Mo Li sat cross-legged on the crude wooden bunk, eyes closed, breath steady.Outside, dawn broke over the Azure Frost Sect — pale sun glinting off curved rooftops and shimmering dew on peach blossoms. Inside, shadows curled thick and heavy around him.
He let his spiritual sense stretch inward, tracing the pathetic channels of this new body.Meridians so narrow they'd tear under even half his old power. A dantian that felt like a shallow cup compared to the endless black ocean he once wielded.
"Back then, a single flick of my qi could reduce entire elder halls to dust.A breath of my essence would leave royal princesses convulsing on silk sheets for days, begging for more."
His hands clenched. The wood under his palms groaned, splintering.
But… a slow, cold smile curved his lips.
"How fresh it feels, to start anew.To climb again from the filth, every conquest sweeter for having tasted death first."
His crimson eyes opened, burning softly in the gloom.
"Those sect patriarchs who arrayed their armies against me…Those cowardly so-called righteous clans who slaughtered my lovers out of petty jealousy…And you, my beloved Sword Saintess — who wept even as you raised your blade against me…"
He exhaled, dark qi rippling out in silent, hungry waves.
"I will find you again. I'll gather you all back into my arms —and this time, no celestial decree or sect mandate will tear us apart."
Elsewhere in the Azure Frost Sect, beneath a flowering plum tree, Lin Xinyao sat in meditation. A shallow pond mirrored her calm, closed eyes. Silver frost qi coiled lazily around her shoulders.
Only it wasn't just frost anymore. Her breaths came deeper, her meridians slick and warm, somehow expanded. Her core shimmered with strange new vitality.
"Why does everything feel… so light? My sword qi used to snag in my chest. Now it flows like silk…"
She bit her lip, cheeks heating with a rush of shame.
She knew why.Knew it had begun the moment she'd staggered out of that filthy outer sect dorm, thighs slick, trembling so badly she nearly collapsed on her way back.
She could still feel his fingers — hot, calloused, cruel — sliding between her folds.Still hear his voice, velvet over steel, purring filth directly into her marrow.Still see that faint, terrifying glow of dark runes crawling across his chest.
Her thighs squeezed together unconsciously. A tiny shudder ran up her spine.
"It was monstrous. Wrong.…But my cultivation has advanced more in one night than it did in three months."
Her hands curled into her lap.
"I won't let it happen again.I'll find a way to purge whatever vile energy he planted in me…"
Except… her feet had already betrayed her. She stood, robes whispering around her ankles.Before she'd fully realized it, she was walking again — back toward the outer sect, back toward that ruined door that still haunted her dreams.
Mo Li didn't even bother to look up when the door slid open. He simply exhaled a dark breath, savoring the sweet pull of her yin on his senses. Like the scent of ripe fruit splitting open.
Lin Xinyao stood frozen in the doorway, robe cinched tight, knuckles white on the frame.
"I… I'm only here because my cultivation has been behaving strangely.Because… because I need to ensure you've done nothing to permanently damage my meridians."
Her voice tried for cold dignity, but cracked at the edges.
Mo Li smiled slowly, finally lifting his gaze to hers.Eyes like twin drops of fresh blood.
"Of course. Come in, Lin Xinyao.Let me inspect you. Thoroughly."
Her breath hitched.And despite everything — the shame, the lingering horror — her feet moved forward on their own.The door slid shut behind her, sealing her inside once more with the monster she couldn't seem to resist.