She needed a way to blast open this cave.

Her spellcasting underwater was limited, and even the usable spells were much less effective.

After careful consideration, she decided to use her sword.

Without further hesitation, Qin Ruqing, with a serious expression, unleashed her most powerful move—well, among the few sword techniques she knew, the most powerful one: “Myriad Swords as One.”

Thank goodness she had watched Luwei practice this move for a while and listened to Luwei explain its key points.

Countless swords converged into one point. With a loud rumble and the sound of crumbling stones, Qin Ruqing gazed towards the direction of the reef cave and saw that a larger opening had indeed been blasted open.

Normally, she would fail at least twice before performing the technique properly on land, but today, perhaps due to heightened concentration, she executed it perfectly on her first attempt! (Thanks again, Luwei.)

Qin Ruqing cautiously stuck her head into this dark cave entrance, intending to investigate any anomalies, but she felt an inexplicable suction force.

And then she tumbled in headfirst.

Rolling and tumbling…

This cave entrance seemed like a tunnel, deep and long.

Qin Ruqing rolled straight down like a ball until she finally reached the bottom.

Dizzy and disoriented, Qin Ruqing landed on the ground.

She held her head in her hands and cursed inwardly: “What the hell, is there no sense of fair play? Could you at least warn me before sucking me in? Ah, I can’t walk on my own? You just had to make me roll down here!”

Luckily, Qin Ruqing wasn’t as tough as Qirong, but she wasn’t fragile either.

She recovered after a short while.

She propped herself up with her hands on the ground, trying to stand up.

But then, her hands felt icy cold…

Qin Ruqing moved her hand away in surprise and looked down.

No wonder it was so cold— the ground wasn’t ground at all, but ice!

—Ice!

Qin Ruqing sprang up like a shrimp, supporting her head to survey her surroundings.

This place was actually a spectacular underground ice cave world!

To say it was “snow-white” wasn’t quite accurate.

These thick layers of ice were not transparent nor white, but a translucent blue.

Qin Ruqing clenched her fists tightly.

An underground ice cave in the secret realm?

There was a very good chance this was where the system materialized the Heart of Frigid Ice!

Finally, I’ve found you!

System, you finally did something right! You didn’t materialize it over at the Zhang family!

Alright, now that I’m in the ice cave, the next step is to find the hidden Heart of Frigid Ice! Qin Ruqing was filled with determination, but suddenly shivered violently.

Ah, damn… It’s so cold!

Qin Ruqing hugged herself, sneezed, and mobilized her spiritual energy to warm herself up.

Speaking of spiritual energy, Qin Ruqing discovered that, just like she felt before, this ice cave seemed to have a strange energy that could guide the circulation of spiritual energy, making cultivation smoother.

It was different from the stalactite spirit cave where the abundance of spiritual energy alone accelerated cultivation.

In that cave, the spiritual energy had condensed into substance, enough for someone to sit inside and absorb their fill.

Here, Qin Ruqing didn’t quite understand.

She roughly guessed that the thick ice layers here were the millennium cold mysterious ice mentioned by the ancestors.

As for the mysterious energy guiding the circulation of spiritual energy, Qin Ruqing had no clue what it was.

However, this also explained why the fish previously nested at the entrance of the cave.

Some even showed signs of slight intelligence.

Creatures inherently have instincts to seek advantage and avoid harm.

The energy dissipating from the entrance, though minimal and ineffective on Qin Ruqing, might have been a boon for the fish.

As Qin Ruqing shivered while searching for the Heart of Ice in the ice cave, elsewhere, there was someone quietly sneaking into the Qin family’s half of the secret realm.

This person’s name was Zhang Li, a Qi cultivation master at the Peak stage, and one of the three elders of the Zhang family.

This wasn’t the first time someone from the Zhang family had infiltrated the Qin family’s territory.

Previously, a reconnaissance team sent by the Grand Elder had already returned after scouting around.

The scouts reported that there was indeed something strange about the Qin family.

They were closely guarded near the western cliffs, with people rotating shifts on guard duty and a Foundation Establishment elder overseeing security.

Fearing discovery by the Foundation Establishment elder, the scouts only observed from a distance and dared not approach, so they weren’t clear on what anomalies were present in the Qin family’s guarded area.

