Chapter 225: CH. 225 | Breakthrough An Yue Into Nascent Soul

One month later.

Lin Tian stood before his disciples, walking them through the finer details of a Profound Grade technique.

Ever since An Yue had entered closed door cultivation, he couldn’t leave the Technique and Weapon Hall without its master, worried the disciples there might lose their sense of direction without proper guidance.

As a result, Lin Tian took over teaching them three times a week, spending the rest of his time managing the sect alongside Wu Yue.

Today was Lin Tian’s scheduled teaching day. He was introducing them to the Northern Dragon Sword Technique, a Profound Grade technique suited for disciples above Core Formation.

Those below that stage focused instead on Spirit Grade techniques, better matched to their current cultivation base. When Lin Tian assigned this split, none of them raised any objection.

"To fully unlock this sword technique’s power, everything comes down to balancing the flow of your qi threads with sharp mental focus. Master that, and this technique won’t be difficult to wield at all," Lin Tian explained.

They listened closely to his words. The disciples gathered in a circle, forming the hand seals exactly as written in the technique scroll.

Lin Tian watched them and smiled, never having imagined the Lingxian Sect’s Core Formation disciples would grow so numerous.

It was a simple, telling sign that the Lingxian Sect’s strength and foundation had finally come together completely. The sect could now genuinely be called one of the great sects of the Qin Kingdom.

"No need to rush learning this technique. Try to grasp it through a genuine alignment between your heart and your mind."

THUMP!

While Lin Tian was in the middle of teaching, his attention snapped elsewhere as his body registered a powerful, thundering burst of spiritual energy.

It wasn’t just him either. His disciples felt it too, their focus scattering, restlessness spreading among them. Lin Tian used his qi senses to trace the source of that massive spiritual surge.

He found it. It was coming from directly behind him, up on the rocky peak, from inside the pavilion. Lin Tian gave a brief smile, then stood and turned around.

Looks like she made it.

Within seconds, a towering pillar of spiritual energy rose into the sky, tearing straight through the clouds.

Every disciple on Tianxun Peak froze in shock, watching that pillar rise clearly from the small pavilion atop the rocky hill, the very place where Elder An Yue always went to clear her mind.

Lin Tian raised his hand and dissolved the formation wall, letting An Yue be seen by everyone at last. The illusion wall dissipated into magical particles that scattered into the sky, startling the hall’s disciples.

"T-That’s the Hall Master!"

"So she’s been up there this whole time, and none of us ever noticed."

"Elder An Yue’s spiritual energy is incredibly strong. It looks like she’s breaking through to Nascent Soul."

Among the disciples swelling with pride, Lin Tian felt far prouder than any of them. He’d never imagined the very disciple who once struggled just to reach Foundation Establishment would end up achieving Nascent Soul.

She’d become the first among his core disciples to break through to that stage. To Lin Tian, this stood as An Yue’s finest achievement yet.

The massive pillar of spiritual energy rising from Tianxun Peak drew the attention of disciples from every other peak as well.

Luo Mei noticed the surge instantly. She turned and spotted the towering column of spiritual energy rising from Tianxun Peak, the very place where Senior Sister An Yue led the Technique and Weapon Hall.

One by one, they flew toward Tianxun Peak. Wu Yue arrived from the main hall and came to stand right beside Lin Tian.

She tilted her head up, her eyes fixed on the same sight. "Elder An Yue is breaking through."

"That’s right."

They watched An Yue rise into the sky, drawing in the heavens’ spiritual energy. The pillar of energy poured seamlessly into her body without a single hitch, gradually dimming until it vanished entirely.

A burst of qi rippled outward, spreading across the entire Lingxian Sect. Everyone felt that wave of energy wash over them.

An Yue’s eyes opened, and she looked down below. She set her feet gracefully on the sky floor, then glanced downward and smiled the moment her eyes met Lin Tian’s.

Everyone watched An Yue emerge from her closed door cultivation. The disciples of her hall dropped to their knees at once, clasping their hands together and bowing their heads in respect.

"Congratulations on your achievement, Hall Master An Yue!"

An Yue heard their voices, her feet lifting as she descended the staircase of sky, making her way toward Lin Tian. Her eyes never left him, the man she’d missed so dearly this whole time.

