Chapter 1015: 断月拂影

As the Ice Phoenix bloodline entered his body, Yun Che felt as if a supremely pure and sacred ice crystal was blooming within him, emitting a cold yet pure radiance.

Compared to the Phoenix and Golden Crow blood, which possessed extremely destructive burning capabilities, the Ice Phoenix blood was much quieter and gentler. It almost obediently circulated slowly throughout Yun Che's body under his profound energy, like melted ice crystals, gradually merging into his bloodline.

Yun Che opened his eyes, and a strange blue light immediately flashed in his pupils. Although it was only a single drop of Ice Phoenix origin blood, he clearly felt the change in his ice profound energy.

He raised his palm, and a small ice bead condensed there. Although it was still ice, compared to before, this ice bead seemed to possess life. Its aura and glow had undergone a qualitative change; just like his flames, it was now filled with a strong divine aura.

Without a doubt, now that he possessed the Ice Phoenix bloodline, his use of the Ice Spirit Divine Arts—also known as the Ice Phoenix Conferred God Tome—would undoubtedly command several times its previous power.

"Half a quarter-hour."

Mu Xuanyin's cold voice resonated in Yun Che's ears.

Yun Che rose and said respectfully, "Thank you for your grace, Master."

"...Follow me."

Mu Xuanyin glanced at him, then turned around. Her snowy figure was already a hundred zhang away, ethereal and fleeting. Yun Che hastily followed.

The world was silent, with only endless falling snow and ice. There was no human presence, nor any other living creature's aura. Yun Che suddenly had a strange realization: it was as if this world contained only him and his master.

Yun Che followed Mu Xuanyin into the Divine Hall.

It was not too surprising. Although what appeared before him was a "great hall," it stretched beyond sight, and even the ceiling was completely invisible. The cold within was extremely intense, almost comparable to the frigidness at the edge of the Underworld Ice Lake. The entire world was stark white and utterly silent.

Clearly, this place, like the training rooms in the Ice Phoenix Palace, possessed special spatial laws... but it was far more extreme.

"This place, and the Underworld Ice Lake, will be your cultivation grounds from now on."

Mu Xuanyin's voice was icy and ruthless: "Since you have become my direct disciple, you must have sufficient awareness. Your future cultivation will be far more brutal than you can imagine! Do not hope for a single day of laxity. Even if you regret it now... it's too late!"

Yun Che nodded deeply, his brows furrowed, showing no fear. He had taken enormous risks to become Mu Xuanyin's disciple; what he sought was the most extreme cultivation.

"You have now merged with the Ice Phoenix Divine Blood. I should have first taught you to re-cultivate the Ice Phoenix Conferred God Tome. However, you use a heavy sword as your weapon and rely heavily on movement techniques. Furthermore, since you were able to forcibly cultivate the Ice Phoenix Conferred God Tome without the Ice Phoenix bloodline, I fear you don't even need my guidance."

Mu Xuanyin slowly extended her right hand, her jade-white palm facing Yun Che. "I shall first teach you 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'!"

"Concentrate, and watch closely!"

As Mu Xuanyin's voice fell, just as Yun Che was about to nod subconsciously, he suddenly felt a soul-piercing chill attack him from behind his neck without warning. He spun around as if electrocuted, only to startlingly see another Mu Xuanyin appear behind him. That same jade-white right hand... her slightly bent fingers were only half an inch from his neck; a slight exertion of force would instantly crush his throat.

Yun Che's heart tightened. Before he could fully react, he suddenly felt two more terrifying chills abruptly strike him, one from his right side and one from above. By the time he noticed, they had already coldly touched his crown and the side of his neck.

"..." Yun Che turned his head with some difficulty. His gaze on his right side and above, he startlingly found two more "Mu Xuanyins."

Immediately after, all of Mu Xuanyin's figures vanished in an instant. In front of him, Mu Xuanyin still stood in her original position, maintaining her initial posture, as if she hadn't moved at all.

"...This is... 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'?" Yun Che asked in astonishment.

Mu Xuanyin lowered her arm and said indifferently, "'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' and the Star God Realm's 'Star God Broken Shadow' are both instantaneous movement profound skills. The strength of 'Star God Broken Shadow' lies not only in its instantaneous movement but also in its ability to shatter into several afterimages during the instant movement. Moreover, these afterimages release an aura almost identical to the true body's just before they dissipate, making it impossible for the opponent to track."

