There was no way to avoid the coming threat that would shatter her peace and destroy her hard-earned foundations.

She had to confront it.

Qin Ruqing finally admitted calmly that she was no longer a bystander but had already deeply immersed herself in the situation.

One day, Feng Qinxue came to find Qin Ruqing and told her that the Ancestor of the Feng family wanted to see her.

“The Ancestor of the Feng family?” Qin Ruqing was unfamiliar with this title.

Feng Ancestor clarified, “This esteemed elder is considered the top cultivator in our cultivation world, having once reached the late stage of Tribulation Transcending Stage. However, he failed his ascension, was severely injured by the Heavenly Tribulation, and has been in a critical state ever since. It seems he has recently emerged from seclusion.”

Failed ascension and suffered injury?

Qin Ruqing suppressed her surprise and followed Feng Qinxue to Penglai.

She didn’t know why the Ancestor wanted to see her but felt no fear or worry.

If there was something to address, she would deal with it directly.

There was nothing left for her to be afraid of.

“You are Qin Ruqing?” The Feng Ancestor was found sitting cross-legged beneath a waterfall.

On a sheer cliff, amidst the roaring waves, the Ancestor sat majestically in the turbulent water, unmoving, and when he saw her, he opened his eyes within the waterfall curtain.

Qin Ruqing wondered how the Ancestor’s voice could be heard clearly over the deafening waterfall.

Was this some form of transmission or mental communication?

“Replying to the Ancestor, it is indeed the younger generation,” she replied respectfully.

“I have heard about you from Qinxue and am aware of the current situation in the cultivation world.” The Feng Ancestor had no airs about him.

Beneath the waterfall, he wore a simple dark blue robe, his face lined with age, and his eyes calm and unassuming.

This was quite unlike the typical demeanor of the Feng family members, who usually exhibited overt presence.

However, this precisely indicated that the Ancestor’s profound path had been perfected to a great extent, with only a narrow margin remaining for complete mastery.

“Do what you intend to do. If the time comes, I will be responsible for holding off the Beast Emperor to buy you more time.”

Qin Ruqing understood that this was the Ancestor expressing his support.

She nodded respectfully and responded, “In addition to the Beast Emepror, there is also an issue with the Beast Emperor’s son, Wu Mu, who seems to have been possessed by the soul of an ancient Beast Emperor.”

“Those who use soul-devouring techniques will compete with the host for control of the body. Since all actions of the soul-devouring depend on this body, to deal with the ancient Beast Emperor, you need only address this body,” the Ancestor provided guidance to Qin Ruqing.

After discussing a few more matters, Qin Ruqing suggested a strategy: “Ancestor, I have an idea. We have been fighting with the beast race for a long time. However, both sides have suffered casualties. War has always been a two-sided affair. Now that we have identified the root of the conflict, why not lay it all out and openly discuss it—negotiate with the beast race about the distribution of the fundamental rules? Perhaps we can avoid further conflict.”

If it could stop the bloodshed, Qin Ruqing believed that the human race could concede some power.

After all, the human race was the beneficiary of the fundamental rules.

Having a sit-down negotiation would be beneficial for both sides.

Of course, she held little hope for it; it was merely an attempt.

If it didn’t work, then she would take the final step.

“The likelihood of the beast race being willing to negotiate is slim,” the Feng Ancestor said with a slight shake of the head, indicating pessimism.

However, she added, “But if there’s hope to reduce the bloodshed, it’s worth trying.”

This was an agreement.

With the approval of the top cultivator in the cultivation world, Qin Ruqing knew that the plan could be carried out, but she still needed to inform the Fifth family.

Before leaving, Qin Ruqing glanced again at the Feng Ancestor, who was enduring the constant impact of the water beneath the waterfall.

Few were willing to endure such harsh cultivation in the current cultivation world.

She couldn’t help but say, “Ancestor, the laws of the human race and the beast race are harmonized and complementary. If you could cultivate in the Beast Realm, even go to the Blood Pool, perhaps there would be a chance…”

To break through the limitations of your realm and advance further.

The last part of the sentence, she kept to herself.

The withered old man gave Qin Ruqing a knowing smile, making her appear more alive, no longer a decaying figure beneath the waterfall.

“It’s too late,” the Ancestor said flatly, looking into the distance, “My injuries have been severe for too long. If I could be twenty years younger, I might have dared to try. But now…”

He smiled and waved at Qin Ruqing, “You may go.”

