Time turns back a little; at that time, Qin Ruqing had not yet emerged from the Path of Shadows.

Fifth Lingyu arrived at the Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion.

He was headed for the eighth floor but did not directly teleport up; instead, he came to the fourth floor.

He stopped at a position in this star-falling sky and, with a flick of his sleeve, stood still.

The space in front of him seemed empty, yet Fifth Lingyu stood there leisurely, as if waiting.

After a while, the sky’s curtain showed fluctuations and even cracked open, slowly revealing a figure.

Fifth Youlin opened his eyes, saw Fifth Lingyu, and was neither surprised nor curious. He said, “You’ve come.”

Fifth Lingyu tilted his chin and got straight to the point: “Don’t give her anything in the future.”

“She” was a vague pronoun, and it took Fifth Youlin a moment to understand who this “her” referred to.

“Are you talking about the immortal-grade seed of the Qin family? I saw that the copper bell hanging from her waist was merely a secondary bell. It’s inconvenient for her to move in Penglai. Since you seem to value her, I gave her a complete copper bell, which is also giving you face. Is that wrong?”

Fifth Lingyu gave a sneer.

He wanted to say, “Do you think I need you to give me face? If I wanted to give her the main bell, I would have done it myself,” but he held back and only said coldly, “You don’t need to manage her affairs in the future.”

Fifth Youlin fell silent for a moment and then brought up another topic: “I’ve also been keeping an eye on the situation with this seed descending into the Four Prisons. Now she has obtained two heavenly-level tokens. It seems that she is particularly compatible with our family’s inheritance…”

Fifth Lingyu laughed with a hint of disdain. “Of course, a seed with immortal-grade talent that can make the golden list ring three times, even if not comparable to Feng Mingyue’s talent, is only lacking comprehensive system training.

If she completes a full journey through the Four Prisons, no matter the rating, she will undergo a transformation.

Given this, her compatibility with our family’s inheritance is nothing surprising. After all, geniuses are compatible with everything.”

Fifth Youlin was dismissed in this subtle way and no longer spoke further.

Instead, he asked, “Do you want her to open the Immortal Tomb? Can she meet the requirements of the Immortal Tomb?”

“You people who have been locked in Penglai for years always look down on the outside world and instinctively doubt everything from other realms.

No matter how she is, she is still a seed measured by an artifact left from the Middle Era.

Even if she’s not as good as Feng Mingyue, can’t she open a seal?” Fifth Lingyu’s tone was full of sarcasm.

Conversations between the two were always like this, or rather, Fifth Lingyu never showed a good face.

Fortunately, Fifth Youlin was calm and composed due to his nature and cultivation practice, and he never got angry.

He nodded and said:

“Your judgment is always good. Since you brought back this seed to the Fifth family and seem to value it greatly, if you wish, even if it’s outside the Void Realm, you can have her join the Fifth family or let the Qin family become a subordinate of the our Celestial Family.”

Fifth Youlin’s tone was gentle, and he even spoke with a compensatory indulgence and flattery towards Fifth Lingyu.

Fifth Lingyu, however, rejected outright without hesitation, saying coldly: “No need! She can become an ancestor in her own family, so why should she join your Celestial Family?

The Celestial Family aren’t as popular as you think. As for making the Qin family a subordinate, the Fifth family doesn’t need another subordinate, and the Qin family might not even want that. Why go through the trouble?”

Fifth Youlin fell silent and, after a while, said, “Then do as you wish.”

Fifth Lingyu turned directly and prepared to leave.

He came here only to warn Fifth Youlin not to interfere with his matters.

Now that his purpose was achieved, he naturally had to leave.

With a jingling sound, Fifth Lingyu’s figure shimmered like ripples in water and quickly vanished from sight.

Fifth Youlin stared at the space where Fifth Lingyu had been and was about to continue his cultivation when he suddenly sensed something.

His brows furrowed slightly, and a look of shock and confusion crossed his face.

Fifth Lingyu had used the former clan leader’s token and reached the eighth level?

Even with the former clan leader’s token, one could only access the eighth level of the Wan Juan Pavilion three times at most.

