“How is that possible?!” He raised his voice, instinctively refuting.

“But that’s the fact,” Fifth Lingyu emphasized the word “fact.”

He remained calm throughout, with only his phoenix eyes reflecting an indescribable depth.

Clearly, this scene had surprised not only the Director but also Fifth Lingyu himself.

The group of Immortal Grade disciples on the cloud also stared at each other in confusion, unable to speak.

Only Fifth Yingjun, with his grand demeanor, exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Wow! This person received a Celestial Grade evaluation from the ancient stele! Does anyone from our family have such a grade in the Fourth Prison? I think only the Young Clan Leader and my uncle have.”

Her dramatic exclamation seemed to snap the others out of their daze, and they began to chatter among themselves.

“It’s truly Celestial Grade…”

“It’s quite strange; could something be wrong with the Fourth Prison?”

“I find it hard to believe that an outsider could receive such a high evaluation.”

“There’s no need to dismiss others outright. With the Golden List Artifact’s three rings and the Five-Colored Sea’s rating, this person certainly has some skills. We, as Celestial disciples, should have the tolerance to acknowledge that.”

The speaker was a handsome young man sitting in the center of the cloud.

His eyes were clear and righteous, making him easily likable.

His words were also a reminder: as Immortal Grade disciples, they should be broad-minded and not undermine others just because they are somewhat superior.

After a moment of silence, the others agreed and changed their tune.

“I admit she’s impressive, but she has only passed the First Prison so far. There are still eighteen levels of the Life and Death Realm and the Dark Domain. Let’s see how she performs later!”

“I also want to see what’s so special about her that even my uncle is actively recruiting her and applying for resources on her behalf. My uncle doesn’t even regard the Young Clan Leader highly…”

“Quiet!” The young man in the center, who seemed to be the leader, sternly interrupted, “We can’t discuss my uncle’s actions. Let’s watch how this Qin lady performs next.”

The one who had spoken out realized his mistake, covered his mouth, and awkwardly said, “Right, right, let’s focus on this young talent.”

They all turned their attention to the scene projected in the air by the bronze bell and saw an unusual sight:

The cliff of the Hell Path was shaking, rocks were collapsing, and the Five-Colored Sea was boiling.

Then, five rays of light shot out from the sea and flew towards the white-clad fairy, revealing five translucent, crystal-clear stones.

“What are these?”

Most of the young disciples on the cloud didn’t recognize these crystals.

Someone guessed, “Could they be rewards for the Heavenly Grade evaluation?”

Immediately, someone shook their head, “Even if there were rewards, they should be given after completing the entire Fourth Prison trial. Why are they being given just for passing the Five-Colored Sea?”

“What about the reward?”

Only the handsome young man sitting in the middle guessed something.

His expression was serious:

“I heard that the reason why Uncle got a top rating was because he opened an ancient inheritance formation in the Five-Color Sea and absorbed the energy from the core crystal. This also caused the Five-Color Sea to stop functioning for several months.”

“Look, the sea in the image is too dark, and there are no bubbles rising. It’s unusually calm.”

“That does seem strange… but this still doesn’t make sense. The Five-Color Crystal seems to have come to her on its own.”

The young man was stuck; he couldn’t explain this phenomenon either.

“So, it must be that the Hell Path is having issues!” The person excitedly slapped his thigh and took out a copper bell. “Such an anomaly must be reported to the elders immediately!”

The young man thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes, it should be reported to the elders.”

Then, “Clang!”

The copper bell rang lightly, sending a message.

---

At the bottom of the Hell Path cliff, Qin Ruqing was unaware that countless eyes from all directions were watching her—360 degrees of unwavering scrutiny.

Qin Ruqing tucked her five pieces of wool safely and was about to continue when the scene before her suddenly changed.

Solid ground turned into a sheer cliff, and Qin Ruqing nearly fell off.

She quickly spotted a narrow path nearby, no wider than a thigh.

Using her core strength, she twisted mid-air and landed on the narrow path.

Looking down, she saw dark, eerie blue water filled with ghostly spirits.

Staring too long at it made her eyes tear up.

Wiping her tears with her sleeve, Qin Ruqing scoffed inwardly: It looks scary, but I know it’s just an illusion.

However, following the common story tropes, illusions can be deadly if not taken seriously.

“And according to the strange tales of Penglai, it might not be just an illusion…” Qin Ruqing murmured as she cautiously moved forward. “The Hell Path really does look like hell.”

After walking just a few steps on the narrow path, the restless spirits below seemed to be disturbed.

The ghostly water bubbled, as if sensing a living presence, and the spirits’ gazes turned toward Qin Ruqing.

The numerous glowing holes in the water gave Qin Ruqing a shiver.

