After stepping out of the room, Yvette reached out towards the bag held by Daiyu.
Noticing this, Daiyu held out the bag in her hands. After a moment, Yvette finally took out her hand that is now holding onto a round, red fruit which makes one wish to bite into it just by looking at it.
Taking the fruit, Yvette took a small bite and turned away before saying softly.
“I cannot eat all of these myself.”
Processing her words, Daiyu realized the meaning behind her mistress’ words and faintly smiled as she said.
“Then excuse this servant, My Lady.”
Saying that, Daiyu also took out a similar round, red fruit from the bag and bit into it.
And so, they proceeded on while eating before finally reaching a place where a sound of water could be clearly heard.
“My lady, is it fine for us to enter without preparing a change of clothes?”
Hearing her question, Yvette who is currently looking around, as if searching for something, replied.
“If we cannot find any change of clothes, we can use the same set of clothes.”
After saying those words, Yvette walked towards a girl in a servant attire that’s currently walking through the corridor.
When the servant saw Yvette approaching her, she bowed her head and asked.
“Is there anything I can help you with, mistress?”
“Is there any spare clothes prepared?”
“Forgive me, mistress, but we only have clothes prepared for normal clan members and servants.”
“That is fine, please bring a set of clothes for me and my handmaiden.”
“Understood, mistress.”
Saying that, the servant turned around and left while Yvette and Daiyu proceeded to enter the bath, leaving the corridor in silence.
Meanwhile, on the highest point of South Yang Peak, a boy can be seen doing various kind of punch and kicks, signifying an obvious practice of body refining technique. With every set of moves, strings of golden light entered his body from the surrounding air, causing his white skin to slowly turn into a reddish gold color. If anyone could get a clear look of his muscle, bones, and marrow, they would realize that they are also slowly turning into a reddish gold color.
But the moment the reddish gold color started appearing on his body, many beads of sweat fell like a waterfall from his forehead and you could see his whole body trembling as if he is bearing an unbearable weight on his shoulder.
As time progressed, the trembling on his body intensified until he could not handle it anymore resulting in him falling flat on the ground as he took deep breaths of air while the reddish gold color on his skin slowly fades away, revealing his parched skin which almost seemed to be cracked.
"Behnam, are you nuts?! Even though cultivating the Sun Embodiment Technique on places that are closer to the sun can speed up progress, but it's also simply playing with your life! For you to still live after cultivating like this for 3 years is practically a miracle!”
Following where the voice came from, Behnam turned his head to see a boy around his age sitting on a rock while handing out a flask of water to him. But Behnam did not reach out for the flask, instead, he forced his body to sit in a lotus position. Seeing this, the boy simply retracted his hand and shrugged.
After a while, the reddish gold color on his dried skin slowly faded as black, foul smelling impurities came out of his pores.
“I say, you really do like to torture yourself, to not drink water after cultivating that technique just so that you can have the purest form of Yang Qi.”
Saying that, the boy once again handed the flask to Bahram while giving him a weird look. But Bahram simply ignored his look and emptied the flask as he entered the spring near his cultivation spot without removing his clothes, causing the spring to turn black in moments before rapidly turning clear once again.
“Usually, you would still drink water after cultivating, but now you’re not even willing to drink water, is there a reason for this?”
After waiting for a while but still not receiving a reply, the boy sighed, thinking that he has been ignored, and sat back down on his rock while taking in the majestic view around the mountain peak. What he did not notice is that Behnam did not ignore him, but after hearing his question, a pair of golden and red eyes appeared in his mind, causing him to be dazed.
‘I wonder what she is doing now… she should have gone to the North Yin Peak by now…’
Meanwhile, in the North Yin Peak, Yvette and Daiyu arrived before a white pavilion, which is also the last place they have not visited. Currently, they silently stood before an elderly woman.
“Since you are the daughter of the patriarch, you have access to the first until the fourth floor of the Pavilion of Knowledge. The first floor is where we keep normal books, the second floor, Cultivation Techniques, the third floor, Martial Arts, and the fourth floor, Low-World Ranked Martial Techniques. But as you are still in the Body Refining Stage, you would not have anything to learn from the fourth floor, so I advise you not to waste your time there. You can stay inside as long as you want, but just like everyone else, you are only allowed to bring out two books, even if it is a book from the first floor. If your handmaiden also wishes to enter, have her to stick close to you every time you go through the stairs or going through the entrance.”
Finished speaking, the elderly woman gave Yvette a white medallion with the character 4 written on it while an image of a pavilion on the back of it.
Receiving the medallion, Yvette proceeded towards the pavilion’s entrance. As they stepped inside, a feeling similar to passing through a membrane of water went through them. At the same time, the badge Yvette held started to emit a soft, white light that covered the pair which lasted until they passed through the entrance.
