Chapter 83 - Yin-Yang Origin Flame
As the swirling energy pools of pitch-black Yin and golden-white Yang rushed together and condensed, the balance of the Yin-Yang Origin Law matured to its absolute peak. In that moment of perfect equilibrium, Su Ming no longer needed to manually alternate between Yin and Yang.
From their union, a mystical flame manifested in his dantian, the Yin-Yang Origin Flame. It was not a Heavenly Flame, an Earth Flame, nor a Beast Flame, but a Flame born from the conceptual separation of Yin and Yang.
The flame possessed no fixed shape, flowing like a living spirit that constantly reshaped itself. It had two distinct currents eternally revolving around one another in perfect harmony, with one half burning with a brilliant golden radiance of boundless vitality, the other half burning in a deep, cold violet that absorbed the light around it. At its very heart lay a tiny, silent grey-black point of primordial Chaos.
The flame did not merely burn. It carried the authority of Yin and Yang, allowing it to separate, reverse, and harmonize opposing forces. Through its Yin aspect, it could freeze and isolate energy, locking spiritual flow in a state of absolute stasis; through its Yang aspect, it could ignite and expand, reducing raw matter to ash. By balancing these clashing extremes, it allowed Su Ming to manipulate these opposite forces with perfect precision, forming a conceptual fire of equilibrium.
Swirling around the condensed infant were three distinct, glowing rings of energy.
An absolute pitch-black Yin, brilliant golden-white Yang, and a grey-black chaos ring.
When his awareness brushed the grey-black ring, a violent shiver ran through his body. A drop of raw Chaos Qi leaked into his pathways, and his meridians instantly felt heavy and cracked under its weight. Su Ming withdrew his mind immediately, his breath catching. It was a force that represented chaos, and currently using it might destroy his own body from within.
The infant soul sat in silence, holding the balance of Yin, Yang, and Chaos under its direct domain.
Su Ming opened his eyes. A dual light of one eye absolute pitch-black, the other eye absolute golden-white, flashed within his pupils before settling back into deep, calm brown. The spiritual storm outside subsided, the Taiji Vortex dissolving back into the cloudy sky, leaving only the quiet patter of rain.
He had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. He could feel a qualitative change in Qi, Body, and Soul, granting him a sudden, vast expansion of spiritual awareness. Su Ming stood up, his robes clean and untouched, and looked toward the sealed cave entrance.
It was time to return.
***
A mile from the cave, the sky was slowly clearing. Elder Han Chen flew steadily through the air, his Golden Core cultivation realm carrying him over the dense pine forest. Close behind him, Lin Yao and Qing Luan glided on their flying swords, their eyes scanning the misty terrain.
Qing Luan’s Jade Leopard had been left at the camp to assist the other cultivators with cleaning the remaining beasts, while Lin Yao wore the Frost Serpent in its dormant bracelet form coiled around her wrist.
The battle at the valley was finally under complete control, the beast waves suppressed, and the defense line stabilized. Having secured the camp, they had immediately set out to investigate.
During Su Ming’s breakthrough, a massive spatial Taiji Vortex had split the sky into a swirling spiral of day and night. Although the phenomenon had now dissolved, the immense elemental disturbance had been felt all the way back to the camp under Elder Han’s divine senses.
"The source should be ahead," Han Chen said, guiding their flight toward a flattened clearing. Su Ming’s concealment array had hidden his location, but the aftereffects of the Taiji Vortex were impossible to mask, leaving the surrounding air heavy.
As they hovered over the clearing, the group froze.
The valley floor was silent, the chaotic beast aura gone. Instead, lying in the center of the clearing was the colossal body of the Mutated Abyss Earth Tyrant.
Han Chen descended slightly, hovering just above the ground to inspect the perfectly bisected carcass. The left side was covered in cold, radiating a shivering Yin energy. The right side remained warm, releasing lingering heat of Yang energy. The division was extremely precise.
’A single strike,’ Han Chen thought, his heart trembling. ’It did not just cut the flesh. It conceptually divided the body into Yin and Yang. What kind of sword path can achieve such extraordinary effects? Was it Su Ming?’
He looked closely at the smooth, glass-like edge, completely unaware of the beast’s underlying Hundun lineage or the chaos energy Su Ming had to face. To Han Chen, it was simply a peerless display of a Yin-Yang sword technique.
"Master?" Lin Yao’s voice broke the silence.
Su Ming materialized silently at the edge of the clearing, his white robes spotless. He had returned to retrieve the Tyrant’s remains.
"Elder Su," Han Chen turned back and spoke with relief. "We saw the massive disturbance and came to investigate. The Qi front is fully stabilized now. Are you hurt?"
"I am fine," Su Ming replied calmly.
As he spoke, Han Chen’s eyes widened. A sudden wave of raw, profound spiritual pressure radiated from Su Ming, making the local Qi hum in submission.
Su Ming felt the gaze and immediately drew his Qi back inward, but the realization had already struck.
’This has to stop,’ Su Ming thought with a quiet frown on his mind. ’Every breakthrough triggers a massive heavenly phenomenon, and the new realm is immediately sensed by others. Exposing such things is a liability.’
’While staying on White Lotus Peak, such events don’t expose me much to the world, but in public, it is too risky.’
’I must find a high-grade concealment technique to mask my aura as well as powerful formations to actively suppress the heavenly phenomenon that my breakthrough triggers.’
Han Chen stood frozen in place. He had felt similar pressure earlier that day in front of Elder Mu. It was indeed the presence of a Nascent Soul realm.
Taking a deep breath, Han Chen bowed deeply. "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Peak Master Su."
Lin Yao and Qing Luan looked confused for a moment. Then, Lin Yao’s eyes went wide, and Qing Luan gasped softly. Realizing the truth, both of them quickly recovered and bowed deeply in reverence.
"Thank you, Elder Han," Su Ming said calmly.
With a sweep of his sleeve, the colossal carcass of the Mutated Abyss Earth Tyrant was pulled into his storage ring.
"Let us return," Su Ming said, turning toward the path. The search party nodded respectfully, falling in behind him as they departed.