Chapter 125: The Eight Heaven‑Breaking Forms of the Great Yin

After a long while, Niu Dingtian's gaze slowly withdrew from the cliff wall, but he did not leave at once.

At this moment, the night sky, with stars shifting and the constellations turning imperceptibly, suddenly made him feel an uncanny, mysterious resonance within his body.

He immediately sat cross‑legged on the high platform, perceiving the subtle breath between heaven and earth.

Gusts of mountain wind brushed by, hair fluttered, sleeves billowed, yet the silhouette on the platform remained perfectly still.

Gradually,

Time seemed to stand still, and the figure seemed to merge with the starry sky, merging with this world.

No one could tell how long had passed; beneath the starry sky, subtle wonders suddenly manifested as scattered, faint glimmers that drifted down slowly and began to gather toward the figure on the platform.

When they approached the figure, the glimmers seemed to vanish, yet also to merge with the silhouette.

As the glimmers accelerated their convergence, the figure on the platform appeared as if returning to heaven and earth, gradually becoming ethereal and illusory.

Time slipped away quietly, while the glimmers under the starry sky continued to gather.

When she reached Niu Dingtian's side, she could no longer hold back a laugh and said, "My father once said Ouyang Feng's Toad Skill subdues movement with stillness, storing power without releasing it; when activated it resembles a gigantic toad. Too bad Sister Han stopped me from going out last night."

He saw his fingertips suddenly turn black in an instant, but within a blink they returned to normal.

The moment his palm breeze brushed past, it felt as if a sudden winter had arrived; the pine tree instantly formed ice crystals at a speed invisible to the naked eye, ultimately becoming an ice‑carved tree.

At this moment, Miss Huang's fair, pretty face had clearly become rosier; perhaps due to her recent dedicated martial training, the youthful naivety in her brows and eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a mature aura.

Having made up his mind, Niu Dingtian pulled a little snake from his bosom and walked into the courtyard.

Late last night, after hearing an immensely deep croak, the two people inside the house were startled awake.

"Brother Niu, did you spar with Ouyang Feng last night?" Miss Huang said with sparkling eyes, "Last night Sister Xiao Ying and I both heard a huge toad croak."

Having said that, she also lifted the little snake in her hand.

"Could it have been last night? Or… those stars?" Niu Dingtian murmured, staring at the distant sunrise.

She had intended to go out and see how the Toad Skill manifested, but after Niu Dingtian's reminder, Han Xiao Ying feared that the two would be taken advantage of and become a burden, so she forcibly stopped it.

"It seems… there's an extra Extreme Yin Force?" Niu Dingtian whispered.

"The breathing method appears able to devour the power of heaven and earth?"

"I wonder how powerful it is?"

"Heh~"

Thinking of this, Niu Dingtian gradually understood; as he gazed at the endlessly rolling mountain clouds, an indescribable excitement rose in his heart.

"This…" Miss Huang's eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Ah!"

"Show me quickly!" Miss Huang's eyes lit up; she snatched it away, gave it a couple of strokes, and curiously said, "So beautiful! Is this from Ouyang Feng's Spirit Snake Staff? Why is it just one?"

But what was that fleeting, jet‑black flash just now? Seeing the wound on his fingertip barely visible, Miss Huang stared wide‑eyed at Niu Dingtian.

After harnessing the Extreme Yin Force within, he thrust a palm toward the pine tree.

He dared not speak of it, so he steadied himself, took Miss Huang's small hand, gave it a squeeze, felt it carefully, and laughed, saying:

"Last night I sparred with Ouyang Feng, and in the end I won a few good things; Lao Du Wu's meat is aching, and later I'll tell Rong Er about it."

Looking again at the pretty face before him, the puffed‑up cheeks image lingered: "Brother Niu! Take this girl's Toad Skill!"

If it had been half a month earlier, seeing Niu Dingtian appear suddenly now, she would have pounced immediately.

When he gazed at the starry sky last night, he felt the heavens vast and profoundly mysterious, and the turning constellations seemed linked to his inner self, prompting such speculation.

With that thought, Niu Dingtian's eyes flickered, he leapt down from the platform and walked slowly to a mountain pine.

Seeing Miss Huang's curiosity, Niu Dingtian's mouth twitched; suddenly a scene of Miss Huang practicing the Toad Skill before a mirror flashed in his mind.

"This…" Niu Dingtian's face was stunned.

After a night of insight, he felt his inner breath become more subtle, and an extra Extreme Yin Force had emerged.

He had never cultivated a cold‑yin internal skill; could the Pre‑Heaven realm already transform heaven's power for himself?

"No!"

"But Lao Du Wu, this place truly is a treasure, destined for me." Niu Dingtian said with a smile, "I'll come back tonight to try again!"

This power is extremely cold‑yin; even the internal methods in the Nine Yin Classic likely cannot cultivate such an Extreme Yin internal force.

But before Niu Dingtian could reply, she let out a startled cry, flung the little snake away, and his fingertip had already been bitten.

