Chương 23: 16.2. Relationships and Seclusion

Faust and Ho Jinyou walked through the market together. Morning had passed and it was bright out as Faust snacked on some skewers he resigned himself to for breakfast. It was really too heavy for an early morning meal. People moved around in various robes. The Outer Sect robes were surprisingly thin, with peripheral disciple and merchant robes occupying the majority, with a healthy mix of clan cultivators mixed in.

Scanning the market, at first, Faust thought this senior brother was just being dramatic, showing off how handsome and popular he was. But… Faust counted at least 14 people trying to secretly trail Jinyou.

"I see… You weren't joking."

"I know!" Ho Jinyou lamented, throwing his hands into the air as the two stopped at a stall with bright orange decor and a wooden sign with various fruits on it.

"This isn't normal. You're not even that handsome. Is it some kind of physique that attracts women?" Faust asked.

"Pure Yang physique." Jinyou responded, distracting himself by looking through the fruits and snack bags being offered by the stall. Faust mulled it over. There were countless bloodlines and physiques. But the names were generally quite literal. There was an attraction between yin and yang energies. However it tended to be balanced because there was always a bit of yin in the yang and yang in the yin.

Faust guessed that the Pure Yang physique meant there was no supplemental yin for Jinyou's yang energy, causing an intense attraction to strong yin energies.

"I see… Is there not a way to supplement the yang with some yin?" Faust asked.

"..." Ho Jinyou's eyes twitched and he looked at Faust.

"Do you… Know what you just said?" He asked, his eyes twitching, somewhere between irritation and concern. Faust looked at Jinyou for a moment in confusion, before mentally reciting what he had said. Supplementing Yang with Yin…. Ah… Faust widened his eyes in realization. But the thought only brought up another question according to his knowledge of various energies and Qi.

"But then, why not accept some advances to solve your physique?" Faust asked.

"You think I haven't tried? If it just needed to be done once I would have solved the physique decades ago. The problem is that pure yin or yang doesn't stay pure naturally, the physique purifies itself constantly. Only yin from a pure yin physique can solve it."

"... I see… Sounds… Complex…" Faust looked away, looking at the scowl on Jinyou's face, he guessed he shouldn't have said anything. Faust tapped his chin as the conversation lulled for a moment, finally picking up several bags of melon seeds and trading a silver coin with the stall merchant, stowing the bags in his spatial pouch one by one.

"Whats your physique?" Jinyou asked as the two left the stall.

"I don't have one."

"Really? Don't most people have at least some sort of minor physique?"

"Most do. Yes." Faust agreed, opening one of the melon seed bags and throwing a few in his mouth. He was still unsatisfied by his interrupted breakfast.

"..." Ho Jinyou's eyes lingered on Faust for a few moments before he shrugged.

"Speaking of. Are you planning to pick up swordsmanship?" Jinyou asked.

"Hmm?" Faust hummed. Swordsmanship? He knew the basics, but he preferred spells and techniques. He looked at Jinyou strangely, who returned the stare slightly bemused.

"Why do you ask?" Ho Jinyou looked away, facing forward at the parting crowd.

"I think you'll need it."

"..." Faust looked at him, then followed his gaze forward, letting the thought churn around in his head. Why would he need swordsmanship? Spells worked plenty well.

"Forget it. Let's talk about something else." Ho Jinyou sighed. Faust nodded along. He wasn't going to force this senior brother, who should be making final preparations for Golden Core, to elaborate if he didn't want to. The two walked through the market together for a while.

"You asked why I haven't tried supplementing yang with yin. Have you done anything with that pink haired junior sister?" Ho Jinyou asked." Pfft!! Akc! HACK!" Faust choked on the bunch of melon seeds he had just thrown down his throat.

"So… That's a yes?" Jinyou grinned." Ack— No!" Faust responded in a hurry after recovering.

"What would make you ask such a thing?" Jinyou raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for one, she invites you to dinner while walking with you in the moonlight alone. I saw you some time ago while I was sneaking back to my manor in the night. Then, when I was in disguise yesterday, I saw you both watching the sunset together. Is this not a relationship?" Faust eye twitched.

"She's a Spiritual Chef, who hasn't she invited for a meal? The sunset was a one time thing after we discussed some heavy topics. You're reading too much into it."

