Chapter 294 : Yin Spirit
Chapter 294: Yin Spirit
“How did they catch up?”
On a carriage, Chen Ming was puzzled. After thinking it through, he believed the only possible explanation was that in the morning, when that Divine Repository Realm expert swept his divine sense over them, a mark had been placed on him.
At first, that expert thought he wasn’t the target, so he let him go.
But later, upon second thought, he became suspicious and came chasing after him.
Chen Ming furrowed his brows, feeling the situation was quite troublesome.
He didn’t know much about the Divine Repository Realm, but it seemed that upon reaching that level, one could employ methods far beyond that realm’s limits.
Despite having such a keen divine sense, he hadn’t realized a mark had been placed on him.
“The other party hasn’t made a move yet because he’s wary of the Divine Repository Realm expert beside Princess Mingyu. As soon as I separate from her in Jiangzhou, he’ll strike.”
The thought of facing a Divine Repository Realm expert made his heart heavy.
Under normal speed, it would take no more than a month to travel from the capital to Jiangzhou.
“What should I do?”
Chen Ming pondered seriously.
Breaking through to the Divine Repository Realm in a month was unrealistic.
At the moment, the only thing he could rely on to strengthen himself was those thirty million experience points...
It seemed he could only seek help externally.
...
Night fell.
Under the arrangement of a local official, Princess Mingyu and her group settled in a manor.
Chen Ming naturally followed along and had a room to himself.
After securely shutting the windows and doors, he silently recited three times in his heart, “Daoist Master Wang Chenzi, Daoist Master Wang Chenzi, Daoist Master Wang Chenzi...”
Immediately, a wisp of consciousness rose to a higher plane, entering a mysterious cave residence.
The old Daoist still had his immortal-like bearing and said in surprise, “Little friend, you've broken through to First Grade? That’s truly worth celebrating.”
“Senior, I came this time seeking your help to save my life,” Chen Ming pleaded upon meeting him.
“What happened?”
“I’m being targeted by a Divine Repository Realm expert...”
He briefly explained what had happened earlier today and concluded, “Please, senior, teach me a way to escape.”
The old Daoist frowned upon hearing this, his expression solemn as he said, “You've just reached First Grade. Escaping from the hands of a Divine Repository Realm martial artist will be difficult.”
“I’m aware. That’s why I came to you—because I had no other options. The main issue is that those experts’ divine senses are too powerful. He’s done something to me, and I don’t even know what. There’s no way to guard against it.”
“After reaching the Divine Repository Realm, one’s primordial spirit is formed, and divine sense becomes extraordinarily strong—far beyond a First Grade martial artist. Only a cultivator’s Yin Spirit could detect something.”
Yin Spirit?
Chen Ming’s heart stirred. “Senior, are you saying that if I cultivate a Yin Spirit, I might have a chance to hide from that Divine Repository Realm expert?”
“Naturally. The Yin Spirit specializes in divine sense—martial artists cannot compare. Its mysteries are innate to it, even Divine Repository martial artists find it hard to grasp.”
If that were the case—
A thought rose in Chen Ming’s mind but was quickly suppressed. He asked instead, “May I ask, senior, what is the difference between the Divine Repository Realm and First Grade?”
The old Daoist said, “You’ve reached First Grade. Haven’t you noticed that both your body and spirit are reaching a peak?”
“Yes, I feel like my physical body is nearing perfection.”
“Exactly. First Grade is the limit of the human body. Since ancient times, this has been a dead end for martial artists. At this point, one must turn to cultivation. Ten thousand years ago, the True Martial Emperor opened an unprecedented path using wondrous treasures to unlock the body’s Divine Repositories.”
“What exactly is a Divine Repository?” Chen Ming asked.
The old Daoist said, “The ancients believed we are descendants of divine beings. Our bodies hide immense power, restrained only by bloodline limitations. The True Martial Emperor discovered that the human body contains five Divine Repositories. Unlocking one vastly enhances the body’s potential.
“When all five are unlocked, one returns to the innate state and gains the potential to enter the realm of gods. Hence, in some Immortal Estates and secret realms, this realm is called the Innate Realm.”
Chen Ming sighed, “So that’s what it is.”
These so-called Divine Repositories were essentially like genetic locks. Unlocking them unlocked immense potential.
However, unlocking them required external items.
The old Daoist continued, “The first to be opened is the Blood Repository, governing qi and blood. Once activated, the user gains immense vitality—stabbed through the heart or beheaded, and still won’t die. Near immortality. To kill such a person, you either drain their blood or destroy their primordial spirit…”
...
