All Yin Fruition Attainments revere the Supreme Yin. The Supreme Yang is the foremost manifestation during the day. All Yang phenomena follow it...
Chi Buzi’s spiritual orifice had opened earlier than most, so he could already cultivate by the age of five. Chi Wei had begun teaching him with the concept of Fruition Attainment. The various Dao Fruits were introduced starting from Yin and Yang.
Chi Wei had read this line from a hall in the Mifan Sect. It was an ancient cultivator’s view on Yin and Yang Fruition Attainment. The next line went, The mystic brilliance of the Supreme Yin falls into the Bingzi water. It becomes the color of the lake moon. It guides the Pristine and Converging positions. This implies the True Hornless Dragon inquiring into the Dao. The celestial essence of the Supreme Yang blends with the Renchen water. It becomes the Divided Yang Hairpin and dissolves the Lesser and Bright Yangs. This is the alternation of fullness and waning. This is the division of Kuai.
When Chi Wei read that passage, no emotion had crossed his face. Only later did Chi Buzi realize that Chi Wei had used this line to justify consuming Li Chejing. Putting aside the differing terminology for spirit items among Dao lineages, it was clear that the Lake Moon Autumn could guide Pristine and Converging. The Divided Yang Hairpin could dissolve the two Yangs.
But Yin and Yang had seldom revealed themselves since ancient times. Spirit items had withered. Dao lineages had been lost. There had been very few who even reached the Foundation Establishment Realm through Yin-Yang Fruition Attainment. The Purple Mansion Realm had been even rarer. Those who had attained the Dao Fruit of Yin and Yang in the past had all been unbelievably powerful. No ambitious person in the world had ever dared to covet that Dao.
Most Purple Mansion Realm cultivators set it aside. Only a few people like Chi Wei used changes of the Yin-Yang duality to achieve their aims. There were perhaps only a few stubborn sects who still tried to make real progress in these two Daos.
It was precisely because of the deep significance that Chi Buzi did not dare let his eyes linger when his gaze fell upon that Yin-Yang pattern. He dropped his eyes immediately to the floor as if he had been burned. His forehead pressed tightly against the etched lines on the ground. All the arrangements and calculations in his heart were shattered. Only boundless panic remained.
He... it’s actually Him. It’s this Immortal Lord. What Valley Water. What Water Mansion. It was Yin and Yang all along.
He pressed his forehead firmly to the ground. His voice had gone slightly hoarse and his tone could not be more humble and respectful as he said, “This junior Buzi greets the Immortal Lord.”
But in his mind, thoughts raced like lightning, Who is this person before me?
This was no longer the age when immortals revealed their divine forms. Only Mount Luoxia and the Underworld were acknowledged as the residence of immortals. Those ancient cultivators who had become immortals had either perished or flown into the boundless Outer Heavens. Only a few had been known by name in recent ancient times. Those with Yin-Yang Fruition Attainment had been even scarcer.
His courage drained away as he gritted his teeth to keep his lips from trembling. The answer was already clear to him.
Yingze!
Chi Buzi had made countless calculations. But he had never once imagined that the Li Family was backed by this immortal. Who was Yingze? He was the master of Green Pine Temple; a great cultivator who practiced both Yin and Yang. He had also attained the Dao Fruit of Supreme Yang.
The Lesser Yang Devil Monarch Kuai Li had been unbelievably powerful back then. Yingze first sent someone to read a celestial edict in front of Tuoba Xuantan, and only then did he act to capture Kuai Li. True Monarch Tuoba Xuantan of Tiancheng had not even dared speak a word.
Kuai Li had been split into three, and each part was no weaker than an ordinary Golden Core Realm. This alone showed how terrifying the Devil Monarch had been in his prime. Chi Buzi was shaken to his core. For a moment, he did not know what to do.
Pristine Water had personally come and stood humbly to the side, performing the disciple’s salute and addressing this figure as Master or Martial Uncle.
