As it turns out, Qu Jianlei can take almost all the items.

After taking the fan, he took a black bottle, and then another black bottle.

There were five black bottles of varying sizes, containing Barrier-Breaking, Life-Extending, Soul Nourishing, Detoxification, and Qi Recovery Elixirs.

Luo Hanshuang first took the Barrier-Breaking Pill and was about to choose the Life-Extending Pill when Aunt Han stopped her.

Later, Aunt Han also chose a black bottle, but she didn't opt for the Life-Extending one; instead, she chose the Detoxification Pill.

Qu Jianlei then took the Life-Extending Pill and the Soul Nourishing Pill, and afterwards, he took three plants.

Seeing this, Luo Hanshuang felt no jealousy, saying, "Take the last black bottle as well, just to clear it out."

She didn't believe that the last item could stump Brother Ran—if it could have stopped him, it would have already.

The final item left was the largest black bottle, which she suspected to be the Qi Recovery Pill.

She was merely guessing, but Qu Jianlei was certain it was the Qi Recovery Pill.

The Qi Recovery Pill is relatively common in the Empire; however, it's certain that the Elixirs from the Mist Mansion are the finest of the finest.

Just think about it, an elixir placed alongside the Barrier-Breaking Pill and the Life-Extending Pill couldn't be subpar, could it?

What's especially important is that Qu Jianlei highly suspected that the Qi Recovery Pill here didn't replenish Elemental Inner Breath, but rather Spiritual Qi!

The reason the two women couldn't take the pill furnace, boxes, fan, and spirit stones wasn't necessarily due to a lack of opportunity!

Rather, using these items required Spiritual Qi, which the two women did not have at all.

Qu Jianlei also did not possess Spiritual Qi, but this wasn't a guess; it was information conveyed by the book he just read.

The book, titled "Pill Book," wasn't written with cinnabar like the Red Book of Iron but purely described the basic knowledge of alchemy.

Although termed basic, it wasn't particularly so; it covered alchemical principles from Qi Cultivation and Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment stages.

There were even some alchemical principles for the Golden Core stage, though not many.

In addition to this, it also roughly explained the origins of this secret realm.

The book clearly stated that the owner of the secret realm came from "beyond the skies," not a native of this world.

Qu Jianlei wasn't surprised by this claim at all; the predecessors of the Divine Land were indeed visitors from the beyond.

The owner of the secret realm stated that this was a trial secret realm for their disciples, with rewards for the victor.

This all made sense, but the owner emphasized that although natives weren't prohibited, people from this world couldn't receive the true teachings.

This meant that it was inevitable that Luo Hanshuang and Aunt Han couldn't take certain items.

The cultivation system over here in the Empire is based on superpowers, awakening elements, which is entirely different from Spiritual Qi.

Judging from the book's context, anything driven by Spiritual Qi shouldn't be coveted by those using Elemental Powers.

Luo Hanshuang was able to take the long sword because it was a cold weapon; having Spiritual Qi would naturally be good, but it could also be used with mere physical strength.

But for other things, compromise really wasn't an option.

In fact, Qu Jianlei could clear out the items from this stone chamber not just because he completed the "Huarong Path."

The key was that his Inner Breath was not purely Elemental Power; it incorporated some unique methods of the Divine Land.

Otherwise, even if he was a truly attributeless awakened from the Empire, he wouldn't have received this privilege.

It's precisely because he was "pseudo-attributeless," following the cultivation system of the Divine Land, that he was recognized.

However, on the other hand, attributeless in the superpower system does not mean they cannot awaken attributes.

Instead, such individuals are actually most suited for the cultivation system of the Divine Land.

This doesn't mean those who have awakened the Five Major Attributes can't follow the Divine Land's cultivation system.

Those with obvious attributes may excel particularly at the early stages if they follow the Divine Land's system. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This is somewhat similar to a "Celestial Spirit Root" or "Top-Grade Spirit Root," with single attributes advancing quickly at first.

But as they develop later, everyone knows that "lonely yin does not grow, and solitary yang does not survive," and a crippled leg won't get you far.

So in the superpower system, attributeless individuals with certain cultivation methods and philosophies are most suitable for the Divine Land's path.

It's also for this reason that Aunt Han was frightened knowing that "Ran Bingluan" was attributeless and proficient in Divine Texts.

The Mist Mansion detected that this person might be a "Divine Land's Miao Descendant"—in other words, a child of the Divine Land lost in the outside world.

Thus, the red carpet was rolled out for them.

Otherwise, merely completing the "Huarong Path" and exiting the simplest method wouldn't necessarily secure such treatment.

Of course, the Pill Book only explained some alchemical basics and expanded some concepts, without such detailed explanations.

But Qu Jianlei isn't foolish; by synthesizing and analyzing various pieces of information, he naturally discovered the reason.

In fact, the Pill Book had provided some clear signals, such as—"You're cultivating incorrectly, that's a mistake!"

Upon receiving this information, Qu Jianlei was indeed a bit dumbfounded and felt particularly wronged.

——I had been quite cautious, and indeed, their cultivation wasn't the same system.

