novelraw Chapter 299 297: Pei Yuhang Lost His Resistance to Yueqiu...
Chapter 299 297: Pei Yuhang Lost His Resistance to Yueqiu...
The mountain wind howled. A somber, murderous air hung between heaven and earth, born from the roiling sea of black thunderclouds.
Pei Yuhang stood atop his sword, his dark robes whipping in the fierce wind. His gaze was locked on the brilliant golden glow in the distance, his brow furrowed and his expression grim.
"Yueqiu, you have to wait for me!"
He couldn't help but picture Qing Yueqiu's face, elegant yet alluring. Memories of her, from the little girl who couldn't even read to the graceful and talented woman she was now, flashed before his eyes like a series of unfolding scrolls.
He remembered how clumsy she looked the first time she held a sword, her excited expression when she first performed Sword Formulas, and all the days and nights she spent cultivating tirelessly in the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.
He remembered the rainy night she first confessed to him…
He absolutely could not let such a beloved disciple perish in the Celestial Tribulation!
The tragedy with his Dao Companion... once was more than enough. Even if it meant breaking his promise to Liyuan, even if it cost him his own life, he had to save Yueqiu!
With this thought, Pei Yuhang began burning his Spiritual Qi to the point of exhaustion, using Sword Control to fly at a breakneck pace.
He moved so fast that the friction with the air turned him into a fiery meteor, tearing through the sky for miles in an instant and leaving a long vacuum corridor in his wake.
Pei Yuhang arrived at the edge of the golden sea of lightning in a flash, his robes snapping violently as they were rent by furious arcs of lightning.
His gaze burned like a torch, locked onto the churning golden sea of lightning. The longsword in his hand was already drawn.
As a Cultivator with many years of experience, he knew full well the horrifying backlash he would suffer for interfering in another's Celestial Tribulation.
But compared to Yueqiu's life, nothing else mattered!
Even if it meant a trip through the cycle of reincarnation, he would not allow Qing Yueqiu to die here!
WHOOSH—
Surging Pure Yang True Qi wreathed the Silent Sword. But strangely, the flame's temperature began to drop steadily until it transformed into a blue, ethereal fire completely devoid of heat.
This blue, ethereal flame was neither searing nor freezing, as insubstantial as the air itself.
This was the fruit of his training with Bai Jingjing, a technique developed after he used the Pure Yang Divine Fire from his Giant Sun Saint Body to deal with the Dragon Corpse on Tree Sea Dragon Island.
It was a faint balance he had found within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Dao.
Pei Yuhang called it the "Silent Night Residual Fire." He had never used it in actual combat before, but today, he would test its might against the Celestial Tribulation!
Just as Pei Yuhang prepared to unleash his first strike and draw the Celestial Tribulation's wrath onto himself…
VMMMM—
A tidal wave of incredibly potent, Blood-colored Sword Qi surged forth.
Its might was so tyrannical that it even suppressed the raging Golden Sky Divine Thunder.
Sensing the familiar killing aura within it, Pei Yuhang let the Silent Night Residual Fire on his Silent Sword dissipate.
He pushed through the lingering shockwave of the Sword Qi and looked toward its source.
The black clouds were swept aside, revealing a silver-haired Divine Maiden whose skin was whiter than snow.
Her clothes had long since been obliterated by the lightning. Her graceful figure was veiled by the hazy crimson glow of a blood moon behind her, shielding her boundless mortal beauty from direct view.
"Yueqiu, you've reached Divinity Transformation! You succeeded!"
The anxiety on Pei Yuhang's face melted into elation, his voice thick with unconcealed excitement.
He eagerly started to fly toward her, but as he drew near, he realized he could see through the hazy crimson light, glimpsing the exquisite, hidden details of her form. He couldn't help but take a step back and turn away.
"I'm sorry, Yueqiu… I was just so excited. I didn't mean to…"
Pei Yuhang's expression stiffened for a moment. He quickly retreated another step and turned his back to her.
The tips of his ears quietly flushed scarlet, his voice tinged with fluster.
He was supposed to be a seasoned veteran, a man who had been with countless beauties. How many Fairies' exquisite forms had he not admired?
Yet now, facing his own disciple, his heart was pounding.
Until now, only two people had ever made his heart race like this.
'But how could I feel this way… about Yueqiu?'
'This is—'
Pei Yuhang clenched his fists, forcing himself to picture Liyuan's lovely face and her smile, trying to calm his turbulent heart.
Meanwhile, Qing Yueqiu had finally finished refining the Celestial Tribulation Residual Thunder Spiritual Qi that lingered in the air.
As she absorbed every last flicker of golden lightning from the air, the Asura Killing Momentum within her body underwent a quantum leap. The once-intangible mass of black and red qi began to gather and solidify above her Dantian.
Finally, on her flat, smooth, pale abdomen, a provocative, dark-red, diamond-shaped pattern materialized, centered just below her navel.
The searing heat from the mark on her abdomen made Qing Yueqiu's beautiful eyes fly open.
She looked at her Master, then glanced down at the outrageously provocative "tattoo" on her lower abdomen. A flicker of bewildered shame and anger crossed her eyes.
'Damn it, why did the Power of Killing Momentum turn into *this* after absorbing the Thunder Tribulation?!'
