Qin Ruqing slowly woke up, her eyes momentarily flashing with a golden-green light.

She remained motionless, her usually expressive and lively features showing no sign of emotion.

Her eyes seemed to hold everything yet nothing at the same time—detached but also filled with compassion.

Beside her stood Dao Sovereign Fusheng, who, noticing this, waved his hand calmly. “Wake up.”

Qin Ruqing’s eyelashes fluttered quickly, and in an instant, all her emotions returned.

It was as if she had suddenly awakened from a trance, sitting up abruptly from the boundless celestial crystal beneath her.

She touched her hands and legs in confusion, glancing around as she recalled her previous cold and indifferent state, feeling a bit frightened.

“Dao Sovereign, just now I was…” She trailed off, unsure how to describe the sensation—she felt as though she had been less than human.

Fusheng explained, “Your cultivation is too low, and you were affected by the essence blood of a powerful being from the Heavenly Realm.”

So that’s what it was.

Considering how vast the energy of such essence blood would be, it seemed reasonable that she would be influenced by it.

Following this line of thought, Qin Ruqing grew puzzled. “Dao Sovereign, how was I able to absorb the essence blood of a powerful being from the Heavenly Realm?”

She shouldn’t have been able to, right?

Fusheng laughed. “Of course, you couldn’t fully absorb it. Even with the refinement of two types of heavenly fire, it has only temporarily activated your divinity. The remaining essence blood is now stored in your heart meridian for you to use in the future.”

Qin Ruqing placed her hand over her heart and indeed sensed another life force in addition to her own heartbeat.

Seeing her reaction, Fusheng recalled something and asked, “Earlier, the rules within your body seemed to be merging, but then they suddenly became chaotic. What happened?”

Ah, that!

Qin Ruqing lowered her hand.

She had been meaning to ask about that too.

She explained how she had discovered a strange rule within her body, one that repelled rather than merged with the other five elemental rules.

As Fusheng listened, a thoughtful expression gradually emerged in his eyes.

A strange rule that didn’t merge with the five elements…

“Do you know where this rule came from within your body?” he asked.

At Qin Ruqing’s level, rules never appear out of nowhere; they must have been absorbed into her body at some stage through some means.

Qin Ruqing began counting on her fingers. “The rules I store within my body come from several sources—the rewards I received in the Four Hell Prisons Sin City in Fifth Family, the Six rule caves, and, oh right, the Void Soul Battlefield…”

She paused at this, her eyes widening as if she suddenly realized something.

Her voice rose with a sense of enlightenment. “It must be the Void Soul Battlefield!”

“Before, when I was collecting a large amount of rule power on the battlefield, I did notice that some rules seemed rather chaotic. But since I could absorb them normally, I didn’t think much of it. Now that I reflect on it, the strange rule power probably entered my body during the Void Soul Battlefield!”

“You believe those rules originated from the battlefield? Did you notice if they came from the remnants of human souls or beast souls?” Fusheng asked, posing a seemingly odd question.

Qin Ruqing frowned, replying instinctively, “At the time, I killed the remnants all at once, so I couldn’t really tell… Wait!”

Her tone shifted suddenly as she recalled something. “Although I couldn’t tell, most of the human soul remnants left in the Void Soul Battlefield belong to the five great orthodoxies, so theoretically, I should be able to absorb them.”

“The only rule I might not be able to absorb is a beast rule!”

If those strange rules belonged to beasts, it would make sense why they repelled human rules.

Fusheng calmly observed Qin Ruqing, neither confirming nor denying her speculation, and simply said, “So far, no one has heard of a human being able to absorb beast rules—indeed, whether the rules of the human and beast realms are truly different cannot even be confirmed.”

Qin Ruqing let out a sound of surprise upon hearing this, hesitating.

“Could it be… that it’s not the rules of the Beast Clan?”

But that was the only reasonable guess she had.

Fusheng shook his head. “No, quite the opposite. I believe your guess is reasonable. It might even be the truth—just because others can’t absorb the rules of the Beast Clan doesn’t mean that you can’t.”

Chaos, after all, has the intention to encompass all things.

Qin Ruqing thought for a moment, then lowered her hands and asked earnestly, “Dao Sovereign, if it truly is the rule of the Beast Clan, would it be inappropriate for me to absorb it rashly?”

“Were you impulsive at the time, or have you regretted it since?” Fusheng asked slowly.

“No, I acted after deep consideration, believing that my actions aligned with the path of Chaos. Even now, I don’t think I was wrong, and I certainly don’t regret it,” Qin Ruqing replied firmly and resolutely.

Fusheng spread his hands and said warmly, “Then you already have your answer.”

