467: Another seclusion

"Good."

Leng Yuekui nodded slightly, her expression unreadable.

"This art is exquisite beyond compare; comprehend it well."

As her voice fell, the cold and ethereal figure on the throne silently faded away like a reflection in water or a flower in a mirror.

Only a faint, ghostly wisp of chilly aura remained, which completely vanished into the level of Dao Laws in an instant.

Yao Delong let out a long breath and rubbed his forehead.

He instantly tossed aside troublesome matters like "coordinating resources" and "managing Disciples."

Maintaining a respectful posture, he backed away until he had completely exited the towering giant gates of Sunset Glow Hall.

Only then did he suddenly relax his tensed nerves.

"Whew—!" He exhaled deeply and, with a flash of his body,

vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a faint, scorching aura.

When he reappeared, he had already returned to his familiar Immortal Cave.

"Awoo! Big Brother! You're back! Look at you, grinning like a sunflower."

"Did that ice-mountain Revered Master reward you with something good?"

A streak of white light darted over like lightning, transforming into a mini White Flood Dragon about a foot long.

It coiled affectionately around Yao Delong's arm, shouting in a childish voice.

Its little nose sniffed hard. "I smell it! The scent of a treasure!"

Yao Delong was in a great mood and casually pushed away the dragon head rubbing against his shoulder.

"Go, go, go! What are you sniffing? Go stay to the side and act as a Protector for Big Brother! I have something good to ponder over!"

"No one is allowed to disturb this seclusion, and you especially aren't allowed to slack off!"

"Not even a mosquito... no! Not even a single spark is allowed to slip in near my seclusion area!"

"Protector?"

Qiong Shuang's mung-bean-sized ice-blue eyes darted around, and her face was immediately covered in an extremely sycophantic and flattering expression.

Her little claws patted her snow-white chest like a human, making muffled "thump-thump" sounds.

"I'm the best at being a Protector, Big Brother! Look at the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that—when has Qiong Shuang ever let you down?"

"It was truly a wall of bronze and iron, impregnable!"

While professing her loyalty, she rubbed her wet little head against Yao Delong's cheek.

"But... hehehe..." Her little claws began to rub together restlessly.

"Big Brother, look, I've been guarding you every day, through wind and sun... ahem."

"Even though there's no sun in the Immortal Cave... my heart is tired! My spirit is constantly tensed!"

"Even if there's no credit, there's a mountain of hard work!"

"Big Brother, you've had a Breakthrough and gotten treasures; could you leak a little something from between your fingers... that... hmm?"

Her greedy nature was practically overflowing.

Yao Delong was amused by her comical appearance. Having received a top-tier Legacy today,

his mood was indeed soaring, and he found the little creature's antics more agreeable.

"Fine, fine, look at you, so unambitious!"

He flipped his wrist readily, and with a flash of light, a silver ring appeared in his palm. It was carved with complex and profound cloud patterns,

and a faint flow of Qiong Shuang light shimmered upon it.

"Here, the Mysterious Ice Cloud Ring, a High Grade Earth-Grade Weapon. It contains a small world Formation space inside."

"Not only can it store items, but it can also nurture a few strands of extreme cold true power. In a critical moment, crushing it can release an ice shield to block a full-strength blow from the Nascent Soul Stage."

"It will be beneficial for your ice-attribute skeletal structure. Use it sparingly!"

"Awoo—!!! Big Brother! My dear Big Brother!"

Qiong Shuang's eyes instantly erupted with a golden light hotter than lava!

Her little tail wagged like a windmill, and with a pounce like a hungry dragon, her claws tightly gripped the shimmering silver ring.

She was almost drooling, and the entire dragon was so excited she nearly tied herself in knots.

"Big Brother, don't worry! I'm going to the entrance of the Immortal Cave right now! I'll sleep on the floor!"

"I'm not leaving! Even if a Grand Elder comes, they'll have to crawl over Qiong Shuang's body first!"

"Not a mosquito... no! Not even a single thought will cross this line to disturb my Big Brother's seclusion!"

"Big Brother, you focus on your research in peace! I'm going to my post right now!!"

Before her voice finished, a white light flashed, and Qiong Shuang, holding the ring, turned into a streak of light.

She rushed to the core nodes of the Restrictions at the Immortal Cave's entrance, clutching the ring in her little claws.

She assumed a defensive posture as if she would live or die with the position, her little face serious.

Her whole body was tensed; she looked like a mini version of a Cave-Guarding Divine Xiezhi!

