Chapter Ten: The Way of Yin and Yang

The Ancestor of Space quietly collected the innate Enlightenment Tea Tree, along with the scant amount of innate soil and some spiritual earth clinging to its roots, placing them all within the Cosmos Diagram. Only then did he silently depart from Buzhou Mountain, heading back to Fangzhang Island in the Eastern Sea, intending to plant the Enlightenment Tea Tree there.

Because Ancestor Qian Kun was eager to settle the Enlightenment Fruit Tree, he wasted no time on the journey back. In just over half a month, he returned to Fangzhang Island.

Upon the small island of innate spiritual earth at the center of the five-colored lake, beside the Five Elements Spiritual Fruit Tree, another figure now stood—the Enlightenment Tea Tree.

As soon as Ancestor Qian Kun planted the Enlightenment Fruit Tree, the voice of the Primal Enlightenment System resonated in his mind: “Congratulations, Master, for obtaining the superior spiritual root, the Innate Enlightenment Fruit Tree, and successfully transplanting it. You are awarded two thousand system points. This journey was completed perfectly; an additional five thousand system points are granted as a bonus.”

“Two thousand plus five thousand—seven thousand system points? Not bad, not bad!” Qian Kun’s eyes gleamed with delight. Gazing at the pair of trees before him—the towering Five Elements Spiritual Fruit Tree and the smaller Enlightenment Tea Tree—a satisfied smile deepened at the corners of his lips.

Why had he come to the Great Wilderness? To attain the Dao, of course. Without sufficient strength, one was nothing here—less than an ant.

But apart from cultivation and seeking the Dao, there were countless intriguing pursuits in the Great Wilderness: planting trees, savoring tea, refining pills and treasures, contending for artifacts, luck, or reputation. It was said that immortals lived in carefree leisure, yet they too were not immune to the seven emotions and six desires. Otherwise, what meaning would life hold?

Once the tea tree was settled, Qian Kun flipped his hand to produce the Cosmos Cauldron and entered it, preparing for secluded meditation and enlightenment. In this land, cultivation was paramount above all.

Within the world inside the Cosmos Cauldron, Ancestor Qian Kun sat cross-legged atop a floating, flat, gray-black boulder. With a thought, a small black flag appeared in his hand—the Northern Xuan Yuan Water Controlling Banner.

In the next instant, the banner floated before him, its surface shimmering with intertwining streams of red and blue, merging into a Taiji diagram. Profound auras of fire and water, their yin-yang mysteries, permeated the air.

Hundreds of years prior, within the Nether Blood Sea, upon acquiring the Xuan Yuan Water Controlling Banner, Qian Kun immediately discovered within it a remnant of primal yin-yang energy—the legacy left behind by the Patriarch of Yin and Yang upon his fall, containing unfathomable mysteries.

It is well known that in the Great Wilderness, Nuwa created humankind and Patriarch Minghe created the Asura clan, both capable of cultivation. Nuwa’s path of creation naturally aligned with her art of molding life from earth. But what of Minghe? His treasures made it clear he excelled at the Dao of death and slaughter, perhaps also water and fire—none of which were truly creative. So how, indeed, did he create the Asura clan?

Previously, Ancestor Qian Kun hadn’t pondered this in depth. But upon obtaining the Xuan Yuan Banner and discovering the legacy of the Yin-Yang Patriarch within, he gained insight. Minghe had inherited the Patriarch’s remnants, comprehended the mysteries of yin-yang creation, and thus could bring forth the Asura.

And now, having slain Minghe’s true form and claimed the Nether Blood Sea, this great opportunity naturally fell to Qian Kun.

The Dao of Yin and Yang stands among the highest of the Three Thousand Daos. Of the Three Pure Ones, the Elder Laozi attained supremacy through mastery of yin-yang and the Taiji’s profundity, thus ranking highest in cultivation—even among the saints.

Though Qian Kun’s path of space was subtle and wondrous, to attain true enlightenment, he would not be content with a single path. He sought to study many Daos, drawing analogies and mutual confirmation, that his journey might be broader and surer.

Thus, he set his Blood God avatar and its many subordinate avatars in the Blood Sea to quietly comprehend the Daos of death, slaughter, and water and fire. Their souls all linked to his own, so every insight gained by the avatars was perfectly clear to the true Qian Kun.

“No wonder Minghe became a leading power beneath the saints,” Qian Kun mused. “With so many formidable treasures and three thousand avatars to cultivate the Dao for him, even a pig could achieve something remarkable!”

In the timeless expanse of the Great Wilderness, years flowed like water. In the blink of an eye, a thousand years passed outside as Ancestor Qian Kun meditated within the cauldron, lost in the mysteries of the Dao, barely aware of time’s passage.

Stretching languidly, as if awakening from a deep slumber, Qian Kun finally surfaced from his immersion in the wonders of yin and yang.

“A thousand years already? Truly, in cultivation, time leaves no mark,” he sighed, rising to his feet. With a thought, the shrunken Xuan Yuan Banner vanished into his body, and in the next moment, he appeared upon the island of innate spiritual earth.

Glancing at the Cosmos Cauldron at his side, Qian Kun muttered, “I really ought to build a palace—can’t keep hiding in the cauldron every time I cultivate. But I’ve never studied artifact refinement. If I try to work it out on my own, I might never succeed. Not just artifact forging—alchemy, spells, and divine arts too. Without a foundation, creating these from scratch is almost impossible. And I still need time for secluded meditation and insight—where would I find the leisure to research all these things?”

“Wait, that’s right—the Primal Enlightenment System can send me to other worlds, can’t it? In other cultivation worlds, I could study artifact forging, alchemy, and spells. Even if I only learn the basics, that foundation will make further research much easier,” Qian Kun’s eyes sparkled with sudden inspiration.

What was the system for, if not to help him improve? To leave such resources unused would be a terrible waste.

Still, Qian Kun had no intention of sending his true self on such a journey. It was better to keep a low profile; he’d just send a weak avatar. If anything happened, the loss would be trivial.

Sitting cross-legged upon the spiritual earth island, Ancestor Qian Kun drew a drop of essence blood from his fingertip. It floated before him, swiftly absorbing the five-element energies released by the surrounding waters. Soon it coalesced into a vague, ethereal form, which gradually solidified into a young man with an almost perfect physique, bearing a strong resemblance to Qian Kun himself. His aura was weak—only at the Celestial Immortal level.

For Qian Kun, who had grasped the Dao of Yin and Yang and glimpsed the mysteries of creation, it was a trivial matter to model the Blood God avatar’s technique, using his own blood and a shred of soul to fashion a weak avatar.

With a thought, the avatar formed a set of azure Daoist robes around himself.

Qian Kun nodded in satisfaction, then contacted the Primal Enlightenment System: “System, I wish to exchange for a chance for my avatar to travel to the world of ‘Stellar Transformations.’”

“Confirmed. Sending your avatar to the world of ‘Stellar Transformations.’ Five hundred system points deducted. Initiating transfer.” As the system’s cold, mechanical voice sounded in Qian Kun’s mind, the space before him rippled and twisted. A spatial vortex suddenly appeared, opening wide like the maw of a mythical beast, swallowing Qian Kun’s avatar in an instant.