Qin Ruqing returned to the Qin family, deeply troubled.

When Tang Zifeng saw her, he naturally took her wrist, guiding her to sit at the table, and gently asked, “How was your day?”

He was asking about the meeting she had attended.

Qin Ruqing forced a dry laugh, feeling too awkward to mention that the old men at the meeting suggested she kill him.

Tang Zifeng glanced at Qin Ruqing’s expression and said with understanding, “It seems like there are some troubles, but it’s not something you can talk about publicly. Not even to me.”

Qin Ruqing was momentarily stunned, almost unable to hold back her internal complaint:

“Seriously! You’re just an illusion! Why are you so detailed in your portrayal?!”

“Can’t you, illusionary Xiao Tang, not understand me so well!”

Sometimes she really felt like they were already in an old married couple mode, and it made it hard for her to face Xiao Tang when she got out!

Qin Ruqing didn’t know what to say and could only look at Tang Zifeng expectantly.

Tang Zifeng smiled lightly and, showing consideration, didn’t press further.

Instead, he naturally changed the topic.

“By the way, I’ve come up with an idea for improving your semi-divine artifact. When I first crafted it for you, I left room for upgrading. Now, it seems like taking it a step further is not impossible.”

Taking it a step further…

Qin Ruqing immediately perked up.

Her Lotus had already become a semi-divine artifact. If it could be upgraded further, wouldn’t that make it a divine artifact?

That would make her the first person to use a divine artifact before ascending!

Her heart raced, and Qin Ruqing pretended to be calm as she said, “Ah, so you left room for upgrading back then. If it’s upgraded further, it would be a divine artifact. Tang Zifeng, have you already touched the threshold of divine artifacts?”

“Doesn’t that mean you could ascend? My breakthrough still seems far off.”

In essence, cultivators practice the Dao, and the levels of cultivation are somewhat artificial.

In a straightforward sense, reaching the ultimate Dao could mean ascending directly.

From a certain perspective, Xiao Tang’s talent in artifact cultivation was just as exceptional as her talent in cultivation.

Tang Zifeng smiled and, since earlier, had not let go of her wrist, saying, “I won’t ascend. Of course, I’ll always follow you.”

“And you don’t need me to be modest. You will surely find the ultimate Dao faster than I could.”

At this moment, Qin Ruqing noticed his hand.

She shifted a little uncomfortably, feeling like Xiao Tang had taken advantage of her in the illusion.

But it also felt very comfortable and natural.

Well, if he wants to stay close, so be it.

Qin Ruqing cleared her throat and said, “Don’t make it sound so extreme; I have a headache.”

Right now, there was a way to touch the ultimate path—by killing you, silly Xiao Tang.

Could it be that if I said it, you’d foolishly offer your heart for me to stab?

For some reason, looking into Tang Zifeng’s eyes, which were completely filled with her reflection, Qin Ruqing, who was usually not sentimental, felt a pang of sadness.

But she didn’t really understand why she felt this way.

……

Qin Ruqing delayed making the decision to kill her husband, so the illusion continued to drag on.

Because of her inaction, the illusion seemed to put pressure on her.

Relations between humans and beasts were becoming increasingly tense.

Due to weakened barrier defenses, the higher-ups in the human realm had been trying to find solutions for years, using the ancient artifacts passed down by their ancestors.

However, the use of these artifacts was ultimately limited.

Sometimes, if the barrier gaps were too large, even destroying artifacts might be necessary.

Qin Ruqing didn’t understand the details, only that this patchwork solution couldn’t last forever.

The old leaders in the human realm clearly knew this. They often sighed in front of Qin Ruqing, saying:

“The barrier gap in the East Domain’s primeval forest has used up another artifact. Sigh, there are only a few artifacts available in the human world now. Are we really going to dismantle the scroll on Mount Buzhou or use the Book of Heaven and Earth?”

Qin Ruqing was familiar with the scroll on Mount Buzhou, also known as the Golden List, which merged with the will of heaven and earth and was used to select elite human forces.

A race’s long-term development depended on the younger generation, so it couldn’t be dismantled.

As for the Book of Heaven and Earth, Qin Ruqing also knew about it.

Each domain’s celestial bureau had a copy, but these were just copies.

The real Book of Heaven and Earth was held by two great celestial figures.

The book seemed to record everything about the noble families, similar to historical records and guidelines.

It was something that should not be used unless absolutely necessary.

The old leaders sighed again, saying, “If it really comes to it, we’ll have to use the power of the Void Realm…”

Qin Ruqing twitched her lips.

The Void Realm was the largest gateway between the human and beast realms. If something went wrong there, the two realms would connect directly, making any future plans meaningless.

Qin Ruqing said directly, “Stop beating around the bush. I can’t handle such a heavy responsibility alone. Don’t rely only on me. You could also try cutting off worldly connections yourselves!”

Oh, are you all counting on me to kill my husband?

If you’re truly righteous, you could also kill a wife or destroy a clan, for instance.

But the old leaders were quite slick and shook their heads, saying, “If we had your talent, we wouldn’t rely on you. We would have done it ourselves. We’re all old bones now, and after so many years of secluded practice, if we still can’t break through, then cutting off worldly ties wouldn’t work for us either.”

Their reasons were quite valid.

They had little worldly connection left and had been in seclusion for so many years. If they still couldn’t succeed, then it wouldn’t work for them.

It seemed that only Qin Ruqing could accomplish this task.

Previously, Qin Ruqing had been avoiding the issue with the excuse of meditation, but now it was no longer avoidable.

A decision had to be made.

That night, Qin Ruqing went home.

Even Xiao Tang’s teasing couldn’t make her happy.

Tang Zifeng pondered for a moment and asked, “Are you still unwilling to tell me what’s troubling you?”

He thought for a moment and added, “Does it have something to do with me?”

Qin Ruqing raised her eyes, looking somewhat aggrieved.

She had been holding this in for a long time and finally couldn’t keep it to herself anymore.

She said, angrily: “The old guys searched through ancient texts and found a way for rapid ascension, which involves severing worldly ties. And the one most deeply connected to me by karma is…”

Before Qin Ruqing could finish, Tang Zifeng interjected, “It’s me.”

“The one most deeply tied to your worldly karma is me. So, they are asking you to kill me?” He smiled, as if he was quite pleased with this “deeply connected to Qin Ruqing” designation.

Qin Ruqing pushed him with irritation, “You’re still smiling. Right now, it feels like I’m shouldering the heavy responsibility of saving the entire human realm. In this situation, killing you seems like it would align with righteousness.”

Tang Zifeng’s smile remained unchanged. “If Qingqing is pursuing righteousness or the ultimate Dao, killing me wouldn’t be a problem.”

Qin Ruqing fell silent.

Tang Zifeng continued holding Qin Ruqing’s hand, now rubbing her fingers gently, as if using this pause to choose his words carefully.

After a moment, he looked up with a very serious yet gentle gaze and said:

“If it weren’t for meeting Qingqing, Tang Zifeng wouldn’t have become the Tang Zifeng he is now.”

“So, if killing Tang Zifeng can fulfill Qingqing’s goal, Tang Zifeng would naturally do so without hesitation.”

Qin Ruqing remained silent.

Tang Zifeng then summoned a sword.

In a tone as casual as asking “Are we going out today?”, he asked Qin Ruqing, “Will this sword work?”

Will this sword work… Qin Ruqing was so angry that she summoned the sword from the Trial Tower and said loudly:

“Your broken sword is useless. If we’re going to kill a husband to achieve enlightenment, we need a proper sword!”