"Hahahaha!" Yao Delong laughed and shook his head, turning to stride into the core Secret Chamber for quiet cultivation deep within the Immortal Cave.

The heavy stone door slammed shut, and layers of Restriction radiance lit up.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of the Formation eye where pure earth-fire energy gathered, Yao Delong took a deep breath.

Calming the turbulence in his heart, he carefully took out the Jade Slip that shimmered with magnificent sunset light,

constantly depicting the wondrous scenes of light and dark, life and death—the Sunset Glow Illuminating Yin-Yang Art!

His Divine Thought, like mercury spreading on the ground, probed into it without any hindrance.

Boom!

A massive torrent of information instantly surged into his Sea of Consciousness!

It was no longer the grand and chaotic aura he had felt before, but had transformed into incredibly clear, specific, and well-structured scripture Profound Truths!

First Layer: Cloud and Mist Illusionary Transformation (Cultivatable at the Soul Transformation Stage)

Key Points: The Divine Sense undergoes a thousand transformations like sunset clouds, dividing into the two heavens of Yin and Yang. A single thought creates all phenomena; a single thought transforms into all methods!

Wherever the mind reaches, it can simulate wind, thunder, water, and fire, or even manifest various illusory forms of living beings to disturb and confuse the enemy's heart!

This is the basic Profound Truth. Once mastered, one can simultaneously control two Spells with completely opposite

and even conflicting Divine Abilities and Spells without mutual interference, making the circulation of spiritual power perfectly smooth.

Second Layer: Setting Sun Like Blood (Cultivatable at the Void Refining Stage)

Key Points: Comprehend that decline is also glory, and destruction nurtures new life!

Experience the tragedy, grandeur, and the sliver of new life within destruction when "Yang is about to end."

Mastering the Yang of ultimate slaughter, every move and every stance possesses the power of a setting sun burning the sky, with embers incinerating the vast Great Thousand World!

Wherever the sword points, beneath the magnificence lies nothing but the dao rhyme of destruction and extinction.

Third Layer: Moon Reflecting Sunset Clouds (Cultivatable at the Body Integration Stage)

Key Points: Before the embers of the setting sun have faded, the bright moon is already in the sky.

Where the light of ultimate Yang falls, the brilliance of the ultimate Yin bright moon is revealed!

Comprehend the true essence of "Light and Dark as Mutual Roots," where Yin and Yang circulate as one desires!

The Physical Body and Primordial Spirit can freely switch between the states of "Pure Yang Extremely Blazing Body," "Mysterious Yin Ultimate Cold Body," or the fusion of both as "Chaos Sunset Glow,"

impenetrable by all evils and unharmable by all methods!

Fourth Layer: Great Dao Yin and Yang (Cultivatable at Body Integration Perfection)

Key Points: Heaven and earth are the furnace, Yin and Yang are the charcoal!

Evolve the rotation rules of a small world within one's own body, preliminarily touching the threshold of the "Yin and Yang Great Dao Law"!

Within a single thought, one can open a brief "Yin and Yang Domain" belonging to oneself!

Within the Domain, light and dark are reversed, and life and death are confused!

You are the sole Dominator wielding the authority of "Alternating Transformation"! One thought for light, one thought for eternal darkness!

...Several exquisite Divine Abilities paired with it also flooded into his mind one by one:

Twilight Mist Spirit-Binding Light, Yin-Yang Dawn Sword, Sunset Shadow Three Thousand Manifestations, and the eerie and unpredictable Setting Sun Blood-Weeping Curse... the descriptions of each were exquisite, and their power could shake heaven and earth!

However... along with them came shocking cultivation taboos and dangers, seemingly written in blood!

Sinking into the Heart Demon Tribulation: The cultivator must face the imagery of dusk,

seeking the most delicate balance between "the reluctant attachment to the fading light" and "the fear and despair of the encroaching darkness,"

like walking on a lone rope over a ten-thousand-fathom glacier!

With the slightest imbalance, Heart Demons will swarm, instantly dismantling a thousand years of Dao cultivation and plunging one into eternal darkness!

Ten times more dangerous than an ordinary Heart Demon Tribulation!

Shackles of Celestial Time: When dusk first arrives each day, the Yin and Yang Qi of heaven and earth circulate most gently; that is the golden hour for cultivating this art!

If dusk is missed for a long time, forced cultivation will yield half the result with twice the effort, like rowing against the current, with progress being negligible!

Like an invisible cage set by the rules of heaven and earth!