The Fallen Consort

A powerful force blasted out from the east courtyard.

"Finally im at the 2nd Rank of Qi Condensation." As she stabilized her energy inside her dantian.

After an hour, she exhaled and stretched her body.

"Congratulations Ling'er" Mu Xin came inside her room. He smiled at her adoringly.

"Now that you've had a breakthrough, I am at ease. You may get out of the Abyss anytime, I will get rid of the formation when you go back. I already talked to Tefei, he will be waiting for you to make a contract." He rubbed her hair gently.

"Finally! FREEDOM!" Yi Ling raised both of her arms in the air and said jokingly. Mu Xin shook his head and sent Yi Ling back to the Abyss.

-----

Tefei was outside her makeshift tent, waiting for her. Yi Ling wasn't able to have a good look at Tefei ever since he showed her the Ring. Tefei now had an aura of a 5th Rank of Qi Condensation. She didn't know how Tefei got stronger though.

Yi Ling took her dagger out and made a small cut on her finger. Tefei came closer and allowed her put the blood into his forehead.

At the contact, Yi Ling got dizzy. Tefei was now her contracted beast. She can now feel Tefei's emotion and would be able to communicate with him telepathically. Mu Xin told her before that Tefei will be able to talk and conjure a human appearance, once Tefei reached the Nascent Stage. She felt that Tefei's aura seems familiar, like an long lost old friend. She rubbed her temples. That wouldn't make sense.

"Bring Tefei inside the Ring, It'll frighten the people when they see him" Mu Xin interrupted her thoughts. Humanity and Spiritual beasts went against each other after all. She whisk her sleeve towards Tefei and he disappeared.

"I need to find more herbs to fasten my growth and to unlock the Second Seal. You told me that the closest herb market is at Feng Kingdom. Do you know the way?" She asked Mu Xin in her mind.

A green light came out of Yi Ling's body. "I will guide you master." Linyu clasped his fist and bowed. Even though his past master wasn't able to bring him out of the Ring ever, He was well verse of Huaxia. This was an inborn ability that he had, being connected to the Land itself. He will never get lost.

"Alright, Thanks Yu'er." she smiled.

-----

Mu Xin removed the formation surrounding the Abyss. Remembering this, he won't be able to suppress Yi Ling's aura towards the attraction that she brings to any kinds of beast. He didn't dare tell her about this, she will lose her carefree attitude. He didn't wanna scare her. He'd rather have Linyu accompany her, so that Linyu can prevent any situation that was out of hands.

Linyu was at the 2nd rank of Nascent Stage. That's why he was able to conjure a human like appearance. Though he can hide his spiritual herb aura, it will not be able to fool anyone above the Emergent Stage. But for now, they didn't have to worry about it. The lesser the spiritual energy in the area, the less likely to meet anyone who is strong either.

Yi Ling can still vividly remember the painful accidents that her appearance caused. So before heading out, Linyu handed her a mask. He told her that Mu Xin made it for her. It was much better than her makeshift mask.

This mask was built from wood, the silver and gold hue mixed with a light brown color of the wood was magical. There was also a rose shaped sapphire jade on its forehead. A dark blue color traced around the area where her eyes was going to be. Everything was covered except for her eyes.

Just then, Mu Xin's voice came into her head.

"This is the Eternal Oak's inner bark. When you wear this, It can mask your skin's appearance. Making you have a light tan skin and slightly rough surface. Your face will still look the same inside the mask. This is part of Linyu's powers. I also added the Sapphire Jade, this one is from me. It will hide your Cultivation Aura from anybody when you're not using powers. So people will not think that you are a Qi Cultivator. When you remove your mask off though, you will return to your original appearance and aura. You might as well be the cause of calamity to mankind. So be aware." He smirked. Yi Ling can feel that he trying to lighten her mood.

"The rest is up to you, I can only help you this much. I know you like dressing up like a man" He teased.

Yi Ling's mouth twitched. This jerk is teasing me endlessly, but he helped her so much too. she thought. It sounded like a Pandora's box, but a mask instead. She thought it was ironic, her beautiful appearance as her inner demons.

"Thank you Mu Xin and you too Yu'er", she looked at Linyu. He was taller than her, he look around 18. Dressed up like a young master from a noble family. Thinking that Linyu didn't even know his age and was way ahead of Mu Xin's arrival in the Blue Rose Palace. He was definitely not 18, she thought.

After fixing herself up. She tied her hair up and got her ruggedly clothes on. As she put on the mask, Her skin did look tanner and rougher. She now looked like a servant boy beside Linyu. Seeing the satisfied look on Yi Ling's eyes, Linyu pulled out his own mask. It was a different from hers, It was Half silver and Half Gold , split in the middle. There was also a green color traced around the area where his eyes were. It look lovely with his gray eyes. His appearance was the same though, nothing changed. So she didn't know if it has powers too or not. She didn't wanna bother herself with this.

She then left the Abyss with Linyu.