"Spirits are extremely sensitive to yin energy. Humans are also natural beings; men belong to yang, and women to yin. Virgins, in particular, possess innate yin energy. Absorbing their yin energy is indeed much faster than the yin energy that a spirit array can gather. If you hadn't intervened in time, it would have caused great chaos. Alas, this was not my original intention in setting up the spirit array, but meeting you because of it is a great fortune." A hint of excitement lingered in his voice.
"So that's how it is." Ling Yun suddenly understood, but then asked in confusion, "Elder Yu, I still don't understand, why did you set up the Yin Spirit Array in the first place?"
“I would have told you this even if you hadn’t asked. Actually, I don’t have much time left. I can feel the barrier gradually becoming weaker.” Yu Xiujie sighed. “I’ve said it before, people with superpowers are born that way. From birth, they are cared for and raised by specialists, learning various supernatural arts until they become powerful superpowered individuals. But you are the only exception in this world. You have a stable superpower despite your acquired mutation, just like a piece of unpolished, pure jade. You are also the best successor to inherit my mantle.”
He continued, "Actually, the main reason I set up the Heaven and Earth Yin Spirit Array was..."
It turns out that Yu Xiujie was a naturally gifted superhuman who had been renowned for over a hundred years. He possessed extraordinary talent, learning anything quickly and mastering it effortlessly. He was especially adept at comprehending supernatural abilities. Therefore, before the age of thirty, he had become an unparalleled powerhouse, reaching the pinnacle of his field.
However, Yu Xiujie was not satisfied with this. He yearned not only for invincibility in this lifetime, but also for the ethereal and unparalleled Dao of Heaven after reaching the pinnacle of power. It seemed that he had reached the limit in cultivating supernatural abilities, with no further path to advance.
So he devoted himself to studying the universe, immersing himself in a vast array of books, researching philosophy, political economy, history, and various social sciences and laws of development, hoping to gain deeper insights from these disciplines. He then used his supernatural abilities to travel the world, especially to the powerful European nations of the time, observing and learning from their civilizations. He also visited natural landscapes, contemplating the mysteries of heaven and earth. He truly read countless books and traveled extensively, merging the wisdom of various geniuses into a unified whole. Finally, at the age of fifty, he experienced a sudden enlightenment, a vague yet profound understanding of the ultimate truths of the universe.
Afterwards, Yu Xiujie returned to China, avoiding the flames of war and retreating to the deep mountains to devote himself to the study of ancient Taoism, the I Ching, the Eight Trigrams, Tai Chi Yin Yang, and Qimen Dunjia. At the same time, he diligently cultivated his supernatural abilities, and his power became increasingly refined and powerful. He was just one step away from reaching the elusive and unattainable realm of the Heavenly Dao.
But this step, like a mirage, is one that can never be crossed. No matter how strong one is, one cannot ultimately withstand the erosion of time. Seeing one's life drawing to a close, a lifetime of effort ultimately turns into a sigh and a pile of bones; the strong are naturally filled with resentment.
Therefore, Yu Xiujie used his life's skills to set up the Heaven and Earth Yin Spirit Array in the deep mountains. This array was created by him by combining Qimen Dunjia with the I Ching. It was extremely wonderful. The array required 360 identical tombs, which were arranged one by one according to the Bagua positions. Each tomb corresponded to the position of the stars in the sky. This was the external arrangement of the Yin Spirit Array. It could use the natural power of the stars to lock the Yin energy of the tombs. The huge tomb was the center of the array, and the lotus lamp stand in the coffin in the tomb was the array's eye artifact. It was a rare treasure of heaven and earth that Yu Xiujie had collected throughout his life. It had the function of condensing Yin energy.
The outer layer of the grand formation can gradually absorb the cold, yin energy of the natural space into the formation. After being naturally purified by the graveyard and stars, it transforms into pure, cold energy that condenses within the lotus lamp stand, and then gradually solidifies into a yin spirit. Like mountain goblins and water spirits, yin spirits are naturally born spiritual entities that possess a certain degree of consciousness, but lack intelligence.
