Qin Ruqing climbed onto a crumbling building and looked out over the desolate city from a high vantage point.

Any name must come from somewhere.

Since the so-called trial took place in this ancient ruined city, the so-called arena might be somewhere within the city.

So, the next question was: Where is the arena in this desolate city?

And how to find it?

Her gaze fell upon the dry husks of the hungry ghosts below.

Perhaps the clue was among these hungry ghosts.

For the first time, she set aside her biases and began to seriously observe the hungry ghosts, noticing that their movements were not entirely random.

Unless they sense the presence of living humans, the heads of these hungry ghosts seemed to face in the same direction.

Of course, there were exceptions.

But Qin Ruqing had encountered many peculiar humans and considered herself one of them, so she found it not surprising if there were odd hungry ghosts among them.

She could automatically ignore such outliers and not include them in her observations.

However, there were still too few samples.

Qin Ruqing decided to follow the direction in which the hungry ghosts were moving, hoping to discover something new.

Along the way, if she encountered any humans being chased and attacked by hungry ghosts, she would save them if she could.

Not that she was particularly kind-hearted.

It was just that Qin Ruqing empathized with the tragic fate of the Sin City residents.

If these people wanted to die, she would even offer them a quick end.

But she clearly saw a will to survive in their eyes.

So, They wanted to live.

As a result, Qin Ruqing saved them.

Seeing the expressions of those she had saved, the looks of relief and survival, even though their bodies and minds were tightly strung, even though the cycle of judgment was so despairing, they still showed a moment of relaxed gratitude after being saved.

They looked at Qin Ruqing with gratitude, free of pain in their eyes.

Qin Ruqing didn’t understand.

If she lost all control over her life and fate, if she were to be eternally trapped in these baseless judgments and endless torment like the residents of the City of Sin, she would first resist with all her might.

If resistance failed, she would choose to end her life, even if it meant no reincarnation, no afterlife.

Qin Ruqing marveled at the tenacious and primal survival instinct of these city residents.

Reverence for death, fear of death, embracing life in the face of death.

It seemed like she had some realization.

Qin Ruqing found that she had indeed been somewhat detached from the sufferings of others.

Even though she had experienced countless life-and-death situations, mastered the concept of endless life, and had the ability to turn the tide in desperate situations, her understanding of life and death was still shallow.

In any perilous situation, her attitude was always one of fearlessness.

Sometimes, she would even take risks for potentially greater gains.

Why did this happen?

Did she truly believe her cultivation had reached the point where she could be indifferent to life and death?

For the first time, Qin Ruqing confronted this issue and, upon reflection, discovered two reasons.

Firstly, she was a reincarnated soul.

Or rather, she believed herself to be a reincarnated soul.

Strictly speaking, according to the theories of the cultivation world, she was very likely the same Qin Ruqing from her previous life, but somehow she possessed memories from before her reincarnation.

This was quite plausible in the cultivation world.

Because of her memory of transmigration, Qin Ruqing believed she had lived through death and come back to life, giving her a sense of having an extra chance at life.

This led her to adopt a mindset where living was considered a bonus.

Thus, Qin Ruqing found herself acting bolder and more reckless in this life compared to her previous one.

Even though she had been a free-spirited person before, she was even more so now.

— After all, she had already died once, so what was there to fear?

The second reason she had to acknowledge was her Dao Physique.

The Green Lotus Dao Physique endowed her with a kind of invincibility, helping her turn the tides in near-death situations time and again.

Over time, this led to an unconscious belief that she couldn’t really die.

Even in perilous environments, she dared to act and remained fearless.

Was her courage really so great?

The main reason was that she genuinely believed that her Dao Physique could help her through such extremes of life and death.

Even when on the brink of death, her Dao Physique would help her recover.

This indirect sense of invulnerability had indeed helped Qin Ruqing avoid many dangers, but it also harbored a hidden risk:

In repeatedly brushing against death, Qin Ruqing had gradually lost her reverence for it.

Her swelling confidence was like a scythe from the underworld, and one day it would inevitably strike her down.

The moment she recognized this mindset, her mind flashed with countless scenes of life and death.

She was indeed facing real death, but she had been oblivious to it.

As the desolate city stirred up sand and dust, despite it being daytime and the heat oppressive, Qin Ruqing was drenched in cold sweat.

At this moment, she finally empathized completely with the helplessness and fear of the Sin City residents.

Her spiritual energy and Dao Physique were sealed, and all her survival tricks were locked away.

She was just an ordinary person with only one chance at life.

The fear she felt was so vivid that she found it repulsive.

She clenched and relaxed her fists repeatedly, then patted her chest with a somewhat silly expression:

“Damn, I’m really scared! Without the Dao Physique, it’s so helpless! My sense of security…”

She quickly shifted her tone, “But relying on my Dao Physique as a source of security is not my fault; the Dao Physique and I are one. Its current seal only indicates that my control over it is insufficient.”