Yun Che nodded. Clearly, Mu Xuanyin understood 'Star God Broken Shadow' quite well.

"The Heaven Smiting Star God likely taught you 'Star God Broken Shadow' because she didn't want you to die too early."

Yun Che's gaze flickered, and he nodded again. When he first met Jasmine, he was incredibly weak. And if he died, Jasmine's soul would also dissipate. Indeed, at that time, she taught him 'Star God Broken Shadow' purely for self-preservation.

Later, when he arrived at New Moon City and chose a heavy sword as his weapon, his reliance on 'Star God Broken Shadow' immediately doubled.

"Although my Snow Song Realm cannot compare to the Star God Realm, which is a King Realm, 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' will absolutely not be weaker than 'Star God Broken Shadow'! In terms of instantaneous movement distance and afterimage shattering ability, 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' may not be as good as 'Star God Broken Shadow,' but it has a huge advantage: concealment of aura!"

"'Con...cealment of aura?'" Yun Che murmured. "Concealing one's aura?"

"'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' is activated using ice profound energy. At the moment of instantaneous movement, the afterimages and aura do not dissipate immediately but briefly remain under the ice aura. Although the method is different, in terms of disrupting the opponent's perception, it is absolutely not weaker than 'Star God Broken Shadow'."

Yun Che's mouth opened slightly, his eyes showing astonishment. For that single instant after the instantaneous movement, the figure and aura could still remain in place, preventing the opponent from immediately realizing the instantaneous movement and causing them to continue attacking or defending against the afterimage. Although it was only for an instant, it was enough to expose the opponent's weaknesses.

If this were truly possible, its effect would indeed be no less than the momentary confusion 'Star God Broken Shadow' caused opponents after shattering into afterimages.

"However, to reach the 'Lingering Shadow' realm, one must cultivate 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' to Grand Completion. And if one can cultivate it to the Great Perfection realm..." Mu Xuanyin's icy eyes narrowed slightly, "Then it won't just be 'Concealed Aura,' but 'Concealed Figure'!"

Concealed Figure!?

"Could it be, it makes the figure completely invisible and disappear?" Yun Che said, somewhat disbelieving. "Concealed Figure" sounded like a fantasy, but it was certainly not impossible. He knew of a wondrous item that could achieve a "Concealed Figure" state—the Star Concealing Grass!

Not only did he know of it, he had even used it!

"That's right." Amidst Yun Che's shock, Mu Xuanyin gave an affirmative answer: "Although no one, including myself, has ever cultivated the 'Concealed Figure' realm or even witnessed it, 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' was not created by the Sect Master's ancestors. Like the Ice Phoenix Conferred God Tome, it was left behind by the Ice Phoenix Divine Spirit, so it is certainly not an empty claim."

"However, this is not something you need to consider now," Mu Xuanyin's voice became subtly colder. "'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' is an ancient divine skill left by the Ice Phoenix Divine Spirit. Its cultivation does not require one to possess the Ice Phoenix bloodline, but achieving mastery is a hundred times harder than with the Ice Phoenix Conferred God Tome! Currently, throughout the entire sect, I am the only one who has mastered 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'."

"Only Master has mastered it?" Yun Che was even more surprised.

"Hmph, if Bingyun could have mastered 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow,' how could she have been so easily ambushed by that wretched old thief Huo Rulie?"

"High-level movement profound skills are far more difficult to cultivate than high-level profound arts. Since you could master 'Star God Broken Shadow,' then there's no reason you can't master 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'!"

Mu Xuanyin extended both hands, her left index finger touching his glabella, and three fingers of her right hand simultaneously touching three main profound meridians on his chest. "I shall now impart to you the general formula and the profound energy circulation method of 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'. Concentrate."

"Yes." Yun Che replied, closing his eyes.

Four points of blue light flashed simultaneously, and the general formula of 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' was instantly imprinted upon Yun Che's mind and soul. At the same time, his profound energy circulated rapidly and complexly under the guidance of Mu Xuanyin's aura.

After a few breaths, Mu Xuanyin's hands moved away from Yun Che, and Yun Che also opened his eyes at this moment.

"How much did you remember?" Mu Xuanyin asked.

"I've memorized all of it." Yun Che replied.

"...All of it?" Mu Xuanyin's crescent eyebrows furrowed slightly, her expression clearly showing disbelief.

