734: The mind of maintaining balance

The two Dao philosophies were poles apart and conflicted with each other, making the progress of his comprehension exceptionally slow, even pushing him to the brink of Chaos and Qi Deviation multiple times!

Sometimes, that True Intent of Pure Yang that could incinerate all things would assault his mind, making him wish he could immediately abandon the Yin Scripture and specialize in this path to sweep away everything!

Other times, that chill of nihilistic void would make his will sink, wanting only to fall into eternal frozen stasis.

"Give up one of them..."

"Specialize in one, and you will immediately obtain supreme power..."

"Why suffer such pain?"

The whispers of the Heart Demon rang in his ears countless times.

Each time, Yao Delong gritted his teeth, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth!

He stared fixedly at the two codices before him, thinking of the "Heart of Balance" mentioned by the Yin Yang Daoist, and thinking of his journey so far,

where what he relied on was precisely the mutual assistance of Yin and Yang and the rotation of the Five Elements! If he succumbed to this and chose an extreme, it would not be Yao Delong's Dao!

"Break the obsession! What needs to be broken is this delusional thought of 'this or that'!" He let out a low growl, his eyes bloodshot but flashing with unyielding light!

He began to try using the Rosy Seal Yin Yang Art as a bridge and the Yin-Yang Harmony System as an aid to cross-reference and collide the basic principles of the two Cultivation Techniques!

Within Yin there is Yang, and within Yang there is Yin! Does the eruption of extreme Yang require the condensation of Yin softness? Does the nihilism of extreme Yin contain the vitality of Yang?

He no longer forced quick results, but instead, like the most patient craftsman, bit by bit, he sought to understand and harmonize these two seemingly incompatible Origins of power!

The pain remained, but a sliver of clarity gradually emerged amidst the Chaos.

In the slowness, he gradually felt out the key point of balance.

The Yin Yang Dao Diagram rotated more smoothly in his Sea of Consciousness, and the light of the Five Elements Divine Ring grew brighter, seemingly echoing this higher level of harmony.

The ten-year period arrived as scheduled.

When the final moment came, Yao Delong had not Cultivated either technique to a very profound Realm, but the Aura around him had undergone a strange change!

An Aura that seemed like Yang yet wasn't Yang, seemed like Yin yet wasn't Yin, yet was smooth, unobstructed, and endless, circulated within his body!

Those originally violent and conflicting powers of Pure Yang and Mysterious Yin, though not completely fused, had formed a mysterious balance within his body,

like the alternation of day and night, not encroaching upon each other, yet serving as each other's root!

Right at this moment!

That old and peaceful voice, carrying a trace of hard-to-detect praise and relief, rang out again:

"The trial of Breaking Obsession... has been passed!"

Buzz!

The cave scene dissipated like ripples on water.

Yao Delong snapped his eyes open and found himself still sitting cross-legged on the "Breaking Obsession" prayer mat on the left.

The heart-wrenching pain and ten years of suffering just now seemed like a vivid dream,

but that sliver of strangely balanced Aura in his body and the more rounded Yin and Yang insights in his Sea of Consciousness were real and undeniable!

He suddenly saw the light: "So that's how it is! The core of this trial's assessment does not lie in choosing which Cultivation Technique,

but in whether one can perceive the 'obsession' contained within the 'choose one of two' trap itself! Break the delusional thought of 'one or the other,' and not be trapped by extreme temptation or fear!

The best way to break it is to, after seeing through the essence of the illusion, use one's own understanding of the Great Dao of Yin and Yang to create a 'third possibility' that transcends binary opposition—

Harmony and balance! This is the true 'Breaking Obsession'!"

With this thought understood, his Dao Heart became even clearer.

Yao Delong stood up, his gaze sharp as lightning, and walked without hesitation toward the prayer mat on the right marked with the two words for "Discernment."

He sat down cross-legged.

Buzz—!