He could clearly feel he was just one step away from the Pre‑Heaven realm, yet had never realized he possessed even a hint of such great power.

The thought surfaced briefly, only to be dismissed by him; if it were true, wouldn't a Pre‑Heaven master already have transcended the mundane?

She had thought Niu Dingtian was harmlessly fiddling, a temperament‑free youngster, and never expected him to bite her directly.

Having entered the courtyard, before reaching the door, the room door was opened from inside by Miss Huang.

"Rong Er, up so early?" Niu Dingtian asked with a smile.

"Since the Extreme Yin Force can devour, the Extreme Yang Force should be no problem either!"

At the third quarter of the Mao hour, dawn broke in the east,

In the instant the morning light exhaled its glow, the sky‑wide glimmers began to vanish, and Niu Dingtian slowly opened his eyes.

For those with profound martial cultivation, meditative rest and sleep are essentially the same. According to Miss Huang's usual habit, she probably had not yet regained her spirit at this moment.

"As for how to devour, we'll eventually find some clues."

"Go inside first; later I'll tell you, Rong Er, rest assured it will be good." Niu Dingtian said with a smile.

He then picked up the little snake, gave it a slap, and pulled the still‑dazed Miss Huang into the house.

After the two entered the house,

Han Xiao Ying had already concluded her practice and stood up, while the old turtle lying on the ground, upon seeing the little creature in Niu Dingtian's hand, fixed its glowing eyes on him.

"Rong Er, what's wrong?" Han Xiao Ying asked as she approached.

She had just heard the commotion outside, but with this person outside, she need not rush out.

Afterwards, Niu Dingtian simply told the two about the night's gambling match, and when he mentioned the little snake, he hesitated and said:

"The thing I gave you to drink last time in Peach Blossom Spring had miraculous detoxifying effects; now… you two should be immune to all poisons, so you needn't fear any poisonous creature."

"Although this little snake is extremely poisonous, if it bites you it will be harmless; but from now on, don't let anyone else touch this little guy."

He hadn't originally planned to ask for this little snake last night, after all, to him even the deadliest venom would have no effect.

But after thinking, it's also an extra poison source; this colorless, odorless thing is far stronger than arsenic and crane's crown red, and perhaps one day it will come in handy.

Most importantly, when he plans to sneak into the palace later, he must definitely bring this thing along.

"Immune to all poisons?" Miss Huang couldn't help narrowing her eyes.

Then, as if she had thought of something, she snatched the little white snake again and began to knead it resentfully, making Niu Dingtian's mouth twitch.

"I never expected that I and Rong'er would have such an encounter." Han Xiao Ying looked at her fair hands and couldn't help sighing.

She had long realized that what she drank last time was certainly not an ordinary thing; while there are external objects that boost one's cultivation, none compare to the legendary Great Returning Pill of the Shaolin Temple.

But the fact that she could directly make someone immune to all poisons was truly unheard of; however, Niu Dingtian didn't want to over-explain, having his own reasons, and she and Miss Huang were tactful enough not to press for details.

After Miss Huang had vented her feelings with the little snake, Niu Dingtian began to explain to the two the puzzling parts of the Nine Yin Classic, which had become their daily essential study since leaving Peach Blossom Spring.

Everyone says study time passes slowly, and Niu Dingtian thought so too, because when he studied in the past he grasped things instantly, often being the student most eager for Mr. Bao's class to end.

But now that his status and position have reversed, and he begins teaching the two female disciples, he always feels that time flies like a white colt passing through a gap, vanishing in an instant.

After an hour,

it was already three quarters into the si hour, approaching noon.

Seeing that no one had brought breakfast to the courtyard, Niu Dingtian began to feel dissatisfied; the old poisonous creature's promised hospitality didn't even include breakfast?

He then went out of the courtyard and found the servant who had guided them the previous night.

"Where is your manor lord?"

"Our manor lord is in closed-door cultivation."

"And the young manor lord?"

"Um… the young manor lord is also in closed-door cultivation."

However, the manor lord had instructed that Niu Dingtian and his companions could stay as long as they wished, freely within the manor, but they would have to take care of their own meals.

"Moreover, the cooks in the manor have all fled down the mountain, so the servants' food would surely not suit your taste."

Thus,

After returning, Miss Huang took charge of the three's meals.

Niu Dingtian also understood that Ouyang Feng probably couldn't have done this; it must have been the scheming of that little schemer Ouyang Ke.

However, he let his mind loose and searched for half a day but found no trace; perhaps he was hiding again in some corner.

But this account,

Niu Dingtian also recorded it in his little notebook!

At night,

After the three had finished dinner,

When the sky was full of stars, Niu Dingtian once again came to the high platform outside the courtyard.

Sitting cross-legged, he slowly activated his breathing technique and began to silently observe the movement of the stars across the sky.

At that moment, his eyes held only the eternal night sky and the endless, ever-changing shift of the stars.

Gradually, a faint glow began to appear, falling from the starry sky and slowly seeping into his body, while the extreme Yin power within him noticeably increased.

