Chapter 1 The Paper-Clad Book

Opening the book, *The Record of Cultivation*, the pages were a light yellow, giving off a faint musty smell. Neatly written were the words:

"The Way of Water and Fire lies in balance. Transform water and fire into yin and yang, and you can master the Ice-Sealing Flame-Refining Art of the sect. Three years after entering the gate, I have finally realized this!"

"Another cultivation manual?" Zhang Yuanqing raised his eyebrows. The last time he saw such a description was in the Mountain God Temple, in the notes left by the shoulder-dwelling wraith, which mentioned some cultivation experiences.

Breathing exercises, drawing talismans, and so on.

"Do the various Yin realm professions rely on cultivation to improve, rather than on character cards? Or is it just the background setting of the spirit realm? Yin-Yang Practitioners are all NPCs, like Wang Po and Xu the Widow."

"The Demon Lord must have walked this path. He should have killed them at the time, but they respawned later, unless it can be proven that Yin-Yang Practitioners actually existed in the past."

Thinking this, Zhang Yuanqing opened the computer beside him and logged into the official database to search for "Yin-Yang Town." However, apart from a few guides, there was no information about Yin-Yang Town in the official database.

"Even the Niangniang Temple of the Three Dao Mountains is recorded, but a town where people live is not in the database? Are the officials useless? What are they doing?" Zhang Yuanqing subconsciously cursed, then froze.

Why am I suddenly so irritable? Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a few seconds before realizing that it was one of the costs of the Yin-Yang Robe: fluctuating emotions.

"Hoo, restrain yourself," he took a deep breath. "The Yin-Yang Practitioner was a figure from the Ming Dynasty, but he's already dead. As far as I know, the only strong person from the Ming Dynasty still alive might be the old hag." He continued reading. Because it was written in traditional characters, his reading speed was slower. After reading for more than ten minutes, he had a rough understanding of the Yin-Yang Practitioner's background.

He came from a sect called the "Water-Fire Sect." The founder of the sect was a divine figure from the Song Dynasty. The sect had a certain status in the Central Plains, but the number of disciples in the sect was extremely small, not because the sect didn't want to recruit more disciples, but because too few people had the aptitude for cultivation.

The Yin-Yang Practitioner mentioned a concept: When heaven and earth change, few can succeed.

"This is similar to what the temple priest said, 'The secret of a thousand years of prosperity and decay.'" Zhang Yuanqing quickly flipped through the pages, but couldn't find the reason for "the changes in heaven and earth" no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't help but curse.

Perhaps the Yin-Yang Practitioner didn't know the specific reason either.

In addition, Zhang Yuanqing also noticed that, according to the Yin-Yang Practitioner himself, disciples like him who had mastered the "Ice-Sealing Flame-Refining Art" were rare in the sect, elites among elites.

"Water and fire in one body... according to the concept of Spirit Realm Professionals, it means having the abilities of two major professions. This is impossible among Spirit Realm Professionals. If someone in the Five Elements Alliance possessed the abilities of two major professions at the same time, I would definitely have heard of it, unless it was kept secret... Is it due to cultivation?"

He pondered while reading the *Record of Cultivation*.

"After I mastered the Ice-Sealing Flame-Refining Art, my cultivation improved day by day, and I became a hegemon in the Central Plains. Later, I set foot in the Northern Territory, rarely encountering opponents. Then, I went south to challenge masters of various sects, winning one battle after another. I heard that there was a Daoist friend in the Three Dao Mountains of Song Prefecture who could summon wind and rain, catch ghosts and subdue demons, and refine pills and create talismans, so I went to challenge him, only to be defeated miserably."

"Dejected, I returned to my sect and told my master about this matter. My master smiled and said, 'Your grandmaster was also like that!'"

Three Dao Mountains... that must be the Old Buddha. It must be the Old Buddha. Hiss, is the old hag so strong? If I encounter her in the Spirit Realm in the future, I have to consider what kind of kneeling posture would best show my sincerity...

Zhang Yuanqing gnashed his teeth secretly. A second later, he suddenly realized something was wrong and focused his gaze on the four words "Your grandmaster was also like that."

The Yin-Yang Practitioner's master meant: Your grandmaster was also abused by the old hag?

