"What is Yin and Yang?"
"Two begets three, which is Yin and Yang!"
"What is Heaven and Human?"
"The mutual interaction and verification of both, the condensation of all things, the synthesis of vitality, the fruiting of vegetation, the revolution of the sun and moon, the flowing of wind and fire, the rotation of clouds and energy, continuous by nature, this is Heaven and Human."
…
In the great hall of the Taiyuan Immortal Mansion, questions and answers corresponded.
It was Fang Han and that mysterious figure asking and answering each other; Fang Han asked, and the mysterious figure answered. Every sentence of their dialogue carried profound meaning, pointing straight to the core of cultivation, causing enlightenment to arise in one's mind and the spirit to transform.
Cultivating divine powers was primarily a transformation of the spirit, while cultivating the physical body was an alteration of physical structure. For a person cultivating divine powers, comprehending a single sentence would instantly reorganize their magic power and produce new changes; if a sentence could not be comprehended, there would never be an inch of progress. Cultivating the body, however, required only daily hard practice, sufficient nutrition, and steady progress step by step to continually improve.
This was the difference between cultivating divine powers and cultivating the physical body.
Fang Han cultivated, unaware of the passing months and years, in a daze, as ten years went by. This time it was truly practicing behind closed doors. In such an immortal mansion, what else could one do but cultivate? There was no way to travel even if one wanted to.
Over these ten years, Fang Han's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. Although he had still not reached the Heaven and Human Realm, he had cultivated the fourth layer of divine powers, the Yin-Yang Realm, to the point of pure perfection and superb mastery. With a casual movement of his astral aura, he could transform it into various birds and beasts, insects and fish, forests, waves, mountains…
"Bright moon shines among the pines, clear spring flows over the stones! Transform!"
Fang Han released his Wood Emperor Astral Aura, filling the entire great hall, gradually transforming, like a great painter sketching a picture stroke by stroke. First was a bright moon shining high above, like a silver plate, shedding cold brilliance; then a pine forest, with a spring babbling and tinkling between the pines, and fish swimming in the spring water.
In the midst of it, a light breeze blew, the pine canopy rose and fell, whispering back and forth, painting a beautiful picture.
"Ah!"
The demon girl saw that the whole great hall had turned into a world of bright moon, pine trees, and clear springs. Finding herself in it, half real and half illusion, she quickly reached her hand into the clear spring, and indeed felt an icy coolness. The threads of spring water flowed over her fingers, delicate and lingering. Suddenly, with quick eyes and fast hands, she caught a fish swimming in the clear spring. The fish got spooked and immediately started jumping about, slapping the water with a splatting sound.
"This is real…" the demon girl said in surprise.
"Fake! It is all transformed from my Daoist astral aura. This is the means comprehended after grasping Yin and Yang." Fang Han's voice carried in, and then the bright moon, the pine canopy, the spring water, and the jumping fish all vanished with a poof, transforming into clumps of airflow and retracting into Fang Han's mind.
"Good, very good. I didn't expect that in ten years, you would be able to cultivate the fourth layer of divine powers, the Yin-Yang Realm, to such an extent. It is truly rare indeed."
Seeing Fang Han's vivid illusions, the mysterious person could not help but praise.
"Unfortunately, after ten years of time, I still haven't broken through the Yin-Yang Realm. If I were outside and cultivated for ten years, I might not have even reached this realm. It seems my bold claim of challenging Hua Tiandu in ten years is indeed unreliable."
Fang Han sighed.
During these ten years, he had thoroughly studied and understood the Green Emperor Wood Emperor Technique. Because he had the mysterious person as a good teacher to answer his various questions, his cultivation advanced rapidly. He remedied the drawbacks caused by excessively fast cultivation one by one and laid a solid foundation step by step.
After all, cultivating for ten years resulted in movement born out of stillness, and the Dao techniques comprehended were no minor matter.
During this time, he also fully comprehended the "Great Cutting Technique", so that as soon as he reached the Heaven and Human Realm, he could practice it immediately, and its power would be invincible.
Although there was no improvement in his magic power realm, he had practically become an expert in his understanding of cultivation, laying a firm foundation for his future practice.
Fang Han's encounter in the "Taiyuan Immortal Mansion" could be described as an exceptional blessing. Had he been in the Yuhua Sect, he could not possibly have received so much guidance.
It wasn't that the elders of the Yuhua Sect wouldn't guide him, but that every single one was extremely busy cultivating various divine powers, forging pills and magic treasures, and fighting heaven for their lives. Where would they have the time to guide a disciple so patiently, for ten continuous years? Even Hua Tiandu could not possibly receive such guidance from the Yuhua Sect's Headmaster Immortal Venerable.
Even for the Demon Marshal, his father the Congenital Great Emperor would not answer his doubts and instruct him in divine powers without interruption for ten years. Sometimes, when a cultivator reached a dead end, they had to think bitterly to pierce the fog, which would squander much life and time.
With Fang Han's lifespan, although reaching nine hundred years, practicing several divine powers, gathering astral aura, and forging some magic treasures would easily consume a few hundred years.
But now, the mysterious person was idle out of boredom anyway, providing daily guidance, which brought immense benefits.
The areas Fang Han had previously found obscure were all clarified one by one.
