Qin Ruqing glanced towards the canyon.

She had a strong feeling that the barrier wouldn’t hold a true Golden Core stage beast for much longer.

She couldn’t keep experimenting; it was time to end this quickly.

Muttering to herself, she began forming seals with her hands. “I guess I’ll have to use my innate divine ability on you.”

Lotus Fire Possession!

Golden flames began to burn from within her, consuming her blood and meridians without causing harm, instead amplifying her potential.

As the flames engulfed her completely, her power surged.

From mid-Foundation Establishment, she ascended directly to late-Foundation Establishment!

The surrounding area felt the oppressive heat of her golden flames.

This heat was not from her cultivation level but from the sheer power of the flames.

They radiated a searing energy that seemed to agitate the spirit.

This was the new effect of her innate flames after merging with heavenly fire, capable of scorching the soul itself.

Usually, scorching a soul with flames required powerful spells, but with her innate divine ability activated, the flames’ power reached an extreme, affecting the environment around her.

Tang Zifeng and the Lin family members watched in awe and fear.

What kind of divine ability was this? What power!

Standing on the shore, the flame-cloaked figure raised a hand, clenched it into a fist, and muttered, “This ability is pretty awesome… but why does it make me look like a fire warrior? There’s no elegance in this! I prefer skills that look flashy and have equally flashy effects.”

The Lin family members nearly fainted.

Such a terrifying ability, and she’s complaining about its aesthetics?

“I’ll have to think about modifying it later,” the flame figure mumbled as she lifted her head, her fiery eyes locking onto the Small Thundercloud Beast just emerging from the water.

In that moment, the beast felt a searing pain in its soul and trembled, sensing an unprecedented threat from the approaching fire figure.

---

Inside the waterfall cave.

As soon as Lu Wei and Qirong entered, they began to observe their surroundings.

The cave was damp and dark, with only the purple pearls embedded in the stone walls emitting a faint glow.

Qirong was curious. “Why are the pearls purple?”

“Never mind that for now, finding Mysterious Heart Liquid is our priority,” Lu Wei said firmly.

Qirong nodded emphatically.

The two of them spread out within the cave.

After a quick search, they met back up, both shaking their heads.

“No trace of it at all!” Qirong was starting to panic.

Could it be that the Mysterious Heart Liquid wasn’t here?

The stone wall suddenly rumbled, dislodging some rubble—a clear result of the fierce battle raging outside.

The intense noise from the fight made the cave feel even quieter, adding to the sense of urgent tension.

“What should we do, Third Sister? Can our little sister handle it outside? What if the Golden Core stage beast returns?”

Lu Wei scolded, “Stay calm!”

Her sharp eyes scanned their surroundings.

“Think about how Sister Qingqing usually handles things. If she were here, she’d definitely find it.”

She frowned and murmured, “Mysterioua Heart Liquid… It must be related to water.” Fixing her gaze on the walls, she said, “Find the dampest spot in this cave.”

Qirong nodded, recalling their treasure-hunting adventures at home led by their little sister.

He listened carefully for the sound of water and soon approached a section of the wall. Pressing his ear against it, he said, “The dripping sound is loudest here!”

Lu Wei listened for a moment as well, then nodded firmly.

Qirong clenched his fist and said, “Step back, Third Sister.” Once Lu Wei had retreated to a safe distance, Qirong punched the wall with a powerful blow, creating a large hole.

Qirong shielded Lu Wei from the falling debris.

As the dust settled, they saw an inner chamber behind the wall.

Inside was a pool of water with root-like plants growing in it.

The pool had a pale yellow tint and emitted a faint medicinal fragrance.

Qirong exclaimed, “The Mysterious Heart Liquid!”

He hurried forward, inspecting the pool. “There’s so much of it, a whole pool!”

Lu Wei, though initially excited, frowned after a closer inspection. “This doesn’t seem right… It’s not the Mysterious Heart Liquid.”

She sniffed the air. “This pool has a medicinal scent, but the potency is too weak. I don’t believe that an Elixir capable of aiding in forming a golden core would be so diluted.” She stood up and declared, “This is likely a decoy!”

Qirong was taken aback. “Then, what do we do? Is this pool useless?”

Lu Wei walked around the pool, then lay on the ground to listen.

After a moment, she said, “I can still hear dripping water. The source isn’t here; it’s below us!”

Qirong understood immediately.

The Mysterious Heart Liquid wasn’t above ground but possibly below.

However, he didn’t rashly smash the ground, as doing so might contaminate the Liquid with debris.

After examining the area, Qirong pinpointed a corner as the pressure point and struck it with precise force.

The impact was much gentler than before, causing only a few cracks.

This was intentional.

Qirong continued to carefully punch along the cracks until he created a small hole.

Peering inside, he said, “Third Sister, I’ll go first. Follow right after me.”

Lu Wei nodded, and Qirong jumped down.

Lu Wei chuckled, “You can step aside. I don’t need you to be my cushion for such a short drop.”

Qirong laughed and moved aside as Lu Wei followed him down.

