Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

The moon hangs hazy in the sky, and the Guanghan Palace is cold and desolate.

Green bamboo by the cold pool, swaying shadows in the woods.

In the sixth level of the Taiyin Illusion, before the moonlit, icy pool of the Qingzhu Palace, Li Jianchun, whose soul had been nearly frozen to the point of shattering and whose body and soul had been extinguished, awoke from his numb and bewildered state.

Looking up, I saw the moonlight in the sky was clear and cold. Looking around, I found that the bamboo forest on all sides was like a sea, with the moonlight dappling the bamboo stalks.

Although he didn't know where he was, Li Jianchun could sense that although the place was chilly, it no longer had the bone-chilling coldness of before. In fact, there was even a hint of warmth in the wind, which made him feel comfortable and he just wanted to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up again.

Li Jianchun subconsciously wanted to fall asleep again, but then he suddenly realized something and jolted awake. He quickly looked around and saw that Tian Ming'an, Qiu Buyu, and Huang Ping'an were all there, but frozen in the snow. He breathed a long sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, everyone is here."

Knowing that everyone was there, Li Jianchun finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep again.

After Li Jianchun fell asleep, Tian Ming'an, Qiu Buyu, and Huang Ping'an woke up one after another in the following ten days or so, and after confirming that everyone was there, they all fell asleep again.

The four of them completely forgot to think about how they got here, or rather, their souls could no longer withstand too much thought.

Before the moonlit, icy pool, Tian Ming'an, Qiu Buyu, Li Jianchun, and Huang Ping'an were encased in ice, like four ice sculptures, fast asleep with warm and comfortable expressions.

"These four are loyal and steadfast; they are promising talents."

“When selecting disciples, one should seek out those who respect their teachers and uphold the Way.”

Her voice was calm and indifferent, devoid of any warmth. Taiyin Yuexian, draped in a dark robe with gold patterns, wearing a bright moon hat and jade dragon boots, nodded and then sat down cross-legged in front of the four ice sculptures, closing her eyes to rest.

As Yue Xian meditated and practiced her magic, the power of the moon above the Moonlit Cold Pool was drawn to the top of her head, transforming into a vortex of spiritual energy. Around the vortex, ripples of cold light spread out in a variety of colors, making Yue Xian's serene and noble expression appear even more magnificent.

This meditation session lasted for more than a year.

After sleeping for more than a year, Tian Ming'an, Qiu Buyu, Li Jianchun, and Huang Ping'an finally awoke from their slumber.

The four of them slept for a full year, during which they had no awareness or reaction to the outside world, and were still somewhat dazed when they finally woke up.

Looking at the icy shell they were in and the layer of soft jade enveloping their bodies, the four of them were stunned for a moment before finally remembering what had happened.

Only then did the four realize how incredible their year-long slumber had been!
They actually fell asleep and died in an unfamiliar environment without any protection, and they slept for a whole year!
This is just so wrong!
Just as the four were looking around in surprise and doubt, a voice entered their minds: "Don't have wild thoughts just because you've just woken up."

"Your souls have barely healed. If you still wish to ascend to immortality in the future, do not act recklessly. Your fragile souls and bodies cannot withstand the attrition here."

"What you need to do now is to rest and recuperate instead of trying to struggle. Once your physical bodies and souls are free of any hidden dangers, I will release you."

"As for now, you should all stay put and not waste the warm jade ice coffin that I painstakingly crafted."

As that cold yet somewhat familiar voice entered the four people's minds, they were all stunned: This voice sounds like their master!

When Yue Xian's figure materialized from the illusion and walked step by step under the bright moonlight to the four of them, Tian Ming'an, who had followed Jiang Sheng since his humble beginnings, and Li Jianchun and Huang Ping'an, who had seen Jiang Sheng in his prime in the Three Realms Battlefield, were all stunned: the person who came looked exactly like their master!
The same face, the same physique, but with an exceptionally cold demeanor, they became much strangers to each other.

Is the person in front of me really my master?