Returning to reality, Chen Ming now had a clearer understanding of Divine Repository Realm experts. They were already close to being non-human.
Even with a peerless divine weapon, he couldn’t match them—and worse, they could mark him, leaving him no way to flee.
“It seems, the only way…”
Chen Ming connected his thoughts to the purple booklet in his sea of consciousness, letting its contents flow into his mind.
The Purple Mansion Secret Volume was the Celestial Master Residence’s supreme inheritance, encompassing all. The Nine Heavens Divine Thunder was just its most famous divine ability.
He hadn't intended to study its techniques—he had only taken the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder as a reward for delivering the manual.
But now, to survive, he couldn’t afford to hesitate.
The fundamental cultivation method within the Purple Mansion Secret Volume was the Nine Heavens Divine Spirit Manual, which went up only to the Yang Spirit Realm. But that was more than enough for him.
This technique was vast and profound.
Truth be told, just reading the incantations was a challenge. Many terms he couldn’t even comprehend.
Moreover, it lacked the matching visualization diagram—making it hard to even get started.
Fortunately, he could consult the old Daoist at any time.
Thus, Chen Ming visited the old Daoist daily while traveling with Princess Mingyu’s group. Half a month later, he finally got the hang of the technique.
...
“How do you possess the Celestial Master Residence’s technique?”
One day, as Chen Ming asked for guidance again, the old Daoist couldn’t help but ask.
He replied, “Previously at the Nine Nether Tower, the Celestial Master gave me this manual before his death, asking me to pass it to his disciple.”
“I see,” the old Daoist nodded in understanding, but reminded, “However, you must be clear—by learning the Celestial Master Residence’s techniques, you take on their karma.”
Chen Ming said, “I already carry enough karma. One more won’t make a difference.”
The old Daoist nodded. He had done his part.
“You’ve taken this up last minute, and cultivating a Yin Spirit isn’t something that can be done quickly. You’ve reached First Grade, and your divine sense is strong. Once you begin, your progress will be rapid. But forming a Yin Spirit still takes years. And cultivating both martial arts and Daoism brings its own challenges.”
Chen Ming humbly asked, “Please elaborate, senior.”
The old Daoist said, “Everyone knows that reaching First Grade and cultivating Dao techniques to form a Yin Spirit grants immense power. Yet very few do so. Do you know why?”
“Because one’s energy is limited.”
“That’s one reason. The greater issue is, once a martial artist forms a Yin Spirit, their divine sense becomes too powerful and unbalanced with their body. Thus, before unlocking the Divine Repository, one must first achieve the Yang Spirit. The difficulty of this, you can imagine.”
So that was the reason.
Of course achieving a Yang Spirit wasn’t easy.
Like that First Grade expert from the Cult of Eternal Life in the Celestial Prison, who only transformed into a Yang Spirit after devouring the residual divine senses of over a dozen First Grades.
Nowadays, cultivators were increasingly rare because cultivation was hard. The threshold was higher and the process tougher than martial arts.
The only advantage cultivators had was that forming a Yang Spirit depended entirely on oneself—no external items required.
Even so, Yang Spirits were rarer than Divine Repository Realm martial artists.
This alone proved how difficult it was to attain Yang Spirit.
But that only applied to others.
To Chen Ming, this was no issue at all. He didn’t have to cultivate personally—he could just add points.
With enough experience points, he could go straight to the Yang Spirit.
Chen Ming sincerely bowed, “Thank you for the guidance, senior.”
...
After that, Chen Ming trained daily and, just as the old Daoist said, his cultivation in the Nine Heavens Divine Spirit Manual progressed by leaps and bounds.
In less than ten days, he reached the fourth level, and his sea of consciousness underwent a transformation.
After reaching the fourth level, his progress slowed.
Several days later, when he entered Jiangzhou aboard a boat with Princess Mingyu’s group, the Nine Heavens Divine Spirit Manual barely broke through to the fifth level.
That night, Chen Ming didn’t hesitate. He opened the panel and directly added points.
It took two million experience points to go from the fifth to sixth level.
Done instantly.
He felt another transformation in his sea of consciousness—a subtle, mysterious change.
From the sixth to seventh level required four million points.
He spent them all at once.
Boom!
He felt a monumental change in his sea of consciousness—it formed a tangible entity.
This… was the Yin Spirit!
Reaching the seventh level meant the Yin Spirit had formed.
In that moment, the entire world felt different. It was like gaining a new pair of eyes—another perspective to observe the world.
And through that perspective, he saw a terrifying presence several dozen meters away, like a venomous snake watching him with cold eyes.
