Qin Ruqing nodded repeatedly.

Fifth Sheng paused, then suddenly placed one hand behind his back, looking down at Qin Ruqing from a high position and asked, “You mentioned earlier that you only unlocked the seals on nine of the murals?

Why couldn’t you unlock the seals on the remaining ones?” His tone was calm yet carried deep meaning.

Qin Ruqing’s expression remained unchanged.

After thinking for a moment, as if recalling the scene, she said, “I remember that among the twelve murals, the nine depicting the true nature of the City of Sin seemed to use the same type of seal, which was somewhat similar to the seal of the desolate city.

Once one was unlocked, it was easy to unlock the others.”

“But the last three…” Qin Ruqing shook her head, “the seals on those seemed especially different. I tried every method but couldn’t unlock them.

Before I could figure out a way, the ancient hall began to tremble, the defense mechanisms activated, and I had to leave it temporarily. After that, I was sent out…”

After Qin Ruqing finished speaking, there was no response from above for a long time. Finally, she couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Fifth Sheng, only to find him staring at her.

When their eyes met, Qin Ruqing shrank back at first, but then…

Fifth Sheng laughed, finally relaxing as if he had passed a test himself.

With a warm smile, Fifth Sheng said, “I understand. You may go now. The Fifth Family will send someone to investigate the anomaly in the Hungry Ghost Path.”

Qin Ruqing, her body still tense, managed to relax a bit.

She bowed to Fifth Sheng before leaving.

After she left, a figure emerged from the study’s secret room.

It was Fifth Lingyu.

Fifth Sheng looked at him and asked, “Well? You’ve interacted with her the most and know her well. Do you think there’s anything questionable in what she said?”

Fifth Lingyu responded calmly, “She’s very smart and bold, yet cautious about her life. What she said today, if not entirely true, is at least 80% accurate. That 80% is enough to reveal some insights.”

Indeed, it did reveal some insights.

Fifth Sheng sighed, “Based on the girl’s performance in the Hungry Ghost Path, finding the ancient hall, uncovering the mysteries of the desolate city’s rules, unlocking the mural seals, and answering that question, it’s peculiar that she was simply sent out without receiving at least an Earth-grade rating, if not Heaven-grade.”

According to the Fifth Family’s disciples’ performances over the years in the Hungry Ghost Path, more than half would fail at the desolate city’s rules.

Of the remaining half, the majority couldn’t uncover the mysteries of the murals, and only a very few could unlock the seals and elicit the judge’s question.

Fifth Lingyu then pointed out, “She said she only unlocked the seals on nine of the murals.”

Fifth Sheng raised his eyebrows, “Do you think there’s an issue with that? No one in the Fifth Family has been able to unlock the seals on the remaining murals. Isn’t her statement consistent with that?”

If Qin Ruqing had claimed not to notice the murals’ mysteries or said she had unlocked all the seals without mentioning the number nine, Fifth Sheng would have been more suspicious.

Based on the Fifth Family’s investigations over the years, they knew that a significant ancient figure slumbered within the Hungry Ghost Path, seemingly residing in the last three murals.

This figure appeared indifferent or uninterested in the Fifth Family’s attempts to meet, as the figure had never shown themselves despite several requests.

So, Qin Ruqing’s inability to unlock the seals on the last murals was expected.

Even the Fifth Family’s grand elders couldn’t unlock the final three.

Fifth Sheng had dispelled his last doubts about Qin Ruqing after hearing this.

Fifth Lingyu remained silent for a while, shaking his head and saying nothing further.

Afterward, Fifth Sheng personally asked the three highest elders of the Fifth Family to come.

Two of them usually meditated in seclusion, and one was guarding the Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion, the elderly woman who practiced under the celestial map of the pavilion.

With the elders and the family head, they went to the Hungry Ghost Realm.

They headed straight to the Ancient Temple in the Deserted City and arrived before the twelve murals.

The elderly woman sensed the murals for a while and frowned, saying, “The strange fluctuations have completely disappeared.”

Fifth Sheng then checked the environment inside the temple and the core of the formation.

He looked at the beast statues on the walls and confirmed that the formation was still functioning well before he breathed a sigh of relief.

Another elder checked with the judge of the Judgment Hall.

The higher-ups of the Fifth Family knew that the judge in the Sin City was actually just a fragment of the mysterious powerful being’s consciousness.

The elder, wearing a modest cultivation robe, said with a serious expression, “No wonder the little girl wasn’t rated. That fragment of consciousness has completely lost awareness and is no longer being controlled.”

The elderly woman speculated, “That powerful being might have left or gone into deep slumber, or…”

Everyone could guess the unfinished words.

For a powerful being who had lived for so many years, it was common to use secret methods to extend their life.

But if that being fell, it was not unusual.

Fifth Sheng was shocked, “Wasn’t that powerful being the guardian of both the Hungry Ghost Realm and the human realm? How could they fall so easily?”

