The Taiyin light bridge spanned trillions of miles across the universe, connecting the Moon and Qing Ling.
Qing Ling smiled at the sea of stars and walked straight onto the bridge.
Beneath his steps were countless stars, streaks of meteors, and various celestial wonders and colossal star beasts.
Qing Ling ascended the light bridge, a structure forged by his millions of years of effort, accumulating boundless moon essence. It was formed during the universe's primordial dawn when the Taiyin moon first illuminated the cosmos.
At the other end of the bridge stood two peerless beauties.
One was exceptionally graceful and alluring, yet her brow held an air of cold detachment. Her beauty was such that it could eclipse the sun and moon, and captivate all living things.
Even Qing Ling was stunned into silence for a long time.
The other was also a woman of breathtaking beauty, but standing beside her, she seemed almost ordinary. Yet, she exuded the majesty of a divine being, her cultivation reaching the realm of a Heavenly Great Power.
"Chang'e and Chang Xi greet you, fellow Daoist."
Qing Ling returned to his senses and cupped his fists, smiling, "Greetings to both of you. I am Qing Ling."
From their address, the peerless beauty was undoubtedly Chang'e, and the other, Chang Xi.
Chang Xi stepped forward and asked, "What business do you have here?"
"I seek the Great Dao of Time," Qing Ling replied.
"The Great Dao of Time?" Chang'e let out a cold laugh and remained silent.
Her single cold laugh once again caused Qing Ling to lose himself in admiration for a moment.
Chang Xi snorted and said, "Since you seek the Great Dao of Time, follow me."
Upon hearing this, Chang'e could not help but remind her, "Sister, the Star Lord merely spoke of imparting a method. We can simply send him away."
Chang Xi waved her hand and chuckled, "It matters not. If he can attain it, it is his fortune. If not, it is his doom.
Follow me."
Qing Ling cupped his fists in thanks and followed closely behind Chang Xi.
However, the moment he entered Taiyin, a chilling cold permeated his primordial spirit, as if a spectral chill were surging from the depths of his heart.
The Taiyin energy here was so concentrated it was terrifying. His primordial spirit was constantly enduring the ice-cold erosion of the Taiyin.
This was an unresistent chill, directly affecting his primordial spirit.
But Qing Ling, having endured the chilling embrace of Taiyin for millions of years, was already accustomed to this degree of cold.
Chang Xi and Chang'e led him deep into Taiyin. They walked for an unknown duration amidst silence, coldness, desolation, and utter lifelessness.
Eventually, a divine tree gradually appeared in their sight. It was an ordinary Osmanthus tree, about eight to nine zhang in height.
The tree was lush with green leaves, but bore no Osmanthus flowers, nor any trace of their fragrance. Chang Xi pointed at the Osmanthus tree and said, "If the Osmanthus tree blossoms, you will be able to cultivate the Great Dao of Time!"
"Is that all?" Qing Ling asked in confusion.
"That is all," Chang Xi nodded.
With that, she and Chang'e turned and retreated.
On the vast Taiyin Star, Qing Ling was left alone.
In the center of the Taiyin Star, a magnificent palace stood upon the barren surface.
Chang Xi and Chang'e entered the palace, where an old woman with snow-white hair sat on the highest seat.
Chang Xi and Chang'e entered the palace, a faint smile appearing on their faces.
Chang'e said, "Star Lord, my sister has already brought that person to the Moon Osmanthus tree."
The old woman nodded and said, "So be it. This person possesses great perseverance; whether he has great wisdom remains to be seen."
Chang Xi chuckled, "Star Lord, couldn't we have simply driven him out of Taiyin myself to avoid all this trouble?"
The old woman, addressed as Star Lord, shook her head and chuckled lightly, "We could not. Since he possesses the heart of the Dao, we shall give him an opportunity.
After all, how many great powers are there in the world who gaze at the moon daily for over a million years? Contemplating the moon and Taiyin daily?
Taiyin above, wherever moonbeams shine, one can sense fellow cultivators. He has such dedication, so why not give him a chance?"
Beneath the Moon Osmanthus, Qing Ling looked up at the prime innate spiritual root. Its roots were connected to the core of the Taiyin Star. As long as Taiyin existed, the Moon Osmanthus would never die.
