Chapter 121: The Sun and Moon Follow Their Paths, Giving Birth to Yin and Yang

"A fighter's bowl is a vessel for measuring. It gathers the sea and contains the rivers. Senior Sister, wouldn't it be wonderful to forge a treasure capable of storing the heavens and the earth?"

The three of them continued their journey. Along the way, Qinghong kept whispering in the Fairy’s ear. She felt a stir of interest, thinking to herself, "I am currently contemplating the Dao fruit. If I am to break through to the Profound Realm, I must use a Taiji Hunyuan treasure to verify my enlightenment. This Hunyuan Golden Bowl might just be suitable."

The Fairy had originally intended to forge the Hunyuan Unified Qi Pearl, but after hearing Qinghong’s words, she felt the Hunyuan Golden Bowl was also an excellent choice. She happened to lack a cosmic-class magical treasure capable of "storing Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed."

"But I have no materials on hand. I shall take another look later."

The trio then used the conch in the Dragon Girl's hand to navigate toward the location of the corresponding luminous pearls.

The conch was the discarded shell of a water demon from the Black Sea. After that conch spirit passed away, the shell drifted into the Dragon Domain and was obtained by the Dragon Girl. Now, to forge the Ocean-Suppressing Pearl, it was best to use matching inner alchemy materials. After all, treasures like the Ocean-Suppressing Pearl could be countered by shell-type magical artifacts. If the pearl were ever stolen, one could use a matching conch to retrieve it.

About a day later, the three arrived at a tranquil stretch of sea. The winds were calm, the waves were still, and the morning sun shone brightly.

"Strange. How can such a peaceful scene exist in the Black Sea?" Qinghong looked down at the conch, which emitted a ray of spiritual light that shot into the vast, boundless sea in the distance.

"Could the object be underwater?"

Qinghong stayed on the small boat while the Fairy and the Dragon Girl went underwater to explore.

The seabed was filled with wonders. The Black Sea’s frequent whirlpools constantly spat out treasures. Over thousands of years, many valuables had settled and gathered on the seafloor.

As the two women searched for treasure, Qinghong sat on the bow in meditation, taking out his Mitian Talisman to contact Tushan.

"How are things on your end, kid?"

"Not bad. I'm back home for a visit. A few of us in the Fox Clan have been dragged into this current killing tribulation." Tushan was currently lying lazily on the grass, with two white foxes fanning him daintily.

"The Immortal Fox techniques of our clan are precisely the cultivation of Clear Ethereal Immortal Qi. After sixty years, some will descend the mountain to face the tribulation."

The Fox Clan line was an ancient heritage from the Xuanzheng Province. During the ancient war of extermination against demons, the Fox Clan suffered heavy losses, but they had some powerful experts who opened up a secret mountain realm to avoid the catastrophe. Today, the Fox Clan is a force not inferior to any major grotto-heaven. Their royal line still maintains ancient practices, cultivating the true form of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox. Furthermore, branches like the Heart-Moon Fox and the Immortal Spirit Fox are all offshoots of their techniques, said to be rubbings from the Ten Thousand Demon Golden List.

Within the Fox Clan, those who must face the killing tribulation are the Immortal Fox and Demonic Fox lineages—one cultivating Immortal Spirit Qi, the other Turbid Malice Qi.

"Sixty years?"

"What? You didn't know?" Tushan laughed. "This immortal-demonic killing tribulation is not only dangerous but also long-lasting. It is now tied to the rise and fall of dynasties. I fear it will begin with the next emperor. From the moment he ascends, we must dismantle his empire and establish a new one."

As Tushan spoke, a look of worry appeared on his face. If it came to dismantling an empire, the Fox Clan truly could not escape.

Just as he was thinking this, two streaks of immortal light descended into the mountains.

Tushan’s expression shifted. "The people from Taiyuan Palace have finally arrived. Ji Feichen, I must go; we shall speak later." He immediately ran toward the main hall to gather intelligence in secret.

"This kid actually dared to hang up on me." Qinghong felt speechless and tucked away the Mitian Talisman. At that moment, the Fairy and the Dragon Girl emerged from the water.

They tossed up many rare treasures scavenged from the seabed: stalks of bright red coral glowing like fire, and deep-sea pearls shining like lamps.

"These pearls are not yet mature; the best one is only seven hundred years old." Qinghong inspected them and picked up a dark iron block. It contained starlight and was a high-grade material for forging.

"We searched the seabed, but found no thousand-year-old pearls." The Fairy boarded the boat, and with a turn of her auspicious cloud energy, she repelled the water from her body.

The Dragon Girl looked slightly disappointed and said to them, "I shall go look again!" The Silver Dragon dived back into the water, and the Fairy, worried for her safety, followed.

Qinghong was left alone on the boat again. Resting his chin on his hand, he picked up a nine-segmented blood coral. Each segment was three feet long, with nine branches and nine segments in total. Bored, Qinghong simply began inlaying the pearls onto the coral as decorations.

"Logically, since the conch pointed here, it should be hidden in the water." Qinghong scanned the distance; the water was flat and waveless, with no reefs or other hiding spots.

By midday, the Dragon Girl and the Fairy had surfaced several times, tossing up many spiritual herbs and medicines, but still, no corresponding pearl was found.

However, as Qinghong gazed at the water, he vaguely felt a whirlpool swirling in the distance.

*Boom—*

In the distance, through the misty rain, an immortal island appeared, flickering in and out of existence.

The island was shrouded in auspicious clouds, surrounded by shimmering golden neon light, with faint sounds of thunder exploding around it. With these movements, the island was slowly expanding.

"Could the pearl be on that island?" Qinghong felt a surge of excitement and stepped over the waves toward the immortal island.

