Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 87 Sun and Moon Shining Together

Zhou Li finally stood three zhang in front of the stele, his ant-like eyes fixed firmly on the center of the painting.

Unlike the previous sunrise over a sea of ​​clouds and moon reflected in the Milky Way, this is a picture of the sun and moon shining together.

If you look to the left and right, on the left, golden light breaks through the dawn, shining brightly like the sun, while on the right, silver light shines coldly, as bright as the moon.

The two converged beneath a strange halo of light in the center, where the yin and yang energies intertwined and intertwined. It was neither a perfectly round golden crow nor a cold silver disc, but a strange shape that resembled half a sun and half a moon!

The entire inscription is so indistinguishable that it depicts the sunrise in the east or the sunset in the west, with the two cycles endlessly, evolving into infinite mysteries.

"The sun and moon shine together, yin and yang complement each other..."

Zhou Li's mind raced. He was a student of the Five Elements Painting Manual, which directly pointed to the origin of the Five Elements. He had a deep understanding of the interaction and mutual generation of the Yang Five Elements. If he could use his cultivation of the Yang Five Elements as a mirror to reflect the shadow of the Yin Five Elements, and try to reverse the deduction of the Xuan Yin Qi with pure Yang Qi, he might gain some insights.

As he focused his attention and looked again, the chaotic object in his Heavenly Thunder Eyes' vision was changing.

One could see wisps of yin and yang energy intertwined and swirled within, seemingly traceable, yet upon closer inspection, it always felt as if viewed through a layer of coarse gauze, impossible to see clearly.

Zhou Li frowned, pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to face Situ Wentian, who was a dozen feet away, and said loudly, "Patriarch Situ, I have a favor to ask."

"Please speak freely, young friend." Situ Wentian sat upright in the wooden sedan chair and nodded slightly.

"The luminous pearl embedded at the bottom of this pool is too bright," Zhou Li said calmly, but his words were earth-shattering. "This light has disrupted the true meaning of Yin and Yang in the inscription. I request that the head of the family order the removal of this light source from the bottom of the pool before we can continue to study it."

Upon hearing this, the vast pool fell silent for a moment, followed by an uncontrollable uproar.

"Absurd!" A young man from the Situ family, who was accompanying them, retorted in astonishment, "The bottom of this pool is pitch black. Without the illumination of the night-shining pearl, how can one see anything? If one cannot see, how can one comprehend the Yin-Yang Manual!"

"Yes, this is far too presumptuous..." The other disciples echoed, their eyes filled with annoyance as they looked at Zhou Li.

They were all carefully selected young elites of the Situ clan, each proud and arrogant, and already quite dissatisfied with the Zhou rites. At this moment, they all expressed their dissatisfaction.

Situ Yangyang opened her mouth, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. Although she did not refute him, her eyes were also filled with doubt.

Situ Qian hesitated, then turned to Situ Wentian: "Patriarch, this..."

However, Situ Wentian did not hesitate at all, and slightly raised his withered hand: "As you wish, young friend, the broken pearl!"

Upon hearing the sound, the three elders who were sitting cross-legged moved in unison, flicking their sleeves. With a few crisp sounds, dozens of large luminous pearls embedded in the stone wall at the bottom of the pool turned into dust.

Suddenly, the entire bottom of the pool was plunged into darkness, with only the faint light from the blue crystal clusters on the cave ceiling high above, which shone into the hundred-foot-deep pool, allowing everyone to barely see.

The breathing of the crowd was tense, becoming particularly clear in the darkness, while under the natural light, Zhou Li stared at the Yin-Yang Scroll once more.

Without the interference of the luminous pearl, the yin and yang energy flow patterns on the stele were indeed clearer than before.

But that's not enough.

Although those trajectories were visible in the darkness, they remained rigid, and the flow of energy appeared deliberate and stiff, lacking a natural and harmonious Daoist charm.

"Something's still missing..." Zhou Li closed his eyes, his mind racing.

