Chapter 6

Ethan Moore returned to his room and stayed up all night. He held the small book given to him by the woman with long hair, carefully flipping through its pages. The pages were yellowed, and the handwriting was ancient. The book contained the basic principles of Yin-Yang magic, as well as diagrams of spells he had never seen before. The more he read, the more astonished he became—the mysteries of Yin-Yang magic far exceeded his imagination.

When he reached the last page, a passage caught his attention. It described a story about the Yin-Yang Stone Milk and the Yin-Yang Star-Gathering Furnace: On Mount Su Yang, there was Yin-Yang Stone Milk, which was the raw material needed to create Yin-Yang Beads. Countless cultivators rushed there, determined to obtain this stone milk and use it in the Yin-Yang Star-Gathering Furnace to enhance their cultivation levels.

Rumors say that an old man once found the Yin-Yang Stone Milk. He used the Yin-Yang Star-Fusion Furnace to refine it. Inside the furnace, colorful light balls appeared. However, during his cultivation, the old man went astray. Controlled by evil spirits, he became neither human nor ghost. His fate remains unknown to this day.

Ethan Moore frowned, filled with confusion. Why was this story placed on the last page of the Yin-Yang Techniques manual? Was it meant as a warning to practitioners not to be greedy or reckless? Or was there some deeper meaning, hinting at the secrets of the Yin-Yang Pearl?

In the days that followed, Ethan Moore stayed indoors, practicing the fundamentals of Yin-Yang magic while also studying the connections between the Moore family’s secret arts and Yin-Yang magic. He gradually realized that the Moore family’s secret arts were based on five disciplines: mountain studies, medicine, fortune-telling, physiognomy, and divination. These arts covered everything from exorcising evil spirits to healing the sick, from observing stars to predicting the future. Yin-Yang magic, in turn, originated from these five disciplines. It was more sophisticated—and also more dangerous.

The art of Yin-Yang is divided into nine levels. Each level presents its own challenges. Those with high innate talent and strong spiritual foundation can easily master the earlier levels. However, the higher levels become increasingly difficult, to the point where some may never succeed in breaking through even after a lifetime of practice. The practice of Yin-Yang can be further divided into four stages: refining essence into energy, refining energy into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, and finally, merging with the Dao. Those who achieve this final stage are comparable to immortals. Yet, among the powerful members of various families today, most are only at the initial stage of refining spirit into emptiness, with very few reaching the intermediate stage.

“If I could combine the Muir family’s secret techniques with Yin-Yang magic, I’d surely be able to break through my limits and greatly enhance my strength,” Ethan Muir thought to himself, a glint of anticipation in his eyes. He tried combining the Muir family’s exorcism spells with the Yin-Yang magic seals. Sure enough, the resulting power was several times greater than before, and the flow of spiritual energy within his body became much smoother.

“You brat, what are you doing hiding in the house all day? Not going out at all. Have you been so scared by the Harrison family that you can’t even leave your room?” The door was flung open, and Master Han stepped in. He smacked Ethan Moore on the head.

Ethan Moore covered his head and said irritably, “Ugh, stop bothering me. I’m trying to meditate.”

“Cultivation? What do you cultivate?” Hall Master Han raised an eyebrow, about to speak again, when his gaze suddenly froze. He stared intently into Ethan Moore’s eyes, his expression changing dramatically. “Yin-Yang eyes? How… how do you have Yin-Yang eyes?”

Ethan Moore was stunned. He quickly rushed to the mirror. In the mirror, his eye sockets were slightly reddened. On the white part of his eyes, there was a tiny dark red mark. It would be impossible to notice unless you looked closely—that was the sign that the Yin-Yang Eye had been activated.

“You brat, what good deed did you do behind my back?” Hallmaster Han slammed the table, his tone serious. “The Yin-Yang Eye isn’t something that can be activated easily. You must have encountered some kind of miracle. Tell me the truth!”

Ethan Moore knew he couldn’t hide it any longer. So, he sat cross-legged on the bed and told everything in detail: how he had broken into the Harrison family’s home that night, encountered the little boy, swallowed the Yin-Yang Pearl, activated his Yin-Yang eyes, and met the woman with long hair from the ancient temple.

