At the end of her crazed encounter with a mystery of the Shattered Star Continent and the Sanctum, An Fei had obtained three precious conjectures, two of which she possessed boundless confidence regarding their verity.
The first was that the diagram produced by compression of non-unified spiritual essence obtained from two derived strains similarly resulted in an attributed diagram.
The derived strains of spiritual essence, upon their merging and assimilation into a singular substance, settled into a distinct attribute of either Yang or Yin, depending on the concentration.
Spiritual essence that interacted with an acupuncture point in the body formed a derivative of the original source – similarly, interactions with the meridians produced a result that was not too far different.
It was the question of how well developed the meridian, for a newly opened meridian could at most produce a fifth of the efficiency of that of an acupuncture point of the body.
Thus, An Fei had skirted from the path of wasting her spiritual essence via utilizing her meridians, even if the notion of development was heartbreakingly appealing.
Secondly, the concentration of the spiritual essence infused during the process factored into the final projection of the diagram, of which a major factor depended on the independent physique of the practitioner.
An Fei had realized that she was only able to produce a Yang attributed diagram after infusing twice as much spiritual essence attributed with Yang compared to the Yin counterpart.
In most cases, her physique generally produced a pale cyan diagram that hovered in the air for a total of three breaths – a clear indicator of a Yin diagram, especially when it was suffused with a chilly sensation that attempted to probe into the body via small tendrils.
In the odd circumstance of which she infused both Yang attributed streams of spiritual essence into her palms… her body couldn’t force them to merge, regardless of the force she propelled into her hands.
The young girl even attempted to utilize non-attributed spiritual essence into triggering the reaction, but to no avail.
Two Yin attributed spiritual essence streams operated perfectly well, which alluded to her conclusions that the general formation of the diagrams depended on the physique of the practitioner.
And third…
“If I manage to align the ratios of Yang and Yin attributed spiritual essence in that they perfectly nullify each other, a completely invisible diagram will appear,” An Fei murmured to herself as she stared at the crystalline ceiling of the Sanctum.
The young girl sat amidst a sea of paper, the fingers of her right hand absentmindedly rubbing against the base of her chin. A nonexistent breeze ruffled against the neatly trimmed stacks of paper, the golden light emitted from the sky-blue crystal gently rubbing at the base of the young girl’s skin.
“Now that I think about it, the concept is unusually simple – a kid who studied mathematics and chemistry for a little while could figure this out, ah.”
In a barebones sense, the process of creating a diagram – the product of spiritual essence from two similar sources compressed and forced to fuse into a unified substance – wasn’t it essentially an equation?
Furthermore, the formula of achieving particular results proceeded in algorithmic operations – completely like that of a systemic format.
Input variables, carry out computations and permutations to the expected degree, then manifest the result in a concise format.
The manipulations of the variables remained consistent regardless of the inputs, creating a mechanized system that was both reliable and swift.
Depending on the quantity of attributed spiritual essence she infused into the process, the resulting diagram could possess either the Yin or Yang attribute.
If she was to obtain the perfect ratio of Yang attributed spiritual essence and Yin attributed spiritual essence, then…
“Achieving the nullified diagram that can’t be seen by the eye – which I suppose is the blank spiritual essence mentioned within the <Shadow Dance>,” An Fei tapped the base of her chin in thought.
“But how do I do that? Like…”
One gram of Yang attributed spiritual essence to be paired with fifty milligrams of Yin attributed spiritual essence, to be combined with a pinch of baking soda and vinegar…
Pa!
The young girl directly planted a delicate palm against her forehead in exasperation, shaking her head in dismay.
An Fei glanced at the stacks upon stacks of paper marred with violet tears forming a sea that encircled her entire body, before standing to stretch her limbs.
“Even if I count by strands, I can only approximate the quantity at best,” the young girl sighed, before a crooked chuckle escaped her parched lips.
“But that idea isn’t so dull… Laoda! One gram of Yang attributed spiritual essence to go, please!”
The young girl downed a pitcher of cooled water in a single, prolonged gulp, wiping the dazzling beads of water that clung to her delicate lips.
