After the Zhang family’s flying boat had traveled far away, Qin Ruqing and her two companions leaped down from the tree and jumped onto their own family’s flying boat.

Qin Dexin glanced at them, focusing on Qin Ruqing. “Sneaking around, why didn’t you come down earlier?”

Qin Ruqing, unfazed, shook her head with a playful sway. “If I had come down early, what if they recognized me? It’s better to be cautious.”

Qin Dexin smirked, teasingly. “Recognize you as Fairy Jing’er?”

Qin Ruqing immediately chuckled. “Exactly! The troubles of being famous~”

Initially teasing, Qin Dexin shook her head in amusement seeing Qin Ruqing taking it seriously.

She glanced towards the direction where the Zhang family had departed, changing the subject. “What did you and the ancestor do to Zhang Li?”

Qin Ruqing played dumb.

After advising with the ancestor for a long time, and considering the ancestor’s clear attitude at the clan meeting to kill Zhang Li, it was inconceivable to think there was no foul play.

Beside them, Qirong and Luwei also perked up their ears.

Qin Ruqing pretended innocence. “What do you mean? Zhang Li was just carried away peacefully by them.”

Qin Dexin flicked Qin Ruqing’s head with her finger. “Playing tricks with your auntie, huh?”

Goodness, she was good at this.

No wonder Third Sister idolized Auntie so much.

Qin Ruqing rubbed her head, grinning mischievously. “I just fed him something… but they were all good things. The Zhang family should thank me for caring so much about them.”

Qin Dexin remained noncommittal.

She had confidence in Qin Ruqing’s ability to deceive, but good things could also be deceiving.

This girl was cunning through and through, even when facing her, she spoke ambiguously and refused to be clear.

But that was fine.

Many geniuses died young from recklessness.

Only those who survived had the qualifications to discuss other matters.

She said, “If you don’t want to say, that’s fine… By the way, the family has set up protective arrays around your ice cave. Take some time to go and see.”

“Really?” Qin Ruqing’s eyes lit up. “The ice cave isn’t far from here. Auntie, let’s go now!”

Qin Dexin said, “The Zhang family has moved ten miles back from the border. I still have many things to attend to. You go ahead.” She then glanced at Qirong and added, “Qirong, stay close to Ruqing and don’t wander off.”

Although Qirong was the elder brother, in the Qin family… who dared treat Qin Ruqing like a child now?

Qirong nodded heavily, and Luwei spontaneously summoned her large alchemy furnace.

The three climbed onto it, gave their respects to Qin Dexin, and leisurely swayed away.

Qin Dexin stood with her hands behind her back, watching their figures with mixed feelings.

Qin Ruqing’s rise had exceeded her expectations.

She had watched her grow up and noticed her extraordinary potential since she was tested with the Spiritual Energy Seed, but at that time, she was just clever.

When Qirong became close to her, she thought that Qirong playing with the children of the main house was better than playing with those of the second house, so she agreed.

But she didn’t expect that the Spiritual Energy Seed was just the beginning.

This girl’s growth rate exceeded everyone’s imagination.

What was initially thought to be “clever” now seemed insufficient.

It should be said that she was both intelligent and exceptional.

From being weak in the main house to being someone no one dared underestimate now.

It was inevitable that Qin Qirong would be involved with this girl’s every move.

The way Ancestor valued her and allowed her into the council chamber must mean she saw more than just her talent…

Without realizing it, Qin Dexin also gradually adjusted her attitude:

Originally, she let Qirong follow Qingqing to give him a playmate, but now…

Qingqing was bound to soar high, and Qirong following her, as her closest companion, would also have a promising future, right?

Thinking this, Qin Dexin chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Adults inevitably had their own ambitions, but compared to them, the interactions between these three children were much purer.

She withdrew her gaze, turned the flying boat, and ordered, “Let’s go.”

Back there, Qin Ruqing directed the course, and the three arrived at the shore of Mirror Lake on the flying cauldron.

“Here it is, the ice cave is right at the bottom of Mirror Lake.”

“At the lake bottom!” Qirong jumped off the cauldron, amazed. “How did you find such a strange place, Sister?”

Qin Ruqing said, “It’s naturally due to my intelligence.”

Lu Wei smirked, and a clan member on duty approached, respectfully bowing to Qin Ruqing. “Fifth Miss , the formation has been set up. Another entrance has been arranged within the clan, so there’s no need to dive from the lake surface.”

The respect shown was akin to reporting to an elder.

Qin Ruqing nodded with her hands behind her back. “Lead us to the entrance.”

The person guided them to a faintly glowing formation. “This is a simplified teleportation array. Stepping into it will directly take you inside the ice cave.” After another bow, he excused himself.

Qirong grinned. “Wow, Sister, everyone in the clan really respects you now.”

He was simply amazed.

Luwei, seeing Qin Ruqing smile without saying much, took the initiative to explain for her, “Ancestor’s decision to let Fifth Sister into the council chambers means she now has the qualifications of a vice-elder. The people in the clan are sharp-eyed, naturally changing their attitudes.”

Qin Ruqing lifted her chin, letting Qirong step into the array first.

Watching him disappear, she turned to Luwei, smiled, and asked bluntly, “Is Third Sister jealous?”

She asked straightforwardly.

Luwei paused, then smiled back.

Her chin slightly lifted, full of pride. “Fifth Sister is outstanding, leading the way. I will strive to catch up.”

“If I catch up, I’ll lead the way for my younger siblings and clan members, breaking through enemy lines and killing enemies.”

“And if you can’t catch up?” Qin Ruqing asked.

“If I can’t catch up, I’ll support my younger siblings from behind. I have my own place.”

