What greeted them was a massive sphere, about as wide as a single-story building in diameter.

The sphere was a dark golden color, inscribed with countless intricate lines that resembled both patterns and inscriptions.

Staring at it for too long gave one an eerie sensation, as if their soul might be drawn into it.

The entire sphere was supported by a three-pronged stand, rotating subtly on its own.

This was the detection artifact, created through the combined efforts of the elite families of the cultivation world.

Though it still lacked two strikes of heavenly lightning to officially qualify as a divine artifact, it had far surpassed the level of a semi-divine artifact, and calling it a divine artifact would not be an exaggeration.

Now, this artifact was placed atop Mount Buzhou.

After much discussion, the various families finally decided to activate the artifact at Mount Buzhou—an ancient site where immortals once held meetings, and also the highest point across the four realms—to officially begin the search for the Sixth Domain.

At the mountaintop plaza, many high-ranking members of these families had already gathered.

These were familiar faces from previous high-level meetings in the virtual realm.

Unlike those virtual meetings, however, everyone had shown up in person for this grand event—no family would dare to miss such an occasion.

Qin Ruqing scanned the expressions of the gathered crowd and smiled inwardly.

Before today, they had already held a meeting discussing one important topic: If the Sixth Domain were successfully found, how would the distribution of exploration slots among the families be handled?

The families were deeply invested in this matter, but given the current crisis facing humanity, it seemed inappropriate to discuss such self-serving issues at length.

Moreover, it was still uncertain whether the Sixth Domain would even be found, which is why they restrained themselves and only briefly touched on the subject.

But if the domain were indeed discovered, this topic would undoubtedly be revisited with great seriousness.

By then, these people would not be so easy to deal with.

After running these thoughts through her mind and brushing off a few elders who approached her for idle chatter, Qin Ruqing allowed herself to overhear the conversation between Qi Rong and Tang Zifeng.

Qi Rong had just completed a border defense mission in the Eastern Domain.

Not wanting to miss this grand event, he rushed over specifically for it and was now bombarding Tang Zifeng with questions.

“Brother Tang, I heard this sphere has gone through forty-nine strikes of heavenly lightning?” His voice was filled with awe.

Tang Zifeng: “…You heard wrong. It was only forty-seven strikes. Also, this sphere is called the Starfall Heaven-and-Earth Instrument.”

Qi Rong: “Heaven-and-Earth Instrument? That sounds weird. Can this thing really find the Sixth Domain?”

Tang Zifeng: “Not sure.”

Qi Rong: “With you and my sister working together, how could it be uncertain? How does it work? How long will it take to find the domain?”

“…I said I’m not sure. If everything goes smoothly, it’ll take just one day. If not, we won’t find anything at all.”

Qin Ruqing found herself entertained by the way these two were talking past each other.

Standing beside her, Lu Wei suddenly asked, “How confident are you?”

Qin Ruqing shook her head. “For me, if I don’t have complete certainty, then I have no confidence.”

Seeing this, Lu Wei didn’t press further and instead remarked, “The Qin Medical Hall has successfully opened in the Eastern Domain. I’ve been assisting one of the elders, and I’m now managing the hall there.”

“Keep expanding,” Qin Ruqing responded, sensing a slight disturbance in the sky and casting her gaze in that direction, though it didn’t stop her from continuing. “The situation will only grow more tense. Even with family protectors, the common folk lack the means to defend themselves. We’ll need a large supply of medical resources.”

“The Qin family’s basic elixirs/pills must be mass-produced on a rolling basis. If necessary, you can collaborate with other elixir families in the Eastern Domain to spread the concept of assembly lines and machinery.”

Lu Wei acknowledged this with a soft hum, then fell silent as the arrival of two grand elders, each at the divine artifact level, completely captured Qin Ruqing’s attention.

Given her status and the importance of this event, she would certainly need to go forward and greet them.

As expected, Qin Ruqing turned to Lu Wei and said, “Third Sister, they’ve arrived. I’ll head over.”

Lu Wei responded with a gentle smile.

Of the two grand elders who had arrived, Qin Ruqing recognized one of them.

This elder clearly remembered Qin Ruqing as well.

As soon as she saw her approach, the elder narrowed her deep eyes and opened with a surprising question:

“How have you been finding the Primordial Dao heritage of my Fifth Family?”

This statement shocked those nearby, and their gazes darted between the Grand elder and Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing, maintaining a polite smile, gracefully bowed and calmly replied, “It has been most beneficial. It has greatly aided me. If not for the fact that the Azure Lotus legacy suits me better, I would have been more than willing to cultivate the Primordial Dao and help the Fifth Family further promote their heritage.”

Wasn’t this Fifth Tai Shang an old acquaintance?

The old woman sitting in front of the star map at the Fifth Clan’s Ten Thousand Scroll Pavilion.

Back then, Qin Ruqing was cultivating in the Fourth Hell of the Fifth Clan.

After passing through the first three Hells, the ancient powerhouse guarding the Fourth Hell recognized her as the Dao Ancestor’s successor and gifted her the power of the rules of Sin City, and more importantly, the Domain of All Living Things.

Even now, this domain was still incredibly useful to her, but at the time, it forced the Fourth Hell to shut down, and the ancient powerhouse fell into a slumber.

The Fifth Clan was in chaos back then, trying to uncover the reason for the closure of the Fourth Hell—Fifth Tai Shang even questioned her, clearly suspicious, but Qin Ruqing managed to deceive her.

Now, meeting her again, the first question out of Tai Shang’s mouth was a direct accusation, showing she had belatedly realized what had happened.

But Qin Ruqing was no longer who she used to be.

What if you’ve finally realized it now?

What crime could you charge me with?

