Yinxue's sigh carried the weight of both her authority and her heart. She folded her hands atop her lap, her gaze softening — though her voice remained steady.
"I am not against you and Ziyue dual cultivating," she said at last. "The results are plain — your method accelerates cultivation at a frightening pace. It may be a weapon against the demons we cannot ignore. But…" Her eyes narrowed, sharp as frost. "It is dangerous. More dangerous than even you may admit. To draw away the pure yin essence of untouched maidens… it may grant them speed in the beginning, but in the long years to come, their foundations could wither. Their path may be crippled before it reaches its end."
Ziyue lowered her gaze at the warning, her hands clenched tightly. She had chosen her path, yet the Sect Master's words reminded her of the peril inherent in it.
Haotian, however, nodded gravely. He understood. More than anyone, he could feel the immense exchange of essence in the Union of Dual Souls. The method was powerful, but power without balance could collapse the very body it sought to strengthen.
Then a thought struck him.
If the essence exchange is about yin and yang chi… why must it rely on intimacy alone?
His mind whirled, the gears of cultivation logic spinning faster than words could keep up. If I can circulate my yang chi directly into their meridians… and they return yin chi into mine… then the effect should be possible without the carnal act. Direct chi transfer. A pure sutra, stripped of flesh. My body — the Ultimate Yang Fire — within the Ten Elemental Physique… it would harmonize instantly. And them… they would ascend without harming their foundations.
His eyes glazed slightly as the theory deepened, his focus spiraling into calculations of chi circulation paths, potential formations, resonance cycles.
Yinxue and Ziyue watched him, the silence stretching.
Then Ziyue whispered, "…that look."
Yinxue's lips pressed into a line. She recognized it as well — the distant, burning stare, the way his aura flickered faintly though he was still.
"He's thinking of something again," she muttered under her breath. "Something insane."
Haotian stood in silence for a long moment, the incense smoke curling around him. Then, without warning, his gaze lifted toward Sect Master Yinxue. His voice was calm, but his words struck like thunder.
"I will dual cultivate with all the females of the sect."
The chamber went still.
Ziyue gasped, her eyes flying wide, her lips parting in disbelief. Yinxue nearly rose from her seat again, her expression darkening with outrage."Haotian—! Have you lost your mind? Again with this? First Ziyue, and now the entire sect? Do you intend to walk the path of a debauched tyrant—"
But Haotian raised his hand, his voice cutting through their protests.
"Don't jump ahead. I do not mean dual cultivation as you understand it. I mean… a different dual cultivation."
Both women froze, their protests caught in their throats.
Yinxue narrowed her eyes. "…A different one?"
Haotian nodded. Then he exhaled slowly and spoke words he had never revealed before.
"My Ten Elemental Body Physique carries within it an ultimate form. One you do not know of. My foundation contains the Ultimate Yang Fire Physique."
Both women trembled, their eyes widening in shock. Even Ziyue's hands went cold as she turned to look at him.
"Ultimate… Yang Fire?" she whispered.
Haotian continued, his tone steady, measured.
"With it, my yang chi is inexhaustible and pure. If dual cultivation is simply the mixing of yin and yang, then why must intimacy be required? I can project my yang chi directly into their meridians, while they return yin chi into mine. We merge them together, cycle them as one, and return the flow into each body. The merged synergy becomes greater than what either can generate alone."
He stepped forward, his presence steady, his aura flickering faintly with suppressed yang fire.
"In this way, they need not give up their yin essence. There is no risk of their foundation being weakened, no danger of corrupt indulgence. It would be pure chi exchange — cultivation only, free of physical intimacy."
The chamber fell silent.
Ziyue's lips trembled as she whispered, "…to… to cultivate without touching… to merge chi alone?"
Yinxue's stern composure faltered for the briefest moment. The weight of Haotian's words hung heavy. If what he claimed was true… then it was not corruption. It was a revolution.
But still, her voice held steel.
"You speak of theories, Haotian. Dangerous ones. Even with your… impossible physique, are you certain this path would not harm them? Or you?"
Haotian's gaze burned with quiet determination.
"That is what I will prove."
Yinxue's eyes, sharp as frost, did not waver. "Prove it now," she said firmly. "No more theories. If this path is real, then test it on me."
Haotian blinked at her, then turned toward Ziyue. For a moment, hesitation flickered in her gaze. She understood the risk. But then, slowly, she nodded. "Do it," she whispered.
Haotian exhaled, then gestured toward the center of the chamber. "Sect Master. Sit on the floor, lotus position… but remove your robes first."
"What?" Yinxue's voice cracked, sharp with disbelief.
