Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Chapter 101 Please Have Some Self-Respect

Xia Dong was not disturbed at all by Master Guyue's decision to remove one of his promises. To be fair, even if Master Guyue had just said that "the three favors are now settled," Xia Dong would not have had any room for objection.

The situation is now more volatile than people can control.

Recalling that scene in the council hall, Xia Dong was still deeply shocked.

Despite his cultivation level, Ci Xiang was utterly powerless against Gu Yue Zhenren, like a child. That domineering Xuan Tian Great Handprint not only shattered Ci Xiang's protective Buddhist light but also struck Xia Dong's heart with devastating force.

This is the true strength of a Foundation Establishment Perfected Grand Cultivator.

The higher level of Core Formation requires extraordinary abilities.

The legendary Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation cultivators, they probably really can move mountains and shift peaks —

Shocked, Xia Dong's Dao heart became stronger than ever before.

He truly felt that only by cultivating such great power that rivals the creation of heaven and earth, and firmly grasping life, death, and rules in one's own hands, can one live a life that has not been in vain.

Xia Dong straightened up, solemnly cupped his hands to the aloof and otherworldly Taoist nun before him, and bowed deeply: "Yes, thank you for saving me just now, senior."

Master Guyue did not turn around; his plain white Taoist robe swayed gently in the breeze.

Her voice was as cold and clear as ever, devoid of any extra emotion: "There must be someone behind the Red Lotus Temple, but Ci Xiang is nothing to worry about. For the next few days, you'll stay by my side. Qin Dafu risked his life to save you; you must cherish your life."

Xia Dong lowered her eyes, her heart stirring slightly.

He wasn't entirely clear on the true meaning behind Master Guyue's words, "The Compassionate One is not a threat." Had that slap already secretly crippled the monk's foundation? Or was the Compassionate One simply not qualified to be an opponent in the grand scheme of things among great cultivators?

But his mind was clear. He knew that even if Master Guyue had recklessly killed Cixiang on the spot in this thousand-household compound, it wouldn't have solved the root of the problem.

With the death of one prime minister, another prime minister, such as Wang or Li, will soon follow.

The undercurrents stemming from his background have only just begun.

Ultimately, it all comes down to my own weakness.

With his current strength, he wouldn't even qualify as a pawn in a true battle between giants.

Fortunately, Master Guyue is now willing to step forward to protect him, giving him a very precious chance to catch his breath.

Otherwise, once this dead end comes to pass, his only way out will be to immediately pack up and flee to the deep mountains to keep Brother Snake company.

Xia Dong replied in a low voice, "This junior understands."

"Hongling, take Young Master Xia to find a place to rest."

As soon as he finished speaking, a very slight fluctuation of magical energy arose from the shadows not far away. A female cultivator dressed in the inner robes of the Qixia Immortal Sect slowly stepped out and came to Xia Dong's side.

This person was none other than Qin Wan's senior sister, Pei Hongling, a woman from a prestigious family who had secretly sabotaged Qin Wan.

She lowered her eyes and bowed deeply to Master Guyue.

Her expression was extremely respectful, but Xia Dong's senses were sharp, and he instantly noticed her slightly trembling shoulders and her deliberately suppressed but still disordered breathing.

Hidden within it was an extremely deep fear.

It is not the ordinary disciple’s awe of a strict teacher, but the fear of prey facing a top predator, where even life and death are not in its own hands.

Xia Dong thought to himself: This Pei family girl was probably severely punished after Master Guyue came out of seclusion, and now her backbone and arrogance have been completely broken.

He had to admit how skilled Master Guyue was at training people, and his heart trembled even more.

Judging by her age, she's probably in menopause at this level of lifespan, so she's not someone to mess with!

Suppressing his turbulent thoughts, Xia Dong bowed again to Gu Yue Zhenren's retreating figure to take his leave. Then, he turned to Pei Hongling beside him, his tone polite yet distant: "Thank you for leading the way, Senior Sister Pei."

Pei Hongling glanced at Xia Dong discreetly, her expression extremely complex.

She didn't say anything, just nodded stiffly, and turned to walk out of the small building.

The two walked one after the other through the quiet corridor to the arranged villa.

Pei Hongling walked very slowly along the way, her back stiff, without uttering a word.

Xia Dong was happy to have some peace and quiet, so she followed silently behind, secretly circulating her qi and blood within her body to calm down the turmoil she had experienced in the council hall.