He had already used two of those times.

Now, was he going to use the last opportunity as well?

…

Qin Ruqing held a small vial of Xuanxin Liquid. Just after waking up, she made a solemn and serious decision.

She was ready to condense the elixir.

This decision wasn’t made lightly. It was the result of deep consideration.

Aside from the gains from the Path of the Unworthy, what struck Qin Ruqing the most was that her current level of strength was too low!

Some gaps in strength cannot be bridged just by talent and skills.

After reaching a certain height, each small step of difference feels like a chasm.

No matter how skilled she was or how much she could surpass her limits, she was powerless against the Golden Core.

This was a complete suppression in terms of cultivation level.

After the Path of the Unworthy, Qin Ruqing’s strongest desire was to condense the elixir—to fundamentally enhance her level of strength!

No matter how much she honed her skills or grasped profound insights, her improvement was limited by her cultivation level.

Only by condensing the elixir and reaching the Golden Core realm could she achieve a qualitative leap in strength!

Moreover, condensing the elixir was not a distant prospect for Qin Ruqing.

During her time in the Hell Path, she first absorbed ancient crystal in the Five-Colored Sea and then thoroughly refined it.

Her cultivation had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage.

After eighteen layers of life and death trials, she had already sensed the barrier of condensing the elixir.

Furthermore, her battles with demon beasts in the Path of the Unworthy had pushed her body’s potential to the extreme, and she was now fully prepared.

Qin Ruqing clearly sensed that she was about to push open the door to Golden Core Formation Realm…

Opportunity.

She no longer hesitated and immediately decided to seize it!

Qin Ruqing set a small goal for herself: first, to form her core, and after forming the core, to refine the reward from the Path of Shadows token: Eternal Life.

This heavenly-level token reward seemed to be some sort of insight or rule.

Qin Ruqing’s intuition told her that if she absorbed it completely, it would provide her with a new understanding and utilization of her Dao Physique.

Of course, even if she didn’t refine it, Qin Ruqing already had a vague understanding after fully clearing the Path of Shadows.

Path of Shadows, First Layer: The negative effect is the restriction of spiritual energy recovery. It is both a limitation and a training—indirectly reflecting the endless vitality of energy.

Path of Shadows, Second Layer: Restricts injury recovery, which from another perspective is training the recovery of the body, a form of the endless vitality of flesh and blood.

By the time she reached the final layer of the Path of Shadows, it seemed there was no additional negative state imposed on her, but this layer was actually the most uncomfortable for Qin Ruqing.

It deliberately shattered her spirit!

The Path of Shadows was designed according to the tester’s strength, and with Qin Ruqing’s current foundation, defeating the Core Formation stage meant she had already touched the limit of her current level’s combat power.

Yet, the Path of Shadows continued to torment her.

It misled Qin Ruqing into thinking—she still needed to fight against the Golden Core stage and complete an impossible task under a situation of certain death.

Under such high pressure, it directly broke down Qin Ruqing’s mental defenses.

But this was clearly a test.

Qin Ruqing was certain that if she had given up at that time, although she wouldn’t have died and would have been teleported up, her rating would definitely have been lowered.

The final challenge of the Path of Shadows was to test mental will!

Even though her spirit was shattered, she could still stand up;

The height of Mount Yangshan, although she could not overcome it, she dared to climb.

This was the persistence in mental will, the relentless spirit!

Moreover, Qin Ruqing suspected that with her current strength, if she wanted to gain further control over her Dao Physique, the next step would involve focusing on mental will.

More specifically, it might involve the soul.

But all this would have to wait until she formed her core.

The level of the Dao Physique was too high, and the requirements were also high. Qin Ruqing planned to first enhance her strength.

With enhanced strength, she would naturally gain further understanding of the Dao Physique, and on this basis, refining the “Eternal Life” will in the heavenly-level token would achieve maximum benefit.

After planning her next phase, Qin Ruqing smiled and took out a jade slip, starting to write messages in the water group.

