Under Xue Yueliang's gaze, a gorgeous figure emerged from the endless ruins and rubbles. Not a single scratch was on her fair body, nor were there any stains on her golden robes. She had the temperament of an ethereal fairy, unfettered by mortal matters and so powerful that she was way beyond Xue Yueliang's capabilities. This was none other than the Qinxia Kingdom's only princess, Yao Niang. A woman unmatched by anyone in her era. Though she made no moves to attack Xue Yueliang, she made her feel as if she was at the edge between life and death. If the princess attacked her, she had no confidence she could escape in one piece, let alone fight back. Xue Yueliang could only pray that if her life was in mortal danger, her old master would be reliable for once and step in to protect her.

"I'm not here to fight you," the princess stated ethereally and glanced around at the bloodshed and scattered bodies around her and couldn't help but frown. "You managed to kill them all?"

Xue Yueliang warily nodded but didn't lower her guard. She knew nothing about her, and it would be foolish to trust the words of a stranger. She was unwilling to give away her life without at least putting some resistance. Yao Niang noticed her actions but didn't get offended by them, as the most she hoped was to prevent Xue Yueliang from attacking first. Although the current Xue Yueliang was weak, she was still young, and she was here to create friends, not enemies. Especially as she heavily suspected her, raising two levels in the Qi Refinement Realm in two weeks was not an easy feat.

"That's pretty impressive," Yao Niang smiled before throwing a jade bottle toward Xue Yueliang, saying, "I came here to make friends with future paragons. I hope you will not refuse my goodwill. "

The princess then turned around to leave; she did not even stay behind to see whether Xue Yueliang accepted her gift. She truly wanted to make friends with her and had no intention of pressuring her while she was still weak. After all, if her hunch turned out to be correct, she could be laying the groundwork with a future kingdom-level expert. That was a level that the current her could not even perceive. Using underhanded techniques at this moment could be a fatal mistake, a mistake she could not afford to make, so she chose to remain above-board and honest.

Xue Yueliang was stunned and carefully examined the gift she was given; the jade bottle contained three pale green pills with had nine faint rings surrounding it. In the Dao of Alchemy, pills were divided into the same realms as cultivators, and within every realm, they were divided into different grades. One with nine rings was considered top-grade and was a priceless treasure to even cultivators from large clans. Xue Yueliang carefully removed the lid of the jade bottle and took a whiff of the medicinal pill, she instantly felt her mind clear up, and her Qi naturally circulated, causing a solemn gleam to appear in her eyes - this was a Foundation Establishment Pill. Cultivators used this pill to supplement their Qi when breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. It increases the odds of success by thirty per cent and even helps them withstand their heavenly tribulation. Whether the princess was naturally this extravagant or if she was sincere in befriending her, she had no way to know. She decided to note down this favour but had no real intention of repaying it.

Xue Yueliang carefully stored the jade bottle and ordered Hei Yu to drag the corpses near her, and she initiated Blood Sacrifice. She felt her blood boil; while she gritted her teeth, waiting for the frantic power in her body to settle down as it coursed through her meridians. The chaotic energy turned calm and organised. Breaking through the last barrier in the Qi Refinement Realm, allowing her to finally reach its 12th level, making her a peak Qi Refinement expert. Xue Yueliang closed her eyes and scanned the map in her mind's eye; she only saw nine other glowing dots. The rest were gone, either having left the mystic realm or been killed; Xue Yueliang couldn't help but stiffen. It seemed like the final battle she was wary of was very soon. Although fighting a Foundation Establishment cultivators in her realm was possible, she had no confidence. Luckily for her, the projection reappeared in the sky and spoke before she could do anything rash.

"Young cultivators, you have destroyed the skeletal remains and killed your fellow Daoists. You have walked the path of murder for a few days and are now worthy of my inheritance. "

As soon as his word sounded, the earth shook again. A majestic castle appeared in the middle of the mystical realm; it had three watchtowers and dignified air; however, its crimson shade made it appear demonic. It was built from stones of various sizes, precariously lying there but released a feeling of undeniable strength and power. Gazing at the castle for slightly longer was enough to suck the mind in, allowing the gazer to hear the voices of the many killed atop its walls and feel their despair.

"The path of slaughter is dangerous and filled with many pits. If your willpower is too weak, you will be attacked by your killing intent and turn into a demon, only knowing how to kill but not how to reason and live. Therefore, this last test of mine is a test of willpower. Those who last against the suppression of my dwelling will inherit my power."

The projection disappeared again, causing Xue Yueliang to bitterly smile as she rushed toward the centre of the mystical realm, as her master's inheritance should naturally be hers. But she had to fight against others for it. As she appeared in front of the castle, it was as if a giant beast was opening its bloody maw, ready to swallow her whole. She felt that this was not just a suppression of only her willpower but even of her soul. Just as she was about to enter, she heard the sound of breaking wind as nine other cultivators arrived at the entrance. At a glance, she recognised her brother, the princess and the sadistic cultivator; everyone she thought would be here was here. Of course, Lei Jian was nowhere to be seen. Though he might have just left the mystical realm, she did not have much hope as the sadistic cultivator appeared hale and hearty.

