as though he were undergoing some kind of metamorphosis. Though slow, this transformation was utterly inexorable, like an uncut jade being painstakingly carved.
Shi Yi's cultivation seemed to have reached a new height. More than half a month passed, and the golden glow over his body grew ever more intense, as though it held boundless power. Even when he did not deliberately use his physical strength, that immense energy still spilled involuntarily from his body, forming waves of energy storms that surged through his surroundings and revealed the terrifying power stored within him.
When he opened his eyes, the sight within his Double Pupils was even more astonishing. Chaotic mist swirled, resembling the scene when heaven and earth first opened. Laws of lightning, flame, icy cold, and more flickered in and out of view, signifying his control over and fusion of multiple powers.
This phenomenon not only showed that his cultivation had reached an exceedingly high level, but also suggested that he might have mastered several powerful laws of the Great Dao.
Shi Yi's Double Pupils had always been an extraordinary innate gift, and now they displayed even more unfathomable might. His path of cultivation seemed to have transcended ordinary understanding and entered a still more profound realm. In the future, he might even touch upon higher levels.
"Pretty much what I expected. My current physical strength can only support the Grand Array inscriptions I've made so far. If I want to inscribe the fourth section completely, I can only keep strengthening my body. It's time to go to the Yin-Yang Pool," Shi Yi said to himself. The Yin-Yang of All Things was the most fundamental law between heaven and earth, running through the universe from beginning to end. Whether the mountains and rivers of nature or the rise and fall of human societies, all could be traced to the interaction and transformation of yin and yang. Yin and yang did not exist in isolation; they depended upon and restrained one another, forming the laws that governed all things in the world.
Lunar Power and the sun were the ultimate expressions of yin and yang, symbolizing their purity and pinnacle. Lunar Power represented the utmost softness, stillness, and contraction, while the sun symbolized the utmost strength, heat, and expansion. Though opposed, the two complemented one another in the workings of the universe, together maintaining the balance of heaven and earth.
The Yin-Yang Pool was a mysterious and profound place between heaven and earth, where the power of the laws of Lunar Power and the sun converged. Its water was clear to the bottom yet unfathomably deep, as though it contained endless mysteries.
The water in the pool rotated slowly, forming a perfect taiji pattern. Within this taiji diagram, the energies of yin and yang mingled, white within black and black within white, symbolizing how yin and yang rooted themselves in each other, gave rise to each other, and transformed into each other.
The rotation of the taiji diagram was not fixed and unchanging, but constantly shifted, revealing the fluidity and infinite possibilities of yin and yang.
"Think this through carefully. The Yin-Yang Pool is no ordinary place. It contains the ultimate power of Lunar Power and the sun, and it is fraught with danger. The slightest carelessness could damage your foundation at best, or destroy your body and kill you at worst." Beside the Yin-Yang Pool, the Double Pupils Woman spoke to Shi Yi, her voice cold and clear, as though all the chill between heaven and earth had gathered within it. Her eyes were deep as an abyss, and stars seemed to revolve within her Double Pupils, exuding an indescribable majesty and mystery.
Shi Yi stood at the edge of the pool, his gaze firm as iron, not wavering in the slightest at his master's words. He raised his head slightly and looked at the churning energies of yin and yang within the pool. Lunar Power pierced to the bone like ice, while the power of the sun scorched like raging fire. The two forces intertwined, forming a strange balance. The water was sometimes black as ink and sometimes blazing white as the sun, resembling the chaos at the first opening of heaven and earth.
"Master, I've always believed that whatever we gain, we must pay an equal price for it." Shi Yi's voice was low and powerful, as though every word weighed a thousand tons. Resolute light shone in his Double Pupils, as though he had already seen through the rules and fate of this world.
"We were born with a pair of undefeated Double Pupils. Whether we admit it or not, that is a gift from heaven. Since heaven gave us such talent, there must be a corresponding mission for us to fulfill in the future. What we can do now is keep making ourselves stronger. Only then can we be better prepared when we face that unknown objective."
He paused, then looked at the Double Pupils Woman with a blazing gaze and continued, "So even if an opportunity can make me just a little stronger, I'll give it everything I have. The Yin-Yang Pool before me will help me greatly. I won't give it up. I can only succeed, and I certainly will."
At his words, the Double Pupils Woman froze slightly. A complex emotion flashed through her Double Pupils, as though she saw her former self in Shi Yi.
She fell silent for a moment, then finally let out a soft sigh,
her voice still cold and clear, yet carrying a barely perceptible gentleness. "Very well. Since you have already resolved yourself, take the Sun Flower and the Netherworld Grass together now. I'll send you to the center of the pool. As for how far you can temper your body, that will depend entirely on you."
With that said, Shi Yi took out the two spirit medicines. One was golden all over, its petals dazzling as the blazing sun: the Sun Flower. The other was black as ink, its leaves seemingly wreathed in netherworld energy: the Netherworld Grass.
Both spirit medicines were rare treasures of heaven and earth, containing the ultimate power of the sun and Lunar Power. Ordinary cultivators could not possibly withstand their medicinal potency; the slightest mistake would cause their bodies to burst and kill them.
Shi Yi swallowed them without the slightest hesitation. In an instant, a force scorching as raging fire erupted and spread throughout his body, as though it would burn him entirely to ashes.
At the same time, another bone-piercing chill surged from his meridians and intertwined with that scorching force, as though it would tear his body in two.
Shi Yi clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat slid down his cheeks. His body constantly alternated between extreme heat and extreme cold, as though he had been plunged into purgatory. Yet his gaze remained resolute, without the slightest intention of retreating.
Seeing this, a trace of approval flashed through the Double Pupils Woman's eyes. She waved her hand, and a gentle force lifted Shi Yi and slowly carried him into the center of the Yin-Yang Pool. The water instantly boiled, and the power of Lunar Power and the sun coiled around Shi Yi's body like two enormous dragons, surging madly into him.
Under the twin strangling forces of Lunar Power and the sun, Shi Yi's body seemed to be torn apart by the two most extreme powers between heaven and earth. His flesh and blood began to break down at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Countless fine cracks split the surface of his skin. Pale golden blood seeped from them like flowing liquid gold, carrying a sacred yet tragically beautiful sheen.
Yet before this golden blood could drip, the violent yin-yang power within the pool instantly vaporized it, turning it into wisps of golden mist that dispersed into the air.
Lunar Power was bone-piercingly cold, as though it came from the abyss of the Nine Netherworlds. It ate away at every inch of his flesh and blood, freezing his meridians, while the power of the sun blazed like flame, burning his internal organs as though heavenly fire were consuming his body.
The two forces intertwined and collided within him, unleashing destructive energy that crushed his bones inch by inch. The pain was like countless blades stirring through his marrow, like being ground alive by the power of heaven and earth, leaving him barely able to breathe.
Under the ravages of this power, Shi Yi's body gradually became shattered and torn, yet his gaze remained steadfast, as though even while enduring all this, he was searching for some opportunity to break through.
He knew this was a trial balanced on the thin line between life and death. Only by enduring it could he find a thread of life amid this ultimate destruction.
Shi Yi's body continued to sink into the water, as though wrapped in endless yin-yang power. Time passed second by second, and his body underwent an unprecedented trial within the Yin-Yang Pool.
His consciousness gradually blurred, as though he were adrift in chaos. Yet deep in his heart, a voice kept reminding him: I can't give up. I can only succeed!