Qin Ruqing lowered her eyes, not seeing the figure’s expression.

The figure looked at her with interest and said, “Go ahead, then. What is your clever solution?”

Qin Ruqing chose to honestly reveal her thoughts:

“If I hadn’t experienced the City of Sin myself, hadn’t felt the pain of its judgment, I might have only sighed at the fate of its residents without addressing their grievances.

Their ancestors were guilty, and as projections of beast resentment, their suffering could be seen as a way to atone for their ancestors, with no issues with the existence of the City of Sin.”

“But now, having personally experienced the suffering of the City of Sin’s residents, I believe this beast resentment is indeed an unbearable burden for them.”

“I cannot destroy the formation, so I am willing to give up my rating in the Hungry Ghost Path. This goes against my initial intent.” She had originally promised in her heart to save the residents of the City of Sin, but now she clearly cannot achieve that.

“Therefore, after leaving the Hungry Ghost Path, I am willing to find another way to seal the beasts.

This is what I meant by exploring alternative paths: not everything is black and white.

One method can lead to many others.

Sealing beasts is a blocking method; if blocking doesn’t work, then we try to guide. If guiding doesn’t work, we seek another method.”

The figure smiled and said, “The ancient great beings who established this method must have tried all possible methods.

Do you think you can find a better method than they did? Do you know the difficulty involved?”

Qin Ruqing shook her head, “I understand. The difficulty is certainly beyond my imagination.”

“Then why dare to say such things? If you fail, what will happen to these residents of the City of Sin?”

Qin Ruqing replied, “If I truly use my whole life’s effort and still cannot succeed, I will openly admit my incompetence. I will offer incense to the City of Sin’s residents, but I will have no regrets in my heart!”

The white space was quiet for a moment. Suddenly, the figure burst into laughter, “No regrets, such a no-regrets response!”

After laughing, the figure teased, “Let’s not mention other things, but you’ve given up real benefits. I will take your response as a waiver.

Thus, you will not have a rating in the Hungry Ghost Path. It’s a pity; I was quite satisfied with you and intended to give you a Heavenly-level rating.

Do you know how generous the rewards are for the Heavenly level?”

Qin Ruqing was stunned.

This question was like a knife to her heart—her rewards!

While discussing other matters might be too distant, the rewards from the Hungry Ghost Path were directly related to her.

Qin Ruqing displayed a look of helplessness and didn’t hide her feelings.

She said directly, “Senior, please don’t mention it. It’s too painful to hear.”

The figure laughed again.

Afterward, the figure’s expression turned serious, and it threw out two light orbs.

The orbs flew towards Qin Ruqing’s hands, and when the light dimmed, they revealed themselves as two tokens.

These tokens looked very familiar to Qin Ruqing.

The Heavenly-level tokens she received from the first two trials of the Four Hells looked exactly the same, except for some different details.

Turning the tokens over, she saw the characters “Heavenly Level 2” written on them.

Qin Ruqing initially felt a surge of joy, thinking that perhaps the great being was impressed by her answer and had given her a Heavenly Grade rating.

But why were there two tokens?

“Senior, what is this…?”

The figure responded indifferently, “These are the Heavenly Tokens for both the Ghost Path and the Human Realm.”

Qin Ruqing’s hand shrank back in surprise.

There was even a Human Realm token…

In her shock, she noticed that the tokens felt hot in her hand and hesitated, “I haven’t even completed the trial of the Ghost Path. How can I receive two tokens?”

The figure seemed to look at Qin Ruqing but didn’t answer her question. Instead, it asked, “Aren’t you curious about the rewards on these tokens? From what I’ve observed, you seem quite concerned about this in the Four Hells.”

Qin Ruqing gave a wry smile, “Though I am somewhat materialistic, I also understand the importance of things. I won’t take what I shouldn’t or can’t.”

This was Qin Ruqing’s principle of greed—she always weighed whether she could actually take and hold onto something before trying.

She was subtly asking if accepting these tokens required any additional price or if she could back out if she couldn’t meet the expectations.

The figure said, “The price is that you must do what you have promised to do.”

What she had promised to do…

Qin Ruqing’s eyes brightened as she realized she needed to find a new way to seal or dispel the beast’s resentment!

Qin Ruqing hesitantly asked, “Then, do I need to make any kind of Heart Demon Oath?”

She wondered if, after accepting the tokens, she might not be able to fulfill the requirements, in which case she would be in trouble, as the great being was in the Four Hells and could easily find her.

The figure smiled, “The weight of these two tokens is such that if you accept them, you are bound by cause and effect. If you go against your earlier sincere words, you will receive the punishment you deserve without needing a Heart Demon Oath.”

In other words, the responsibility was so significant that it did not require an additional oath.

If she accepted the tokens and felt guilty, her fate would automatically bring punishment.

