On the Tian Qian Mountain, the human forces had already reached the Beast Realm’s Seventh Mountain, the Broken Peak.

Standing at the top of the Broken Peak and looking down, the Seventh Mountain appeared simple and unremarkable, like a small village nestled in the primeval forest.

“Do we continue the attack?” Feng Qinxue asked, looking at the scenery below and then turning to Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing, with her eyes slightly narrowed as if contemplating something far off, withdrew her gaze upon hearing the question.

Noticing the serious and grim expressions of those around her, she couldn’t help but tease, “What, are we retreating now?”

That would be quite a loss~

Feng Qinxue shot her a reproachful look, “That’s not what I meant!”

Currently, only their top leaders were standing on the Broken Peak, so Feng Qinxue’s words were a bit more casual.

In front of the army, both she and Fifth Sheng gave Qin Ruqing, the “leader of the human race,” their full respect.

A single army cannot have two leaders; thus, the human leader must be just one.

Since Qin Ruqing had become the soul and core of the human race, others naturally had to step back.

“Of course, we need to continue the fight.” After the jest, Qin Ruqing turned her gaze back to the distance, her tone becoming more serious. “We’ll use the same tactics as before.”

Feng Qinxue’s question about whether to continue wasn’t about retreating but about whether to maintain the previous cost-no-object, blood-soaked approach.

“But,” Fifth Sheng hesitated regarding this approach, “the smooth progress up to now was partly due to catching the beast race off guard. Now that they’re surely aware and reinforcements have arrived, the cost will be higher than before.”

“That’s all the more reason to fight.” Qin Ruqing’s expression remained calm. “Our current advantage is driven by a fearless momentum. If we show any sign of hesitation, the beast race will seize the opportunity and counterattack.”

“We’re deep in the Beast Realm now. If we show signs of fatigue, we’ll be encircled by the beast race and face total annihilation.”

On the Broken Peak, as dawn broke, the morning sun bathed everything in a peaceful and beautiful light.

Who would have thought that this land would soon be covered in blood?

Fifth Sheng’s weathered face brightened slightly in the morning light as he worriedly folded his sleeves. “How long will this last?”

His tone grew heavier. “Human lives are finite.”

Such an artificially maintained momentum couldn’t be sustained forever.

Qin Ruqing turned to Fifth Sheng and smiled.

That smile made Fifth Sheng momentarily distracted, wondering how her face seemed never to show fear or fatigue, as if she was always full of energy and confidence.

“Human lives are indeed finite,” Qin Ruqing nodded. “So we need to find a breakthrough before we reach our limit.”

Her tone seemed to carry the answer within.

Fifth Sheng blinked hard, not speaking but with a look full of implied questions.

Hmm~ Old man is acting cute.

Qin Ruqing inwardly mocked but pointed eastward.

“Tianxing Mountain’s Blood Pool.”

The sun’s outline was reflected in Qin Ruqing’s eyes, like scattered gold.

“If the Heavenly Dao has truly left us a slim chance of survival, it should lie in Tianxing Mountain.”

---

The battle at Broken Peak was exceptionally brutal, but the human race emerged victorious.

However, when the battlefield was being cleaned, the soldiers’ faces did not show victory’s joy but were marked by heaviness.

Qin Ruqing understood this heaviness because they did not know when this consumption of lives would end.

She stood on the dark red soil, her expression neither heavy nor worried, frequently gazing into the distance or squatting down to examine the ground.

Fifth Lingyu had somehow arrived behind her.

Qin Ruqing remained seated, scooping a handful of soil and pinching it between her fingers, without raising her head, “Are you here to give me a hard time?”

“This kind of battle won’t last for the next one.” Fifth Lingyu’s tone was cold and somewhat indifferent, but that was his style.

He stared at Qin Ruqing with a serious expression, even though she couldn’t see him.

“Next time, you’ll lose.”

“In this Beast Realm, if you lose once, you won’t have another chance.”

The human race could not afford to lose even once.

“Do you see the color of this soil?” Qin Ruqing, as if not having heard, asked an unrelated question.

Holding the handful of soil up to Fifth Lingyu’s line of sight, she slowly opened her palm.

In the midst of a suspicious silence, Fifth Lingyu first glanced at the soil, then at Qin Ruqing, and spoke slowly, “You didn’t listen to a word I said.”

