Yinshan Record

Chapter 175 The Six Heavens Yin Instrument
The tomb and hut are still there.

A grand plan spanning millennia, filled with both joy and sorrow, ultimately amounts to nothing.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King clenched his fists.

His magical power gathered in his hands, and a pale ghostly fire, like a solitary lamp illuminating the cold night, pierced through layers of darkness.

In the darkness, countless male and female immortals sat cross-legged, some forming hand seals, others conversing with each other, their faces faintly showing signs of life.

But their eyes were closed, and their clothes and skin were covered with a thick layer of dust.

Your face may not change with age, but time itself will leave its mark.

They sat in a circle, row upon row, like endless concentric circles, numbering in the thousands, as if countless immortals had come to listen to the patriarch preach.

In the very center of the corpses stood a huge bronze armillary sphere. This enormous and ancient instrument was slowly rotating, its trajectory mysterious, seemingly possessing a mysterious charm that could swallow one's mind and spirit whole.

"To be honest, after what happened back then, I was already heartbroken and prepared to find a secluded place to end my life. But fortunately, there were seniors and Huang Tiandao who helped establish this Cizhou region back then..."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King said with a sorrowful tone, "Give me and my fellow disciples a place to rest..."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King secluded himself in seclusion because there was no place for him to stay in this world.

"I am not one of them."

Zhongyuan looked at the chessboard.

"senior……"

“They’ve all given up and resigned themselves to their fate, just getting by. I’m different.”

Zhongyuan looked down at the chessboard.

"Senior, the game is over..."

"It's not over yet with me."

Zhongyuan stood tall.

"To resign is to lose; I still have time to play this game slowly."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King remained silent.

Xuandu Palace, Lingjiu Temple, East Sea, Southern Wilderness, Northern Land, Central Land, Western Kingdom—this game of chess has long since come to an end, it's all over.

Even if we turn this ten-thousand-year-old obsession into wildfire, can the few sparks we have now really start a prairie fire?
"To be honest, I never thought I would have the honor of meeting you today."

"Ok?"

"I am ashamed to say that I always thought you were no longer here."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King sighed, "When I followed the Black Emperor back then, I also witnessed your brilliance. Today, I see you just as you were back then."

"After guarding this place for so many years, I am indeed a little weary."

"The past cannot be retained, and the departed cannot be brought back."

Zhongyuan looked at the armillary sphere in front of him.

"When the Black Emperor forged these Six Heavenly Yin Instruments, he asked me if this treasure could reshape the Netherworld, establish eternal order, so that the rich would not dare to be unrestrained, the violent would not be able to be tyrannical, the poor would know to be self-reliant, and the distressed would find a way to survive."

“I told her that the fundamental principles of human relationships cannot be determined by a single treasure. The morals of the world and the hearts of people cannot be swayed by any supernatural power.”

"She told me then that the human heart cannot be coerced by supernatural powers, but it can be guided by the human heart."

“I didn’t take it seriously at the time. I’ve always believed that the human heart is like water, easily stirred and restless, clear one moment and murky the next; this is simply human nature.”

Zhongyuan shook his head and looked at the Yin-Yang Dharma King: "Seeing you today, I realize that I was wrong back then."

"senior……"

The Yin-Yang Dharma King felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Back then, he had always been on good terms with the Azure Emperor Lingwei Yang, one of the Five Emperors of the Five Directions, but his relationship with the Black Emperor Zhiguang Ji was not harmonious, and they even had many quarrels.

But after thousands of years, what sectarian prejudice remains in the last embers?
"Back then, when I rose up this Cizhou with Huang Tiandao and others, I never imagined that I would be carving out a path to survival for you in this world."

Zhongyuan's eyes gazed into the distance, as if recalling the old days.

"The world changes, and no matter how much effort we put in or how many ingenious ideas we come up with, Cizhou is constantly sinking into the sea. Compared to when we first raised it up, the east coast has been swept away by the waves for nearly forty miles over time."

"The waves of the East China Sea are indeed becoming increasingly fierce..."