“Everyone, I’m just passing through. I haven’t gone underwater, so please bear with me…” she said nervously.

Just as she finished speaking, the spirits let out a roar and surged from the ghostly water.

Oh no!

Qin Ruqing appeared frantic but quickly and decisively activated a protective golden light.

The spirits’ heads smashed against the golden barrier, performing a head-banging show against it.

The golden barrier made a noise like hail hitting glass, proving that these vengeful spirits had quite tough skulls.

After blocking one wave of attacks, Qin Ruqing withdrew the barrier and created a golden lotus with a flick of her wrist.

Perhaps because she had absorbed three kinds of fire attribute crystals earlier, her control over the golden flames had greatly improved, making this skill instantly effective!

The golden lotus rapidly expanded, transforming into a massive golden lotus phantom that collided with the dark, terrifying vengeful spirits.

Boom!

Countless vengeful spirits were blasted into black smoke and dissipated—Qin Ruqing’s fusion golden flames had a suppressive power against malevolent spirits.

Qin Ruqing clapped her hands with satisfaction and took a few steps forward, mumbling, “Ugly things, stop baring your teeth at me. Turned to smoke, did you?”

But before she could move further, the entire ghostly river began to boil, and a rumbling sound came from below, as if an enormous number of things were rising from the depths.

Moments later, countless sounds of water breaking erupted.

It seemed like she had stirred up a hornet’s nest of vengeful spirits.

All the vengeful spirits in the river gathered in the sky, their eyes gleaming with malevolence, and their bodies were so densely packed that it would terrify anyone with a fear of crowds.

At this point, it wasn’t just Qin Ruqing’s hair standing on end; her blood felt like it was flowing backward.

She screamed and ran, “Are you kidding me? How many years has it been since you’ve smelled a living person? Even if I do smell good, there’s no need to go crazy!”

Even in this critical moment of fleeing, Qin Ruqing remembered to keep moving forward, as far as she could.

Just as the swarm of vengeful spirits lunged at her, the giant golden lotus phantom once again repelled them.

While her flames were incredibly powerful, the sheer number of vengeful spirits was even more astonishing.

They came in wave after wave, their souls sizzling as if being roasted, but they still swarmed towards Qin Ruqing.

It was a more vivid and advanced interpretation of moths to a flame: souls flying into the fire.

“I feel your enthusiasm, but it’s a bit overwhelming. I can’t handle this!”

When Qin Ruqing realized that the more vengeful spirits she killed, the more would rise from the water, she decided to stop attacking and switch to defensive tactics.

She used the golden flames to merge with spiritual power, creating the highest level of flame defense.

As the spirits pressed in layers, they wrapped the flames into a black ball glowing with ghostly fire.

The scene was hard to describe…

All Qin Ruqing could say was that after being wrapped into a ball, it rolled faster forward, but it was also prone to tipping over and falling if she wasn’t careful.

The spirits seemed to have been treated as mere snacks.

It appeared that a certain point had been reached.

This point didn’t bind Qin Ruqing but instead constrained the spirits.

The spirits stared at Qin Ruqing with haunted, longing eyes, like wild dogs parting with their bones.

Eventually, the separation came.

Qin Ruqing breathed a sigh of relief, though it was short-lived.

The next moment, the narrow path beneath her collapsed, and the scene changed once more.

Qin Ruqing fell straight into a cauldron of hot oil.

The oil was boiling and bubbling fiercely. As she fell, the oil splashed, and a sizzling sound filled the air.

“Ah!”

Qin Ruqing closed her eyes and wailed inwardly.

Fried to perfection!

I shouldn’t have mocked Qirong; he only added some scallions, ginger, and garlic and was severely punished.

I’m being deep-fried!

She huddled inside her golden flame shield, shivering.

She wanted to escape, but the oil had sealed itself after she fell in, and she was truly trapped.

After a while of frying, the cauldron split in half, and both the oil and Qin Ruqing fell down together.

Qin Ruqing: I’m numb.

She continued falling and faced a barrage of steel needles, needing to walk on them while avoiding falling boulders.

She then landed in a murky, sticky pool of blood, overwhelmed by its stench and haunted by countless resentful spirits.

…

After going through several scenes, Qin Ruqing began to understand.

Sorry, I shouldn’t have called this place an illusion.

You immortals really know how to have fun; you’ve recreated the eighteen layers of hell.

No wonder it’s called the Hell Path.

I get it now!

After finally enduring the eighteen layers, she was unceremoniously spat out by a monstrous, fanged mouth.

She lay motionless on the ground. After a while, she shakily lifted one hand.

The hand, with its trembling motion, seemed to convey her feelings.

She was still alive.

But she felt as if she had died.