Mirror Dream Tree 72. The moon

rin listens as Yanli says, “I understand the artistic conceptions of ice, cold, yin, and one more, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Show ,” rin replies.

Yanli nods, and in her hand, blood-colored mana erges.

rin watches as the mana gradually shifts colour, glowing with a gentle silver light.

He closes his eyes and reaches out with his ntal energy, sensing the silver light more clearly.

The feeling is strangely familiar, its fluctuations stirring a mory he can’t imdiately grasp.

He searches his thoughts until an image surfaces — the moon spilling its light over a lone tree in a desert.

That’s when he realises it matches the artistic conception of the moon in the main world.

Yanli, too, understands the artistic conception of the moon.

He compares her moon conception to his own from the main world and identifies fourteen matching points.

Yanli’s understanding reaches thirty-six points, placing her at the initial level of artistic conception — between 0 and 100 points — while his is at 247 points, the dium level.

He recalls his own classification: initial level up to 100 points, dium level up to 300 points, high level up to 600 points, and peak level up to 1000 points.

And once a conception passes 1000 points, it becos a rule.

rin opens his eyes.

“It’s the artistic conception of the moon,” he says.

Yanli’s eyes widen.

“The moon also has an artistic conception?” she asks.

rin nods.

“Before I recomnd which artistic conception you should choose, tell your thoughts,” he says.

“Ice?” Yanli Ventures.

“You know that ice is closely tied to water,” rin replies.

“The water ancestor is very likely to elevate the artistic conception of ice into the rule of ice.”

“Then what about cold?” Yanli asks.

“Cold is intertwined with ice, water, and wind,” rin says.

“If you’re determined, you can choose ice or cold.

But if the water ancestor rges these conceptions into the rule of water, it will make turning ice or cold into a rule far more difficult.”

Yanli thinks for a mont, her brow furrowing as she asks, “What about the artistic conception of Yin?”

Of all the artistic conceptions, Yin and Yang were not born as one of the nine fundantal rules, but as ti passes, they grow closer and closer to becoming just as powerful as those fundantal rules.

rin isn’t sure whether Yin and Yang’s strength stems from the world itself or if soone is secretly behind their rise.

If soone is orchestrating this, then choosing the artistic conception of Yin to advance into the True Core Realm could be risky.

“Choose the moon,” rin says.

Yanli tilts her head.

This is the first ti she’s heard of the artistic conception of the moon, and a trace of hesitation crosses her face.

“Is the moon’s artistic conception even complete?” she asks.

rin reaches out with his senses and confirms that, across the world, the moon's conception is only around six hundred points.

“That’s exactly why you should pick it,” he replies.

“Wouldn’t it be better if nobody were there to compete with you to turn the artistic conception of the moon into a rule?”

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When rin himself chose the artistic conception of vitality, it was complete but fragnted and incredibly difficult to grasp — he was only lucky enough to turn it into a rule.

Yanli looks uncertain.

“With my talent, do you believe I could complete an artistic conception?”

rin leans back in his chair.

“Why not? You have already reached the Ascendant Realm on the beast cultivation path.”

Yanli shakes her head, her silver hair swaying.

“You know it’s only because my bloodline let grow so quickly.”

rin leans forward again.

“But do you realise that without the Rule Body, you’ll never be able to advance to Spirit Master or Dharma Realm?”

Yanli’s eyes widen.

She’s heard of the Rule Body — a reward granted by the world to every Spirit Master — but its deeper purpose is still unclear to her.

“I only know it’s given by the world,” she admits. “But why is it given and what does it actually do… I don’t know.”

rin answers calmly, “The Rule Body is bestowed when a Spirit Master turns an artistic conception into a rule. When your chosen rule reaches ten per cent of one of the world’s fundantal rules, your Rule Body is sublimated along with your life origin. That’s the key to breaking the bloodline limit.”

Yanli’s brow furrows. “Why is breaking my bloodline limit so difficult for , while others don’t struggle like this?”

rin knows who she’s thinking of.

“You an Cui Ying and the others?” he replies.

Before she can speak, he continues.

