The good temperament of the Golden Mist Soul Fire gave Qin Ruqing a lot of confidence.

It made her think that the spirits of heavenly fires were all as adorable as the Golden Mist.

Of course, with the advance warning from Immortal Venerable Shaozhen, she also knew that not all heavenly fires had such a good temperament as the Golden Mist.

She needed to remain extremely cautious when dealing with the Purple Lightning.

She heard Shaozhen’s voice: “You can first try to communicate with the Purple Fire Spirit. Be sure to be cautious with your words. If it refuses, exit quickly and state that you are willing to accept all contractual tests.”

Qin Ruqing: Understood.

She planned to start with a strategic approach, taking a gentle route.

She would ask, “Hey, Purple Fire, would you be willing to contract with me?”

Though the chances of success with this approach were slim, it was worth trying.

If it worked, it would save her a lot of trouble later.

But if this method didn’t work, she would have to follow the proper procedures, using force to subdue the spirit or going through its trials.

Seeing Qin Ruqing close her eyes to show she was ready, Shaozhen raised her hand, and a purple lightning appeared in her palm.

It seemed she wanted to touch the purple lightning, but for some reason, she withdrew her fingers halfway through.

Shaozhen blinked rapidly and calmly said, “Purple Lightning, I have fallen. It is time for you to find a new master.”

Without hesitation, she lightly threw the purple light toward Qin Ruqing.

The purple light darted into Qin Ruqing’s body like lightning and disappeared.

Her body immediately felt a tingling sensation, as if electric currents were coursing through her.

Qin Ruqing’s mind was jolted, realizing that the Purple Lightning Fire had entered her.

She immediately began trying to communicate.

Perhaps because the previous master had been there and specifically instructed the Purple Lightning, the spirit knew what was happening and offered no resistance.

Qin Ruqing successfully entered the Purple Lightning’s consciousness space.

However, the next second, her soul was hit with intense pain—literally.

It was as if she had just been granted permission to visit someone’s home, politely greeted them, and was about to ask if anyone was home, only to be immediately and violently struck.

Qin Ruqing was bewildered.

Wasn’t I allowed to enter?

Why did it turn hostile so quickly?

She looked at the purple, lightning-swirled mass in the consciousness space.

It wasn’t stationary but was flashing around erratically, like an ADHD child.

Qin Ruqing forced herself to endure the pain and sent out a friendly thought to the chaotic light mass.

“Hello, Purple Lightning, I am…”

“Get out—!!!”

The roar sent a wave of electric shock through Qin Ruqing’s consciousness, nearly scattering it.

“Another human!”

“Humans are heartless liars!”

“I will never trust humans again!”

“Get out!”

The Purple Lightning jumped around, with rhythmic complaints serving as background music.

In summary, there was no technique involved, just raw emotion.

While Qin Ruqing tried to stabilize her consciousness, she wondered what kind of grievance Immortal Venerable Shaozhen must have caused the Little Purple Lightning for it to harbor such resentment.

“But, it was Immortal Venerable Shaozhen who sent me here! She’s right outside. Don’t you sense that?” Qin Ruqing shouted.

The Purple Lightning suddenly fell silent and stopped jumping around.

“I sensed it. But I can’t communicate with her; she has already become a soul body…” The Purple Lightning’s original voice was a bit dejected, but it became agitated again, “The real Shaozhen has disappeared! She deceived me!”

Qin Ruqing now understood that this Purple Lightning Fire Spirit had severe psychological issues and was a volatile child in need of counseling to communicate properly.

She tried to convey a gentle intent and guided the conversation, “Deceived you? How did she deceive you? I feel that Immortal Venerable Shaozhen is a good person. She just taught me the Wind and Thunder Art!”

When communicating with such an emotionally unstable entity, the first step is not to deny or refute its claims but to let it express its emotions.

Also, it helps to introduce topics of interest that it cannot help but argue about.

This way, its attention will naturally shift.

Sure enough, the Purple Lightning could not tolerate Qin Ruqing praising Immortal Venerable Shaozhen and immediately began to refute:

“Where is she good? She is a wicked liar!”

“She accompanied me in the Thunder Pool for ten years, chatting and enduring my wind and thunder attacks. She even invited me to be her lifelong comrade and drive out the invading aliens from the human world.”

“I was born in the Void and had a duty to protect it. Seeing her sincere invitation, I thought she was a genuinely good human, so I agreed to the contract.”

Qin Ruqing listened patiently and guided the conversation again, “Yes, that sounds good. Didn’t Immortal Venerable Shaozhen keep her promise? Didn’t she fight the aliens with you?”

“She did, at first it was good, but…” The Purple Lightning’s tone changed, becoming louder again, “She chose to willingly participate in the sacrificial formation! Sacrificial immortals are doomed to die! She had promised to be my lifelong comrade, but then turned around and sacrificed herself! What else could that be but deceit!”

Qin Ruqing’s heart sank.

The Sacrificial Formation!

If she hadn’t seen that historical scene, she might have been confused by the words of the Purple Lightning.