“I’m listening!” Qin Ruqing lifted her chin, indicating that her question remained unanswered. “What’s the color?”

“Red.” Fifth Lingyu frowned but answered.

“Yes! The land stained with blood.” Qin Ruqing picked up a small pinch of the soil from her palm, held it up to the sunlight, and then sniffed it. “Yet, even so, there’s hardly any smell of blood.”

Fifth Lingyu began to doubt if Qin Ruqing was mocking him.

“Look at that expression of yours… Am I such an insincere person?” Qin Ruqing said, bringing the soil closer for Fifth Lingyu to smell.

Fifth Lingyu initially tried to avoid it, but as the distinct, fresh earthy scent of the forest soil entered his nostrils, his retreating motion halted.

His brows furrowed in thought as he looked at Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing smiled, “I’m not lying to you, right? It’s changed color and still doesn’t smell foul.”

“What have you discovered?” Fifth Lingyu asked.

“Not sure yet,” Qin Ruqing replied casually, scattering the soil, “But you were right; we don’t have much time and no room for error. So tonight, I’ve decided to test my guess.”

Qin Ruqing decided to conduct a night-time exploration of the Tianxing Mountain.

When she announced this to the entire army, the shock on everyone’s faces was palpable.

She understood the shock well. —Why take such a risk? —Why would she choose to announce this?

Even the old ancestor Feng, who was meditating atop the Broken Pulse Peak, cast a gaze down at the foot of the mountain.

“Commander, why is this?” Fifth Sheng asked, clearly disapproving from his expression.

“Is it because of the Blood Pool? Are you planning to sabotage it?” Feng Qinxue asked, her eyes full of skepticism.

As soon as Qin Ruqing mentioned investigating Tianxing Mountain, Feng Qinxue immediately associated it with the key point Qin Ruqing had mentioned earlier.

Was she taking this risk to break the deadlock?

In front of the army, Qin Ruqing put away her usual casual demeanor and became unusually serious.

Without any pretense, she said directly, “The battle at Broken Pulse Mountain made me notice something strange. I suspect it’s related to the Blood Pool at Tianxing Mountain, as the Blood Pool could determine the future course of our war… Hence, I’ve decided to investigate.”

Although she didn’t fully clarify everything, at least she gave a clear direction on her intended action.

“The Blood Pool is crucial, we know that, but isn’t it too risky to explore it like this?” the leader of Taiyi Sect asked.

The high-ranking officials gathered around the campfire nodded in agreement.

Soldiers aboard the hovering flying vessels looked out with curiosity and attention, keenly observing the direction.

Everyone knew the Blood Pool held secrets, but how to uncover those secrets was the biggest issue.

Qin Ruqing smiled faintly, “I’m not someone who rushes into things. The reason I dared to mention this in front of everyone today is that I have a plan.”

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qin Ruqing’s form suddenly dispersed.

She really “dispersed.”

Like incense burning, she emitted a wisp of white smoke.

The smoke gradually became thin and transparent until it vanished completely.

Fifth Sheng’s jaw dropped, and he tugged at his beard, emitting a hiss.

Feng Qinxue stared at the dissipating smoke, unmoving.

The astonishment among the other high-ranking officials was even more evident.

Even Ancestor Feng, who was observing the meeting from the peak, showed a hint of confusion.

The smoke reassembled, taking on the dense and radiant features of Qin Ruqing.

Glancing at everyone’s expressions, she lifted her lips and said, “As you can see, I can transform into wind. In fact, wind isn’t even the element I’m most proficient in. If it were fire, I could be even more concealed and realistic.”

“However, a fire drifting in the air would be rather suspicious, so wind is more convenient.”

“Because I have mastered this ability, I dare to take the risk and explore Tianxing Mountain.”

Fifth Sheng took some time to find his voice, his mouth opening and closing several times before he managed to ask, “You’re…?”

“An elemental transformation ability,” Qin Ruqing briefly explained without going into detail.

She had acquired this ability after absorbing three drops of celestial blood.

At that time, she had already felt its great potential.

The first time she used this ability was when she met with the Wolf King for negotiations.

She had transformed into wind and appeared behind him, startling him so much that he still didn’t know how he had almost been killed that day.

Tonight was the second time in front of everyone.

“This ability, how long does it last…” Fifth Sheng’s expression was complex.

He was genuinely impressed.