Tang Zifeng was caught off guard by Qin Ruqing’s sharp insight, feeling deeply embarrassed and turning red to the roots of his ears.

But upon hearing Qin Ruqing’s words, he gradually calmed down.

Indeed, he trusted her.

He had overthought it.

However, the source of this trust was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

Tang Zifeng smiled for some reason.

Indeed, this was extremely in line with Qin Ruqing’s way of thinking.

In her mind, there was no room for sentimental and chaotic emotional thoughts.

She possessed only rational logic, orderly plans, and strategies.

She never easily trusted others; before considering emotions, she would have already weighed the interests clearly.

Only after interests were settled could feelings be discussed.

That was Qin Ruqing.

To an ordinary person, this might seem a bit frightening.

But upon closer inspection, it was precisely because of her that they could handle things so calmly after coming to Xi Ling.

He successfully avenged himself, and the Qin family had gained countless benefits.

None of the prominent families in Xi Ling, including the Bureau of Celestial, dared to underestimate this young girl, treating her truly as a senior elder of the Qin family.

Tang Zifeng’s internal turmoil was imperceptible to others; he appeared to be lost in thought, his expressionless face even giving off an air of discontent.

Seeing this, Qin Ruqing thought he was still resentful and scolded him even harsher.

“For someone whose mind isn’t clear, a good scolding is necessary.”

After she finished scolding him, Tang Zifeng finally said seriously, “I understand now. It won’t happen again.”

His sincere apology pleased Qin Ruqing.

She turned to Lu Wei and the others. “I’ll take a moment to adjust.”

She popped a few pills of into her mouth and closed her eyes to meditate.

Unable to hold back, Qirong asked, “Sister, why don’t you adjust on shore? It’s much hotter down here.”

Qin Ruqing opened her eyes with a smile. “No, it’s just warm for me, quite comfortable actually.”

Qirong’s eyes widened, about to inquire more about this strange comfort while immersed in magma, but Lu Wei sighed and pulled him away.

Qin Ruqing meditated for an hour.

When she reached her peak state, she still maintained the bizarre posture of sticking only her head out of the magma, not even her neck, as she chatted with Lu Wei and the others.

“Sister, my opportunity is calling me. I need to go back down. This time, I might be gone for a long time, maybe even half a year. Take care of yourselves. If you get bored, you can explore around the volcano for treasures…”

Lu Wei interrupted her, “Alright, enough chatter. Dive back in quickly.”

Qin Ruqing looked at Tang Zifeng, who gestured something in his hand, and they silently agreed.

With Tang Zifeng wielding such a lethal weapon, even if it was dangerous, their lives would not be in jeopardy.

With nothing more to say, she plunged back in.

In the spiritual awareness of the three, Qin Ruqing’s aura gradually faded and was finally isolated by the hot steam of the magma, completely disappearing.

Tang Zifeng withdrew his gaze and suddenly said, “She has completed the Qi Refinement stage and is about to build her foundation.”

Lu Wei and Qirong weren’t surprised at all, and Tang Zifeng didn’t express surprise either; he simply stated the facts.

Deep down, they all felt that Qin Ruqing’s foundation building was only natural.

If she spent less time on complex maneuvers and more time on cultivation, her progress would be faster.

However, too much speed could lead to unstable foundations and mental state.

Strangely enough, they felt this speed was just right—carefully calculated by her.

Lu Wei glanced at Tang Zifeng and suddenly smiled, “Earlier, Sister Qingqing scolded you. Were you not angry?”

Tang Zifeng shook his head.

Why would he be angry?

Even without someone pointing it out, he could imagine not everyone could receive Qin Ruqing’s kind of “scolding.”

“She’s not guarding against you; she’s like this with us too. Sometimes when she’s uncertain about something, not sure, she won’t explain it clearly. She’ll only tell you when things are absolutely certain.”

“Just now, her words were vague; perhaps she herself didn’t know what she would encounter next, so she kept it hidden.”

Tang Zifeng nodded.

He felt he had gained another understanding of Qin Ruqing today.

In the magma pool, Qin Ruqing swiftly dove deeper, passing the spot where she had last stopped, heading straight down.

After refining the celestial fire seed, the temperature at this level

For her, it was like scratching an itch.

Qin Ruqing needed stronger stimulation.

In pursuit of this excitement, Qin Ruqing arrived at the bottom of the magma pool.

However, the result left her greatly disappointed.

The temperature had indeed risen significantly, but it wasn’t high enough to evoke that peculiar feeling in her heart.

Her instincts told her that this level was far from sufficient.

Qin Ruqing stood at the pool’s bottom, frowning and pacing with hands behind her back, muttering to herself, “This temperature doesn’t seem right… The Immortal Bureau sent someone to specially conceal this dual-layered magma pool just for this?”