"No-no. I think you're not reading enough into it." Jinyou continued.

"Haaah." Faust exhaled exasperatedly, then gave Jinyou a step by step list of things he had compiled about dealing with romantic relationships, to which Jinyou just smiled and laughed, mocking each dot point. Faust walked home by himself. Ho Jinyou had mocked his careful notes on relationships relentlessly, so he had left him to the ambush of a few young women who wanted to invite him for morning tea. The sun was still rising, approaching its peak. Faust found a simple stall filled with caged chickens and chooks.

He purchased a basket of eggs before moving on. Pulling out a list, Faust looked through everything He'd already crossed off. The only things remaining were some materials and tools to help Sirius dismantle the framework of her Inner Palace. More technically, she needed to dissolve the anchors she'd made that connected the physical and spiritual body more closely. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Faust looked around for tools.

He found one stall, a small temporary one set up by a ragged looking outer sect disciple.

"I found these in an abandoned village while on a ghost subduing mission." The disciple claimed under a lime green tarp raised over a thin wooden bench, holding the container up for Faust to see. Faust took one of the golden needles out of the container, turning it in his hand and gently bending the tip. There was a bit of flex, but it returned to being ramrod straight the moment he let it go. Definitely not ordinary gold. Faust returned the needle to the wooden case.

There were tiny ruby pieces embedded into the handles of the needles, which resembled dragons. It was definitely not ordinary.

"How much?" Faust asked.

"... Th-Five gold!" The disciple stuttered. Faust put a hand to his chin, considering. He could barter and he probably could get it cheaper, but he felt bad for cheating a junior who definitely didn't realise these were at least 2nd level artifacts. With a sigh, Faust pulled out 10 coins.

"The appraisal hall may have long lines most of the time, but you should really take everything you find for inspection, even if it takes hours." He left the disciple with that bit of advice, taking the case of needles with him. Reaching an intersection in the market, Faust paused. I should tell Foria I'm going into seclusion for a while. He realised, turning down the path down Clear Jade bridge. However, in the middle of Clear Jade bridge, towards one of the edges.

"Urgh… Why am I doing this?" A boy in outer sect robes complained, hands behind his back, doing the plank exercise with his head.

"My, it's because I personally agree with your cousin's assessment." Aneroze spat.

"My, can't you keep your back straight!" She struck Long Tao's spine with the butt of her fan. He was also leaning with his head on the floor, with his back arched. The only difference was that Aneroze was sitting on top of Long Tao and Foria was fidgeting on the side. Faust stopped, taking in the scene. He also saw countless burn marks on Long Tao, with his clothes singed and burned beyond repair. Faust didn't really want to know what was going on, but he needed to talk to Foria, so he approached anyway.

"Brother!" Foria noticed Faust first, Aneroze looked up a moment later. Faust nodded in greeting, before gesturing to the scene with his hand while still holding the bag of melon seeds with the other, "What— uh… What happened here?" Foria looked back at the scene, then back at Faust.

"I don't know! I was just passing by while Tao was running from Aneroze and she told me to stop him, so I tripped him with my sword."

"..." Faust turned to Aneroze.

"My, can you believe it, he punched this generation's Bu clan heir unconscious." Aneroze curled her mouth in amused disdain.

"..." Faust was speechless. He looked down at Long Tao. He was almost impressed by how much trouble this kid could get himself into in less than a month. He didn't look up with his pupil technique, but he wondered if he was really the son of heaven. Surely they wouldn't be this… clueless… right? Faust shook his head, then turned to Foria.

"I'm planning to go into seclusion, probably for three or so months." He explained.

"Seclusion?" Foria tilted her head.

"You won't need to worry about it for a while. Not until the Meridian opening realm at least."

"I've heard about it before, but why do we need to go into seclusion?" Foria asked. Tao and the other kid's ears also perked up to hear the answer.

"In theory, you don't have to go into seclusion." Faust began, thinking through how to explain it.

"It's just one of many tools you can use to cultivate. Some people never go into seclusion. However the goal of seclusion is to dedicate a period of time to solely one thing without interruption. I'll be using that time to perfect my early Open Palace realm before I consider entering the mid stage." Foria tilted her head. Faust sighed.

