On the morning of New Year's Eve, Yang Feilong bid farewell after breakfast at the Luo family's residence.
Although Luo Xiangning wished Yang Feilong would stay, it wasn't appropriate for him to spend the New Year there. After all, they weren't officially a couple. Of course, keeping him would have been fine; the entire Luo family hoped Yang Feilong would stay for the festivities. However, Yang Feilong already had other plans.
She found it difficult to insist he stay.
Not long after, Yang Feilong returned to his adoptive parents' home in the county town.
He decided he wanted to have the reunion dinner on New Year's Eve with his parents and Qingqing first, and then head to the mountain monastery to see in the New Year with his master.
His adoptive parents and Qingqing felt some regret but didn't push the issue. Compared to the past decade, this year was already much better, being able to share a reunion dinner together on New Year's Eve.
"Take these things with you to eat with your master on the mountain," Li Jingyun said, packing large bags and boxes for Yang Feilong and placing them in his car's trunk.
"Okay," Yang Feilong nodded, not wanting to disappoint his adoptive mother's earnest wishes.
"Brother, goodbye." Yang Qingqing hugged Yang Feilong, her face filled with reluctance. However, unlike their last parting, there was no romantic kiss this time. After that incident, their parents had lectured her severely about being too unreserved as a girl.
Yang Feilong gently patted his sister's hair and chuckled, "We'll see each other again soon, I'll be back in a few days."
"Mhm," Yang Qingqing nodded.
Finally, they watched Yang Feilong start his car and disappear into the night.
...
Baiyun Mountain, the monastery.
It was New Year's Eve. In the Ouyang family's pocket dimension, tens of kilometers from Baiyun Mountain, everyone had returned home. After all, they could cultivate in this pocket dimension anytime. With the New Year approaching, they couldn't continue their training.
It would be fine to return after the New Year.
Even though they had only cultivated there for less than a week, the effects on their cultivation had been significant.
The spiritual energy concentration in the pocket dimension was, of course, far from comparable to that of the spiritual realm. However, compared to absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones, it was several times better.
This also illustrated how effective cultivation was in the spiritual realm. It was also why many cultivation families in the spiritual realm occupied such places, preventing people from the secular world from easily entering and cultivating there.
Of course, even within the spiritual realm, not all places offered cultivation speeds far exceeding those of the pocket dimension.
Some locations offered cultivation effects comparable to the pocket dimension, while areas with extremely dense spiritual energy were occupied by powerful cultivation families and forces.
"Why are you back?" Bai Yidie asked, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes, a mixture of curiosity and something harder to discern, as she saw Yang Feilong return to the monastery.
Clearly, on a night like this, seeing the disciple she had raised by her side brought her happiness.
"I missed you!" Yang Feilong said with a playful smile.
"Be serious." Bai Yidie glared at Yang Feilong, chiding him.
"Master, don't you love me anymore? You weren't like this before." Yang Feilong put on a pitiful act.
"Say another word like that, and I'll throw you out." Bai Yidie wasn't going to indulge Yang Feilong.
"Alright!" Yang Feilong shrugged helplessly. "My parents prepared some food and drinks. Let's have some and eat, consider it our New Year's Eve reunion meal!"
"You're coming this late; you must have already eaten with your parents, right?" Bai Yidie asked.
"I had a little!" Yang Feilong nodded, not hiding anything.
Bai Yidie didn't say much more, merely nodding. "Let's go to the back mountain."
"Mhm," Yang Feilong replied. Eating the reunion meal in the back mountain wasn't the first time they had done this, so he wasn't surprised.
Perhaps, eating the reunion meal in the back mountain was a custom from his master's hometown? Or maybe it held some special significance.
Yang Feilong had asked before, but his master refused to tell him the reason. When he asked again later, his master stared at him intently, and he didn't dare to press further, sensing some hidden emotions in her gaze.
The back mountain was, in fact, within the monastery grounds.
The monastery was vast; Yang Feilong had no idea how his master had built it.
How did he know his master built it, rather than hiring someone? It was Yang Feilong's guess, of course. The monastery was seamlessly constructed. Even with his full power, his attacks on the ground could barely leave a crack.
How could an ordinary person build such an extraordinary monastery?
In the back mountain, in front of a low tea table, Yang Feilong and Bai Yidie sat cross-legged on the ground, drinking wine and admiring the moon.
Why were they sitting on the ground? Yang Feilong wouldn't ask why; his master always did it this way.
This master had told him that in her hometown, there was such a custom. Well, he had been raised by his master, so he had to follow the local customs.
Bai Yidie took gentle sips of wine, occasionally eating a bit of food, but mostly gazing at the bright moon. Tonight, the moon was a slender crescent, appearing particularly charming. However, her expression was as always, a mixture of countless memories, confusion, pain, and even resentment.
Yang Feilong sighed as he watched Bai Yidie, lost in thought.
He wanted to understand his master, but from his childhood until now, his master remained a mystery to him. Yet, as he grew older, Yang Feilong learned from their daily interactions that most of his master's relatives were likely deceased, and possibly not from natural causes. Otherwise, her eyes wouldn't hold such resentment alongside the memories.
Yang Feilong didn't inquire directly but spoke slowly, "Master, I forgot to tell you earlier, I've found my birth father. And I also know some information about my birth mother."
"You found your birth father? And news of your mother?" Bai Yidie looked at Yang Feilong in surprise.
She was aware that Yang Shan and Li Jingyun were Yang Feilong's adoptive parents.
"Yes." Yang Feilong then briefly explained the situation with his parents.
"Your birth father is in the Innate realm? He has the Sun Physique? And your mother was already Innate at seventeen or eighteen?" Bai Yidie's expression showed only slight astonishment, not extreme surprise. "Your mother might have the Taiyin Physique, which is why she could give birth to a descendant like you with the Yin-Yang Physique."
Yang Feilong nodded.
He had asked his father, and his mother indeed had the Taiyin Physique.
In truth, if both his parents had grown up in the spiritual realm, his father might have broken through to the Innate realm at seventeen or eighteen, instead of barely achieving it at forty. Calculating from when he started cultivating at five or six, he had lost more than half of his cultivation time.