Legend has it that in later generations, Wu Gang chopped the moon. If such a person named Wu Gang truly existed, then the karma incurred from chopping the Moon Osmanthus would not be something an ordinary person could bear.
Divine patterns flashed on Qing Ling's brow. The power of the Spring God enveloped the Moon Osmanthus. Divine power flowed into the Osmanthus wood, surging outwards.
Yet, only to see the Osmanthus tree remain verdant, its branches and leaves unchanged, still without a single flower.
He frowned and waved his hand again, releasing the power of the Wood Dao, along with the power of life and growth from the Great Dao of Wither and Flourish. Unending vitality flowed into the Osmanthus tree, but there was no sign of growth.
Qing Ling then employed dozens of other methods to promote growth, but all were unfortunately ineffective.
He stared at the Osmanthus tree for a long time. With a determined glint in his eyes, he extended his wrist, creating a bloody gash. Drops of blood fell onto the Osmanthus tree, merging into its very being.
The potent life force within the blood quickly permeated the Osmanthus tree. The green leaves stirred, and even a slight hint of growth appeared.
However, it would still take a very, very long time for the Osmanthus tree to blossom.
Qing Ling's brow furrowed. He pointed his finger, and the Taiyin light bridge materialized, one end grafted onto the Osmanthus tree, the other suspended above Qing Ling's head.
Qing Ling's wrist moved, and a thread of blood flowed into the Taiyin light bridge, traveling along it towards the spiritual end.
Drip by drip, his blood flowed out, and his light bridge also transmitted the blood.
The blood, after passing through the Taiyin light bridge, was imbued with the brilliance of Taiyin and absorbed by the Osmanthus tree.
The blood-red hue spread across the Osmanthus tree, transforming into fine threads that coursed through every branch and trunk.
As the Spring God and a Heavenly Great Power of the Wood Dao, Qing Ling's blood contained boundless life force. A single drop could bring the dead back to life and save countless beings.
However, for the Jian Mu, it only brought a slight improvement.
Qing Ling estimated that if he continued to supply blood, he would likely bleed to death long before the Osmanthus tree blossomed.
If this vital essence blood were used to nourish the Jian Mu, it would likely be enough to strengthen it by a third.
Helpless, Qing Ling reached out and touched the Taiyin light bridge. The bridge arched, with one end now placed inside the Osmanthus tree, and the other end within Qing Ling's primordial spirit.
The primordial spirit avatar stepped out, walking step by step towards the other end of the bridge. With each step, ripples of light emanated, ripples of light, becoming one with the light itself.
Simultaneously, the Daoist Qing Xuan, far away in the netherworld, activated his derivational abilities. Three thousand chains of law appeared around the primordial spirit avatar on the Taiyin Star.
The primordial spirit lit up with the light of derivation, deducing Taiyin.
With every step the primordial spirit avatar took, an intense coldness would corrode his soul. Even with his cold-resistant physique, he was almost stiffened.
Midway across the light bridge, he was frozen by the chilling yin energy.
Qing Ling reached behind his head and a full moon appeared, its light silver-white and vast.
The Great Dao of Time, light comes first, yin follows. Light is time itself, yin is its passage. As time flows, light precedes all!
The full moon behind Qing Ling's primordial spirit's head was formed from his moon heart. Under the extreme cold, it radiated a brilliant light, dispelling the icy chill, and he stepped into the Osmanthus tree.
The entire Taiyin Star trembled. Endless Taiyin power converged upon the divine tree, and the divine tree abruptly blossomed. Flowers bloomed, their fragrance wafted, and the Moon Osmanthus radiated divine light.
With the blooming of each small Moon Osmanthus flower, a thread of yin-silver-white light emerged, neither void nor bound by time. It was the essence of the Taiyin Great Dao, condensed over countless eons – the silk of time!
Three thousand Moon Osmanthus flowers, three thousand silks, three thousand paths of time, three thousand knots.
The three thousand silks of time were absorbed into the Taiyin light bridge, which transformed into a long bridge of time, spanning both banks of the river of time, untouched by its flow, where time stood still!