Chapter 922: Within His Grasp
Chapter 922: Within His Grasp
"You insolent beast!"
Fury ignited within Huo Jingtong.
She had warned him, pleaded with him, to behave himself before she left.
But not only had her wretched student ignored her, he had escalated his debauchery, corrupting every last disciple on Crystal Moon Peak!
If word of this ever got out...
The thought of the consequences made the world spin, darkness clouding her vision.
"I can't indulge him any longer. He must be taught a harsh lesson!"
With that thought, Huo Jingtong gathered a sliver of moonlight in her right hand—a tenth of her full power—and struck at Li Qing.
She was a Soul Transformation cultivator, after all. Even a tenth of her strength was far too much for Li Qing, who had only just entered the Nascent Soul stage, to withstand.
If she injured him...
Just as Huo Jingtong considered pulling back her power, something happened that left her utterly stunned.
A crescent moon rose behind Li Qing, its glow casting his already handsome features in an ethereal light, making him look like a celestial being.
And the sliver of moonlight she had unleashed was effortlessly blocked by him!
"Impossible! A half-moon manifestation... That's a sign of mastery in the *Moonlight Myriad Transformations*! Only a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator should be capable of that! How long have I been gone?" A tumultuous mix of shock and delight surged through Huo Jingtong, causing her vital energy to churn.
The turmoil aggravated her internal injuries, her face turned deathly pale, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Seeing this, Li Qing was at her side in a flash, his hands steadying her shoulders. His face was a mask of anxiety and concern. "Master, you're injured?"
"Let me heal you!"
"Hmph, I am a Soul Transformation cultivator. Do I need..." Huo Jingtong's words were cut short by an involuntary moan.
A current of pure Yin energy flowed from Li Qing's searing palms into her body. Huo Jingtong felt a tingling sensation spread through her, as if a thousand ants were crawling over her skin, both numbing and electrifying.
But her Soul Transformation cultivation was formidable, and she quickly suppressed the strange feeling. Her focus shifted to the ceaseless stream of pure energy her disciple was channeling into her, and astonishment filled her heart.
Once inside, this pure Yin energy acted as a catalyst, stirring her own moonlight power into surging waves. After a tumultuous entanglement, the Yin energy completely merged with her vast reserves of moonlight power.
And her moonlight power, which Huo Jingtong had considered nearly perfect, became even more refined after this fusion. It even seemed to be tinged with the faint, profound aura of the Great Dao itself!
This was a sign of breaking through to the Dao Integration stage!
Words could not describe the shock and confusion swirling within Huo Jingtong's mind.
A thought even surfaced in her mind: how wonderful it would be if Li Qing's transfer of pure Yin energy never stopped.
As the two energies intertwined and her long-stagnant cultivation began to climb, Huo Jingtong's consciousness slowly began to drift.
An unknown amount of time passed...
Li Qing removed his hands from Huo Jingtong's back.
"Master..."
he called out softly, looking at the still dazed Huo Jingtong.
Huo Jingtong snapped back to reality, a crimson blush instantly flooding her cheeks.
"My injuries are healed. You may leave now."
A flutter of panic in her heart, Huo Jingtong said hastily.
"Then I am relieved." Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and departed.
Watching Li Qing's swift retreat, Huo Jingtong couldn't help but feel a flicker of annoyance.
...
From that day forward, a peculiar tension, an unspoken affection, began to spread between master and disciple.
But Li Qing never broke the delicate silence, always maintaining the image of an obedient disciple who revered his master.
Behind her back, however, his corruption of Crystal Moon Peak never ceased.
Huo Jingtong's spiritual sense covered the entire mountain, and she saw everything that transpired.
It was still utterly preposterous, but what was done was done. Could she truly kill all her disciples?
Besides, Li Qing hadn't lied. Under the influence of that wondrous Yin energy, the progress of her disciples was plain to see.
So, Huo Jingtong could only let it be, allowing Li Qing to do as he pleased.
She even took the initiative to set up a formation to conceal his activities, preventing cultivators from other peaks from discovering the truth.
Nourished by the pure Yin energy of the *Scripture of Reversing Order*, everyone on Crystal Moon Peak enjoyed their pleasure while their cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
Only Huo Jingtong did not partake in these benefits.
And Li Qing, for his part, acted as if he had no improper thoughts about his master whatsoever; his every action was impeccably proper.
And so, two years passed in the blink of an eye.
At the summit of Crystal Moon Peak, within a secluded cultivation chamber.
Huo Jingtong watched nervously as Li Qing sat before her, enveloped in a vortex of vast spiritual energy. Her heart was a tangle of complex emotions.
"Just over two years, and he's already attempting to break through to Soul Transformation."
"Such a cultivation speed is simply unheard of."
"If he succeeds, won't his cultivation be equal to mine? If he were to force the issue..."
Huo Jingtong's mind was in chaos.
At that moment, a gale swept through the chamber as a majestic aura erupted from Li Qing.
Then, it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
"He... actually succeeded?!" Huo Jingtong stared at Li Qing, her mind reeling.
"Thank you, Master, for guarding me!" Li Qing bowed respectfully, his demeanor refined and courteous.
Huo Jingtong, however, turned away, avoiding his bow.
According to the rules of the Great Dao Sect, once a disciple's cultivation level matched or surpassed their master's, they could address each other as peers.
Of course, if one valued tradition and respect, they could choose to maintain the master-disciple relationship regardless of strength.
Li Qing smiled faintly. "Even if I achieve Longevity one day, in my heart, you will always be my master. My only master."
Hearing this, Huo Jingtong's body trembled slightly.
Gazing at Li Qing's sincere face, she couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.
"Come. Crystal Moon Peak has another Soul Transformation cultivator. Such joyous news should be shared with the others." Li Qing stepped forward and gently took Huo Jingtong's flawless, jade-like hand.
Huo Jingtong struggled for a moment, a token resistance, but did not break free.
And so, she resisted no more.
On Crystal Moon Peak, a day was lost to rapturous indulgence.
And when passions ran deep, even Huo Jingtong could not escape the inevitable.
That night, when everyone else had fallen into a deep sleep.
Li Qing felt the immense Yin energy he had drawn from Huo Jingtong's body—a power unlike any he had ever absorbed before—and nodded in satisfaction.
"The feedback from a Soul Transformation cultivator is truly extraordinary."
"This vast font of Yin essence is enough to support my rapid cultivation in the Soul Transformation stage for some time."
"But it's not enough!"
Following this leap in power, Li Qing's ambition swelled.
He began to set his sights on the other female cultivators of the Moonlight Lineage.
"Only the Longevity stage is my ultimate goal."
Bathed in moonlight, Li Qing cast no shadow.
His face was hidden in the darkness of the night, its expression unreadable.
The next day, upon waking, Huo Jingtong pulled Li Qing into secluded cultivation with her.
The bottleneck that had imprisoned and plagued her for so many years had finally loosened, just a little, after the previous night's impact.
Huo Jingtong had a premonition: her own ascension to the Dao Integration stage was not far off.
——
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