"No, it seems… to be the moon?" Niu Dingtian muttered to himself.

As the faint glow continued to drift down toward him, he suddenly realized the source was none other than that large, bright moon.

And the surrounding stars' motion seemed to be accelerating the speed at which the glow fell.

"The Yin Star, the Northern and Southern Dipper, belonging to Gui water, is the essence of the moon in heaven. Perhaps… it would be more appropriate to call it Yin power?" Niu Dingtian whispered.

"The waxing and waning of the glow seems to follow some pattern, and the waxing and waning of the stars' shining also follows a fixed route— the Greedy Wolf Star, the Heavenly Tremor Star, the Purple Forbidden Star…"

After extremely meticulous observation, he discovered that the motion of the stars around the Yin Star, together with their fluctuating brightness, seemed to harmonize with the waxing and waning of the glow's intensity in a resonant rhythm.

And while the breathing technique absorbs the glow's movement, it seems to involve, in sequence, walking through many acupoints such as the Heavenly Pivot, the Jade Spindle, and the Purple Palace, among others.

However, after letting go of his intent, merely walking through those acupoints cannot drive the breathing technique.

Upon considering a certain possibility, Niu Dingtian immediately stopped the breathing technique driven by his intent.

Immediately afterward, following the stellar pattern he had observed, he slowly turned his body's many acupoints in sequence.

"Boom~"

And just as his acupoints had just completed a full heavenly circuit, the faint glow from the entire sky suddenly poured down in a boom, rapidly gathering into his body.

"Damn, this really just became a cultivation method?" Niu Dingtian exclaimed in delight, unable to help muttering: "Can turning the power of heaven and earth to one's own use still be considered a mundane technique?"

"Or is it a legendary immortal's method?"

The surprise came too suddenly; he truly hadn't expected that a Yin cultivation method would be born just like that, unintentionally, by borrowing the breathing technique and the stars' motion.

Gazing at the stars across the sky and feeling the Yin power flowing into his body, Niu Dingtian's excited mood gradually calmed.

But when he pondered the essence of this world, and when he thought of his soul's rebirth, feelings inevitably arose in his heart:

"This world is nothing but yin and yang giving birth to each other, life and death joining, the false and the real uniting, time and space accompanying. Since I can achieve Yin power, I can certainly achieve Yang power."

"If there truly is a path to immortality, as long as one can transcend yin and yang, life and death, the false and the real, and time and space, one can certainly achieve the way of the immortal."

"Since above the realm of heaven and man there is a distinction between immortal and mortal, then let me break open the heavens above my head with these eight forms!"

Thinking of this,

Niu Dingtian's belief became extraordinarily firm.

Although the Heaven-Breaking Eight Forms sound somewhat illusory and ethereal, what's the difference between penetrating life and death and achieving longevity?

And to penetrate the false and the real, time and space, even the legendary immortals might not necessarily be able to do it.

However, absorbing stellar power for one's own use—how could that not seem illusory and elusive to ordinary people?

Since one has already broken through the illusory and elusive once, thereafter it is possible to have countless such illusory and elusive moments.

During the seven days thereafter,

The three of them remained in White Camel Mountain Villa, cultivating.

Niu Dingtian would go up to the high platform every night, observing the movement of the stars to comprehend his heart technique and martial moves, while devouring Greater Yin power in search of a breakthrough to the innate realm.

As for Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Ke, they never showed their faces from beginning to end.

Over the seven days, Niu Dingtian's Greater Yin technique gradually became perfected, and the simple moves he had comprehended from the stars' motion also gradually matured.

After seven days,

The three people and a turtle then set off along the route they had come, beginning their return journey eastward.

"Young Master! They've left!"

——

The ancients said,

Among the great mountains, aside from Mount Taihang, none rivals Mount Zhongnan.

Mount Zhongnan stretches across the south of Guanzhong; its terrain is treacherous and its roads rugged, with five major valleys, over a hundred minor valleys, extending for several hundred li.

It is also known as Mount Taiyi, and has the beautiful epithets 'Fairy Capital', 'Crown of the Grotto-Heavens', and 'Number One Blessed Land under Heaven'.

Nowadays, Mount Zhongnan is renowned not only for its scenery but also, in the eyes of the martial world, for housing the foremost sect under heaven—the Quanzhen Sect.

Mount Zhongnan

summit

On the martial arts platform of the Quanzhen Sect

The Seven Masters of Quanzhen are currently seated cross-legged in the formation of the Big Dipper.

Ma Yu occupies the Heavenly Pivot position, Tan Chuduan the Heavenly Mystery, Liu Chuxuan the Heavenly Jade, Qiu Chuji the Heavenly Power; these four form the dipper's bowl.

Wang Chuyi occupies the Jade Balance position, Hao Datong the Opening Yang, Sun Bu'er the Twinkling Light; these three form the dipper's handle.

This is precisely the Quanzhen Sect's protective formation—the Heavenly Gang Big Dipper Formation.

(End of chapter)