Miracle Qingqing (The First Female Immortal of Nanling Village): “I’ve cleared the second prison of the Four Prisons and obtained a Heavenly Token. Moreover, I found that the Four Prisons align very well with my Dao Physique. When I asked Fifth Lingyu before, he said that the Four Prisons are where the Fifth family selects and trains their successors. Does this mean I’m highly compatible with their family’s inheritance? It’s a pity I’m not from the Fifth family; otherwise, I’d definitely ask how to obtain their family’s inheritance…”

Niu Niu Xiao Tang: “For top families, the family’s inheritance is essentially the foundation and soul of the family. They wouldn’t pass it on to outsiders under normal circumstances.”

Miracle Qingqing: “Oh, I know. I’m just talking.”

Qin Ruqing, sitting by the window, secretly curled her lips, thinking: Just hoping they don’t cause trouble for me, let alone asking them for their inheritance—it’s something I wouldn’t even dare to dream about.

“Tang Zifeng, have you finished cleaning up the orders?”

Tang Zifeng replied with a simple “yes.” For some reason, even from just the text, it seemed like he was very serious and stern. “I’ve blocked that annoying Golden Elder. Soon, I’ll be entering the Master’s Tomb.”

Qin Ruqing couldn’t help but smile. Xiao Tang had essentially blocked a major client, showing his arrogance with his strength.

She finally asked about the Master’s Tomb that Tang Zifeng had been hoping she would ask about.

“What’s the Master’s Tomb?” Qin Ruqing inquired.

Tang Zifeng, sitting in the refining room in his neat Daoist robe, straightened his back slightly as if Qin Ruqing could see him. He spoke with a touch of seriousness and pride:

“It’s where past refining masters and elders are buried. I’ve heard that there are even Divine-level refining masters. In the Master’s Tomb, I can communicate with the residual wills left by these masters, ask them questions, and observe their refining techniques. It’s like a high-level teaching method, which is why it’s called the Master’s Tomb.”

Tang Zifeng’s explanation was vague, but Qin Ruqing understood.

The idea that the wills of great refining masters could still be present in the tomb for future generations to observe meant that special methods were used to preserve them; otherwise, their souls would have dissipated long ago.

Miracle Qingqing: “Wow, that’s amazing! The Master’s Tomb must be very special if so many predecessors still have residual wills!”

Little Cow Tang: “Yes. The Master’s Tomb of the Refining Association contains real divine artifacts, which is why the ancestors’ wills can remain.”

“That’s like a natural and straightforward place for harvesting resources! Little Cow Tang, good luck! I’m looking forward to you coming out as a Grand Master!”

Tang Zifeng’s gaze lingered on the phrase “coming out as a Grand Master,” and his lips naturally curved into a smile.

Just as he was about to respond, he noticed that Lu Wei had joined the conversation.

Knowing that Qingqing’s attention would shift to Lu Wei, he chose to remain silent.

Sunny Weiwei: “I’ve also entered the Ninth Layer Tower. No wonder the teacher asked me to memorize so many alchemical formulas.

Every layer in this tower has alchemy trials, and they are all ancient formulas. I have to decipher the formulas and successfully refine the elixirs…”

“Only by refining it can you proceed to the next layer.”

Qin Ruqing took this seriously and began giving Lu Wei advice and tips on how to navigate the tower (or “pluck feathers”).

After chatting, she noticed that Qirong hadn’t said a word and asked curiously:

Qin Ruqing: “Is Qirong still simmering away?”

Sunny Weiwei: “…Well, he did come out a couple of days ago and mentioned that his medicinal bath training would take forty-nine days, during which he needs to be continuously boiled at high temperatures to achieve a transformation in his physique.”

Qin Ruqing sighed, “Ah, poor fatty. Let him stay there and cook then.”

Aside from Qi Rong’s absence being a bit of a regret, the chat atmosphere remained pleasant.

Everyone had their own direction and goals, making the conversation both calming and motivating.

Finally, Qin Ruqing cheerfully summarized: “I have a premonition that when the Void Realm open and we regroup, everyone will have undergone a tremendous transformation, greeting a brand new self. Let’s just wait and see!”

A few days later.

