Just as Yu Xian had judged, Zhenwo Changjing was indeed not angry.
She looked at Yu Xian, still entirely serene, and asked, “What benefits do you want?”
“How should I know what you can offer me?” Yu Xian sighed, unable to resist retorting.
Zhenwo Changjing pondered for a moment. “The most valuable thing I possess should be the knowledge of Zhenwo Wuchang, but His knowledge is not suited for you.”
“Why isn't it suited for me?” Yu Xian bristled upon hearing that.
Although he did not know just how powerful Zhenwo Wuchang truly was, since the being was already pursuing transcendence, He had to be immensely formidable. After all, Yu Xian could hardly imagine what kind of existence “transcendence” even entailed.
“Zhenwo Wuchang integrated numerous cultivation systems to create a bespoke art, titled the *Yin-Yang Non-Dual Calamity Sea Sutra*. Only someone who possesses both sexes simultaneously can cultivate it,” Zhenwo Changjing answered.
Both sexes?
In other words, only an intersex person could cultivate this technique.
Yu Xian was left speechless. An ordinary person really couldn't learn this thing at all.
Then, an odd thought occurred to him: the Pangu Transmutation Divine Ability. If he awakened that innate talent, it wasn't completely impossible for him to turn into an intersex person.
*Wait, what am I thinking?!*
A second later, he came to his senses and hastily flung the thought from his head.
For a fleeting moment just now, he had actually felt that becoming an intersex person wasn't entirely unacceptable. How terrifying.
Yet he had to admit that he was intensely curious about what Zhenwo Wuchang’s *Yin-Yang Non-Dual Calamity Sea Sutra* actually contained. It was purely that curiosity which had spawned such a bizarre notion.
Super Brain did not lie; he knew his own true feelings and thoughts.
Looking at Zhenwo Changjing, he hesitated, then said with difficulty, “How about you give me a brief overview of how Zhenwo Wuchang's art is cultivated, and what its defining characteristics are?”
“The *Yin-Yang Non-Dual Calamity Sea Sutra* is all-encompassing, containing hundreds of arts within it,” Zhenwo Changjing explained. “If we speak solely of the primary cultivation method, one first cultivates the *Ten Suns Traversing the Sky True Scripture* and the *Nine Nethers Moon-Corroding Divine Art* to bolster the innate yang and innate yin within the body. Next, one masters telekinesis from super abilities to forcibly bind the innate yang and innate yin within the body, forming Taiji true qi inside the dantian.
“After that, one learns the Pure Yang Boundless Art from spiritual energy worlds to cultivate Pure Yang spiritual power, then studies the Dark Scripture from magic worlds to cultivate dark magic power. Both are subsequently blended into the Taiji true qi, using psychic ability to maintain control.
“Then, through the study of alchemy and pill-refining, one uses the dantian as a furnace and incorporates countless materials of yin and yang attributes gathered from across the myriad worlds, refining the Taiji true qi, Pure Yang spiritual power, and dark magic power into the Non-Dual Dao Fruit.
“Finally, taking the Non-Dual Dao Fruit as the core, one pairs it with Buddhist arts and endures ninety-nine million nine hundred and ninety thousand types of tribulations across different worlds to absorb their calamity qi. This ultimately manifests as the Non-Dual Calamity Sea divine power, capable of inverting all opposing concepts and entities across creation—front and back, yin and yang, good and bad, fortune and disaster, life and death.”
Only men possessed innate yang, and only women possessed innate yin.
This was the innate primordial qi born while one was still in one's mother's womb. Because Zhenwo Wuchang had been born intersex, His body possessed both innate yang and innate yin from birth.
Even if Yu Xian possessed innate yang and could transform into an intersex person via the Pangu Transmutation Divine Ability, he was not naturally born that way. Therefore, his body would not magically produce a portion of innate yin out of thin air; he would still possess only innate yang.
“In other words, He could turn me from alive to dead with a single glance?” Yu Xian asked thoughtfully.
Zhenwo Changjing nodded. “A trivial effort.”
“He could turn me from male to female?” Yu Xian stroked his chin and asked.
Zhenwo Changjing nodded. “With the greatest of ease.”