“Their bloodlines don’t compare to yours. They can’t even advance into the Spirit Beast Realm. You, on the other hand, reached the Ascendant Beast Realm as soon as you approached adulthood, without any bottlenecks.”

Yanli takes this in, then asks, “So is that the only way to surpass my bloodline limit?”

rin shakes his head.

“There is another path. You can risk damaging your life origin and rge a beast-transformation technique into your Rifang bloodline. But that transformation would need a deep connection to Rifang.”

Yanli thinks aloud, “That connection would most likely co from an artistic conception.”

“Yes,” rin agrees. “And between the two paths, choosing the artistic conception of the moon would serve you better.”

Yanli looks at him with pleading eyes.

“But where can I even comprehend the Rule of the Moon?”

rin falls silent and considers her question.

This is the first ti he’s sensed the artistic conception of the moon in this world — it’s also the first ti he’s ever heard of it.

That ans it will be difficult to find any object or living being carrying its artistic conception.

A Dharma Realm Rifang Beast might possess it, but capturing one is impossible at their current level.

rin thinks of a way — comprehending the artistic conception of the moon directly from natural energy — but natural energy is chaotic, infused with every rule and artistic conception of the world, and the moon’s artistic conception here is incomplete.

Finding it in this way would be almost impossible. Like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The only feasible thod would be to set up a formation that refines natural energy into moon energy.

But to construct such a formation, they would need a profound understanding of the moon's artistic conception — at least to a high level — and Yanli’s blood only contains 36 points of the moon’s conception.

rin has 247, but most of those, 233 points, originate from the main world and don’t belong to this one.

If he could transfer those points into this world and rge them like he did with the wooden elent, it might work, but he simply doesn’t have ti for that.

He sighs, then looks at her seriously. “I have a way.”

He can see the worry in her eyes as he continues.

“But you have to do it yourself.”

Yanli tilts her head. “Okay… what do I have to do?”

rin takes a breath. “I will send you my understanding of the moon’s artistic conception. It’s not originally yours, so before you can use it, you must rge it with the artistic conception already in your blood.”

He watches her face closely, hoping for her agreent, for two reasons.

First, if she successfully advances the moon’s artistic conception into a rule and passes it back to him one day, he’ll gain a new thod of evolving into a spiritual tree with both wood and moon elents when he returns to the main world.

It would greatly boost his strength.

And second… well, he’s a man after all, and without the rule body suppressing his emotions as it once did, he wouldn’t mind the warmth of a woman at his side.

Yanli knows about the only way to pass one person’s artistic conception to another — it requires an act that only happens between lovers and with a technique- the Yang and Yin soul connect.

The technique has to be run during the act, which would make their ntal energy rge to beco one for a period.

And that mont, the artistic conception could be shared.

She draws a slow, deep breath.

“We’re not married yet,” she says, voice trembling slightly.

rin looks at her with calm determination.

“We will be married in five months,” rin says softly. “Whether it happens now or later — what’s the difference?”

Yanli takes a deep breath, her cheeks warm as she looks at him.

“I’m ready,” she says. “Let’s go to your bedroom.”

rin’s eyes widen in surprise.

“I was joking,” he replies quickly.

And it’s the truth — he had only teased her, his emotions stirring more easily after being suppressed for so long.

All kinds of thoughts ran wild in his mind, thoughts that had been buried for a year.

But seeing the determined light in her eyes, he hastens to explain, hands raised.

“I really was joking. I didn’t imagine you’d actually say yes.”

Yanli shakes her head.

“But I’m not joking,” she replies softly. “We’ll do it the traditional way.”

Before rin can answer, she takes his hand and gently tugs him toward his room.

She has her reasons — agreeing to do this would bind her to him in a way that words could not.

Even though they already have a marriage contract, there are still five months before they officially wed, and anything could happen.

By sharing this together, she knows Kanoru will never see her as soone who belongs to anyone else.

And as a spirit master, he would never allow soone who is truly his to slip away.

With his hand in hers, they step into his bedroom.

rin could stop her if he wished — but why would he? Unlike his relationship with Asuna, where things had been unclear and uncertain, Yanli is his fiancée.

In five months’ ti, she will be his wife, and nothing but death could change that.

And so he follows her in without hesitation.