After setting up the grand formation, Yu Xiujie's time was up. He then used his body and all his supernatural energy to create a perfect barrier, and then poured his almost materialized mental energy field into it. This was the yellow book that Ling Yun had obtained.
His original intention was that when the spirit materialized, the barrier could release its spiritual energy field onto it, essentially giving him a rebirth. Although he hadn't grasped the Dao, as long as his consciousness remained and he possessed the almost indestructible energy body of the spirit, he would eventually reach that ethereal realm. All that was needed was time.
At that time, only Yu Xiujie was capable of making such a heaven-defying attempt; other superpowered individuals wouldn't even dare to dream of it.
The supreme expert, despite his optimistic vision, discovered after transforming the barrier that while the Yin Spirit Array could absorb the cold, yin energy from the outside world and slowly condense it into yin energy, the process was far slower than a snail's pace. At this rate, it would likely take a thousand years for the array to generate yin spirits. Even in its dormant state, his barrier could only sustain itself for a hundred years or so before completely dissipating.
It was all fate. It seems that man is destined not to be able to defy destiny. Yu Xiujie could only slumber in his resentful anger. Until a hundred years later, a boy named Ling Yun, eager to save his classmate, triggered his barrier, and the supreme powerhouse from a hundred years ago was brought back to light.
Ling Yun listened, almost mesmerized, as if a mythical story were unfolding before his very eyes. The old man before him was once an unparalleled powerhouse, still existing in another form, defying destiny. Thinking of a hundred years ago, a towering figure stood atop the world, roaring at the heavens, wanting to step into the ethereal Dao of Heaven, Ling Yun's blood boiled.
After Yu Xiujie finished speaking, his expression became somewhat dejected: "My loyal heart was not yet determined, so I roared to the heavens. A hundred years of dreams have turned to dust. It seems that I cannot defy fate and will eventually return to dust."
"Ling Yun." Yu Xiujie's expression immediately calmed down, and he called out softly.
"Ah, Elder Yu." Ling Yun was still immersed in the legend of Yu Xiujie, unable to extricate himself. His heart seemed to have returned to more than a hundred years ago, seeing that lonely yet indomitable figure.
"Old Yu, I will definitely help you fulfill this dream, and I will never succumb to fate." In the boy's eyes, it seemed as if a raging fire was burning.
Yu Xiujie was slightly taken aback, then smiled meaningfully. This young man was so similar to him when he was young, both so stubborn and unyielding. Thinking of this, Yu Xiujie couldn't help but feel a surge of goodwill towards Ling Yun.
However, to become a strong person, stubbornness and hard work alone are far from enough...
“Ling Yun, you already know my background. Perhaps in a few years, this barrier of mine will also disappear. Then, I wonder if I would have the honor of becoming your teacher?” Yu Xiujie’s eyes, which had seen through the vicissitudes of life, were fixed on Ling Yun’s eyes.
Ling Yun looked at Yu Xiujie with mixed feelings of surprise and delight. Suddenly, as if struck by a divine inspiration, he stood up from the armchair, faced Yu Xiujie, and respectfully bowed: "Teacher, student Ling Yun pays his respects."
For some reason, upon seeing Yu Xiujie, he felt immense respect and kinship. There was none of the wariness or restraint one would feel with a stranger. It was simply natural; Ling Yun even had a feeling that he and Yu Xiujie had known each other for a long time, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years. Moreover, hearing Yu Xiujie's legendary tales naturally instilled a sense of admiration in the young man. Everyone has a hero complex, and Ling Yun was no exception. Now that this former supreme expert had offered to be his teacher, Ling Yun readily agreed.
“Good, good.” Yu Xiujie was also very happy and reached out to pat his head. “We don’t need to follow those stinky rules and complicated apprenticeship rituals. If you have it in your heart, you have everything. If you don’t have it in your heart, what’s the use of those stinky rules? I suppose that with the development of society today, there is no such thing as kowtowing to become an apprentice.”
Ling Yun extended his hand: "Old Yu, handshakes are all the rage these days."
