Suddenly, the entire Thunder Pool became inexplicably violent.

Layers of dark clouds churned in the sky, with thick bolts of lightning flashing like giant pythons.

The Thunder Pool below seemed to be drawn by the lightning, as if startled dragons had been roused, sending tens of thousands of silvery-white lightning bolts straight into the sky with a terrifying momentum.

The spies from various factions stationed at the Thunder Field in the Abyss observed the situation with suspicion and unease.

“Could it be that some reclusive expert has accidentally entered the Thunder Pool to undergo a tribulation?”

“Who would dare undergo a tribulation at the entrance to the Abyss? Are they courting death? Aren’t they afraid that the unstable space will drag them into a temporal rift?”

“The commotion doesn’t seem to be caused by an external force. The Abyss is guarded within a hundred miles by all the factions, not even a mosquito could get in. Who could have accidentally entered? This must be an unusual phenomenon within the Abyss.”

“Could it be that they are about to emerge?”

“Emerging? How could it be so fast? In previous years, it took at least ten or eight years. There’s still time to wait…”

While the people outside the Abyss were puzzled by the strange phenomena of the Thunder Pool, nothing significant had occurred inside.

This was because the barrier of the Abyss was the most powerful barrier of its time. If something were to happen that could affect even the Abyss, it would likely implicate the entire human race.

Fifth Sheng gazed solemnly in the direction of the depths of the Immortal Tomb and murmured to himself:

“This seems like the aura of the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation… Could it be that a cultivator is undergoing a tribulation?”

After speaking, Fifth Sheng shook his head.

There were powerful beings in the depths of the Immortal Tomb, but none of them were “alive.”

The idea of a cultivator undergoing a tribulation was pure nonsense.

Even if some of the youngsters who entered the Immortal Tomb obtained great fortunes, at most, they would advance from the Nascent Soul stage to the Deity Transformation stage.

How could they possibly attract such a grand Nine Heavenly Thunder Tribulation?

It was likely some sort of trial involving a lightning attribute inheritance.

Fifth Sheng made the most reasonable guess.

He retracted his gaze and continued discussing matters with the person below him. “You mentioned that there have been two significant energy fluctuations in the Abyss recently?”

The person reporting was Elder Fang Yu of the Fang family.

Earlier, Fang Yu had inadvertently spoken a few more words after Fang Zhejun lost to Qin Ruqing, dragging in Fifth Sheng’s name, and was subsequently warned by Fifth Sheng and sent to investigate the area around the Beast Swamp.

Elder Fang was actually pleased to take on this task.

Mainly because Fang Zhejun had lost to the Qin family’s troublemaker, leaving him embarrassed, so he took the opportunity to hide in the Beast Swamp to avoid the fallout.

Who knew he would actually find something.

At this moment, Fang Yu bowed and reported everything truthfully:

“Yes, the first energy fluctuation occurred five days ago, and the second one was today. The two large energy fluctuations are extremely unusual. I’ve asked Elder Mo to guard the area, and I’ve come back to report.”

Fifth Sheng listened and fell into deep thought, “Apart from this, was there any other unusual activity? Did anyone who entered the Beast Swamp come out?”

Fang Yu shook his head, “Not yet.”

“Continue monitoring the situation. If anything changes, report immediately. If necessary, you may take action first.” Fifth Sheng instructed.

After giving the orders, he sighed deeply and looked into the distance, “This journey to the Abyss is so different from previous ones. I fear that leaving won’t be as peaceful as before. Everyone, be prepared.”

Qin Ruqing’s tribulation was reduced to its minimum by the Abyss’s barrier, so only Qin Ruqing and Dao Sovereign knew that it was indeed a real Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation.

And it was just a tribulation for the Nascent Soul stage.

Of course, if one were to be strict about it, there was another living being involved—Little Purple Lightning.

The entire Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation consisted of nine strikes, which filled the little creature’s belly until it was round and swollen.

Now it could barely move.

It had originally been steeped in the sorrow of Immortal Venerable Shao Zhen’s soul dissipating, but after eating its fill, it couldn’t even remember to be sad anymore.

Now, it was sound asleep in Qin Ruqing’s dantian.

Not only was it sleeping, but it was also hugging the newly formed Nascent Soul in Qin Ruqing’s dantian.

Qin Ruqing had just experienced an epiphany, and in that state, she formed her Nascent Soul.

This soul was imbued with the power of the rules, and combined with Qin Ruqing’s insights into the Dao of Chaos, it naturally attracted the Fire Spirits.

Even though Little Purple Lightning seemed reluctant on the surface, it still obediently recognized its worth.

But the usually good-natured Golden Mist suddenly wouldn’t stand for this.