"That is nothing. Hua Tiandu received the orthodox transmission of Panwu Immortal Venerable, and is naturally incredibly formidable. But you possess the World Tree. As long as you cultivate it and wait for it to grow and truly connect to the Immortal World, even if Panwu Immortal Venerable were reborn, he would not be your opponent." Hearing Fang Han's sigh about his ten-year pact with Hua Tiandu, the mysterious person laughed loudly.
"Waiting for the World Tree to grow, one hundred million years wouldn't be enough. Even experts among the Protoss do not have such long lifespans," Yan suddenly spoke up.
"Heh, you little dragon, you actually know about the Protoss." The mysterious person had conversed a lot with Yan over the past ten years. He also knew this little dragon was the dragon vein of the Yellow Spring Holy River.
"This is no big deal. We also caught two Protoss." Yan released the two Protoss corpses.
This time, even the mysterious person's tone revealed a thick shock. "The Protoss reappears, the world between heaven and earth is going to be thrown into chaos! I didn't expect that. The God-Exterminating War ten thousand years ago shocked the ten thousand worlds, and many Immortal Venerables perished then. Panwu Immortal Venerable also died at the hands of the Protoss. The Protoss were clearly exterminated at that time."
"Heh, the Protoss reappears, heaven and earth fluctuate. Perhaps this is your chance to escape your predicament, eh, old antique?" Yan teased. Yan called the mysterious person old antique directly, and the other party was not angry, but instead relished it.
The mysterious person laughed loudly again. "You little dragon have quite some capability, pity you lost your power. I don't know when you'll be able to recover. But a long, long time ago, the World Tree was severed by the Ancestor Holy King of the Protoss, and then completely shattered, its fragments scattering between heaven and earth. If you two could gather those fragments one by one and merge them into the sapling, it might be able to rapidly restore some of the profound marvels of this tree. It would save some of the time needed to cultivate it."
"It's a pity, this Divine Force of the Protoss is very wondrous, yet I cannot comprehend the profound mysteries within it. This Divine Force is fundamentally different from any divine power." A thought suddenly occurred to Fang Han. "I wonder if Senior might know the origin of this Divine Force of the Protoss?"
"Well asked. If only you had told me earlier that you had Protoss corpses. Do you know why the Ancestor Holy King of the Protoss cut down the World Tree back then?" The mysterious person suddenly sounded somewhat excited. "Because the World Tree poses a fatal threat to the Protoss. Any Protoss that comes into contact with the World Tree will be completely drained, not even leaving dregs behind. Because the Protoss were born from the most mysterious source energy between heaven and earth. Just like the spiritual energy of the Immortal World, it is all nourishment for the World Tree. You cannot directly absorb the Divine Force, but after being nourished and transformed by the World Tree, it can be utilized. Although it cannot make your magic power increase drastically, it can allow you to understand the essence of the world more deeply! Thus rapidly entering the Heaven and Human Secret Realm! The connection between Heaven and Human is that simple!"
"Haha, so that's how it is, just like how a person cannot eat feces directly, but can use feces to water vegetables, and when the vegetables grow big, they can be eaten." Yan laughed heartily. "I've been studying how to absorb the Divine Force, but I never expected it to be so simple. Fang Han, you try it!"
Fang Han had already grasped the meaning, and hurriedly activated the World Tree at the center of his brow. A root shot out and firmly implanted itself into one of the Protoss corpses.
Immediately, the corpse shriveled up all over, as if it had all of its blood sucked dry.
Fang Han could feel surges of "Divine Force" truly being absorbed by the World Tree and merged into the body of the tree. It seemed to have received a tremendous supplement. The leaf that was originally given to the demon girl actually sprouted a new bud again.
During the ten years of cultivation, the demon girl had also refined that leaf and successfully cultivated "true energy," but she was still some distance from stepping into the third layer of divine powers, the Astral Aura Realm. However, her strength had rapidly progressed, reaching the power of eight hundred galloping fierce horses.
"Oh, oh, oh… So this is Divine Force!"
Fang Han indeed felt a trace of subtle and mysterious vitality transmit down from the World Tree, which was absorbed by his mind. Suddenly, it was as if a nearsighted person had put on glasses; the whole world became clearer.
He seemed to see endless vitality filling the space between heaven and earth, with various kinds of forces drifting about. Some could be absorbed by the human body, while others would be extremely harmful if absorbed.
When the "Divine Force" entered his mind, his power did not increase, but a window was opened before his eyes, making the world much clearer.
The mountains and waters of the world were all composed of minute particles of vitality. Their composition held a mysterious law between them. It was something called a "formation state."
At this moment, the boundary between Heaven and Human, the understanding of Heaven and Human, seemed to be broken. Already having attained major accomplishment in the Yin-Yang Realm, he gained a new comprehension.
"How is it? The Protoss are indeed extraordinary! Their vitality can broaden your vision and further your cultivation. You have already pushed open half a window. Just ponder carefully for a few years, and stepping into the fifth layer of divine powers, the Heaven and Human Realm, will not be difficult at all. When that time comes, your lifespan will greatly increase, and at the same time you can break down that golden pill and possess twenty-eight divine powers simultaneously."
The mysterious person marveled in praise. "When I was your age, I did not have such good luck."