"What? Above the Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer?" Lin Shanghai jolted. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely. He took those two trial participants and flew straight off!"
Huang Yanyu nodded firmly.
"Unbelievable. A cultivator stronger than me has appeared near Clearwind Town and our Sect!"
Lin Shanghai sighed.
"Where's Tingjian?"
"Senior Brother went down the mountain to investigate."
"Very well. We'll wait for him to return, then see what's going on."
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Several breaths later.
Heavenly Mist Sect.
Outside the Sect.
"Master, is this the Sect?"
Dongfang Muxue gazed at the towering Heavenly Mist Sect, wonder rising in her eyes.
Lü Liu stood rooted to the spot, her mouth hanging open.
She had never imagined Eastern Search could have such a magnificent Sect!
In sheer grandeur, it surpassed even the Dongfang Family!
"Come on. Let's go in."
Li Moqing did not answer. He headed toward the Sect.
"Yes, Master!"
Dongfang Muxue quickly composed herself and followed.
"Y-yes... Sect... Sect Master!"
Lü Liu, however, remained dazed with shock.
Heavenly Mist Sect.
Inside the Sect.
Boom!
Dongfang Muxue had barely entered when she felt as if thunder had struck her head. She swayed and nearly fell.
"Miss, what's wrong?"
Quick as a flash, Lü Liu caught her and asked in bewilderment.
As an ordinary person, she could not sense the astonishingly dense Source Qi within Heavenly Mist Sect.
"Thank you, Lü Liu."
Dongfang Muxue steadied herself and thanked her with a faint smile.
"I'm fine."
She answered with forced calm, though her eyes were already brimming with astonishment.
The Source Qi here must be eight or nine hundred times denser than anywhere else in Search Province!
How is that possible? Even the clan head's bedroom, where Source Qi is densest in the Dongfang Family, has only a hundred times the usual concentration in Search Province!
Amazement stirred in her heart, followed by secret delight. If I cultivate in this Source Qi, I'll advance a thousand miles a day!
"Master, you're back?"
Just then, Zhang Xingfeng, who had been cultivating atop the Dao-Enlightenment Stone, saw the three of them and hurried over to greet them.
The woman in white Master brought back from near Cloud Offering Sect is at the Qi Refinement Third Layer?
Zhang Xingfeng studied Dongfang Muxue, his pupils trembling slightly.
"Xingfeng, this is my new personal disciple, Dongfang Muxue."
"And this is her maid, Lü Liu. She is also a menial disciple of our Sect."
Li Moqing introduced them to Zhang Xingfeng with a faint smile.
"Muxue, Lü Liu, this is your eldest senior brother, Zhang Xingfeng."
Li Moqing then introduced Zhang Xingfeng to the two women.
"Eldest Senior Brother."
Dongfang Muxue greeted him politely.
"Senior Brother Xingfeng."
Lü Liu did the same.
"Junior Sister, Junior Sister Lü Liu."
Zhang Xingfeng returned their greetings with quiet courtesy. Junior Sister is already at the Qi Refinement Third Layer. As her eldest senior brother, I can't fall behind. I'll have to cultivate even harder!
The Sect's Reception Hall.
"Muxue, now that you've become my disciple, custom requires you to perform the apprenticeship ceremony and present thirty Gold Yuan."
Seated in the place of honor, Li Moqing spoke solemnly.
Since he had accepted Zhang Xingfeng's apprenticeship gift, he naturally had to treat them equally.
"Yes, Master!"
Dongfang Muxue immediately knelt. "Master, I left in a hurry and didn't bring enough Gold Yuan. Could I offer three Low-Grade Source Stones instead?"
Li Moqing raised an eyebrow in surprise, though inwardly he was delighted.
To ordinary people, who could not absorb them, Source Stones were worthless rocks.
But to cultivators, three Low-Grade Source Stones were worth far more than thirty Gold Yuan.
Once cultivators reached the Qi Refinement Third Layer, they needed to absorb Source Stones whenever they cultivated a minor realm to its perfected state—not a separate realm—before they could break through.
Source Stones were indispensable to a cultivator's breakthroughs.
They came in four grades: low, middle, high, and supreme.
Generally, ten Low-Grade Source Stones equaled one Middle-Grade Source Stone, and the same ratio applied to the grades above.
The system had once told Li Moqing that he could not make anything related to Source Stones real by inventing claims about it.
Li Moqing had not understood why, but he could only accept it.
Now that three Low-Grade Source Stones were being offered, he, who had none, could hardly contain his delight.
"Very well. Three Low-Grade Source Stones will do."
Despite his joy, Li Moqing's face remained as still as an ancient well.
"Yes, Master!"
Dongfang Muxue took three Low-Grade Source Stones from her Storage Bag and presented them.
"Master, please accept three bows from your disciple, Dongfang Muxue!"
With that, she respectfully knocked her head against the floor three times.
"Good. Rise."
Li Moqing accepted the Source Stones and made his arrangements. "Muxue, you'll cultivate in the Sect from now on. Your pavilion is the second one in the first row to the west."
"Yes, Master!"
Dongfang Muxue rose as instructed.
Li Moqing turned to Lü Liu beside her. "Lü Liu, you'll be a menial disciple of the Sect. For now, you'll see to the daily needs of the few of us. Your pavilion is the first one in the first row to the south."
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Lü Liu answered obediently. She had been a maid all along, so the work was familiar to her.
"Muxue, what is your Source Aspect?"
Once everything was settled, Li Moqing asked Dongfang Muxue.
"Ice."
Dongfang Muxue gave a one-word answer, then unfurled her Source Aspect.
In an instant, the hall's temperature plunged. Countless ice blossoms spread from beneath Dongfang Muxue's feet, as though they might freeze ten thousand miles.
Lü Liu, an ordinary person, began chattering her teeth and shivering uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Dongfang Muxue hastily withdrew her Source Aspect.
"Ice, is it?" Li Moqing pondered for a moment. "In that case, I'll give you a Heaven-Tier Upper Grade Cultivation Art—Snowfall Through the Ages."
"Snowfall Through the Ages? H-Heaven-Tier Upper Grade?"
Dongfang Muxue could scarcely believe it. Astonishment filled her eyes.
Very few cultivators could create Cultivation Arts, so most were passed down through inheritance.
A Heaven-Tier Upper Grade Cultivation Art could increase the force or pressure of a cultivator's techniques by as much as two hundredfold, or increase the speed at which they cultivated it by a hundredfold. Such arts were exceedingly rare!
Lü Liu trembled again, but not from the cold. Li Moqing's words had far exceeded anything she could imagine.
Earth Grade Cultivation Arts were hard to find even in the Southern Domain of Qitian, famed for its heaven-opening power. A Heaven Tier art, let alone one of the upper grade, was beyond belief!
"Junior Sister, why the surprise? The Sect's Cultivation Method is Heaven-Tier Upper Grade too."
Zhang Xingfeng spoke with a calm smile.
He looked at Dongfang Muxue with envy in his eyes, more determined than ever to reach the Qi Refinement Third Layer soon.
"The Cultivation Method is Heaven-Tier Upper Grade too?!"
Dongfang Muxue was even more astonished. Beside her, Lü Liu nearly collapsed to the floor.
"That's right. It's the Divine Breath Pure Heart Scripture."
Li Moqing took out the copy of the Divine Breath Pure Heart Scripture he had prepared and handed it to Dongfang Muxue.
"The Divine Breath Pure Heart Scripture?"
Dongfang Muxue accepted the Divine Breath Pure Heart Scripture, murmured its name, and eagerly began to leaf through it.
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