Wuxing.

—

Turning toward her master, Ying Yue carefully chose her words, not wanting to offend him. When it comes to his daughter or wife, as a servant, she must know what to say and what not to say, lest she risk a lecture specific to that servant. For Ying Yue, what she fears most is being abandoned and left on her own. After all, the one thing she craves most is the love of her life, from the moment she was born into this world until she met him. Becoming one with him and her matriarch was the most significant event of her life, sacred and sentimental, given their dedication to searching for her when she was heartbroken and suicidal. For these reasons, she carefully considered her choice of words.

"Master, what happened in the heavens above? Is everything alright with Matriarch Margarita and our Princess Ember? Ying Yue seems unable to calculate the karma beyond the world we currently tread. The fate, karma, and destiny have become so numerous that even though Yue could once wield the universe on her own, Ying Yue is now unable to calculate it all because there are just too many variables to consider. Fortunately, the Dao has stopped expanding and is letting things run naturally, as in many worlds. Otherwise, Ying Yue can't imagine how powerless we would become, similar to variants who can only write with pen and paper, without any Qigong."

Just as Tian Xing was about to answer, his intuition suddenly blared with a dangerous warning. Gently pulling his sweetheart into his embrace, he moved them both to a nearby thicket, where the dense foliage could conceal them. Lying low, with visible sweat on his and Ying Yue's foreheads, he carefully picked up small twigs beside him and began drawing the fate of the area on the ground. Slowly, inch by inch, the spirit beast nearly detected their scent. Knowing they had yet to reach any cultivation stage, he continued drawing meticulously. When it comes to fate, one must never rush, or they risk bearing the full brunt of the butterfly effect, which could drag a practitioner of the Predetermination Dao into endless suffering.

Luckily, just before the unknown spirit beast detected his and Ying Yue's scent, Tian Xing finished his drawing. As soon as he completed it, a loud sonic boom echoed through the distant air, followed by five more, causing the spirit beast to flee in fear from the aura of the cultivators aboard the flying boat. Sighing in relief after narrowly escaping death—a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time—Tian Xing laughed out loud, excited by the realization that being a mere mortal ant again certainly has its thrills. Turning to Ying Yue, who looked at him puzzled, sensing the danger had passed, he then explained what he had done.

"I don't know what type of spirit beast that was, but Master managed to scare it away by altering the path of some cultivators riding a flying boat. You could feel from their aura alone that they are five stages higher than us, who haven't even begun cultivation. So, when the spirit beast detected our scent and started heading in our direction, it fled instinctively upon sensing beings of a much higher cultivation."

Turning around and observing the distant night sky, particularly noting the traces of Fire Wuxing left by the trails of the flying boat, Tian Xing raised an intrigued eyebrow. "As for who that cultivator is, Master doesn't know either. But if Master were to guess, it is the people of this world who are able to mix technological advancement and mythological prowess. Just by looking at the aftereffects of their flying boat, it seems they are already integrating Technology Dao and Formation Dao into their modes of transportation and even into their daily lives. Do Yue see those traces of Wuxing Fire in the air?"

Even though they couldn't see the cultivator flying past them with the immortal boat, as their uncultivated bodies couldn't perceive such high-speed movement, Ying Yue, with her Dao, could clearly sense the Wuxing Fire as the aftereffect of the formation engine, indicating that it wasn't derived from Qi alone. More accurately, the Qi had spread out to create its own type of energy, similar to how cultivators can spread their Qi to manifest various laws or elements.

Intrigued, Ying Yue raised an eyebrow and replied to her master, "Yes, I see it. It feels like it comes from the Qi of Spirit Stones in a formation, but upon closer inspection, it resembles the Wuxing Fire of a cultivator. However, Yue can't discern what's unique about this method. Is there something special about it, master? As far as Yue know, every Formation Dao cultivator can achieve similar results with just a bit of effort."

Shaking his head, he explained, "Of course, there's nothing particularly special about it in a world where Essence Gathering and Spirit Awakening cultivation aren't restricted. In such a world, cultivators can derive Qi into various laws and elements and calculate these laws and elements to ensure they function smoothly."

Turning toward the sky and observing the trails of fire, he continued, "But here, Yue, in a world where only Body Transformation cultivation is available for self-improvement, Master thinks this is an accomplishment in itself. They are able to achieve what Spirit Awakening and Essence Gathering cultivators do, without any crutches whatsoever. This makes them somewhat more enlightened than us, as we rely solely on Spirit and Essence cultivation."

Looking up into the heavens and trying to see where the two Doctors are, he smiled and explained, "And because of that, Yue, Yin-Yang now works in harmony, with laws and energy complementing each other. Unlike our previous world, where the two aspects restricted each other—insufficient law proficiency left energy as an uncarved block, and insufficient energy prevented the law from carving the block."

Turning his face back toward Ying Yue, he then concluded, "Also because of that, this world or method, in a sense, is special. It allows practitioners of laws to wield large amounts of energy without needing high-level cultivation, and conversely, it enables high-level beings to gain enlightenment on the law without being limited by their level of energy."

As he started walking again, he added the final pieces, "So, Ying Yue, don't judge others too soon. What we are able to do naturally is not the same as what they must work hard to achieve. When circumstances are reversed, we might not be able to do what the people of this world can do."

Nodding her head and walking beside him once again, Ying Yue replied with a smile of contentment, "Ying Yue understands every word that has been said, master."

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