Hiss, the founder of the Water-Fire Sect was a figure from the Song Dynasty, and the old hag defeated him. In other words, the old hag is ridiculously old. The identity of the Niangniang of the Three Dao Mountains is just one of her later disguises.

Zhang Yuanqing had to reassess the old hag's strength.

Time passed by, and the *Record of Cultivation* became thinner and thinner. The subsequent content was some insights from the Yin-Yang Practitioner's travels and cultivation, mixed with the secrets of breathing exercises, the distribution of meridians, and so on. In any case, Zhang Yuanqing didn't understand it.

To his surprise, the Yin-Yang Practitioner made many friends from both the righteous and evil paths during his travels. Yes, evil path friends referred to evil professions. Regarding those evil profession friends, the Practitioner's evaluation was: forthright, chivalrous, and enjoying a life of gratitude and revenge.

"The Yin-Yang Practitioner doesn't seem like someone with skewed values. The evil professions he befriends are like Aunt Xiao Yuan? Speaking of which, after reading about most of his life, the righteous and evil paths don't seem to be completely irreconcilable. Unlike the current Spirit Realm Professionals, who start fighting as soon as they meet an opposing faction, wishing they could bash each other's brains out."

Zhang Yuanqing flipped through the pages quickly, not very interested in the travel anecdotes. It's worth mentioning that he obtained the Yin-Yang Robe in an ancient tomb during one of his travels. Since obtaining the Yin-Yang Robe, he began to call himself the Yin-Yang Practitioner, and went to the Three Dao Mountains again to challenge the old hag.

He was still defeated miserably.

From then on, the Yin-Yang Practitioner gave up, spending his days drinking and eating meat, calling friends and gathering companions. When he encountered injustice, he would take action. When he encountered corrupt officials, he would casually take their heads. As the Yin-Yang Practitioner entered his later years, this guy began to desire immortality, lamenting his bad luck in being born in an era of great change in heaven and earth.

As he grew older, his obsession with immortality grew stronger. The *Record of Cultivation* no longer talked about cultivation, but instead analyzed methods of achieving immortality all day long.

He even considered using infant essence and blood as a guide to try to refine an elixir of immortality. Fortunately, he stopped himself in time, but his obsession with immortality grew stronger and stronger... Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill in his heart.

Before, he felt that the cost of the Yin-Yang Robe wasn't serious. After all, everyone wants immortality, so it doesn't count as a cost. Now, seeing the Yin-Yang Practitioner almost driven mad by his desire for immortality, he realized the seriousness of the cost.

One day, the Yin-Yang Practitioner heard that the Niangniang of the Three Dao Mountains had ascended to heaven, and was greatly stimulated. He wrote in the *Record of Cultivation*: "A beautiful woman, yet she cannot escape the passage of time. Alas!"

After that, the Yin-Yang Practitioner established Yin-Yang Town and fell into an eternal dream of immortality.

After finishing the *Record of Cultivation*, there was a lot of information to digest. Zhang Yuanqing pinched his brow, sorting out the information he had gained.

The old hag is older than the Ming Dynasty, and her strength is terrifying! During the Ming Dynasty, the relationship between evil and orderly professions wasn't harmonious, but it wasn't necessarily a matter of life and death. The way to improve in Ming Dynasty professions was through cultivation, not character cards.

If it's confirmed that the Yin-Yang Practitioner and the old hag were real historical figures, then my understanding of the Spirit Realm will have to change. But among the people I know, the only one alive is the old hag. No, perhaps I don't need to ask them in person. I have a way to prove it... Zhang Yuanqing temporarily suppressed this question in his heart and put away the *Record of Cultivation*.

Next, he planned to experience his newly learned skill—Spirit Travel (Shenyou).

The moment this thought arose, Zhang Yuanqing became inexplicably irritable, wanting to try it immediately, and no one could stop him.

In the north, in a high-end residential area in the provincial capital of Yan Province, a young man wearing a sports headband was sitting casually in a high-backed chair. Opposite him was a soft bed, on which lay a middle-aged man with his hands and feet bound.

Bald, beer belly, thick black hair on his chest, forehead covered in sweat, terrified expression, mouth stuffed with a thick towel.