In such a scenario, they still told me I was wrong, which was really... quite frustrating.

However, there's no rush to settle this matter! Qu Jianlei composed his emotions and looked toward the final black bottle.

Qi Recovery Pill... After pondering for a moment, he still shook his head, "I'm not taking this bottle."

"Why?" Luo Hanshuang was anxious upon hearing, "I just said it might be a Qi Recovery Pill, not necessarily it is."

"It's such a big bottle, with many chances for trial and error. If you're hesitant, you can take it and sell it to me!"

Qu Jianlei glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, then laughed, "Whether acting as a person or doing things, one must know when to stop; excessive behavior is detrimental."

"You're really..." Luo Hanshuang paused nonchalantly and shook her head, "So stubborn."

"Hanshuang!" Aunt Han sternly shouted, her face extremely stern, "Don't speak nonsense, apologize to Jianlei!"

"Forget it," Qu Jianlei waved his hand, smiled indifferently, "A child's angry words, should I hold it against her?"

"Brother Jianlei," Luo Hanshuang awkwardly said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend."

Aunt Han looked at her and sighed helplessly.

"Hanshuang, you're not young anymore. What Jianlei says is wisdom and life experience. You need to learn it well."

Luo Hanshuang blinked a couple of times and voiced a question, "But I think this is just practice. Since the opportunity is present..."

Aunt Han shook her head, "Didn't you gain enough this time? You need to understand when to stop."

Seeing the other party remained silent, she spoke again, "Besides, taking the last item, no one can be sure what reaction will occur!"

"Since this is the case, why not feign ignorance? Success should not be pursued indefinitely."

Luo Hanshuang contemplated for a moment and then slowly nodded, "That's true, since Mist Mansion emphasizes opportunity, it might also value temperament."

"That's right!" Qu Jianlei clapped his hands and spoke with a smile, "If you align with the Celestial Heart above and human principles below, you can advance courageously."

Aunt Han, seeing him laugh, nodded as well, "Hanshuang, how are we supposed to leave?"

Luo Hanshuang pointed to the side door, "We can go out by pushing the door, the three stones above..."

"Leave them for others," Qu Jianlei laughed upon hearing. Indeed, a little miser, "How long have we been in the outer circle?"

Aunt Han looked at her watch, "Just half an hour short of three days... Shall we wait for half an hour and slip out together?"

Indeed, old-timer. Qu Jianlei starts something, and she knows what to do.

Luo Hanshuang hesitated for a moment and then nodded, but felt a bit unsettled at heart.

Slipping out this way is truly low-profile, but... what if others don't know I entered the inner circle?

Eventually, she still possessed a youthful mind and quickly shrugged off this dilemma.

"Brother Jianlei, do you really not recognize those Alien Divine Texts? I feel like you should know something."

Qu Jianlei glanced at her and smiled, "Aunt Han is right, success should not be pursued indefinitely."

"I want to quickly improve myself," Luo Hanshuang responded straightforwardly, "I want to find resources that are most useful to me."

Qu Jianlei shook his head, casually indicating, "Improving too quickly isn't necessarily good, it's easy for the foundation to be unstable."

"I'm already twenty-two," Luo Hanshuang responded sulkily, "It's time for me to consider advancing to B-level."

"Twenty-two..." Qu Jianlei pondered for a moment, nodded, "Indeed, it's time to advance."

Luo Hanshuang couldn't help but roll her eyes: I knew you would show off like this!

She said no more, while Qu Jianlei silently organized the Alchemy Dao knowledge he received.

This knowledge is truly too vast to be digested in a short time; he only felt a slight sensation.

After a while, Aunt Han spoke, "Five more minutes."

That's about right! Qu Jianlei remembered, when entering initially, everyone didn't come at the same time.

He stood up and walked to the door, and those two followed upon seeing.

Qu Jianlei raised his hand to push the door but quietly perceived the reactions behind him: If you want to scheme against me, this is the last chance.

No schemes came, but shortly after, he suddenly paused: Wasn't it supposed to be that we could return?

Outside the door was faint white mist, vaguely seeing several doors opposite, "What is this?"

Luo Hanshuang was puzzled as well, "How could this be? Pushing the door should take us back."

This was completely different from the information she received, she crouched down, slipped under Qu Jianlei's arm, and stepped out.

"Be careful..." Aunt Han couldn't help but shout, wanting to emphasize danger.

Qu Jianlei extended his hand towards her petite body, "Truly not knowing life and death..."

At the moment he grabbed her collar, the surrounding white mist suddenly gathered, creating a whirl.

As the white mist dispersed, the three had already arrived in the hall, surrounded by swaying heads.

"This is..." Aunt Han paused for a moment, looked around to see, realized, "We've returned?"

Qu Jianlei still held Luo Hanshuang, one of her small feet still extending forward.

In a hurry, he let go, covered up with a light cough, "This posture... Not my fault, ha."

Right after, someone exclaimed, "Luo Hanshuang! That's Luo Hanshuang who entered the inner circle!"

(Updated, calling for monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recommendation votes.)