Inside, there are numerous bookshelves and a few tables placed in an orderly manner. Different labels could be seen attached to the bookshelves, from history, cultivation, guides, and other kinds of miscellaneous topics. After taking a quick glance around, Yvette proceeded on towards the second floor, where the Cultivation Techniques are stored.
There, she could only see 3 books placed on their individual pedestals, but she noticed that the 3 books seemed to be diligently taken care of. Walking towards one of the pedestals, Yvette read through the book placed on top of it.
[Moon Embodiment Technique]
[Cultivate under the clear view of the moon, receiving its blessing and powers, earning the Yin Qi of the moon. It is still possible to recover Qi during day time at a much slower speed.]
Reading the Technique’s introduction, Yvette instinctively knew that this technique is far, far inferior compared to the techniques inside her memories. Even so, she still kept reading through all 3 books before proceeding to the third floor.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
There, rows of bookshelves and tables could be seen orderly placed around the room similar to the first floor. But unlike the first floor, the bookshelves in the third floor are made of higher quality materials, there are also fewer books and only 3 labels can be seen attached to the bookshelves, like Movement Techniques, Defensive Techniques, Offensive Techniques.
Even so, the amount of book on the third floor is still not something someone could go through in a short time.
Noticing this, Daiyu respectfully offered.
“My Lady, if you want to, this servant could help you to find the technique you are searching for.”
But Yvette shook her head to indicate her refusal as she was reminded of a piece of memory regarding the Yin-Yang Circulation Technique.
[Yin-Yang Circulation focuses on the Qi, Mind, and Soul, abandoning the body, leaving it unable to train any high class Offensive and Defensive Martial Techniques and only enough to bear Qi.]
‘If that is so, then I simply need to dodge and strike quick enough.’
With those thoughts, Yvette stared at the bookshelf in front of her. Seeing the label Movement Techniques attached on it, she took out one of the books inside it.
[Agile Crane Movement Art]
Reading the description, Yvette shook her head and placed the book back before taking out another book.
[Flickering Light Technique]
Once again, she disappointedly returned the book before taking out another book which she once again put back.
This continued until she came across a black, ragged book covered in a faint layer of dust at the end of the bookshelf.
[Void Step Technique]
[Embody the void and move as the void, even if gods and devils comes, no harm shall befall!]
Reading the short, yet the arrogant introduction of the Technique, her eyes faintly flickered. If this technique is so overbearing, why would it be placed in a corner, leaving it to collect dust?
But after she thought over it for a while, she nodded in understanding. If it is like so, then it means that it is too weak of a technique or it is just too hard to train in. But the former sounds too unlikely with how overbearing the Technique’s introduction sounded, so she is inclined to have more trust on the second idea.
If so, then this technique must be quite amazing. How many talented people does the Aasmany Clan have? Even though the clan is only a ruler of a Middle-Grade City, it is still a clan with a solid foundation which should have produced countless talented people like the patriarchs of each generation. But even then, this technique is still untouched! Which means that even the patriarchs also gave up in training it.
Knowing this, Yvette could not help but to reevaluate the dusty book on her hands.
And so, with the Void Step Technique in hand, Yvette left the third floor with Daiyu in tow and continuing until she arrived before the pavilion’s entrance, arriving before the elderly woman.
When the elderly woman saw Yvette holding the Void Step Technique book, she questioned.
“Oh? Void Step Technique? Are you sure you wish to learn Movement Technique?”
“Mm.” She grunted in affirmation.
“I advise against it. This technique has been here as far as I could remember, yet no one managed to learn of its true essence even until now.”
“I still wish to learn it.”
Hearing her persistent answer, the elderly woman did not press further and simply asked Yvette for her medallion before waving her sleeve, leaving a red imprint on the medallion.
“After a whole month time, return the book here. Even though it is a technique nobody could train in, it still belongs to the clan.”
“Understood.”
With that, the pair left the Pavilion of Knowledge and walked back to the mansion.
When they finally arrived before the entrance of their rooms, they collected the rations which was placed before their respective rooms.
But instead of entering her room, Yvette turned towards Daiyu and spoke.
“Daiyu, I shall impart you with the Violet Moon Technique, but promise me to never leak this technique to others.”
Even though her mistress’ tone did not change, Daiyu felt the seriousness of the matter, hence she gravely answered, “Yes, My Lady, I swear upon my life that I will never leak out this technique even after death.”
Seeing Daiyu taking her words to heart, Yvette nodded and walked into her room together with Daiyu.
Inside, she motioned Daiyu to sit while she herself sat with folded legs behind her.
Once Daiyu sat down in the lotus position, she said.
“Close your eyes and clear your mind, follow the breathing technique that I will be imparting to sense the energy within your surroundings. Once you are able to sense them, keep following the breathing technique to absorb the energy. I will then refine it into Ice and Moon Yin Qi and you simply need to refine it just like how I did it. If you are fortunate enough, it is better if you can find a source of natural Ice and Moon Yin energy to make the refining process faster.” Following her words, Daiyu closed her eyes and followed the breathing pattern within the technique, slowly adapting herself to the weird pattern.