For a moment, Tian Ming'an and the other three were filled with doubt.

But then, Yuexian's voice rang out in the four people's minds again: "I told you not to have wild thoughts, yet you're still thinking about those nonsense things."

"I am not your master, but I can be considered your master."

Seeing the four people's puzzled expressions, Yuexian finally revealed a smile: "You should know that your master has an avatar in the underworld of the Three Realms, known as the True Lord of Salvation from Suffering and Distress, also known as the Lord of the Underworld, who is stationed in the Eastern Underworld."

"And I am another avatar of your master. You may call me the Moonlit Wisdom True Lord."

The Moon Goddess of the Moon?!
Tian Ming'an and the other three finally understood why the person in front of them looked exactly like their master and even had a similar aura. It turned out that this person was another avatar of their master!
Seeing that Tian Ming'an and the other three had suddenly realized what was going on, True Monarch Yuehui snorted: "The four of you are indeed loyal to me. The fact that you were able to venture into a place like this is enough to show your sincerity and filial piety."

"However, how dare you trespass into such a place?"

"This place is the Taiyin Illusionary Realm. It is a first-class secret realm and cave heaven in the entire Xuanhuang Realm. The Taiyin chill within is enough to freeze and shatter the soul and spirit of a Five Tribulation True Monarch, and enough to extinguish the life soul and true fire of a Mahayana Immortal Monarch."

"With your limited abilities, a few Nascent Soul cultivators, how dare you barge in and travel so far? You should be grateful that your master paved the way for you beforehand. Otherwise, you would have been frozen into ice sculptures and turned into ice shards by the wind in the Cold Profound Prison Realm."

"Do you know that your master is currently undergoing the Heart Fire Tribulation, one of the five tribulations of the Fusion Body, in the Ice Mountain Soul Domain of the Taiyin Illusion? At this time, your master's lifespan is waning, and his cultivation and magical power are constantly being depleted."

“If you hadn’t been in danger, your master wouldn’t have used the power of Taiyin to create me to save you at such a critical moment.”

"Go back to sleep and take good care of your spirit and body. Don't leave any hidden dangers, or I will have to go to great lengths to make up for them."

After saying that, True Monarch Yuehui raised her hand and waved it. The power of the Taiyin transformed into a bright white ribbon and swirled away, causing Tian Ming'an and the other three to fall into a deep sleep once again.

"My situation isn't as bad as you make it out to be."

While Tian Ming'an and the other three were fast asleep, a voice rang in Yuehui Zhenjun's ear: "If you discipline them like this, won't they feel guilty? What if it affects their Dao heart?"

The voice was calm and slightly gentle; it was unmistakably Jiang Sheng's own voice.

This place is clearly the Qingzhu Palace, which is tens of millions of miles away from the Ice Mountain Soul Domain. Yet, Jiang Sheng was able to communicate with his clone while undergoing his tribulation. This shows that Jiang Sheng's condition was not dangerous at all.

And that is indeed the case. Jiang Sheng has already passed the tribulation of the heart fire. He is currently just adjusting his breathing and replenishing his damaged body.

Over the course of more than three years, Jiang Sheng maintained his inner fire and Daoist heart with a strong and unyielding spirit.

When the mind is clear and pure, the original intention remains unchanged; when the fire of the heart is extinguished, the true spirit will not perish.

Even though his physical body decayed and his lifespan was exhausted, Jiang Sheng, whose spirit and Dao heart remained immortal, could still be considered immortal.

The danger of the Heartfire Tribulation lies in the fact that one can clearly perceive the continuous depletion of one's lifespan. This is a difficult test for one's Dao heart. Once one believes that one will die when one's lifespan is exhausted, then at the moment when one's lifespan is burned out, one will surely perish under the Heartfire Tribulation.

However, those with unwavering faith in the Dao are confident that human will can overcome fate and are not afraid of the exhaustion of their lifespan. Even if they are engulfed in flames or their lifespan is exhausted, their inner fire will not be extinguished, their true spirit will not perish, and they will be immortal.

