At this moment, Ling Huan finally understood what it truly meant to suffer in silence.
Gu Chengxue was acting like a madwoman, holding down his wrist.
He could only let Gu Chengxue have her way, muffled cries escaping his lips, hoping Jiang Yue would understand that he really didn’t purposely have someone call her over to watch him get forcibly kissed.
Ling Huan could sense it—though Jiang Yue’s face was covered by Mo Yansha, the gaze she shot at him was so sharp, it sent chills down his spine, as if he were standing alone in a dark forest.
All around was pitch black, yet he could distinctly feel that piercing gaze fixed on him through the darkness, making his hair stand on end.
Jiang Yue’s anger was easy to imagine.
He’d said all those things to her, done all those things.
And now, he was…
Sigh.
Now, Jiang Yue was slowly raising her leg.
Ling Huan closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain that was about to come from that kick.
He had resigned himself.
This situation was just too terrible.
Ling Huan squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable agony.
A gust of wind sharp enough to cut his cheek suddenly swept past—but the pain he expected didn’t come!
In an instant, Ling Huan felt the weight pressing down on him disappear; the suffocating pressure was gone.
He snapped his eyes open, only to see that Gu Chengxue’s body was now embedded in the wall, her body swaying as bits of plaster crumbled away.
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, staining the entire wall with a scarlet splash, while the fallen dust served as a crude new cloak, covering her as she instantly fainted.
Ling Huan scrambled to his feet, looking at Jiang Yue in confusion.
He thought he was going to have to endure everything, but he hadn’t.
But there was no time to be dazed—he had to explain.
“Sir, please, let me explain, it’s not—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Yue cut him off, “It was that woman who forced you, right? I suppose she couldn’t bear the loneliness and seduced you, all just to avoid a beating, isn’t that it?”
“After all, my young master isn’t some depraved lecher who wants every woman he sees, right?”
Each rhetorical question was both a sign of trust in Ling Huan and a subtle warning.
Thankfully, Ling Huan hadn’t betrayed that trust; after all, he really was forced.
He nodded vigorously, just like a pecking chick, “It was that wicked woman who jumped me! I had nothing to do with it! Sir, you’re amazing—your insight is unparalleled, you saw through it all in one glance! You’re the person I admire the most, the most, most, most, most, most, most, most in the world!”
“Naturally.”
Jiang Yue couldn’t help a hint of pride.
“You’re at the second level of Qi Refinement…” Jiang Yue suddenly paused, pupils trembling slightly.
She could sense that Ling Huan’s cultivation had risen to the fourth level.
What was going on?
In such a thin spiritual energy environment, how could he break through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement in such a short time?
But on the surface, Jiang Yue remained calm and continued, “Oh, you’ve advanced to the fourth level. Not bad. But still, that female thug is at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and I never taught you how to use spiritual energy. It’s only natural you couldn’t fight back with her on top of you.”
Here, Jiang Yue paused again, her tone tinged with obvious regret.
It sounded exactly like the tone Ling Huan used to have when he regretted spending money on mobile games.
“So, young master, did you get any information out of her? Like whether we can just kill her now?”
For the first time, Ling Huan heard the elegant Jiang Yue speak so coldly, and he couldn’t help but swallow hard as he answered, “Not for now.”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yue cut in directly, “Not for now? What, you’ve taken a liking to her? Smitten by her kiss?”
“No, no, no, no, no, not at all, sir! I’m not the type to lose myself at the sight of a pretty face! It’s just that her identity is unclear, and I don’t know her purpose.This demon woman told me she came to Qingmu City looking for something, but I’m inexperienced in worldly matters and all the twists and turns, so I wanted to ask sir to come help me tell truth from lies!”
Ling Huan explained right away, feeling the anger in the air thick enough to choke on.
Even if he didn’t have the ability to sense people’s emotions by scent, he could read the atmosphere, and clearly, Jiang Yue was pretty mad about the forced kiss.
“Then tell me in detail what happened to you.”
Lin Hao recounted everything that had happened to him, leaving nothing out—including how he’d been poisoned but adapted quickly and actually increased his spiritual energy, as well as everything Gu Chengxue had said afterward.
He told Jiang Yue every detail.
Jiang Yue’s first reaction was excitement, but caution soon took over as she asked with concern, “Really? You’re fully recovered? And when you detoxified that woman, you didn’t feel anything wrong at all?”
