Chapter 921: Like a Wolf in the Sheep Pen
Before long, Wei Lu and his entourage followed the trail and found the two women.
But they never imagined that in such a short span of time, the prey they had been pursuing had turned the tables to become the hunter.
After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, Li Qing's combat prowess had skyrocketed.
Her attacks were vicious, even inflicting more damage than Sima Jing, who was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
This group of pursuers, after all, was merely a band of mercenaries hired for a job.
Seeing that the tide had turned against them, they immediately began to have second thoughts.
Wei Lu, however, grew frantic and blocked their path.
During that brief moment of confrontation, Li Qing seized the perfect opportunity to strike, forcing the hidden Wei Lu out from the shadows and exposing his true identity.
Exposed, Wei Lu’s face contorted in shock.
Having reached this point, a peaceful resolution was impossible.
Wei Lu hardened his heart, promising his entire fortune to persuade the wavering mercenaries to fight once more.
The two sides clashed again.
With their opponents no longer holding back, Li Qing and Sima Jing were immediately put on the defensive.
At a critical moment, Li Qing seemed to experience another breakthrough in the heat of battle, causing the supreme Yin energy in the Yin Wind Valley to erupt violently.
The two seized the chance to escape.
What followed was a protracted series of hit-and-run battles as Li Qing and Sima Jing fought and retreated, then retreated and fought again.
They honed their skills through combat.
Throughout this ordeal, their coordination became increasingly seamless. It was as if their minds were linked, and their combined attacks nearly doubled their effective power.
Finally, by using the terrain of the Yin Wind Valley to their advantage, they managed to turn the tables and eliminate their pursuers.
Staring at the disgust in Sima Jing’s eyes, Wei Lu’s mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something.
But before he could utter a word, Li Qing had already obliterated him, grinding his bones to ash.
With the crisis resolved, Li Qing helped Sima Jing complete her sect's trial mission.
Together, they returned to the sect.
As for the events in the Yin Wind Valley, although Wei Lu had been the aggressor, they had killed him to vent their rage.
To avoid punishment from the sect, Li Qing persuaded Sima Jing to keep the matter a secret.
The disappearance of Wei Lu, a mere Foundation Establishment disciple, drew little attention and was soon forgotten.
Though the two were already inseparable, they knew they had to be more restrained in public.
Sima Jing returned to the inner sect to report to her master.
At the same time, she began to scheme, wondering how she could convince her master to accept Li Qing as a disciple. That way, they could see each other much more often.
Meanwhile, Li Qing concealed her identity and slipped into the market. Using the spirit stones looted from Wei Lu and his men, she purchased several pills to hide her cultivation level.
Half a month later, Sima Jing’s master, Huo Jingtong, finally relented under her disciple's incessant pleading and agreed to meet Li Qing.
It seemed that Huo Jingtong was still somewhat troubled by the fact that Li Qing had been castrated and had transitioned from male to female.
However, all these reservations vanished the moment she laid eyes on Li Qing.
Li Qing knelt in the hall, head bowed, awaiting Huo Jingtong’s questions.
To her surprise, a long time passed without a word. Just as Li Qing began to think her plan had failed, she dared to look up, only to find the master staring at her, completely captivated.
"Ahem." Huo Jingtong was a Soul Transformation cultivator, after all, and possessed far more composure than the young Sima Jing.
"Jing'er has told me everything. You may go."
She didn't give Li Qing an answer on the spot, her voice remaining placid.
Li Qing bowed respectfully and turned to leave.
But from the way the master’s spiritual sense remained locked on her, Li Qing knew her success was assured.
Sure enough, seven days later, she received a notice from the sect. She had been formally accepted as Huo Jingtong's disciple.
The female disciples of the outer sect were reluctant to see Li Qing leave.
But they offered her their silent blessings.
Li Qing, in turn, promised to visit them often.
After a flurry of emotional goodbyes, Li Qing moved into the Moonlight Mountain Range.
Missing Li Qing so dearly, many of the outer sect disciples threw themselves into their cultivation. A surprising number of them broke through long-standing bottlenecks and were also accepted into the inner sect, fulfilling their wish to visit Li Qing frequently.
But that is a story for another time.
Huo Jingtong's lineage resided on Crystal Moon Peak, within the Moonlight Mountain Range.
It was not far from Cold Moon Peak, the residence of Senior Sister Zhao.
However, Zhao Ruoxi was currently in seclusion, so Li Qing had no intention of paying a visit.
On Crystal Moon Peak, there were over a hundred female disciples.
The vast majority of them were virgins, innocent in the ways of the world.
For Li Qing, arriving here was like a mouse falling into a vat of cream.
Yet, with tremendous willpower, she restrained herself from any mischief.
Instead, she immediately began cultivating the technique taught by Huo Jingtong.
It was the true legacy of the Moonlight lineage: the *Moonlight Myriad Transformations*.
Worthy of its status as a top-tier technique of the Great Dao Sect, it was far superior to any of the lesser arts Li Qing had previously collected.
Li Qing studied it again and again, unable to contain her delight.
And when she began to practice it, she was met with one pleasant surprise after another.
The pure Yin body, a result of the *Scripture of Reversing Order*, seemed to possess a unique, heaven-sent advantage for cultivating the *Moonlight Myriad Transformations*.
After just seven days in seclusion, she had already mastered the technique to a level matching her own realm—the early Golden Core stage.
Furthermore, Li Qing discovered that cultivating both techniques simultaneously placed no strain on her at all.
In fact, the two were complementary, mutually reinforcing each other.
This gave her, whose cultivation speed was already terrifyingly fast, even more room for improvement.
For a time, she spent her leisure hours with Sima Jing, but dedicated every other waking moment to her cultivation.
She didn't stop until both the *Scripture of Reversing Order* and the *Moonlight Myriad Transformations* had reached the peak of the early Golden Core stage.
A quick mental calculation left Li Qing stunned. A mere three months had passed.
For ordinary cultivators, progress after the Golden Core stage was measured in years.
A single period of seclusion could easily last over a decade.
For someone like her to advance from the initial Golden Core stage to its bottleneck in just three months—without relying on external aids and consuming very few spirit stones...
It was utterly unheard of!
The presence of a bottleneck, however, gave Li Qing a sliver of comfort.
"It seems my current pure Yin body is insufficient to continue cultivating the *Scripture of Reversing Order*."
"I need more, and purer, Yin energy."
A glint flashed in Li Qing's eyes.
The images of the hundreds of beautiful female disciples on Crystal Moon Peak—some voluptuous, some slender, each with a unique charm—floated into her mind.
They were all perfect fuel for her cultivation!
However, this was the inner sect of the Great Dao Sect.
Her early Golden Core cultivation was not nearly enough for her to act recklessly.
If she were caught, she would likely have her cultivation crippled and be expelled on the spot.
And so, Li Qing decided...
...to start right at the top of Crystal Moon Peak: with her master, the Soul Transformation cultivator, Huo Jingtong!
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