Opening the cover of the Cultivation Chronicle, Zhang Yuanqing found its pages a pale yellow, emitting a faint musty odor. The neatly written characters read:
"The Way of Water and Fire lies in balance. By transforming Water and Fire into Yin and Yang, one can master the Ice-Fire Refinement Technique of our sect. After three years of cultivation, I have finally achieved enlightenment."
Another cultivation manual? Zhang Yuanqing raised an eyebrow.
The last time he'd encountered such descriptions was at the Mountain God Temple, in the notes left behind by the Shoulder-Clinging Vengeful Spirit, which detailed some of its cultivation practices, including breathing techniques and talisman crafting.
So, in the Ming Dynasty, practitioners of various professions advanced through cultivation rather than relying on Character Cards? Or perhaps this is just the Spirit Realm's background setting. The Yin-Yang Wanderer and others are likely NPCs, like Granny Wang and Widow Xu. The demon lord followed this path too; he probably killed them at first, but they later respawned. Unless we can prove the Yin-Yang Wanderer actually existed in historical records...
With these thoughts, Zhang Yuanqing opened his laptop, logged into the official database, and searched for "Yin-Yang Town."
However, aside from a few sparse strategy guides, the official database contained no information about Yin-Yang Town.
"Even the Sandaoshan Goddess Temple is documented, but not the town where people actually live? Are The Officials just useless? What's going on?"
Zhang Yuanqing cursed instinctively, then paused, startled.
Why am I suddenly so irritable? After a few moments of reflection, he realized it was one of the Yin-Yang Robe's drawbacks: volatile emotions.
"Breathe, control yourself," he muttered, taking a deep breath. "The Yin-Yang Wanderer was a Ming Dynasty figure, but he's long dead. As far as I know, the only Ming Dynasty powerhouse still alive might be that Old Hag."
He continued reading. The traditional Chinese characters slowed his pace, but after ten minutes, he had a basic understanding of the Yin-Yang Wanderer's background.
The Wanderer hailed from the Water-Fire Sect, founded by a legendary immortal from the Song Dynasty. The sect held considerable influence in the Central Plains, yet its disciples remained few. This wasn't due to a lack of recruitment efforts, but rather the scarcity of individuals with the aptitude for cultivation.
The Yin-Yang Wanderer mentioned a concept: "When heaven and earth undergo transformation, only a rare few can succeed."
"This aligns with what the Temple Steward said—the secret of a thousand years of rise and fall," Zhang Yuanqing muttered, flipping through the pages. But he couldn't find any explanation for the "changes in heaven and earth."
He couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Maybe even the Yin-Yang Wanderer didn't know the exact reason.
Zhang Yuanqing also noticed that, according to the Yin-Yang Wanderer's account, disciples who mastered the Ice-Fire Refinement Technique were exceedingly rare within the sect—the elite among the elite.
Water and fire coexisting in one body? In Spirit Realm Walker terms, that would mean possessing two major classes simultaneously. That's impossible for Spirit Realm Walkers. If anyone in the Five Elements Alliance had the abilities of two major classes, I would have heard about it. Unless it's a secret due to some special cultivation method?
As he pondered, he continued reading the Cultivation Chronicle.
"After mastering the Ice-Fire Refinement Technique, my cultivation advanced rapidly, making me a dominant force in the Central Plains. Later, I ventured into the Northern Territory, rarely encountering worthy opponents. I then journeyed south to challenge the grandmasters of various sects, achieving consecutive victories. Hearing of a fellow Daoist on Sandaoshan in Song Prefecture, skilled in summoning wind and rain, exorcising ghosts and demons, and crafting elixirs and talismans, I went to challenge him, only to suffer a crushing defeat."
"Disheartened, I returned to my sect and informed my masters of this humiliation. They smiled and said, 'The Grandmaster was the same!'"
Sandaoshan... This must be about the Old Hag. It has to be the Old Hag. Hiss, is the Old Hag really that powerful? If I encounter her in the Spirit Realm again, I'll need to consider what kneeling posture would best convey my sincerity.
Zhang Yuanqing secretly gritted his teeth. A second later, he suddenly realized something was off and focused his gaze on the four words: "The Grandmaster was the same."
Does Master mean that even our Grandmaster was beaten by the Old Hag?