The scene before him spun! It was no longer a deep cave, but instead, he was in the solemn and magnificent Discussion Hall of the Yin Yang Sect!

The hall was resplendent with gold and jade, with giant Coiled Dragon Pillars supporting the dome, and the main seat was empty. At this moment, two Elders with powerful Auras but faces shrouded in Chaos mist,

whose true appearances could not be seen, were standing in the center of the hall, arguing fiercely, their voices like thunder, making the hall buzz!

The Elder on the left had a tall and straight posture, his voice impassioned and carrying an unquestionable decisiveness:

"The Sect is in danger! Formidable enemies surround us, watching like tigers! It is a moment of life and death! We must be decisive!"

"Take the power of the Yin Vein Origin from the Forbidden Ground! At any cost! Quickly refine eighteen Yin Yang Evil Guards!"

"These Evil Guards are refined with an Ancient Forbidden Art; each one has the power of the Void Refining Peak, and in formation, they can fight someone at the Body Integration Realm!"

"Only such thunderous methods can deter the small fries from all sides! Protect our Sect's Foundation from being destroyed!"

"A bit of sacrifice is unavoidable!" Evil Qi faintly appeared around him, revealing a sense of cold-blooded ruthlessness.

The Elder on the right had an Aura that seemed compassionate, his voice full of worry:

"No! Absolutely not! The Demonic Path Army has arrived outside the Mountain Gate! Evil Qi reaches the skies!"

"Taking the Yin Vein Origin now is like drinking poison to quench thirst, destroying our own Great Wall! The Sect's Great Array will instantly weaken by thirty percent!"

"The priority now is preservation! We should immediately open the mountain-protecting formation with full force and completely seal the mountain for a hundred years!"

"To show our sincerity, we should... should abandon several peerless scriptures passed down from antiquity and offer them to the Demonic Path Leader! In exchange for a hundred years of peace!"

"Let the Mortal kingdoms outside the Mountain Gate have a chance to breathe! Sacrificing our Dao paths to exchange for the peace of ten thousand homes, this is great benevolence!"

He exuded an almost pedantic light of kindness.

Two choices, two extremes!

One advocated fighting fire with fire, not hesitating to use forbidden powers and sacrifice the Sect's Foundation to carve out a blood-soaked path!

The other advocated compromise, giving up dignity, giving up the Legacy, and even giving up one's Dao path in exchange for a false peace and mundane tranquility!

Two completely different positions, like two massive torrents, assaulted Yao Delong's cognition and judgment!

That powerful mental influence seemed as if it wanted to forcibly twist his will!

Discernment!

It tests whether one can perceive the truth, distinguish right from wrong, and make the choice that best fits morality and one's original heart under extremely complex difficulties!

Yao Delong's gaze became incredibly deep.

He did not speak immediately but, like an outsider, coldly observed these two blurry "Elders" and the "only" solutions they proposed.

An invisible storm of thought collided fiercely in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness! The Yin Yang Dao Diagram and the Five Elements Divine Ring slowly rotated, emitting the light of wisdom.

Yao Delong calmly scanned those two arguing Elders with extremely opposing Auras.

Their words were like magical poisonous thorns, constantly assaulting his judgment. More frighteningly, within the entire Discussion Hall,

those originally blurry phantom "Disciples" now seemed to be controlled by an invisible force, one after another excitedly echoing:

"What Elder Sha says is absolutely right! Only thunderous methods can protect our Sect!"

"Elder Shan is compassionate! What sin have the Mortal commoners committed? We should prioritize the lives of the people!"

"Senior Brother Yao (Martial Uncle Yao/Elder Yao)! Quickly make a decision!"

"Choose! You must choose one!"

"The survival of the Sect depends on your single thought!"

Countless voices merged into a torrent, carrying emotions of fear, urgency, and blind following, pressing down on Yao Delong like a mountain wave,

attempting to force him to immediately make a choice between these two seemingly unique, "this or that" extreme plans!