On Wangjiang Mountain, Song Ciwan was consolidating her breakthrough.

Meanwhile, in Pinglan City, a contest unknown to outsiders was, in fact, always underway.

This was the contest between Illusory Nether City and the Mortal World—or rather, between righteous and malevolent qi, between life force and Death Qi, between Vitality and Nether Qi.

Atop Dingbo Tower, Ye Lingguan held a stone between his fingers.

A game board was laid out before him, on which black and white stones were locked in a fierce struggle.

But strangely, there was no one sitting across from him.

It was as if he were playing against someone, yet his opponent was nowhere to be seen.

An invisible hand seemed to be placing black stones one by one on the board before him.

Ye Lingguan’s hand, holding a white stone, would quickly follow, fighting for eyes and expanding territory.

Clearly, his playing style was aggressive and sharp, which didn’t quite match his usual profound image of being calm and detached.

And his opponent, the unseen player of the black stones, had an even more ferocious and aggressive style.

The two sides went back and forth, neither giving an inch. Amidst the struggle, the game reached a stalemate.

Kneeling beside Ye Lingguan was a young woman. This was his sole female disciple, Ji Qingfeng, whom Ye Sheng called Senior Sister.

Although Ji Qingfeng was the Senior Sister, she had a youthful face.

She knelt beside Ye Lingguan, observing the board intently. Like any earnest and diligent student, she respectfully asked, "Master, you said a moment ago that where there is yang, there must be yin; where there is white, there must be black; and where there is good, there must be evil... If that’s the case, does the struggle between good and evil never end?"

While fiercely battling the black stones, Ye Lingguan replied, "If there were no evil, how would one know good? If there were no black, how would one know white? Naturally, where there is yang, there must be yin. Otherwise, if the scorching sun baked the world without reprieve, how could life in the Mortal World survive? How could the people have any way to live?"

"Qingfeng, that which is unyieldingly hard cannot last. Do you understand?"

Ji Qingfeng blinked and pointed to Ye Lingguan’s line of play on the board. "Then, Master, are you using this momentum to suppress the black stones all at once?"

Ye Lingguan’s ferocious line of play was like a tiger leaping from its cage. As Ji Qingfeng pointed, he suddenly made a jump, cutting off one of his opponent’s large groups and instantly devouring it whole.

Ye Lingguan placed a stone, stroked his short beard, and laughed heartily. "Good disciple, you’re right! Isn’t your master here doing just that—riding the momentum, using white to suppress black, using good to suppress evil?"

At that moment, the sun in the Mortal World shone with great brilliance.

Outside Dingbo Tower, the vast landscape was cloudless for miles. On the Hengshui River, the great turquoise waves were calm.

This, too, was a part of the formless contest.

Sometimes, those not in the game could never understand this contest.

No, even those within the game often failed to understand.

Illusory Nether City and Pinglan City were actually two sides of the same coin. The existence of Illusory Nether City depended on Pinglan City.

If everyone in Pinglan City had a clear heart and pure qi, free of impurities and worries, then Illusory Nether City would be weakened indefinitely. Eventually, the Netherworld Spring would lose its power to erupt, and Illusory Nether City would no longer open.

And yet... was that possible?

The human heart is the most complex thing in this world. If everyone were to have a clear heart and pure qi, how could they still be called "Human"? Wouldn’t they all have to become Immortals, Buddhas, or the wisest of Saints?

But even Saints have moments of anger, and the Buddhist Family has its wrathful vajras. To expect Immortals to be without heart or feeling is truly self-deception.

To expect mortals to be without heart or feeling is even more unthinkable.

Pinglan City and Illusory Nether City, the Mortal World and the Netherworld, could only exist in a relationship of ebb and flow, where one’s strength is the other’s weakness, like the east wind versus the west wind. Neither could ever completely destroy the other.

However, while neither side could be completely eliminated, it was clearly possible for the east wind to prevail over the west wind.

The sun rose. The sky brightened.

Outside Pinglan City, amid the distant mountain mists, a Fox Demon in wide hemp robes stood in the green shadows of the mountains, gazing into the distance.

A gentle mountain breeze billowed his sleeves. His voice was cultured, calm, and measured. "The Great Zhou, with its Eighty-One Counties, is truly vast. The Mortal World produces an endless stream of geniuses. That Pinglan City has safely passed this calamity was no accident, but an inevitability."

Behind him, a sharp, thin voice laced with an odd giggle spoke, "Hee hee... Young Master, does this mean the plan cannot be carried out after all?"

Tushan Keji replied unhurriedly, "The time is not yet right, so what plan is there to speak of? This was merely observation. Pheasant Demon, are you getting carried away?"

The Pheasant Demon said in a thin voice, "How would this Little Demon dare? Hee hee hee..."

The laughter echoed in the mountain wind, causing Tushan Keji to frown slightly.

On Wangjiang Mountain, Song Ciwan broke through from Mid-stage Qi Refining to Late-stage Qi Refining. Afterwards, she regulated her breathing for several hours. When she awoke from Meditation again, she saw the sky outside her cave abode filled with the glow of sunset. Lifting her eyes, she realized it was already twilight!

It turned out that this period of consolidation had taken up an entire day.

But that was nothing. Compared to the times she had exchanged for years of Cultivation time, a single day was practically negligible.

Still, Song Ciwan walked to the entrance of her cave abode and stood there on the mountainside, quietly admiring the beautiful scene of the setting sun.

This breakthrough had brought an extraordinary sense of peace to her heart.

All her previous strange and wonderful experiences now transformed into a series of engraved, old-time woodblock prints. They certainly existed and had a profound impact, yet they seemed to have no connection to the Song Ciwan of this moment.

A balance of tension and relaxation is the way of both the scholar and the warrior.

Song Ciwan needed this tranquility to settle her thoughts and experiences. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

She even felt a little lazy and missed the Big White Goose.

’Perhaps the Big White Goose is missing me right now, too?’

Song Ciwan decided to lie low on Wangjiang Mountain for a while.

She had gained a great deal this time. Even if she sold items for ten days to half a month, with the Heaven and Earth Scale’s ten daily trade opportunities, she couldn’t possibly sell off her inventory easily.

That being the case, there was no point in going out to wander around the city again.

It would be better to use this opportunity to improve herself. If a Spiritual Treasure really did appear, she would have more confidence to contend for it.

And so, Song Ciwan watched the evening glow until the sun had completely set before returning to her cave abode.

This time, Song Ciwan didn’t cultivate. Instead, she leisurely sold an item.

What she sold was that mass of qi she had previously obtained from Ye Sheng!

[You have sold human desires—the obsession, confusion, and shock of a Quasi-Celestial Pride Level, Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator—weighing two jin and one tael, and obtained the First Layer of Call Wind and Rain from the Thirty-Six Celestial Spirit Techniques.]

The Thirty-Six Celestial Spirit Techniques!

In an instant, endless profound Spells poured down from the void. The weather and seasons shifted, the wind and clouds gathered—all of it transforming into chain-like images that flooded into the sea of Song Ciwan’s consciousness.

Her entire Divine Soul, Thought, and mind were completely immersed, and she suddenly lost all track of time.

Until the sun set and the moon rose, and the sky was once again filled with starlight.