Now she stood on Tianxun Peak, having just broken through to Nascent Soul. To her, this breakthrough stood as the finest achievement of her life so far.

Her steps came to a stop right in front of Lin Tian, her feet settling onto the courtyard floor, taking in the bustling yet oddly soothing atmosphere of the hall around her.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Yue’er."

"Thank you, my husband."

"I’m so glad I finally reached Nascent Soul. It’s something I’ve wanted for so long," An Yue said.

She turned to the side and called one of her core disciples over, wanting to give them a blessing.

An Yue raised her hand and touched the disciple’s forehead. A flicker of light passed through them, smoothing out their absorption of spiritual energy.

The moment she finished helping her disciple, they opened their eyes and felt their meridians clear and unobstructed, able to absorb spiritual energy freely without any resistance at all.

Lin Tian felt genuinely happy. Beyond her cultivation reaching new heights, An Yue seemed to have developed a real, deep understanding of the power she now wielded.

Still, the path toward true immortality remained long. She’d only just reached the peak stage of a cultivator, still a step away from Soul Formation.

Even so, Lin Tian planned to help her extensively in developing her own dao concept, though he suspected her eventual dao concept would end up tied somehow to Senior Ling Weixi, the Saintess.

In the middle of speaking with her disciple, An Yue’s body suddenly lost its balance. Lin Tian saw it happen and rushed forward, catching her in his arms just in time.

An Yue’s eyes fell shut, her breathing shallow, her body limp and drained of strength. Her disciples grew anxious immediately, and Lin Tian felt the same worry rising in him.

He raised his hand and touched An Yue’s forehead, trying to check whether her meridians and dantian were still in order.

Running his primordial qi through her, everything checked out fine, even better than fine, thanks to the boost from her breakthrough.

What’s happening to you, Yue’er?

Lin Tian quickly scooped An Yue up into his arms and flew straight back to the sect’s main hall. Wu Yue followed close behind, calling out for Ji Xue to come as well.

Among everyone in the sect, only Ji Xue had the skill to detect illness or diagnose someone’s condition using a body scanning formation.

Hearing that An Yue had collapsed right after her breakthrough left Ji Xue startled and worried. She hurried alongside Wu Yue to reach the sect’s main hall.

The door opened, and the two of them stepped inside to find Lin Tian laying An Yue down on his cultivation altar, channeling primordial qi into her to help stabilize her condition.

"I’ve brought Ji Xue here, Master Lin."

Lin Tian opened his eyes and stood up, turning to see Ji Xue had arrived. She looked ahead, then told Lin Tian she needed to examine An Yue’s condition carefully.

To do that properly, she needed privacy, so she asked Lin Tian and Wu Yue to step outside the main hall for a while.

Lin Tian and Wu Yue exchanged a brief glance, then nodded in agreement, giving Ji Xue the space she needed to look after An Yue.

The two of them waited just outside the main hall. Wu Yue stood by calmly, while Lin Tian paced back and forth, his face etched with worry, an expression that made Wu Yue laugh despite herself.

"You look far more anxious right now than you did fighting the Yuanmo Sect Leader."

"I already checked her condition myself, using everything I know, and I couldn’t find anything wrong," Lin Tian said, turning to Wu Yue. "That’s exactly why I’m worried."

"Elder Ji is here now. She’s experienced with treating injuries and illness. I’m sure she’ll be able to figure out what’s going on with Yue’er."

"I hope so."

They waited outside the main hall for half an hour, Lin Tian pacing restlessly the entire time, hoping desperately that An Yue was alright under Ji Xue’s care.

Before long, the two of them saw the main hall’s door open. Lin Tian and Wu Yue’s attention snapped toward it as Ji Xue stepped out, her expression unreadable.

Lin Tian looked past her and saw An Yue resting on the altar of his cultivation hall, half her body covered by a warm blanket.

"I’ve examined her thoroughly, and I used everything within my ability to determine exactly what’s going on with her condition."

"Is Yue’er cursed? Or something like that?" Lin Tian asked.

"I didn’t detect any dangerous illness in her at all. If anything, her condition is remarkably good, from what I can tell."

"Then what is it?" Wu Yue asked.

Ji Xue gave a small smile, her eyes shifting toward Lin Tian. "Master Lin is about to become a father, and I’m about to become an aunt."

"What?"

"An Yue... she’s pregnant!"