"Secluded cultivation is good for your foundation." Faust simplified. That explanation seemed to work and Foria bobbed her head up and down while Aneroze facepalmed quietly. Look. I wanna bash my head into a wall as well, but she's my little sister. Faust idly thought.

"Have you gotten a hang of the Twelve Qi Transformations technique?" Faust asked.

"I think I've got the hang of it."

"Show me." Foria nodded, then raised her hands. Qi from the environment started to gather above them. Then the Qi started to separate. Eventually there was only Wood Qi above her palms. Then, narrowing her eyes, Foria moved her hands a bit and the Wood Qi started burning up, turning into Fire Qi. Faust watched on. It was rough. Very rough. The separation of Qi was done poorly which is what made the burning so difficult and prevented a small Qi fire from appearing above her palms.

"Not bad. Good progress, but don't force progress. Focus on the first step, separating the different Qi's from the environment." Faust commented before pulling a book and a small bag out of his spatial pouch and handing them to Foria.

"This is the Reflected Mirror Sword Technique, a derivative of the Clear Mirror Sword technique which is derived from the Starry Sky Sword which was derived from the Holy Sea Sword technique. It should suit you." Faust explained. Each derivative stripped away more and more parts of the technique until all that was left was a really plain but highly efficient defensive sword technique. Previously, Faust couldn't give his little sister any techniques sourced from the sect apart from the ones he had made himself.

"These are some supplementary resources. High grade Qi Sensing pills, Qi burst pills, some low grade spirit stones and some qi gems that I've filled with a single type of qi to help you get a feel for each one." Faust gestured to the bag.

"Is having backing so helpful…" Tao muttered.

"My, don't be so jealous just yet. I get far more than that." Aneroze helpfully supplied. Faust ignored them.

"Then. Don't follow this bastard anywhere dangerous and I'll see you again in a few months." Faust said, turning to leave. Foria suddenly wrapped her arms around Faust, hugging him. He paused.

"You're part of the sect now you know. We'll see each other all the time. After I return from study at the Grand Archive I'll be out and around the sect for a while." He rubbed Foria's back a bit before she let go.

"Habit." She said, looking away. Faust let a soft smile cross his face, before turning to Aneroze.

"Please, take care of my sister and don't let this playboy trick her into something stupid."

"My, my, you worry far too much." Aneroze waved him off with her fan. Faust nodded, then turned away calmly and returned to Purple Gem mountain. Faust checked his supply, then nodded. Rozaline had supplied enough for the rest of his Inner Palace foundation. He found the stone pedestal with a stone disk on the top, green vines and dry weeds curling around it. Twisting the disk he felt the Qi around him change as the formation around the manor moved.

Turning the disk to the third position, Faust felt around with his Qi sense for the array lines, then nodded. The formation was locked, with its alert function disabled. Perusing through more of his materials, Faust pulled out some formation flags and items, placing them around the courtyard. A Qi gathering formation, a second protection formation, a meditation formation, Faust placed flags, Qi emitting stones, some gold braziers with special coal.

To the side of the array, Faust pushed a large chest and filled it with Spirit Stones. At the Meridian opening realm, it wasn't possible to create enough of his own Qi pressure to reach the density he wanted in his spirit body. Now, at the Open Palace realm, Faust didn't have to worry about it. With the help of another, much simpler refining formation based on the Mountain Weighted Refinement array, which had been across from the Jade Crushing Refinement Array.

The two arrays were similar, but there were differences in their nuances. The Jade Crushing Refinement array was more targeted and specific at the cost of weight, with numerous other auxiliary effects. The Mountain Weighted Refinement array was purely pressure, with no other auxiliary effects. The sun had passed its zenith and begun to set by the time Faust finished setting up all the formations and arrays. He stopped to admire the orange and violet hues the covered the sky.

"Huuu…" Faust exhaled deeply. He looked around, between the green plants illuminated in soft golden light and the run down courtyard walls, which cast long shadows across the overgrown backyard of the manor; To the formation items scattered around and the polished wooden boxes filled with the external materials he had chosen for his Inner Palace foundation. Faust added doing some weeding and maintenance to the manor and courtyard walls to his list of things to do after his seclusion. It was time.

Faust placed a meditation mat in the center of a cleared stone plate at the center of the backyard. He sucked in a deep breath and then closed his eyes, settling his heart and adjusting his mindset.