Chapter 95: The Roar of Tiger and Leopard, The Priestess's Kiss
Inside his body was a living hell.
A true hell of lightning.
Hikaru's consciousness felt as if it were adrift in a sea of purple fire. The slurry of lightning that had merged into his body was not nearly as submissive as he had anticipated; instead, it rampaged through his bones and muscles like an enraged beast.
The horn of the thunder beast was the crystallized essence of a demon that had undergone a qualitative transformation, a leap to a higher state of being.
And although Hikaru's body had been enhanced through six mutations, it was still fundamentally bound by the limits of a Physical Transformation.
If a quantitative change was to trigger a qualitative one, the vessel must first withstand the crushing, compressive weight of that higher quality.
[Sharp Body Transformation] began to operate at a frantic pace.
Muscle fibers tore and reorganized themselves, desperately attempting to accommodate and assimilate the violent torrent of lightning.
But the lightning was far too fierce.
The moment his muscles adapted, they were instantly torn apart again by searing electric arcs, reduced to charred fragments, only to be forcibly repaired by his Yao Qi before the cycle of destruction began anew.
Destruction, then regeneration.
Regeneration, then destruction.
This brutal tug-of-war played out in every inch of Hikaru's body, within every single muscle fiber.
Outside, a muffled groan of agony escaped his throat.
His body began to contort, undergoing an even more terrifying change. The muscles in his limbs swelled and contracted uncontrollably, as if countless snakes were writhing just beneath his skin, while brilliant purple arcs of electricity traveled along the contours of his very bones.
Crackle.
A series of deep, muffled sounds echoed from within his body.
It was the vibration of his skeleton.
No, it was more than just his bones.
It was his entire being.
The power of lightning was forcibly remodeling his physical structure from the ground up.
The essence of Sharp Body Transformation was the metamorphosis of one's physical structure, making the body tougher, more flexible, and better suited for combat.
And now, the lightning was intent on completely rewriting the blueprint of his body.
Bone and flesh trembled and hissed under the baptism of raw, untamed electricity. The vibrations connecting from his skeleton were like the rumble of distant thunder, like a primal roar.
The echoes from within… they sounded like tigers and leopards, like the very voice of the storm.
Every heartbeat, now driven by Yao Qi, was accompanied by a clap of thunder.
Every breath, simulated by his demonic power, exhaled a plume of purple electric fire.
This transformation was a complete rebirth, but it was also an extremely dangerous one.
Without intervention, this unbridled power would eventually burn through his remaining flesh and blood, shatter his skeletal frame, and reduce him to little more than a charred corpse.
There had to be a balance.
Something was needed to neutralize this violent, rampant lightning.
Hikaru's consciousness struggled amidst the chaos. He tried to mobilize the ghostly qi in his body to suppress the storm, but that energy was turbid—murky and sinister. When it met the lightning, it was like throwing oil on a fire; the internal explosions only grew more fierce.
But inexplicably, at that very moment, Hikaru's heart grew calm.
He believed he would be fine.
He believed in himself.
And he believed in the priestess waiting for him outside.
In the world of reality, inside the spiritual barrier, the glow of sacred power had not yet dissipated.
Kikyo lowered the longbow in her hand.
Dozens of demon corpses were already piled up in the surrounding darkness. The remaining rabble, thoroughly intimidated by her Sacred Arrow, could only hover in the distance, not daring to cross the invisible line she had drawn.
But her expression remained solemn.
She knew that the current threat was not from without.
It was from within.
Kikyo turned and looked at Hikaru, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground.
His condition was bad.
Truly, terrifyingly bad.
His originally pale face was now covered with a network of fine purple cracks, making him look like a piece of porcelain on the verge of shattering.
His skin was shockingly hot, the heat radiating from it visibly distorting the air around him.
Kikyo could clearly hear the roaring sounds coming from within him, as if a tempest was raging inside that lean body.
'He's losing control.'
Kikyo's judgment was, as always, undoubtedly correct.
The turbid demonic energy was too strong, and it was an extreme lightning-attribute Yao Qi. His physical vessel simply couldn't contain it.
He needed pure energy.
He needed extremely pure spiritual power to soothe that violent lightning and repair his broken shell.
And here, in this desolate place, no one but her could provide it.
Without a moment's hesitation, Kikyo stepped forward and knelt before Hikaru.
The priestess, clad in her white robe and red hakama, sat before him. Her glossy black hair fluttered gently in the night wind, and her dark, determined eyes looked down at the suffering man.