The island was not large, only a few miles in circumference, but it was filled with abundant vitality. In many places, the energy had condensed into viscous liquid that rippled across the ground.

"A miracle of heaven and earth, a masterpiece of nature. It is only a pity that this island has not yet truly matured." Primordial Qi lingered on the island; this energy formed rocks or springs, but it had not yet fully taken shape.

"Presumably, this is the treasure island born from the Black Sea whirlpool?"

Alas, the island was fleeting. Just as Qinghong wanted to examine it closely, it sank into the water and vanished again. In the end, he only had time to toss the coral tree he was holding onto the island.

"So be it. I will regroup with the Senior Sister and the others, then decide what to do."

Qinghong withdrew and returned to the spiritual boat, where the Fairy and the Dragon Girl had been waiting for a long time.

"Senior Sister, you've surfaced?"

"We heard a change in the water, so we came out to check." The two had been searching for treasure when the current suddenly shifted, and sensing something disturbing the flow, they emerged to investigate.

"Just now, an island appeared on the water."

"An island?" The Fairy and the Dragon Girl looked at the sea, but it was as smooth as a mirror; there was nothing there.

Qinghong recounted what he had just seen. "Since we have nothing better to do, let us wait. Perhaps our target is on that island."

Thus, the three sat in meditation on the small boat. The Dragon Girl, not one to endure loneliness, played in the water from time to time, tossing up treasures for the others.

Deep in the night, when the bright moon hung in the sky, ripples appeared on the water once more.

At the hour of the Rat, as the moonlight shimmered and the tide swelled, another immortal island slowly rose amidst the green haze and silver light.

"Senior Sister, be ready!" At Qinghong’s shout, the three revealed their profound abilities: Qinghong stepped on lotus flowers across the waves, the Fairy rode the clouds, and the Dragon Girl transformed into a silver dragon, lunging toward the island.

Once on the island, they immediately sensed the thick starlight and lunar essence above, and the swaying jade trees on the island.

"This is not right! This island is different from what I saw during the day." The island was only a few miles wide and was quickly searched. But Qinghong recalled something and immediately called the other two to fly above the island to observe it closely.

"What did you discover, Junior Brother?"

"During the day, fearing the island would vanish, I planted a coral tree covered in pearls here. But now, not only is it nowhere to be seen, but the aura is completely different from what I witnessed."

"Different?"

"What I saw during the day was swallowing solar essence amidst neon clouds. But now, it seems to be the power of lunar essence. These two islands, one Yin and one Yang, have their own mysteries." As he spoke, the Dragon-Whisker Fan flew out from between his brows, and the Dao Capital Map behind him manifested the sun and moon, deducing the Great Dao.

The Dao Capital Map, the first of the Eight Views and Twenty-Four Diagrams, evolved the path of the sun, moon, and stars, containing the secrets of gathering solar and lunar essence. On this island, it perfectly matched a certain hidden principle.

The Dragon-Whisker Fan was even more unpredictable, with two dragons entwined like a sphere, endlessly circulating.

"So that is it. The island actually has two faces, Yin and Yang." Qinghong suddenly understood. "This island is Yin and Yang; the Yang island emerges during the day, and the Yin island at night, which is why it differs from what I saw earlier. This is the cycle of Yin and Yang. If there are two islands, then the coral tree must be underwater."

The Fairy had not seen the daytime island, but she was widely knowledgeable. With a wave of her hand, a sphere of Yin and Yang energy rose before her. The two currents were inextricably intertwined, like two Yin-Yang fish rotating around each other, with the two small islands acting as their eyes.

"Junior Brother, you were wrong about one thing. Isolated Yin cannot grow, and isolated Yang cannot be born. The Yang island you saw, while a condensation of Yang energy, was supported by the Yin fish to achieve balance. The Yin fish, attracted by the daytime solar essence, rises from the whirlpool to absorb it. At night, the Yang fish emerges to absorb the lunar essence. Thus, a perfect opposition is formed. Look—"

She pointed to a thick layer of energy outside the island. "These harmonious Yin and Yang energies wrap around the islands. I fear these two islands do not usually reside on the surface of the water, but in another layer of space. The whirlpool is merely their entrance."

While they spoke, the Dragon Girl wandered the island with her conch and finally discovered a pearl glowing with spiritual light in a cold pool. The pearl lay silently at the bottom, corresponding to the moon in the sky. As she approached, the conch in her hand hummed softly, resonating with the pearl.

"Found it!" the Dragon Girl called to them and went down to retrieve the treasure.

The water in the cold pool was bone-chilling. As soon as the Dragon Girl went down, she was bitten by the cold. The Fairy took an immortal medicine from her gourd to heal her, while Qinghong used the same method as before to fish the pearl out.

At that moment, Qinghong caught a glimpse of moonlight flickering in the distance and followed the radiance. On a stone cliff, he found an embedded piece of raw jade.

The luster of the jade reflected into the water, creating a unique silver radiance.

Curious, Qinghong stepped forward and pried the jade loose. As it fell into his palm, the heat dispelled the chill. The crust of the jade fell away, revealing a moon-white treasure pearl inside.

"Moon Essence Pearl!" Qinghong was stunned and immediately rummaged through the Nine Heavens Profound Gold Dragon God Tower to pull out another pearl.

The two pearls were different in color but shared the same origin—treasures fallen into the mortal world from the Clear Void and Vast Cold Palace high above in the heavens.

Qinghong’s heart shook. "Right! This island swallows lunar essence; there must be many more such Moon Essence Pearls. If I can really find twenty-four of them, my Azure Tide Pearl could advance to the next level!"