“Let me think about where the flaw lies… My previous understanding of the Dao Physique and the concept of ‘endless life’ was too narrow. I believed ‘endless life’ was merely about continuation—continuation of life, the perpetuation of tangible or intangible things, to achieve a state of ‘endless life.’ But I forgot—unless I attain the level of ascension to become an immortal, I can never be truly immortal. ‘Endless life’ will always be an idealized state, so how could I lose my reverence for death because of this?”

“So, in summary, I must not only see the strengths of ‘endless life’ but also its weaknesses—true ‘endless life,’ like immortality, is incredibly hard to achieve.

Conversely, it is precisely because it is difficult to achieve that it must be pursued—if I were truly ‘endless,’ would I be in this wretched state, being chased half to death by hungry ghosts?” Qin Ruqing chuckled self-deprecatingly.

“Similarly, I must see both life and death. Everything has two sides; light is followed by darkness, and life and death are inherently one.”

Qin Ruqing clapped her hand against her palm, her tone rising, “I see, I understand now!”

Miraculously, when Qing Qing claimed enlightenment, it was genuine.

A peculiar wave of energy surged around her.

She suddenly closed her eyes, ignoring her surroundings, and sat cross-legged.

Strangely, this wave seemed to create an isolating barrier, causing the wandering hungry ghosts to overlook her presence.

For now, setting aside the other things Qin Ruqing comprehended, she suddenly realized that her Dao Physique might not be “sealed.”

The Dao Physique and she are inherently one, two inseparable parts.

Saying the Dao Physique is sealed is as absurd as something sealing her heart and brain while she remains alive and kicking.

So, instead of her Dao Physique being sealed, it’s more like something guided her consciousness into believing her Dao Physique was sealed.

And indeed, the flow of spiritual energy in this space is significantly restricted.

Understanding this, Qin Ruqing deliberately tried to sense her Dao Physique and indeed found some clues.

“It isn’t sealed, but some abilities are indeed restricted. Something is obscuring my perception of the Dao Physique, which is akin to reducing my control over it from ninety-nine percent to one percent.”

Testing various abilities, Qin Ruqing roughly grasped the situation.

“My current state allows me to release my spiritual sense in a small range to perceive my surroundings. Spiritual energy flows sluggishly, the Dao body’s regenerative abilities are virtually nonexistent, and my overall strength is reduced to about ten percent.”

“Not bad. Just during this brief exploration, I can feel that familiar sensation gradually returning. This means that the restriction on the Dao Physique in this desolate city is not fixed. It can be regained through active practice, but it will take time.”

Qin Ruqing stood up again, her perspective on the ancient, desolate city now changed.

With her power somewhat restored, even if her strength wasn’t fully back, she felt confident enough to venture further into the city.

“I still need to find the real Beast Arena,” Qin Ruqing reminded herself of her next goal.

Using her limited spiritual sense to detect the movements of the hungry ghosts, Qin Ruqing’s eyes brightened as she leapt in the direction she sensed.

The closer she got to a certain area, the higher the density of hungry ghosts she encountered.

She came across two fairly large groups of hungry ghosts along the way.

If her strength hadn’t recovered even slightly, she might have been torn to pieces.

Knowing that she couldn’t confront them head-on without her full strength, Qin Ruqing wisely chose to avoid direct conflict, understanding the importance of preserving her life.

After a day of searching, Qin Ruqing discovered a dilapidated ancient temple.

The hungry ghosts were moving towards the temple with what seemed like devotion, as if on a pilgrimage.

Somehow, despite their wrinkled and grotesque appearances, she could perceive a sense of “devotion” in their expressions.

Just as Qin Ruqing was about to investigate the situation inside the ancient temple, the hungry ghosts noticed her presence.

Thousands of sharp, white eyes turned towards her direction.

Feeling a wave of unease and seeing her own fear reflected in the hungry ghosts’ eyes, Qin Ruqing took a step back, planning to retreat.

But before she could escape, her vision went black.

The fourth trial ended.

Qin Ruqing returned to the guesthouse with a mood far from the light-heartedness of her previous visits.

When she arrived, the old woman’s daughter was filling in during the break between trials, preparing spiritual food and hot water for her.

Qin Ruqing forced a smile and thanked the young woman.

The girl was momentarily stunned by the rare sight of such a genuine smile in Sin City.

Noting the girl’s surprise, Qin Ruqing patted her hand lightly while eating the spiritual food, speaking somewhat vaguely, “Don’t worry, I’ve discovered some clues this time. Next time…”

She didn’t complete the sentence.

Uncertain and unconfirmed things were not something she would speak about openly.