Pushing open the wooden door to the guest room in the villa, you'll find the interior furnished elegantly, with a faint, calming incense burning in the burner.

As soon as Xia Dong stepped across the threshold, Pei Hongling followed her in, slamming the door shut behind her with a loud "bang."

Xia Dong frowned slightly, about to ask a question, but the scene before him made his gaze suddenly freeze.

Pei Hongling moved extremely quickly, without any of the coyness or shyness typical of young women.

With the soft rustling of clothes being loosened, the magnificent Daoist robe that symbolized the identity of an inner disciple of the Immortal Sect slid down her fair shoulders and piled up at her ankles like clouds.

Immediately afterwards, the close-fitting pure white undergarment also faded away like ripples on water.

In the blink of an eye, a beautiful, unadorned figure suddenly appeared in Xia Dong's field of vision.

In the dim light of the room, the female cultivator's skin was as white as snow, and her undulating curves revealed the firmness and flawlessness unique to those who had cultivated immortality for many years.

However, on that beautiful face, there was not a trace of the allure and passion of a woman in love, only a numbness and resolute indifference like still water.

Xia Dong's eyes instantly turned cold.

The immense blood and energy of the Transcendent Realm circulated instinctively within his body. He was not disturbed in the slightest by the vibrant and fragrant sights before him, and his body remained as steady as a rock.

"Senior Sister Pei, please have some self-respect."

His tone was calm and even, without the slightest fluctuation, carrying an unquestionable coldness.

He didn't even bother to look away, but simply stared coldly into the other person's empty eyes.

Pei Hongling did not pick up the clothes on the ground.

She walked barefoot on the cool blue bricks without flinching, her voice unusually calm, as if discussing a cold, hard transaction: "I know Master owes you a favor. Use that favor to help me gain my freedom. I'll give you my body, and from now on, you'll be the son-in-law of the Pei family. All the resources you need in the mortal and cultivation worlds will be provided by the Pei family—including me."

Xia Dong remained unmoved, his gaze growing increasingly profound, as if he were looking at a worthless, lifeless object.

Seeing that Xia Dong did not answer, Pei Hongling took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slightly, and continued to increase her stakes: "I am still a virgin. You should know that noblewomen like us, who possess spiritual roots, will never easily lose our virginity in order to attain the Great Dao. If you take my primordial yin energy, it will be of immeasurable benefit to your tempering of your blood and qi in the Transcendent Realm, and even to your future martial arts cultivation. If you take me and help me escape, the Pei family will be eternally grateful to you."

Every word and phrase is about the extreme gains and losses, revealing a sense of madness and desolation at the end of the road.

This was the last and only chance she could seize.

During her time in confinement, no one knew better than her just how ruthless Master Guyue's methods were.

The despair of having her life and death completely controlled and enduring the torment of soul refining day and night had utterly destroyed her Dao heart.

Her only thought now was to escape the terrifying control of that aloof master at all costs.

"Senior Sister Pei, please leave. Otherwise, I'll call for help."

Xia Dong remained seated at the wooden table, his gaze clear and serene, his tone cold and devoid of warmth. He was like an unyielding stone, completely unmoved by the vibrant, alluring body before him.

Pei Hongling bit her lower lip tightly.

Seeing that no matter how much she lowered her stance, exposed her body, or even offered her virginity and family as bargaining chips, the young man before her remained unmoved, a deep hatred and humiliation finally flashed uncontrollably in her eyes.

Without a word, she bent down, picked up the clothes scattered on the ground, and stiffly but quickly wrapped herself up tightly again.

He then turned and strode across the threshold.

"Bang!"

With a loud slam of the door, Pei Hongling disappeared into the night, and the guest room in the villa returned to deathly silence.

Only after confirming that the footsteps outside the door had completely disappeared did Xia Dong's tense shoulders and back suddenly slump, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

He was actually far less calm than he appeared to be.

The visual and psychological impact of a female cultivator with exceptional beauty and late-stage Qi Refining skills being completely open and honest with you is extremely devastating.

He was at the prime of his life, full of vigor and vitality, and had just broken through to the Transcendent Realm of Martial Arts. The pure Yang blood and energy within him was as vigorous as a furnace, extremely domineering.

In that brief exchange, in order to forcefully suppress his body's instinctive impulses and maintain his balance, he tightly locked up all the major tendons and blood in his body.

The difficulty of this "recoil control" was something he had never encountered before in his life.

Xia Dong strode to the table, grabbed the teapot, and poured several cups of cold tea down his throat.

