Chapter 923: A Dream Must End
Half a month later.
At high noon, an immensely powerful aura suddenly erupted from Crescent Moon Peak, soaring into the sky.
It surged toward the heavens.
The sun's brilliance was instantly eclipsed as a luminous white moon materialized in the sky.
It was as if night had fallen upon the Great Dao Sect in a single moment. The celestial anomaly immediately captured the attention of everyone in the sect.
As everyone watched, an elegant figure in white emerged.
Her form was slender and graceful, as if she were an immortal maiden from the moon itself. At the sight of her, every disciple in the Great Dao Sect, man and woman alike, was momentarily mesmerized.
"Congratulations to Junior Sister Jingtong on her breakthrough to the Dao Integration realm!"
The resounding voice of Fang Dingge, the sect master of the Great Dao Sect, echoed throughout the mountains, followed by a chorus of cheers and congratulations.
What was more crucial was that Huo Jingtong had only been cultivating for less than a century.
She was astonishingly young.
In other words, as long as she avoided any reckless folly, she had a very real chance of one day consuming the Longevity Fruit.
A potential Longevity realm expert. The balance of power within the Great Dao Sect was about to shift dramatically.
A thousand thoughts raced through countless minds.
Snapping back to reality, they immediately dispatched their subordinates to prepare lavish gifts.
At Fang Dingge's behest, the celebration of Huo Jingtong's breakthrough to Dao Integration was a grand and lavish affair.
The entire sect joined in the festivities, and invitations were even sent out to the other nine of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
The festivities lasted for over a month before finally drawing to a close.
Once the celebrations had subsided, Huo Jingtong, now a Dao Integration cultivator, discreetly returned to Crescent Moon Peak.
"Master..." Li Qing had been waiting for some time.
He watched her approach, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Huo Jingtong knew in her heart that her breakthrough to the Dao Integration realm was entirely thanks to Li Qing's assistance.
"You wicked creature..."
"Have you ever tasted a Dao Integration cultivator before?"
Her eyes glazed over with a hazy look as she whispered, her words a stark contrast to her usual demeanor.
With a flick of her wrist, she cast a restrictive spell, sealing the door shut.
After a full seven days of seclusion, she finally left, her reluctance clear.
And indeed, the boon from a Dao Integration cultivator was beyond his wildest imagination.
Because Huo Jingtong had been imbued with the power of the Great Dao after her breakthrough, the Scripture of Reversing Order was able to connect with new principles of Heaven and Earth, beyond just the "Reversal of Yang and Yin."
The effect this time was even better than all the previous times combined.
It directly helped Li Qing, who had only recently advanced to Soul Transformation, break through to the middle stage of the realm.
He was another step closer to his goal.
After reaching Dao Integration, as the only existing expert of her realm in the Moonlight lineage, Huo Jingtong naturally became its true wielder of power.
Dao Integration cultivators possessed many privileges.
Not only could they claim an entire mountain peak as their private residence, but they also held the power of life and death over ordinary disciples.
And the Great Dao Sect placed immense trust in this Dao Integration cultivator who had grown up within its walls.
As a sign of their support for her to revive the Moonlight lineage, they even granted Huo Jingtong many permissions that other Dao Integration elders did not possess.
Thus, with absolute authority over the Moonlight lineage, Huo Jingtong gradually began to set her plan in motion.
After personally experiencing the terrifying nature of Li Qing's special constitution, and also being its greatest beneficiary...
Her stance had become completely aligned with Li Qing's.
Under various pretexts, she summoned the most outstanding female cultivators of the Moonlight lineage to her residence.
Then, it was Li Qing's turn to act.
Though there was an element of coercion, any reservations the women had vanished after they cultivated together and discovered a tangible increase in their own cultivation.
Thus, the last vestiges of dissatisfaction in their hearts instantly vanished without a trace.
They even took the initiative to keep it a secret, hoping to gain more opportunities in the future.
In this way, in less than a year, the Moonlight lineage fell completely under Li Qing's control.
As Li Qing's cultivation grew ever more profound, the strange atmosphere naturally attracted the attention of the few remaining male cultivators in the Moonlight lineage.
However, without any concrete evidence, and with the suppressing presence of a Dao Integration cultivator like Huo Jingtong...
They were helpless.
The only thing they could do was to proactively request missions away from the sect, hoping to escape the situation.
Huo Jingtong naturally granted all their requests.
With the departure of those few male cultivators, the Moonlight lineage finally fell completely into Li Qing and Huo Jingtong's hands.
Freely absorbing the Yin essence, Li Qing's cultivation surged forward by leaps and bounds, seemingly without any bottlenecks.
He stood at the peak of Soul Transformation.
He was only a step away from breaking through to Dao Integration.
"I need a new female Dao Integration cultivator to help me."
Li Qing announced slowly to Huo Jingtong in the privacy of their secret chamber.
Huo Jingtong stared at him for a long time before she finally nodded.
"There are not many female Dao Integration cultivators in the sect. Of them, Zhang Xiyu of the Guardian Court has the fewest connections, making her the most suitable target to approach."
Li Qing had already sized up the female Dao Integration cultivators in the Great Dao Sect.
"She's a recluse and rarely socializes. A perfect target, indeed. But she's a Dao Integration cultivator, after all..." A flicker of concern crossed Li Qing's eyes.
Huo Jingtong smiled. "Relax. It doesn't necessarily have to come to a fight."
"Zhang Xiyu cares little for the pleasures of the flesh; her only focus is on her cultivation. If I offer her the secret to my own rapid advancement as bait, how could she possibly refuse?"
"Master is becoming more and more like me!" Li Qing praised.
In their hushed whispers, a giant web of conspiracy began to unfold.
And the plan indeed proceeded very smoothly.
After hearing Huo Jingtong's story, Zhang Xiyu didn't hesitate for long.
She agreed to give it a try.
However, she made a harsh threat: if it had no effect, the two of them would pay with their lives.
Li Qing smiled, telling her not to worry.
Two Dao Integration cultivators, and one on the verge of Dao Integration.
Together, they entered the seclusion chamber.
Time flew by, and soon a month had passed.
By the time Zhang Xiyu left, Li Qing had already successfully broken through to Dao Integration.
If not for the two beauties by his side concealing the commotion of his breakthrough, his secret would have likely been exposed by now.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Huo Jingtong hugged Li Qing from behind, murmuring softly.
Li Qing was silent for a moment, then asked in return, "Master, do you have no interest in the Longevity Fruit?"
Huo Jingtong's hands suddenly froze.
Then she gripped Li Qing tightly, not letting go for a long time.
After a good while, she giggled. "With your abilities, I imagine the next Longevity Fruit is already as good as yours."
Li Qing grasped her hands and said seriously, "I will still need my Master's help."
...
From then on, the pair set their sights on the Longevity Fruit, aiming for the highest state in the world of cultivation.
At this moment, less than ten years had passed since Li Qing's Foundation Establishment.
In other words, Senior Sister Zhao, Zhao Ruoxi, was still in seclusion.
And Li Qing seemed to have forgotten about his childhood sweetheart, making no effort to seek her out.
On this day, the ten-year period was up.
The sealed stone door slowly rose, and Zhao Ruoxi walked out of the seclusion chamber.
She took a deep breath, but her expression suddenly changed.
And then...
The entire Great Dao Sect began to shake violently.
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