"That was amazing!" Ming Yue blurted out as she looked at the split rock in front of her.
"Not bad." Jun Xi nodded in agreement.
Ming Yue turned toward Jun Xi and suddenly clasped her fist and bowed and then said, "Thank you, Master!"
Jun Xi flicked a finger against her forehead.
"Ouch!"
Seeing her rubbing her forehead with that frowning look on her face, Jun Xi couldn't help but smile. "As a gift for succeeding in forming your demonic core you can now refine the ring on your finger. Once it's refined you can use it to store items."
"Oh!" Ming Yue raised her delicate hand and looked at the ring on her finger. So it has more functions besides hiding my demonic aura, she thought, then she asked, "How do I do that?"
"I'll show you, but first..." Jun Xi made a series of hand seals then pointed toward eight directions around them and suddenly an octagonal cage made of energy that glowed in yellow appeared around them.
"What's that?" Ming Yue looked at the cage made of energy with amazement.
"It's just a temporary formation that will hide your demonic aura while I help you refine the ring. Now, remove the ring and hold it in your hand." Jun Xi said.
Ming Yue removed the ring when suddenly Jun Xi grabbed her other hand, but before she had the time to blush, Jun Xi cut one of her fingers. Then he moved the bleeding finger over to the ring where it dropped a drop of blood onto the ring.
Ming Yue put the bleeding finger into her mouth and sucked on it while she cast an angry look at Jun Xi.
"Now perform this hand seal and point toward the ring." Jun Xi made a series of single-handed seals.
It looked really complicated and it wasn't until her 100ths attempt she managed to succeed. Once again a familiar trail of hot energy was formed as demoni qi rushed along her meridians and shot out of her finger and onto the ring. As the thin string of energy landed on the bloodied ring there was a humble glow before the blood together with the glow was absorbed by the ring. As this process finished, Ming Yue felt something different about herself but she couldn't point towards what.
"You can now wear the ring again." Jun Xi said. "Use your inner sense to look at and add or remove contents from the ring."
Ming Yue wore the ring again. Then she focused on it and felt her consciousness being drawn to it, so she let herself be pulled inside.
The space inside the ring was completely different from her dantian. Here she was in a small space where the walls, floor, and ceiling looked like they were made of broken mirrors and reflected everything back and forth in a confusing way. There was no light so the space and the mirrors were completely black, yet she could easily see herself and a few items floating inside the space.
Among the items were a few jade bottles. She grabbed one and then felt herself pull out of the space. Back in the real world a small white jade bottle was in her right hand.
She pulled the stopper and sniffed gently. She recognized this smell, it was the same as those pills Jun Xi gave her every night to restore her fatigue. She then put back the stopper and felt like she could make it disappear into the space in her ring with a single thought, so that's what she did. Suddenly the bottle disappeared from her hand. She was amazed! So she didn't have to enter the space with her consciousness to put things back, maybe she could do the same to pull things out. So she imagined herself pulling out the same bottle again and once again it appeared in her right hand.
"This is fun!" Ming Yue said as she kept pulling out and putting things back into the space. Then she bent down and picked up a few stones and twigs and did the same with them.
Jun Xi, who stood beside her watching her pulling and putting things into her ring, could only shake his head. Then he quietly left without Ming Yue noticing.
Ming Yue spent several hours pulling and putting things in her ring. Once she got bored of the smaller items, she moved to another area and began putting and pulling chairs, tables, flower pots, and various garden decorations into the ring's space. She felt like a magician and it was exhilarating!
About an hour later the day had turned to evening and the sun were about to set. The clouds in the sky formed streaks of orange, red, purple, and pink and looked like the dry brush strokes on a painting.
When Ming Yue walked past the small stone pavilion, Jun Xi called her over.
Jun Xi held up a pair of golden bell accessories and said, "This is a treasure called the Twin Bells of Fate. It will ring if the wearer of the other bell is in mortal danger and it will ring quieter the closer they are to each other. Wear it at all times." Then he suddenly pulled her towards him and tied one of the bells to her belt.
Seeing him from above and so close to her belly, she wanted to rub his head and embrace him, but she didn't dare.
"Have a seat," Jun Xi said and waited for her to sit down on the other stone stool. Then he said, "Now that you've formed your demonic core and can control your transformation, it's time for you to become a little more independent. Explore the sect, go on a few missions, and make some friends. What do you think?"
Ming Yue turned silent as she thought deeply. This was a big step for her as she was in a strange new world where everything was so unknown and magical. Not to mention the insecurities that came with being a demon and not a human. All this time Jun Xi had shielded her and protected her and had been at her side at all times, and with his strength and confidence around her she never felt afraid. But now he was asking her to become more independent and to go out and explore the world on her own. It was truly frightening! But she had to do it, she couldn't spend the rest of her life inside the walls of this pavilion and never go out. Though, that didn't seem too bad either.
"I will listen to you! " She said with resolve.