The elderly woman replied, “It’s just a possibility. I lean towards the idea that they temporarily left, which is why the order in the Hungry Ghost Realm remains normal, but there’s no rating.”

Regardless of the reason, it wasn’t good news.

The elderly woman added, “The barrier between the human and beast realms has thinned, the beast tide has come early, and an ancient powerful being has vanished. This is a sign that the Fifth Family should prepare in advance.”

After a discussion and checking the formation again, confirming that apart from the mysterious being being out of contact, there were no other abnormalities in the Sin City, they planned to leave.

Before leaving, Fifth Sheng looked at the wall and sighed, “What a troublesome time!”

The matter of finding a complete inheritance in the Immortal Tomb had to be prioritized.

Unfortunately, Qin Ruqing, who was so compatible with the Fifth Family’s innate inheritance, was not a member of the Fifth Family.

It was truly a pity.

After Qin Ruqing returned to her small courtyard by the waterfall, a few days passed.

During these days, the Fifth Family seemed to be operating as usual.

Qin Ruqing specifically mingled with the young disciples of Fifth Yingjun to gather information and confirmed that the lower levels of the Fifth Family had not received any news.

The matter was kept secret.

During this time, neither the Fifth Family head nor Fifth Lingyu came to find her.

Qin Ruqing breathed a sigh of relief.

This indicated that her explanation was mostly accepted by the Fifth Family.

Even if there were some doubts, they were minor and could be offset by her contribution in unsealing the Immortal Tomb.

That was fine.

Qin Ruqing had set a tone of “90% truth, 10% falsehood” for herself when preparing her story.

She explained the majority of the details to the Fifth Family head.

Everything Qin Ruqing said was true, except for a few details she concealed regarding the murals and the ancient being’s conversation with her.

Initially, she intended not to mention the murals at all, but she realized that this would be too conspicuous since the twelve murals in the ancient hall were very prominent.

Not mentioning them would be more suspicious.

The dilemma then became whether to reveal she had discovered the seals and how many of the twelve mural seals she had managed to unlock.

This number was crucial.

If she got it wrong, her story would fall apart immediately.

After careful consideration, she settled on the number “nine.”

This choice was not arbitrary but carried significant meaning.

There were only nine murals depicting the true nature of the City of Sin.

The last mural, the most mysterious one, had a seal different from the previous nine.

When Qin Ruqing realized that the method using the desolate city’s rules wouldn’t work for the last seal, she tried using her Dao Physique and succeeded in unlocking it.

The process seemed straightforward, but upon reflection, she realized that not everyone possessed a Green Lutos Dao Physique.

Her experiences in the Four Hells, filled with numerous extraordinary encounters, convinced her that either she or her Dao Physique was somehow connected to the Four Hells’ legacy.

Moreover, she awakened the ancient being who had been dormant for years, and he directly gave her two Heaven-grade tokens.

All these factors suggested that Qin Ruqing had a special connection with the Four Hells.

This realization indicated that the ease with which she unlocked the last three mural seals might not apply to others in the Fifth Family.

Thus, she settled on the number nine.

This number allowed her to reveal the true nature of the City of Sin, showcasing some level of excellence but not exceeding the Fifth Family’s expectations.

People often fear things beyond their comprehension.

As long as her account remained within these bounds, Qin Ruqing was confident she could escape unscathed.

As for the agreement with the ancient being and the map, she wouldn’t reveal a single word about those.

Qin Ruqing was almost certain that the powerful being was not closely connected with the Fifth Family; at most, the Fifth Family only knew of the being’s existence.

Otherwise, why would the being only give her the token and not to someone from the Fifth Family?

The Fifth Family had never gathered all four celestial-level tokens.

It was clearly a choice.

A few days later, when Qin Ruqing still hadn’t heard anything, she knew she had successfully avoided detection.

Just as she began to relax, Fifth Lingyu, who hadn’t been acting like a thief for a long time, suddenly knocked on her door in the middle of the night.

Qin Ruqing opened the door, and Fifth Lingyu, casually holding his hands, greeted her with a nonchalant expression, “You’ve been in Penglai for a while now. Do you want to go outside and have a look?”

Fifth Lingyu took her to the coast outside of Mount Shen.

The scene was a beautiful one with the bright moon shining over the sea.

Fifth Lingyu invited her to enjoy the moonlight.

Ha! Enjoying the moonlight! It sounded quite poetic, but Qin Ruqing only felt a chill.

She said, “Director, you called me out in the middle of the night just to admire the stars and the moon?”

Fifth Lingyu glanced at her and replied lightly, “Is there something wrong with that?”

Qin Ruqing sighed and sat down next to him. “It’s fine, but neither of us are really into this kind of poetic stuff.”

Fifth Lingyu smiled slightly and said, “True.”

He turned to look at Qin Ruqing, his eyes reflecting the light from the sea, giving off a faint chill.

He said, “So, did you really only look at nine of those twelve ancient murals?”