After an hour passed, her eyelids trembled slightly before calming down the next moment. Following that, the energy around them slowly moved towards Daiyu. Noticing this, Yvette softly said.
“Now gather them into your forehead, I will then help you refine them and you just need to copy it.”
After Yvette finished her words, Daiyu felt a pair of palm on her back, giving her a reassuring feeling as she continued to close her eyes.
Slowly, the energy around them went into Daiyu, as if her body is a funnel.
Nodding to herself, Yvette closed her eyes and sent Qi into Daiyu’s forehead. There, she could sense the existence of energy which Daiyu absorbed through her Qi.
Using her Qi, Yvette refined the energy in Daiyu’s forehead, slowly turning them into a rotating sphere of Ice and Moon Yin Qi.
Even so, the process took quite some time as Yvette did every process very carefully, afraid of causing an accident to happen in the process. But as time passed, she was able to adjust herself and slowly increase the speed of the process.
At one point, Yvette could feel Daiyu’s body trembling, hence she leaned closer gently whispered to her ear.
“If you cannot handle it anymore, do not force yourself.”
Hearing her voice, Daiyu forcefully stopped her body from trembling.
“Slowly guide it into your dantian through your forehead and heart, do not allow it to dissolve. And whatever happens, do not lose consciousness and do not stop.”
Following her instructions, Daiyu guided the ball of Ice and Moon Yin Qi down to her heart. But the Qi did not pass through her meridians and Qi passageways, instead, it miraculously moved directly down towards her heart, as if an invisible path has already been prepared for it.
At first, she felt nothing different, but when the ball of Qi was within her heart and half-way to her dantian, a coldness which seeps deep into her internal organs started to invade her body. At first, she could still handle the coldness, but as the ball of Qi went closer, the coldness started to seep out of her body, causing the surroundings to turn colder.
Noticing this, Daiyu slightly opened her eyes and spoke with a faint trace of anxiousness.
“My Lady, you should leave first, this servant will-“ “Calm yourself, I am perfectly fine.”
Hearing her words, Daiyu hesitated for a moment before finally refocusing herself on cultivating.
Behind her, Yvette sat calmly behind her and drew out the Yang Qi within the seed outline inside her dantian to help her handle the coldness around her. Unfortunately, as her cultivation has not yet solidified, each use of Yang Qi caused the seed outline to slowly dim as it could not recover the lost Qi on its own, and to keep the balance within the unfinished seed outline, Yvette had to constantly remove an equivalent amount of Yin Qi within the seed.
Meanwhile, after the ball of Qi reached her heart, Daiyu noticed that the ball of Qi slowly turned violet as it rotated there. But Daiyu did not carelessly continue pushing the ball of Qi down and waited for her mistress’ guidance.
“Do not hastily proceed, if you can allow the color of the ball of Qi to turn deeper, you will have a stronger foundation, but do not force yourself. Once the ball of Qi shines with violet light, that means it has reached its limit.”
Hearing her words, Daiyu silently clenched her teeth as she bore with the coldness.
As time goes by, the violet color of the ball of Qi deepened. But not only that, the coldness brought by it also increased by several folds, turning her every breath into a white cloud.
When she was about to reach her limit, the ball of Qi shone with a violet light, giving it an ethereal feeling. Seeing this, Daiyu did not wait for Yvette to instruct her and guided the ball of Qi downwards.
Once the violet ball of Qi left her heart, Daiyu noticed that a faint layer of ice seems to be covering the room with the place around Yvette being the only exemption.
“I am able to decrease the coldness you are feeling, but if I do so, it would weaken your foundation. So I hope I would not need to resort to that.”
Hearing that, Daiyu quietly nodded as she continued guiding the violet ball of Qi into her dantian.
As time goes by, the coldness within the room started to seep out of the room. Fortunately, the room they resided in is located in a place rarely visited by normal clan members, allowing the unnatural coldness to go unnoticed. Yet whether it was noticed by those of higher cultivation remained unknown.
And so, Daiyu bore with the coldness and finally managed to guide the violet ball of Qi near her dantian.
But when it was about to enter her dantian, a wave of coldness that is far more piercing than the ones before invaded her body, causing blood to trickle down the corner of her lips.
Even so, she still clenched her teeth and bore through it before the ball of Qi finally entered her dantian, where it quietly rotated as a wave of coldness- which she now could bear –spread throughout her body.
At the same time, Daiyu weakly opened her eyes as the coldness and layers of ice inside of the room quietly disappeared. But before Daiyu could do anything else, her body wavered before falling back towards Yvette.
The last thing she saw before her consciousness faded was the faint yet warm smile on her mistress’ face.