Qin Ruqing felt a shiver and carefully asked again, “So, it’s really only about staying true to oneself?”

Seeing her cautiousness, the figure chuckled, “Otherwise, would you like me to make you promise to fulfill it?”

If even an ancient great being couldn’t guarantee certain things, her utmost promise could only be to stay true to herself.

There was no need for more.

Qin Ruqing quickly shook her head.

After a moment of silence, Qin Ruqing tightly gripped the tokens and bowed solemnly, “I will remember what I have said today.”

She didn’t need to say anything flowery or elaborate.

As the great being had mentioned, she didn’t need a Heart Demon Oath.

The gifts of fate have already come with a price.

From the moment she chose to accept this gift, many things were already set in stone.

If fate demanded she find a method to seal the resentment, Qin Ruqing would certainly be overwhelmed.

But if it only required her to be at peace with herself—she was confident she could handle it!

She had ambition, burdens to bear, and determination to climb higher.

Everything has a price, and she was willing to pay it to rise above.

“However, I don’t understand why you gave me the Human Path token when I haven’t even entered the Human Path.”

The figure looked past Qin Ruqing, seemingly gazing into a more distant place, and said wistfully, “Because there’s no time left.”

No time left? For whom?

The figure retracted its gaze and explained seriously, “If I had given you the Heavenly-level reward for the Hungry Ghost Path, I would fall into a deep slumber. Since I oversee the Human Path as well, if I slumber, your efforts there would be in vain.”

So, he gave her the Human Path token in advance?

What kind of reward could cause such a mighty being to fall into deep slumber?

Qin Ruqing straightened her posture and asked with some discomfort, “I haven’t passed the Human Path trial. Am I qualified to receive this Heavenly-level reward?”

“Your previous response qualified you.”

Her response and the promise she made granted her this qualification.

Qin Ruqing nodded and then asked, “If you fall into slumber, how will it affect the Four Hells? Will the Fifth Family know immediately?”

The figure replied indifferently, “I am the underlying will of the Hungry Ghost Path and Human Path. If I fall into slumber, the order in these two paths will continue as usual, but no evaluation results will be provided. When the current Immortal-grade beings learn of this is their concern.”

“This current Immortal-grade being… So, this great being is not from the Fifth Family, otherwise, they wouldn’t refer to them in such a way.”

Qin Ruqing quickly realized this and noticed the great being seemed somewhat impatient.

She quickly removed irrelevant questions from her mind and asked, “I have one last question.”

The figure signaled her to proceed.

“Why me?” Qin Ruqing scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed, “I have a vague sense that no matter how I answered earlier, it seemed you would give me the Heavenly-level token for the Hungry Ghost Path.”

The figure laughed and simply said, “It is because you are worthy.”

Well, the great beings had once again started with their profound answers.

“Alright, you should leave now.”

The surrounding white space began to shake.

Just as Qin Ruqing thought she would be teleported out, the great being gave her one last piece of advice: “Combining the four Heavenly-level tokens will give you a map. Follow the map to the depths of the Immortal Tomb. Your fate lies there.”

When the barrier disappeared, the great being also vanished.

Qin Ruqing looked around, finding the familiar ancient hall and the traces of her previous battle with the beast’s resentment still present.

She felt something missing in the space.

The great being’s final words echoed in her mind: her fate was in the depths of the Immortal Tomb…

Qin Ruqing chuckled, accepted the tokens, and felt calm and resolute.

She glanced around and even considered checking the twelve murals.

But just as she took a step, the scene abruptly changed, and she was teleported out.

It seemed the great being had not disappeared; they were just urging her to leave.

Well, she wouldn’t overstay her welcome.

She opened her eyes, expecting to be teleported out of the Beast Arena, but instead, she found herself directly in front of the Hungry Ghost Path’s bronze gate.

Qin Ruqing looked at the bronze gate and the words “Hungry Ghost Path” with complex emotions.

“I don’t know if I can save you, but I’ll do my best and seek to be at peace with myself.”

“And I haven’t said goodbye to that old woman’s daughter. She might think I died in the trial…”

Shaking her head, Qin Ruqing looked forward.

No one was waiting for her; it was unpredictable that she would be teleported out.

The Fifth Family wouldn’t know.

Qin Ruqing shook the bronze bell and returned to her waterfall courtyard.

Entering the courtyard, she set up three barriers, tossed the bronze bell from the Fifth Family and the secondary bell from Fifth Lingyu outside, and after ensuring everything was in order, she took out the two tokens.

She gazed at the patterns on them for a while and even shook them as if testing their weight.

Smiling faintly, she finally probed them with her spiritual sense.

After a long moment, her hand gripping the tokens clenched tightly.

Her fate was indeed quite valuable…

The Heavenly-level reward for the Hungry Ghost Path: the power of the entire desolate city’s rules.

The Heavenly-level reward for the Human Path: Rule Domain—All Things Live!