Qi Rong, seeing someone daring to snatch their prey, frowned and stepped in to block him.

With a powerful strike, Dan Qing’s sword clashed against Qi Rong’s body, producing a metallic clang.

They exchanged blows rapidly.

However, Dan Qing, with his solid Foundation Establishment cultivation and being the second highest talent on the Golden Ranking List, would likely be the top contender if not for Qin Ruqing.

Thus, Qirong quickly found himself at a disadvantage.

Dan Qing calmly used the hilt of his sword to push Qirong away and then countered with the blade.

The sword killed several vengeful souls.

Dan Qing had shown restraint with Qirong, knowing that Qin Ruqing was formidable and fearing unnecessary trouble.

Qin Ruqing watched in disbelief.

For the first time, someone was forcibly taking her things, and they had even dared to attack Qirong!

She quickly leapt into action, her speed surpassing even Dan Qing’s own.

Just as Dan Qing’s sword was about to strike the vengeful souls again, a spinning golden lotus suddenly blocked his sword.

The gleaming sword came to a halt.

It wasn’t that Dan Qing wanted to stop, but the sword simply wouldn’t move.

Dan Qing didn’t mind and tried to swing around the lotus, only to have a slender white hand catch his sword.

Qin Ruqing’s face was cold. “Brother Dan, this is going too far!”

Dan Qing had already killed several vengeful souls and was now visibly excited, with bloodshot eyes.

Seeing Qin Ruqing blocking his sword only heightened his thrill.

He forcefully twisted his sword, causing golden flames to burst from Qin Ruqing’s palm.

Dan Qing took advantage of this to withdraw his sword and attack again.

Meanwhile, Qin Ruqing pushed forward with her golden flames, sending a wave of fire towards the sword’s edge.

In the clash of fire and sword, they exchanged a move.

When the flames settled, Qin Ruqing had not moved a step, while Dan Qing was pushed back two meters in the air.

He seemed even more thrilled, but noticing Qin Ruqing’s increasingly cold expression, he understood that if he continued, she might get truly angry.

So, maintaining his composure, Dan Qing chose not to fight Qin Ruqing further.

Instead, he moved to another location and used a sword technique to cut down a small group of vengeful souls.

After finishing this group, the backlash from the vengeful spirits reached its peak for Dan Qing.

His temples bulged with veins, but his sword remained steady.

As he left, he even sliced through a lone vengeful soul.

After dealing with it, he quickly disappeared, holding his sword.

Qin Ruqing frowned deeply.

Qirong clenched his fists in anger. “He’s a thief! Sister, let’s chase him.”

Qin Ruqing shook her head. “Why chase him? We could capture more vengeful souls with that time.”

“And it’s our skill to drive away and collect the vengeful souls. It’s his skill to snatch some from us.”

“If he doesn’t want to fight, I don’t want to fight him either. It’s just a waste of time.”

Qin Ruqing was focused solely on the vengeful souls, not on Dan Qing.

Qi Rong understood and nodded but wondered, “How is he not afraid of the vengeful backlash?”

“He’s using killing to stop killing,” Qin Ruqing said lightly.

The vengeful energy would increase his brutality and murderous intent, which suited him as he continued to kill vengeful souls.

“Indeed, he’s a madman,” Qi Rong commented.

Qin Ruqing didn’t care. “Let’s continue.”

The number of vengeful souls outside the Soul Mansion was decreasing at an astonishing rate.

As a result, other contestants entering the mansion noticed something unusual.

“Why does it seem like the frequency of vengeful souls is dropping? Even the surrounding vengeful energy feels much lighter.”

“And before, vengeful souls would rush to attack people. Now they run away when they see someone? Am I that frightening? What’s going on?”

“I heard it’s because our top-ranked Fairy Ruqing gathered all the vengeful spirits from the outskirts and wants to deal with them all by herself!”

“Wow! If she kills all those spirits, how will she handle the backlash of resentment? She might go mad!”

A blue-purple figure darted past the two groups from the great families who were gathered but not fighting.

With so few spirits outside, there was little to fight over.

They might as well chat to relieve the resentment backlash.

The blue-purple figure was Ming Ying.

As she flew, she thought to herself that the spirits must have been collected by that person.

No wonder there were so few spirits outside.

Honestly, Ming Ying wasn’t too eager to deal with her.

Mainly because she had taken the top spot among the ten fairy titles, which left Ming Ying feeling a bit awkward.

Moreover, she knew that the top-ranked people on the list were often not ordinary.

Ming Ying didn’t want to clash with such people.

Instead of fighting over trivial matters, she preferred to focus on her current goals.

