Negotiating terms is always a good approach.

Of course, Yu Ci did not voice this thought aloud.

After all, He Qing was not Old Daoist Yu Zhou. Yu Ci still found her inscrutable, her intentions as elusive as ever. Yet when she unravelled matters, clarified them, and layered on an agreement, it did create a certain distance, but it also provided a sense of security. Therefore, Yu Ci responded with refreshing candor:

"Please, Immortal He, enlighten me."

He Qing gazed steadily at his face, forgoing pleasantries, and got straight to the point: "I require from you a portion of the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form."

"Eh?"

With a beckoning gesture, a long shadow snaked through the vast clouds beyond the railing, stretching four to five zhang in length, thick as the mouth of a cup. With a single lash of its long tail, the Fish-Dragon Shan Gu, nurtured by He Qing, could carve a trail in the clouds.

Having not seen it for many days, Yu Ci noticed that the creature's scales shone brighter, its nimbus Qi more abundant, and the two short horns on its head had turned a golden yellow and split into branches, indicating a further improvement in quality.

Yet at that moment, He Qing said, "I am on the cusp of breaking through a barrier, and the Three Great Barriers are assailing me simultaneously. For this, I need to solidify my Dao foundation. You should know that I have attained my true divine form through the fish-dragon, upon which I have also entrusted my primordial spirit. It is a crucial element of my Dao foundation. However, to this day, my 'Shan Gu' is still in the 'Squama-Breaking and Horn-Growing' phase, unable to achieve 'Dragon Eye Formation,' and thus remains a weakness in my foundation..."

"So, Immortal He wishes to use the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form from my side to nourish and hasten its growth?" Yu Ci surmised.

Immortal He nodded in acknowledgment.

Yu Ci frowned. The preciousness of the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form went without saying; it had even been incorporated into his heart's image, long since merged into his Inner Void of the Heart, and now served as a crucial element in suppressing his Heart Demon and stabilizing his foundation. The loss of this Qi was too dreadful to contemplate.

This was a difficult bargain to strike.

Seeing his expression, He Qing offered a faint smile: "I am not asking you to give me all of your Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form, nor to crudely extract a piece of it—that would not aid me but harm me instead. If you agree, I have a foolproof strategy."

Yu Ci could trust He Qing's integrity, and he had a certain confidence in himself. After all, in Return Village, he had merged with the lingering presence of the Primordial Heavenly Dragon before the Hao Dian Residence, drawing in the supremely pure True Essence of the Heavenly Dragon. Within his Inner Void of the Heart, the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form had grown even more potent, and it had yet to fully integrate. Parting with a fraction of it was unlikely to damage the foundation.

Moreover, observing the sizable form of Shan Gu, Yu Ci was reminded of the "little fellow," the small creature that had been left behind in the Sunken Sword Cave and with whom there had been no contact since. Now, with the collapse of the Sword Garden, its whereabouts were unknown, and Yu Ci feared they might be forever separated.

Perhaps it was a case of loving the house and its crow, but he found himself growing increasingly fond of Shan Gu. He remembered how, back in Sky Rift Valley, this formidable creature had been of great assistance to him. Later on, the exchange for the "Vacuum Energy Life Extension Pill" and He Qing's extraction of its blood marrow were pivotal for his success. Reflecting on these past events, Yu Ci had no reason to refuse.

His mind had wandered, but only for an instant. Yu Ci quickly composed himself and nodded, saying, "If I can aid Immortal He in achieving her path, I am naturally willing..."

As he spoke, he reached out to touch the forked short horns of Shan Gu, recalling how the creature enjoyed such gestures. However, this time Shan Gu's long body stiffened noticeably, and then it lowered its head, showing a hint of fearful shrinking.

Could it be an issue with the True Essence of the Heavenly Dragon?

Seeing this, He Qing's smile returned, light and ethereal as a breeze slipping through the floors, elusive and unpredictable. She took her seat slowly and then said to Yu Ci:

"Please sit. Let us discuss the art of 'Yin Yang Transformation' first."

Yu Ci did as he was told, focusing intently, but He Qing didn't intend to launch into a lengthy discourse. "All things are born from yin and yang, and yin and yang evolve all things. These theories sound abstract, but they are more concrete in practice. Do you remember the Great Dream Yin-Yang?"

As she finished speaking, a clear light surged from the crown of He Qing's head. It was her nearly perfected Yang Spirit, which, at her level of cultivation, could influence the environment for miles around. The layer of Nine Heavenly Gang wind calmed in response, and the intense fluctuations of primal energy were restored to equilibrium, instantaneously distinguishing yin from yang and simplifying them to their utmost structure.

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Under He Qing's guidance, the once vague incantations in Yu Ci's mind became crystal clear. Involuntarily, his Yin Spirit left his body, transforming into a shadow of light that merged into the distinctly divided realm of yin and yang.

He Qing's thoughts were clear and profound: "Take the Dao heart as the pivot, divining with yin and yang, to evolve the principles of all things. One only needs to grasp the fundamentals of yin and yang, understand the marvelous techniques of life and transformation. Divination and resonance, it's all nothing more than this."

As her intention permeated the air, Yu Ci's consciousness began to blur, a sign that his Yin Spirit was on the verge of assimilation by the Yin and Yang energies. Fortunately, he was prepared; he steadied his heart-mind, relying on his sensitivity to Yin and Yang energies to carefully observe He Qing's demonstration.