"Hehe, okay, let's shake hands." Yu Xiujie also reached out and shook Ling Yun's hand. Although they were both illusions, the feeling of shaking hands was so real.
"Master Yu, what are you going to teach me now?" Ling Yun was so excited and impatient when he thought of Master Yu's amazing skills.
"What's the rush? You only have a mental field after your breakthrough. Although you can see the initial essence of power, it's still very weak. What I need to do first is to continuously strengthen your mental field and control before we can talk about anything else," Yu Xiujie said with a smile.
"Oh." Ling Yun nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something, "By the way, Elder Yu, I've been inside the barrier for so long, can't people outside see me? Am I still at home right now?"
“You can’t be seen from the outside. My barrier has seven layers in total, just like you see that yellow booklet has seven pages. Each page represents a different barrier. Right now, we’re just in the barrier on the first page. Time here is basically the same as time outside. I estimate that a lot of time has passed outside while we’ve been talking. I’ll send you out to take care of other things first, and you can come back in when you’re free tonight,” Yu Xiujie said.
"At night? Then I don't need to sleep?" Ling Yun asked.
"You little rascal, you really don't know anything. Only ordinary people use sleep to replenish their physical fatigue. Real superhumans have a mental field and don't need to sleep," Yu Xiujie said with a laugh.
"So that's how it is." Ling Yun said with surprise, only then realizing that he had also stayed up all night but had not felt sleepy at all.
"As for that little girl you mentioned who's possessed by a spirit, I need to see her with my own eyes. I'll attach a barrier to you and leave you a mental imprint of entering it. Once you trigger the imprint, you can communicate with me in your consciousness, and no one else will be able to see it," Yu Xiujie added.
"How do I attach it to my body? Elder Yu, do I put the yellow book in my pocket after I go out?" Ling Yun asked.
Yu Xiujie smiled slightly: "You'll find out soon enough." With a flick of his long sleeve, Ling Yun felt a sudden dizziness, and his vision changed instantly. The pale yellow world disappeared, and he was sitting perfectly fine on the sofa in his bedroom. Before him was still the yellow book floating with its pale yellow light.
He was about to reach for the yellow book when it suddenly flew high into the air, its yellow light growing brighter and brighter until it became dazzling. Then it suddenly transformed into a strange beam of yellow light, shot into Ling Yun's chest, and vanished instantly.
Ling Yun unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a small yellow book mark on his chest, as lifelike as a tattoo.
Chapter Fourteen: The Stranger
Ling Yun touched the mark of the yellow book with his hand, but his fingertips still felt the softness of his skin. He was quite surprised and wondered how the yellow book had hidden inside his body.
A strange feeling arose from the yellow book mark on his chest, like an invisible key, deeply engraved in Ling Yun's mind.
"Is this the spiritual imprint for entering the barrier?" Ling Yun tried to touch the strange imprint with his spiritual force field, and sure enough, he entered Elder Yu's barrier again.
Having mastered the use of the spiritual imprint, Ling Yun jumped off the bed. Looking at the clock in the living room, he realized it was already three in the afternoon. Several hours had passed unknowingly between him and Yu Xiujie, from their initial acquaintance to their discussion about becoming disciples.
His parents ate lunch at their workplace cafeteria and never came home for meals. Although Lingyun didn't feel hungry, he hadn't had a drop of water for almost a day, so he still needed to eat something. He took out the leftovers from last night from the refrigerator, heated them up in the microwave, and ate a hearty meal.
After finishing his meal, Ling Yun picked up his phone, intending to call Li Lingling, but then thought better of it. Instead, he dialed Zhang Yunfeng's number. He had called Zhang Yunfeng that morning, but there were no missed calls or text messages on his phone. Ling Yun was a little puzzled; had the guy not turned his phone on all day?
A cold, electronic female voice came through the microphone: "The user you dialed is either switched off or out of service area."
"Where did that kid go? He said he was waiting for my news yesterday, and today he's vanished without a trace." Ling Yun muttered to himself, then turned around and turned on the TV with the remote, guessing that the local news channel would be reporting on the missing girl case.