“That direction… is that the eunuch?”
Chen Ming dared not look again.
Before this, when that Divine Repository Realm eunuch concealed his aura, he couldn’t sense him at all.
Now that he had formed the Yin Spirit, he could “see” his primordial spirit—see the truth.
Then he turned to look behind him, and there, in the shadows, lurked another terrifying presence—faint and ghostly, yet exuding malicious intent.
That must be the Divine Repository Realm expert he had encountered a month ago. To think he had followed them for an entire month with such patience.
Clearly, he wouldn’t rest until Chen Ming was dead.
Chen Ming quickly withdrew his Yin Spirit, hiding it again in the Mud Pill Palace.
...
“Huh?”
In a secluded courtyard, a surprised exclamation sounded.
A young eunuch waiting outside the door asked quickly, “Ancestor, what are your orders?”
“Interesting…”
The voice inside went quiet again.
...
On the opposite side of the river, atop a mountain, a brocade-robed man sat cross-legged on a large boulder, resting with eyes closed. Suddenly, his eyes opened with a flicker of surprise, “Yin Spirit?”
He smirked, closed his eyes again, and ignored it.
...
Chen Ming didn’t immediately seek out the old Daoist. Instead, he took out the Purple Mansion Secret Volume and stared at it for a while, thinking, “This book is strange.”
Just now, after forming the Yin Spirit, the purple booklet seemed to come alive, constantly drawing his attention.
As if something was sealed within it—a primordial spirit.
He had tried using Controlling Artifact Art before, but it hadn’t responded.
Now it seemed the booklet only reacted once he reached the Yin Spirit stage in the Nine Heavens Divine Spirit Manual.
No wonder the Celestial Master had kept it within his Yang Spirit. This was no ordinary object.
The question was—what was sealed inside?
Should he ask the old Daoist?
He quickly dismissed the idea.
The old Daoist knew too many of his secrets. While he seemed harmless, it was better to be cautious. He couldn’t let anyone know all his trump cards.
He had a hunch that this jade booklet concealed a tremendous secret—one only the Celestial Master was meant to hold.
“I should survive this ordeal first.”
Chen Ming stored the jade booklet inside his sea of consciousness, into his Yin Spirit.
He silently recited three times, “Daoist Master Wang Chenzi, Daoist Master Wang Chenzi, Daoist Master Wang Chenzi...”
Whoosh!
This time, he clearly sensed a force appear above his head, pulling a strand of his consciousness through a portal.
On the other side was the old Daoist.
“Yin… Yin Spirit?”
The moment the old Daoist saw him, his face showed utter shock, unable to maintain his calm immortal demeanor. He exclaimed, “This… how is this possible?”
Chen Ming bowed and said, “Thanks to your guidance, senior. It seems I do have some talent in cultivation.”
“Some talent?”
The old Daoist’s expression turned complex—this defied the very concept of talent.
This young man was truly extraordinary.
He sighed, “To think your talent in cultivation is so high. In my three hundred years, I’ve never seen such aptitude. What a pity.”
He shook his head at the end.
Chen Ming sensed a deeper meaning and respectfully asked, “Why a pity?”
The old Daoist looked at him and said, “Do you know why the Founding Emperor of the Great Jin valued the Celestial Master Residence so highly, even bestowing the title of Celestial Master and granting it an exalted position in court?”
Chen Ming thought and answered, “Is it because the Celestial Master could exorcise demons?”
The old Daoist asked back, “Are there even any demons in this world?”
Indeed, demons had vanished from the mortal realm for thousands of years.
As for demonic entities, perhaps the Cult of Eternal Life was somewhat related, but the Heaven’s Path Alliance dealt with them. Compared to them, the Celestial Master Residence’s power was far inferior. Why go through the trouble of creating such a title?
Chen Ming said, “Please enlighten me, senior.”
The old Daoist explained, “Indeed, demons do exist. But they haven’t rampaged in the mortal realm for a long time. Do you know why?”
“Because of the Celestial Master Residence?”
The old Daoist slowly said, “Exactly. This world has secret realms and Immortal Estates, so naturally, there are also demon domains, monster realms, and hells. These are realms akin to secret realms. In ancient times, demons and monsters often invaded the mortal world. It wasn’t until the ancient sovereigns sealed and suppressed these dangerous realms that peace was restored.
“From then on, in every dynasty, one of the emperor’s duties was to maintain those seals. In the Great Jin, that responsibility falls to the Celestial Master. That is the karma of the Celestial Master Residence. Since you’ve cultivated its techniques, you must also bear that karma.”