Ji Lingxi was dazed for a moment before she quickly arrived at a semblance of comprehension. Still, she forced a smile as she answered, "Sister Lingxiu is gentle in temperament but determined in character. She's a warrior. She is made of ice when facing the enemy, but demure with her loved ones. Any man would be attracted to her. Yes, I am jealous, but more than that, I am happy."
"Sincerely?" Aunt Mei asked staring at her
"Sincerely!" Ji Lingxi answered earnestly.
The lady was dazed, pondering for a moment before commenting in a low voice, "Not bad, you're really not bad at all."
Ji Lingxi smiled and said, "Actually, we have seen Sister Lingxiu's worry during this time and we feel anxious as well. However, the matter of individual foundation isn't something that can be resolved with urgency. We're unable to rectify it, even when we wanted to. After all, the intended results can hardly be reached in a short time, no matter we pile it up with heaven and earth resources or construct a fantastic cultivation environment. Now that Sister Lingxiu is under the tutelage of Aunt Mei, this shortcoming can be overcome in the shortest time possible. We can only be happy for her."
"This is true. Even when her basics are weak, I have ways to fulfill it for her when she's my disciple. What follows is but the adaptative process of the state of mind from ordeals and experiences. Maybe, a long time later in the future, Lingxiu's cultivation base will be higher than the both of yours," Aunt Mei said, nodding after making a humming sound in her throat.
Ji Lingxi asked hopefully, "Aunt Mei, your prowess is legendary, your cultivation base even more so. I wonder how is it compared to the First Master of the Ninth Abyss."
The corners of Aunt Mei's lips twitched subconsciously as she answered, "That First Master of the Ninth Abyss… My cultivation base is already quite extraordinary, but to fight him head-on, there's a substantial gap between our skills. I'm never one to put myself down, but the reality is such."
"The First Master you mentioned earlier… blowing the stars and moon in a breath… the force is unimaginable…" said Ji Lingxi worriedly.
Aunt Mei nodded and said, "This is not all to his mastery. Perhaps, I should say that if this is all to his mastery, I wouldn't have been so worried… Actually, the so-called blowing off stars and moon is more or less like this."
As she spoke, her arm waved about as she cried out, "Flip day and night!"
Then, Ji Lingxi saw the sun that was hanging in the sky set in a hurry before a round moon appeared in its place, surrounded by twinkling stars.
The swift change, day turning so quickly into night, had taken place at the behest of the lady's words!
The entire Tiantang City was in utter chaos at the sudden and unexpected phenomenon.
Ji Lingxi was dumbstruck as she murmured, "This is the upturning of the sun and moon – the reversal of the stars?"
Aunt Mei chuckled. "You're limited by your experience now. You think too naively. What I've done is just to illustrate more clearly what it means to blow the stars away…"
She took a pause and pointed to a certain place, saying, "Do you see it, a rather dull star beside the moon?"
"Yes, what is that…" Ji Lingxi's eyes followed the finger as she asked.
Aunt Mei was still as gentle as she answered, "This is what blowing the star away looks like."
Then, she pursed her lips and blew.
A ray of white light shot out and vanished. Within heartbeats, Ji Lingxi could see the dull star suddenly explode in the nightfall, becoming a shower of light in the sky.
A dazzling meteor shower appeared in the vast sky.
Ji Lingxi's jaw fell as her eyes almost bulged out of her sockets. Her mind was an absolute blank.
A single cry and day and night had swapped places! A breath and a star had exploded into a meteor shower! These were all man-made! They were nothing but the result of a holler, an exhalation!
Aunt Mei spoke softly, "Only when one's cultivation base reaches this stage can it be said that it has arrived at a certain standard."
Ji Lingxi's scalp tingled while she shuddered, unable to answer with words.
"The First Master's capability is much stronger than mine," Aunt Mei said lightly.
Ji Lingxi suddenly felt like the future path was far beyond reach. It was not that there was no hope, but the route was dark and grim. Aunt Mei's cultivation base was already an accomplished realm where people in this world could not understand and had nowhere to comprehend; so much so that they could not even imagine it. Yet, the First Master of the Ninth Abyss was even more skilled than her.
When could her parents be rescued then? Even when Yun Yang was added to the team, whenever could they fight him?
Thinking of this, tears involuntarily escaped Ji Lingxi's eyes.
"Let me tell you one thing more," Aunt Mei said softly, "Don't ask how far you have to go still, just move forward with perseverance! Yun Yang has the potential to reach that stage - as do you. It's up to you whether you can make it or not."
'Yun Yang has the potential to reach that stage – as do you!' The encouragement Ji Lingxi felt from these words was tremendous.
Her head lifted instantly. "Really? You're not bluffing?"
Aunt Mei grinned. "Why should I lie to you? Don't you feel the change within your own body? This is the power your father put into you. More so, you've only gotten one-thousandth of that energy from him…"
"I understand, Aunt Mei." Ji Lingxi's eyes sparkled.
"In the future, I'll let Shangguan Lingxiu go with the both of you to fight that… person… The First Master of the Ninth Abyss."
She had wanted to say 'that devil' like how it was mentioned in the psychic voice, but she refrained from it upon consideration; after all, it would be blinding her conscience. She even felt a little sorry as the First Master had become the imaginary monster of a few youths without himself knowing it. It was an ill fate.
'You've even borrowed the Bound of Universe for your set up then, nurturing a complementing league partner with so much ecstasy. However, you don't know that everything's changed now, do you?'
'Not only are you carrying the other's burden, but you've also cultivated yourself a strong enemy…'
'What friends have you been making? Other than deceiving each other, you're manipulating each other – this isn't even comparable to making a bad choice in friendship!'
'This is the representation of a severe failure of being a man!'
Yet, once Aunt Mei recalled how the First Master had tricked her husband previously, she was relieved of the regrets, thinking, 'Who else would I trick if not you? Who's to blame for your failure as a man and spreading hostility everywhere?'
'These people are striking together, including your own now; these are the troubles you made for yourself… How can you fight so many people alone?'
'Ah, how ignorant you are of your own life and death...'