The cool tea slid down my esophagus into my stomach, finally calming the restlessness in my heart.

As he put down his teacup, an absurd thought suddenly popped into his mind uncontrollably: "With Pei Hongling's seemingly graceful but actually delicate physique, can she really withstand the violent whipping of my current Transcendent Realm body?"

"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form — calmness —"

Xia Dong shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off these messy thoughts.

Food and sex are human nature; this is ultimately the instinct of this powerful body at work.

Now that Pei Hongling has left, Xia Dong has lost the tense environment where she had to constantly weigh the pros and cons and proceed cautiously. As she suddenly relaxes, the desires in her heart begin to rise and fall, making her restless and uneasy.

He immediately sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes and concentrated, and began to practice the Vajra King Mantra, attempting to forcefully suppress his lust with the vast and powerful true meaning of Buddhism.

However, an unexpected change occurred.

This primal and intense lust seemed to be the perfect tonic for the demonic nature of the "Asura Yin Sha Blade".

The dormant demonic nature of Asura surged forth like a hungry wolf that had smelled blood, devouring this desire with frenzy.

This time, the demonic force came on strong, and even the Buddha-nature of the Vajra King Kung Fu could not be suppressed.

It bared its fangs and claws deep within the hearts of summer and winter, even showing dangerous signs of taking root, sprouting, and breaking through the soil completely.

Xia Dong's internal energy surged violently, like boiling magma rampaging through his meridians. The sense of impending chaos and rage was beyond words.

At this moment.

Xia Dong's "Netherworld" talisman seed quietly began to operate within his dantian.

A faint, eerie blue light emanated from the depths of the talisman seed—this was the remnant of the "Taiyin Divine Light" that he had risked his life to steal from the nest of the Yinming insects in the abandoned Yinling Mine.

This extreme cold and chill instantly swept over my entire body.

Along with this bone-chilling cold, Xia Dong instinctively recalled the cold and indifferent gaze of Master Gu Yue, and his terrifying methods that could freeze Foundation Establishment cultivators and decide their life and death with a mere wave of his hand.

This ray of divine light, along with the deep-seated apprehension towards that great cultivator, was like a bucket of frost and ice mixed with ice shards being poured over one's head.

Xia Dong suddenly shivered.

The burning desire that was about to ignite in his heart, along with the surging demonic nature, was instantly extinguished by the extreme cold and awe.

With calm and collected, reason finally regained its footing.

Xia Dong slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air, still warm from the breath.

At this moment, his back and forehead were soaked with a layer of cold sweat.

The brief internal struggle he had just experienced, the frantic tug-of-war between the forces of Buddha and Demon in his meridians and mind, was nothing short of a fierce battle on the brink of life and death, leaving him feeling deeply exhausted.

He stood up, loosened his belt, and took off all his clothes, which were soaked with sweat and sticky, and casually threw them on the wooden chair.

Under the dim light, his well-proportioned body, which was like cast steel, with distinct lines and terrifying explosive power, was revealed after he broke through to the Transcendent Realm.

Xia Dong reached into his storage bag and pulled out a low-level "Minor Cloud and Rain Talisman," holding it between two fingers and releasing a slight burst of magical power from his fingertips.

"Whoosh!"

The talisman ignited spontaneously without fire, instantly gathering a dense cloud of water vapor, only about a foot in diameter, three feet above his head. Immediately afterward, a torrent of cool, clear rain poured down, drenching Xia Dong's body.

The cool rainwater meandered down his broad, solid chest and back, quickly washing away the sticky sweat from his body and completely taking away the last trace of anxiety and anger that remained in his limbs and bones.

Xia Dong closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and let the small cloud and rain generated by the talisman cleanse his body. His mind gradually returned to complete emptiness and clarity.

However, Xia Dong did not notice.

Just as he completely severed his desires, suppressed his demonic nature, and took a bath, a hidden, invisible, and extremely powerful divine consciousness was silently lurking in a dark corner of the room.

This divine sense was profound and cold, like the clear, bright moon hanging high in the night sky, quietly scrutinizing and discerning all the subtle changes that occurred inside the room.

When he saw Xia Dong use the rain talisman to cleanse his body and regain the absolute clarity and rationality of a seeker of the Dao, the hidden divine sense flickered slightly for a moment, as if it had received some kind of confirmation.

Then, like receding ice water, it silently disappeared from the guest room of the villa.

