As Qin Ruqing collapsed, her vision flipped to the yellowish sky above.

Soon, the sky was no longer clear; the heads of the hungry ghosts appeared, their greedy, sharp eyes.

When the hungry ghosts completely obscured the sky, Qin Ruqing thought:

She would rather be eaten by a thousand beasts than face these hungry ghosts.

At least the beasts weren’t as revolting as the hungry ghosts.

Her body jolted, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself at the entrance of the arena.

A humanoid puppet in golden armor with empty eyes mechanically opened the door.

The sunlight was bright, and Qin Ruqing walked out in a daze.

There was no ancient city, no hungry ghosts; the air was clear, and the sunlight was glaring.

Qin Ruqing suddenly snapped to her senses, gasping for breath and almost collapsing.

Her spiritual energy felt as if it had never disappeared, and her innate fire was burning vigorously within her, ready to emerge at her call.

That was the feeling of power.

This strength sustained Qin Ruqing as she leaned against the wall, catching her breath, and then slowly left the arena.

Back in the old woman’s courtyard, she did not see the old woman’s children.

The old woman looked at Qin Ruqing with a moment of shock and instinctively supported her with a gentle hand.

After observing for a while, the old woman concluded, “You have been judged.”

Her tone was a mix of fear and neutrality.

Qin Ruqing, weakly smiling, asked, “Will there be any report for new judges in the Sin City?”

The old woman shook her head, “No, because there are new judges every day. And there is no need for a report; just by looking at you, one can tell.” The old woman appeared to be very experienced.

Qin Ruqing didn’t realize how frightening she looked now.

Her forehead was covered in cold sweat, her face was as pale as paper, devoid of any color, and her expression was extremely tired and tense, hard to relax.

This was the appearance of someone who had undergone judgment.

She was provided with a generous amount of spiritual food and hot water for bathing.

The old woman thoughtfully withdrew, knowing from experience that Qin Ruqing would likely need hot water even though cultivators usually practiced cleanliness themselves.

Upon seeing hot water, Qin Ruqing immediately washed up, not even bothering to eat first.

Exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up, she sat up and silently processed everything before erupting in anger.

“So this is the kind of suffering Fifth Youlin was talking about! Who can tolerate this?! It’s enough to make you sick!”

“Whoever designed this trial had a twisted brain!”

After venting her frustration, Qin Ruqing calmed down and began to recall the details of the first trial.

First, what exactly were those zombie-like hungry ghosts?

Were they real?

Based on her experiences during the trial, she concluded that they were indeed real, possibly native creatures of the ancient city.

Second, the ancient city felt like a real space.

She found no evidence to suggest it was an illusion.

If it wasn’t an illusion, the only way to escape was to break through from within.

Finally, through this trial, Qin Ruqing realized her objective in the Hungry Ghost Path.

Now embodying “Ruqing,” she bore a guilt and had become a resident of the City of Sin.

Her task was to escape the cycle of judgment and leave the Hungry Ghost Path before the six-month deadline.

An elderly woman later told her that after entering judgment, there was a seven-day interval before the next trial.

Seven days later, Qin Ruqing found herself back in the ancient city.

This time, while evading the hungry ghosts, she paid close attention to any special buildings within the city.

She hypothesized that if the ancient city wasn’t an illusion, there had to be a way out from within.

However, the city’s vastness thwarted her efforts, and she found nothing.

This trial wasn’t uneventful though; Qin Ruqing encountered another person trapped in the cycle of judgment.

She witnessed him being devoured by the hungry ghosts, leaving only a skeleton and a terrified expression in his eyes.

The sight shook Qin Ruqing deeply.

During the third trial, Qin Ruqing actively helped some residents of the City of Sin by luring away hungry ghosts or forming a small group for mutual protection.

They huddled together in a roofless, dilapidated house at night.

So far, Qin Ruqing had endured mainly mental torment.

The physical suffering was bearable, so she managed to persevere.

But that night, she truly understood their fear.

Nighttime was the peak activity period for the hungry ghosts.

They could appear at any moment.

The residents were too scared to relax, their eyes wide open like startled birds.

Even though the night had been relatively peaceful until then, providing a chance for rest, no one dared to relax.

Through these trials, Qin Ruqing discovered a survival strategy in the ancient city: reducing mental activity and relying on bodily instincts.

Vigilance, escape, and counterattacks were all left to her body’s automatic responses, allowing her mind brief moments of respite.

But these people clearly didn’t know this method.

They were the lowest of the low in the City of Sin and the ancient city, powerless to resist.

Their fate was to be judged.

The hungry ghosts finally arrived.

The sword of Damocles hanging over them fell!

Another swarm of hungry ghosts, numbering no less than five hundred.

Qin Ruqing struggled to protect herself, let alone save them.

She watched as their judgment ended that night, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.

With her spiritual power sealed, her life essence fire sealed, and her Dao Physique sealed, Qin Ruqing realized how weak she was without these abilities.

The notion of “endless life” seemed a joke now.

If it could be sealed, how was it endless?

For the first time, Qin Ruqing doubted herself instead of feeling confident.

After the third trial, Qin Ruqing returned to the old woman’s courtyard.

But she found no hot meal or hot water awaiting her.

Instead, she discovered the old woman hiding in her room, crying, with her usually numb daughter beside her, showing clear signs of distress.

The old woman’s son had died in judgment.

The old woman held a funeral for her son, her grief palpable.

When sealing the coffin, she bitterly muttered, “I hate this!”

That night, the old woman entered judgment and never returned.

Her remaining daughter held a funeral for her.

Watching her cry, Qin Ruqing squatted beside her and softly asked, “Have you ever thought about resisting?”

“Resist?” The daughter looked confused. “We were born with sin. Isn’t being judged our fate?”

The people of the City of Sin had come to accept the absurd as normal through their endless days.

Qin Ruqing’s anger knew no bounds.

She couldn’t tell if what she saw was real or not, but whether it was real or an illusion, she had deeply empathized with the tragedy of the city’s residents.

She now wanted nothing more than to overthrow the judges and destroy the arena.

Seven days later, Qin Ruqing entered the fourth trial.

Filled with anger, Qin Ruqing entered her fourth trial, but she suddenly halted upon seeing the familiar desolate city environment.

She had intended to overturn the arena, but in the place where she had been thrown, it seemed there was no arena within the desolate city—at least she didn’t know where it was at the moment.

She wanted to rescue the residents of the Sin City, but with her spiritual energy and Dao Physique sealed during the trial, she was just an ordinary person!

She had no ability to save the residents of Sin City.

She didn’t even know how to end her own cycle of judgment.

Exhausted, Qin Ruqing sat down on the ground in despair.

More hungry ghosts were slowly wandering towards her, and although she felt weary, she had to stand up and fight them.

As she fought off these disgusting creatures, she wondered: Where are all these hungry ghosts coming from?

Do they just appear out of nowhere?

Even if this is an illusion, there should be some basic rules, right?

Is it possible they’re actually spawning out of thin air?

Also, there was something she had previously overlooked: everyone talked about the arena, but she hadn’t seen any beasts so far—only a bunch of eerie, half-human, half-ghost creatures.

Even if there are no beasts, what about the arena?

She hadn’t seen any arena or venue!