Immortal Cultivation and Life-Saving Guide

Wei Xi had his own way of dealing with the eight-armed phantom, and immediately manipulated the [Threads] to create a six-pointed star shape.

That's right, Wei Xi played cat's cradle with the monsters in the abyss.

This is an ancient and fun game, and Wei Xi generously shares his joy with the eight-armed phantom.

Wei Xi's original intention was to play tricks on people—to increase the difficulty for the other party to obtain and straighten the [Thread]—but unexpectedly, the eight-armed phantom paused for a moment, then released the two hands covering Wei Xi's ears and began to manipulate the [Thread].

The phantom was also stubborn; seeing that the [thread] had suddenly changed shape, it used several hands to try to straighten it into a thread. Every time it was about to succeed, Wei Xi would change its method, and it would have to start all over again, as if it were its duty.

"Strange," Wei Xi thought to himself as he continued walking, "What kind of monster is it, and why is it getting into a fight with [Threads]?"

Wei Xi was willing and had no choice but to play games with the monster. Fortunately, she and her brother were used to playing cat's cradle, and they could easily pull off difficult tricks, enough to keep the little monster entertained for a while.

Wei Xi's biggest worries and doubts now come from the layers of flower buds under his feet.

These "flower buds" can devour large amounts of water, as well as the corpses, broken houses, and wood that come with the water. Wei Xi doesn't think his mortal body can withstand more harm than a dagger.

"But these things are all inanimate objects. Could it be that these 'flower buds' can only devour inanimate objects? No, Yin and Yang energy! These 'flower buds' devour Yin and Yang energy!"

"Yin and Yang energies constitute all things, and when all things die, they are taken back! If Yin and Yang energies flow in unison, they will be captured by the heavens and earth. Although we do not know where Yin and Yang energies come from, their destination should be these abysses! With inflow and outflow, Yin and Yang are in balance."

Wei Xi felt no joy at solving the mystery; instead, he was filled with alarm: if Yin and Yang energies could enter and exit at will, where did those predecessors who attained enlightenment and ascended to immortality go?

Because Wei Xi's aptitude for cultivation was rather limited, apart from Granny Corpse, no other senior had explained the matter of Core Formation to her in detail. According to Granny Corpse, cultivators inevitably interact with Yin and Yang energies when forming their Core; how could that spiritual pearl have appeared out of nowhere? It was probably formed by the condensation of Yin and Yang energies.

Countless predecessors have attained enlightenment and ascended to immortality over thousands of years. Haven't they stolen a large amount of Yin and Yang energy?
Having "witnessed" the upheaval in Dongyi, Wei Xi had no doubt that these predecessors would be captured by the Heavenly Dao, the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao, and would be caught in an inescapable net.

So, has no one ever ascended to heaven?

Wei Xi was not surprised to come to this conclusion—seeing is believing, and the matter of ascension is illusory. It has been three or four hundred years since anyone in the cultivation world has ascended. Wei Xi was not the only one who had doubts.

The events that went back further are from a very distant era, and there are very few people in the cultivation world who have lived to such an old age. These events are like drifting catkins in the wind, impossible to verify any further.

There were vague rumors that the reclusive elder of that family had ascended to immortality before his death, but these could not be verified. Given Wei Xi's temperament, it would be more believable if he sneaked in on a dark and windy night, grabbed an iron shovel, and thoroughly searched their sect's grounds, only finding no trace of the elder's remains.

Now that no one has ascended to immortality, Wei Xi finds it quite reasonable.

"Heaven gives and takes back, and all things in the world become a joke."

Wei Xi, having glimpsed the Way of Heaven, felt a chill in his heart, yet he sneered repeatedly: No wonder Yu Xianzhou caused so much trouble; in a life-or-death situation, he was willing to defy Heaven! In truth, what difference is there between the Way of Heaven and Yu Xianzhou?
"In that case, there is a lot to say about the boundaries between Yin and Yang in various places. Perhaps the predecessors in the cultivation world have a way to control these places, steal the firewood of the Heavenly Dao, and gain a glimmer of hope."

Many thoughts raced through Wei Xi's mind, but his hands never stopped moving, thus delaying the illusory figure for a while.

As the eight-armed phantom struggled against the [Threads], its instincts gradually reawakened. The yin and yang energy it tore off was applied to the fleshy palm, and after several kneadings, it gradually took shape. Wei Xi, who was bad at needlework, only realized after a long while: it was a spindle and scissors!

Now everything makes sense! Wei Xi regretted his blindness, only now realizing the truth behind it.

"All things are woven from yin and yang energies; the way of heaven is actually a weaver."

"The eight-armed phantom moved as soon as it saw the [Threads], which shows that it mistook the [Threads] for something else and was awakened by its instincts."

"Is it Yin and Yang energy or the warp and weft of heaven and earth?" Wei Xi was momentarily perplexed. "Judging from its appearance, [Threads] are more similar to the warp and weft of heaven and earth. But can this phantom really cut the warp and weft of heaven and earth?"

"That's true. This thing is both real and illusory. Even if the universe wanted to turn it into yin and yang energy, it wouldn't work."

The duties of the eight-armed phantom were also revealed—to spin yin and yang energy into threads, weaving them into layers of flower buds, continuously transforming the eastward-flowing water and the inanimate objects within it into yin and yang energy.

Wei Xi listed out the information about Yin and Yang energies, and finally made some progress:
Yin and Yang energies weave together all things in the world. After going through the mortal world, the dead things eventually flow to the Yin-Yang boundary (the abyss) in various places. They are restored to Yin and Yang energies by the "flower bud"-like existence in the abyss, and then spun into threads by the eight-armed phantom (the threads of the Spirit Sound).

"If that's the case, there should be a way to put these threads back into the mortal world."

Wei Xi thought about it more and more and found it made sense. These pieces of information all came from different sources, and if they could be put together logically, the possibility of them being faked was extremely small.

"Zuo Fei, what exactly did you do to dam up the world's water? And why?"

After much thought, could it be that Zuo Fei knew about the secrets here and devised a solution?

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator worrying about this?" Wei Xi chuckled at his own thoughts, but the amusement quickly faded. "I have little hope, but Qin Feng..."

Wei Xi knew how to protect herself, and besides, her mind was never on achieving immortality, so this fire wouldn't reach her. Unfortunately, Qin Feng was exceptionally talented, and the matter twisted and turned back into Wei Xi's hands.

Even for Qin Feng's future, Wei Xi was determined to get involved in this mess.

"Since the Eight-Armed Phantom is in charge of things here, it's inevitable that it will investigate the methods used by Dead Water City. But judging from the results, Dead Water City's scheme should have succeeded."

"Could this thing have been dealt with by Deadwater City?"

Wei Xi scanned the illusory figure from head to toe several times. Seeing that it was wooden and did not seem like a craftsman capable of heavy work, he made up his mind.

Since this was a tiger with its teeth pulled, Wei Xi had no fear. He manipulated the [Threads] to play with it while searching for clues in this easily deserted place.

Given Zuo Fei's style, if it really was his work, it would inevitably leave behind some stone carvings, murals, or something similar, revealing some clues. How to escape is secondary; figuring out the whole story is the priority. (End of Chapter)