Qin Ruqing’s intuition was correct.

The iron cage dragged her to a new level of the prison, where the demon beasts were all at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The flames in the wall lamps turned a pale blue, possibly indicating a new negative effect.

Qin Ruqing’s face was serious as she summoned her main magical item, a small lotus flower.

She wanted to achieve a Heavenly-level rating to explore the secrets of the Dao Physique.

However, wanting something doesn’t always mean you can achieve it.

Battling Foundation Establishment stage demon beasts was still a severe challenge for her and could likely result in failure even if she gave it her all.

Despite the challenge, Qin Ruqing wasn’t completely without hope.

She believed her strength had improved since she participated in the competition.

Her advanced control over fire, her will to live or die, and the magical item given to her by Xiao Tang all combined to give her a chance to challenge the Foundation Establishment demon beasts!

The demon beast in the prison appeared as a large, black disk.

When it sensed a living presence, it slowly raised itself.

Its body was as thick as a barrel, with a triangular head that occasionally shot out a long tongue from the small holes in its head.

Oh no, it’s a snake!

A giant snake that could wrap around the entire prison twice!

From Qin Ruqing’s limited knowledge of animals, triangular-headed snakes are usually highly venomous, and thick-bodied snakes are pythons that kill by constriction.

But this demon beast seemed to break that rule.

It had the body of a python and the head of a venomous snake.

It could both constrict and poison its prey, plus it probably had various deceptive techniques that snake-like demon beasts use.

This combination made it extremely difficult to handle.

The snake’s sharp gaze met Qin Ruqing’s. Without hesitation, it spewed out a cloud of purple-black poison mist.

At almost the same moment, Qin Ruqing raised her hand and unleashed a golden flame to counter the poison mist.

The collision made a strange crackling sound, like dry wood meeting a fierce fire.

Qin Ruqing took a deep breath and activated her full power, enveloping herself in the lotus flame.

Facing a Golden Core opponent, she couldn’t afford to be cautious.

She had to give her all from the start. Furthermore, the poison mist, when burned by the flame, would become even more toxic.

Without the protection of the lotus flame, she might be poisoned to death on the spot.

So Qin Ruqing decided to take the initiative and attack.

The lotus-shaped artifact with glowing spiritual patterns floated in front of her. With swift hand seals, Qin Ruqing directly used one of her major moves, the Green Lotus Seal.

A golden lotus phantom, nearly the size of the entire cell, erupted from the artifact.

The lotus petals swiftly wrapped around the giant snake’s head, and with a loud bang, the entire cell shook.

Qin Ruqing was stunned.

It was her first time using her innate artifact in actual combat, and she hadn’t expected that after enhancing her control over flames and using the artifact, her major move could be executed so smoothly!

No delay, no windup—just a direct and immediate major move! For a mage, this meant:

More precise hits (less time for the enemy to evade);

More terrifying power (less energy dissipated during the casting, and the full force hits the enemy).

Incredible, truly incredible! Moreover, the little lotus also increased her attack power by 20%.

Normally it would be 30%, but because this spell was so advanced, the artifact’s enhancement was slightly reduced, as Tang Zifeng had explained.

But for Qin Ruqing, adding 20% to the already terrifying power of the Green Lotus Seal meant she could even challenge Core Formation beasts!

After all, even the giant snake couldn’t avoid it just now.

Instant hit, no doubt!

Of course, a Core Formation stage giant snake couldn’t be killed by this move alone, and it wasn’t even heavily injured.

It was just in so much pain that its body thrashed violently in the cell.

Each collision with the walls and floor felt like a heavy blow.

Qin Ruqing had to keep dodging and leaping in the cell.

Getting hit by such a massive snake could easily break bones.

After a long while, the commotion finally subsided.

Although the snake’s head wasn’t blown apart, most of the scales on its head were destroyed, exposing the red flesh and blood inside.

The sharp snake eyes stared at Qin Ruqing with intense fury.

Suddenly, it opened its mouth wide. Just as Qin Ruqing thought it was about to unleash some toxic mist or light wave attack, the snake’s throat emitted a silent wave attack.

This attack produced no sound that could be heard with the ears, as if it was an ultrasonic wave directly stimulating the brain.

Qin Ruqing felt a sharp, piercing sensation in her eardrums that surged into her spiritual core, ultimately striking her soul.

In an instant, Qin Ruqing’s ears bled, and during that moment of disorientation, she was grabbed by the giant snake.