Just as Elder Jie Liang had once imparted to him the Primordial Root Qi Method, such exquisite arts sought a "Heart Method." Without enlightenment in one's heart, a thousand words would be of no use.

He Qing did not expect him to comprehend everything immediately. She patiently repeated her demonstration, using exceedingly simple examples. The evolution of Yin and Yang energies within was articulated clearly and understandably. Initially, Yu Ci was bewildered, but as he watched He Qing demonstrate—categorizing various elements, analyzing them with the principles of yin and yang, rearranging and transforming them—he gradually began to grasp the concept, though the underlying principles were difficult to articulate.

This was enough.

Yu Ci gradually understood that the art of "Yin Yang Transformation" was a method dominated by deduction, rehearsal, or, one might say, "imagination." During its operational process, by omitting the stage of physical exertion, the results of the deduction were allowed the privilege of error. To err ten times, a hundred times was inconsequential; it was still more time-efficient and safer than attempting through physical trial.

When the Yin and Yang energies came into contact and interacted, it could be said that there was a communion of minds. As he gained insight, He Qing received it instantly. However, she did not withdraw her Divine Power but instead maintained the state of Yin Yang Transformation, as if waiting for something.

Yu Ci's spirit was uplifted, and he silently expressed his thanks. He steadied his mind and, using the method he had just learned, clumsily positioned several elements within it. These elements contained some of the most fundamental aspects of his cultivation up to this point, including the Inner Void of the Heart, the Life Death Talisman, the Qi of the Heavenly Dragon True Form, the Seed True Talisman, and so on.

It was with these elements that he reflected his current state and sought to find a path forward.

The Yin and Yang energies revolved and transformed, causing the auras belonging to those elements to disassemble and merge, reacting in various ways. This process consumed a vast amount of vital energy, and it was only with He Qing's assistance that Yu Ci, with his level of cultivation, wasn't drained to the point of collapse right from the start.

But it had to be admitted that the effects of the "Yin Yang Transformation" were indeed impressive.

Thanks to Yu Ci's profound accumulation of experiences, the deduction of the Yin and Yang energies only led to two errors before yielding a result. Yu Ci could feel a strong resonant aura that almost seemed to draw his Yin Spirit towards it.

He composed himself, fully engaged his senses, and then discovered it was a spherical bead.

The bead was carved with intricate patterns, within which Divine Light flowed endlessly. Upon closer inspection, those patterns were actually fractal structures of talismanic patterns, intricately intertwined, dazzling to the eye, yet with a strangely familiar essence.

His thoughts penetrated the surface of the bead, and at its core was something he had seen before.

This time, Yu Ci immediately recognized it: the Life Death Talisman!

At the center of the bead was undoubtedly the Life Death Talisman, its form revolving like a wheel, where life and death were intervisible, a unique possession of Yu Ci. Stimulated by this, Yu Ci's Divine Light flickered anew. Tracing this trajectory and discarding the superfluous, the key points became clear. The rune patterns on the periphery suddenly became lucid and comprehensible:

The Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman? The Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light? The Supreme Polaris Star Pivot Avatar? The Upper Cave-True Starlight Sensing Divine Thunder Talisman...

Is this not the "Heavenly Flying Stars," the thirty-six talismans?

Yet the talismans before my eyes are twisted and entwined, indistinguishable from each other, and the Divine Light within them coils and converges, as if each had reached the level of a Seed True Talisman. They surround the "Life Death Talisman," their auras communicating with each other as if they were one entity. The profound and unfathomable aspects of this, even just by observing the images, are enough to leave one in awe.

"Is this the Method of Golden Elixir Formation most suited to me?"

Yu Ci's heart-mind trembled, nearly unable to maintain the state of Yin Yang Transformation. Without further ado, he poured his thoughts into imprinting this scene deep into his soul, ensuring his memory was complete and without error. With a sense of relief, he realized the severe depletion of his heart-mind, barely able to control the situation, and with no other choice, his Yin Spirit returned to his body.

Even after exiting the state of Yin Yang Transformation, Yu Ci remained in a daze, his emotions written all over his face—joy mixed with worry.

The joy, naturally, came from finding the direction forward, understanding how to continue his cultivation; the worry, however, stemmed from the realization that to form the Golden Elixir, he needed all thirty-six "Heavenly Flying Stars" talismans to achieve the level of Seed True Talismans and to be arranged interactively, a complexity far beyond imagination. When would he be able to achieve the Golden Elixir?

"So, it turns out to be the 'Constellations Life-Defining Golden Talisman.'"

He Qing was somewhat surprised, then she couldn't help but laugh: "Mr. Zhu, are you trying to compete with our sect for disciples? Or is it that one of the nine Great Enlightenment Golden Talismans of the Shangqing Sect should have ended up at the Sect's Mountain Gate? However, your practice of the Primordial Root Qi Method, combined with the cultivation of your personal golden talisman, indeed fits very well."

As she had led the Yin Yang Transformation process, nothing could be hidden from her. Upon hearing her words, Yu Ci could only offer a wry smile: "It seems I really must descend the mountain to seek guidance. This Method of Golden Elixir Formation is too difficult... Eh?"

As if responding to his words, the newly imprinted mark within his soul suddenly changed, spontaneously projecting into the Inner Void of the Heart, and just like during the Yin Yang Transformation, it encircled the core Life Death Talisman. However, there was no Divine Light, only the translucent phantoms of the patterns and trajectories.

Yet within these phantom images, the luminosity of several Rune Patterns was distinctly different from the rest.

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