The upper clan members were anxious, worried, sleepless, losing hair… In short, they were showing multiple signs of premature aging.

After several closed-door meetings, they surprisingly reached a unanimous conclusion:

They had to find the Dao Ancestor!

No matter what it took, they had to find the whereabouts of the Dao Ancestor.

…Even if it meant death, such a person must have left something behind.

Perhaps he left some instructions for humanity, or more directly, perhaps she had some contingency plans to help humanity through the current crisis?

The Dao Ancestor seemed to be related to the Sixth Domain.

Therefore, the natural question arose—should they go to the Sixth Domain for clues?

But the key issue was that the Sixth Domain itself was a legendary place.

Their understanding of the Sixth Domain came entirely from legends.

Legends meant—whether it was true or false was unknown!

“If the Sixth Domain is related to the Dao Ancestor, then the clues about the Sixth Domain must also be connected to people related to the Dao Ancestor.” This is an obvious deduction.

Who is related to the Dao Ancestor? The disciples of the Dao Ancestor.

And who are the Dao Ancestor’s disciples… It’s unclear, but the candidates are limited to just a few.

Suspicions increasingly point towards Qin Ruqing.

If Qin Ruqing were not a disciple of the Dao Ancestor… well, no one has ever defeated a Manifestation at such a young age.

That would be preposterous.

Such feats must have divine significance.

Only Qin Ruqing being a disciple of the Dao Ancestor would make such divine abilities understandable.

But here comes a new problem: everything is merely speculation.

Even though their guesses are almost certainly correct, until validated, it remains speculation.

Moreover, such high-level meetings concerning the future of the human race naturally cannot bypass the Qin family.

The Qin family is already a Golden Family, officially recognized by the Heavenly Dao.

Such meetings cannot exclude them.

Therefore, the recent round of deductions was even conducted in front of Qin family’s Ancestor, Qin Wenxuan.

But Qin Wenxuan, who had witnessed even death on a grand scale, remained silent despite the sly, insinuating glances from these old foxes.

She didn’t even flinch.

If someone else had asked, Qin Wenxuan would have been surprised.

She looked more confused than anyone else—oh, our Ruqing might be the Chaos Descendant or the Dao Ancestor’s disciple?

I had no idea.

If further questioned, Qin Wenxuan would have said she needed to inquire.

But inquiries led to no further information.

Qin Wenxuan explained, “Qingqing is currently dealing with the South Ridge forest incident and might not have time to respond.”

Humph, what urgent matter in the South Ridge could require Qin Ruqing’s personal handling?

Is she still a minor figure?

The excuse of not having time was even more far-fetched…

How much effort could it take to respond?

But they also noticed the Qin family’s pretense of ignorance.

The Qin family, from top to bottom, was slippery and clearly had a prearranged agreement.

After a moment of contemplation, Feng Qinxue said, “We can’t delay this any longer. The Demon Star Ruqing is waiting for our stance.”

Fifth Sheng indignantly said, “She wants us to beg her. The key is, she hasn’t even confirmed if she’s the Dao Ancestor’s disciple—does she dare admit it? She doesn’t even dare to appear at the meeting!”

However, as if deliberately contradicting Fifth Sheng, Qin Ruqing suddenly appeared at the next meeting.

Since the signs of the beast tide in the Four Domains began, Qin Ruqing had mysteriously turned into a turtle withdrawing its head.

She didn’t attend any high-level meetings or major events.

Just when everyone was speculating whether she was hatching a plan or preparing some major move, she appeared out of nowhere.

This surprised everyone and silenced those who had demanded an explanation from Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing, appearing nonchalant, looked at the stern faces of those staring at her and asked, “What’s the matter? Is there a serious crisis I’m unaware of? Did the Eastern Region defense line break?”

Qin Ruqing looked towards Feng Qinxue.

Feng Qinxue sighed in the shadowy projection of the family decree, “Stop pretending. We don’t have much time to waste. Elder Sixth, we just want to confirm one thing. The legendary Dao Ancestor, the Chaos Mighty Being mentioned by the Beast Emperor—are you related?”

“Well… why ask me specifically?” Qin Ruqing started to play dumb.

“If you weren’t related, how could you have defeated Fang Wuming? Elder Sixth, at this point, are you still unwilling to speak frankly?” someone in the virtual realm urged urgently.

Qin Ruqing remained calm and unfazed, smiling as she said, “But there were others who also received inheritance in the Void Realm.

If we’re talking about outstanding performance, Feng Mingyue and Fifth Lingyu are also on the list. Have you ever interrogated them in this manner?”

Seeing everyone’s silence, Qin Ruqing continued, “However, I also understand your difficulties. During the Void Realm, the Beast Emperor inquired about the whereabouts of the Chaos Descendant. Being someone the Beast Emperor kept in mind for investigation, if such an identity were exposed, it would definitely provoke the beasts’ suspicion and pursuit. Who would dare to publicly acknowledge being associated with the Chaos at this stage?”

The people in the virtual realm seemed to just realize this, frowning and saying, “In the face of the survival of the human race, could anyone possibly disclose such confidential information to outsiders?”