“You… you swallowed the Yin-Yang Pearl?” Upon hearing this, Hall Master Han stood up in shock, staring at Ethan Moore in disbelief. “That’s the family heirloom of the Harrison family, and also the treasured artifact that was stolen from the Moore family back then. How could you just swallow it like that?”

Ethan Moore lowered his head, pretending to be aggrieved. “I didn’t want to either. That little brat put the bead in my mouth. I never expected that I’d be able to absorb its power.”

Hall Master Han sighed, looking helpless. “Fate is cruel, truly cruel.”

“By the way, old man,” Ethan Moore raised his head, his eyes filled with confusion. “That woman from the ancient temple said that the art of yin-yang was originally part of the Moore family. What’s the truth behind that? And why is the Yin-Yang Pearl considered a precious treasure that was stolen from the Moore family?”

Master Han fell silent for a moment, then turned and walked toward the door. His voice was heavy as he said, “Come with me. I’ll take you to a place where the secrets of the Muir family’s arts of yin and yang are hidden.”

Ethan Moore felt delighted. He quickly got up and followed Master Han. Together, they walked through the Moore family’s courtyard until they arrived at a solemn courtyard called “Moon Dusk Hall”. This was the place where the Moore family enshrined the memorial tablets of their ancestors. There were three courtyards in total. The buildings were made of stone with tile roofs. Inside each building, the memorial tablets of the ancestors were neatly arranged. On the front side, the names and dates of birth and death were inscribed. On the back side, there were relics belonging to the ancestors. With white candles, incense, and ancient protective formations, the place exuded a sense of solemnity and mystery.

Ethan Moore rarely came here. Once a year, during festivals, he would come to pay his respects by kowtowing and burning incense. Following Master Han into the innermost courtyard, he looked at the neatly arranged memorial tablets, filled with reverence.

“Here lie all the secrets of the Mu family, including the origins of Yin-Yang magic and the Yin-Yang beads,” Lord Han’s voice rang out slowly, carrying a hint of wisdom and experience. He walked past each memorial tablet one by one, until he finally stopped in front of one that bore the name “Han Li”.

Hall Master Han bowed deeply in front of the memorial tablet. Then, he turned the tablet over. On the back, there was a delicate box made of golden-threaded nanmu wood. He carefully took out the box. It felt quite heavy in his hands. The six sides of the box were each carved with a special symbol. Only one side remained blank, with no carvings at all.

What’s even stranger is that the wooden box appears to be a single, solid piece with no lid or any mechanism that would allow it to be opened. It seems like an impenetrable solid box. There’s only a very thin string wrapped around the box, holding it together.

“Old man, what is this?” Ethan Moore stepped forward, puzzled. He reached out to touch the wooden box, but was stopped by Master Han.

Master Han stroked the wooden box, his gaze complex, even with a hint of tears in his eyes. “This is the family heirloom of the Muir clan. Inside it lies the core of the Muir clan’s arts of yin and yang, as well as the truth behind the theft of the Yin-Yang Pearl all those years ago.”

As he spoke, he pulled a dagger from his belt, carefully cut the rope surrounding the wooden box, and handed it to Ethan Moore. “Open it, and you’ll understand everything.”

Ethan Moore took the wooden box, his heart filled with trepidation and anticipation. He examined the box carefully and tried to open it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t budge it at all. Just as he was puzzled, Master Han suddenly said, “Use your Yin-Yang eyes to look at the symbols on the box.”

Ethan Moore immediately activated his Yin-Yang eyes. The dark red seals at the bottom of his eyes flashed, and the symbols on the box began to emit a faint glow. The symbols rotated slowly until they came together, forming a small opening. Ethan Moore felt delighted. With a gentle twist, the wooden box snapped open.

Inside the wooden box, there was no secret manual or Yin-Yang bead as expected. Instead, there was only a yellowed piece of paper with four elegant characters written on it: “Generations, Moore Family, Secret Techniques, Yin-Yang.”

“What… what does this mean?” Ethan Moore looked puzzled, staring at Master Han.

Master Han took the note, sighed, then took off his coat and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing a horrible scar on his arm. The scar was long, stretching from his wrist to his elbow. It was uneven in texture, clearly a old wound from years past.

Ethan Moore stared at the scar, his heart suddenly pounding. A thought flashed through his mind, as if he had suddenly understood something.