Di Xiao fixed his gaze on Yun Jin, speaking word by word, "Tian Zhao Stone and Xuan Yin Crystal—are you not lacking these two materials for your artifact refining?"
Yun Jin frowned. "Senior is still testing me? There is no need for that. Indeed, those two are the best materials, but if I cannot obtain them, I can still settle for a second-best option."
In truth, Yun Jin had already decided on the second-best plan. She had even prepared all the materials and was ready to go into seclusion for refining.
"Since the best path is before you, why take the lesser one?" Di Xiao's voice was calm.
Before him suddenly appeared two stones, one red and one white.
Yun Jin's frown deepened. "Senior, what do you mean by this? Do you not value your life?"
The next moment, Di Ying appeared as well.
Her voice carried urgency. "Brother, what are you doing? Without Tian Zhao Stone and Xuan Yin Crystal, you will die!"
Di Xiao looked at Di Ying, his eyes softening slightly. He spoke gently. "No, I think not. These two stones may not be blessings at all."
Yun Jin's eyes flickered.
Did Di Xiao discover something?
Di Xiao calmly said, "Your ability is bloodline purification. You can return a spirit beast's bloodline to its purest state."
Yun Jin nodded.
Di Xiao continued, "After you purified Di Ying's bloodline, she survived even without Xuan Yin Crystal. This proves that the true essence of Taiyang Zhuzhao and Taiyin Youying never depended on these stones. On the contrary, these stones may be the true culprits hindering our growth!"
These stones allowed them to store energy, and even helped them wield their power with greater ease.
But…
This was wrong.
With such reliance, a barrier would forever remain between them and true power.
The stones were nothing less than stumbling blocks across the path of the Great Dao.
"Senior Di," Yun Jin sighed, "but those stones contain the essence of your cultivation over thousands of years. Without them, perhaps you will not die, but your realm will surely plummet again and again."
Yun Jin knew all too well how proud Di Xiao was.
If he fell from peak combat power back to Tribulation or even Unity stage, could he endure such a fall?
"So, you really do have a way for me to survive?" Di Xiao's eyes locked onto her.
Di Xiao was frighteningly sharp at seizing the heart of the matter. Yun Jin could only admit, "Perhaps I do. My comprehension of the Lawof Yin and Yang now is incomparable to before. I can craft a cultivation method tailored for you. Senior's physique is Taiyang Zhuzhao, which means you are better suited to a single path of Yang cultivation than to dual cultivation of Yin and Yang.
In the past, your cultivation encountered the risk of Yang breaking easily. First, because Tian Zhao Stone prevented you from perfectly harmonizing with the Dao. Second, because you lacked a suitable Yang attribute cultivation art.
My deduction is this: if you switch to a purely Yang method, even without those stones you can still survive. Not only that, but your progress in cultivation afterward will be very swift. To return to your peak, however, may take centuries."
Everything Yun Jin said was the unvarnished truth. In the past, she could never have voiced this. To say that the stones were problematic, to tell Di Xiao to abandon them and start over—he would surely have misunderstood.
And she could not have passed him such a pure Yang method before, either. That required true comprehension of the Dao, impossible while bound by the stones.
But now that Di Xiao had raised the matter himself, Yun Jin did not conceal the truth.
The choice was his to make.
Yun Jin thought he would deliberate at length.
Unexpectedly…
The moment her words ended, Di Xiao said directly, "Good. Then let it be so. I will give Tian Zhao Stone and Xuan Yin Crystal to you, and you will help me shift to a new method."
Yun Jin was stunned. "Senior will not think this over longer?"
Di Xiao did not hesitate. "To break is to establish. If I continue like this, I will never touch the true peak. I will not allow two stones to control my fate.
A few hundred years, in exchange for a future I control with my own hands—that is worth it." Di Xiao's gaze was firm, unshaken. He had already decided.
Yun Jin did not know…
That she herself was a large part of his resolve. From her unparalleled lead in the trial space, to her ease in transcending heavenly tribulation, Di Xiao had seen a terrifying truth.
Yun Jin already surpassed him in every way.
And he? His progress crawled forward, chained to two stones. If this continued, Yun Jin would leave him far behind.
Not only Yun Jin, but everyone else as well. All advanced rapidly, while he alone stagnated. Even Ji Wusi and the others would soon surpass him. How could Di Xiao endure such torment?
As he said, without destruction there could be no rebirth.
To seize a real future, he needed the courage to start again.
And with his Primordial Soul intact, rebuilding his foundation would still be far easier than for most.
"Brother…" Di Ying whispered, watching Di Xiao, no longer attempting to dissuade him.
After her own rebirth without Xuan Yin Crystal and with her master's help, she had realized how deeply the stone had hindered her cultivation.
Her master had said—
Her true body was that of a divine beast.
Yet her and her brother's cultivation speed had barely surpassed that of ordinary super spirit beasts.
Only after following her master did she understand what true divine beast cultivation speed should be. Now her brother had the chance to shed such shackles. That was a blessing.
"Master, I beg you, help my brother." Di Ying pleaded, gazing at Yun Jin.
Yun Jin pondered a moment, then said, "Since Senior Di has made his decision, I have no reason to refuse. Let us seek a secluded chamber."
A trace of joy lit Di Xiao's eyes.
He nodded and followed quickly.
Deep within the Celestial Divine Palace…
Yun Jin selected a hidden secret chamber.
The matter of rebuilding one's path was momentous. Any misstep could bring calamity.
She even recalled Di Ying into her care, focusing solely on Di Xiao.
"This is a Yang attribute manual. Familiarize yourself with it first." Yun Jin handed him a jade slip.
Di Xiao skimmed it swiftly.
With his supreme Yang physique and top-tier cultivation, while the later chapters might prove difficult, the entry levels posed no obstacle.
Yet when he attempted to circulate his energy according to its methods, his spiritual power collapsed immediately.
"With those two stones still in you, you cannot cultivate yet." Yun Jin's expression grew solemn. "Once they are removed, you must circulate the art at once. I will support you from the side, helping you push the manual to at least the fifth layer in one breath and condense your beast-infant anew. Only then will you live. Otherwise… death is certain."