Their eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light, and they scanned their new surroundings.

They finally navigated around a stone wall and were greeted by an unexpected sight.

The roots of the plants from the upper layer had penetrated through the stone and were hanging precariously, dripping droplets of medicinal liquid.

Below these droplets, a row of spiritual plants resembling a cross between lingzhi and mushrooms were growing.

These peculiar plants had opened their caps just wide enough to catch the droplets falling from above.

The liquid rolled around the caps, absorbing the powder on their surface, before dripping onto the next cap in the series.

By the time it reached the last cap and collected in a stone bowl at the bottom, the liquid had turned a deep brown color.

The stone bowl seemed to have been specially treated to mask any medicinal scent, but Lu Wei leaned in to smell the residue on the plant caps and confidently said, “This is the true Mysterious Heart. Liquid”

“These plants are Mystic Heart Lingzhi. The elixir forms by absorbing their spore powder,” she explained.

Qirong’s face lit up with joy. “Then what are we waiting for, Third Sister?”

Lu Wei frowned. “There’s a spiritual barrier around this stone bowl. If we touch it, we might alert the Golden Core stage beast.”

Qirong insisted, “It’s already trapped. Even if it senses us and breaks free, it’ll take time to get here. Third Sister, we can’t hesitate now!”

Lu Wei chuckled.

He was right—hesitating was wasting time.

If Qingqing were here, she would have started collecting the elixir without a second thought.

Without further hesitation, she took out a top-grade jade bottle that glowed softly, broke the protective barrier around the stone bowl, and began collecting the Liquid.

As the barrier broke, a golden light circled the air before slowly dissipating.

Lu Wei tried to cast a spell to intercept it, but the alarm set by the Golden Core stage beast was not something she could easily disrupt.

Standing up, she quickly put away the jade bottle containing the Mysterious Heart Liquid and said urgently, “The beast has been alerted. We need to go, now!”

Outside the waterfall, a fiery Qin Ruqing had beaten the Little Thundercloud Beast to a pulp.

With it bound by golden flames, she sat atop it, catching her breath.

“Wow, using this ultimate move drains so much spiritual energy! Even my physique can barely handle it. I almost got completely drained!”

She waved her hand to cool herself, retracting the divine ability and reabsorbing the flames into her body.

Suddenly, she sensed a terrifying roar echoing from the direction of the canyon, accompanied by an invisible pressure that scattered numerous birds and beasts.

Qin Ruqing leaped to her feet, clenched her fist, and muttered, “I knew it! That formation was a shoddy piece of work. It’s broken free!”

“Uh-oh, uh-oh, we’ve beaten the small one, and now the big one is coming! My divine skill is on cooldown and I’m totally drained!”

The Little Thundercloud Beast, still curled up from its beating, sensed the disturbance as well.

It spoke in a gruff, human-like voice, “My father is coming! You despicable humans, none of you will escape!”

The red-clad human who fought like a beast had burned its fur—its beautiful purple fur!

The Small Thundercloud Beast was enraged, vowing to have its father tear her apart, limb by limb, and use her bloodline as nourishment for its Mystic Heart Lingzhi.

Qin Ruqing widened her eyes. “So, you’re just a daddy’s boy, huh? Keep yapping, and I’ll yank your teeth out!”

Her tone was light, but she was deeply worried.

Third Sister and Qirong hadn’t come out yet!

Could it be that they had trouble finding the Mysterious Heart Liquid, or was it that there was no elixir to begin with?

Tang Zifeng sensed her anxiety.

He knew that as long as Lu Wei and Qirong were still inside, she wouldn’t leave them behind.

He walked over and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll go in and help you find them!”

Qin Ruqing kicked the Thundercloud Beast aside and said sternly, “I’ll go with you.”

Just as they were about to move, two figures emerged from the waterfall.

“Sister, we got it!”

“Sister Qingqing, the Golden Core stage beast has been alerted. It’s coming right now, we need to run!”

Sure enough, the violent aura from the direction of the canyon was getting closer.

Qin Ruqing quickly assessed the situation and shouted, “Tang Zifeng, Clown Flying Boat!”

Tang Zifeng had already summoned the flying boat before she finished speaking.

He was used to her habit of adding unnecessary words when calling it the ‘Clown Flying Boat,’ so he didn’t say anything.

The flying boat caught Lu Wei and Qirong as they leapt from the waterfall.

Qin Ruqing also jumped on, ready to leave, when she spotted the tightly bound Lin family members.

Now that the Thundercloud Beast was injured and balding, the arriving big Thundercloud Beast would undoubtedly take its anger out on the humans present.

The fate of the Lin family was clear if they stayed.

Qin Ruqing gritted her teeth and, with a swift motion, flung a chain of golden flames to drag the Lin family over like a bunch of balloons.

She hurriedly patted the side of the boat.

“Oh my goodness, I’m really being too kind, dragging along a bunch of burdens while escaping… Hurry up, Little Tang, start the boat! Let’s get out of here!”