Hiss, the founder of the Water-Fire Sect was a figure from the Song Dynasty. If the Old Hag defeated him, that means she's ridiculously old. The identity of the Goddess of Sandaoshan is just an alias she adopted in her later years.
Zhang Yuanqing had to reassess the Old Hag's true strength.
Time ticked by, and the Cultivation Chronicle grew thinner with each page turned. The remaining sections detailed the Yin-Yang Wanderer's travels and cultivation insights, interspersed with key points of the Breathing Technique, meridian distributions, and other esoteric knowledge that Zhang Yuanqing couldn't comprehend.
What surprised him most was that during his travels, the Yin-Yang Wanderer had befriended many individuals from both the righteous and evil paths. Yes, by "evil path friends," he meant those with Evil Classes.
The Wanderer's assessment of these Evil Class friends was: "Generous, chivalrous, and quick to repay kindness or vengeance."
"The Yin-Yang Wanderer doesn't seem like someone with twisted morals. Could his Evil Class acquaintances be like Auntie Xiao Yuan? Looking at his life, it seems the righteous and wicked paths weren't always irreconcilable, unlike today's Spirit Realm Walkers who attack each other on sight, eager to spill each other's brains."
Zhang Yuanqing flipped through the pages quickly, uninterested in the Wanderer's travelogues. One noteworthy detail: the Yin-Yang Robe was obtained during one of his journeys, found in an ancient tomb.
After acquiring the Yin-Yang Robe, he began calling himself the Yin-Yang Wanderer and challenged the Old Hag at Sandaoshan again.
He suffered another crushing defeat.
The Yin-Yang Wanderer then gave up, spending his days drinking, feasting, and carousing with friends. He intervened in injustices when he encountered them and casually beheaded corrupt officials.
As he entered his twilight years, the Wanderer became obsessed with immortality, lamenting his misfortune at being born in an era of great upheaval.
The older he grew, the stronger his obsession became. The Cultivation Chronicle shifted from documenting his cultivation practices to analyzing methods for achieving immortality.
He even considered using infant blood as a catalyst to refine an Elixir of Immortality, narrowly avoiding this dark path. Yet his obsession with immortality only intensified.
Reading this, Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill run down his spine.
Previously, he had considered the price of the Yin-Yang Robe relatively mild. After all, who wouldn't want immortality? It hardly seemed like a true sacrifice.
But now, witnessing the Yin-Yang Wanderer's near-mad obsession with immortality, he realized the true severity of the cost.
One day, the Yin-Yang Wanderer heard of the Goddess of Sandaoshan's ascension to immortality. Deeply shaken, he wrote in his Cultivation Chronicle:
"Even a beauty who could topple kingdoms cannot escape the ravages of time. Alas, how tragic."
Soon after, the Yin-Yang Wanderer established Yin-Yang Town and entered a slumber within his immortal dream.
Having finished the Cultivation Chronicle, Zhang Yuanqing found the information overwhelming. He massaged his temples, organizing and digesting the information he had gathered:
The Old Hag is far older than I imagined, and her power is terrifying! During the Ming Dynasty, the Evil and Orderly Classes weren't exactly friendly, but they weren't necessarily locked in a life-or-death struggle either.
In the Ming Dynasty, practitioners advanced through cultivation, not Character Cards.
If the Yin-Yang Wanderer and the Old Hag were real historical figures, my understanding of the Spirit Realm needs a complete overhaul. But among the NPCs I know, only the Old Hag is still alive.
No, perhaps I don't need to ask them directly. I have a way to confirm that Zhang Yuanqing is temporarily suppressing this question and storing away the Cultivation Chronicle.
Next, he planned to test his newly acquired skill—Astral Projection.
The moment this thought arose, Zhang Yuanqing felt an inexplicable urgency, a burning desire to try it immediately. Nothing could stop him.
Northern Yan Province, the provincial capital.
In a high-end residential complex, a young man wearing a sports headband sat casually in a high-backed chair. Across from him was a plush bed where a middle-aged man lay bound hand and foot.
The man was bald, with a beer belly and thick black chest hair. Sweat streamed down his forehead, his expression terrified, a thick towel stuffed in his mouth.
The middle-aged man whimpered incessantly, his eyes pleading, as pitiful as a whimpering puppy.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the young man chuckled, his eyes gleaming. "Look at you now—you really do resemble a dog begging for scraps."