That day, the Penglai Sacred Mountain, which had been clear and sunny, suddenly experienced a violent wind, and thick black clouds gathered on the horizon.

The immortal-grade disciples in white and green robes, with copper bells hanging from their waists, were all startled by this commotion.

They emerged from secret realms from all directions and gathered in one place.

“What happened?”

“Good heavens, the sky has turned as black as a pot’s bottom, and it’s an anomaly across all of Penglai. Is this a lightning tribulation?”

“Could it be that our Elder is about to break through? Or maybe a high-level secret realm has been unearthed on the Sacred Mountain?”

Some disciples, sitting on clouds, kept changing the scenes on their copper bells as if they were using a remote control, trying to find out where the anomaly in the sky was coming from in Penglai.

However, the internal space of Penglai was vast and mysterious, with many forbidden areas that couldn’t be viewed.

Ordinary disciples’ copper bells could only check the common areas.

Finally, after persistent switching by a particularly curious immortal-grade disciple, they found the source of the black clouds.

“Ah, it’s here, at the Qingyuan Waterfall. Isn’t this one of our best guest accommodations? Could it be that a distinguished guest’s breakthrough caused this commotion?”

“Judging by this scene, it must at least be a Yuanying breakthrough, or perhaps even Huashen!”

“Who knows who is staying at the Qingyuan Waterfall?”

A rather weak voice came from the obscured clouds, “I remember that recently the Qingyuan Waterfall has only hosted one guest, an immortal-grade seed invited by our little uncle from the outer realm.”

“That seed has been cultivating in the Four Prisons recently and is said to have obtained a heavenly-level token. Quite impressive.”

Everyone looked towards the voice and saw a woman sitting on a cloud.

The disciples recognized her: “Oh, it’s Ying Jun. You seem to know a lot about that outer realm seed!”

“So, this commotion was caused by that Qin surname fairy? Judging by the sky’s situation, it must be a lightning tribulation. Given the seed’s age, it’s likely a Golden Core tribulation,” someone speculated.

“By the way, how old is she?”

Fifth Yingjun, who was very familiar with her idol’s age, immediately replied: “Seventeen! Fairy Ruqing is now seventeen years old!”

“Oh, seventeen!” The crowd responded with a mix of realization and admiration.

Forming a core at seventeen is indeed impressive, but among immortal-grade disciples, such talent is not entirely unheard of.

“It’s quite remarkable in the outer realm, no wonder she topped the Golden List,” commented an immortal-grade disciple.

Fifth Yingjun rolled his eyes, unable to tolerate the diminishing remarks about her idol.

He couldn’t help but say: “Don’t underestimate Fairy Ruqing’s strength. She could fight above her level and defeat Core Formation even before forming her core. Who knows how strong she’ll be after forming her core!”

Fifth Yingjun was quite famous among the younger generation of the Fifth family, not just for his own strength but because of her mother.

Everyone knew Elder Fifteen practiced the Dao of Leisure and liked to find beautiful partners.

Fifth Yingjun had three younger sisters now, and the Celestial disciples often teased her.

At this moment, they said: “You seem to really like her. Even if she can fight above her level, it’s not that astonishing. She still needs to form her core and defeat Golden Core and Yuanying!”

Fifth Yingjun remained silent but thought to herself, “That’s not necessarily true.”

After the disciples finished teasing Fifth Yingjun, their attention shifted back to the lightning tribulation.

“The lightning tribulation for forming a core ranges from one to nine turns. It is said that ancient experts could attract a nine-turn lightning tribulation. Little Yingjun, since you admire that outer realm seed so much, why don’t you guess how many turns of tribulation she will attract?”

With his fan’s bias and his eighteen layers of filters, Fifth Yingjun naturally blurted out:

“How many turns? It must be nine turns!”

The Celestial disciples on the cloud didn’t think Fifth Yingjun was boasting; they all laughed heartily.

“Hahaha, Little Yingjun, you’re becoming more and more humorous like your mother!”

These people thought he was intentionally being funny! Fifth Yingjun stomped his foot in anger:

“Who do you think you’re underestimating? You will be slapped in the face for sure!”