—Now, this frail body, this remaining strength, can only be used to buy the younger generation a final chance at survival.

Qin Ruqing suppressed her heavy heart and turned to go to the Fifth family’s domain.

Visiting the Fifth family was also convenient; she still had their copper bell in her possession, two of them.

One was the genuine article given by Fifth Youlin, and the other was… a counterfeit from that dog Fifth Lingyu.

She pondered for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth as she shook the counterfeit.

Not long after, Qin Ruqing actually saw Fifth Lingyu in person.

When he saw her, it was as if he had seen a plague god.

With one hand inexplicably behind his back, his tone was filled with disdain.

“What are you doing here?”

“Do you believe I’m looking for you?” Qin Ruqing raised her eyebrow and turned to walk inside.

Fifth Lingyu sneered, “If you said you were here to kill me and take the bit of Chaos Origin in me, I would believe it.”

“Pfft, you can keep that bit of Chaos Power for yourself. I’m not interested.” She turned her head, her eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. “I’m ringing this bell to make you run errands… Take me to see your family’s ancestor.”

Fifth Lingyu paused, his gaze fixed on her. Qin Ruqing turned her back, as if she knew he was watching her, and said, “I just came back from Ancestor Feng.”

Fifth Lingyu realized she must have important matters.

After staring at Qin Ruqing for a moment, he finally agreed to guide her.

When Qin Ruqing finished meeting with Ancestor Feng and Fifth Sheng to discuss peace talks, she discovered that Fifth Lingyu was still waiting outside.

Qin Ruqing raised an eyebrow, “What, are you looking to fight me again? Steal my Dao Physique? I’ve warned you in advance—without using the Xuanming Heart, you can’t possibly beat me.”

Especially after she had completely refined the three drops of the Celestial Realm powerhouse’s blood.

Fifth Lingyu ignored her.

The two walked to the Outer Sea, the external sea area of Mount Penglai.

Here, there was a public teleportation array leading to the Eastern Domain.

Qin Ruqing intended to use this teleportation array to return to the Sun Island.

Seeing that Fifth Lingyu was silent, Qin Ruqing didn’t bother to ask further.

As she was about to step into the teleportation array, Fifth Lingyu suddenly spoke.

Qin Ruqing could only withdraw her foot in resignation.

“When you go to the Beast Realm, you can take me along.”

“Great timing! I almost stumbled into it myself!” Qin Ruqing rolled her eyes at him.

Great timing?

What a term.

As Fifth Lingyu remained silent, Qin Ruqing approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Fifth Lingyu immediately seemed tense, standing still and only using his eyes to question her.

Qin Ruqing smiled, “Looks like you’ve come to your senses. Don’t be like your father, stubbornly arguing with yourself. If you have grievances, vent them on the Beast Realm; at least it will have some value. Venting your anger on yourself or the dead is useless!”

She patted his shoulder lightly, her tone cheerful and brisk.

“Without being a small-minded villain, you actually have quite a charm.”

As she retracted her hand and was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something, turned her head sharply, and her face became more serious.

“But I still remember those times you messed with me. I’ll settle the score with you after the battle is over!”

With a fierce gesture, she made a couple of threatening motions before stepping into the teleportation array and disappearing without a trace.

Fifth Lingyu was left reflecting on the sudden shift in Qin Ruqing’s demeanor, feeling an odd imbalance in his heartbeat. Hearing the term “villain” made him smile involuntarily, reminiscent of his time as a director in Xiling.

“Just because you oppose me, you label me a villain in your heart, right?”

The lightly spoken words, with only casual teasing and no hostility, quickly dissipated in the wind.

The wind left no trace.

---

After a meeting among several major upper-class families, they decided to try negotiating peace with the Beast Realm.

There were little hopes for success, but it was worth trying, especially if the other side was open to it.

“But how should we negotiate? We were previously at a deadlock. Suddenly stopping the fight and proposing a discussion about the laws of the two realms’ origins, I’m afraid the Beast Realm won’t believe us and might suspect us of deceit,” Fifth Sheng said.

Suspicion was normal.

Honestly, if the Beast Realm had suddenly done something like this, the human side would be suspicious too.

“We need to find someone in the Beast Realm with enough status but not entirely hostile towards us. We should negotiate with them first, and then have them convey our attitude to the others. That way, things will progress more smoothly,” Feng Qinxue suggested.