But she had seen it.

During the ancient times, when the survival of the human race was at stake, a powerful figure proposed creating a killing formation that required the sacrifice of a thousand immortals.

At that time, Qin Ruqing didn’t see the follow-up to that scene and didn’t know whether the proposal for the killing formation was approved.

It had been a concern for her for a long time.

Now, through these twists and turns, she had indirectly obtained the answer here.

Immortal Venerable Shaozhen was actually one of those who participated in the sacrificial formation!

Doesn’t that mean the proposal was eventually approved?

The human race had indeed adopted such a brutal plan of sacrificing a thousand immortals!

Qin Ruqing was shocked and at a loss for words.

The Purple Lightning was still talking endlessly, and seeing Qin Ruqing silent, it became displeased.

“Why aren’t you speaking?” The Purple Lightning couldn’t help but give Qin Ruqing’s consciousness a sharp electric shock. “Just now you were praising Shaozhen, and now you can’t say a word?”

Qin Ruqing was almost shocked senseless and wanted to ask if it could please speak more calmly without always resorting to force.

Fortunately, she could understand the Purple Lightning’s feelings.

Rubbing her head, she said:

“Immortal Venerable Shaozhen did indeed break the promise between you two, and you have every right to be angry with her.”

“But, Purple Lightning, you should understand Shaozhen, right? Deep down, you actually don’t blame her.”

“Everything Shaozhen did was to protect the Void Real where you were born.”

“Rather than hating her, you probably hate the part of yourself that couldn’t save Shaozhen, don’t you?”

Qin Ruqing could clearly feel that when she said the last sentence, the entire fire of the Purple Lightning seemed to freeze.

Qin Ruqing quietly watched everything unfold.

She knew that the Purple Lightning wasn’t awakened by her words.

The Purple Lightning had always known the truth and what it genuinely cared about.

But it couldn’t reconcile with these emotions and could only project all blame onto Shaozhen.

Because only in doing so could it find a moment of peace.

And Qin Ruqing’s words finally made it confront itself.

How did Qin Ruqing know this?

As soon as she entered this mental space, the Little Golden Mist told her:

“Master, he’s so sad~”

“Using your human words, he’s both cursing and crying.”

The Purple Lightning seemed finally able to speak.

It used a crying tone as it said to Qin Ruqing:

“I am a Heavenly Fire, yet I couldn’t stop Shaozhen!”

“I know she was right! But I was powerless!” The last sentence was delivered with a particularly sharp and high-pitched tone.

Qin Ruqing sighed in her heart. “Powerless” was such a heart-wrenching and helpless term.

Even the Purple Lightning, a Heavenly Fire, couldn’t bear it.

Qin Ruqing said, “Purple Lightning, Shaozhen is outside. You can use my presence to communicate with her. Do you have something you want to say to her?”

The Purple Lightning fell silent.

“You should also know that Immortal Venerable Shaozhen wants me to contract with you. Whether you choose me or not, this might be your last chance to talk with Shaozhen.”

Finally, the Purple Lightning spoke.

“I… I want to see her.”

Qin Ruqing opened her eyes again in the outside world.

Immortal Venerable Shaozhen noticed the movement and looked over, asking, “So soon? How is the Purple Lightning?”

How is the Purple Lightning?

Qin Ruqing smiled inwardly.

Both parties cared deeply.

She calmly announced:

“Immortal Venerable, the Purple Lightning says it wants to see you.”

“You can communicate through me using mental intent.”

Immortal Venerable Shaozhen’s usually proud and upright figure suddenly stiffened.

---

In the mental space, Shaozhen saw her long-lost companion, the Purple Lightning. Qin Ruqing’s consciousness stood by, quietly watching the scene.

There was no avoiding it; Qin Ruqing couldn’t sidestep her role as the intermediary.

At this moment, Shaozhen did not appear as a Immortal Venerable to Qin Ruqing.

She looked at the spirit of the Purple Lightning with a complex expression.

Although the Purple Lightning didn’t have a human form, Shaozhen seemed hesitant, wanting to speak but unable to.

After a long while, Shaozhen finally said, “Purple Lightning, how are you?”

It was as if pressing a button for the beginning, and the Purple Lightning suddenly spoke loudly:

“I’m not well! You betrayed your promise, abandoned me, and went to join that killing formation, leaving me wandering in the Void for hundreds of years!”

“That would have been bad enough, but the Tomb of the Immortals later captured me and sealed me again, and I was imprisoned for another few hundred years!”

“Do you ask how I’ve been? I’ve been terrible! I regret ever coming out of the Thunder Pool!”

Shaozhen remained silent and listened until the Purple Lightning had vented its emotions.

Only then did she speak: “Purple Lightning, I’m sorry.”

“There’s no way to continue being comrades; it is indeed my fault.”

With this line, “it is indeed my fault,” the Purple Lightning completely broke down.

Qin Ruqing kept her eyes closed, but she could feel the Purple Lightning crying uncontrollably.

“Wah! Even after I said all that, you still say it’s your fault!”