An Fei took another glance towards the aggravating but fulfilling stacks of paper, before departing from the Sanctum after having changed her clothes.
–
“I know, I know, ben xiaojie apologizes, ah!”
The charming voice of a young girl could be heard from the darkened streets of the Peaceful Road, accompanying the silent and tranquil night at the Bone Spirit Town.
An Fei continued to direct curious gazes towards her surroundings, whilst appeasing the spiteful spirits of a little crow – ahem, raven – and a small fox.
Caw! Yip!
The two aggrieved and slightly arrogant creatures yelled at the young girl’s ears from two fronts, before chomping on their respective spoils of war.
The small fox eagerly tore at a strip of chicken spiced with honey, pepper, chives, and a tinge of garlic, whilst the little raven gnashed at a candied gingko nut bought at the rather well-populated Golden Breadbasket.
“Yes, yes, how any times do you want me to say sorry for leaving you alone throughout the day?”
An Fei rolled her eyes to the impassionate and callous night sky, seeking for the stars to dazzle a chilling astral strike against the two emperors riding on her shoulders.
The young girl fiercely swore in her heart, all the whilst her fingers elected on themselves to eagerly pinch and pull at the feathers and silken fur offered as free tribute.
Geting a free ride on ben xiaojie’s shoulders everyday, that requires a suitable price!
The young girl puffed her cheeks as she directed a glance towards her surroundings once more.
Regardless of how she stared, An Fei couldn’t help but gawk at the changes of the Peaceful Road.
After all… unlike Jiang’an, Bone Spirit Town did not possess any street lighting whatsoever.
Neither did any storehouse or martial arts school on either side of the street upholster any torches or oil lamps, creating a surreal mood.
The darkness pressed down upon her body as though leaden weights, and the dense silence created an interesting but equally creepy experience.
Equally creepy – as she experienced in the next moment.
“Y-young miss, how about y-you come with this o-ne for a ride, eh?”
The choked gasp between laughter and tears accompanied by a slurry of drunken stupor and lustful intent surged into An Fei’s ears, causing her to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
The young girl hesitated for the span of a breath, before electing to ignore the mishap, a single thought running through her mind.
Bone Spirit Town should have some public security at the minimum… right?
Unfortunately, the obscene caller did not allow An Fei the opportunity to drown in her thoughts.
The next instant, a black shadow swiftly surged to stand directly before her, and the <Steps of Underlying Shadow> propelled An Fei several meters backwards.
“Y-young miss – hic! – You shouldn’t be like that, ah!?”
The shadow took a menacing step forward, the dim moonlight revealing a rather elegantly dressed but sloppily mannered young individual.
Dressed in linen robes with flagrant colors of scarlet, gold, and violet, the youngster appeared to be in his twenties – and definitely from a decently developed clan of the town.
A pair of drunken eyes directed a lustful glare upon the young girl’s body, seemingly piercing through the impenetrable defenses of the linen coat on her body to reveal the delicate flower within.
The youngster swayed on his feet for a brief moment, before lurching forwards with an obscene smile on his aristocratic countenance.
“Y…young g-g-girl,” the youngster drawled, before a massive hiccup rent through the air with a snarl.
“You should play with this young master – this y-young master w-w-will take you to… to the ninth heavens! Oh, and grant an opportunity t-to cultivate. You-you, as a servant girl, should like the opportunity to cultivate, n – hic! – no?”
An Fei stared at the disgraceful and arrogant youth before her, a disdainful expression fully captured in her countenance.
The young girl’s hands trailed to the pair of butterfly swords sheathed at her waist, a dangerous glint laced within her cracked scarlet irises.
“You should move,” An Fei warned with a chilly voice.
“I’ll call for law enforcement if you don’t move.”
“Hah!” the drunken youngster snorted, nearly doubling over in his laughter.
“Ben xiaoye is of the Xiao Clan – w-w-we are the ones making the laws, little girl! Now, come with xiaoye and embrace the virtues of heaven!”