He knelt obediently, staring at the frozen pattern on the ground. He could only squeeze out a sentence after taking several breaths. “This junior... this junior is deeply grateful to witness the immortal countenance. I had only wished to receive the immortal’s decree and serve with all my strength. I did not expect to trouble your divine presence. I am overwhelmed with both fear and honor.”
Chi Buzi was fairly cogent, and his tone was humble and respectful. He never thought that lowering himself was disgraceful in any way. This person before him had attained a Dao Fruit. Even now, traces of his legacy could be found in formations, spells, pill forging, artifact refinement, and Yin-Yang transitions. What harm was there in speaking a few words in a soft tone?
“I only fear I am not humble enough.”
If Chi Buzi had been born a thousand years earlier, before the changes of heaven and when the heavenly order was still intact, even claiming to have spoken with Yingze would be considered a brag and met with laughter. Now, he simply submitted himself honestly, without even the slightest hidden intention.
The immortal above leaned silently forward, then spoke, “This lord did not pass through this place for you. It is a tangle of fate. You came seeking me on your own.”
Chi Buzi responded meekly. Lu Jiangxian’s divine sense had already connected with him and could naturally read his thoughts with perfect clarity.
He had always admired power and never hesitated to use underhanded means. He had little respect for Pristine Water. That True Monarch withheld knowledge and passed down incomplete and confusing methods. He lacked the grandeur befitting a True Monarch and stood in Chi Buzi’s path. Naturally, Chi Buzi came to resent him.
Chi Buzi knew with near certainty that this ancient immortal could perceive his every thought. He was extremely calculating and had immense self-control. He deliberately filled his heart with admiration to the point that even he believed it.
Lu Jiangxian simply examined the fullness of his emotions and remained silent for a long moment. He certainly did not believe that the Chi Buzi before him had any way of deceiving him.
“Good... truly a ruthless one...”
Chi Buzi was still kneeling. He did not even dare lift his head, let alone try to guess the immortal’s mood. Then he heard the immortal pause, followed by a statement that made his mind reel.
“Dangjiang, come out and face me.”
What... It felt as though ten thousand great bells rang in Chi Buzi’s head. The heavy sound echoed again and again in his mind. The disbelief only flickered for a brief moment before he felt everything recede, vanishing into endless silence.
It was as if his soul had left his body and now quietly watched from the side as his body moved. Chi Buzi saw his own body leap up and perform a strange and twisted salute.
A familiar face twisted into a foreign expression and obsequiously said, “This little god greets the Lord of the Mansion. I humbly welcome your great presence. This little god congratulates you on your return from the Immortal Mansion. May you bring peace to this realm. All crowned hermits and feathered guests under heaven shall have joyous tidings...”
The one who had taken over his body was none other than the fiendish being that had leaped out from the Li Family. Chi Buzi had fought him with wit and will for years, until he thought he had finally destroyed him and devoured the treasure hidden in his soul, gaining a great advancement in cultivation. He never imagined that the wretched thing was still hiding within his body.
“Dangjiang... very good... you really managed to fool everyone...”
Chi Buzi’s anger flared for a moment but was quickly swept away by his rationality. He forced himself to ignore it. Even though it felt like his soul had left his body, he still maintained his respectful thoughts, silently watching the fiend control his body and babble on.
Lu Jiangxian had no intention of speaking further with Dangjiang. He silenced the Immortal Official of the Water Mansion with a thought and spoke softly, “I was in secluded cultivation that day and not within the mansion. Yet you used our link to escape.”
At this point, he paused, as if addressing another person, “It ended up saving your life.”
Chi Buzi shuddered involuntarily. Of course he understood the immortal was speaking to him. A wave of dread rose in his heart.
So it’s true... when I searched that young cultivator’s memory, I triggered something and nearly got myself killed. But it happened to coincide with Dangjiang’s escape, which ended up sparing me...
Dangjiang, having taken over Chi Buzi’s body, did not stop talking. He immediately burst into sobs, crying out, “Lord of the Mansion! My lord! This lowly one has suffered so terribly in this filthy world! What... what kind of world is this? This little god... this little god...”