CHAPTER 85: YUE XIN III

Yue Xin’s lips parted, as if to protest further, but she caught the faint glint in Tian Lei’s eyes — that same unshakable steadiness that had carried him through storms and blood. Her words stuck in her throat, replaced instead with a quiet nod.

Mu Qinxue noticed. Of course she did. Nothing slipped past her. A faint smirk touched her lips before she turned, her sleeves brushing like drifting snow as she moved deeper into the cave.

"Come. If we’re to test this, we’ll need an array that can suppress yin backlash. Otherwise, the moment we begin, her meridians will shatter like brittle glass."

Tian Lei followed without hesitation, Yue Xin a half-step behind, her hands trembling faintly in her sleeves though her face remained calm. The deeper they went, the stronger the air grew — the walls of the cavern glowing faintly with carved runes that pulsed with spiritual light.

At the heart of the chamber lay a stone platform, etched with overlapping circles of silver inscriptions. Cold mist poured from it, thick with Yin essence.

Yue Xin drew in a sharp breath. "This... this place..."

Mu Qinxue’s voice echoed lightly. "The Frost Mirror Array. I created it years ago to stabilize my own constitution. It will hold you steady while Tian Lei attempts his ridiculous plan."

Her gaze flicked toward her disciple, her tone growing sly again. "Of course, if you lose control... both of you will probably end up corpses. But I suppose that’s a lesson too."

"Noted," Tian Lei said simply, stepping onto the platform. His palm rested lightly at his side, spirit power already stirring around him like a low thunder.

Yue Xin hesitated at the edge. Her golden eyes shimmered faintly behind the plain mask, uncertainty swirling within them.

Tian Lei glanced back at her, voice even. "You’re not doing this alone. Step forward."

For a moment, the world seemed to narrow to just that steady voice. And with a slow exhale, Yue Xin obeyed, her feet carrying her onto the cold stone beside him.

Mu Qinxue’s fingers flicked, and the inscriptions blazed to life. The chamber filled with icy mist, cold enough to bite bone.

"Very well," she said, her tone both sharp and amused. "Let’s see whether arrogance can really defy the heavens."

The array pulsed, and in an instant Yue Xin gasped — torrents of Yin essence surging from her body, wild and unrestrained, like a frozen tide seeking to devour her from within.

Tian Lei sat cross-legged at the edge of the Frost Mirror Array, eyes calm despite the storm of yin energy raging around Yue Xin."Give me a moment," he said flatly.

Mu Qinxue arched a brow. "A moment? Hah. Child, she doesn’t have—"

But her words cut off as Tian Lei’s eyes shifted — golden light flickering within them like twin suns opening. His soul slipped inward, plunging into the boundless sea of his Golden Fortune Realm.

In an instant, the outside world stilled. What was but a heartbeat outside became a thousand lifetimes within. The Infinite Land spread endlessly before him, golden plains under a sky of shifting destiny threads.

Tian Lei moved without hesitation, his awareness piercing deeper, descending into the Infinite libraries of fate. A single thought stirred the infinite — and before him appeared a vast tome, its cover etched in ancient silver frost.

[Record of the Nine Yin Heart Physique]

He opened it. The script within was alive, flowing like ice and flame. Knowledge surged directly into his consciousness. He saw the truth — how the Nine Yin Heart Physique was both furnace and abyss, how its endless yin could be harnessed... not by surrendering flesh to another, but by condensing it into a Nine Yin Core.

The solution was there:→ Gather the endless yin essence at the heart.→ Condense it into a crystalline core, anchoring the storm.→ Seal it with a cycle of balanced qi, transforming disaster into foundation.

It was a technique meant for monsters, for heaven-defying geniuses. To anyone else, it would be an impossible path. But to him... it was clear as day.

Half an hour passed in the Infinite Land as he absorbed every secret, every formula. Outside, not even a second had slipped by.

When his golden eyes opened once more, he looked unchanged — yet a different weight lingered behind them.

"I’ve found it," Tian Lei said simply. His voice carried no excitement, no pride — only certainty.

Mu Qinxue blinked, momentarily thrown off. "...Already?"