“I, a dignified Heavenly Fire, still have things I can’t do!”

“I should have shattered that sacrificial formation!”

“You always do this. Do you really need me to admit that I can’t do everything…”

“Fine, I admit it, Shaozhen, I am too—weak!”

The consciousness space was in tumult.

Qin Ruqing realized for the first time why fire is often used to describe intense emotions in the world.

At this moment, the Purple Lightning’s state vividly illustrated this. It was sincere, passionate, and unreserved.

It was a burning of its own emotions.

The Golden Mist was infected by this and even started crying in her mind.

“Wuwu, so touching!”

This was such an emotional child!

At the same time, Qin Ruqing noticed that her own innate fire remained indifferent.

This confirmed Qin Ruqing’s guess once again—her innate fire might not actually be a type of flame.

Compared to the Heavenly Fires, which were spiritual substances born from heaven and earth, the innate fire, while possessing spirituality comparable to them, was colder.

The combination of spirituality and a lofty detachment reminded Qin Ruqing of a term Dao Sovereign Fusheng once used: divinity.

At this point, Shaozhen had calmed the Purple Lightning.

Perhaps it wasn’t so much calming as it was giving it an emotional outlet for the unrecuperable lost time.

The Purple Lightning finally settled down, and during this, Shaozhen had always watched it gently.

It was strange to see an Immortal Venerable showing such a tender side.

Shaozhen said calmly to the Purple Lightning, “I have already passed away.”

She assessed herself this way.

“Purple Lightning, you should find a new contractor.”

The Purple Lightning instinctively wanted to refute, but Shaozhen cut it off:

“Whether you are willing or not should not be for me to decide but for the next person to decide. They might be a proper Heavenly Fire contractor who may not even want you.”

The Purple Lightning indeed remained dissatisfied.

Qin Ruqing smiled knowingly beside her.

Shaozhen continued:

“Besides being my former comrade, you are also the Purple Lightning Fire, one of the most advanced spiritual entities in the world. You have your own mission and will.”

“Whether you want a new contractor or not, I don’t get to decide; you have to decide for yourself.”

Shaozhen said this and then stepped aside.

Qin Ruqing knew it was her turn to step forward.

Standing in front of the Purple Lightning, Qin Ruqing did not rush to speak about the contract but summoned the Golden Mist to introduce it to the Purple Lightning:

“This is my contracted partner, the Golden Mist Soul Fire.”

The Golden Mist flew up and circled around the Purple Lightning, straightforwardly saying:

“You cried so badly just now.”

Crying is a human term, but evidently, both the Golden Mist and the Purple Lightning were no longer purely wild Heavenly Fires.

The Purple Lightning, with its nature as a volatile and explosive entity, knew it had shown a weak side before but refused to let anyone use it against it!

A lightning bolt shot out directly.

Of course, the Golden Mist was no match for the Purple Lightning’s wind and thunder attributes.

The Golden Mist didn’t even try to dodge.

When struck by the lightning, the Golden Mist’s form dispersed somewhat but quickly reformed as if nothing had happened.

It continued to fly around the Purple Lightning, innocently asking:

“Have you been triggered?”

Qin Ruqing almost couldn’t help but facepalm.

Oh dear, Golden Mist, you just said out loud what I was thinking, and being triggered… Do you know how disillusioning that sounds coming from you?

Also, is it really that easy for a good child to go astray?

Worried that the Purple Lightning might explode and affect her upcoming contract, Qin Ruqing quickly stepped in to mediate.

“Golden Mist has been in slumber for quite a long time and hasn’t had much interaction with fires. Purple Lightning, please forgive it!”

The Purple Lightning snorted heavily.

Qin Ruqing became serious and said, “Now that you’ve seen the Golden Mist, this is currently my only contracted partner. However, due to some special reasons, I must contract another Heavenly Fire, and you are the most suitable candidate.”

“I know that Heavenly Fires are usually proud, but I am sincere. I am willing to accept all your tests!”

The Purple Lightning snorted again, giving the impression of a sulking child, “Humans always do this, ‘always sincere’… They speak so elegantly about wanting more.”

Purple Lightning had indeed learned human cynicism from flattery.

But unfortunately, it encountered Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing raised an eyebrow subtly: “But do you know that I could have been forceful?”

“You previously mentioned being sealed by the Will of the Immortal Tomb for hundreds of years. Didn’t you notice that this so-called Immortal Tomb Will is actually Dao Sovereign Fusheng?”

“It was Dao Sovereign Fusheng who sealed you, and it was also Dao Sovereign Fusheng who revived Shaozhen and asked me to contract with you. Didn’t you know?”

After dragging out the former master’s superior to use as a shield, Qin Ruqing then released the aura of her innate fire.

The innate fire had made the Golden Mist so afraid before; Qin Ruqing didn’t believe the Purple Lightning wouldn’t be scared.

Sure enough, the name of Dao Sovereign Fusheng still had weight.

As Shaozhen’s former contractor, it evidently knew about its previous contractor’s superior.