“It makes sense, but where can we find such a Beast with enough status and no animosity towards the human race?” Song Minzheng found the task unreliable.

It seemed more practical to shout at the enemy’s doorstep than to search for such a rare Beast.

After some discussion, only Qin Ruqing remained silent.

They seemed to notice her silence and turned to look at her in unison.

“What does Elder Qin say?”

Qin Ruqing finally smiled and said, “Isn’t it a coincidence? I know a Beast who exactly fits Director Feng’s requirements.”

When Qin Ruqing arrived, the Wolf King was sleeping soundly with a small beautiful fox in his arms.

As the leader of the South Ridge, he wasn’t exactly idle, but he had just returned to the Beast Realm’s Tianxing Mountain a few days ago.

Since the situation at South Ridge wasn’t urgent and the major families there, led by the Qin family, were engaging in guerrilla warfare rather than direct confrontation, he had taken a break.

When the Qin family’s three-eyed man went all out, it made the beastmen retreat.

By the end of it, they had only expanded their territory a little, and the human race didn’t suffer much.

Usually, such a situation would infuriate most beasts, but for the Wolf King, it was just an excuse to snuggle up with the Little Beauty Fox.

A bunch of smelly beast soldiers were eyeing the Little Beauty Fox, clearly planning something bad when he returned to the Beast Realm.

So, he had to keep a close watch.

When the sentry reported that human envoys were requesting an audience, the Wolf King was momentarily confused.

“What audience? Who’s asking to see me?”

The beast soldier replied, “A female human beast, accompanied by a group of people, said they came to negotiate.”

Negotiate?

The Wolf King was stunned for a moment, then his five eyes snapped wide open.

After gently placing the sleepy Little Beauty Fox on the grass mat, he dashed off like the wind.

Before coming here, Qin Ruqing had been speaking with Fifth Sheng.

Fifth Sheng still felt skeptical about the situation, “Is this feasible?”

“And, we’re going too,” Fifth Sheng pointed to himself and Feng Qinxue, “Will the other side really not think we are here to fight?”

Qin Ruqing shook her head, “Whether it will work or not, we don’t know. Anyway, it’s worth a try.”

As they spoke, a thunderous roar came from ahead.

A huge black figure rushed down from the mountaintop, its dark fur gleaming under the sun, exuding a fierce aura.

The Wolf King stopped at the foot of the mountain, keeping a considerable distance from them.

His five eyes were wide open, and his beastly mouth gaped to reveal his white fangs.

He spoke: “Humans, what do you want?”

Behind him, a swarm of beast soldiers followed.

Qin Ruqing smiled inwardly.

The Wolf King now looked anything but timid, displaying more of the demeanor of a “Great King” or “Commander.”

Shifting her thoughts, Qin Ruqing called out loudly to the other side:

“Great King, we are here to negotiate!”

The words “negotiate” echoed across the valley, and the Wolf King found it amusing.

Even if he had a pig’s brain, he couldn’t believe such nonsense.

Either the human race was on the brink of extinction, or this cunning human was just putting on a show.

Given that the human race clearly wasn’t extinct,

The current situation must be this human trying to deceive him!

“If you want to fight, then fight! Don’t waste time with nonsense!” The Wolf King roared loudly, but he was actually feeling uneasy.

He noticed that standing beside the cunning human were two incredibly powerful beings, each at least the strength of a commanding Demon King among the beasts.

He could take on one of them, but facing them three-to-one…

Could it be that the first upper-level battle after the beast tide had chosen his South Ridge as the testing ground?

The Wolf King cursed his luck inwardly, his five beastly eyes almost aligned in a straight line.

This was a sign of his extreme tension.

Qin Ruqing smiled softly.

Suddenly, her figure dissipated, transforming into a gust of wind, and vanished from sight.

When she reappeared, she was behind the Wolf King.

A certain energy locked onto him, and Qin Ruqing’s voice rang directly in the Wolf King’s mind.

“I said, Great King, we’ve already told you we’re here to negotiate. Why don’t you believe it?”

The Wolf King’s mind exploded, and his heart constricted sharply.

At that moment, he realized something—this human could have killed him just now.

But she didn’t.

She didn’t strike when she had the rare opportunity…

Could it be that she really was here to negotiate?