The elderly woman, sitting on a stone platform at the entrance of a cave, opened her eyes and smiled slightly at Qin Ruqing. “Indeed.”

It really was!

Who came up with this test that involved using a pineapple as a heart? The concept was just too abstract!

Having finally found the place, it was completely dark.

Qin Ruqing didn’t waste any time and said directly, “I would like to participate in the test on Heart Soul Island now. May I?”

The old woman looked at Qin Ruqing with a calm, unperturbed gaze, as if she had been meditating for many years.

The old woman said, “The test on Heart Soul Island is the most important one, with a full score of one hundred. Once you pass this, there will be only one more test.”

Qin Ruqing’s first reaction to this was to wonder why the examiner mentioned there was only one more test afterward.

Was there some hidden significance?

The old woman continued, “For this test, I have two pieces of advice: First, eliminate resentment; second, pay attention to time.”

“If you are ready, you can enter the cave.”

Qin Ruqing thought these brief words of advice were quite normal.

Cultivation often involved esoteric concepts, and if powerful beings didn’t speak in mysterious terms, they would feel uncomfortable!

Qin Ruqing and Qi Rong exchanged a look and said in unison, “Examiner, we are ready!”

The old woman nodded and said, “Come here.”

As Qin Ruqing and Qi Rong approached, the old woman produced a jade vial and, using her magic, took out two drops.

She placed one drop on each of their foreheads.

Qin Ruqing felt a cool sensation on her forehead but didn’t experience any other unusual feelings.

It was as if the examiner had simply put a drop of water on her forehead.

The old woman said, “This is Water of the Heart. It will help you maintain the clarity of your spiritual platform and prevent you from falling into madness. Alright, go in.” With that, she slowly closed her eyes.

Yikes!

This examiner is really intimidating!

What kind of test could lead to madness?

Qin Ruqing seemed surprised but was actually quite excited.

She signaled to Qi Rong and confidently walked forward to push open the heavy cave door.

Once inside, the stone door closed automatically behind them.

The surroundings were pitch black and carried an unfamiliar chill.

Just as Qin Ruqing was about to speak, her mind suddenly went blank, and she lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in a desert.

The sky was grayish, almost a light brown color.

The sand was blowing around, creating a desolate atmosphere.

Qin Ruqing, not fully awake yet, thought she was dreaming about the Xiling Desert.

She remembered she had left Xiling less than a year ago, so why did this place’s environment seem to have deteriorated so much?

The air quality was definitely terrible!

Her head felt like it had been hit hard.

As she tried to sit up, she felt something hard underneath her hand.

She instinctively picked it up, and a second later, she widened her eyes and dropped it in shock.

“Yikes! It’s a bone!”

She jumped up and turned around to look at her previous position.

Qin Ruqing: …

It turned out she had just needed to roll over to find a whole skeleton.

The beautifully shaped skeleton seemed to be pressing closely together.

Feeling dizzy and with a buzzing in her ears, Qin Ruqing shook her head vigorously.

She finally remembered her current situation.

“Am I still in the test? Heart Soul Island, cave… Is this an accident or part of the normal test process?”

Qin Ruqing stayed alert. “It seems there’s no immediate danger other than a headache. Let’s assume this is part of the normal test. And Qi Rong!”

Qin Ruqing searched the area, even extending her spiritual awareness, and eventually spotted Qi Rong’s figure about a hundred meters ahead.

The handsome young man was unconscious on the ground, barely moving and almost buried by the sand and wind.

Qin Ruqing’s eyes widened.

She rushed over and squatted beside Qi Rong, first checking his breath with her hand and then breathing a sigh of relief.

“He’s just fainted.”

She gently patted Qi Rong’s face.

When he didn’t wake up, she thought for a moment and then shouted loudly in his ear, “Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother!”

Normally, calling him “brother” would excite him.

Since she had already tried this method, if he still didn’t wake up, she would have to resort to more forceful measures.

Fortunately, Qi Rong’s instincts were strong, and he slowly opened his eyes. “I think I heard my sister calling me.”

A familiar voice came from nearby, “It’s me calling you…”

Qi Rong tried to sit up but suddenly clutched his head, groaning in pain, likely experiencing similar symptoms to Qin Ruqing.

