The trial platform was towering and magnificent, making the defendant feel like a mere mortal facing a deity—there was a clear difference in majesty between the two, like clouds versus mud.

“You may begin your self-defense,” the judge’s voice was solemn and ethereal, as if coming from the clouds.

Qin Ruqing thought for a moment, then lifted her gaze, standing straight with a calm demeanor and said, “I cannot defend myself.”

The judge did not say much more, as if already knowing the outcome.

He declared, “The criminal cannot self-defend; the trial session is over.”

For the judge, it was the end, but for Qin Ruqing, it was just the beginning.

Her punishment began as she was thrown into an arena.

It was a pitch-black environment where she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.

Qin Ruqing instinctively tried to light a fire to illuminate the space but found that her innate flame no longer responded to her.

Qin Ruqing paused, realizing the gravity of the situation.

Her innate fire was like a part of her body, and now that even the fire was sealed, what about other things?

She began calmly trying to operate her spiritual energy and sense her cultivation level.

She then concluded with calmness: she seemed to have become an ordinary person.

The moment she reached this conclusion, the scene before her abruptly changed, and she found herself in an ancient, desolate city.

Ruined walls and yellow sand filled the area.

A crumbling stone wall behind her emitted rustling sounds.

Qin Ruqing’s gaze was fixed on it, and after a moment, a figure emerged from behind the wall.

Well… strictly speaking, it couldn’t be considered a human.

It looked like all the blood and moisture had been drained from its body, leaving only a dried-out husk.

The husk was layered, like thick cement, with some parts decayed and exposed, showing dark red and purple rotten flesh that attracted flies the size of thumbtacks.

Qin Ruqing’s breath caught, as if she could smell the fresh blood.

The emaciated, rotting figure slowly turned its head and looked in her direction.

Its eye sockets were deeply sunken, and its eyeballs were protruding with sharp, slit-like pupils that made her skin crawl.

In the split second of making eye contact with the figure, a name flashed in Qin Ruqing’s mind:

Hungry Ghost!

This was a hungry ghost from the realm of ghosts, the judgment place in the city of sins!

Seeing Qin Ruqing, the hungry ghost revealed its brownish-yellow sharp teeth.

Its limbs, looking like dried branches, seemed barely able to support its swaying body but still had an unnaturally fast running speed as it clawed and lunged toward her.

Eyes wide open and taking a sharp breath, Qin Ruqing ran.

Although her spiritual power was sealed, her extraordinary physical condition remained.

Having recently formed her core and undergone the refining trials of the nine-turn thunder tribulation, she was still capable of escaping from a decaying creature.

Once she confirmed she had shaken off the hungry ghost, Qin Ruqing hid in the shadow of a ruined wall, panting heavily.

“Wow, that’s a hungry ghost. It looks like a zombie. How disgusting!”

After catching her breath, Qin Ruqing furrowed her brows and began to analyze the situation.

“Is this the punishment of the trial? It seems I am supposed to escape from the hungry ghost’s pursuit in this desolate city. It doesn’t look too difficult, but with my spiritual power sealed, I’m almost like an ordinary person except for my physical fitness. Once my stamina is exhausted, it will be like waiting to die in this desolate city.”

Qin Ruqing looked ahead, just as a gust of wind blew, stirring up the yellow sand and getting into her eyes.

“And… Oh no, sand got into my eyes!” Qin Ruqing fumbled to rub her eyes, taking a while to recover.

With her eyes red and tearful from rubbing, she mumbled the next words:

“And this desolate city doesn’t look like it has any food or water sources. Now that I’m just a mortal, without food and water, and having to avoid the hungry ghosts, I doubt I can last a few days,” Qin Ruqing muttered.

With her spiritual sense not functioning, Qin Ruqing carefully scanned her surroundings with her eyes and, seeing no immediate danger, stood up.

“I should look for a supply station or something similar… It’s getting dark,” she thought.

Nightfall was always the peak of danger.

“Sigh, after all that hard cultivation, I’ve been reduced back to pre-liberation days.” She shook her hand, and her slender, red figure started to move briskly through the desolate ancient city, her presence making the sky seem a bit brighter.

Before nightfall, Qin Ruqing found a partially collapsed house and took shelter in it.

The ancient city’s day-night temperature difference was extreme.

It was scorching hot during the day, but at night, the temperature dropped sharply, to the point where you could see your breath.

Qin Ruqing huddled in a corner, hoping to spend the night safely.

But clearly, things didn’t go as planned.

In the middle of the night, she heard rustling sounds.

Opening her eyes, she saw a pair of white ghostly eyes greedily staring at her through the windowless opening across from her.

Qin Ruqing froze.

Before she could react, another head appeared next to the ghostly eyes.

Clearly, there were more than a few hungry ghosts surrounding this drafty house.

Qin Ruqing dashed out, bare-handedly fighting them off.

But the noise attracted even more hungry ghosts, and the scene of Qin Ruqing beating the hungry ghosts and returning to rest never happened.

Hungry ghosts seemed to have the characteristics of night owls!

Qin Ruqing began a frantic nighttime escape, her spirit never relaxing for a moment.

As dawn broke, she huddled in a corner of a roofless, dilapidated house, her eyes wide with vigilance.

Even the top female immortal of Nanling Village would get dark circles from staying up all night!

After spending a night battling the hungry ghosts, Qin Ruqing was not physically exhausted—her body could endure without food or water.

What drained her was her spirit!

For a moment, Qin Ruqing stopped thinking about exploring the environment or uncovering the roots of the judgments in the City of Sin.

She began to wonder when this first round of judgment would end; she just wanted to go back and sleep.

On the third day (roughly) in the ancient City of Sin, Qin Ruqing accidentally stirred up a nest of hungry ghosts, bringing about a siege of thousands of hungry ghosts.

This was an experience unlike any Qin Ruqing had ever had.

She recalled Fifth Youlin’s words, “In the City of Sin, you will suffer greatly.”

When she was in the ground fire pool, enduring the scorching flames, Qin Ruqing felt pain.

In the Five-Color Sea, and in every moment of the Eighteen Layers of Life and Death, Qin Ruqing felt pain.

During her core formation, the Nine-Turn Thunder Tribulation struck down with such force that it seemed like it would turn every layer of flesh into ashes—this was the peak of physical pain that Qin Ruqing had experienced.

But now, surrounded by countless hungry ghosts, what originally would have required just a fireball to deal with had become a battle relying entirely on physical strength due to her sealed spiritual power.

In this process, Qin Ruqing’s understanding of pain was refreshed once again.

She would strike the rotting flesh of the hungry ghosts, which felt no pain, while her own hair stood on end.

As she fought more, her body seemed to become tainted by the stench of the hungry ghosts.

Some of the flies feeding on the decaying blood of the hungry ghosts also began to circle around her.

She defeated one hungry ghost after another, watching their bulging eyes burst.

Over time, Qin Ruqing even felt that she was not much different from these hungry ghosts.

Unable to withstand the overwhelming numbers, Qin Ruqing began to feel her strength wane.

During the chaos, a hungry ghost bit into her, tearing her flesh.

The sensation of tearing only increased.