The Tribulation of Heartfire, that raging fire that burns from the heart, spreading to the limbs and bones, scorching flesh and bones, certainly uses lifespan as fuel, but as long as the fire does not go out, one's original nature and true self remain. And after the fire has burned away one's lifespan, as long as one's Dao heart is firm and one's spirit is resilient, the Heartfire can continue to burn without fuel.

Therefore:

Lifespan becomes fuel to ignite the fire of calamity, the source of fire is the Dao heart, which burns the Dao body;
Even if one's lifespan ends and one's fate is sealed, the fire of the heart can still burn even without fuel.

However, having a firm Dao heart and a resilient spirit is easier said than done; achieving it is incredibly difficult.

Even immortals who have ascended to heaven after enduring countless tribulations cannot remain calm and indifferent when faced with the gradual depletion of their lifespan and the approach of their own demise.

The realm of life and death is terrifying. Even the most powerful immortals and gods, once they realize that their supernatural abilities have vanished and they have no trump cards left, find it difficult to remain rational.

Immortals and gods are also sentient beings with feelings and desires. The three calamities of refining emptiness and the five tribulations of uniting the body are not only tests of essence, energy, spirit, the five internal organs, and the soul and Dao heart, but also tests of the seven emotions and six desires.

The reason why immortals and gods chose to freeze themselves and freeze time to resist the three calamities of refining the void and the five tribulations of merging the body is that not everyone can remain rational when facing this life-or-death situation. Moreover, immortals and gods are most vulnerable in the life-or-death situation, and once they are corrupted by the heavenly demons, it is extremely difficult to get rid of them.

Even the disciples and true disciples of the holy lands in the myriad realms face the risk of death and annihilation when they are corrupted by the Heavenly Demon during their tribulation.

Otherwise, the Heavenly Demons would not be the most terrifying calamity for sentient beings.

Once a cultivator is unable to maintain a clear Dao mind and a lucid soul, and is stirred by the seven emotions and six desires by the Heavenly Demon during tribulation, amplifying the deficiencies in their Dao mind and soul, then facing an intensified calamity, the cultivator will almost certainly perish.

Previously, when Jiang Sheng was undergoing the Three Calamities of Refining Void, his divine consciousness and true spirit were eroded by the Seven Mysterious Ink Lotus corrupted by the Heavenly Demon, causing the Three Calamities of Refining Void to erupt simultaneously, and even erupted three times in a row, almost causing Jiang Sheng to die and disappear in the depths of chaos.

Since then, whether it was the decline of his physical body when he directly underwent the Liver Wood Tribulation during his breakthrough and fusion, or the decline of his lifespan when he underwent the Heart Fire Tribulation, Jiang Sheng has never encountered any signs of being eroded by the Heavenly Demon again.

It's unclear whether Jiang Sheng had already killed most of the great demons of the Xuanhuang Realm, or whether he had killed so many celestial demons that the high-ranking celestial demon lords, who were most adept at stirring up darkness in people's hearts and souls and amplifying the seven emotions and six desires, dared not come looking for Jiang Sheng anymore.

This time, the biggest problem Jiang Sheng faced during the Heartfire Tribulation was the limited time available. As for the traces of the Heavenly Demon's invasion, Jiang Sheng never encountered them, which left him somewhat helpless. It was a real pity that the Immortal Execution Sword and the Immortal Slaughtering Sword, which he had prepared long ago, were never used.

With a soft sigh, Jiang Sheng's thought appeared out of nowhere, landing beside True Monarch Yuehui.

This thought is as clear as jade, seemingly cold and frosty, yet it is tinged with azure gold, possessing an extraordinary status. One can vaguely see azure wood and crimson fire swirling around the thought, manifesting a second-level kalpa status, incomparably noble.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his divine sense silently swept over Tian Ming'an and the other three. Through the ice coffin, his thought not only clearly saw the physical structure of Tian Ming'an and the other three, but also pointed out the hidden dangers in their souls.

Then he thought to himself, "Ming An and the others are not in a very optimistic situation right now."