“He could turn me from constantly lucky to ceaselessly doomed?” Yu Xian pressed further.
Zhenwo Changjing continued to nod. “As simple as turning over a hand.”
“Can you teach me the *Ten Suns Traversing the Sky True Scripture*?” An idea struck Yu Xian, and he seized the opportunity to ask.
Even though this *Ten Suns Traversing the Sky True Scripture* was far inferior to the *Yin-Yang Non-Dual Calamity Sea Sutra*, as the very first step in Zhenwo Wuchang's cultivation, it was bound to have remarkable virtues.
Zhenwo Changjing nodded. “I can teach it, but you cannot learn it.”
“Huh? Why do I get the feeling you're pulling my leg?” Yu Xian looked at her with suspicion.
Zhenwo Changjing took no offense, calmly explaining, “A vampire converted from a human has their innate yang dissipate during the transformation process. Without innate yang in your body, how could you possibly cultivate the *Ten Suns Traversing the Sky True Scripture*?”
In truth, the *Ten Suns Traversing the Sky True Scripture* was a virgin art. Aside from vampires who were barred from cultivating it, older men who had girlfriends or had been married could likewise not cultivate it, as their innate yang had already been lost.
By the same token, women with boyfriends or who had been married had already lost their innate yin, and could not cultivate the *Nine Nethers Moon-Corroding Divine Art* either.
At this moment, Yu Xian had nothing to say, though a wave of annoyance rose within him.
He stared at Zhenwo Changjing in silence for a long while before speaking. “So… you can't give me any benefits at all, yet you expect me to shoulder an enormous risk alongside you?”
“How about this, then?”
Zhenwo Changjing gave a faint smile and extended her hand toward Yu Xian, resting her palm against the surface of the spatial bubble.
Ripples washed across the spatial bubble. Without damaging it, her hand passed directly inside and came to rest squarely upon Yu Xian’s forehead.
Yu Xian had watched her reach out with his own eyes, yet he somehow had no impulse to dodge. By the time he realized what she was doing, it was already too late.
“What are you trying to do?”
Yu Xian hastily stared at Zhenwo Changjing, demanding an answer.
Zhenwo Changjing replied with a smile, “The investigative ability you used just now was quite intriguing. It resembles the divination art of inquiring of Heaven, yet also the Origin Inspection Art, with a trace of Daoist Round Light Technique mixed in as well. An ability cobbled together so haphazardly yet still functioning ought to originate from a Forbidden Fruit of the Abyss. How about I optimize it for you?”
“You mean Appraisal?” Yu Xian let out a breath of relief, then asked.
Zhenwo Changjing nodded. “So it is called Appraisal. Quite an ordinary name.”
“Is there a problem with my Appraisal?” Seeing her nod, Yu Xian pressed on.
Zhenwo Changjing nodded again. “This ability was cobbled together haphazardly. Have you ever considered where its information source originates?”
“Information source?”
Yu Xian furrowed his brows. He truly had never considered such a question.
In fact, it wasn't just him; probably no one in Qilin had ever pondered it either.
Since it was an appraisal ability, most people took it for granted that the information came from the target itself. But from Zhenwo Changjing’s words, one could deduce that this assumption was definitely wrong.
Zhenwo Changjing smiled gently. “The information sources of your Appraisal are somewhat chaotic. Part of it comes from the appraised target itself, part comes from your own knowledge, part stems from the reflection of the world, and another part originates from the conceptual root. Furthermore, this ability is intensely intrusive. Any creature with even a bit of strength should be able to effortlessly detect that you are prying into them.”
As she spoke, her palm radiated a faint golden light, and countless unimaginably minute particles continuously entered Yu Xian's brain.
She continued, “I have sorted out the structure of your ability, patched its deficiencies, and endowed it with a concealment property. In this way, targets will no longer easily detect your prying.”
After roughly five minutes, she drew back her hand.
Yu Xian hadn't felt a single thing. He looked at Zhenwo Changjing and asked, “Done?”
“Why not give it a try?” Zhenwo Changjing smiled.
Without hesitation, Yu Xian immediately cast Appraisal on her. A golden light screen visible only to him sprang up before his eyes, line after line of text swiftly manifesting across its surface.
Chapter 142