A Hidden Realm?

"This is Lan Yue," I said, pointing towards a woman in her thirties with cultivation in the Shedding Mortality realm. "From today onwards, she'll be teaching you two alongside Xin Yue." By her side stood Xin Yue, who had guided Xiao Xiang earlier, both of whom I remembered well because of their blunder years ago.

'Well... To be fair it was more or less just Xin Yue's blunder.'

"U-umm..." Amidst my random thoughts, Mo Suyin spoke nervously. Even after all the time we've spent together, she often feels nervous around me.

'Well that's to be expected considering the recent events, I guess?'

Although my thoughts wandered, on the outside, I didn't pause for even a moment before responding, "Hm? What is it, Junior Sister Mo Suyin?"

"Will Senior Brother no longer join us for practice from now on?" Mo Suyin asked, her head slightly lowered with eyes upturned like a puppy.

"About that..." Well, my control over my current 'situation' is rather well, thanks to Xiao Xiang. However, "If you only practice combat with me, you'll form bad habits. Moreover, Lan Yue and Xin Yue are experienced and strong cultivators whom I can entrust your training to." I wasn't exactly lying, as only sparring against me would easily degrade their adaptability against unfamiliar opponents.

"..." Mo Suyin's head lowered even more as she sulked.

'How should I say this... She's too easily influenced by others... There's a need to train her mind as well.'

"Well..." I smiled as I put a hand over Mo Suyin's shoulder. "I'll be checking on you guys every once in a while, so no need for you to feel all that lonely." I put my other hand on Xin Guang's shoulder, attempting my best to show a genuine smile.

"..." Mo Suyin and Xin Guang kept silent with their heads lowered.

"Haha~" Letting out a seemingly carefree laugh, I turned away from them, taking my leave. "Take care of yourselves while I'm gone, okay?"

""Yes!""

...

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

...

Walking towards his residence after leaving Mo Suyin and Xin Guang with Lan Yue and Xin Yue, Jianyu noticed a certain someone standing in front of his residence alongside Lei Qiang.

"Oh, you're already here?" Jianyu spoke with a slight smile. He had expected Xin Dongyang to visit him after receiving Lei Qiang's report regarding Xiao Xiang's ability.

"Mhm," Xin Dongyang nodded, slightly surprised by Jianyu's ever-so-subtle smile. "Listening to Lei Qiang's report, I decided to check upon your condition myself. Moreover, hearing that you were visiting that old hag, I came as soon as possible."

He had hurried to Jianyu's residence after asking his main body about Xiao Xiang. He didn't get much information from his main body, but he didn't receive any warnings either.

"Oh, speaking of the old hag..." Xin Dongyang's brows twitched as he heard Jianyu call Yin Meili an old hag for the first time, "She gave me this." Jianyu, however, simply continued and threw the black gourd bottle he had received to Xin Dongyang.

"Ho~" Xin Dongyang exclaimed with a grin, lifting the gourd bottle. His eyebrows rose in appreciation as he observed the dark wisps flowing out, accompanied by a subtle chill in the atmosphere, "This is some good stuff."

"What even is it?" Jianyu asked, his curiosity piqued by Xin Dongyang's reaction.

"You haven't checked?" Xin Dongyang inquired, a hint of surprise in his tone.

"No," Jianyu admitted. "I thought it'd be better to consult someone else before checking it myself." His earlier faint smile had vanished, replaced by a thoughtful expression with a slight furrow in his brows.

"Is that so..." Xin Dongyang continued, a playful glint in his eyes. "Anyways, this is the Obsidian Springs Nectar, nurtured by the Yin Family with much care. It's filled to the brim with Yin-essence. Probably meant for Feng'er, but since she was born with an affinity for flames... I guess she gave it to you instead."

"Is she... picking a fight with me? Giving a boy something with extreme Yin attributes." Jianyu's frown deepened as he spoke. Excessive consumption of Yin essence could potentially stunt a male's "growth".

"She probably gave it to you for that Yin and Yang formation of your inner-world..." Xin Dongyang explained, hoping to dispel any animosity Jianyu might harbor toward Yin Meili.