This throbbing, dizzy feeling was simply referred to as a headache.

Once Qi Rong recovered a bit, he asked, “Where are we?”

Qin Ruqing smiled calmly. “There are two possibilities: one, we’ve been transported to a different location; two, we’re still in the same place, but some method makes us think we’re somewhere else.”

Just as Qi Rong was about to speak, Qin Ruqing’s attention was caught by something ahead.

Qi Rong looked in that direction and saw a line of text appearing slowly on the yellow sand.

“This is the outer area of Heart Soul Cave. The formal assessment area is further ahead. Remaining here will be considered as disqualification.”

It seemed like someone had written this line in the sand with a stick.

After Qin Ruqing and Qi Rong read it, the writing quickly vanished with the wind.

Qin Ruqing became serious. “We should move forward.”

As they advanced, they noticed that the more they went, the more skeletons appeared, and their headaches worsened.

“It seems the ‘prepared’ mentioned by the examiner refers to being ready physically and mentally.

The further we go, the more intense this strange mental sensation becomes.

By the time we reach the formal assessment area, the discomfort will likely double.”

“Also,” Qin Ruqing glanced at the ground, “I have a rough idea of our current state.”

Qi Rong looked down as well.

At first, he didn’t understand, but then he noticed something and murmured.

“We don’t have shadows, even though the sun is bright above.”

Qin Ruqing said, “So, we must not be human right now… I mean, not in the literal sense. Our souls have separated from our bodies. This could explain why we keep feeling headaches.”

As they continued forward, Qin Ruqing stopped, her expression growing serious.

“I can sense the barrier aura. We should be entering the official area of the test soon,” Qin Ruqing said.

“To be on the safe side, Qi Rong, use spiritual energy to shield yourself!”

Qi Rong nodded, and both of them made the necessary hand seals before stepping into the barrier.

As soon as they entered, Qin Ruqing’s eyelids twitched violently.

She crouched down and covered her head.

The sensation inside was different from the usual buzzing outside; it felt as if someone was squeezing her brain with a fist, causing intense pressure.

The pain was not the worst part.

A chilling aura enveloped her, bringing about a series of disturbing thoughts—fear, agitation, a desire to lash out, and madness.

If this continued, she would surely end up with a split personality!

Realizing this wasn’t sustainable, Qin Ruqing decided to use her innate fire ability.

The golden flames enveloped her body and successfully dispelled the cold aura.

Feeling slightly better, she still experienced some agitation but no longer felt the urge to go mad; she felt more like a normal person.

Looking over at Qi Rong, who seemed to be in a worse state, probably due to his innate focus on physical cultivation, he was already rolling on the ground in pain.

Qin Ruqing quickly wrapped him in her flames, and after a while, he calmed down.

Once they were somewhat adjusted to the environment, they looked up and saw a scene of wind-blown yellow sand and scattered white bones.

Qi Rong swallowed nervously. “This Heart Soul Cave, could it be a battlefield?”

Qin Ruqing walked over, crouched among the bones, and observed for a moment before replying, “Good question. But don’t insult a battlefield by comparing it to a graveyard. At least graveyards are organized and respectful with their burial practices.”

“This place should be a battlefield,” Qin Ruqing said softly.

The hazy yellow sky cast a dim light, and dust rolled up, creating a chilling and desolate atmosphere.

Qi Rong shivered.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, “Sister, be careful!”

Qin Ruqing, still in a crouched position, noticed a grayish mist emerging from the bones behind her.

The mist quickly formed into a humanoid shape, with eerie blue flames flickering in its eyes.

The humanoid mist expanded and lunged at Qin Ruqing with a vicious attack.

However, as it thought it had struck its target, the target vanished into golden light and dissipated like smoke.

Qin Ruqing reappeared on the other side and, without hesitation, swiftly cast a spell, her red lips parting to utter, “Explode!”

With a loud boom, the ghostly figure within the mist exploded, scattering into fragments.

The blue flames extinguished, and the ghostly mist disappeared.

However, a wisp of grayish essence seemed to purposefully move towards Qin Ruqing.

