The three disciples of the Nine Suns Sect were taken aback.
Wei Yi was the most shocked among them.
He never expected that Du Xinghe, with her mediocre aptitude, could achieve a breakthrough after leaving the sect!
Golden Hook Suspended Eye, Half-Step Foundation Establishment.
For a moment, they doubted their own eyes.
“You’ve reached the peak of Qi Refinement? You? How is that possible?”
Wei Yi’s raised voice drew sidelong glances from other sect cultivators in the cabin.
Du Xinghe withdrew her gaze and retorted:
“Is it that difficult? My goal is to reach the Golden Core in three years, the Nascent Soul in five years, and the Great Ascension Stage in ten years.”
Cultivation is the path of refining one’s own Dao. People of the Pingyun Continent are often very cautious about their cultivation goals; even the most arrogant rarely make wild boasts. Once words are spoken, karma is formed. Though her statement was absurd, it stunned everyone.
As an outsider, she carried no such psychological burden.
When away from home, your cultivation stage is what you claim it to be.
“Fellow Daoist Xinghe has become quite the joker since leaving the sect.”
Du Xinghe remained perfectly at ease, leaving the three Nine Suns Sect disciples uncertain.
Reaching the Golden Core in three years was utterly unbelievable!
Yet, not long ago, she had only been at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and now she was at Half-Step Foundation Establishment. They knew very well that although Du Xinghe was a disciple of Yuanming Zunzhe, her mediocre Three Spiritual Roots meant she had never received much attention or resource allocation on the Heart-Questioning Cliff.
“Yuanming Zunzhe is a Golden Core True Person. Is Fellow Daoist Xinghe claiming that in three years, you will surpass him?”
Wei Yi pressed aggressively.
In that instant, two thoughts flashed through Du Xinghe’s mind.
First, she couldn’t take the bait. If Yuanming Zunzhe were provoked, he might try to eliminate her, and other sectmates could use this as a pretext to attack and disrupt her cultivation.
Second, if she didn’t aim to surpass everyone, what was the point of cultivating?
A moment later, a faint smile touched her thin lips. Du Xinghe said, “Everyone has their own destiny. I’ve repaid the honored one with my life, and now we owe each other nothing. To me now, he is merely a respected senior. In your Nine Suns Sect, are elders casually compared to fellow Daoists? You should watch your words.”
“If I had no confidence, why would I have left the sect?”
Du Xinghe wrapped her words in courtesy, then vaguely put on an air of authority, making them think she had powerful backing.
Sure enough, their faces showed uncertainty and doubt.
The more spiritual roots one had, the more time and effort cultivation required. For Du Xinghe to make such progress in such a short time, she must have encountered some extraordinary opportunity.
“I was reckless. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Xinghe.”
After weighing his options, Wei Yi suppressed his earlier arrogance. “Since you have no wish to reminisce, we won’t disturb you further.”
But Du Xinghe paid them no mind.
System: [Host, you have a talent for intrigue.]
Du Xinghe looked out the cabin window.
The Flying Ship was passing through a thundercloud layer, with dark, rolling clouds crackling with lightning, ominous and unpredictable.
“I’d rather not have such a talent.”
Her verbal sparring with the Nine Suns Sect disciples was only necessary because she was currently isolated and not yet at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Once her strength was sufficient, she could act without restraint.
Intrigue was a game for the weak; true power could overwhelm all schemes!
A flicker of ruthlessness passed through Du Xinghe’s eyes. “This debt with the Nine Suns Sect will be settled sooner or later.”
…
By the time the Flying Ship reached the entrance to the snowy polar mountains, fewer than ten people remained in the cabin.
The hatch slowly opened, the wind and snow blocked outside by the protective formation, yet one could still see scavenging snowbirds sweeping across the deep blue sky, emitting hoarse cries.
“Wasn’t it said that the polar snow mountains are shrouded in eternal darkness? Why is there light up there?”
A cultivator exclaimed in pleasant surprise, looking upward.