"I know," Jianyu responded, a smirk playing on his features. "I was just joking."

Momentarily stunned, Xin Dongyang burst into laughter. "Haha, is that so? Here!" He threw a fiery crystal with the glow of a star toward Jianyu, "This has the stellar Yang flames of the Xin family. Make use of it as well."

"Thank you."

"..."

"..."

"...I'll be taking my leave then!" Jianyu announced as he began to leave. However, he soon halted in his steps as Xin Dongyang called out to him.

"Yu'er, about Xiao Xiang..." Xin Dongyang's expression turned solemn as he carefully chose his words, "I will try to see if I can have her move to the Lunar-Frost peak..."

"There's no need." Jianyu's response caught Xin Dongyang off guard, "If I am to live with a crutch's support, I'd rather not live at all." His eyes, which had regained some of their former glow, seemingly began to darken again.

...

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

...

"Hmm..." Jianyu noted as he examined the Stellar flames and the Obsidian Springs Nectar. "These two are truly the opposite of each other."

"Fire and water, light and dark, Yin and Yang..." He muttered to himself as he looked at the Yin-Yang Chaos Refinement Formation in his inner world. While incomplete, this formation had begun to work astonishingly smoothly after his meeting with Xiao Xiang.

'Truly an enviable talent...' 

Shifting his attention from his thoughts, Jianyu looked toward the half-formed array formation that he had tried to create earlier, "I don't want to use anything that madwoman has given me, however... since Grandfather has said it's safe to use, I might as well use it."

He had created this to strengthen the formation in his inner world. However, he could no longer use it as it is, given that he had acquired better treasures to serve as cores for the formation.

"I had Lei Qiang gather some extreme Yin and extreme Yang treasures. Those will now have to serve as secondary cores for the formation for now."

The eight treasures that he had originally planned to use as cores would now serve as secondary cores, while the rest of them would be tertiary cores. Therefore, Jianyu adjusted the formation to make room for the new primary cores.

Having placed everything in its proper position, Jianyu inserted the two treasures as the core of the formation.

Both treasures began to overflow, emitting an aura of cold and heat, darkness and light, water and fire that filled the room. However, they did not interact with each other; instead, they flowed in isolated states, each chasing after the other.

||YOU!! IT'S ALL BECAU—||

"Silence."

Just a single command was enough to silence his resurfacing inner devil, as if all his struggles until now were merely fictitious.

'My mental strength is no longer drained or limited...'

Jianyu internally sighed as his thoughts wandered, 'Truly an enviable talent, Xiao Xiang has...'

Returning to the matter at hand, Jianyu focused on absorbing the treasures in front of him, not wanting to waste the opportunity that had presented itself to him.

...

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

...

Months passed, and Jianyu persisted in his attempts to eliminate his inner devil. However, no matter how hard he tried, the core of the inner devil eluded him. Despite this, he no longer suffered as intensely as he did in the past. He had enough leeway to visit Mo Suyin and Xin Guang, even though their presence reminded him of the memory fragments of the future.

Xiao Xiang continued her visits to the Lunar-Frost peak, and although Jianyu initially considered stopping them, he decided against it. Xiao Xiang had already formed a bond with Mo Suyin, and he didn't want to interfere for the sake of his petty reasons.

After completing his first year in the sect, Jianyu welcomed his junior sister Cao Meihui who had joined the sects.

[AN- Cao Meihui is his mother's disciple from the earlier chapters.]

And with that, Jianyu began spending more than a week worth of time out of seclusion every month.

Yin Xifeng persisted in her visits, and while Jianyu desired to ignore her completely, he couldn't use the same excuse repeatedly, so he had to meet her. During these visits from Yin Xifeng, he utilized the 'Untethered Heart Mantra' to its fullest extent to avoid any potential risks.

However, his frustration grew. Even after more than a year, he could not decipher the core behind his inner devil.

Or rather he had a "clue" regarding it... However, he lacked the means to execute his plans.

That is until he heard about a certain piece of information.

"A Secret realm that only allows disciples upto core formation realm has opened?"