A Soul Formation in the Palm of His Hand

"Insolent wretch!" Huo Jingtong was furious to the extreme. Before leaving, she had repeatedly warned and instructed him to behave himself. To think that this unruly disciple not only disobeyed her, but had grown even more out of control, having his way with every single disciple on Liuyue Peak! If word of this got out... At the thought of what would happen if the matter leaked, Huo Jingtong felt faint, her vision going dark. "I can't indulge him any longer. I must teach him a harsh lesson!" Thinking this, Huo Jingtong gathered a ray of moonlight with a tenth of her full strength in her right hand and struck toward Li Qing. The instant she attacked, Huo Jingtong felt a pang of regret. She was a Soul Formation cultivator, after all; even a tenth of her power was not something Li Qing, who had only recently entered the Nascent Soul stage, could withstand. If she were to injure him... Just as Huo Jingtong was about to pull back some of her strength, something happened that shook her to the core. A crescent moon rose behind Li Qing, casting its glow over his already extraordinary features and making him look all the more like a celestial being. And the ray of moonlight Huo Jingtong had unleashed was effortlessly blocked by Li Qing! "How is this possible?! The moon half-revealed—that's a sign of reaching intermediate mastery in the Hundred Transformations of Yuehua! Only a late Nascent Soul cultivator can achieve that! How long have I even been away?" Huo Jingtong felt a rush of mingled shock and delight, her vital blood surging violently. This agitation triggered the internal injuries she harbored; her face suddenly turned pale, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Seeing this, Li Qing flickered across the space in a flash and arrived at Huo Jingtong's side, supporting her by the shoulders. His face was filled with anxiety and concern. "Master, how did you get injured?" "Let me heal you!" "Hmph, as an esteemed Soul Formation cultivator, do I need..." Before Huo Jingtong could finish, a soft moan escaped her lips, cutting her words short. Feeling the pure yin power flowing from Li Qing's burning palms, Huo Jingtong felt as if ants were crawling all over her body, tingling and numbingly weak. Still, possessing Soul Formation cultivation, she quickly suppressed the strange sensation stirring in her heart. What took over was profound astonishment as she felt the steady stream of pure energy her disciple was channeling into her body. Once inside, this pure yin power acted like a catalyst, churning the moonlight power she cultivated into crashing waves. After a tumultuous, tempestuous entanglement, the pure yin power merged completely into her vast moonlight energy. What Huo Jingtong had once considered nearly perfect moonlight power became even purer after this fusion. It was even faintly imbued with an esoteric aura of the Great Dao! This was a sign of breaking through to the Dao Integration stage! Words could not describe the shock and bewilderment in Huo Jingtong's heart. A thought even surfaced in her mind: how wonderful it would be if Li Qing's infusion of pure yin power never stopped. As the two forces intertwined and the cultivation that had stagnated for so long began to climb, Huo Jingtong's mind gradually lost itself in the sensation. Who knew how much time had passed... Li Qing released his palms from Huo Jingtong's back. "Master..." Looking at Huo Jingtong, who still seemed somewhat dazed, he called out softly. Huo Jingtong came to her senses, a deep crimson instantly flushing across her cheeks. "My injuries are healed. Go on out for now." Her heart in disarray, Huo Jingtong spoke in a rush. "Then I can rest easy." Li Qing let out a breath of relief, cupped his hands, and took his leave. Watching Li Qing swiftly depart, Huo Jingtong could not help but feel a flicker of annoyance rise in her chest. ... From that day onward, a different sort of sentiment began to spread between master and disciple. Yet Li Qing did not openly puncture the barrier; instead, he continued to maintain the facade of an obedient, respectful disciple before Huo Jingtong. Behind her back, however, his wanton exploits across Liuyue Peak did not cease in the slightest. Huo Jingtong's divine sense encompassed the entire peak, and everything that transpired was laid bare before her eyes. Though it remained utterly scandalous, what was done was done. Could she really slaughter all the disciples under her sect? Besides, Li Qing had not lied. Under the effect of that wondrous supreme yin power, the progress in the disciples' strength was clear for all to see. And so, Huo Jingtong could only let the matter rest, allowing Li Qing to do as he pleased. To prevent cultivators from other peaks from discovering the truth, she even took the initiative to lay down formations to conceal it. Nourished by the supreme yin power of the Scripture of Inverse Order, the cultivators across Liuyue Peak enjoyed pleasure while their cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Only Huo Jingtong had not partaken in this benefit. And Li Qing acted as though he had no designs on his master whatsoever, every gesture and word of his remaining strictly proper. Just like that, two years slipped by in the blink of an eye. At the summit of Liuyue Peak, inside a secluded meditation chamber. Huo Jingtong watched nervously as Li Qing sat before her, enveloped by a colossal vortex of spiritual energy, her heart tangled with conflicting emotions. *A little over two years, and he's already attempting to break through to Soul Formation.* *Such cultivation speed is simply unheard of.* *If he succeeds, wouldn't his cultivation match my own? If he tries to force himself on me...* Huo Jingtong's mind was in utter chaos. Right then, a fierce wind gusted, and a majestic aura erupted from Li Qing. Then, just as suddenly, it vanished. "He really succeeded?!" Huo Jingtong stared at Li Qing, her mind in a daze. "Thank you, Master, for protecting me during my breakthrough!" Li Qing bowed with hands cupped, refined and courteous. Huo Jingtong, however, turned to the side, avoiding his bow. According to the rules of the Dadao Sect, once a disciple's cultivation caught up to or surpassed their master's, they could address each other as peers from then on. Of course, if one valued honoring the master and respecting the Way without measuring status by strength, they could also maintain the master-disciple relationship. Li Qing smiled faintly. "Even if I attain Longevity one day, in my heart, Master will always be my master. My one and only master." Hearing this, Huo Jingtong's body trembled slightly. Looking at Li Qing's sincere expression, a wave of emotion rose within her. "Let us go. Liuyue Peak has gained another Soul Formation cultivator; such wonderful news ought to be shared with the others soon." Li Qing walked forward and gently took Huo Jingtong's flawless, jade-white hand. Huo Jingtong gave a token struggle, but did not break free. And so, she ceased resisting. Upon Liuyue Peak, a fleeting moment of indulgence turned into passionate surrender. When emotion ran deep, even Huo Jingtong could not remain immune to earthly desires. Late that night, after everyone else had fallen into a deep slumber. Li Qing felt the unprecedentedly vast yin qi he had absorbed from Huo Jingtong's body and nodded in satisfaction. *The feedback from a Soul Formation cultivator is extraordinary indeed.* *This massive amount of primordial yin is enough to support my rapid progress in the Soul Formation stage for quite some time.* *However, it's still not enough!* After his leap in strength, Li Qing's ambitions swelled even further. He began setting his sights on the other female cultivators of the Yuehua Lineage. "Only the Longevity realm is my ultimate pursuit." Under the moonlight, no shadow of Li Qing was cast. His face was shrouded in the darkness of night, his true thoughts hidden from view. The next day, as soon as Huo Jingtong awoke, she pulled Li Qing into secluded cultivation with her. The bottleneck that had shackled and plagued her for years had finally loosened a bit under the impact of the previous night. Huo Jingtong had a premonition: her ascension to Dao Integration was not far off.