He ignored her doubt, turning instead to Yue Xin, who was trembling beneath the weight of her own physique."Listen carefully," he said, his tone sharp as steel. "From this moment on, you’ll begin condensing your Nine Yin Heart Core. I’ll guide the flow, but you must endure the pain. Once it’s complete, this physique won’t be a curse—it will be your greatest weapon."

Yue Xin’s lips parted, her eyes widening at his calm declaration.

Mu Qinxue’s eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering across her face.

’What in the heavens...? He just closed his eyes for a breath, no more. There was no sign of cultivation, no runes, no spirit art—and yet, he’s suddenly acting as though he’s studied this physique for years...’

To her, it was nothing but an impossible leap of instinct.

Tian Lei opened his eyes, golden calm swirling in their depths. Without hesitation, he placed his palm gently on Yue Xin’s back. His voice was steady, firm—like a commander on a battlefield.

"Steady your breath. Don’t resist the flow. I’ll lead it."

Yue Xin shivered at his touch, but obeyed. The frigid yin within her body surged up like a violent river, threatening to tear her apart. Yet the moment Tian Lei’s qi touched hers, the chaos bent, as though compelled by an unseen law.

"Good," he murmured. "Now focus on your heart. Picture the storm folding inward, condensing. Every drop of yin essence belongs there—at the core."

Slowly, painfully, the rampant yin energy coiled at the center of her chest. A faint, crystalline shimmer began to form, fragile yet steady—the beginning of a Nine Yin Core.

Mu Qinxue’s breath caught. To her eyes, Tian Lei’s methods were utterly alien, like nothing recorded in any manual or jade slip. She could only watch, torn between disbelief and awe.

’He’s... creating order from that chaos? Without a formation? Without a technique? Impossible... utterly impossible. Yet it’s happening before my very eyes.’

Yue Xin let out a faint gasp, her face pale but resolute. The yin essence clawed and bit at her meridians, but Tian Lei’s guiding qi was like an unshakable anchor, forcing the raging power into shape.

Yue Xin’s breathing grew ragged. Sweat beaded along her brow, even as a chill mist rose from her skin. Her body trembled violently, teeth clenched as though she were being torn apart from the inside.

"Tian... Tian Lei... I—can’t—" she gasped, her voice breaking.

His hand pressed more firmly against her back, qi steady as a mountain. "Don’t scatter. Hold. If you lose focus now, the yin will backlash and cripple you. Trust me—I won’t let you fall."

His voice cut through her panic like thunder across storm clouds.

The yin torrent screamed within her veins, wild and unwilling, as though the very physique resisted being tamed. But Tian Lei’s qi wove around it with terrifying precision, every surge he redirected, every jagged burst he compressed, forcing it toward the heart point.

Mu Qinxue, watching from the side, found her knuckles whitening against her sleeve. ’No manual exists for this physique... even if one did, no one could guide her so effortlessly. What kind of monster is this brat?’

Then—

Boom.

A resonant pulse erupted from Yue Xin’s chest, rippling outward like a stone dropped in a frozen lake. Her whole body arched as a soft, crystalline glow bloomed over her heart, the faint outline of a core forming—shimmering with cold, elegant light.

The wild yin essence, once like a raging flood, began flowing in harmony, pulled inexorably into that nascent core. Her trembling slowed. The violent frost turned into a calm, steady aura, cold yet alive, centered in her chest.

Yue Xin collapsed forward with a gasp, clutching her robes over her heart. Her face was pale but her eyes were wide, shining with disbelief. "It... it doesn’t hurt anymore. The cold—it’s... it’s listening to me."

Tian Lei withdrew his hand at last, exhaling lightly as if it were nothing. "That’s the first step. The Nine Yin Core is formed. From here, you’ll no longer be consumed by your own physique. Instead, you’ll wield it."

Mu Qinxue blinked, a rare crack in her composure. "...You... really did it."

Tian Lei turned his gaze on her, calm and almost bored. "Wasn’t that the goal?"

Her lips curled into a faint smirk, though her eyes gleamed with sharp interest. ’This boy... either he’s heaven’s favored child or he’s hiding a devil’s secret. If he keeps walking this path, even the heavens themselves might have to step aside.’

’I guess, having him was not a wrong decision’ She thought as she knew, Tian Lei is not reckless, even if he do something, he do it in a way no one else gets hurt.