However, since that person had taken all the vengeful spirits, Ming Ying had no choice but to confront her if she wanted to secure a top-four finish.

Finding that person was actually quite easy.

With so many spirits gathered, the sky was dark, and she could use her spiritual sense to locate her.

Ming Ying quietly approached and hid behind a sand dune to observe Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing was still wearing that flashy divine garment that Ming Ying had once criticized.

She was floating in front of an illusory golden lotus, seemingly performing some kind of magic.

Ming Ying scowled but couldn’t help sneaking glances at her.

Damn, she does look pretty good.

Maybe it wasn’t entirely unfair that she took my title.

But Ming Ying still felt a pang of jealousy.

Ming Ying didn’t want to confront her directly.

Instead, she looked up at the dark mass of spirits floating in the sky.

Qin Ruqing’s brother seemed to be protecting her while preventing the spirits from drifting away.

Ming Ying didn’t understand what they were doing—gathering the spirits was like raising pests.

But it didn’t matter; Ming Ying had a plan.

She quietly took out a roll of silk and, focusing intently, acted swiftly when Qin Ruqing wasn’t paying attention.

The blue-purple silk flew out and wrapped around the dark mass of spirits like a hungry beast.

After wrapping it up, Ming Ying fled in an instant.

She was gone in a few steps.

Ming Ying had chosen her location strategically, right opposite Qi Rong.

Even if he wanted to chase her, he was separated by the entire group of vengeful spirits.

Ming Ying was also very powerful, making it impossible for Qi Rong to catch up.

Qi Rong was stunned, only seeing the fluttering dress of the thief.

“Sister… It’s Fairy Ming Ying.” He recognized her outfit.

Qin Ruqing, seemingly focused on her magic, curled her lips into a smile without even opening her eyes.

She said：“It’s nothing, don’t worry about her.”

Qi Rong was puzzled. “Didn’t you say no one could take the spoils from you?”

Qin Ruqing replied, “Some pretty ladies don’t count.”

Qi Rong: “?”

After an unknown amount of time, Qin Ruqing opened her eyes.

The purified crystals had been absorbed.

She let out a slow sigh and murmured, “After absorbing so many crystals, it seems I’ve condensed three strands of soul threads. It’s really effective!”

Three strands might not seem like a lot, but for someone without a proper method for soul cultivation, it was a significant breakthrough.

Step by step.

If it weren’t for the time limit of the test, Qin Ruqing would have liked to stay in this “graveyard” (not really) until her soul advanced.

Unfortunately, time was insufficient; they could only stay here for a day and a half at most.

With most of the day already gone, there was little time left.

Qin Ruqing called out to the sky, “Qi Rong, it’s your turn. You start absorbing now. After you’re done, we’ll head to the deepest part of the inner area.” She hoped to find some powerful vengeful souls inside to make her absorption more efficient.

Qi Rong hesitated, “What about these vengeful soul crystals in the sky? Aren’t we taking them?” He looked at the dark, ghostly flames in the crystals with some regret.

Qin Ruqing smiled, “Who said we’re not taking them? If we can’t use them all, we can always pack them up and take them away!” Such good resources would be useful for her clan.

Qi Rong’s eyes brightened, and he nodded immediately.

Qin Ruqing floated up into the sky, looking at the unguarded vengeful souls trying to escape.

With a polite smile, her expression suddenly hardened.

She extended her hand and released flames.

The golden, mist-like flames formed a giant net that surrounded the souls.

Qin Ruqing cast several spells quickly, then bit her fingertip and sprayed out a mist of blood.

With a determined gaze, she chanted, “Blood Sacrifice, Explosion!”

The golden flames surged to several meters high and then exploded with a loud bang.

When everything calmed down, the gray crystals fell like rain, all caught and wrapped up by the net of golden flames.

“These gray crystals can’t be carried around; they attract more vengeful souls. Better purify them all at once…”

She said this calmly, unaware that someone watching her actions was deeply shocked.

The four director heads watched the scene above the orb with grave expressions.

The Qin family girl seemed to be burning those vengeful souls as if she were playing.

She and her brother had cleared out all the vengeful souls in the outer area within a few hours.

Even the crystals had been completely refined.

These were all Soul Source Stones!

The Soul Cave was an illusion crafted from Soul Source Stones, and the vengeful soul crystals were manifestations of these stones.

In other words, Qin Ruqing was burning genuine Soul Source Stones!

The examiners reported that half of the Soul Source Stones supporting the Cave’s operation had already been consumed.

Should they replenish them?

The examiners felt like their hearts were bleeding.