"Yaoyue, here, you're no match for me. The miasma is poisonous, the fog conceals ghosts. These spirits fear pure yang energy. Your technique entangles with them—it's not a good match. Moonlight attracts them like a beacon in the dark. If you don't leave soon, you'll be overwhelmed by waves of ghosts."
Yi Tianxing had long since shifted his position. He had no intention of engaging Yaoyue here.
There were too many ghosts. If he didn't seize the moment to harvest and devour them, it would be an utter waste.
Nothing was more important than enhancing his own strength.
"Hmph, who needs your help? A few ghosts can't possibly trouble me, Yaoyue."
Upon hearing his words, Yaoyue's pride was instantly pricked. Without hesitation, the crescent mark between her brows flared brightly. A curved blade appeared before her—not a simple blade, but a perfect crescent moon. A waning moon. A new moon. It was beautiful and elegant, radiating a cool and serene rhythm.
The surrounding fog seemed to part, unable to obscure its light.
Fate Orifice: Bright Moon Essence Wheel (明月命窍——月精轮)!!
Swish!!
The Bright Moon Essence Wheel shot out like lightning, slicing toward a ghost. Its speed was impossible to react to, almost invisible—faster than moonlight. All one could see was a flash, and the ghost had already been severed at the waist.
The bisected spirit's body showed no signs of healing. Instead, it was instantly frozen by a layer of icy crystals and shattered as it hit the ground.
From where it fell, a strange little crystal about the size of a thumbnail appeared, emitting a snowy-white glow, transparent and laced with a chill.
"What is this?"
Yaoyue's eyes sparkled as she drew the crystal to her hand. Almost instinctively, she brought it to her mouth and swallowed it. The Bright Jade True Sutra (明玉真经) in her body activated, and streams of mysterious essence surged through her.
A refreshing coolness spread through her, reaching her soul. Her spirit began to evolve—strengthening, expanding—sending ripples of clarity and pleasure through her consciousness. A moan of ecstasy echoed from her very soul.
The soul, though intangible, is real. While it's difficult to coalesce when one's cultivation is low, true soul refinement begins at the Manifestation Realm. Still, one can faintly sense the strengthening.
A strong soul is more precious than any cultivation level. It resists evil forces, enhances comprehension of techniques, improves insight, boosts mental energy, and enables longer visualization and more efficient training.
The benefits were endless.
"Ghost Essence (幽精)—these spirits actually condense ghost essence upon death. It strengthens the soul. This is a rare treasure!"
Recovering from the experience, Yaoyue's eyes shone with sharp delight.
"Moonlight Butterfly."
With a thought, Yaoyue had the Moonlight Butterfly emit another layer of gentle moonlight.
Drawn like moths to a flame, the ghosts surged toward her once again.
"So these ghosts leave behind ghost essence—just like beast cores for monsters. And it seems Yaoyue really can handle them. But even if she can fight them off, she still can't navigate the fog. Once she runs out of true qi, or the Moonlight Butterfly is drained, it'll be a disaster."
Yi Tianxing observed, analyzing silently.
Using fate orifice divine abilities consumed huge amounts of energy. In a place like this, getting lost could mean death.
"Ghost essence is important—but life is more important."
Yi Tianxing made his decision.
Without hesitation, Yin-Yang Rings flew out again, suppressing another batch of ghosts near the Moonlight Butterfly and dragging them into the mist. Into his Yin-Yang Space.
"You shameless rogue! How dare you steal from me! This isn't over!"
Yaoyue's face darkened. Yi Tianxing's actions were no different from robbing her. Now that she knew she could defeat the ghosts, her anger flared.
She drove the Moonlight Butterfly after him, chasing the direction of the disappearing Yin-Yang Rings, cutting down spirits along the way with bursts of Bright Moon Essence Wheel, collecting ghost essences.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch a glimpse of Yi Tianxing.
With each failed attempt, her rage only grew.
"Just wait till I find you. You'll pay dearly. First you took advantage of me, now you steal my fortune… this grudge is blood-deep."
She didn't realize she'd already neared the edge of the Misty Swamp. Just a few steps further, and she would be out.
"Good, I've harvested a huge batch of ghost essence. Each one is high-grade nourishment. Finally, it's time for the Innate Yin-Yang Eyes to evolve again."
Standing atop the Golden Roc, Yi Tianxing's eyes gleamed with joy. Black and white divine light surged in his gaze.
Inside the Yin-Yang Space—
The nine-zhang-wide Innate Yin-Yang Diagram erupted in light. Black and white energies swirled wildly as the divine diagram expanded outward rapidly. The entire space expanded with it, stretching larger with each breath.
It seemed like an instant—yet also like an eternity.
When the divine glow finally faded, the Yin-Yang Space had transformed. From a diameter of nine zhang, it had grown to eighty-one zhang wide. The diagram, though immense, had become somewhat illusory. Its original energy had been fully consumed in the evolution, but now it could contain even more.
Above the Innate Yin-Yang Diagram, in addition to the nine Yin-Yang Locks and the Yin-Yang Scissors, a new treasure manifested.
It was a mirror—half black, half white, shimmering with mystical dao runes.
"Innate Divine Ability #3 of the Innate Yin-Yang Eyes—Yin-Yang Mirror!!"
Yi Tianxing instantly grasped the nature of this divine ability.
It was immensely domineering.
This Yin-Yang Mirror—one side black, one side white—emitted divine light of life and death.
When the black side shone on a living being, they died instantly.
Only the white side could resurrect them.
One side killed. One side saved.
A divine light of life and death. Terrifying even to the soul.
At its peak, even powerful cultivators struck by it would die on the spot.
It contained the profound truths of existence and annihilation.
To the undead—ghosts, specters, evil spirits—the white side, infused with pure yang, was utterly lethal.
This divine power, once mastered, was no less potent than the Yin-Yang Scissors, and perhaps even deeper in mystery.
As a fate-orifice divine ability, the Innate Divine Ability born from the Innate Yin-Yang Eyes was naturally stronger than other divine abilities of the same rank.
"What fortune! To think the third ability would be the Yin-Yang Mirror. Now I can deal with these ghosts even more easily. The diagram is drained—time to refill it."
Yi Tianxing's heart surged with joy.
Black and white light flickered in his eyes as he turned his gaze toward Yaoyue. Once again, hordes of ghosts had surrounded her. The Moonlight Butterfly was just too tempting to them.
Though her Bright Moon Essence Wheel could kill them, it consumed large amounts of true qi. She had already used up most of it.
"That damned rogue's divine power counters these spirits perfectly, but I bet it costs him a lot too. Who knows how big this swamp is? I can't see any direction or way out."
Yaoyue didn't want to linger. Even just resisting the miasma burned through her energy.
Swish!!
While deep in thought—
A white divine light suddenly burst from the mist. It enveloped over a dozen ghosts near her.
ROAR!
Screech!!
As the light touched them, the spirits screamed in agony. Some flailed midair, howling as black mist poured off them, vanishing like snow in summer. In seconds, they were gone, leaving only ghost essences behind.
Within that white radiance, she could feel an overwhelming pure yang force.
"You again, scoundrel! What is that divine ability?!"
Yaoyue felt a surge of dread.
She hadn't expected Yi Tianxing to have yet another trump card. Those ghosts hadn't even resisted before they were wiped out.