Chapter Six: The Art of the Nine Nether Lunar Yin

The mysterious voice beyond the ancient door grew fainter and fainter, receding into the distance until it could no longer be heard. For now, Yang Yan could only set aside the many questions swirling in his heart, for upon that timeworn, austere door, faint golden characters had begun to appear.

“The Nether Yin Canon…”

“Chaos births Heaven and Earth, yin and yang shape the five elements; those who master these forces are the sages of old, those who comprehend them are dragons among men…”

“So this is the cultivation method spoken of by that mysterious predecessor? I just wonder what level it might be…” Yang Yan speculated silently.

Given all that had transpired, it was unlikely that this technique was of a low grade.

A yellow radiance flowed across the mysterious door, and Yang Yan quickly reined in his thoughts, focusing intently, afraid to miss a single word.

“The root of cultivation lies in the spiritual nexus; draw upon the energies of the five elements, gather the essence of heaven and earth within, thus giving rise to yin and yang, breaking through all laws…”

Occasionally, diagrams of human meridians were interspersed among the text, which helped Yang Yan understand more easily.

All cultivation methods absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming it into the practitioner’s own spiritual power, which was stored within the dantian, or ‘spiritual nexus.’ As this energy accumulated, one’s strength would increase proportionally. When the practitioner’s power reached the ‘Spirit Sea’ realm, the spiritual energy within the nexus would surge like a vast ocean, ceaseless and powerful, incomparable to the earlier ‘Spirit Communication’ stage. Only upon attaining the ‘Spirit Sea’ realm could one command respect on this continent, for all authority was founded upon strength.

Yet the ‘Nether Yin Canon’ required the opening of five spiritual nexuses at key meridian points throughout the body, each storing one of the five elemental energies, which left Han Feng astonished.

Every human body possesses affinities for the five elements, but the ability to sense the elemental energies of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth in the world varies in strength among individuals.

For instance, if someone is innately sensitive to fire energy, then they would focus on absorbing that element during cultivation, thereby accelerating their progress.

This innate talent is known in the cultivation world as a ‘born spiritual body,’ and its strength is ranked from first to ninth grade.

For example, if someone cultivates fire energy and their talent is of the third grade, they would be known as a ‘third-grade innate fire body.’

But according to the ‘Nether Yin Canon,’ one must simultaneously embody all five elements within a single body—a feat that, across the entire Tianyuan Continent, had likely never been attempted in all of history.

Leaving aside the chaos that could result from elemental conflict within the body, the very idea of opening five separate nexuses in vulnerable meridian points was enough to daunt even the bravest cultivator.

The meridians of the human body are inherently fragile. Even with spiritual energy to nourish them, they are only slightly stronger than those of ordinary people. To carve out independent spaces within such delicate conduits to store spiritual energy was madness.

And yet, what shocked Yang Yan even more was that after opening five nexuses, the five elements would interact in harmonious sequence, ultimately using the central dantian as a hub, allowing the energies to transform at will. Once mastery was achieved, the six nexuses would complement one another, reaching a level comparable to the legendary Heaven-rank techniques!

“Heaven-rank technique!”

Just four simple words, but Yang Yan knew what they represented.

These were legendary existences. Though he had no direct knowledge of their power—there were no such records even in the Zhang Clan’s library—even among the most prestigious families in Jinhuan City, the highest-level technique was merely of the Intermediate Yellow rank! Even in the entire Jin Prefecture, or the esteemed Azure Mystery Sect, whose reputation spanned the empire, it was said their highest technique was only of the Intermediate Profound rank!

By comparison, one could only imagine how rare a Heaven-rank technique truly was. If word of what Yang Yan had witnessed today spread to the cultivation world, it would shake the entire Feiyun Empire! Even powerful figures from neighboring realms would flock here, and Yang Yan feared he would be torn apart for what he knew.

He let out a long breath, still unable to recover from his shock. After a while, the faint golden letters on the door slowly faded, the rainbow-hued vortex reappeared in space, and that ancient, mysterious door began to distort once more.

At the same time, Yang Yan felt his consciousness repelled, and as the door vanished, his awareness slipped back into chaos…

“Brother Yang Yan, wake up! Please don’t scare me… sob…”

In his daze, Yang Yan seemed to hear someone calling him, the voice full of grief and sorrow.

He struggled to gather his wits, forcing his heavy eyelids to open.

It seemed to be afternoon, the slanting sunlight warm as it filtered through the dense branches, scattering dappled patterns upon the ground.

Yang Yan found himself lying in a gentle embrace. A young girl, her face streaked with tears, was sobbing quietly; cool, salty drops fell one by one onto Yang Yan’s face and lips.

“Silly… girl, if you keep crying… you’ll turn into… a little tabby cat…” Yang Yan felt groggy and weak, barely able to muster a smile. He tried to reach out to wipe the tears from her cheek, but his arm would not obey.

“Brother Yang Yan, you’re awake!” The weeping girl, hearing his feeble words, cried out in joy. Hastily wiping her tears, she broke into a smile and hurried to help him sit up.

This girl was none other than Zi Ling, who had waited so anxiously for Yang Yan.

Zi Ling had waited at the edge of the mountains until noon, but when Yang Yan did not return, her worry grew. She followed the direction he had chased the ‘Phantom Snow Rabbit,’ and, by luck, managed to find him.

Yet Yang Yan had been unconscious and stiff, a thin layer of white frost crystallized even on the fallen leaves and wild grass around him.

Zi Ling had seen Yang Yan’s cold poison flare up before, but never so severely.

At first, she was completely at a loss, even considering carrying him back herself to seek help from her father, Zhang Tai. But she was frail and delicate, and though she had trained with Yang Yan for a few days, the journey back would take too long. Nor did she dare leave him alone, lest some wild beast find him and make a meal of him.

Steeling herself, Zi Ling checked that Yang Yan was still breathing, then gathered two firestones from the forest, used fallen leaves and dead branches to build a fire, and held Yang Yan close, using her own warmth to drive out the cold.

So nearly two hours passed. The frost on Yang Yan’s body eventually melted away, his complexion and breathing gradually improving, but he still did not wake, leaving Zi Ling more worried than ever, tears streaming down her cheeks like rain…