"Although you used ice as the shell and warm jade as the core to create ice coffins for them to nourish their souls, there is too much Yin energy hidden in their consciousness and physical bodies. With this method alone, it is not enough to force out all the Yin cold energy in their bodies."

“The presence of this Yin cold energy within their bodies will be a hidden danger, and will inevitably affect their cultivation in the future.”

Moon Wisdom True Lord said helplessly, "I am merely your clone. My cultivation of the power of Taiyin originates from your understanding of the Way of Taiyin."

"Right now, my cultivation is only at the peak of the Void Refining stage. Once you have completely overcome the second tribulation, you will also need to reach the Integration stage."

"Such cultivation is insignificant even in this Taiyin Illusionary Realm, so how can we deal with their problems?"

"Or, how about we refine a few Taiyin Frost Soul Pills for them, supplemented with Taiyin Warming Spirit Powder, and see if we can try?"

Jiang Sheng did not reply.

After a moment of silence, the aloof and noble expression on Yuehui Zhenjun's face began to falter: "You wouldn't be planning to have me send them to the Sun Star, would you?"

"With my cultivation level, let alone protecting them, I myself would probably be burned to ashes within a few breaths."

Jiang Sheng chuckled: "You just need to maintain your existence on the Taiyin Star. I'll figure out what to do about the Taiyang Star."

"Ming'an and the others are in good condition for now. They should be fine for a few more days. After I've recovered, I'll personally take them to the Sun Star."

Upon hearing this, True Monarch Yuehui nodded: "That's fine too."

"You have already grasped the essence of the Yin Way. Going any deeper would be detrimental to you."

"Taking advantage of this opportunity, we should hurry to the sun and stars to comprehend the way of the sun, and use the sun to neutralize the moon and achieve a balance between yin and yang. This is the safest approach."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid your resolve in the Dao has changed."

Jiang Sheng remained silent, simply withdrawing his thoughts and continuing to nourish his physical body.

Meanwhile, True Lord Yuehui returned to Moonlit Sky to absorb the power of Taiyin for cultivation.

In fact, as True Lord Yuehui said, delving too deeply into the Way of Taiyin is of no benefit to Jiang Sheng at present.

Having spent a long time on the Taiyin star, Jiang Sheng gained a deeper understanding of the Taiyin method, to the point that he unknowingly became tainted by the Taiyin's coldness and became more indifferent and aloof.

In such a desolate and lonely place, surrounded by the power of Yin, it is inevitable that some humanity will be lost and more divinity will be gained.

If this continues, even if Jiang Sheng can maintain his divine soul, his Dao heart will inevitably be corrupted by the power of Taiyin, and he will no longer be the same as before.

In that case, having lost his true nature, is Jiang Sheng still the True Lord of Lingyuan in Penglai, or the Young Master of Guanghan in this Xuanhuang Realm?
Therefore, after realizing that he had problems and was becoming increasingly indifferent to worldly affairs and the situation of his disciples, even feeling a sense of alienation, Jiang Sheng chose to take advantage of the moment when the Heart Fire Tribulation was burning his body and soul with intense flames to forcibly separate a thought and focus on cultivating the Taiyin Guanghan method.

This action was tantamount to Jiang Sheng severing his indifferent and aloof persona and maintaining his original heart and nature.

Even after severing his Yin body, Jiang Sheng still couldn't completely balance the Yin and Yang within his body. He had to travel to the Sun Star to use the power of the Sun to balance Yin and Yang and anchor his Dao beacon.

At the same time, Jiang Sheng must also create a body of the sun to avoid having his Dao heart eroded by the power of the sun.

Thinking that he still couldn't relax after experiencing a series of troubles with the Taiyin Star, Jiang Sheng himself revealed a smile in the Ice Mountain Soul Domain.

"The moon is cold and distant from one's true nature, while the sun is scorching and scorching away from one's true heart."

"Severing Yin and Yang to retain one's true self, whether pure or impure, it is the true spirit." (End of Chapter)