Scattered points of light dotted the night sky, illuminating the path for travelers.
“Be careful! Those are from the dorsal fins of Night-Swimming Fish, using phototaxis to lure and capture prey.”
Wei Yi warned.
As soon as he finished speaking, a snowbird, drawn by the light source, flew too close and was instantly sucked into a large, dark mouth, vanishing without a trace.
Everyone shuddered.
“The polar environment is harsh. Spirit Beasts here often possess unique hunting methods and adaptive traits, making them more dangerous than those on the Pingyun Continent! Fortunately, to conserve energy, they rarely initiate attacks. As long as we steer clear, we should be safe,” another cultivator remarked.
“Let’s go, onward to the Glow-grade secret realm.”
Before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, cultivators couldn’t traverse the polar snow mountains at all. In the extreme cold, their eyes would ache unbearably as if pierced by needles, and they would freeze to death. They could only rely on external aids, effectively burning through spirit stones every minute. Thus, very few cultivators came to the Glow-grade secret realm here, and no sect had claimed it as their own. Before stepping out of the Flying Ship protected by formations, some swallowed heat-preserving elixir pills, while others used talismans to ward off the cold.
Even with precautions, they dressed heavily.
The members of the Nine Suns Sect watched Du Xinghe’s direction with amusement.
She remained completely unruffled.
With a flick of her hand, she purchased [Ice Skin Jade Bones] from the imperial harem intrigue system’s shop.
[Ice Skin Jade Bones]: After use, the user remains unaffected by any cold or low temperatures for one day, gains a light and graceful posture, and increases movement speed by 20% on ice. Ideal for beauties to dance in thin clothing amid ice and snow to win favor. Recommended for ice-skating occasions.
Under their gaze, Du Xinghe stepped into the icy wilderness without any protection.
Bathed in the night sky illuminated by Night-Swimming Fish, her aloof and proud figure reminded everyone of Zhuangzi’s “Free and Easy Wandering”: “On the distant Gushe Mountain, there dwells a divine being. Her skin is like ice and snow, her grace like that of a maiden,” untouched by worldly dust.
Seeing this, the Nine Suns Sect members grew more convinced that she had encountered some unique opportunity after leaving the sect.
Wei Yi secretly rejoiced that he had reined himself in at the brink, remembering that her current cultivation level surpassed his, and hadn’t offended her to the point of no return!
Little did they know, Du Xinghe, strolling leisurely through the ice and snow, was muttering to herself.
System Warning: [When using Ice Skin Jade Bones, the host must dance, or the effect will be reduced by 50%!]
Du Xinghe: “Dancing, dancing right now.”
Du Xinghe: “I’ll even throw in a couple of ‘flower hand’ waves.”
She crossed her hands and twisted them twice, as if forming hand seals.
After hearing her explanation, the system fell into a prolonged silence.
If this video of a mentally indulgent consort waving her hands like flowers were uploaded to the main god’s server, they’d think it wasn’t a proper system!
Du Xinghe: “I can even do the moonwalk—”
The system resignedly replied: [Host, just walk normally.]
The entrance to the Glow-grade secret realm in the polar snow mountains wasn’t a secret. After disembarking from the Flying Ship, one simply had to head north. Du Xinghe soon reached the edge of the Silent Whisper Forest, where shadows of trees loomed heavily, each trunk coated in a layer of frost.
She brought two fingers together, and a flicker of flame leaped between them.
Instantly, countless reflections of “Du Xinghe” from different angles appeared around her, yet she paid them no mind and strode directly northward.
From a physics perspective, ice cannot function as a mirror because airborne dust particles freeze within it, and ice has a low refractive index.
Yet, peculiarly, all ice formed within the Silent Whisper Forest mirrored like polished glass.
Whenever travelers carried lanterns, their figures would inevitably be reflected, and every year, those with wavering resolve lost their way here.
“Head north, stop before the largest Mirror Ice…”
Du Xinghe contemplated silently.
After two hundred paces, she finally reached her destination.