With teams rotating shifts on guard duty and a Foundation Establishment elder overseeing, the secrets hidden by the Qin family were likely significant.

Therefore, after careful deliberation, the Zhang family cautiously sent Zhang Li.

Since there was a Foundation Establishment elder guarding that place, any attempt to investigate further would have to avoid detection by the Qin family’s Foundation Establishment elder.

Thus, the Zhang family either had to send their own Foundation Establishment elder or rely on a high-level Qi cultivation expert with artifacts capable of concealing their aura.

The Zhang family chose the latter option.

At this moment, Zhang Li wore gray robes, swiftly maneuvering through the forest, then decisively crossed the boundary line.

Zhang Li knew his destination was the western cliffs.

Heading west from the boundary line would pass by a lake.

Normally, he would have jumped from branch to branch to conceal his movements, but with the lake in the way, Zhang Li had no choice but to glide over it from above.

Hm? Midway through his glide, Zhang Li’s spiritual awareness suddenly stirred.

As a Qi cultivation master at the Grand Completion stage, nearing Foundation Establishment, he was mostly detached from mortal concerns and possessed keen spiritual senses.

Zhang Li felt that something was stirring beneath the lake bed, with spiritual energy surging rapidly towards the surface.

His gliding speed slowed slightly as Zhang Li wanted to see what exactly was emerging from below.

In just a moment, something slowly rose from the lake bed.

The water’s surface broke open, splashing water droplets everywhere, revealing a girl overflowing with spiritual energy, panting heavily…

Judging from her cultivation level, appearance, and attire…

Zhang Li’s eyes widened with excitement.

Even if nothing was found at the western cliffs, this trip wouldn’t have been in vain.

Look, isn’t this just a living gift package delivered right to him!

from the icy depths of the lake.

Shivering and hugging herself, Qin Ruqing’s teeth were practically chattering, yet she hadn’t caught a glimpse of the Heart of Frigid Ice.

This ice cave was peculiar.

Normally, cultivators with spiritual protection shouldn’t feel cold, and Qin Ruqing, with her Dao Physique, should have been even less affected.

But the cold inside seemed to penetrate through her spiritual shield and directly into her veins.

After freezing for a while, Qin Ruqing realized this couldn’t continue.

She didn’t know what the Heart of Frigid Ice looked like, and it had the ability to hide itself; it could be playing hide and seek with her right now.

Realizing she couldn’t rely solely on her eyesight to find it, Qin Ruqing rummaged through her storage bag and took out a jade bottle.

She shook it lightly, remembering what she was about to do next, and felt a pang of reluctance.

Inside the jade bottle were three drops of jade marrow.

The Ancestor had used half a piece of jade marrow to heal himself, and these three drops were given to her after she emerged from seclusion.

The Ancestor had said jade marrow was not only a sacred medicine for healing but also enhanced cultivation progress, helped break through bottlenecks, and increased the chance of enlightenment.

“Use these remaining three drops well,” she had instructed.

Upon hearing jade marrow could help break through bottlenecks in cultivation, Qin Ruqing had planned to use it when she faced a hurdle in her cultivation.

Today, however, seemed somewhat special.

Stingily, Qin Ruqing took out two jade bottles and carefully poured one drop of jade marrow into one of them, storing the remaining two drops safely away.

She placed the green jade bottle with a drop of jade marrow in the center of the ice cave, found a hiding spot, held her breath, and began to wait.

Fishing requires bait; her bait was “jade marrow.”

As for why she chose jade marrow, Qin Ruqing had her reasons.

Both jade marrow and the Heart of Frigid Ice belonged to the category of spiritual treasures of the world, and they were exceptionally rare.

It was said that treasures of this level could attract or repel each other.

In any case, there would be a reaction.

Qin Ruqing wanted precisely that reaction.

The ice cave was silent and chilly, without a ghost in sight.

Qin Ruqing aimed to stir up some activity and coax the Heart of Frigid Ice to reveal itself.

However, after waiting for a while, Qin Ruqing’s spiritual sensitivity was at its peak, ready to detect any slightest movement with the ice cave’s help.

Yet, there was nothing.

Frowning deeply, Qin Ruqing wondered, could it be that the Heart of Ice wasn’t interested in jade marrow? This deduction infuriated her.

“That’s jade marrow! Do you know how valuable it is?! No, money can’t even measure its worth anymore, and yet you’re not interested!”

