Chapter 26 - Minor Mastery of Yin-Yang Laws, The Foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains—Mount Tai
Chapter 26: Minor Mastery of Yin-Yang Laws, The Foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains—Mount Tai
A million li was, for the current Zhong Yue, merely the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
When he reappeared, he stood amidst a range of mountains.
Looking around, vast mountain ranges stretched endlessly, dragon veins lying dormant in continuous chains.
Immortal energy rose, mists and rosy clouds swirled, and a thousand strands of auspicious light emerged.
“This is… the trace of an innate grand formation?”
Zhong Yue gazed into the void, his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes [pò wàng jīn tóng]^ blazing with golden light, their piercing gaze cutting through the void, easily discerning the traces of the innate grand formation.
But that was as far as it went; looking further, the scene ahead grew hazy, with only the faint outline of mountains flickering, details obscured.
“A place shrouded by an innate grand formation is either a blessed land, a spiritual treasure, or a spiritual root manifesting.”
“But given the scale of this formation, it is most likely a blessed land.”
Zhong Yue rubbed his chin, then sat cross-legged on the spot.
Calling it a blessed land, he immediately began attempting to decipher the formation.
Be it a spiritual root, spiritual treasure, or blessed land, all were opportunities; having encountered one, there was no reason to let it pass.
Moreover, judging by the surge of intuition [xīn xuè lái cháo]^, this blessed land was fated to be his.
Calming his mind, his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes flared, gazing across the void and myriad miles of mountains and rivers; runes began to surface in Zhong Yue’s eyes.
With his heaven-defying comprehension [nì tiān wù xìng]^ and his experience with numerous formations over the years, coupled with some insights into array arts, he soon detected a clue.
“So that’s it—an Innate Yin-Yang Grand Formation. No wonder it stirred my intuition.”
Observing the yin-yang duality manifesting at the formation’s core, Zhong Yue’s face showed realisation.
His Dao was the Qiankun Great Dao, inherently tied to yin-yang, and his foundation’s transformation also required a yin-yang catalyst. The formation alone was beneficial to him, so it was no surprise it triggered his intuition.
Understanding the karmic connection, Zhong Yue redoubled his efforts, fully immersing himself in comprehending the formation.
Under the analysis of his heaven-defying comprehension, in less than five hundred years, Zhong Yue had grasped the rudiments of the formation.
Having entered the threshold of an innate grand formation, theoretically, with no one guarding it, he could break the array and enter.
Yet, Zhong Yue did not act immediately, continuing to analyse its core.
Time flowed on, the principles of yin-yang duality coursed through his heart, bolstered by his heaven-defying comprehension, constantly dissecting and absorbing, transforming them into nourishment.
Eight hundred years later, countless pieces of information intertwined in Zhong Yue’s mind, sorted and synthesised, finally taking shape.
【You comprehended the Innate Yin-Yang Grand Formation, guided by heaven-defying comprehension, successfully mastering the formation and grasping the principle of yin-yang duality, achieving minor mastery of the Yin-Yang Laws.】
In an instant, divine light blazed in myriad rays, two yin-yang fish spun behind Zhong Yue, manifesting boundless heavens and myriad realms.
At that moment, Zhong Yue awoke from his meditation.
His eyes opened, filled with countless phenomena, his face brimming with irrepressible joy.
“Good, good, good.”
Zhong Yue laughed heartily, striding towards the area shrouded by the Innate Yin-Yang Grand Formation.
Minor mastery of yin-yang granted him a new understanding of the Qiankun Great Dao.
Barring any surprises, with ten thousand years of accumulation and sufficient spiritual energy, Great Luo was within reach.
Step by step, he advanced; though the formation shimmered with divine light, Zhong Yue passed through without the slightest hindrance.
Soon, he entered the formation, beholding the scene within.
Inside was a wondrous landscape. Myriad rays of rosy light flashed, draping like willows over endless mountain ranges, dotted with starlight, stretching to the cosmos’s limits.
At times, immortal cranes flew with spiritual fruits in their beaks, hovering above cascading waterfalls. Wisps of immortal energy swirled amidst the scene.
White deer trod the air, vanishing swiftly; luan and phoenix sang in harmony, auspicious omens filling the sky!
Caves and abodes gleamed like pearls, illuminating the heavens!
“This is… the supreme of the Five Sacred Mountains—Mount Tai?”
Zhong Yue raised an eyebrow, surprise flickering in his eyes.
Mount Tai, the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains.
As the saying goes, no mountain is greater, no history more ancient [shān mò dà yú zhī, shǐ mò gǔ yú zhī]^, referring to Mount Tai.
“Aligned with the wood element, it perfectly matches the attributes of my birthplace; no wonder it stirred my intuition.”
Though he had known a place shrouded by an Innate Yin-Yang Grand Formation would be extraordinary, learning it was Mount Tai still sent a thrill through him.