"Qin Yao, I did not expect you to get this far, but you should obediently step down now. " An unpleasant voice sounded, making it obvious how he looked down on her and expected her to follow his orders. To his dismay, Xue Yueliang decided to enter without looking back at her brother, completely ignoring his words and causing Qin Yundi's face to ashen. Xue Yueliang, however, was too preoccupied to notice his changes as her attention was elsewhere. As she turned to leave, she saw the princess scrutinising her, appearing to be deeply in thought. For reasons unknown to Xue Yueliang, she felt herself subconsciously shiver.

The inside of the castle was not much different from the outside. The room was bare and coloured in the same ugly shade of red. The only thing worthy of note was a red vase standing on a stool in the centre of the room. Xue Yueliang waited for a moment but did not hear anyone enter the room, so she reasoned that it must be another spatial warp. She walked into the middle of the room and tipped the vase to see what was inside. As she looked into the vase, the emptiness in the vase seemed to look back at her, absorbing her soul. When Xue Yueliang came to, she was in a dark grey room with swirling ghostly Qi filling her surroundings.

She carefully walked around, and suddenly, a crying young girl appeared in front of her. The girl held onto a stiff body, its features appearing almost identical to hers. She cried and begged for her to wake up, but alas, this had no effect.

"Little girl, how about we give your sister a proper burial," a kind voice asked, but the little girl refused to let go of her sister's corpse, hugging it even tighter. Seeing this familiar scene, Xue Yueliang couldn't help but sigh. This was her at eight from her past life, and the voice that sounded was her mother's. Even though her parents were alive, she was raised in an orphanage as her parents believed this would firm her character. Life in the orphanage was not as tragic as they wished, and she was satisfied with what she had. Their backup plan was to kill everyone she knew and loved; in front of her.

The young girl looked up at Xue Yueliang, saying something different from her actual memories, "Why didn't you avenge us?" The voice sounded like it was coming from the young girl, her dead sister and the surrounding corpses that littered the ground, directly attacking Xue Yueliang's mind. "Were we not worthy of your efforts? Did our suffering mean nothing? You did all this for what? Just to be killed in the end?"

Xue Yueliang was startled and took a step back, complicatedly looking at this scene. She always knew she would have to resolve this knot in her heart but had not expected this day to come so soon. She took a deep breath and steeled her resolve, this was one of her regrets from her previous life, but it wasn't something she couldn't overcome. "They died because they were weak. I also died because of that, and the dead are not worth avenging. As for my death, it was not something I had much of a say in." Though her words were heartless, the young girl did not seem too bothered by her words and instead applauded them.

"I hope you will remember your words. The dead are not worth our effort. " The scene faded away, leaving Xue Yueliang alone in the greyness.

She closed her eyes and calmed her emotions before steadily walking forward, coming across her previous life's mother. "How does it feel being betrayed?" She insidiously asked, putting no effort to hide the dark intent behind her words. "It's all in the past." Xue Yueliang replied breezily, without stopping for even a second, and the image faded away. Like that, many images appeared in front of Xue Yueliang's eyes, but none of them managed to stop her. She continued to walk forward with an unstoppable moment as she bypassed all her mental demons until meeting with a figure of someone she held dear.

A pale woman sat in front of a mirror, her long black hair was in disarray, and dark black circles formed underneath her eyes.

"I will be fine. I can hold on..." she mumbled to herself under her breath, afraid to wake up the young kid that was soundly sleeping. "Mother..." the child's immature voice sounded as she turned and twisted in her bed, hoping to reach her mother's warm embrace.

"Mother is here. Don't worry, sweet child. " She said as her lifeless eyes gazed at her daughter before hugging her in her sleep. The child snuggled into her mother's embrace but didn't experience the warmth she expected; instead, her mother's body was stiff and cold. The child woke up in the morning only to see that her mother was nothing more than a corpse. The child looked around to see a string of blood leading to their bed; her mother could not hold on, so she had left her.

"Our mother died because you couldn't save her." The child's voice sounded. This scene was one from her current life, and it was the scene of her mother's death.

"There's nothing I could have done, as I was just a child. " Xue Yueliang said while shaking her head.

"Why couldn't you awaken your memories earlier," the child questioned, and the hurt and pain in her voice were evident.

A painful, heartbreaking feeling overwhelmed Xue Yueliang as she recalled her mother's death. She was the only person who truly loved her in both lives. But her feelings quickly calmed down, as if she had never experienced them in the first place.

"If she had waited for me to awaken my memories, she would have survived. I would even have avenged her, but she was too weak and could not wait. All sins can be forgiven but not weakness, and from the moment she died, she was no different than any of the rubble around. I can't blame myself for her death as I had no control over it. Ashes always return to ashes and dust to dust. "

"You are right; there was nothing I could have done, " the child's face eased as the guilt and pain disappeared. "There's always hope for the living, and death was her choice."

The final scene vanished, and Xue Yueliang reappeared in the empty room, her hand still holding that vase. She wiped the tears that had unknowingly wet her face and walked into the door that emerged on the wall, bravely facing the unknown. She could not back down, not now, not ever.