[Full Phase Golden Moon].
This was a Dao Charm Soul Technique that pulled upon the concepts of Yin and Cycles to display an extraordinary might.
The Dao of Cycles could be considered a lesser form of Daos of Space and Time, but when combined with Yin, it had great potential to be extremely potent.
The technique was divided into the phases of the moon: New Moon, Crescent Moon, Half Moon, Gibbous Moon and Full Moon.
When the technique is first cast, the mind or minds of a target becomes trapped in a perpetual cycle. Within that cycle, one is forced to face their death. Their souls are extracted and they must face the illumination of the Golden Moon.
According to the words left behind by the Frost Clan, the Golden Moon represented a cleansing tide, one that washed away the old to make way for the new. It was a contradictory yin technique that was especially potent against other yin techniques and targets with great yin affinity.
The soul was ultimately yin at its base while the body was yang at its base, for the most part. Women would tend to have a more yin leaning body while men would have the opposite. Likewise, women would tend to have more yang leaning souls and men were, also in this case, the opposite.
This was the first that Ryu had heard of this. He had always assumed that women were yin and men were yang. But when he thought about it, if it was truly 100% of the way no matter what, then what about those born with great Yin and Yang Constitutions?
People with such constitutions tended to be incredibly sick from birth. However, if they managed to overcome certain hurdles, they would flourish and advance by leaps and bounds extraordinarily quickly. This was because a so-called Yin Constitution or Yang Constitution was automatically considered to be a Great Circle Talent.
Such an individual was born with Meridians, Bloodlines, Spiritual Foundations and Bone Structures that all fell in line with either Yin or Yang. And, as such, they gained the benefits that a resonant Great Circle Talent would receive.
In addition to this, Great Circle Yin Constitution and Yang Constitution Talents tended to be more powerful than other Great Circle Talents of their level due to the synergy of their talents. For example, a Black Grade Great Circle of Yin Talent would be even more talented than a normal Earth Grade Great Circle talent.
Of course, the definitions that Sacrum had versus the True Martial World were different. This was because in the True Martial World, in order to be a "Great Circle Talent", one would also need the pillars of the Soul and the Dao as well, in addition to the Four Pillars Ryu was used to.
Ultimately, this made those with Yin and Yang Constitutions even rarer and even more valuable and talented.
So, why was all of this important? It was important because this balance of Yin and Yang was precisely the core Cycle that [New Phase Golden Moon] preyed upon.
To say one faced death when facing the Phases of the Golden Moon was to put it too simply. While that might be the ultimate result, it did a disservice to the beauty of the technique. The true power in the [New Phase Golden Moon] was in its ability to push and pull on Yin and Yang and shift the balance.
Everything, whether it was humans, beasts, other races, Spiritual Herbs, techniques, and even Dao, relied on a very specific balance of Yin and Yang. Much like the tides, [New Phase Golden Moon] could push and pull on these delicate balances, disrupting them and forcing them to shift.
This could be used to either strengthen attacks or even directly force them to collapse, and all of this was done through the manipulation of the soul.
At the lowest level, New Moon, the shifts were slight and weak. In addition, they were quick and temporary. It was impossible to cause any permanent or lasting changes. But when it came to a sudden use at an opportune time, it could be deadly.
At the middle level, Half Moon, the shifts were much grander and one can even begin affecting the very soul of a target. Once this level is reached, even forcing someone with a far weaker soul than your own into direct death is very much possible.
The balance of Yin and Yang of the soul is especially important not only to the livelihood of an individual, but it's even as fundamental as deciding their personality and the kind of person they are. When this is impaired, it can lead to hallucinations, poor judgment, and in the absolute worst cases: death.
When one reaches the highest level, Full Moon, souls can be directly extracted and extinguished. The golden lights of the Gold Moon can directly penetrate through defenses and "purify" the soul. Even those who manage to resist this somewhat will find themselves diverting more than half of their attention.
In this state, one can do almost as they please with an enemy's soul. They can distort their sense of time, render any soul techniques they might have useless, and ultimately, if an enemy runs out of stamina to fight back, they can be directly killed.
These matters were difficult for even Ryu to wrap his head around. Even the direct explanations of what the technique could do left him feeling uncomfortable. It wasn't a discomfort that came from a dislike of the technique, but rather a discomfort that came from not quite understanding the technique fully.
Of course, Ryu didn't think that he should just be able to grasp such a high level Dao Charm technique immediately. His experience with [Thirteen Soaring Azures], [Roaring Sky Serpent] and [Whispering Petals] and taught him to temper his expectations.
However, the fact of the matter was that understanding the path he should take with these techniques was quite simple.
The core of [Thirteen Soaring Azures] was great heat and oppressive cold. The core of [Roaring Sky Serpent] was vibrational comprehension and resonance. The core of [Whispering Petals] was elusivity and distorting an enemy's senses.
However, Ryu couldn't pinpoint the core of this technique at all.
It seemed simple enough. The Balance of Yin and Yang, and a comprehension of Cycles.
But even though Ryu could say as much, that didn't mean he could understand it.
It was all too obvious. He had finally met a technique far too complex for him to grasp.