The middle-aged man was "wailing" incessantly, his eyes full of pleading, as weak and pitiful as a puppy.

"Pfft, pfft." The young man smiled and said, "Look at you now, you really look like a tail-wagging dog." He got up and walked to the bed, pulling out a sharp fruit knife from his waist.

"Wailing, wailing..." The middle-aged man's struggles intensified.

"Be quiet. I said, listen!" The young man's pupils lit up with a scarlet light. The middle-aged man froze instantly.

The young man sat on the edge of the bed, playing with the fruit knife, smiling and saying:

"I hate punishing without teaching. Before killing you, let me tell you the reasons, so you can die knowing why.

"First, accepting sex-for-power deals, forcing women into prostitution. Second, acting as a protective umbrella for criminal gangs, covering up their murders. Third..." He spoke in a gentle tone, listing more than ten items in total.

By the time he finished speaking, the middle-aged man on the bed was completely stiff.

"Is that all it takes? See, even your own conscience can't bear it." The young man patted the corpse's shoulder and said gently, "Don't be human in your next life." He got up from the bed, walked to the window, opened it, breathed in the night breeze, and looked down at the lights of the city, sighing contentedly:

"The world suddenly becomes beautiful."

Human nature is ugly, and a world with people is filthy, so this world needs cleansing. At this moment, the phone rang.

The young man took out his phone, held it between two fingers, dangling it high in front of his eyes, and used another finger to answer the call. "Yinyue, what's up?"

"Demon Eye, have you had enough fun? Return to headquarters immediately. Palace Master Zisha has killed many of our people in the Northern Territory. She's very good at hiding. I need your eyes." The voice on the other end of the phone was loud and irritable.

"Watch your tone!" The young man smiled. "You're just a Divine General. How dare you talk to me like that?"

"I'll watch your mother's ass!" The person on the other end of the phone became even more violent, cursing loudly:

"All four of you Heavenly Kings are not at headquarters. The number one idiot is shouting about wanting freedom all day long, and no one can find him. The number two actually told me he wanted to issue a challenge to Palace Master Zisha and wouldn't attack if she didn't accept?

"The number three just happened to enter the Spirit Realm. We eight Divine Generals could kill that bitch, but we can't find her!" The young man scratched his head. "I see. Okay, you know my rules.

"Give me a reason to kill her first."

"Does killing need a reason?" "Doesn't it?"

"When she was hunting down our organization members, she accidentally injured two civilians. Does that count?" "It counts! I'll go kill her now."

"You're a lunatic. Are you an orderly faction or an evil faction? No, all four of you are lunatics." Divine General Yinyue cursed before changing the subject and saying:

"Li Xianzong is dead!"

"Hmm?" Heavenly King Demon Eye raised an eyebrow, and the smile on his face disappeared. "What happened?" "He encountered Yuan Shi Tianzun in a dungeon and was killed."

"I see..." The smile returned to Heavenly King Demon Eye's face, and he curled his lips. "Then, after I kill Palace Master Zisha, I'll go to Songhai to gather reasons to kill Yuan Shi Tianzun."

Zhang Yuanqing floated up, less than ten centimeters from the ceiling. Looking down, his physical body was lying quietly on the bed, without breathing or heartbeat.

"If I don't return in twenty minutes, my physical body will die completely."

Zhang Yuanqing realized this and immediately floated out of the room at top speed, passing through the wall into the living room. His current state was very strange. Levitation and telekinesis seemed to be innate abilities. This meant that he could use props to fight in his spirit form, such as holding a knife or shooting a gun. In addition, the power of his spirit body was the power of Taiyin. He could still use Harmonious Moon and Roaring Moon, but he could no longer open his inventory. However, his overall strength was somewhat weaker than his physical body. The advantage was that his spirit form was immune to physical attacks, but extremely afraid of "spiritual" attacks.

While thinking, Zhang Yuanqing floated into his grandparents' bedroom. The two elderly people had already entered their dreams. He changed his route and crashed into the wall, arriving at his little aunt's bedroom.

Beside the window with pink curtains, his little aunt was wearing a thin nightgown, standing silently and looking at the night scene. On the bedside table was her black lace bra, which she had taken off, and it was quite large.