Qin Ruqing extended her tone, “That’s hard to say~ Can the Celestial guarantee that this news won’t be leaked? Or can you ensure that no one with ulterior motives will use this matter to their advantage?”

The Celestial was indeed at a loss.

Although he believed that the vast majority of humanity would swear to defend their position, he couldn’t guarantee that no issues would arise.

The worst-case scenario, he feared, was that there might be spies among the human forces in the Void Realm.

They fell into silence.

At this point, Qin Ruqing’s intentions were becoming very clear.

She wanted a guarantee and a statement.

The guarantee was straightforward: she wanted a definite answer, but it had to come with a guarantee of her safety—at the very least, she needed to be assured that no harm would come to her from anyone within the human faction as a result of revealing this information.

As for the statement—it was much more delicate.

Once the great families made a concession, it would imply that they were seeking her help.

Seeking help often meant losing both voice and initiative.

When it involved matters like Void Realm, the Dao Sovereign’s Master, and the Chaos Inheritance mentioned by the Beast Emperor, who would be willing to lose control?

Yet, it seemed that this critical matter was indeed related to Qin Ruqing.

Were they really going to beg her?!

It was infuriating!

Qin Ruqing could almost see the great figures in the Void Realm gritting their teeth in frustration.

She felt relaxed, watching the drama unfold.

Now, she was no longer a mere pawn but the actual chess player at the table.

With the leverage in her hands, she couldn’t lose this game no matter what.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Fifth Sheng was the first to speak up.

“Elder Six, if everyone present in the Void Realm today swears a Heavenly Oath with binding rules, would that be sufficient for your approval?”

Qin Ruqing looked at Fifth Sheng and was slightly surprised by his serious expression.

She had expected it to be Feng Qinxue speaking first.

Fifth Sheng was known for being more cautious than Feng Qinxue.

Fifth Sheng noticed Qin Ruqing’s surprised look but maintained his authoritative silence.

The Fifth Family was most eager to know the answer.

They wanted to see if the inheritor mentioned was Lingyu or her.

Feng Qinxue was more direct.

She scanned the crowd and said, “If anyone dares to disclose the content of today’s meeting, they will face the Heavenly Thunder Punishment and it will also bring calamity to their family members.”

With that, she took the first Heavenly Oath.

This was also to test if there were any treacherous individuals or disloyal minds among those present.

Everyone looked at each other but ultimately took their oaths one by one.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur.

At least, no outsider had exploited the situation.

Even if someone had other thoughts, the Heavenly Oath would ensure some restraint.

Once the last shadow figure had sworn, Feng Qinxue turned to Qin Ruqing and asked, “Is this satisfactory?”

Ignoring the subtle reproach in the question, Qin Ruqing smiled and bowed, saying, “Director, you are wise. Indeed, our cultivation world’s defenses are still quite solid!”

“Bah!”

The young lady’s sharp tongue was truly irritating!

After the jest, Qin Ruqing became serious.

With her eyes closed, she suddenly opened them, and a golden light flashed in her gaze.

A lotus flame-like divine totem slowly appeared on her forehead.

The totem, combined with Qin Ruqing’s flawless features, gave her an air of sacred purity that seemed almost divine and untouchable.

The answer seemed to be self-evident.

Yet, everyone still held their breath, eager to hear Qin Ruqing’s clear and melodious voice:

“If inheriting the Dao Physique counts… then indeed, I am the inheritor of the Chaos Inheritance and the Azure Lutos Dao Ancestor.”

This revelation was met with complete silence in the room, and the eyes of those present burned with unprecedented intensity.

The questions “What kind of existence is the Dao Ancestor?” and “Are you the Dao Ancestor’s successor?” had already been discussed within the clan before Qin Ruqing attended the upper-class family meeting.

At that time, Qin Ruqing’s response was:

“What kind of existence is the Dao Ancestor? Hmm… let me think. The Dao Ancestor should be the highest form of all the concepts we can imagine about cultivation, immortality, and gods. If there were truly gods in this world, they would probably be like the Dao Ancestor.”

“As for whether I am the Dao Ancestor’s successor… that’s uncertain.”

When Ancestor Wenxuan heard this, she was taken aback. “How can it not be you?”

Outside, everyone was so confident.

In this atmosphere, the Ancestor almost believed that this identity, which naturally gathered countless eyes and was of great significance to the cultivation world, belonged to their own Qingqing.

So, why was it still uncertain?

“I do indeed possess the unique Qinglian(Azure Lutos) Dao Physique related to the Dao Ancestor. But apart from that, I have neither the inheritance nor have I ever met the Dao Ancestor herself, so how can I dare to claim the identity of the successor?” Qin Ruqing shifted her tone playfully, “However, the two Dao Sovereign seem to firmly believe that the so-called successor is me.”

And as a result, they assigned her almost unbearable major tasks.

The Qin family’s high-ranking members almost instinctively sighed in relief.

Qin Deming couldn’t help but chide, “You child, you just love to tease people… According to you, then it must be true!”

If that were not the Dao Ancestor’s successor, then no one in the cultivation world would be.

Ancestor Wenxuan also shook her head helplessly. The girl play too much.

Qin Ruqing shrugged her shoulders innocently and said, “I’m just a bit more rigorous.”