"Stealing the sky and changing the sun, turning the sea into mulberry fields, transforming wasteland into brocade. I once regarded this Cizhou as the most exquisite work of my supernatural powers, but the way of heaven is constant, and even if my Taoist arts are unparalleled, I cannot shake the passage of time." Zhongyuan looked at the Yin-Yang Dharma King.

"Yet you have gone to great lengths and used every means to protect these old friends from back then, even after thousands of years."

Zhongyuan sighed softly, "The supernatural powers that the Black Emperor displayed on you far surpass those of mine. She was the one who won back then."

"senior."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King looked at Zhongyuan and said, "Disciple, I'm afraid I can't hold on any longer."

This king, who had stood proudly in the Southern Dynasty for who knows how long, finally lost his composure when facing his former teacher.

"Although the Nine Netherworld Reincarnation Technique can help me reincarnate continuously, it ultimately does not lead to immortality and has its own limits." The Yin-Yang Dharma King knelt on the ground, looking at Zhongyuan: "In another hundred years, I will be exhausted and my life will end. At that time, the Six Heavens Yin Instrument will be unguarded, and its majesty will manifest itself. I'm afraid these old friends from back then..."

The figure of the Yin-Yang Dharma King swept over each of these remains.

"His Majesty's treasure has fallen into the hands of others, which is my inability to protect. But these fellow disciples... their souls have been trapped in the cycle of suffering and have not yet attained sainthood. This is our karma, which we must bear ourselves. But we have done nothing wrong, and we should have a chance to start over."

Hot tears streamed down the old ghost's face, dripping onto the ground and freezing into ice.

"Now that I have the honor of meeting you, senior, I dare to ask you to take action and prevent the remains of these fellow disciples from being tarnished and falling into the hands of those rats in Beimang. Please leave them a chance to start over."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King shook his head and sighed.

"This junior is incompetent, nothing more than a withered skeleton trapped in this tomb. Senior is the most outstanding figure in this world..."

"Of course I'll agree."

Zhongyuan did not let him continue to plead. Yiyangzi was a name from far, far away.

This reminded him of the past, of the things that have kept him going until now.

“You and I are similar yet different.” Zhongyuan looked at the Yin-Yang Dharma King: “We are equally stubborn, but I will never ask for favors.”

It seemed he had touched on some past that Zhongyuan didn't want to revisit, and he said with a cold laugh.

"Because apart from yourself, there will never be another person who understands you. Heaven and earth are dark and yellow, the universe is vast and boundless, spanning tens of thousands of miles and three thousand years, a person can only rely on himself."

Zhongyuan revealed a mask in his hand.

"Put it on."

Zhongyuan stared intently at the Yin-Yang Dharma King.

"Wear it, and you can deceive heaven and earth and re-enter that world outside. You will also have a chance to compete for the position of immortality."

"This is……"

"Xiangliu."

Zhongyuan looked at Yin Yang Dharma King: "I have no interest in the rubbish of Zhiguangji. If you want to guard it, then guard it yourself."

"senior……"

"I've called you here today because I need to leave something with you."

A flash of blue light appeared, and a figure sat upright before the Six Heavens Yin Instrument.

Zhongyuan looked at the Yin-Yang Dharma King.

"Yiyangzi, you must protect him."

"Could it be that this person is..."

"Huang Tian and his disciples and grand-disciples are fighting to the death outside the Nine Heavens Domain, but I have already invited them back."

Zhongyuan gazed at the Six Heavens Yin Instrument.

This treasure was painstakingly created by the Black Emperor Zhi Guangji, and it is the only one among the Five Emperors' Relics that still retains its former glory.

If it weren't for the Yin-Yang Dharma King's diligent guarding over the years, it would probably have suffered the same fate as the Azure Emperor's Treasure Garden long ago.

Zhongyuan couldn't believe that he would have to rely on the methods left behind by Zhi Guangji back then. He laughed at himself a little. If his past self could see his present self, he would probably look down on him too.

"Even the most venerable spirits cannot attain sainthood; I have never believed in the nonsense of the Xuandu Palace."

Zhongyuan looked at the Yin-Yang Dharma King and sneered.

(End of this chapter)