The snake coiled its body and rapidly constricted around Qin Ruqing, its tail whipping her into its embrace.

This wasn’t merely a bind; it was like being crushed by Mount Tai, suffocated, and facing the risk of having her chest and abdomen crushed!

Just as Qin Ruqing recovered from the pain of the ear piercing and spiritual shock, she found herself in a life-threatening situation.

Being directly wrapped by a Core Formation stage snake demon meant that if she didn’t find a way to escape, in just two breaths, Qin Ruqing could be crushed to death!

The vast gap in strength was apparent!

Two breaths… only two breaths!

The sense of impending death flooded Qin Ruqing’s mind, yet it made her unusually calm.

Her will to survive emerged at this moment!

Two breaths seemed to stretch endlessly.

What to do?

Her hands were bound, unable to form seals or retaliate! She wasn’t…

With her physical strength alone, Qin Ruqing couldn’t break free from the Golden Stage demon beast’s grasp.

She had to make the beast release her on its own!

Make it feel pain!

Qin Ruqing glanced at the golden flames burning on her body and suddenly had a flash of inspiration—use fire!

Use what she was best at!

Hadn’t the Five-Colored Sea already taught her how to control fire?

Why was it that although the temperatures of the Orange Sea and Golden Sea hadn’t changed much, their power had more than doubled?

…She shouldn’t just raise the temperature roughly.

Instead, she should utilize the attributes of fire, the rules of the Dao of Fire, to precisely control the temperature and release it where needed.

This would maximize her abilities!

In just two breaths, the menacing snake head had turned to try and swallow Qin Ruqing. Its sharp teeth glistened, and poisonous saliva stretched into threads as the snake’s mouth opened, emitting a nauseating stench.

Just as the sharp teeth were about to touch Qin Ruqing, the entire snake suddenly stopped.

The next moment, it let out a sharp hiss accompanied by a sizzling, burning sound.

It released Qin Ruqing.

However, she didn’t run away.

The snake’s head was too close, close enough for her to see the trembling pink tonsils inside the snake’s mouth.

Qin Ruqing’s expression was surprisingly calm.

Almost immediately after she could move her hands, she summoned her magical item and cast a spell—

Azure Lotus Seal!

The attack headed straight for the snake’s mouth, the most vulnerable part.

Qin Ruqing didn’t retreat; she was connected with her semi-divine artifact, and after the spell was cast, she quickly moved forward, grabbing the snake’s upper jaw to force its mouth shut.

She was actually trying to make the snake swallow her entire spell!

There was a muffled explosion. It was muffled because the explosion occurred inside the snake’s mouth.

The previous Azure Lotus Seal had exploded on the outside of the snake’s head, with its tough scales providing some protection, causing only minor injury.

But this time, the full force of the Azure Lotus Seal exploded inside its head.

Even a Foundation Establishment demon beast couldn’t withstand such a critical attack.

After a violent convulsion, the huge snake’s head slumped down, and a large amount of blood flowed from its mouth.

Qin Ruqing was startled.

She was actually worried that the giant snake might die.

Qin Ruqing carefully crouched down and sensed that the giant snake still had a breath of life left.

She sighed in relief but hesitated about whether to save the snake.

Not saving it seemed like the right choice since the snake had just attacked her.

However, she worried that there might be an invisible rule in this trial that prohibited killing the beasts.

What if she couldn’t get the Heavenly-grade evaluation because of it?

The wall lamp, which she had only been able to see but never touch, finally activated.

It turned into a white light and entered the giant snake’s body, slowly healing it.

This resolved Qin Ruqing’s dilemma and proved indirectly that the beasts in the prison couldn’t be killed.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be an automatic healing mechanism.

Just as Qin Ruqing stood up, still in the aftermath of the deadly battle, she was quickly transported to a new cell.

Her eyes widened in disbelief: “Not again! More?”

Did they really think Core Formation beasts were just ordinary? She had nearly lost her life to the last one!

However, the prison didn’t hear Qin Ruqing’s complaints, and a new Core Formation beast was already standing and locking its gaze on her.

…She had no choice but to face it.

With great effort, Qin Ruqing managed to defeat another Core Formation beast, once again surviving a life-threatening crisis through sheer willpower.

Her experience? It was thrilling!

It felt like dancing on the edge of a cliff, with the constant possibility of falling. It was exhilarating!

Without the trials of Hell Path and countless life-or-death battles in the Eighteen Layers of Death, plus the life-and-death will absorbed from the token rewards, she wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Core Formation beasts.