She felt an icy presence approaching and once again experienced those maddening thoughts.

Controlling these thoughts led to sharp, needle-like pains in her head.

Qin Ruqing curled up in distress, taking some time to regain her composure from the madness.

Meanwhile, gray soul mists continued to emerge from the bones, and Qi Rong was struggling with another one.

Qin Ruqing frowned and observed.

Qi Rong, being a physical cultivator, was at a disadvantage against these intangible soul mists.

She considered her options and then lightly touched her eyes, emitting a faint golden light.

She carefully examined the soul mist and noticed its eyes—glowing with eerie blue flames—appeared to be its core, similar to a brain.

A gray crystal, about the size of a fingernail, was embedded in the area.

“Qi Rong, the key point is the area above the ghostly fire!”

Qi Rong reacted quickly, dodging a soul mist attack and grabbing the crystal.

He instinctively crushed it.

A gray substance entered Qi Rong’s mind, causing him to stiffen.

His handsome features began to contort, and soon his eyes were bloodshot, looking at Qin Ruqing with a strange gaze.

Qin Ruqing raised an eyebrow and went over, slapping Qi Rong on the head to knock him out of his daze.

“Wake up! We don’t need a madman persona!”

After the slap, Qin Ruqing used lotus fire to “cleanse” him, restoring Qi Rong’s normal demeanor.

Qin Ruqing became serious. “This place isn’t normal.”

“Battlefield, skeletons, soul mist, and a cold, eerie aura… resentment?”

“This battlefield is full of accumulated resentment. Staying here for too long can cause confusion, change in temperament, or even madness!”

No wonder the examiner had advised them to stay alert; it was likely because of this.

Qi Rong rubbed his head, having lost the hairpin he was wearing due to the slap.

The slap had definitely been forceful.

He said dazedly, “I remember the examiner’s advice mentioned resentment.”

They exchanged glances, recalling the simple eight-character advice: Eliminate resentment; pay attention to time.

Qin Ruqing thought deeply, “Eliminating resentment must not refer to purifying the air. Considering the gray crystal earlier… eliminating resentment means we need to defeat vengeful spirits?”

But Qi Rong feared the consequences of killing vengeful spirits, “The backlash from vengeful spirits seems severe. If we’re not careful, we might end up insane.”

Qin Ruqing gave him a look. “So you’ve picked up the madman act now?”

She sighed, “This is the real test.”

“It’s clear that the number of vengeful spirits we kill affects our score. Besides that, we need to manage time… The more spirits we kill, the more we risk going mad, so there must be a threshold. Also, the environment here isn’t suitable for long stays, so the first scoring point is obvious: the longer we stay, the better.”

Qi Rong asked, “Isn’t this contradictory?”

Killing more vengeful spirits is better, but it makes one prone to madness. Staying longer is better, but it also risks madness.

“That’s why you need to use your brain to make choices!”

Qin Ruqing sighed and sat cross-legged, her brows furrowed, clearly facing a dilemma.

Qi Rong leaned closer, “Sister, are you making a choice?”

Qin Ruqing raised her hand, “No, I’m thinking.”

“This environment, filled with self-torture, feels strangely familiar. Remember when I was in the Fire Pool? I nearly blew myself up there, reconstituted my body countless times, and finally advanced.”

“And not long ago, I nearly killed myself with a ball, which pushed my spiritual awareness to the Dan Refining Stage.”

“Now, this familiar, painful environment… it’s an opportunity!”

Qi Rong twitched his lips, “Sister, are you saying this place might help us train?”

“Why not?” Qin Ruqing retorted.

She spoke loudly, with a mature sigh, “Young people should not narrow their path! Learn to view your miserable situation from another angle!”

“Just like this graveyard, as long as we don’t lie down in it, we can turn it into the best training ground!”

Qi Rong interrupted, “Uh, didn’t you say this isn’t a graveyard?”

“That’s not important!” Qin Ruqing declared.

She brought her fingers together and, with great ceremony and a solemn expression, slowly spread them apart.

“Mindset—open!”

“As long as we want to seize the opportunity, there’s wool to be had everywhere!”