She reached out, intending to touch his cheek, but the instant her fingertip drew near, it was repelled by a sharp, crackling arc of purple electricity.
The repulsive force was incredibly strong.
Ordinary contact would be insufficient to transmit her spiritual power.
It had to be more direct.
It had to be… deeper.
Kikyo looked at Hikaru's tightly closed eyes, his body instinctively twitching in pain, and his features that, despite the agony, appeared unusually calm.
A faint blush crept onto the young maiden's cheeks. Her delicate, cherry-red lips pursed slightly, looking exceptionally moving under the flickering reflection of the lightning.
But that shyness lasted for only a single, fleeting moment.
Hesitation… was a luxury she did not afford herself.
In the next second, she leaned down.
Her hands cupped Hikaru's face, ignoring the sharp stings of the electric arcs that bit at her skin.
Then, she kissed him.
Their soft lips pressed together.
Hikaru's lips were searingly hot and dry.
Kikyo's, by contrast, were slightly cool and moist.
At the moment of contact, the spiritual power within Kikyo's body surged out like a river breaking its dam.
It wasn't her usual, aggressive Sacred Spiritual Power, but the gentlest, purest form of Purifying Spirit, channeled with her utmost control.
Gently, she parted his teeth.
Her spiritual power, mingled with her saliva, was passed into him.
Like a stream of cool spring water, it instantly poured into the burning crater of his soul.
Suddenly, in Hikaru's world of consciousness, it began to rain.
It was a white rain.
Gentle, cool, and total.
When that violent purple thunder-fire met this white rain, it was like a raging wildfire encountering a soft, quenching downpour. It did not fight; it yielded, quieting down almost instantly.
They began to merge.
The spiritual power enveloped the lightning, and the lightning tempered the spiritual power, before they finally flowed as one into his trembling body.
Yin and Yang harmonized.
The pure and the turbid coexisted.
The tearing, rending pain receded like a tide, replaced by an unmatched sense of comfort and wholeness.
True power was taking root and sprouting within his body.
He could feel his very essence undergoing a fundamental transformation.
Every muscle fiber began to hum with latent lightning.
Every inch of his skin began to shimmer with a faint, electrical glow.
Sharp Body Transformation was evolving.
Hikaru's eyes snapped open.
The first thing he saw was a pair of dark, beautiful eyes, mere inches from his own.
And that familiar, exquisite face.
Her eyes were closed, her long lashes trembling slightly, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she concentrated fully on passing her power to him.
Those delicate cherry lips were pressed firmly against his.
And beyond that, there was…
Hikaru was slightly startled.
He felt it.
That softness.
That moisture.
And that unreserved, selfless devotion.
As if sensing his awakening, Kikyo slowly opened her eyes. Her long lashes fluttered, and her gaze, now carrying a hint of panic, shifted away.
This was not the first time they had kissed.
But the previous instances had been fleeting, a brief taste, never this deep.
This was the first time they had truly blended, the first time they had gone so far.
Kikyo was still shy.
She wanted to pull away.
Her lips parted from his, leaving a delicate silver thread connecting them for a heart-stopping moment.
"You…" Kikyo's voice was a bit raspy, her normally cool and composed face as red as the sunset clouds.
She wanted to explain. She wanted to say that it was only to save him, to balance the energies within him.
But before the words could form, a hand was already supporting the small of her back. It felt slender, yet possessed a surprising strength.
Hikaru gave her no chance to retreat.
Within his body, which had just calmed down, another kind of fire seemed to ignite.
It was a fire even hotter and more consuming than the lightning.
"It's not over yet," he whispered.
Then, he leaned in and kissed her again.
This time, it wasn't for survival. It wasn't for power.
It was a response.
It was to ensure she never felt that this was something shameful—and if it was, then they would be ashamed together.
Kikyo's body stiffened for a brief moment, but then, just as quickly, it softened completely.
The longbow in her hand slid from her grasp, landing silently on the grass.
Her own hands unconsciously climbed onto Hikaru's shoulders, her fingers tightly clutching the collar of his robe.
The pure white ribbon that bound her hair came loose in the gentle struggle, and a mane of jet-black, beautiful hair poured down, cascading like a silken waterfall between the two of them.
Here, in the wilderness, within the sanctuary of her barrier, surrounded by the corpses of demons scattered across the ground…
Compared to the allure of becoming stronger…
The response from the woman in his arms was clearly far more important.
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