Ling Huan shook his head firmly, “I did absorb Gu Chengxue’s poison, but my body feels perfectly fine.”
Still unconvinced, Jiang Yue had Ling Huan open his mouth and stick out his tongue, examining him for a long time before finally relaxing a little.
A bold idea briefly flickered in her mind, but she didn’t say it aloud.
She only told Ling Huan, “As long as you’re alright. As for what that woman said, I can’t confirm it either, but you did one thing right—you saw through her lies.”
“Though it’s true the world’s spiritual energy is thin because it’s being gathered in certain places, it’s definitely not for the purpose of cutting off Nascent Souls.Otherwise, over all these years, there’s no way seven more Nascent Souls could have emerged.”
After all, those used to holding all the power and looking down on the world would never allow anyone to be their equal.
The real reason there aren’t any new Nascent Souls is simply the decline of spiritual energy—even the gathered energy now is nothing compared to before.
The decline of the cultivation world is undeniable.
“If anything, the gathering of spiritual energy isn’t really gathering, it’s more like stealing.”
“Stealing?”
Ling Huan didn’t understand.
Jiang Yue pointed at the ceiling.
Ling Huan followed her finger to the sky outside.
“The spiritual energy has been cut off.”
Jiang Yue said quietly.
Ling Huan looked at her in disbelief, trying to make sense of it, then said, “Sir, you mean… spiritual energy isn’t being purposely gathered somewhere, but rather someone is desperately concentrating it in certain areas to keep it from dispersing too much?”
“Smart.”
Jiang Yue chuckled.
“Worthy of being my student. You catch on quickly.That’s right. The spiritual energy in today’s cultivation world isn’t thin because it’s in decline, but because some massive formation has severed it.”
For a thousand years, the cultivation world has been trying to break the seal on spiritual energy, but no matter what, it’s impossible.
Not even a Nascent Soul’s power can shake that seal.
So those Nascent Souls are desperate to break through and shatter the seal all at once.
A Nascent Soul has ten thousand years of lifespan, but with spiritual energy so scarce, their rate of acquiring it has plummeted.
Now, in just five thousand years, every sect is attempting to break through to Divine Transformation.
And there’s only one way left.
Withstand a hundred rounds of heavenly tribulation, draw upon the essence of lightning, temper oneself, use the essence of the Dao to break through Nascent Soul.
Of course, the risks are immense—one misstep and you perish.
So, sects with deep foundations plan to use countless treasures and formations to survive the tribulation.
Those without the resources, who have wicked thoughts, will do as this demon woman said: use the fleshly body to withstand tribulation, have the Nascent Soul absorb the essence, then abandon the body and seize another.
But bodies suitable for a Nascent Soul are one in ten thousand.
“So you’re right, if this woman was really meant to be a vessel, she wouldn’t have come alone.Young master, you really are clever.”
Ling Huan smiled sheepishly at the praise but didn’t forget to add, “That’s all thanks to your teaching, sir.”
“You really know how to talk. But now, let me interrogate her myself.”
“Alright!” Ling Huan started to head out.
“Where are you going?” Jiang Yue asked.
“I’m going to get Brother Jiu to bring a basin of cold water to wake her up.”
Ling Huan scratched his head, walking out as he called for Brother Jiu.
“No need for all that. I already told him to rest. He’s got three broken ribs and needs to recuperate.”
“I see, no wonder he didn’t come along… Then how should we wake her up?”
Jiang Yue didn’t answer, just pulled out three silver needles from her sleeve.
With a flick, the needles flew out and plunged into Gu Chengxue’s back!
Immediately, Gu Chengxue awoke from her coma, body convulsing uncontrollably and trembling violently as she let out a piercing, anguished scream.
Foam frothed from her mouth; she even lost control of her bladder, a stench instantly filling the woodshed.
Savage!
Ling Huan admired Jiang Yue all the more, and even liked her more.
Who wouldn’t love a teacher who’s domineering to outsiders and gentle to those close?
But… Ling Huan also quietly made a note in his heart.
His teacher wasn’t just gentle—sometimes she could be a bit scheming too.
Did he dislike it?
Ling Huan actually thought this little contrast was quite nice—at least… as long as that scheming wasn’t directed at him.