Unworthy of the Honor, Fifth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm

"Elder Mo, she's awakening her spirit and comprehending the Dao. Here's what happened..."

Zhang Xingfeng gave Mo Lingyuan a brief explanation.

"How extraordinary! This young lady is a mortal, yet she's sat there for a full day and night? Her willpower has my admiration!"

Mo Lingyuan stroked his long beard and sighed in wonder.

Dongfang Muxue, however, was heartsick with worry.

Thud!

Suddenly, Lü Liu collapsed from the Dao-Enlightenment Stone.

"Oh no, Lü Liu has fainted!"

Zhang Xingfeng cried out and sprinted toward her.

"Lü Liu!"

Dongfang Muxue shouted urgently, racing after him.

"Hm?!"

At the same moment, Li Moqing turned into a streak of light and shot out of the Discussion Hall.

Whoosh!

A blue streak flashed past them. Mo Lingyuan flew ahead of all three.

He landed beside Lü Liu and sent a stream of Source Qi over her body.

"How is she?"

The three who had rushed over asked anxiously.

Dongfang Muxue's face, in particular, was etched with worry.

"She's fine." Mo Lingyuan smiled gently. "She's simply exhausted and terribly hungry, so she fainted for the moment. I've treated her with Source Qi. She'll wake soon."

"That's good."

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, as the Source Qi entered her body, Lü Liu slowly woke.

"Lü Liu, are you all right?"

Tears welled in Dongfang Muxue's eyes as she asked.

"Senior Sister, I'm fine."

Lü Liu answered weakly.

"Sect Master, I did it. I understood it!"

She turned toward Li Moqing, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

"Good..."

Li Moqing answered with that single, gentle word.

"Sect Master?!"

Mo Lingyuan looked at Li Moqing in astonishment.

The Sect Master looks so young, yet I can't see through his cultivation?

Could he be a mighty cultivator beyond Spirit Transformation? Unbelievable. So Search Province has been hiding a Spirit Transformation expert!

I'm truly unworthy of being called 'Search Province's foremost expert'!

Li Moqing gave no indication either way. "Never mind that for now. Let's help Lü Liu back to the Discussion Hall."

"Very well."

Mo Lingyuan circulated his Source Power, lifted Lü Liu into his arms with Source Qi, and carried her back to the Discussion Hall.

The Sect Discussion Hall.

"Lü Liu, eat some of this first."

Li Moqing handed Lü Liu some food he had prepared.

"Thank you, Sect Master."

Lü Liu hurriedly thanked him.

"Sect Master, what is this?"

Mo Lingyuan looked at the Divine Breath Pure Heart Scripture on the wall and gained an insight in an instant.

"The Sect's cultivation method—the Divine Breath Pure Heart Scripture. Heaven-Tier Upper Grade."

Li Moqing answered calmly.

"Heaven-Tier Upper Grade? No wonder a single glance gave me countless insights!"

Mo Lingyuan exclaimed, then began studying it intently.

Whoosh!

As he read, the Sect's Source Qi surged into his body like raging waves.

Boom!

At the same time, his mind became perfectly clear, and his power of comprehension reached heights it never had before!

"Profound. Truly profound!"

Mo Lingyuan's eyes shone as he praised it without end.

"Perfection? I've actually reached perfection?!"

The moment Mo Lingyuan finished reading, he cried out in excitement, hardly able to believe it. "So fast? As expected of a Heaven-Tier Upper Grade cultivation method!"

With his cultivation brought to perfection, he ignored the astonished looks of Zhang Xingfeng, Dongfang Muxue, and Lü Liu. He immediately took out a Supreme Source Stone and sat cross-legged.

Boom!

He circulated his Source Power, turned the Source Stone into a huge droplet, and absorbed it into his body.

A moment later, he took out another, likewise turning it to liquid and absorbing it.

He did not stop until he had absorbed five hundred Supreme Source Stones.

"Huh? It used to take six hundred and fifty Supreme Source Stones to fill me to capacity, but now five hundred are enough?"