“Could it be that there’s not enough oil? Did I draw too much fire elemental energy when refining the celestial fire seed?”

“That shouldn’t be it. I didn’t draw that much fire elemental energy.”

Qin Ruqing suddenly stopped, “Could it be… that brat Fifth Lingyu might have meddled with something again?”

The scroll from earlier appeared in her palm, but she didn’t rush to use it.

Her other hand cast a faint golden flame like shattered starlight.

The flame moved like flowing water, swallowing up the magma below, belching contentedly after cleaning it, then continued its work.

As it rubbed against the bottom for a while, it suddenly sank into a corner like sand in an hourglass.

Qin Ruqing walked over in a few steps, crouched down, and after feeling for a while, a smile tugged at her lips.

Without hesitation, she ruthlessly stuffed the scroll into the “space crevice.”

With the same golden light as before, another hole unexpectedly appeared at the bottom of the magma pool.

“Fifth Lingyu, what kind of trick are you playing this time? I knew this pool was a volcanic pool, not a magma pool as it was previously said to be.” Qin Ruqing snorted, putting away the scroll and producing a white jade.

She planned to give that stingy brat a thorough scolding.

He gave her the map, yet acted so hesitant, setting up one obstacle after another.

Who was he trying to make things difficult for?

“Damn show-off, always dressing up like a little girl. I hope you turn into charcoal at Xiling!”

As she lit the jade pendant, her words came out as gentle as water, “Thank you, Director, for the map to the magma pool.”

The white jade flashed, but Qin Ruqing didn’t wait for a reply.

After putting it away, she enveloped herself in celestial fire and glanced at the hole before jumping straight down.

The moment she hit “bottom,” Qin Ruqing knew this feeling was right.

Exactly right.

She hadn’t told her third sister and the others earlier, but right after refining the celestial fire seed, she felt a strange sensation—not in her heart, but in her body.

Her body told her that the water pool was almost full—here, she had a chance to break through to the next stage.

Dao Physique! Finally, there was movement. How could Qin Ruqing not be excited?

Although her previous Dao Physique had awakened, it had only stayed in the first stage.

The Dao Physique was quite effective, but there was a faint trend toward becoming a mobile blood sac.

Later, Qin Ruqing realized that she was a tempting prize.

Blood was particularly attractive to monster beasts and humans alike, after all, it was a sacred healing medicine.

While this physique was good, without strong protection, it could attract a lot of unnecessary trouble for herself.

So, Qin Ruqing had been eagerly looking forward to finding a way to advance to the second stage of the Dao Physique.

She didn’t believe that such an ancient Dao Physique would lack powerful attack methods… If it truly didn’t

She would just admit it and then think of another way to make up for it.

Feeling the surrounding environment, it was vastly different from what she had imagined.

This place, named the Magma Pool, had the base of magma from earlier, so Qin Ruqing thought it would be a place similar to a lava world, but with even more terrifying temperatures.

However, it was not the case at all.

This was a thick and pure dark world, where many orange-red light clusters floated against the dark background.

To describe it, it felt like many sky lanterns released into the night sky, with a kind of clear and sacred feeling.

If it weren’t so darn hot here, Qin Ruqing would have thought it was a great place for a romantic evening.

No need for more words; those “sky lanterns” were probably the earth fire.

And Qin Ruqing, almost instinctively, reached out and summoned a clump of earth fire.

If this instinct were to be explained in words, it would be like a big fish wanting to eat a little fish.

She was a person who had been hungry for a long time and was here to feast.

Without any hesitation, Qin Ruqing controlled the earth fire and then clenched her fist.

The earth fire disappeared.

Of course, it wasn’t crushed; she had absorbed it.

Unlike the celestial fire seed from before, this stuff exploded upon absorption.

It wasn’t just a sensation of explosion; it truly exploded inside her body.

Qin Ruqing was immediately blasted into coughing up blood.

She wiped the blood from her mouth, raised her thumb at the earth fire, and muttered to herself in this uninhabited space.

“Wow, not many people or things these days can make me cough up blood. Besides Zhang Li, you’re probably the second.”

“Zhang Li is no longer around… If this space can leave behind even a spark of fire today, I’ll admit defeat.”

With one on the left and one on the right this time, Qin Ruqing directly summoned and absorbed two clumps of fire, crushed them, and then, whoosh, she even vomited out a blood clot this time.

Qin Ruqing murmured, “It’s okay, it’s like eating spicy hotpot—the spicier it gets, the more you can’t stop, and stopping means an explosion.”

“This whole thing is about stimulation.”

By the time she absorbed around the tenth clump, Qin Ruqing collapsed.

