"Silver-haired freak, let go of me!"
Little Yao Xi flailed wildly. She could feel the greatest secret she carried being pried into.
It was as though she had been stripped naked!
Luo Yue did not answer. Her mind was wholly immersed in the workings of the [Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu].
Her target was the faint phantom of a moon palace deep within Yao Xi's brow, intimately linked to the origin of her divine soul.
"Hum..."
Within her sea of consciousness, the tortoise shell trembled, and stellar orbits intertwined.
The power of the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu was driven to its limit. This was no longer the shallow probing of before; with an intent bordering on "analysis" and "imprinting," it forcefully reached toward the origin of that mysterious moon palace within Yao Xi's brow.
The instant the power of the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu touched Yao Xi's brow-
Boom!
Yao Xi felt as though an icy, brilliant moon had exploded deep within her divine soul!
It was not actual injury, but a violent tremor and resonance arising from her life origin.
The phantom moon palace behind her, which had originally drifted amid a sea of stars and mist, became clearer than ever before. It was no longer a hazy, distant vista, but seemed to have been forcibly "dragged" out of the void and into reality by an invisible giant hand.
The entire courtyard was instantly enveloped in cool, aloof moonlight that seemed beyond the mortal world.
Jade towers and jeweled halls, soaring eaves and interlocking brackets.
Moon laurels swayed, and cold mist curled.
A phantom of a towering, ancient palace radiated an air of eternal solitude.
It hovered behind Yao Xi, almost solid, silently emanating majestic Dao resonance. Its light was not dazzling, yet carried the vast chill of a moon palace that froze souls and gazed down upon the ages.
"Ah!"
Yao Xi let out a brief cry of pain.
This was not damage inflicted by Luo Yue's divine power, but a violent reaction caused by her own innate vision being forcibly activated and its origin "spied upon" at close range by divine treasures such as the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu.
It felt as though countless icy carving knives were scraping at her divine soul, trying to dissect her deepest secrets. An indescribable sense of grievance, shame, anger, and violation overwhelmed her in an instant.
Luo Yue, however, had no attention to spare.
Her mind was utterly captivated by the [Moon Palace Diagram] before her, which the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu had "analyzed" and projected into her consciousness.
This was no longer a blurry phantom, but a three-dimensional scroll woven from countless profound Dao patterns, Taiyin runes, and fragments of the laws of space.
"Could it actually contain a complete 'Taiyin Ancient Scripture'?" The deeper Luo Yue explored, the more astonished she became.
At that moment, the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu were performing deductions and filling in gaps at an unprecedented speed, reconstructing the foundations and structure of this vision through reverse equations.
The Dao principles of icy moonlight, the mysteries of folded space, and even a faint hint of extinction and creation seemingly originating from the origin of the Lunar Star were forcibly stripped away and analyzed, then made to collide and fuse furiously with Luo Yue's own Divine King Body vision, [Cold River Reflecting the Moon].
The life spring deep within her Bitter Sea Secret Realm, the newly erected divine bridge, and the cold moon in the void all blazed with light. The [Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu] Dao patterns on the ice bridge seemed to come alive, greedily absorbing fragments of Dao resonance from the moon palace within Yao Xi's brow.
Luo Yue's own vision was becoming more condensed and profound at a visibly rapid pace. Beside that solitary cold moon, the vague outlines of a palace even began trying to take shape.
No wonder Yao Xi achieved alternative Dao attainment in the original story. This is probably the reason.
Luo Yue seemed to grasp something.
This was an opportunity that came once in a thousand years.
Perhaps she could even analyze that portion of the "Taiyin Ancient Scripture's" true meaning from the moon palace.
Her mind surged with excitement. She drove the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu at full power, trying to imprint this instant of insight completely and perfect her own Dao foundation.
Time seemed to stretch at that moment.
The moonlight in the courtyard grew ever brighter, and the phantom moon palace ever clearer. The cold it emanated coated the surrounding green bamboo in thick frost.
Under the full manifestation of her innate vision and the forceful analysis of the Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu, Yao Xi's tiny body trembled slightly. She bit her lower lip hard, until its soft pink flesh turned white.
An unknown amount of time passed-perhaps only an instant, perhaps a long while.
The Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu gave a soft hum, almost as though satisfied. The tortoise shell and star chart slowly settled, and the Dao diagram produced through forced analysis, fusion, and deduction was finally imprinted deep within Luo Yue's divine soul.
This was a Taiyin Moon Palace Diagram!
It contained part of the Taiyin Scripture's true meaning.
It had formed a mysterious connection with her own Cold River Reflecting the Moon vision. Though they were still far from fully fused, it had already shown her a direction.
"That's enough. If I keep going, that moon palace will probably throw me out."
Divine light shone in Luo Yue's icy blue eyes, carrying a trace of understanding and joy at the successful completion of her deductions. She slowly withdrew the divine power locked onto Yao Xi's brow and restraining her wrist.
The majestic moonlight enveloping the courtyard and the nearly solid phantom palace receded swiftly like a tide, withdrawing into the depths of Yao Xi's brow. The courtyard returned to its original lighting.
Little Yao Xi, now free again, did not immediately leap up with her hackles raised or lunge at her for revenge, as Luo Yue had expected.
Luo Yue was just about to speak-perhaps to thank her, perhaps to share the wondrous insight she had just gained-but before she could say anything, the words froze on her lips.
"Plip~"
The little girl was still standing where she had been, tightly clutching the small jade cauldron filled with earth-milk spirit liquid. Yet her little shoulders were twitching faintly, uncontrollably.
A crystal-clear tear finally broke free of her thick lashes, silently rolling down her exquisitely delicate little face, now filled with grievance, and landing right on the jade cauldron's smooth rim.
Then came a second drop, a third...
The little girl tried hard to keep her head lowered, unwilling to let Luo Yue see. But those broken little sobs and the tears that kept tumbling down clearly proclaimed one fact-
She was shedding little pearls!
It was not loud, wailing sobs, but the grievance of someone bullied too badly, ashamed and furious yet unable to fight back, left only to shed little golden beans in silence.
For the first time, an expression called "astonishment" and "helplessness" appeared on Luo Yue's little face.
What... why is she crying now?
"Hey, are you all right?"
Luo Yue waved a hand in front of her face. She felt that she had not really hurt her.
I only peeked at the moon palace in her sea of consciousness. Does that really warrant shedding little pearls
*?*
"My name isn't Hey! Meanie! Liar! Silver-Haired Fox Spirit!" Little Yao Xi's eyes were red as she expressed her anger with her limited vocabulary.
"All right, all right, stop crying. I'll make it up to you, okay?"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Luo Yue took out a large pile of variant source and said, "Here, pick any two pieces."
"Who wants your lousy source!"
"Rawr!"
As though she had suffered some terrible insult, Yao Xi jumped up, opened her mouth, and bit Luo Yue's little hand.
"Hiss..."
A slight tugging pain reached her, and Luo Yue's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
This little girl really bites hard!