Yun Che nodded, "Yes, I've memorized all of it."

"Since you've memorized all of it," Mu Xuanyin said, maintaining her slightly furrowed brows, "then demonstrate it to me once!"

"Alright."

Yun Che closed his eyes, first cautiously circulating his ice profound energy, blue light flickering around him. After remaining still for several full breaths, his eyes suddenly opened.

A cold gust of wind swept by. Yun Che's body instantly shot out a long blue shadow, moving ten zhang backward in an instant. But after the movement, the blue light around him flickered erratically, and his body swayed, almost causing him to fall.

Mu Xuanyin: "..."

Yun Che hastily stabilized himself, let out a soft breath, and said somewhat shamefully, "It's indeed very difficult, completely incomparable to Master's."

"..." Mu Xuanyin remained silent for a long time.

The most basic 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' required the simultaneous activation of thirty-seven profound meridians, with each meridian's profound energy circulation method and strength differing. This was extremely strict; even a slight carelessness, such as a profound meridian's energy being slightly weaker or deviating a little, would lead to a chaotic profound energy flow and, in severe cases, damage the profound veins.

Just controlling the profound meridians was already this complex, let alone later guiding the profound energy's circulation through the channels.

She had just guided Yun Che's profound energy to complete one circulation... just once, and he had truly memorized all of it without a single mistake. His instantaneous movement just now, although it took several breaths, was slow, awkward in its finish, and left a clear ice afterimage... but it was clearly already the rudimentary form of 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'!

This was an ancient divine skill that all elders and palace masters in the entire sect had failed to master even after thousands or tens of thousands of years. Yet he... merely by relying on the general formula and the demonstrated profound energy circulation method she had imparted to him, had completed a clumsy, but remarkably complete, 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'.

In silence, the deepest part of Mu Xuanyin's eyes concealed profound shock. Her evaluation and perception of Yun Che underwent a massive change. Previously, Yun Che's impression on her was basically limited to the "Sky Poison Pearl" and the "Evil God's inheritance." Now, in her shock, she realized that, putting aside the Evil God's inheritance, Yun Che's innate comprehension and his profound energy control ability were astonishingly high.

History was inadvertently repeating itself. When Jasmine had taught Yun Che back then, she had secretly marveled at his astonishing, almost incomprehensible comprehension ability. And now, Yun Che's second master after Jasmine felt the same shock as Jasmine had felt back then.

Seeing Mu Xuanyin remain silent for a long time, her icy countenance chilling, Yun Che thought she was disappointed and whispered, "Master, that just now... uh, was just a minor mistake due to haste. Give this disciple one day, and I will surely satisfy Master, otherwise I am willing to accept punishment."

"..." Mu Xuanyin turned around and said coldly, "It's good that you know, you still have a long way to go! Today, you shall cultivate 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow' with all your might according to what I just taught you; do not be lax. Four hours from now, if there's still an ice afterimage... you won't rest for the next three days!"

"Yes." Yun Che made a slight bitter face.

With the strict order given, Mu Xuanyin stopped speaking and was about to leave.

"Master!" Yun Che, however, suddenly spoke up and called out to her, then quickly took out the "congratulatory gifts" given by Yan Wancang and the other two. "This is from Sect Master Yan..."

"Didn't I say I'd bestow it upon you!" Mu Xuanyin said coldly, "Hmph, inside is a Vermillion Bird Jade. It's truly priceless; you can keep it to play with!"

Vermillion Bird Jade? He wondered if it was similar to the Nine-Yang Jade. If it was...

"Yes, Master." Yun Che said no more and put it away with relief. "Oh, right, one more thing. This disciple encountered Senior Brother Han Yi before the sect assembly. Senior Brother Han Yi's imperial father will have his thousandth birthday in half a month, and he entrusted this disciple to invite Master to attend."

"Hmph!" Mu Xuanyin let out an incredibly cold hum without turning her head. "A mere country lord is worthy of my presence? And... Che'er, remember this: Mu Hanyi is not qualified for you to address him as Senior Brother. Do not make this mistake again."

Having spoken, Mu Xuanyin's figure flickered, disappearing from Yun Che's sight like melting, drifting snow.

"Phew!"

Without Mu Xuanyin at his side, Yun Che's physical and mental pressure sharply decreased. He let out a long breath and quickly focused his mind, fully dedicating himself to cultivating 'Severed Moon, Star-Splintering Shadow'.