Jiang Yudie tilted her head almost imperceptibly, then suddenly stretched her body and muttered, "Alright, time to sleep, time to sleep." Zhang Yuanqing watched her crawl into bed, close her eyes, her face peaceful and beautiful, round and well-behaved.

I wonder which man will be able to look at this sleeping face every day in the future. He examined his little aunt's sleeping face and thought, spirit bodies can possess people, should I try possessing my little aunt? On second thought, it didn't seem right to experiment on family members, so he immediately plunged into the ceiling and arrived at the home of the residents downstairs.

Downstairs was a young couple living with their parents. As soon as Zhang Yuanqing passed through the ceiling, he heard the "squeak" of a rocking bed, as well as the faint sounds of collision muffled under a thin quilt.

Following the sound, he saw two overlapping bodies.

Uh, bad timing. How am I supposed to possess someone here? Watching a live porn movie, he had no choice but to give up. At this moment, he heard the sounds of collision intensify suddenly, then subside, and the undulating thin quilt also stopped. Then came the woman's complaint: "Why are you so quick again?"

"I've been a little tired from working overtime these past few days."

"You said that last time too."

"Ugh, are you annoying or what? Let's sleep. I have to go to work tomorrow."

Bro, you need endurance spray to regain your male confidence. We're just upstairs and downstairs, I'll give you a 20% discount. Zhang Yuanqing's spirit body floated up and returned to his little aunt's room. This time, he went straight to his uncle's house next door and arrived at the master bedroom.

His uncle and aunt were not asleep. One was wearing a facial mask and watching variety shows, while the other was holding a phone and watching rap videos, occasionally saying a few single rhymes.

"Look at this Yuanzi, eating a hot bun, looking all silly." His uncle's head suddenly drooped, then immediately lifted up and looked at his wife, saying solemnly:

"I think we should be nicer to Yuanzi."

His aunt's eyes didn't leave the tablet, and she said, "Aren't we already treating him well?"

"I mean in terms of finances. We should give him more pocket money. Although my mom gives him money, we, as his uncle and aunt, should give him more too." "Oh, then I'll give him a few thousand each month," his aunt said nonchalantly.

"My aunt is so good... no, my wife is so good."

His aunt's attention was not on her uncle and didn't notice the slip of the tongue. Watching the variety show, she said disdainfully:

"Look at your older sister. All she knows is how to make money these years. When has she ever worried about Yuanzi? She never goes to parent-teacher conferences and never cares about his studies. He's a child without a father, and he's bullied at school every day, but she doesn't care. She just throws some money at her son, thinking she's so great. Bah, that little bit of money she has is nothing." His uncle looked embarrassed. "Say a little less."

"She is my mom after all."

His aunt sighed and said:

"Look at Yuanzi these past few years. He'd rather dance with you than take her money. When this child first came, he was only in elementary school, and he was so careful. Whenever you weren't around, he would try to please me, afraid that I would hate him and he wouldn't be able to live here.

"He was also very careful with your parents, but he wasn't close to his grandparents back then. He learned to be a boarder at such a young age. Hmm, I remember Yudie was like that when she was young, so they've been close since they were little."

After saying that, she saw the sadness in her husband's eyes.

"This isn't like you." His aunt realized something was wrong and thought, at this time, you should do a stand-up comedy, such as: With me as his uncle to take care of him, it's the same whether he has a mom or not, ah, it's the same! "Let's sleep, let's sleep!"

His uncle put down his phone and pulled up the blanket.

The next day, Zhang Yuanqing wore a mask and a baseball cap and went to work.

Reaching the second floor, he glanced at the office area and went straight to Guan Ya and said, "Sister Guan Ya, let me ask you something."

Guan Ya had already used diluted Vitality Origin to heal the injuries she had suffered in the dungeon. She twirled a ballpoint pen deftly in her fingers and smiled, "Do girls like it longer or shorter? Or, thicker or thinner?"

Zhang Yuanqing said helplessly, "Don't be like that. I'm still just a child."

Guan Ya blinked. "Did I say anything? I thought you were asking about high heels." Zhang Yuanqing coughed and corrected the topic, saying:

"I heard from Xie Lingxi that the Xiahou family's ancestor was one of the first Spirit Realm Professionals? How long did he live? When did the first Spirit Realm Professionals appear?"