Mo Lingyuan sensed that the power of the Source Stones had filled his body and was secretly puzzled.

Then again, I'm cultivating a Heaven-Tier Upper Grade method now, and the Sect's Source Qi is so abundant. Needing one hundred and fifty fewer Supreme Source Stones is only natural.

Never mind. Strengthening my Nascent Soul and breaking through come first!

When cultivators reached the Nascent Soul Realm, the Laws within them resonated with heaven and earth, shattering the Source Core they had formed in the Core Formation Realm and condensing it into a Nascent Soul.

A Nascent Soul could leave the body for a short time. Only by destroying it could one truly kill a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

With each layer of cultivation, the Nascent Soul grew stronger and harder to destroy.

With his breakthrough imminent, Mo Lingyuan naturally had to strengthen his Nascent Soul first.

Clearing his mind of all distractions, he circulated the Divine Breath Pure Heart Scripture, guided the power of the Source Stones through his body, and gathered it into his Nascent Soul.

Hum!

Fifteen minutes later, a clear note rang within his body. His Nascent Soul glowed yellow, growing sturdier and purer!

Boom!

As his Nascent Soul suddenly grew stronger, Mo Lingyuan's long hair stirred without wind. Pressure rolled off him and swept through the Discussion Hall like a massive wave!

"Hm?!"

Zhang Xingfeng and Dongfang Muxue raised their brows and hastily circulated their Source Power to resist the onrushing pressure.

Dongfang Muxue also shielded Lü Liu behind her. Though Lü Liu had awakened her spirit and comprehended the Dao, she was still a mortal.

Even so, Mo Lingyuan's pressure drove all three back several yards.

"Hm?"

Seeing this, Mo Lingyuan hurriedly withdrew his pressure.

"Hahaha! I've broken through! After three thousand years, I've finally broken past the Fourth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm!"

Another fifteen minutes passed before he rose to his feet, shouting in excitement with none of an immortal sage's composure.

But he did not care. Having shattered a bottleneck that had held him for thousands of years, how could he possibly keep his composure?

"I, Mo Lingyuan, pay my respects to the Sect Master!"

After several breaths, Mo Lingyuan barely managed to calm himself. He cupped his fists, bowed, and formally paid his respects to Li Moqing.

"Congratulations on reaching the Fifth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, Elder Mo."

Li Moqing took his seat at the head of the hall and offered his congratulations.

"From now on, you will be the Sect's Reception Elder, responsible for welcoming and guiding its members."

"That includes explaining matters concerning the Sect and arranging accommodation for its members. You will also receive visitors from outside the Sect."

"Your pavilion is the third one in the first row on the West side."

"Yes, Sect Master. I'll bend my back to the task and give my all until my dying breath!"

Mo Lingyuan answered solemnly.

"Your monthly stipend will be fifty Gold Yuan, ten Supreme Source Stones, and three Sourceheart Tea leaves. This stipend is provisional, not set in stone."

Li Moqing spoke calmly.

"Yes, thank you, Sect—" Mo Lingyuan hurried to thank him, then stopped short and exclaimed, "Sourceheart Tea?!"

Sourceheart Tea can only be found on Western Region Spirit Island. Even as the ancestor of Search Province's First Sect, I've never tasted it!

If I'd had it, perhaps I wouldn't have been stuck at the Fourth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm for three thousand years!

Mo Lingyuan thought to himself, then asked in disbelief, "Sect Master, does the Sect really have Sourceheart Tea?"

"Of course."

Li Moqing answered without a ripple of emotion.

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

With that confirmation, Mo Lingyuan thanked him again.

With Sourceheart Tea, a Heaven-Tier Upper Grade cultivation method, and the Sect's abundant Source Qi, my cultivation will advance a thousand miles a day!

Mo Lingyuan was secretly delighted.

"That's not all. You may also choose an Earth-Tier Upper Grade technique from the Scripture Repository."

Just as Mo Lingyuan was rejoicing, Li Moqing's words made him sway sharply.