“The path of Chaos is one that no one can help you with. If you believe it is right, then it is right.”

With the words of the Dao Sovereign, Qin Ruqing finally felt a sense of assurance.

She thought that if that strange rule truly belonged to the Beast Clan, then at least one thing could be proven: the rules of the Beast Clan could be absorbed by her—by the body of the Path of Chaos.

This might be the opportunity to change the deadlock between humans and beasts in the future!

Qin Ruqing calmed herself and got down from the bed of immortal crystals.

It seemed that the energy there had been completely absorbed by her, even the misty spiritual aura had become thin.

Qin Ruqing asked, “Dao Sovereign, does this mean that my inheritance selection has come to an end?”

She felt a bit emotional.

At first, she had gone all out with the hope of obtaining great fortune and changing her passive situation with it.

Now, she had gained the fortune, and it was even greater than she had imagined.

However, because it was so great, it also brought about many troublesome consequences.

Fusheng folded his hands behind his back.

Even though he stood in front of Qin Ruqing, his figure seemed faint, enveloped in a glow that made his presence almost unperceivable.

“Do you have anything else you want to ask?” Fusheng asked.

“I still have many questions about the Sixth Domain,” Qin Ruqing replied after a moment’s thought.

Now that her inheritance seemed to have ended, once she left the Abyss of Return, she might never have the chance to speak with such a powerful being again.

Qin Ruqing even wanted to ask all the questions she didn’t understand.

The Sixth Domain was a critical but obscure point for her.

Qin Ruqing hesitantly said, “It is said to be the land of the immortals, with no trace to be found. How should I pursue it? Naturally, given the current situation, those aristocratic families outside have long been watching this place, and they might have clues. But I think, even if they do, the clues might be very limited.”

To put it bluntly, Qin Ruqing was more inclined to trust the Dao Sovereign than to believe those families could find the Sixth Domain.

After all, the news that the Dao Ancestor’s inheritance might be in the Sixth Domain was provided by the Daoist Sovereign itself.

“The Sixth Domain…” Fusheng let out an enigmatic sigh, “Its uniqueness and mystery stem from the fact that it is a place of sealing.”

“The Sixth Domain appeared later than the Void Realm. In our human time measurement, it dates back to the ancient times, which is even earlier than the archaic era.”

“During that era, I was not yet born. The most renowned figures of that time were my master, Yuansheng, and Xuanming, both of whom were Daoist Masters in the Heavenly Realm.”

“My master once went to investigate the Sixth Domain, but even he couldn’t enter.”

“On his deathbed, my master said that this place is different from the other five domains. It seems like something not belonging to this world, with a special restriction, and he personally named it the Sixth Domain.”

Qin Ruqing listened carefully and attentively.

From the Dao Sovereign’s words, she gleaned two crucial pieces of information.

First, the Sixth Domain was so vastly different from the other five domains of the human world that it was personally named the “Sixth Domain” by Dao Sovereign Fusheng’s master, Yuan Sheng Dao Ancestor.

The most critical point, however, was this: even Dao Ancestor Yuansheng, a being of the Heavenly Realm, couldn’t enter the Sixth Domain!

That was a mighty ancient figure, yet even they couldn’t break through the restriction—what could a small fry like her possibly accomplish there?

Qin Ruqing’s emotions were plain on her face; her delicate features were very expressive with the slightest change.

Fusheng shook his head and reassured her, “Don’t be anxious. If there was no possibility of entering the Sixth Domain, I would have asked you to cultivate my legacy from the start. Why would I have you pursue something so elusive and hopeless?”

There is hope! Qin Ruqing caught the underlying meaning and her eyes brightened instantly.

Seeing her reaction, Fusheng continued slowly, “My master once speculated that the emergence of the Sixth Domain coincided with the time when the Dao Ancestor went into seclusion. It is highly likely that the Sixth Domain became the Dao Ancestor’s place of residence after they withdrew from the world! The reason no one has been able to enter it so far might be because no one has met the Sixth Domain’s entry requirements—except for you.”

Fusheng’s tone softened as his gaze fell gently on Qin Ruqing’s face. “You possess the Dao Physique of the Azure Lotus, and you might be the only disciple of the Dao Ancestor. If this land is indeed related to the Dao Ancestor, you could be the key to unlocking the Sixth Domain, giving others the opportunity to enter this sealed land.”

Qin Ruqing: Got it, wherever I go, I’m destined to be the key.

“But what if I can’t get in either…” Qin Ruqing shrank back a little, trying to express her doubts upfront.

“Then it would prove that this place has nothing to do with the Dao Ancestor, and you can seek another method.”

So, whether it’s related or not, she can’t escape the fate of searching for the Dao Ancestor’s legacy.