After a while, a flash of lightning streaked through his mind, and the mural "Three Peaks Locking Yin, Six Rivers Gathering in the Underworld" in the Hundred Ghosts Narrow Room appeared before his eyes.

Pool water...

This Sunken Boat Pool is located at the deepest part of the Netherworld Pass, where the Yin energy is most concentrated. The water of this deep pool is also an indispensable part of this Yin-Yang Scroll.

Zhou Li suddenly opened his eyes and made an even more shocking request to Situ Wentian:

"Patriarch Situ, this junior dares to request that the three elders withdraw their magical vortex, allowing the emptied waters of this deep pool to... flow back!"

These words were like a massive boulder crashing into a lake, causing a huge uproar.

"You're insane! You're truly insane!" The young man who had spoken earlier could no longer contain himself, his voice tinged with shock and anger. "The water in this Sunken Boat Pool is as black as ink, and it contains millennia of Yin energy. If the water were to flow back, we would only be able to survive with the help of water-repelling spells. Under such mental oppression, how could we possibly have the mind to comprehend the Dao?!"

Situ Yangyang was also somewhat flustered and couldn't help but speak up to dissuade him: "Senior Brother Zhou, this matter is no small thing!"

Zhou Li remained unmoved. He stood with his hands behind his back before the stele, his tone exuding a convincing power: "Please listen to me, everyone. This Yin-Yang Scroll has been hidden beneath the pool for thousands of years, and it was not done arbitrarily. Water is the most Yin and gentle thing in the world, and it is also the medium for the changing light and shadow and the flow of Qi."

He paused, then raised his voice slightly: "This pool of water itself may very well be part of this Yin-Yang scroll! By forcibly draining the water, we may seem to have cleared the way, but in reality, we've fallen into a trap!"

Three breaths later, a loud, energetic laugh echoed from the bottom of the pool.

"Good, what a brilliant 'using water as a medium to break through the external appearance'!" Situ Wentian laughed heartily, his laughter carrying a hint of madness. "My Situ clan has been trying to understand this for generations, yet we have always been obsessed with emptying the pool to see the whole picture, unaware that we have already fallen into a barrier! Young friend Zhou, only today do I realize that this external appearance is not only what the eyes see, but also the shackles in one's heart."

"Qian'er, activate the water-repelling formation to protect everyone! Elders, prepare to withdraw your forces!"

"Patriarch!" Situ Qian was shocked, but his hands moved quickly. He made several hand seals, and a thick water-repelling light shield rose from the ground, protecting the Situ family members.

As the three elders withdrew their hand seals, the vortex of magical power that had been maintaining the formation for nearly two hours slowly contracted.

Freed from traction and restraint, the hundred-foot-high circular water wall, carrying immense force, poured down towards the bottom of the pool!

"Bang!"

A deafening roar instantly filled every corner of the cave. The immense water pressure, carrying a chilling, yin energy, slammed heavily against the water-repelling shield, producing a dull, teeth-grinding sound.

The group was like a small boat tossed and turned in the deep, turbulent water. The young and promising men were all pale-faced, their hearts pounding as they looked at the churning water above them.

Zhou Li, dressed in a blue robe, stood at the very front of the water-repelling shield. Despite the raging waters outside, he remained calm and unmoved.

The bottom of the pool returned to its deep, dark state, and the water in the hundred-foot-deep pool surged and churned endlessly under the influence of the residual waves from the magic array.

Zhou Li raised his head slightly, his Thunderous Eyes fixed on the Yin-Yang Scroll that had been submerged again by the pool water.

After this attempt, the halo of light, which was half a day and half a moon, finally changed under the rhythm of the water ripples.

The Yin and Yang energies, when folded by the water, no longer harden, but transform into the shape of wandering dragons and snakes, like two dragons coiled around a pillar, one swallowing and the other spitting out, one giving birth and the other transforming, indistinguishable from beginning to end.

It truly embodies the harmonious balance of Yin and Yang, and the unity of Heaven and Earth!