He rose and walked to the bed, drawing a sharp fruit knife from his waist.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!" The middle-aged man's struggles intensified.
"Quiet! Listen to me!" The young man's pupils glowed crimson.
The middle-aged man froze instantly.
The young man sat on the edge of the bed, twirling the fruit knife between his fingers, his smile widening.
"I hate punishing without explanation. Before I kill you, I'll tell you why, so you die knowing the truth.
"First, you accepted bribes in exchange for sexual favors, forcing innocent women into prostitution. Second, you acted as a protector for criminal gangs, covering up their murders. Third..."
He continued in a gentle tone, listing over a dozen crimes.
By the time he finished, the middle-aged man on the bed had stiffened into a corpse.
"Is that all it takes? See? Even your own conscience couldn't bear it." The young man patted the corpse's shoulder, saying softly, "Don't be born human in your next life."
He rose from the bed and walked to the window, pushed it open, and inhaled the night breeze. Gazing down at the city lights, he sighed contentedly:
"The world is suddenly so much better."
Human nature is ugly, and the world inhabited by humans is filthy. Therefore, this world needs cleansing.
Just then, his phone rang.
The young man pulled out his phone, held it up between two fingers, and answered the call with a flick of his other hand:
"Silver Moon, what is it?"
"Demon Eye, have you had your fun? Return to Headquarters immediately. The Palace Master of Ceasing Slaughter has killed many of our people in the Northern Territory. She's skilled at concealment, and I need your eyes." The voice on the other end was loud and agitated.
"Watch your tone!" The young man smiled. "How dare a mere Divine General speak to me like that?"
"I'll pay attention to your motherfucking attitude!" The voice on the other end of the line grew even more agitated, erupting into a string of curses.
"You Four Celestial Kings are all fucking insane! The number one idiot keeps shouting about freedom but can't even be found. The number two bitch actually told me she'd send a challenge letter to the Palace Master of Ceasing Slaughter—and wouldn't attack unless the challenge was accepted?!
"And the number three psycho just happened to enter the Spirit Realm! We Eight Divine Generals could easily slaughter that slut, but we can't even find her!"
The young man scratched his head. "I see. Well, you know my rules. Give me a reason to kill her first."
"Does killing need a reason?"
"Doesn't it?"
"She accidentally killed two civilians while hunting our Organization members. Does that count?"
"It does! I'll go butcher her right now."
"You're fucking insane! Are you even Orderly or Evil? No, all four of you are fucking lunatics!" The Silver Moon Divine General spat out the curse, then abruptly changed her tone. "Li Xianzong is dead!"
"Hmm?" The Demonic Eye Celestial King raised an eyebrow, his smile vanishing. "What happened?"
"He encountered the Primordial Heavenly Venerable in an Instance and got slaughtered."
"I see." The Demonic Eye Celestial King's smile returned, a sinister curve to his lips. "Then after I butcher the Palace Master of Ceasing Slaughter, I'll go to Songhai and gather reasons to kill the Primordial Heavenly Venerable."
Zhang Yuanqing floated up, hovering less than ten centimeters from the ceiling. Looking down, he saw his physical body lying motionless on the bed, neither breathing nor showing a heartbeat.
If I don't return within twenty minutes, my body will die completely.
Realizing this, Zhang Yuanqing swiftly drifted out of the room, passing through the wall into the living room. His current state was peculiar; levitation and telekinesis seemed to be innate abilities.
This meant he could use Items in his Spectral Entity form to fight, such as wielding a knife or firing a gun.
Furthermore, the Spectral Entity's power was Lunar Power, allowing him to still use Night Roaming and Moon Howl, though he could no longer access his Inventory. Overall, his combat strength was slightly weaker than in his physical body.
The advantage was that his Spectral Entity form was immune to physical attacks, but it was extremely vulnerable to mental assaults.
While pondering this, Zhang Yuanqing drifted into his grandparents' bedroom. The elderly couple was already fast asleep.
Changing course, he crashed through the wall into his aunt's bedroom.
By the window draped with pink curtains, his aunt stood in a thin nightgown, silently gazing at the nightscape.
Her black lace bra lay discarded on the bedside table, its size quite substantial.
