When the Sun Goes Out, It Becomes the Moon

Before Lan Ting set up the Spirit Gathering Formation, the three of them had practiced separately, constantly consolidating and improving their Foundation Establishment stage cultivation. Once the formation was in place on the second floor, the four gathered to cultivate together, exchanging insights in their free time to great profit. For instance, Lu Yang learned that Man Gu would never recite the *Sayings of the Sage* while holding a horse stance, considering it disrespectful to the sage—yet Man Gu would gladly hold a horse stance while reciting the *Sayings of the Sage*. For instance, Man Gu learned that in order to hone his mental strength, Meng Jingzhou often frequented brothels during the day solely to listen to music without doing anything else, which was truly admirable. For instance, Meng Jingzhou learned that whenever food got stuck in Lu Yang's teeth, Lu Yang would use ox-hair sword qi to pick it out—a brand-new form of cultivation practice. For instance, Lan Ting learned that the Central Continent was once refined from the stars. "To think such a thing actually happened." Lan Ting stared blankly in a daze. The revelation came as a massive shock to her, yet it also resolved some of her long-held confusion. "What confusion?" Lan Ting thought about it and decided it was not a secret that had to be kept. "As you know, the name of our Moon Laurel Immortal Palace has a twofold meaning. First, the palace grounds are covered with moon laurel trees; second, the palace believes the moon holds a certain special significance." Moon Laurel Immortal Palace had been built atop a snow-capped peak precisely to be closer to the moon, showing just how important the moon was to them. "When I first joined Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, I asked my master why the moon possessed a special meaning, while the sun or the other stars didn't, and whether we could draw power from celestial bodies like the Big Dipper. "Master told me that the moon and the sun were inherently one and the same. As for the other stars, she merely smiled meaningfully at the time and said nothing. "Still, Master always smiled like that whenever she encountered something she didn't understand, so I didn't pay it much mind. "Hearing what you said, though, I think she probably knew the truth about the stars." Lu Yang frowned. "The moon and the sun are one and the same?" Lan Ting nodded. "Originally, I didn't know what that meant either. Later, after a class ended, I heard two senior martial sisters chatting, and one said, 'When the sun goes out, it becomes the moon.'" "When the sun goes out, it becomes the moon?" Lu Yang was startled. That was a notion he had never heard before. Could it be that the stars filling the sky were mere phantoms, while the sun and moon were real—two sides of the same entity? Burning during the day, it was the sun; extinguished at night, it was the moon? How terrifying was the sun's energy! One theory held that the sun was the source of all life, and to this day, people still used the sun to cultivate, whether through visualization or contemplation. If the sun truly was the moon, where did all that energy go once it went out? What an immense reservoir of power that would be! Did the sun rein in that energy at night, keeping it hidden inside itself as it transformed into the moon? "Speaking of which, why did the Ancient Nameless One refine the boundless stars across the sky, yet leave out the sun?" Lu Yang murmured softly to himself. Without the sun, the world would plunge into darkness and all life would wither away; countless beings would have perished. Yet according to Branch Master Chu, the Ancient Nameless One viewed human life like worthless weeds and certainly would not have spared the sun out of mercy. Meng Jingzhou suddenly asked, "Do you know about the Shining Sun Cult?" "The Shining Sun Cult, one of the Four Great Demonic Cults?" Lu Yang knew very little about them. "Yes. The Shining Sun Cult worships the sun, believing it possesses a miraculous, divine power. When the sun reawakens, all things will perish. They advocate destroying oneself before the sun awakens so one may ascend to the Heavenly Paradise of Ultimate Bliss." Meng Jingzhou continued, "I mean no offense to the palace, but if the sun and the moon are one and the same, the Shining Sun Cult's doctrine shares common ground with your palace's beliefs. Both hold that the sun and moon have a special significance, possessing terrifying might." Lan Ting shook her head, not taking offense. Such views existed within the palace as well, along with ideas far more radical than that. Meng Jingzhou offered a hypothesis. "It's possible that the Ancient Nameless One is hiding inside the sun. The sun has hung in the sky since ancient times, so nobody suspects it. It's a mental blind spot." Lu Yang voiced another possibility. "It could also be that the sun contains some colossal power that even the Ancient Nameless One was unwilling to touch." Whichever it was, the sun and moon were certainly not as peaceful as they appeared. "Forget it, no use dwelling on it. It's not every day we get to experience the Spring-Plucking Festival. Let's go out and have some fun," Meng Jingzhou said, abandoning the headache and inviting everyone to relax. Rather than racking his brain here, he might as well ask his clan elders back home. Those old fellows certainly knew far more than he did. Just like how they had known all along that he had a Bachelor Spiritual Root, yet stubbornly refused to tell him, claiming he would find out what spiritual root he had once he came to the Dao Seeking Sect. As the Spring-Plucking Festival drew near, the festive atmosphere grew ever thicker. Shops were rolling out promotions in preparation for the massive influx of customers. The barbecue shop was also in its warm-up phase, giving away free tofu masks with skewer purchases, which proved immensely popular with children. Colorful little banners could be seen all across the streets—a tradition of Yanjiang Commandery organized and funded by the government, said to mimic the colors of spring and welcome the season. Word had it that Commandery Governor Li had specifically instructed that the banners be put up quickly so as not to disturb the everyday lives of the common folk, mobilizing a large number of people for the task. In truth, whether the banners were planted quickly or slowly had no real impact on the people's lives; it was merely Commandery Governor Li putting on a show for the public. "With these little banners up, it really feels festive," Meng Jingzhou remarked with a smile. Even the entrance to their barbecue shop had a little red banner planted beside it. "Take a look, come have a look! Rare books you'll hardly ever see on ordinary days!" an old man with yellow teeth hawked his wares by the street, piquing the curiosity of the four. "What kind of books do you sell?" "Martial arts manuals, out-of-print cultivation methods—we've got it all," the yellow-toothed old man replied with a grin. Meng Jingzhou flipped through them casually. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he found a martial arts manual. "Lu Yang, look at this. This book is an absolute perfect fit for you. If you're willing to cultivate it, I guarantee you'll reach the highest level." Lu Yang glanced at the cover: *Toad Technique*. "Get lost!" Soon enough, Lu Yang also spotted a martial arts manual and recommended it to Meng Jingzhou. "This manual was practically custom-tailored for you. If you're willing to cultivate it, becoming a Martial Immortal in the future is by no means impossible!" Meng Jingzhou glanced at the cover: *Sunflower Manual*. The two exchanged a look, chuckled coldly, and kindly bought the manuals for each other. Seeing the line written on the first page of the *Sunflower Manual*—'To practice this art, one must first castrate oneself'—Man Gu fell into deep thought. "Does this mean women can't practice this martial art?" Lan Ting didn't hear Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou mocking each other; she was absorbed in a chaptered novel. It told the story of a famous courtesan who sought to redeem herself from prostitution and pursue true love, entrusting the rest of her life to a scholar. But the scholar was weak-willed and selfish. Though he genuinely loved the courtesan, he was embarrassed to take a courtesan as his wife. Egged on by a friend's instigation, he ultimately betrayed her, leading to the tragedy of the courtesan sinking her treasure chest and drowning herself in the river. Lan Ting wept as she read, finding the courtesan utterly pitiable. Seeing Lan Ting so engrossed, Lu Yang craned his neck to read along, finding the story genuinely vivid and moving. Shifting sideways, he caught sight of the title. *Dream of the Brothel*. Lu Yang: "..." He felt this title gave off an extraordinarily absurd vibe.