Haotian raised a hand to calm her. "Do not be alarmed. I will blindfold myself. It is simply… skin contact allows chi to flow more freely. Back-to-back contact is the most efficient method without crossing into intimacy. Nothing more."
For a long moment, Yinxue's lips pressed into a hard line. Then she straightened. "You first."
Haotian nodded without complaint. He untied his outer robe and let it fall away. His torso was revealed beneath the lamplight — broad shoulders, well-toned muscles hardened through years of tempering the Undying Dragon Sutra. His form carried both the weight of a warrior and the refinement of a cultivator, a body honed as a vessel for vast chi.
Both women flushed at the sight. Ziyue's face warmed instantly, her heart pounding faster. Even Yinxue, who had seen countless warriors in her long life, felt her composure waver.
Without hesitation, Haotian bound a black cloth across his eyes, blinding himself. "Now, it is only cultivation," he said simply.
The chamber grew tense. Yinxue's breath quickened slightly, but she drew herself tall. Slowly, she loosened the ties of her icy-blue robes. The silken cloth slid from her shoulders and down her arms, pooling softly on the floor. Clad in only her inner garments, her pale skin glimmered faintly under the moonlight lanterns.
Ziyue's eyes widened, her teeth catching her lip as her face turned scarlet. Why… why not me?
Yinxue stepped forward, her movements measured, though her heart raced. She sat cross-legged on the mat before him, turning so her bare back faced his.
The first touch jolted them both.
Her skin was cool as snow, his back searing hot like the sun. The stark contrast caused their bodies to tense involuntarily. But Haotian leaned slightly, ensuring full contact, steady and composed. His warmth pressed into her coldness; her icy aura cooled his fire.
Yinxue trembled. His back was unyielding, his muscles firm beneath the heat of his skin. The sensation of strength radiated into her — so steady it was almost suffocating. Haotian, in turn, felt her body: delicate yet strong, yin frost running beneath the surface like a hidden river.
"Now…" his voice was calm, even as his heart stirred faintly. He extended both hands outward, angling them behind him. "Take my hands."
Hesitant, Yinxue raised her hands. Her fingers brushed his before locking together. His palms were rough and hot; hers soft and cold, like snow caught in flame.
"Through your left hand," he instructed, "send me your yin chi. I will send you my yang chi through your right. When both bodies contain yin and yang, we will circulate it through our backs. Slowly. Carefully. It will take longer, but it should work."
Yinxue's face flushed deeper. Her composure cracked at the closeness, at the mingling of warmth and cold. Still, she closed her eyes and whispered, "Begin."
Haotian's brow furrowed. His body trembled faintly as he opened the floodgates of his yang fire. A stream of golden-red chi flowed down his right arm, entering Yinxue's meridian through her palm.
In return, a tide of frigid blue yin chi surged into his left hand, rushing into him like a winter storm.
Their backs grew tense at the sudden clash of elements. Heat and cold collided where their spines touched, sparks of energy flickering across their skin like fire meeting ice. The merged chi struggled, then slowly began to twine — not through passion, but through sheer cultivation control.
Ziyue stood at the side, her face crimson as she watched their joined backs, their locked hands. Her heart twisted painfully, her body heated with shameful longing. Why not me? Why is it not me sitting there?
But still, her eyes did not look away.
The first streams of chi collided violently — golden-red yang fire clashing with glacial-blue yin frost. Their hands trembled, their backs tensed. For a moment, it felt as if their bodies would reject each other, the opposing natures too fierce to reconcile.
But Haotian's voice was steady, calm."Breathe. Do not resist it. Let it flow."
Yinxue closed her eyes, her lashes trembling. Slowly, she loosened her grip on her chi, allowing Haotian's heat to seep deeper into her veins. The golden fire coursed into her dantian, scorching yet steady, burning away stagnant impurities she hadn't realized lingered within her body.
At the same time, Haotian accepted her yin frost. It poured into his meridians like an endless river of snow, cooling the raging heat of his yang, tempering it, refining it into balance.
The two forces clashed — then began to spiral together.
At their backs, where skin met skin, sparks of light flickered. Gold and blue threads twined into a vortex, a radiant coil of opposing forces slowly intertwining. As they circulated, rainbow glimmers surfaced — the Ten Elemental Body physique asserting itself, harmonizing the impossible into possibility.
Haotian's voice broke the silence, low and commanding."Cycle one — complete. Now, return the flow."
Their joined hands pulsed with energy. Yin chi entered his right side, yang chi returned through his left. Their backs hummed as the merged force was pushed through one another's meridians, circulating like a living river between two bodies.