In the Primordial Wilderness, Mount Tai, while not the foremost, ranked among the top three.
Only slightly inferior to Buzhou and Kunlun, even the Western ancestral vein, Mount Sumeru, paled by comparison.
Of course, Mount Sumeru’s inferiority stemmed purely from its origin being shattered during the ancient Dao-Demon War; otherwise, it could rival Kunlun, its former prosperity imaginable.
Confirming it was Mount Tai, Zhong Yue hesitated no longer, immediately refining the Innate Yin-Yang Grand Formation he had already mastered.
Such a blessed land was unlike places nurturing innate spiritual treasures, where one might take a spiritual root or treasure and leave.
This was a top-tier Daoist sanctuary, perfect as he currently lacked a base; this place was ideal.
Walking through the mountains, Zhong Yue continuously surveyed his new abode.
The more he explored, the more his heart rejoiced.
A cursory inspection revealed one high-grade innate spiritual root, one mid-grade innate spiritual root, and two low-grade innate spiritual roots.
The high-grade innate spiritual root was called Qingyun Green Bamboo, bearing three thousand leaves corresponding to the three thousand Great Daos, producing one spiritual leaf every century. The leaves could be brewed in water, with calming and clarifying effects.
The mid-grade innate spiritual root was the Innate Purple Qi Golden Pine, flowering every six thousand years, fruiting every six thousand years, and maturing every six thousand years, yielding thirty-six pine nuts that tempered the body and strengthened bones, immensely beneficial for physical cultivators.
The two low-grade innate spiritual roots were the Nether Green Wood and the Heavenly Fire Spirit Wood.
Both were spiritual materials; meditating beneath them aided cultivation of their respective attributes, and their branches could be used for crafting artifacts or refining pills.
Beyond these four innate spiritual roots, Zhong Yue also discovered three innate spiritual treasures.
For Zhong Yue, their grades were not exceptional: one high-grade and two mid-grade.
The high-grade innate spiritual treasure was the Cloud Light Sword, containing thirty-five innate prohibitions, its slender blade shimmering with flowing light, its edge gleaming with cold radiance, capable of shattering the void.
The mid-grade innate spiritual treasures were the Mountain-Splitting Axe and the Heavenly Mirror Shield, one for attack and one for defence; though not a set, they complemented each other like one.
Zhong Yue collected the three innate spiritual treasures but left the four innate spiritual roots untouched.
He even planted the low-grade innate spiritual root Fire Jujube Tree and the mid-grade innate spiritual root Biluo Fruit Tree, acquired earlier, in a spiritually rich area nearby.
Since he had decided to make this his Daoist sanctuary, whether the spiritual roots were harvested or not made no difference; this would be his domain, safe from others’ prying eyes.
After meticulously inspecting the surroundings to ensure no oversights, Zhong Yue strode forward.
His goal was the majestic peak of Mount Tai—Jade Emperor Summit.
At this moment, atop Jade Emperor Summit, starlight poured down like a dream, as if the vast Milky Way from the Ninth Heaven cascaded below, dazzling and mesmerising.
Footnotes:
破妄金瞳 (pò wàng jīn tóng):
- Meaning: Literally “Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes,” it refers to a supernatural ability of Zhong Yue’s eyes to see through illusions, formations, and hidden truths, often depicted as emitting golden light.
- Origin: Common in xianxia and xuanhuan genres, such abilities draw from Chinese mythology (e.g., Sun Wukong’s fiery golden eyes in Journey to the West), symbolising heightened perception.
- Cultural Significance: In Chinese culture, eyes with divine sight represent wisdom and the ability to pierce deception, aligning with Zhong Yue’s pursuit of truth and mastery over the Dao in his journey.
- Meaning: Literally “a surge of heart’s blood,” it refers to a sudden, intuitive premonition or gut feeling, often guiding cultivators to opportunities or dangers in xianxia narratives.
- Origin: A common idiom in Chinese literature, rooted in Daoist and mystical traditions, where the heart is seen as a seat of intuition connected to the cosmos.
- Cultural Significance: The phrase reflects the Chinese belief in the interplay between human intuition and cosmic fate, underscoring Zhong Yue’s sensitivity to karmic opportunities tied to his cultivation path.
- Meaning: Literally “heaven-defying comprehension,” it refers to an extraordinary, almost supernatural ability to understand and grasp profound concepts or truths, often used in fantasy or cultivation novels to describe a character’s exceptional talent.
- Origin: Common in Chinese web novels, particularly in the xianxia (immortal hero) and xuanhuan (mystical fantasy) genres, where characters possess unique traits that defy natural limits. It draws from Daoist and mythological ideas of transcending heaven’s will.
- Cultural Significance: In Chinese culture, “heaven” (天, tiān) represents the natural order or fate. Defying it signifies breaking free from predetermined limits, a celebrated trait in stories of personal triumph and cultivation. The term underscores Zhong Yue’s prodigious intellect and potential in the narrative.