“Cough, cough, cough, I’m done for.” Qin Ruqing lay flat on her face, unable to move a finger, letting her Dao Physique slowly repair her body.

It even felt like the Dao Physique repaired faster here in this space than outside.

After repeating this cycle three times, Qin Ruqing felt she could now defeat the original Zhang Li with just one move.

“My hair’s all blown out, but I’ve gotten stronger.”

“Do you know what hair means to a beautiful immortal? Without shiny and smooth hair, how can I go out and flirt with handsome guys in the future?”

“Dao Physique, if you don’t advance now, it won’t be acceptable.”

Time passed slowly.

Qin Ruqing had no concept of time here, but judging by her robust body, she figured quite some time had passed.

“It must have been several months.”

“I wonder if Third Sister, Qirong and the others are doing okay? Has Tang Zifeng finished tempering his spiritual weapon?”

“I need to pick up the pace…”

Qin Ruqing suppressed the urge to build her foundation for the third time, then reached out and summoned another batch of earth fire to queue up for absorption.

Her intuition told her she couldn’t build her foundation now.

She had to wait for the advancement of her Dao Physique. Once the Dao Physique advanced, she could use it to drive the foundation establishment.

Now that she was completely capable of absorbing earth fire without vomiting blood, Qin Ruqing absorbed it voraciously while muttering to herself.

She certainly wasn’t crazy; talking to herself helped her stay alert.

Otherwise, after being blasted to a certain stage, she might accidentally lose control.

“I’ve come to understand that mere cultivation isn’t all that important for me. What matters is the advancement and development of the Dao Physique. Once the Dao Physique is properly developed, surpassing levels won’t just be a dream.”

“My previous understanding of the Dao Body at home was too shallow. I had no idea how amazing it really is. This attitude must change. In the future, I need to focus more on the development of the Dao Physique.”

“It’s a pity; our Nanling is in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I’ll understand more once I go to the Eastern Domain.”

“… Can’t this Dao Physique give me some inherited memories or something?”

The eastern earth fire had been absorbed, and now it was the western one’s turn.

Qin Ruqing slowly closed her eyes, then suddenly opened them.

She repeated this several times before returning to normal.

“It might seem like I’m not quite right in the head, but Qin Ruqing was now mentally exhausted, feeling as taut as a drawn bowstring.

Qin Ruqing clenched her fists fiercely. “Hold on!”

“The sunk cost is too high. After all the hardships I’ve endured, if my Dao Physique still can’t advance, I’ll be sick!”

Mumbling in a daze, Qin Ruqing continued: “I don’t have any other strengths, just a stubborn bone. Today, I have to make it through!”

After quite some time had passed again, Qin Ruqing looked ahead.

Everything around her was pitch black, with only a small spot of light left.

“This is the last piece of earth fire. Once I absorb it, I should be able to advance.”

Qin Ruqing pinched her own forearm and patted her chest. “I feel tough all over. Hopefully, I won’t turn into a diamond Barbie doll. How will I ever find a partner if that happens?”

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll just marry someone. Alright, it’s time to begin…”

Outside the Magma Pool, Qirong and Lu Wei had just returned from outside, while Tang Zifeng remained guarding the entrance to the volcanic cave.

“Big Brother Tang, we’re back.”

Tang Zifeng stood by the pool, making a sound of acknowledgment but not looking up.

Qirong walked over and said, “It’s been lively outside. Several noble families’ teams have encountered each other multiple times, and we’ve watched them fight several times.”

Lu Wei added, “It seems they’ve recently discovered some significant treasure, but it’s guarded by a monster close to the Golden Core stage. Now, no team dares to make any reckless moves.”

Still, Tang Zifeng remained silent.

Looking down, Lu Wei furrowed her brow slightly. “It’s been half a year, and there’s been no movement at all. Is Qingqing still cultivating?”

Because Qin Ruqing had made thorough arrangements beforehand, Lu Wei and the others remained relatively stable emotionally.

It was actually Tang Zifeng who seemed somewhat anxious.

His spiritual weapon had been tempered recently, and he seemed to be contemplating using this magma environment to refine a highly heat-resistant artifact and then delve deeper underground.

After observing for a while, Qirong said, “It seems like there won’t be any activity today. Let’s continue our cultivation.”

Just as Tang Zifeng was about to speak, a thunderous noise echoed from below, as if it came from the deepest part of the earth.

The ground trembled faintly, and the magma began to bubble vigorously.

The momentum seemed as if this volcanic cave entrance was about to collapse.

Qirong, Lu Wei, and Tang Zifeng exchanged shocked and delighted looks.

Could this disturbance mean that Qingqing was about to emerge?!