Yinxue gasped, her lips parting. The sensation was unlike anything she had ever experienced — her body alive, burning and freezing at once, her sea of consciousness expanding with every completed cycle."This… this power…"
Haotian gritted his teeth as he tempered the flood of energy, guiding the rotation, controlling the violent surges so they didn't break her meridians. Sweat dampened his brow beneath the blindfold, but his aura remained steady.
Cycle after cycle, their bodies began to resonate. Their breathing synced, their pulses aligned, their chi harmonized.
And then — it happened.
A shockwave burst outward from Yinxue's body, rattling the lanterns, stirring the incense smoke into a whirlwind. Her aura flared, pure frost chi expanding in every direction. Her cultivation surged past its bottleneck, stabilizing at a level she had not expected for years to come.
She opened her eyes, her pupils wide, her body trembling."…Mid Soul Transformation Realm," she whispered in disbelief.
The room was still.
Ziyue pressed her hand against her chest, her heart hammering. She could scarcely believe what she had witnessed — no intimacy, only chi exchange, and yet Yinxue had broken through as though the heavens themselves had cleared her path.
Haotian finally released her hands, exhaling slowly. He retracted his chi and pulled away from her back, undoing the blindfold. His gaze was calm, but inside his mind roared with confirmation. It works. The theory holds. Pure chi dual cultivation — without intimacy.
Yinxue's chest rose and fell, her face pale but flushed with lingering energy. She turned to him, her expression unsteady."…You've done it again. Haotian, this… this is madness. But it works."
Haotian simply inclined his head. "Now the sect has another path forward."
At first, their chi clashed violently — golden-red yang fire slamming against frigid-blue yin frost. Their bodies tensed, their hands trembling where they were joined. Sparks cracked between their palms; faint tremors rippled through the chamber floor.
"Don't resist it," Haotian's voice was low and steady. "Let it flow."
Yinxue sucked in a sharp breath, closing her eyes. She let the golden fire seep deeper. It burned through her meridians, rushing past her chest, coiling low in her dantian, scouring old impurities with ruthless precision. Her lips parted as a soft moan escaped unbidden, the heat passing through every channel — even brushing against sensitive points of her body that made her shudder.
Haotian received her yin frost in turn. The cold river surged into him, chilling his veins, tempering his raging fire. His Ten Elemental Physique flared to life, rainbow light sparking faintly along his back where it pressed against hers.
Then came the resonance.
Their backs glowed where they touched — golden flame and azure frost twining into streams of rainbow chi that pulsed visibly through their spines. The energy crackled with sound, like fire hissing as it struck ice. Each cycle grew louder:Hummm—shhhh—crack!
"Cycle one… complete," Haotian murmured, sweat beading under his blindfold.
"Ahh—" Yinxue gasped, her voice trembling as another surge of warmth-and-cold surged through her. Her fingers clenched harder around his, her nails pressing faintly into his calloused hands. "It… it's passing through everything—!"
He guided her, his voice steady even as her body trembled. "Cycle it back. Let the flow return to me."
They did. Back and forth, yin and yang exchanged through their hands, spiraled through their bodies, merged across their backs. With every cycle, Yinxue's breath grew quicker, her body arching slightly as wave after wave of chi coursed through her. Her moans echoed in the quiet chamber, helpless sounds of both strain and deep pleasure as the chi brushed every part of her being.
Outside, the air shifted. The chamber groaned faintly as the temperature dropped, frost crystals spreading across the floor, only to crackle away when bursts of golden fire surged out from Haotian. Each cycle was a clash of elements, audible in the hiss of steam and the thunderous pulse of chi.
Then, at the fortieth cycle, Yinxue's body jolted."Haahh—!" she cried out, her voice breaking as her aura exploded. Frost and fire surged outward together, slamming against the walls. The lanterns flickered violently, the incense smoke shredded into spirals.
A tidal wave of yin chi burst free from her, shaking the entire sect mountain. Her cultivation roared past its bottleneck, climbing with unstoppable force.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted. Windows rattled. Snow from the peaks above avalanched down the slopes. Disciples across the sect gasped, looking skyward at the sudden eruption of their Sect Master's aura.
Inside the chamber, Yinxue's body glowed faintly, her skin shimmering with cold-blue light as her meridians expanded, her sea of consciousness deepened, and her dantian surged open wider than ever before.
She slumped forward, her breath ragged, sweat glistening across her pale skin. "…Late… Soul Transformation…" she whispered in disbelief, her voice trembling between exhaustion and awe.
Haotian released her hands at last, undoing his blindfold. His expression was calm but resolute. It works. The theory is real.
Ziyue, who had watched everything from the side, was left trembling. Her lips pressed tight, her face burning as she recalled every sound Yinxue made, every tremor of her body. Why… why is it not me?
