Chapter 42: The Moon’s New Sandbag

Qingfeng Immortal was certain his hammer strike was delivered with his full might. This single blow possessed enough power to easily send a colossal Red Horned Beast flying.

Yet, why? The silver-haired girl remained utterly unmoving.

Infuriated, Qingfeng Immortal immediately launched another attack. His other hammer descended with the same thunderous force, aiming for the silver-haired girl’s head.

The outcome was no different from before.

What appeared to be a magnificent strike seemed utterly insignificant to the silver-haired girl; not even a flicker of emotion crossed her face.

‘Damn it! Isn’t she also a seventh-tier cultivator? How could she be completely unharmed!’

‘Perhaps this individual possesses some unique method to immunize against physical attacks!?’

‘In that case, I’ll try this move!’

With this thought, Qingfeng Immortal decisively leaped backward, creating distance between them.

As he channeled his spiritual power, massive rocks and vines surged from behind him, beginning to form a formidable cannon platform. However, as he prepared this devastating weapon, Lin Ling had no patience to wait.

In the very next instant, she appeared directly before the green-haired man.

The speed was so astonishing that it completely bypassed Qingfeng Immortal’s perception. Immediately after, she slowly extended her right hand towards his head.

Lin Ling’s slender, delicate hand, in Qingfeng Immortal’s eyes, resembled the soul-reaping claw of the God of Death. He hastily extended both hands, gripping Lin Ling’s wrist, intending to restrain her movements.

Yet, something utterly terrifying occurred. No matter how much force he exerted, or how much spiritual power he channeled—even abandoning the construction of his cannon platform to focus all his spiritual energy into his hands, crushing the wooden armor on his palms with his grip—he still could not stop the silver-haired girl’s hand from reaching for him. He couldn’t even slow it down!

‘What monstrous strength is this!!!’

Qingfeng Immortal was gripped by fear. He tried to retreat, to create distance, but found his feet inexplicably beyond his control. He could only watch, helpless, as Lin Ling’s hand drew closer.

Witnessing this, Qingfeng Immortal’s fragile confidence, which he had just managed to rebuild, instantly shattered. An overwhelming desire to flee, even if it meant abandoning his physical body, bloomed in his heart.

However, it was too late. Lin Ling’s hand had already seized his neck.

The next moment, his vision spun wildly, the surrounding scenery changing at dizzying speed. His body had no time to react.

He entered a state of complete disorientation from the high-speed movement.

As Qingfeng Immortal gradually regained his senses and his vision slowly returned to normal, the silver-haired girl’s hand, which had gripped his neck, had inexplicably let go.

Moreover, his surroundings were drastically different from before.

****

Moon Surface

Staring at the endless cratered plains, the vast starry sky above, and the utterly airless environment, Qingfeng Immortal realized with a jolt that he had likely arrived on the moon.

‘The moon??!! The moon?!! I’m on the damn moon?!!’

As a Saint-tier cultivator, he had, to some extent, transcended the bounds of conventional biology, capable of surviving peacefully in the vacuum of space. This was precisely why the seventh tier was regarded by all races as a qualitative leap, an evolution from mortal to divine.

Qingfeng Immortal had naturally never been to the moon, but he had no time to appreciate this sight, rarely witnessed by ordinary people. His mind was racing, grappling with a single question:

‘How did I get here?’

Qingfeng Immortal only remembered being grabbed by the neck by the silver-haired girl, followed by a wave of dizziness, and then he was here. Could it be that the girl possessed teleportation magic? And why would she teleport him here?

Right, where is she?

Unable to sense her spiritual power, Qingfeng Immortal had to rely on his sight to search. After glancing around, he finally spotted Lin Ling standing on a dirt mound not far from him. He immediately adopted a defensive stance. Their previous exchange had made Qingfeng Immortal acutely aware of Lin Ling’s terrifying power; perhaps he truly could not contend with this girl.

Still, he couldn’t simply sit idly by and wait to be slaughtered.

Just as he resigned himself to an inevitable fierce battle, a white figure floated up from Lin Ling’s shoulder and gradually approached him. He sensed no power, no indication of an attack.

When he clearly saw the approaching white object, Qingfeng Immortal’s eyes widened even further in disbelief, his mouth agape enough to fit an apple. The floating object was one he was very familiar with—the little white cat that had previously contained the Star Origin within its body.

‘Why can a cat survive unharmed in space!’

‘Also, what is this about? Why give Star Origin to me, an enemy? No one would be so foolish as to empower an opponent, would they?’

‘Unless… unless she developed a fondness for me after that battle? (Dream on, you wish!) It’s not entirely impossible, though. After all, I’m quite handsome in appearance right now, and beauty appeals to everyone. Since she’s an attribute-less cultivator and cannot absorb Life Star Origin, giving it to me to gain my favor might be a good choice.’

As Qingfeng Immortal pondered, Little White had already arrived before him. It was utterly fearless now, completely unafraid of being caught by the green-haired man again. It floated about jauntily, likely the most mischievous cat in history at that moment.

Then, right in front of Qingfeng Immortal, Little White pulled two gems from its internal space and dropped them before him, immediately returning the way it came. Although it wasn’t afraid of the green-haired man, Little White still felt safer by Lin Ling’s side.

His eyes fixed on the gems before him. From their spiritual energy, there was no doubt these were two Star Origins of extremely high purity. And besides the Life Star Origin he had yearned for, there was also a Water Star Origin—both perfectly suited to his attributes.

In that moment, Qingfeng Immortal felt as if he had flown from hell to heaven. Could his guess be correct? He had read many novels where the male protagonist was loved by a powerful female protagonist and then rose swiftly through the ranks. Could he truly be experiencing such a thing?

‘That would be incredibly lucky!’

‘And even if she has some scheme, would I, a semi-god after gaining the Star Origin, still fear a scheme? No matter how strong a Saint-tier cultivator she is, she couldn’t possibly defeat a semi-god of a higher tier.’

Excited beyond measure, Qingfeng Immortal eagerly picked up the Star Origins from the ground. Without a second thought, he swallowed them directly.

Lin Ling, not far away, merely watched in silence.

A faint golden light flickered in her eyes, and an invisible force slowly emanated from within the girl’s body, imperceptibly enveloping Qingfeng Immortal.

****

As the two Star Origins settled in his stomach, an unprecedented power surged into Qingfeng Immortal’s body. Unlike his previous absorption of the Earth Star Origin, this process was incredibly smooth, as if divinely aided.

Different spiritual energy attributes, normally prone to conflict, now merged effortlessly and worked in concert to transform his body, leaving him feeling utterly comfortable.

As Qingfeng Immortal’s body gradually etherealized, the three Star Origins integrated into his soul. A vast, overwhelming surge of cyan spiritual energy raged unbridled across the lunar surface, unreservedly displaying its invincible might.

In this moment, propelled by the three Star Origins and Lin Ling’s power, Qingfeng Immortal successfully stepped into the realm of a semi-god.

The realm of a semi-god,

meaning he had,

met the minimum requirement to become a ‘sandbag’.