The Domain of All Living Things was given to me willingly by the ancient powerhouse. If he didn’t give it to you, the younger generation of the Fifth Clan, you should reflect on yourselves.

What does it have to do with me?

Thus, Qin Ruqing openly admitted to everything.

This “library manager” of the Ten Thousand Scroll Pavilion was, in truth, a Tai Shang, Grand Elder of the Fifth Celestial Family.

She stared at Qin Ruqing for a while in silence.

Tai Shang saw the fearlessness in Qin Ruqing’s eyes and understood the confidence behind it.

The ancient powerhouse in the Fourth Hell had never appeared before the Fifth Clan members since.

However, she had approached Qin Ruqing when she entered the Fourth Hell, nurturing her and granting her great benefits.

Clearly, she had long recognized Qin Ruqing’s identity as the Dao Ancestor’s successor.

The benefits she received had drained the energy stored in the Fourth Hell, forcing its closure.

But it was evident that the ancient powerhouse didn’t care—he considered cultivating Qin Ruqing, the Dao Ancestor’s successor, far more important than maintaining the normal operation of the Fourth Hell.

Judging by the current reality, the ancient powerhouse was correct.

Their search for the Sixth Domain now relied entirely on Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing’s calm and unafraid response to the questioning wasn’t even about her identity as the Dao Ancestor’s successor.

It was because the Fourth Hell didn’t belong to the Fifth Clan at all.

The Fifth Clan, a contemporary Celestial Rank Family, was at best just the guardian of the Fourth Hell.

Since the Fourth Hell didn’t belong to the Fifth Family, what right did they have to question who the owner gave its contents to?

The Fifth Family had no grounds to criticize Qin Ruqing, and she knew this perfectly well.

That’s why she had the confidence to admit it in front of all the clans.

Fifth Tai Shang, lost in thought, wasn’t angered by Qin Ruqing’s attitude.

She had only asked to confirm her suspicions.

What she felt more than anything was a faint sense of melancholy—was it that she was truly old now?

Or was it simply a regret that the Fifth Family didn’t have such a remarkable junior?

Under the watchful eyes of the onlookers, Fifth Tai Shang nodded slightly at Qin Ruqing. “You’re not bad. If you encounter difficulties in your Source Dao in the future, you may come to Penglai and seek me out.”

Qin Ruqing smiled. “Thank you, Grand Elder Tai Shang.”

Everyone: ?

Why hadn’t things developed the way they had expected?

Just moments ago, the atmosphere was tense, and now it had suddenly turned harmonious?

The Grand Elder of the Feng Clan, who had come with Fifth Tai Shang, watched the scene unfold and commented to Feng Qinxue, “So this is the Dao Ancestor’s successor—truly impressive.”

“Where did Grand Elder see her impressive qualities?” Feng Qinxue was surprised.

Could it be that Qin Ruqing truly had an extraordinary aura that was obvious at first glance?

Was it her poor judgment that she hadn’t invested in Qin Ruqing earlier?

Though old in appearance, Grand Elder Feng’s sharp eyes retained a sense of keen decisiveness.

She said, “Being able to make those calculative Fifth Family members suffer a subtle loss publicly and not lash out—that’s impressive, isn’t it?”

Fifth Family’s calculative bunch… Grand Elder, you’ve just emerged from seclusion, yet your sharp tongue hasn’t dulled one bit.

And you didn’t conceal this with spiritual transmission—Fifth Tai Shang is already glancing this way…

Of course, Grand Elder Feng knew that Fifth Tai Shang heard her.

She did it on purpose.

The two Grand Elder exchanged pointed glances, giving Qin Ruqing quite the show.

How thrilling.

Qin Ruqing cleared her throat, paid her respects to each in turn, and took the initiative to say, “Now that Grand Elder’s are here, shall we begin?”

The sharp gazes of the two Grand Elder instantly shifted to her.

Fifth Tai Shang frowned, while Grand Elder Feng smiled.

“You girl, I’ve heard Feng Qinxue mention you often. Now that I’ve seen you, you’re indeed remarkable. I think you shouldn’t go to the Fifth Family for guidance on the Source Dao—they’re slow and lack power. Why not come to my Feng Family? Now that I’ve emerged from seclusion, I’m in no hurry to resume cultivation and have the leisure to take in one or two last disciples like you.”

This was beyond outrageous.

Fifth Tai Shang couldn’t bear it anymore, directly retaliating with a cold snort. “Some people get strange as they age.”

Grand Elder Feng leisurely adjusted the sword at her waist. “That’s still better than some people who rely solely on their seniority.”

The other great powers looked at each other, stunned that the prestigious Grand Elders of the Celestial Families would meet in such a confrontational manner.

Fifth Sheng wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead and raised his voice, “Everyone, let’s begin!”

And so, the process began.

The dark golden sphere began to spin slowly.

Qin Ruqing and Tang Zifeng sat cross-legged, facing each other, hovering above the sphere.

After training, their mind-melding technique no longer required forehead contact; touching palms sufficed (mainly because forehead contact was too embarrassing in public, so they deliberately trained this way).

The two Celestial Rank Grand Elder, along with other great powers, positioned themselves around the sphere.

The other great powers jointly injected spiritual energy into the Celestial Astrolabe, while the two Grand Elder controlled the flow of this immense energy, replenishing it as needed.

Tang Zifeng, as the actual connector to the Celestial Astrolabe, received Qin Ruqing’s thoughts and controlled the divine artifact.

Qin Ruqing, on the other hand, seemed to gain an enormous auxiliary detection device.

She appeared to have an extra eye, allowing her to survey an entire domain from above, in a comprehensive scan.

As the Astrolabe activated, mountain-like and ocean-like energy engulfed them.

With palms touching, Qin Ruqing and Tang Zifeng closed their eyes.