The incense had burned out. Only silence and the lingering hum of energy remained in the Sect Master's chamber. Frost clung to the floor in jagged crystals, while faint scorch marks stained the wooden beams above.
Yinxue slumped forward, her breaths ragged, chest heaving as her body trembled. Her back still tingled where it had pressed against Haotian's, the memory of that burning warmth etched into her skin.
"…Late Soul Transformation…" she whispered again, as though saying it aloud would make it real. Her hands, still faintly glowing with residual chi, trembled against her lap. Never in her long years had she broken through so suddenly, so violently — without any bottleneck, without resistance.
Her eyes flicked sideways to Haotian. He had undone his blindfold, his dark eyes steady, his expression calm, but his body glistened with sweat. He looked unshaken, as though this level of cultivation surge were something he had accounted for all along.
"You…" Yinxue's voice cracked faintly, her composure failing for the first time in decades. "Do you understand what you've done? If this… if this method can be passed to the entire sect—" She cut herself off, biting down on her lip. Her heart raced. A sect of Soul Transformation cultivators? The demons would be crushed before the seal ever broke.
Yet beneath her awe, another feeling lingered. Every cycle of chi had coursed through her meridians, brushing through places untouched, stirring sensations she had never allowed herself to feel. The pleasure still echoed faintly in her body, making her cheeks burn. For the first time in her life, Sect Master Yinxue found herself unable to meet another's gaze.
Haotian stood slowly, gathering his robe back over his shoulders. His voice was calm, firm."This is only the beginning. Now we know: it works. The Moon Lotus Sect has a new weapon."
Yinxue closed her eyes, her hands clenching in her lap. "…Madness," she whispered, though her voice trembled. "…But necessary."
From the corner, Ziyue pressed her lips together, her entire body flushed. Her heart pounded painfully as she recalled every sound, every moan Yinxue had made. Jealousy and longing gnawed at her chest, though she said nothing. Her eyes, however, could not leave Haotian's back.
The sect mountain stirred.
Disciples had rushed into the courtyards when the shockwave burst outward. They looked up at the Sect Master's peak, where frost and mist still curled into the sky.
"She broke through!" one disciple cried out, her face pale with awe. "The Sect Master's aura — it leapt all the way to Late Soul Transformation Realm!"
"That's impossible! She only just advanced last year—"
"No… no, it's real. I can feel it!"
The elders exchanged glances, equally stunned. "No bottleneck… no warning… and this sudden leap? What method did she use?"
Whispers rippled through the sect like wildfire. Rumors spread in moments, voices hushed and feverish.
"Was it because of Senior Brother Haotian?""It must be! Ever since he returned, everything has changed…""But how? What did he do to the Sect Master?"
Speculation spread, laced with awe and envy. To them, it was another impossible miracle — and Haotian stood at its center once again.
Haotian exhaled deeply, the last traces of chi resonance fading from the chamber. He lifted his hands to the knot of cloth across his eyes and pulled the blindfold free.
The world returned in a rush of light — and at once, he froze.
Yinxue had not yet pulled her robe back on. She was still seated cross-legged, her bare back glistening faintly with frost and sweat, her pale shoulders rising and falling with ragged breath.
His eyes widened.
Her head snapped around. For a split second, their gazes locked.
Yinxue's cheeks flushed crimson, her composure shattered. She gasped sharply, hands flying to her chest as she jerked her robe from the floor and wrapped it hastily around herself."Y-you—! Blindfold! You—!" Her voice cracked with outrage and panic, the usually unshakable Sect Master stammering like a startled girl.
Haotian blinked, stiff as stone. "I—I thought— you had already—"
From the corner, Ziyue's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide before she broke into muffled laughter. Her face was scarlet, but her shoulders shook uncontrollably. "Pfft—Haotian! You— you actually—!"
"Ziyue!" Yinxue snapped, mortified, clutching her robe tight around her shoulders. "Do not laugh!"
But Ziyue could barely contain herself, her lips trembling as she fought back the grin. "Sect Master, you should have seen your face!"
Haotian, still standing in the center of the room, rubbed the back of his neck, utterly flustered for the first time in years. His princely aura was nowhere to be seen — only an embarrassed man caught in the wrong moment."This… this was an accident," he muttered, looking anywhere but at them. "…I assure you."
Yinxue buried her face in her sleeve, her ears glowing red. "Accident or not, if you speak of this to anyone, I will—" She couldn't finish the threat, her voice breaking off in mortified frustration.
Ziyue finally gave up holding back and let out a laugh that echoed through the chamber, tears in her eyes. "Heavens… this will haunt him forever."
Haotian sighed, utterly defeated. "I'll… keep the blindfold on longer next time."
At that, Yinxue groaned, half in exasperation, half in shame, clutching her head in her hands.