Qin Ruqing smiled again, said no more, took Luwei’s hand, and they both stepped into the array together.

Qirong was already inside the cave, holding his arms, marveling, “This place feels completely different from the stalactite cave.”

“Of course, it’s different. Take a close look. Is there some inexplicable energy here that can drive spiritual energy?” Qin Ruqing asked.

Qirong nodded heavily after feeling it. “It’s true!”

“It’s said that the ancient cold ice can calm the mind and assist in cultivation.

Now it seems true. I haven’t even meditated yet, but spiritual energy is already circulating on its own.” Luwei’s voice was full of joy.

However, Qin Ruqing remained silent

“Let’s go further in.” Watching her look around, Luwei asked, “Fifth Sister, what are you looking for?”

“Ancestor told me that in formed ice caves like this one, there’s a small chance of finding ancient ten-thousand-year cold ice. It’s the top material for refining tools.”

Luwei immediately understood. “Indeed, Fifth Sister, as a cultivator, you should choose a spirit weapon for your foundational cultivation. Now is the time to gather materials.”

“Sister, what characteristics should we look for? We’ll help you find it!” Qirong quickly added.

“For characteristics, I’m not sure, but it’s definitely different from regular cold ice. So, we just need to find what’s different.”

The three split up.

The ice cave seemed to be roughly circular.

Qirong and Luwei circled around separately and unexpectedly bumped into each other.

“Did you find anything?”

“No,” Qirong shook his head regretfully.

Luwei didn’t say anything either, then looked to the side and exclaimed, “Fifth Sister, what are you standing there looking at?”

They walked over.

Qin Ruqing was standing there, looking up at the top of the ice cave.

“Sister, what are you looking at?”

Qin Ruqing said, “Last time, I found the Heart of Frigid Ice right here.”

She recognized it because there was a winding ice chute right here, and the Heart of Frigid Ice had slid down it.

Qin Ruqing touched her chin, pondering, “The Heart of Frigid Ice appeared from the top last time, but it’s clearly…”

Qirong suggested, “Sister, use your senses. You’re very sensitive to spiritual energy. See if there’s anything different here.”

Qin Ruqing shook her head, “I’ve already tried.”

Nothing teaches better than practice.

Qin Ruqing stopped daydreaming and summoned her flying sword (the eighth-grade tool Ancestor had given her), stepped on it, and flew to the top of the ice cave.

She reached out and touched the top, then knocked on it.

Luwei and the others flew up in the cauldron. “Is this it?”

Qin Ruqing hesitated, sensed it for a moment, and said strangely, “Nothing special here.”

After thinking about it, she couldn’t help but look at the “ice chute” next to her.

It was called an ice chute, but it was different from the long, thin icicles that form under eaves in winter.

This ice chute here was more like an arc-shaped ice column.

Qin Ruqing circled around on her flying sword and said, “The situation here is different from the stalactite cave. How come there’s suddenly such a column here?”

Qirong followed, “Sister, should we break it?” He clenched his fists.

But Luwei was worried, “If we break such a thick column, won’t it collapse on top? I remember this ice cave is hidden at the bottom of the lake.”

Qin Ruqing thought for a while, then gritted her teeth, “Break it!”

Even though this ice cave was artificially formed, it had been designed realistically.

Cold Xuan ice was inherently hard, and a complete ice cave like this wouldn’t collapse just because one column fell.

As Qin Ruqing expected, the ice cave didn’t collapse.

However, it terrified the Qin family members who were guarding it on the ground.

They had been on duty peacefully when suddenly the ground began to shake, and there was a loud noise from below.

What was happening?

Thinking of Fifth Miss and her group who had just gone down…

Their faces instantly turned pale.

Could something have gone wrong inside the ice cave?

They hurried down to check, and what they saw inside stunned them.

Fifth Miss and Third Miss each held a sword, banging away at the ice pillars, while Fourth Young Master used his fists.

They seemed determined to punch holes through the heavens.

“Fifty Miss, what are you doing?” Qin Ruqing was busy at work.

Finding their method inefficient, she took a step back and said, “Step aside, I’ll use a spell.”

Noticing a Qin family member standing nearby, she spared a moment to say, “It’s nothing, don’t worry about the noise. Just withdraw for now.”

The person stared blankly for a moment, then with a twitch of the mouth, retreated.

Qin Ruqing cast a spell, using a powerful technique called the Thousand Laws Lotus Heart, which formed a lotus flower shape from five different flames.

The lotus fire flickered softly and beautifully, but upon landing, it exploded with a loud bang.

The ice pillars collapsed with a thunderous roar.

This time, Qin Ruqing looked up again and indeed found something different.

At the collapsed top of the ice pillar, unlike regular Xuan ice’s moon white color, it was a dark blue.

Qin Ruqing flew up on her sword and dug out the piece of dark blue ice.

Judging by its size, it was about as large as three manhole covers put together.

“I told you, the Heart of Frigid Ice was up here earlier. It must have been sleeping on top,” she said as she dug out two small pieces, each about the size of a palm, and handed one to Qirong and one to Luwei.

“Here, ten-thousand-year cold Xuan ice. This is valuable stuff. It’s not much in quantity, but when you carve it into a jade pendant or some accessory to wear, it’s far better than ordinary Frigid Xuan Ice.”

Luwei hesitated, not because she thought it was too little but because she found it too precious.

Before she could say anything, Qin Ruqing chuckled, “Hehe, just take one piece each. The rest are mine. I need them for crafting, and Third Sister can’t have any more.”

“This applies to Brother Qirong too. If other clan members want Xuan ice, let them pay me for it… I’m quite stingy about this~”