Throughout the entire process, Xia Dong's martial arts perception at the Transcendent Realm and his divine sense at the late stage of Qi Refining did not generate even the slightest sense of vigilance.

Inside the serene and refined cottage, a gentle breeze carries a faint, delicate fragrance.

Pei Hongling was already dressed neatly, her hair perfectly styled, and quickly went to the outside of the small building to report to Master Guyue.

Her face once again wore the aloof mask typical of disciples from prestigious sects, and in every gesture, there was no trace of the disheveled and frantic state she had displayed earlier in the guest room when she attempted to undress and make a sexual exchange.

"Hongling, kneel down."

Master Guyue stood with his back to her, gazing at the unique scenery outside the window, his cold voice devoid of any inflection.

Pei Hongling remained silent, offering no explanation.

She walked straight to the center of the small building, bent her knees, and knelt down heavily.

"Bang!"

His kneecap slammed hard against the hard floor, producing a dull, crisp sound like a struck bell. This almost self-destructive force was not only a gesture of apology, but also a silent act of resistance, a forced swallowing of gritting teeth.

She knew perfectly well that everything that happened in the guest room of the villa could not escape the all-encompassing divine sense of her master.

Her attempt to seduce Xia Dong was a huge gamble.

She knew that as long as Xia Dong was swayed by beauty and profit and agreed, her master would most likely not step in to stop her.

After all, using her innocence as a member of the Pei family to quickly sever the karmic ties between her and Xia Dong would be an extremely worthwhile deal for her master.

Having endured this dark and arduous period of confinement, Pei Hongling felt that her temperament and methods had improved considerably. She could even use her dignity and innocence, which she had previously cherished, as bargaining chips to escape without hesitation.

However, despite all her careful planning, she overlooked the most incomprehensible detail: could that young man surnamed Xia be some kind of celibate eunuch?!

Her stunning beauty, coveted by countless men, was laid bare before him, yet it failed to elicit even the slightest ripple in his eyes.

This extreme humiliation of being regarded as a withered bone and discarded like trash was gnawing at her self-esteem like a venomous snake, even more painful than the chilling punishments her master had inflicted upon her.

"I gave you a chance, but you were useless." Master Guyue's voice, laced with undisguised contempt, broke the deathly silence of the small building. "What will you do if you harbor such despicable thoughts again?"

Pei Hongling buried her head deeply in the cold bluestone slab, her nails almost digging into the soft flesh of her palms, her voice dry and tight: "This disciple dares not. If I disobey again, I will accept whatever punishment Master may give me."

"Hmph, you spineless Dong Shi. Get out of here."

With that cold rebuke, Pei Hongling felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She silently kowtowed, got up, and staggered back into the night.

Once Pei Hongling's breath had completely receded into the distance, Master Guyue slowly turned around, a glint of light flashing in his deep eyes. He muttered to himself, "This kid Ren Xia's willpower is truly first-rate. His will is as hard as iron; he's indeed a rare talent for the Dao. However—"

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, a lingering doubt appearing in her eyes. "How could a trace of the divine light of Taiyin emanate from his body so soon after he took possession?"

The divine sense of the Lonely Moon Immortal was incredibly vast and acute. Just as Xia Dong was suppressing her lust and demonic nature in the guest room, the blood within her body surged to its peak. It was precisely at this moment of intense sexual turmoil that the extremely subtle fluctuations in his otherwise impenetrable aura-concealing technique caused a faint ripple.

In that split second.

The faint chill emanating from the talisman seed within Xia Dong's body, meant to extinguish the burning desire in his heart, was precisely detected by Master Gu Yue.

She originally intended to use her divine sense to delve deeper into the boy's background by following this flaw.

Who would have thought that, in order to calm her bleeding, Xia Dong would unabashedly strip naked, crush the talisman, and use the water to wash her body.

As the head of a peak and a cold-blooded female cultivator of the Ugly Rank, Gu Yue Zhenren naturally couldn't shamelessly continue "peeping" at a strong and completely open young man's body, so she could only immediately cut off her divine sense probe.

only----

Recalling the last fleeting glimpse he "saw" before his consciousness withdrew.

An extremely unnatural expression flashed across the cold face of Master Guyue.

She immediately activated the Daoist Ice Heart Technique, forcibly erasing the wounded and transformed image from the sea of ​​her heart.

"snort."

With a cold snort tinged with inexplicable emotion, the quiet and aloof little building returned to its deathly stillness.