It carefully dragged Purple Lightning, who was clinging to Qin Ruqing’s Nascent Soul, away.

Purple Lightning looked around in confusion, noticed the Nascent Soul was gone, and tried to crawl back over, only to be pulled away again by Golden Mist.

After this repeated a few times, Purple Lightning got angry and began arguing with Golden Mist.

Golden Mist didn’t argue back; instead, it stubbornly guarded Qin Ruqing’s Nascent Soul and spoke in a determined voice:

“You’re not allowed to get close to the master!”
“The Nascent Soul is very fragile!”

“Then why are you allowed near it!” Purple Lightning clearly wasn’t convinced.

Golden Mist replied, “I’m not getting close. I’m just here to guard it against you.”
“Besides, I was here first, so I’m number one. You should be number three…”

What? Purple Lightning never expected that, as a dignified Heavenly Fire, after lowering itself to make a pact with a human, it wouldn’t even get to be the leader and instead had to settle for being third.

Purple Lightning was even more furious.

Qin Ruqing rubbed her head, which hadn’t had a moment’s peace.

With two new spirits appearing at once, the world seemed to have gotten a bit noisier.

After finishing her work, Qin Ruqing knelt down properly and said to Fusheng:
“Dao Sovereign, I have successfully formed my Nascent Soul.”

Fusheng nodded with satisfaction. “The Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation… You did well.”

In truth, it wasn’t just well — it was extraordinary.

To transcend the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation with a Nascent Soul body was a rarity, even in ancient times.

But given Fusheng’s character, a single word of praise was already the highest commendation.

“Your divine soul is now solidified, your spirituality is complete, and all three conditions are met. You can now begin advancing your Dao Physique.”

Qin Ruqing’s heartbeat quickened, filled with a hint of disbelief.

After all, meeting these three conditions was no easy feat.

After finally reaching them, the Dao Sovereign had said her divine soul wasn’t strong enough and needed to form a Nascent Soul.

Now that her cultivation had advanced, if the conditions still weren’t met, Qin Ruqing wouldn’t know what to say.

Dao Sovereign Fusheng slowly floated up and raised his hand to summon a jade platform.

Hmm, to Qin Ruqing, it looked somewhat like a jade coffin… but calling it a coffin didn’t seem elegant, so better call it a jade platform.

Fusheng explained, “This is the Boundless Immortal Crystal. Lying on it will be beneficial for your Dao Physique’s advancement.”

Qin Ruqing had no idea what the Boundless Immortal Crystal was, but she obediently followed instructions.

As soon as she lay down, she felt a cool energy enter her body, swiftly protecting vital areas like her divine soul, spiritual platform, and the dantian energy sea, which were crucial for a cultivator.

Qin Ruqing’s eyes lit up as she realized the effects of the Boundless Immortal Crystal. Lying on this, unless it was a fatal blow, she figured it would be hard to die.

Truly a precious treasure.

Fusheng stood beside the immortal crystal bed, calmly watching Qin Ruqing lying on it.

“There are three steps to advancing your Dao Physique.”

“The first step is to awaken all the rule forces within your body.”

Fusheng recited without any fluctuation in his tone, and then, with what seemed like a casual gesture, pointed at Qin Ruqing’s forehead.

A flash of golden light appeared, and Qin Ruqing seemed to be frozen in place.

Even her blinking, breathing, and heartbeat stopped at that moment, with only a faint golden hue filling her eyes.

Qin Ruqing could no longer sense the outside world; all her mind and spirit were immersed in the power of the rules.

The various rule forces she had acquired in Sin City, accumulated in the Phantom Soul Battlefield, and comprehended in the rule mansions, all began to activate intensely within her, as if they had come to life.

Qin Ruqing really wanted to ask Dao Sovereign what was happening and what she should do next, but simply maintaining the balance of these different elemental rules within her body had already consumed all her energy.

She couldn’t even manage to speak.

At that moment, Dao Sovereign’s voice resonated appropriately:

“You are the sole disciple of Dao Ancestor. In this world, only you possess the Azure Lutos Dao Physique. So, as to what you should do, even I don’t know. It’s entirely up to you.”

Fine, being the sole disciple of Dao Ancestor sounds very prestigious—but doesn’t that just mean there’s no prior experience to rely on, and she has to figure everything out by herself?

Qin Ruqing: Help~

She was naturally a hoarder, fond of accumulating the power of rules, finding security in doing so.

Now, with everything activated at once, it was like an overwhelming surge of power that she couldn’t control.

This would have been bearable—after all, Qin Ruqing had resisted even a storm of rules before, and this amount was still within her capacity.

What truly gave Qin Ruqing a headache, however, was the nature of these rules.