'This is completely scandalous!'
'Isn't this the kind of obscene brand they put on female slaves?!'
'Master didn't see this shameful thing on my body, did he…?'
Qing Yueqiu clutched her abdomen as her mind flooded with memories of her and her Master, especially the moment he had personally placed the Demon-Planting Mark on her.
A wave of complex emotions washed over the young woman, and she subconsciously thought—
'Then again… calling me Master's Cauldron Slave wouldn't be far from the truth…'
Qing Yueqiu blushed so deeply that a cherry-pink hue spread across her skin, and the Asura mark on her abdomen actually began to glow!
"Yueqiu, are you dressed yet?"
Hearing movement behind him, Pei Yuhang assumed his disciple was dressed and started to turn around.
"Don't! I… I'm not ready yet. Please wait a little longer, Master."
Qing Yueqiu frantically covered the Asura mark on her abdomen, her voice barely a whisper, laced with panic and shyness.
Her cheeks were so red they could have been bleeding, showing none of the tyrannical power she'd displayed moments ago when shattering her Celestial Tribulation.
Her fingertips trembled as she quickly retrieved a simple white dress from her Storage Ring and hastily put it on.
She kept stealing glances at Pei Yuhang's back, her heart a whirlwind of nerves and mortification. A part of her wanted him to turn around, yet another part dreaded it…
"Are you ready?" Pei Yuhang's voice came again, with a hint of concern.
Once dressed, Qing Yueqiu took out a Copper Mirror. Seeing that her reflection was fine and needed no touch-ups, she took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, then said softly:
"Master, I'm ready."
At her words, Pei Yuhang slowly turned.
His gaze fell upon Qing Yueqiu. Having passed through the Celestial Tribulation, she seemed to have been washed clean of all impurities, emerging even more alluring and captivating than before.
A complicated expression flickered in Pei Yuhang's eyes. He silently repeated Liyuan's name and quickly regained his composure.
'Perhaps… it's because of the Golden Sun Seal. The effects of the Demon-Planting Mark are reciprocal. Normally, I shouldn't be feeling this way.'
Having rationalized it to himself, Pei Yuhang finally breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had managed to convince himself.
The corners of his lips curved into his usual gentle smile. "Yueqiu, congratulations on reaching Divinity Transformation."
Qing Yueqiu lowered her head slightly, a faint blush still lingering on her cheeks.
Her fingertips unconsciously toyed with her cuffs as she said softly, "Thank you, Master."
A long silence fell after the simple congratulations.
After everything they had been through, the master and disciple seemed to have grown more distant in their words. Only when their eyes met by chance could the fervent emotions in their hearts be felt.
Finally, unable to hold back any longer, Qing Yueqiu was the first to speak.
Her brow furrowed slightly, her eyes holding a trace of confusion and worry.
"Master, why did you come here… Just now, you were about to draw your sword against the Celestial Tribulation, right? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
"Master, you always told me to trust you. Why wouldn't you trust me this time?
Do you think I can't even handle the mere Golden Sky Divine Thunder?" Her voice rose, trembling with a hint of anger.
Lingering fear filled Qing Yueqiu's beautiful eyes at the thought of her Master rushing in at the last moment to draw his sword.
She couldn't bear to imagine the consequences if her Master had been severely injured, his cultivation realm dropping or even losing his life, all for interfering in her tribulation.
Especially when she was the one he was trying to save.
If something irreversible had happened, Qing Yueqiu would never have been able to forgive herself!
Pei Yuhang was silent for a moment, his gaze lowered, as if avoiding his disciple's eyes.
"I…" His voice was low and hoarse, as if long-suppressed emotions were about to burst their banks.
"I'm sorry, Yueqiu. I just didn't want Liyuan's tragedy to be repeated with you."
Qing Yueqiu froze. Seeing the self-blame on her Master's face, her heart ached for him. Her resolve to scold him thoroughly melted away.
"Master, I'm not blaming you…"
"No, Yueqiu, you're right."
Pei Yuhang raised a hand to rub his brow and suddenly let out a light laugh.
His laugh was tinged with both relief and resignation.
When he looked up at Qing Yueqiu again, his eyes were softer, filled with approval, and a faint smile touched his lips.
"I really was too impulsive. Hahaha... to think I'd be the one getting lectured by my own disciple."
Pei Yuhang turned his back to Qing Yueqiu and gazed at the distant horizon, his voice low and filled with emotion:
"Yueqiu, you've grown up… I'm so proud."
"You no longer need my protection."
"You're now a Sword Fairy who can stand on her own two feet."
Just then, a pair of fair arms wrapped around Pei Yuhang's waist from behind.
He felt a warm softness press against his back. His expression froze, and the image of Liyuan's smile in his mind grew faint…
"Master, to me, you will always be irreplaceable."
"You'll always be my Master… and the person I love… the most."
After breaking through to Divinity Transformation, Qing Yueqiu had seemingly grown much bolder. She tilted her head up slightly and gently bit Pei Yuhang's earlobe.
'She could clearly feel it. Master… didn't seem to be resisting her intimacy much anymore.'
'This is nice.'
But just at that moment, an furious female cry shattered the delicate, ambiguous atmosphere between the master and disciple.
"Qing Yueqiu, what are you doing with your master?!"