Jiang Yu'er tilted her head almost imperceptibly, then stretched languidly, muttering, "So sleepy... time for bed."
Zhang Yuanqing watched her slip under the covers, close her eyes, and settle into a peaceful, gentle slumber. Her face was round and delicate, radiating a quiet innocence.
I wonder which man will get to see this sleeping face every day in the future, he mused, studying his aunt's serene features. Spectral Entities can possess bodies. Should I try possessing Aunt?
But then he reconsidered. Experimenting on family members didn't seem right. He immediately shot through the ceiling and descended into the apartment below.
The downstairs neighbors were a young couple living with their parents. As soon as Zhang Yuanqing pierced the floor, he heard the creaking of a rocking bed and muffled thuds beneath the thin blanket.
Following the sounds, he spotted two intertwined bodies.
Ugh, bad timing, he thought. How am I supposed to possess someone while watching a live-action porno? He reluctantly gave up.
Just then, the thuds intensified sharply before abruptly ceasing. The rhythmic undulations of the blanket stilled.
Next came the wife's exasperated voice: "Why are you always so quick?"
"I've been working overtime lately. I'm tired."
"You said that last time too."
"Ugh, stop nagging. Let's just sleep. We have work tomorrow."
"Brother, you need Endurance Spray to regain your manly confidence! Since we're neighbors, I'll give you a 20% discount." Zhang Yuanqing's Spectral Entity floated upward, returning to his aunt's room.
This time, he had a clear objective: to enter his uncle's house next door and head straight to the master bedroom.
His uncle and aunt weren't asleep. One was watching a variety show while wearing a face mask, while the other was scrolling through rap videos on her phone, occasionally muttering single-rhyme lines.
"Look at Yuanzi, eating those steaming buns with such a goofy expression," his uncle suddenly said, his head drooping before snapping back up. He turned to his wife and said solemnly, "I think we should be kinder to Yuanzi."
His aunt didn't look up from her tablet. "Aren't we already good to him?"
"I mean financially. We should give him more pocket money. Even though Mom gives him some, we should contribute more as his aunt and uncle."
"Oh, then I'll give him a few thousand each month," she said casually.
"You're the best, Aunt! Ah, I mean, you're the best, honey."
His aunt, focused on the variety show, didn't notice the slip-up. She scoffed, "
"Your older sister has been obsessed with making money all these years. When has she ever cared about Yuanzi? She never attends parent-teacher conferences, never checks his homework, and doesn't even notice when that fatherless child gets bullied at school every day. I'm the one who has to go to the school and make a scene. She just throws money at him whenever she feels like it, acting like she's so great. Pfft, her little bit of money is nothing!"
Uncle looked embarrassed. "Tone it down a bit."
After all, she was my mother.
Aunt sighed.
"Look at Yuanzi all these years. He'd rather dance with you than take her money. When he first came here as a little elementary schooler, he was so cautious. Whenever you weren't around, he'd try to please me, terrified I'd dislike him and he wouldn't be able to stay.
"He was just as careful around your parents. Back then, he wasn't close to your grandparents yet, so he learned to be dependent on others at such a young age. Hmm, I remember Yu'er was like that too when she was little. That's probably why they've been so close since childhood."
As she finished, she noticed the sadness in her husband's eyes.
"This isn't like you at all," Aunt said, sensing something was wrong.
I should do a stand-up routine right now, he thought. Something like: "With an uncle like me, who needs a mom? Who needs a mom?!"
"Time for bed!" Uncle put down his phone and pulled up the covers.
The next day, Zhang Yuanqing arrived at work wearing a mask and a baseball cap.
Climbing to the second floor, he scanned the office area and walked straight to Guan Ya. "Sister Guan Ya, can I ask you something?"
Guan Ya, having already healed her Instance injuries with diluted Life Elixir, twirled a pen between her fingers and smiled. "Do girls prefer them long or short? Or maybe thick or thin?"
Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "Don't tease me like that. I'm still just a kid."
Guan Ya blinked innocently. "Did I say anything? I thought you were asking about high heels."
Zhang Yuanqing cleared his throat, steering the conversation back on track. "I heard from Xie Lingxi that the Xiahou Family's Old Ancestor was among the first Spirit Realm Walkers. How long did he live? When did the first Spirit Realm Walkers appear?"