Qin Ruqing let out a heavy sigh and started thinking of a solution.

Honestly, she didn’t see any problem with using jade marrow.

The issue must lie elsewhere.

Her gaze fell upon the pale blue jade bottle—smooth, flawless, and aesthetically pleasing to humans…

But would it meet the Heart of Frigid Ice’s standards?

Qin Ruqing recalled the Ancestor’s description of the Heart of Frigid Ice: possessing a “living” quality and adept at concealment.

Did this “living” quality imply that the Heart of Frigid Ice had some level of intelligence?

Qin Ruqing shifted her gaze to the clear blue Eternal Ice that suddenly emerged

She had a new idea.

Qin Ruqing took her sword and sliced off a piece of Eternal Ice like cutting a melon.

Then, she sat cross-legged on the ground, cradling the block of ice, and began to carve with her sword.

“Have you never seen anything good in your life, living inside ice all the time? I’ll make you a nest! How can you not like this?”

Qin Ruqing chuckled to herself as she carved the piece of Eternal Ice into a ball, hollowing it out with just a round entrance left.

Just as she was about to place the ice nest down, Qin Ruqing hesitated. “Perhaps it’s still a bit crude.”

Her gaze shifted to the nearby jade bottle.

With determination, she poured the single drop of jade marrow inside the ice nest.

“Oh no, my precious jade marrow! You have to spend money to make money, and this time I’ve really splurged!” Qin Ruqing concealed herself behind a giant block of Eternal Ice and waited silently.

This time, she didn’t have to wait long before Qin Ruqing noticed a faint white light above her head.

Her body stiffened, and she held her breath.

After a moment, the white light seemed to “observe” for a while, confirming there was no danger, before cautiously gliding down from the ice.

Moving slowly towards the ice nest, the white light stood at the entrance, peeking inside hesitantly.

Qin Ruqing almost held her breath. “Why aren’t you going in? What are you looking at here?”

After a while, unable to resist the temptation of the ice nest inside, the white light finally darted inside.

Qin Ruqing reacted swiftly, swiftly moving over and seizing the ice nest, immediately sealing it with spiritual energy.

“Hehe! Finally caught you!” Qin Ruqing was almost moved to tears.

After all the effort, she managed to lure the little one into her trap, even at the cost of a drop of jade marrow.

Once she returned, she could thoroughly clean out this ice nest, and the jade marrow wouldn’t go to waste!

But it was all worth it!

Qin Ruqing was excited, but she didn’t slack off in her actions.

Quickly, she sealed the ice nest with three layers of spiritual energy—she felt one layer wasn’t secure enough—before carefully placing the sealed nest into her storage bag.

Mission accomplished!

Feeling relieved, Qin Ruqing took out a jade slip, sent a message to Qirong and the others, and planned to head back.

As she swam up from the bottom of the lake, Qin Ruqing thought about the ice cave—it was a good place.

Even though it was likely a geological change created by the system to “manifest” the Heart of Frigid Ice, the Qin family could still develop and use it later.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Qin Ruqing surfaced with a satisfied smile, taking a deep breath and feeling everything had gone smoothly.

After catching her breath, Qin Ruqing subconsciously felt something was wrong.

When she looked up, she saw a grayish figure standing directly above her.

Dressed casually and exuding strong spiritual energy, the figure was clearly at least an advanced Qi-refining cultivator.

“Oh no! What rotten luck!” Qin Ruqing cursed and immediately turned to dive back into the lake.

Blocked from above, she could only swim deeper.

But moving quickly underwater was difficult, and it didn’t take long before the gray-robed cultivator grabbed Qin Ruqing from the water.

Grabbed by the back of her collar, Qin Ruqing felt like a kitten being caught by the scruff of its neck, forced to meet the gaze of the gray-robed figure.

Of course, this gray-robed figure was Zhang Li, who had infiltrated the Qin family’s secret realm.

Zhang Li smirked, about to utter some villainous lines, when Qin Ruqing kicked off and shot out like a rocket.

Caught off guard, Zhang Li’s grip slipped, and Qin Ruqing’s swift movement caused him to stagger forward, nearly falling into the lake.

Regaining his balance, Zhang Li frowned deeply as he watched Qin Ruqing flee in the distance.

“Why is she as slippery as an eel!”