Zi Linling said with a wry smile, "The balance of life and death... is it really that easy?"
"It might be difficult for others, but you... can definitely do it!" Elder Du said with a gentle smile.
Zi Linling asked in surprise, "Elder Du, you think so highly of me?"
Elder Du stroked his goatee and nodded. "Girl, don't underestimate yourself! Whether it's talent, comprehension, luck, or wisdom, you are favored by heaven's will!"
"Therefore, what others cannot achieve, you might be able to, even if there's only a sliver of a chance, you can make it happen!"
"Really?" Zi Linling asked with a smile.
Elder Du nodded and smiled, "Of course! So, hurry up and get to work!"
Zi Linling's lips curved into a smile. "Although what you said makes a lot of sense, I still have to say: Actually, you don't need to rack your brains to flatter me. Anything that catches my eye, I won't let go of! It's an illness, a condition where I can't move when I see a treasure!"
Elder Du was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily and chided, "You little brat, so you were teasing me! You're truly mischievous!"
Zi Linling smiled brightly and said seriously, "Elder Du, I need to comprehend the law of death first, so I'll have to trouble you to guard me."
Elder Du also put away his playful expression and nodded. "Feel free to comprehend, leave the guarding to me!"
After he finished speaking, he took out several formation plates from his Nine Spirit Ring and set up a formation behind Zi Linling.
"This formation is called the Great Sky Concealing Formation. It can cut off the spiritual energy between here and the outside. If anyone passes by, they will find this to be a sheer cliff face," Elder Du explained.
"Great Sky Concealing Formation?" Zi Linling exclaimed in shock.
Elder Du nodded. "Yes, the Great Sky Concealing Formation. As the name suggests, it can conceal the heavens and cover the earth. It's also a formation that has only recently appeared in my mind. I'll teach it to you later."
Zi Linling smiled. "Since Elder Du has already made preparations, I'll begin!"
"Yes, don't worry, you won't have any worries!" Elder Du said confidently.
Zi Linling nodded, closed her eyes, and began to comprehend the law of death.
Fortunately, the place where the Rebirth Flower grew was called the Pool of Life and Death, which was filled with dense life and death energies.
Zi Linling was currently sitting by the death side of the pool, surrounded by a rich death energy.
The surrounding death energy continuously surged into her body, slowly eroding her vitality.
"To be reborn after facing death."
Only when the vitality within her was completely replaced by death energy would it be the best time to comprehend the law of death.
Soon, the vitality within Zi Linling became like a flickering candlelight, precarious in the surging death energy.
She quickly used her consciousness to protect this wisp of life force and began to contemplate what the law of death truly was.
If life is yang, then death is yin. If life is light, then death is darkness. If life is warmth, then death is cold. If life is a beginning, then death is an end...
Time ticked by, and Zi Linling's vitality became almost imperceptible, her breathing coming and going intermittently.
Elder Du watched her, his heart filled with anxiety.
Among all the laws, the easiest to comprehend were the basic five elemental laws: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
The most difficult to comprehend were the laws of time and space, as these two laws were ethereal and extremely hard to grasp.
However, the most dangerous law was the law of death.
The process of comprehending the law of death was extremely perilous, and a single mistake could lead to eternal oblivion.
Just like Zi Linling now, if she couldn't protect this last wisp of life force, she would truly be dead.
Elder Du clenched his fists and muttered, "Girl, you must persevere, you can do it, keep going!"
In such a perilous situation, Zi Linling had already entered a state of deep meditation, a wondrous realm, like an old monk.
Her wisp of life force flickered, but it was so tenacious, like a lamp in the darkness, pointing the way.
Thus, a day passed, then two days, then three days...
Soon, a month had passed.
Elder Du was filled with anxiety, his soul drifting about within the Great Sky Concealing Formation, his heart leaping into his throat hundreds of times.
At this moment, the wisp of life force within Zi Linling suddenly extinguished.
"Not good!"
Elder Du thought to himself and rushed towards Zi Linling's forehead.
At this moment, only by awakening Zi Linling's soul could her life be saved.
Before Elder Du's soul could even touch Zi Linling's forehead, it was repelled by a powerful surge of energy.
Zi Linling's eyes snapped open, her irises completely black, with no trace of white.
She looked as if a ghost emperor, who had slept for ten thousand years, had suddenly awakened, and her gaze alone was enough to strike one dead.
Elder Du was disoriented by the impact. When he recovered, he saw this terrifying sight.
"This is bad! This girl's mind has been eroded by the death energy, she's in danger!"
He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, at a loss for what to do.
Suddenly, two streams of light shot out from Zi Linling's body.
These two streams of light, one gold and one white, intertwined and hovered above Zi Linling's head.
The golden light was, naturally, the "Imperial Medicine Canon," and the white light was the "Scripture of Creation."
At the same time, the blackness in Zi Linling's eyes slowly receded, and the whites of her eyes reappeared. The extinguished life force within her body flickered with a spark, then rapidly ignited, returning to the level of a candlelight.
Immediately after, Zi Linling's dan tian lit up.
The surrounding death energy seemed to be drawn by something, surging towards her dan tian.
In the blink of an eye, the death energy surrounding Zi Linling was cleared, and even the death energy in the Pool of Death became thinner.
The boundary between life and death where the Rebirth Flower resided began to blur, showing a tendency to move towards the Pool of Death.
"Girl, don't absorb any more death energy, or the Rebirth Flower will be ruined!" Elder Du cried out in alarm.
Zi Linling seemed to hear his voice, and immediately stopped absorbing death energy. She then began to absorb the life energy from the life pool until the boundary between life and death stabilized again before stopping.
However, at this moment, although her eyes had whites, they lacked any spirit, as if she were a dead person with open eyes.
Elder Du saw that the surrounding life and death energies were no longer flowing away, maintaining a state of equilibrium, and then tentatively asked, "Girl, are you awake? Have you comprehended the law of death?"
However, Zi Linling did not answer. Instead, she closed her eyes.
Soon, her body became like the Pool of Life and Death, with the line formed by her glabella and philtrum as the dividing line. The left side was full of vitality and boundless greenness, while the right side was filled with death and darkness.