Burning Yang and Burning Yin were almost tailor-made for Xiang Beifei, for there was no one else in this world who understood the Dao of Yin and Yang better than him.
Without any hesitation, Xiang Beifei immediately began to practice these two powerful Cultivation Techniques following the method left by Daoist Qingyang.
The black and white Spiritual Power slowly circulated throughout his body, where heaven and earth united to breed all beings, and Yin and Yang converged to bring about change, with the dual qi intermingling to create all things, everything bearing Yin and embracing Yang.
Xiang Beifei opened his eyes, and they flickered with threads of black and white light. The once vibrant world, in an instant, became solely black and white.
This black and white was not like traditional ink wash paintings, with one area indiscriminately black and another white—this black and white melded together, not a trace more of black, not a bit less of white, each occupying half, perfectly equal.
White for Yang, black for Yin, even a tiny grain of sand bore half black and half white on its body, carrying the breath of both paths.
Xiang Beifei focused on one grain of sand, channeling the power of Burning Yang, and rapidly burst forth his white Spiritual Power, which fell upon the grain of sand!
To burn Yang, one must first ignite their own Yang qi, that is, the white Spiritual Power!
Xiang Beifei swiftly ignited his white Spiritual Power; the moment his white Spiritual Power lit up, the sand's white Spiritual Power was also drawn forth, and then with a "whoosh", the grain of sand instantly burst into white flames!
The previously balanced black and white sand slowly burned away, the sand disintegrating into dust in a moment, with a wisp of Yin qi added to the air.
However, Xiang Beifei quickly realized that igniting his white Spiritual Power meant that his black Spiritual Power increased slightly, making it impossible to maintain a precise balance between black and white.
But after a brief moment of thought, he immediately began employing Burning Yin!
The black Spiritual Power was also set ablaze, igniting the residual Yin qi from that grain of sand.
The balance of black and white Spiritual Power was once again maintained.
"So that's how it is."
Xiang Beifei nodded thoughtfully.
Burning Yang, predicated on burning one's own Spiritual Power, proved exceedingly difficult to achieve at the level of Daoist Qingyang. The magnitude of Spiritual Power needed to burn Yang on a large scale was terrifying; the current him was far from capable of burning a radius of ten thousand li.
Furthermore, burning the Yang qi of an opponent equal in strength was even more challenging, especially for existences of the caliber of the Demon Tentacle King and the Eternal Night Demon King. If only a little was ignited, the opponent could simply sever the ignited part, as the remainder would still maintain balance.
Hence, killing an opponent of that level was beyond Xiang Beifei's ability; even Daoist Qingyang's strength was impressive to have ignited both the Demon Tentacle King and the Eternal Night Demon King.
Yet, the downside of Burning Yang was starkly apparent: to burn as much of the target's Yang qi, one must burn an equal amount of their own Spiritual Power. Even if the Demon Tentacle King and Eternal Night Demon King couldn't match Daoist Qingyang, they weren't far off; after he burned those two Demon Kings, the remaining Spiritual Power was insufficient for him to employ Burning Yin to balance his body's Yin and Yang.
As a result, Qi and Yang fell out of balance, which was why Xiang Beifei couldn't save Daoist Qingyang.
"Dealing with an opponent of equal strength is indeed a problem."
Xiang Beifei was also contemplating whether he could fare better than Daoist Qingyang if he faced the same caliber of opponent. However, he quickly realized that his use of Burning Yang and Burning Yin differed from Daoist Qingyang's, as Daoist Qingyang could not control the black and white Spiritual Power as freely as he could.
For Daoist Qingyang, Burning Yang and Burning Yin could not be executed simultaneously but rather one after the other, meaning if one wanted to use Burning Yang, they must first burn their own Yang qi, then employ Burning Yin, burning away the excess Yin qi, to maintain balance.
This meant facing an opponent of the same realm would require twice the amount of Spiritual Power.
But as a Taoist Body, Xiang Beifei could simultaneously master Yin and Yang, employing Burning Yang while immediately using Burning Yin, for he had divided his Spiritual Power, thus requiring only one expenditure of Spiritual Power to return to a state of balance.
"No wonder my esteemed master said I was the most suitable to cultivate these two techniques."
Having understood this, his mind became enlightened. Regardless, this was indeed a very formidable ability, and mastering it would only prove beneficial.
Xiang Beifei continued his practice, not stopping until he had mastered both Burning Yang and Burning Yin to the point of second nature.
What he didn't notice was that, as he cultivated, the frequency of the stone bell's vibrations beneath him seemed to change in tune, with strange fluctuations becoming more resonant and profound, reaching up to the heavens, entering the twin moons suspended in the sky.
The dual pale moons suddenly began to grow hazy, and in between them, a black circle appeared, much like a black hole, deep and profound.
Immediately after, the moons flickered.
Should one look up, the two moons hanging in the sky resembled a pair of eerie eyes, gazing upon this region.
Meanwhile, in the depths of a desolate, shadowy land, flowed a strange Yellow River, its surface teeming with innumerable sunken skeletons.
In an instant, the Yellow River violently churned as if whipped into towering waves, and from within the tumult, a withered colossal hand covered in mustard seeds burst forth.