42: Chapter 42 The Night of the Eclipse

Night fell, and the bright moon rose in the east.

Under the bright moonlight, the Sect was magnificent, with lights dotting it like stars.

At the peak of Tianyuan Peak, atop the Haoran Tower.

Ling Hao stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves fluttering slightly in the night breeze, quietly gazing at the bright moon on the horizon.

"In the blink of an eye... it has already been nearly half a year..."

A whisper drifted away with the wind.

From being all alone to now possessing over a thousand Disciples and having the budding atmosphere of a Second Grade Sect, even with Ling Hao's state of mind, he couldn't help but feel a trace of gratification and emotion at this moment.

Standing here, the entire Moonshadow Sect could be taken in at a glance.

The light from the rooms in Fuqu Courtyard shone through the windows, faintly revealing two figures sitting opposite each other.

The direction of the Snow Pavilion was silent, save for the brightly lit Alchemy Pavilion on Chunyang Peak, where pill fires flickered.

At the Lunar Essence Pool, spiritual mist swirled and rose, hazy and dreamlike. A curvaceous, slender figure was vaguely visible, and the water surface was calm, reflecting three full, plump, bright moons.

From several distant mountain peaks, the silver-bell-like laughter of female Disciples occasionally drifted on the wind, adding a touch of vitality to the quiet night.

Ling Hao opened the System panel.

Name: Ling Hao

Age: 20

Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage, Layer 1

[Sect] | [Disciples] | [Mall] | [Blessed Land]

Moonshadow Sect (Second Grade)

Sect Master: Ling Hao

Number of Disciples: 1599

Sect Territory (3D Mini-map): A radius of one hundred li

Major Sect Buildings (3D Mini-map): Sect Main Hall, Courtyard Residences, Sheng-Sheng Creation Spring, Sect Protection Formation Taiyin Cycle Array, Scripture Pavilion, Alchemy Pavilion, Talisman Pavilion, Artifact Pavilion, Formation Pavilion, Nine-Turn Corridor, Spirit Field, Spirit Mine, General Affairs Department, Mission Hall, Blessed Land.

Sect Reputation: 252525

Sect Spirit Stones: 234567 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, 891 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones

Main Quest: Recruit three thousand Disciples, Reward: Golden Core Dao Trace Resonance for three hours

[Third Grade Sect Promotion Requirements]

Standard Strength: ≥ 3 Disciples at Foundation Establishment Stage

Promotion Reward: erosion suppression monument, tower of laws

"Xiao He has reached the Perfection of the tenth layer of Qi Refining, the day of her Foundation Establishment should be within these few days."

"The one following closely behind should be Xiao Xue, who is currently at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, her progress is quite fast."

"Finally, there is Yu Qing, who has just stabilized her Realm at the Late Stage of the Qi Refinement Stage."

Ling Hao pondered slightly.

Qin Zhaoxue possesses an Earth-grade Spiritual Root, and her speed of Realm improvement is only slightly inferior to Xiao He, who bears the Heaven-grade Void Spirit Root.

In this, her special Heavenly Yin Physique must have played a significant role.

If there are no accidents, these three Disciples will be the first to step into the Foundation Establishment Stage!

By then, the Sect's promotion to the Third Grade will be a matter of course.

"Soon..."

Ling Hao gazed at the bright moon, a trace of profound expectation flashing in his eyes,

"The day of promotion to the Third Grade will be when I truly forge my Golden Core Dao Foundation!"

Suddenly, Ling Hao felt something, and turned his head to look.

A figure of peerless coldness seemed to descend gracefully from the moon.

The night breeze blew gently, stirring the ice-blue thin gauze dress she wore.

Under the water-like moonlight, the gauze material was nearly translucent, hazily reflecting the graceful, rising and falling curves within.

Below the corner of her left eye, a small, exquisite, light-colored cinnabar mole was dotted there, like a drop of heart's blood on top-quality mutton-fat jade.

The moonlight poured over her, as if she were draped in frost and snow, so cold and detached that she did not seem like a person of the mortal world.

Her entire being was like a Fairy who had walked out of the Guanghan Palace, carrying a chill that kept people at a distance, yet because of that touch of cinnabar and the curves beneath the hazy gauze, she exuded a fatal attraction.

A smile instantly stained Ling Hao's eyes, a joy from the bottom of his heart:

"Ling Shuang? How do you have the time to come up here?"

Yu Lingshuang's eyes turned slightly, her voice like the light striking of a jade chime:

"Today's official business has been completed."

She was actually a bit helpless in her heart; this Sect Master was truly a hands-off manager, with all the major and minor affairs of the Sect pressed onto her shoulders as Deputy Sect Master.

But yet... he was also incomparably considerate of her toil, specially finding Chi Shuying to share the burden for her.

This thoughtfulness made even her cold and hard heart lake inevitably ripple.

"How is she (Chi Shuying)?"

Ling Hao asked naturally.

"Acceptable." Yu Lingshuang was concise and comprehensive.

That Old Ancestor of the Chi Family was indeed experienced in her methods, especially having quite an achievement in organizing Sect resources and coordinating relationships between various parties.

Nowadays, the Sect was expanding rapidly, and affairs were as complex as a mountain; if it were up to her alone, even with the ability to create Clones, it would be difficult to handle everything perfectly.

After Chi Shuying joined, trivial matters such as the allocation of spirit mines, the placement of newly entered Disciples, and the verification of tributes from affiliated forces were all handled in an orderly manner.

That she could finish official duties early today was entirely due to this.

Yu Lingshuang lifted her plain hand slightly, her palm holding a translucent jade box.

