Chapter 213: Trigrams

"Rumble!"

As Kunyun's voice faded, a massive boom echoed above Sun and Moon Lake, and the ambient spiritual qi seemed to subtly shift.

In a daze, Kunyun thought he saw a streak of iridescent clouds sweep across the sky. Towering like a mountain, it bathed the world below in its glow. He even glimpsed his own reflection within it. Drawing upon the sun to manifest, the clouds eventually scattered into the fading twilight, returning the world to a dark, absolute silence.

Then, Kunyun opened his eyes.

The mystical vision seemed like nothing more than a split-second hallucination born the moment he closed his eyes. The violent shift in scenery left the Immortal Gate True Transmission staring blankly.

He remained that way until Mingyou's voice reached him. "What do you wish to know?"

Kunyun finally snapped back to reality. Shaking his head, he hurriedly replied, "The Brahma Nation spy who refined Junior Sister You into a protector wisdom consort cultivates a Major Divine Ability."

"The Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart. When this disciple perused the Secret Record of Divine Abilities, my master warned me never to cultivate this power. He said a great terror lurks behind it—the machinations of a True Person. Yet now I have encountered a practitioner, and it is tied to my life tribulation... This disciple is deeply concerned and cannot see through its mysteries."

"Please enlighten me, my lord."

Mingyou chuckled softly. "Are you worried that the one who cultivated this Major Divine Ability has a True Person's backing, which will in turn affect your life tribulation?"

"Yes," Kunyun nodded.

"If that is the case, why not ask your master?" Mingyou pressed.

Kunyun sighed. "To tell you the truth, this disciple has already asked Master a question, borrowed a Spiritual Treasure, and even troubled him to intervene once."

"I simply do not dare incur any more karma with him."

"Furthermore, this disciple is genuinely uncertain."

"The magical power that person cultivates isn't Wu Earth. Their magical power and divine power do not match, yet they still successfully cultivated it. That is why this disciple cannot grasp the variables at play."

Kunyun appeared the picture of obedience.

Inwardly, however, his mind was racing. That person cultivates Gui Water magical power but obtained a Wu Earth divine power. They must be trying to walk the path of Uniting Earth to Behold Fire.

Uniting Earth to Behold Fire.

This was a Dao secret of the fire-element qi. In theory, Kunyun shouldn't have known about it. However, as a True Transmission for many years, he had been constantly collecting the Dao secrets of the Twenty-Four Qi.

As coincidence would have it, he knew exactly what it was!

Now it just depends on whether this... great cultivator is willing to share the secret of Uniting Earth to Behold Fire. If he speaks frankly, it proves he sincerely wants to help me.

If he hides it... then I will need to reconsider my plans.

That was right. Kunyun had absolutely nothing he needed Mingyou to decipher. The underlying reason for his question was simply to test the Mingyou right in front of him!

For a moment, all sounds fell silent.

After a short while, Mingyou's voice rang out with a smile. "Relax. Although this person cultivated the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart, they will not fall into a True Person's schemes."

"Having Gui Water magical power while cultivating a Wu Earth divine power means walking the path of Uniting Earth to Behold Fire. Their original intention must have been to jump from the Dao path of Gui Water to Bing Fire."

Mingyou's voice gradually blurred in Kunyun's ears. Vaguely, every syllable seemed to detonate, surging with leaping flames.

He didn't know when, but the world had gone dark.

It was pitch-black—so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. The only thing visible was a single bright lamp igniting before his eyes. The firelight was clear and serene, illuminating the void and thoroughly dispelling all the doubts in his heart.

"So that's how it is."

Before this, he only knew the result of Uniting Earth to Behold Fire; he possessed no complete concept of how it actually operated.

He knew the outcome, but not the mechanism behind it.

Now, however, as the candle flame burned before his eyes, bursts of inspiration erupted in his mind. Resonating with heaven and earth, layer upon layer of enlightenment welled up:

The union of Gui and Wu can certainly transform into fire, but this fusion is actually quite unstable. For one, it requires Bing Fire as a catalyst. For another, it is susceptible to elemental generation and subjugation... For instance, the Yang Wood I cultivate has the miraculous effect of suppressing Wu Earth, thereby destroying the fusion of Gui and Wu. Though, the reverse is also true.

Illuminated by the candlelight, Kunyun's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

If the fire formed by the fusion of Wu and Gui burns too intensely, Jia Wood runs the risk of being incinerated... That's it, this is the crux of my life tribulation!

So my guess wasn't wrong.

That Brahma Nation spy who successfully cultivated the Ten Thousand Gods Terrestrial Chart must occupy a vital position in my life tribulation.

Uniting Earth to Behold Fire... this fire must be related to that good junior brother of mine.

Therefore, that Brahma Nation spy is vital to Kunlun. Kunlun has even pinned his hopes of defeating me on him.

Brahma Cultivators!

That's it, Kunlun plans to use the Brahma Nation to kill me... It all lines up. Everything fits. This is using the changes in human affairs to resonate with the principles of heaven and earth.

If he succeeds, that Brahma Nation spy will become his nourishment. He kills me, transcends his life tribulation, and then consumes this great medicine of Uniting Earth to Behold Fire. Borrowing the fire born from the fusion of Wu and Gui, he will boost the momentum of his own Heavenly Yang Fire and make the ultimate leap... There is a significant chance he will refine his way into the Dao!

Kunyun finally saw through the shifting variables.

Looking up at the sky, he realized that under the candlelight, even the shape of the world had changed. Faintly, patterns began to emerge.

The Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man; the duality of Yin and Yang.

In his daze, he saw two patterns. Both were arranged in the order of Earth, Man, and Heaven, yet they strikingly displayed different Yin and Yang alignments.

One had a Yang line on Earth, a Yin line on Man, and a Yin line in Heaven.

The other had a Yang line in Heaven, a Yang line on Man, and a Yin line on Earth.

"These are... trigram images?"

Kunyun's pupils shrank. As one of the most senior true transmission disciples, he had naturally heard how to walk the path above a Qi Refining practitioner.

A Refining Practitioner cultivated the Twenty-Four Qi.

A true cultivator cultivated the Early Heaven Eight Trigrams.

I cultivate Wood. Since that's the case, these two trigrams must also be of the Wood attribute... The Zhen Trigram and the Xun Trigram? What a massive stroke of fortune!

The next second, the candlelight went out.

Before Kunyun could further experience the profundities contained within those two trigrams, his vision went dark. He opened his eyes in utter bewilderment.

"Awake?"

Kunyun blinked. Staring at the young Daoist priest before him, he finally snapped back to reality and immediately kowtowed again. "Thank you, my lord, for guiding this disciple through the confusion."

Alongside his gratitude, he felt a deep sense of awe.

No wonder even his master held this great cultivator in the highest respect. The "Clear Vision of Truth and Illusion" lived up to its reputation; the assistance it provided in comprehending the Dao was simply immense.

For a mere minor cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer like him to briefly glimpse the legendary Early Heaven Eight Trigrams through a single candle flame—it was absolutely inconceivable!

"Fellow Daoist Tianxing once mentioned having a true transmission under his jurisdiction with decent aptitude and a bright wisdom-light. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it seems he wasn't wrong."

Mingyou spoke in a calm tone. "Uniting Earth to Behold Fire involves the Dao secrets of the fire element. Since you do not cultivate fire, I thought it would be difficult for you to comprehend. Yet not only did you grasp it, you even saw the two Early Heaven trigrams belonging to Wood. This shows that your attainments in the Dao of Wood truly possess the foundation to refine into the Dao. All you lack is to transcend your life tribulation."

At the end, Mingyou finally gave a faint smile. "Not bad at all."

Kunyun let out a deep breath and cupped his hands. "You flatter me, my lord. Were it not for your guidance, this minor cultivator would have absolutely no chance at such serendipity."

Mingyou's smile widened at those words.

For some reason, however, Kunyun suddenly felt that the smile on the young Daoist's face was somewhat peculiar. Before he could ponder it deeply, the youth abruptly turned around and waved his sleeve.

"Alright, step down."

"When you undergo your life tribulation, if that person from Gongshun Grotto-Heaven makes a move, I will naturally stop him. As for the rest, you will have to rely on your own abilities."

"...This disciple takes his leave."

Since a Refining Practitioner had personally given the order, Kunyun dared not say another word. He immediately bowed in salute and, maintaining his posture, retreated step by step.

He only lifted his head after backing entirely out of the bounds of Sun and Moon Lake.

Sweeping his gaze out, there was no young Daoist priest to be seen. There was only a passing gentle breeze and a magnificent, slightly blurred lake that seemed to sit on the very edge of the world, far removed from the mortal realm.

"Phew..."

Only then did Kunyun let out a long breath, his heart surging with excitement. He didn't lie to me. In that case, there is a high probability that he is sincerely helping me.

That being the case, he at least didn't have to worry about being instantly killed by a combatant of an overwhelming level. As long as the struggle was confined to the Tribulation Transcending Stage, he had room to maneuver.

"However... it's still not enough."

Even setting aside the immense power of the Refining tier, according to his calculations, he still had at least three opponents of his own level to deal with.

"One is the true transmission of the Brahma Nation, one is the Heaven-Stealing Thief, and the last is Kunlun... Among them, Kunlun should be the crux of my life tribulation. I must deal with him personally. The Heaven-Stealing Thief isn't too much of a threat; he can barely protect himself and will, at most, play some petty tricks in the dark. He won't confront me head-on."

"That leaves the Brahma Nation true transmission who wants to kill me..."

Kunyun furrowed his brows.

If possible, he didn't want to fight one against two; the risks were far too high. Therefore, the best solution was to find another external ally to stall this Brahma Nation true transmission.

But therein lay the problem. Normally, with his connections, a wave of his hand could summon three or four cultivators at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer without issue. But now, he was undergoing his life tribulation. Cultivators at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer would absolutely refuse to involve themselves in this sort of karma. What if they triggered their own life tribulations in the process?

"So, I must find someone at the Tribulation Transcending Third Layer who has already given up all hope of surviving their life tribulation."

Kunyun shook his head.

It was absolutely impossible to find such a cultivator among the true transmission disciples. If he really needed to find one, he could only look among the inner sect disciples whose lifespans were drawing to an end.

"Beyond that, it would be best if they were already entangled with my life tribulation. Even the slightest karmic tie will do; otherwise, it will be too easy to attract entirely new variables."

It was like a lake and a stone.

If an outside stone were thrown into a lake, it would inevitably stir up ripples. But if the stone was already sitting inside the lake, no matter how it shifted, it wouldn't cause any fundamental changes.

So... did such a person exist?

Kunyun pinched his fingers and deduced, mentally reviewing every person he had met and every event he had experienced since leaving seclusion after sensing his life tribulation's descent.

After a long time, Kunyun finally lifted his eyes.

A hint of a smile had crept into the corners of his eyes.

"Found him."

There truly was such a person!