A waterfall cascading down the cliff had frozen solid, with a faint, eerie glow seeping through.
Towering several kilometers high, even craning her neck backward failed to reveal the waterfall’s source, as if an ice dragon had burst forth from the stone gorge.
Du Xinghe tread over scattered rubble forward, the “Du Xinghe” in the Mirror Ice rushing toward her in a mutual approach. Just as they seemed about to collide, she passed through unimpeded into another realm. The surrounding aura shifted abruptly, and rich spiritual energy washed over her, leaving her feeling both satisfied and addicted, as if recharged.
Such were the benefits of entering a secret realm!
If not for the restriction that each cultivator could only remain inside for five days every hundred days, along with numerous other limitations, countless cultivators would likely immerse themselves in secret realms, unwilling to leave.
Yet even a Glimmer-grade secret realm was fraught with danger at every turn.
Maps and precautions within secret realms were highly valuable strategic intelligence, not lightly shared with others, and counted among a sect’s cultivation resources. One reason the Jiuyang Sect disciples scorned Du Xinghe was their belief that, without sect guidance, she would perish in the secret realm.
Beyond the waterfall lay a damp, chilly cavern.
Countless stalactites hung down like Damocles’ swords suspended overhead. Ahead, four pitch-black branching paths sprawled in a labyrinthine network akin to an ant colony. Yet Du Xinghe remained composed as she roused her system:
“I’m here to claim my monthly benefit.”
The Imperial Harem Intrigue Invincible System’s monthly benefit—【Glimpse the Emperor’s Shadow】.
【Glimpse the Emperor’s Shadow】：Even with beauty that topples cities, it means nothing if you cannot meet the emperor! Activate this aura to be guided to the emperor’s location, intercept opportunities! Seize favor! Effortlessly!
Du Xinghe had invested effort into studying the system’s bugs.
In the system’s definition, the emperor was not a specific individual but the immense fortune carried by one. 【Glimpse the Emperor’s Shadow】 detected the son of heaven with the most abundant fortune within the harem’s scope. This was to prevent the host from having no one to strategize against if the emperor died suddenly, but Du Xinghe exploited this loophole.
Intercept opportunities? Seize favor?
This was clearly her sharp tool for locating treasure troves and seeking opportunities!
Before Du Xinghe, a compass dotted with golden light materialized.
The magnetic needle on the compass slowly rotated, pointing toward the second branching path. Without hesitation, she ventured inward.
In the dark, silent cavern, each step produced a slick, sticky sound, and her heartbeat amplified infinitely. Uncertain when danger might strike, though she knew she walked the correct path, she dared not move too swiftly.
At the path’s end, there were unexpectedly six more branching openings!
Du Xinghe: “…”
Her memory wasn’t particularly sharp.
She could only form a hand seal into a spell, capturing a beam of light as pigment, and mark the chosen path with a number on her left arm.
While Du Xinghe decisively moved forward, other cultivators who had entered half an hour later also stepped into the limestone cave, including the three disciples from Nine Yang Sect.
“We might run into Fellow Cultivator Xinghe ahead,” the round-faced female cultivator remarked.
“Without sect guidance, her chances of survival are slim!”
Wei Yi waved his hand: “Our goal is only to search for useful Spirit Herbs in the first two layers. If we encounter Spirit Beasts, we’ll try fighting if possible, otherwise we’ll avoid conflict! Every minute inside the secret realm counts. As the highest realm cultivator here, you two must follow my lead and not wander off. If you accidentally enter unexplored side paths or venture deeper, who knows whether what awaits at the end would be opportunity or certain doom.”
At the same time, Du Xinghe reached the fork in the road at the fourth layer.
System: 【Why hasn’t the host encountered the emperor after walking for so long?】
Du Xinghe: “The imperial palace is quite large.”
System: 【No matter how large the palace is, it shouldn’t extend downward.】
Du Xinghe: “What if I’m searching for the emperor’s traces in the imperial tomb?”
The System fell silent again.