Inside the box were several clusters of fluffy, flocculent candies with elegant colors, intertwined like clouds and mist, with tiny specks of spiritual light flickering on the surface.

"This is Spirit Mist Cloud Silk Candy, made with the Hundred-Flower Spirit Honey newly offered by Jiuling City."

She handed the jade box to Ling Hao, her cold voice seeming to soften a little,

"Consider it... a return thanks for the Sect Master's honey cake last time."

Ling Hao was truly stunned; this Deputy Sect Master, who was always as cold as ice and frost, would actually personally make such delicate snacks?

He curiously picked up a piece and put it into his mouth.

The candy melted the moment it entered his mouth, light as smoke, and the fragrance of flowers and honey instantly filled his lips and teeth.

However, those wisps of sugar threads were extremely resilient.

As Ling Hao chewed, they actually stuck long and lingeringly to the corners of his mouth and his fingertips, like lotus roots breaking but with threads still attached, which was quite comical.

"Mmph..."

Ling Hao tried to take another bite, and more sugar threads were pulled out, sticking even more.

Yu Lingshuang quietly watched him "struggling" with the sugar threads in a slightly clumsy manner.

On that cold, ice-like jade face, the corners of her lips could not help but turn up slightly, outlining a stunning arc like an epiphyllum blooming suddenly.

Ling Hao even suspected that she was teasing him on purpose.

Simply, he stopped trying to tear it, released a bit of spiritual power from his fingertips, instantly compressing the fluffy sugar cloud into a small, solid honey ball, and then threw it into his mouth with a flourish.

"How is it?"

Yu Lingshuang asked, her cold eyes seeming to hide a trace of imperceptible expectation.

"Clear and sweet without being cloying, rich in floral fragrance, melts in the mouth, with a unique flavor; delicious!"

Ling Hao praised sincerely. He really didn't expect that beneath Yu Lingshuang's cold and hard exterior, she hid such delicate ingenuity.

"It's the Eclipsing Moon! The Eclipsing Moon is here!"

From below the peak, the Disciples' shouts, filled with a little panic, suddenly came.

Ling Hao and Yu Lingshuang looked up at the same time.

They saw the bright moon on the horizon staining red at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Scarlet moonlight poured down like a tide, enveloping the entire world in an eerie red.

Dense erosion qi spread along with it, making one's heart palpitate.

The huge Taiji star track diagram floating above the Sect Main Hall suddenly lit up, with profound runes flowing endlessly.

When that filthy blood-colored moonlight penetrated the Formation's light screen, it was purified, filtered, and transformed back into soft, moon-white radiance, falling peacefully.

The discussions of the Disciples below the peak instantly turned into exclamation and pride.

"Look! The erosion qi can't get in at all!"

"Our Formation is too amazing! Joining the Moonshadow Sect was the right choice!"

"We don't have to fear the Eclipsing Moon anymore!"

"Thank you."

A cold voice sounded beside him.

Ling Hao turned his head and saw Yu Lingshuang looking up at the moonlight purified by the Formation in the sky, her side profile breathtakingly beautiful under the moonlight.

Beneath her long eyelashes, her cold eyes were surging with unspeakably complex emotions.

Ling Hao instantly understood why she was thanking him.

Half a year ago, it was also a night of the Eclipsing Moon, and she, on the verge of death, fell in the wilderness, with erosion qi like maggots on the bone.

It was he who brought her back to the Sect, using the Sheng-Sheng Creation Spring to dispel the erosion qi and save her life.

At that time, she was stubborn and misunderstood, and he had even... with a punishing intent, heavily landed a palm on her perky buttocks...

Scenes of memory flashed through his mind involuntarily, and Ling Hao's gaze subconsciously fell on the waist-to-hip curve of Yu Lingshuang, currently wrapped in her ice-blue long dress.

That smooth and elastic curve, even through the clothing, allowed one to imagine the amazing elasticity and heat beneath it...

"Ahem..."

Ling Hao suddenly came to his senses, rubbed his nose in slight embarrassment, looked up at the moon to cover it up, and let out an ambiguous sigh:

"Ahem... this Eclipsing Moon... is really round..."

Yu Lingshuang only felt that Ling Hao's scorching gaze seemed to be branded like a physical object onto a certain secret part behind her.

Her fair earlobes quietly stained with a thin red.

She forced herself to calm down and tensed her body, but ripples rose in her heart: The Sect Master's gaze... is really becoming more and more... unscrupulous.

However, she actually couldn't generate any resentment in her heart.

...

Huoyan Sect, inside the Discussion Hall.

An old man in black robes and an old man in white robes sat opposite each other.

A Disciple hurried into the hall to report:

"Two Elders, the Eclipsing Moon has arrived, and the concentration of erosion qi has increased dramatically! Disciples in the Outer Sect already have erosion qi entering their bodies, and the situation is worrisome! Should we immediately strengthen the Sect Protection Formation?"

The white-robed Elder Miao Changshi did not even lift his eyelids, saying indifferently:

"No need."

The black-robed Elder Tang Ming frowned upon hearing this:

"Old Ghost Miao, why not strengthen it? If the Sect Master blames us..."

Miao Changshi interrupted him, his tone meaningful:

"Old Tang, this is precisely the Sect Master's intention."

Tang Ming's expression tightened: "Since it is the Sect Master's instruction, then there is no problem."

Just at this moment, an old man with a white beard walked quickly into the hall and bowed respectfully.

Miao Changshi's gaze was like lightning, shooting directly at Tong Xiu:

"How is the investigation into the Moonshadow Sect going?"

Tong Xiu bowed his head: "Reporting to the Elder, it has been investigated!"

"Tell me in detail!"