Time slowly trickled by. Ye Chuxue smoothly passed through one stage after another, but Song Wanning remained motionless, still stuck on the first.

The aura around her body fluctuated unstably. Her face, split into one side of yin and one of yang, looked both comical and terrifying.

Mu Zixu couldn’t help but snort.

"A person with a corrupt heart... so what if she entered my Inheritance Hall?"

"Isn’t she just going to be stuck on the first stage forever?"

No matter how he looked at Song Wanning, he found her disagreeable.

It was as if their very natures repelled each other; some people were simply destined not to get along.

Wang Yang sighed at his side. "To hold on for this long, this woman is certainly strong-willed. It’s just a pity she’s putting it to the wrong use."

If she had cultivated diligently, she might have achieved great things.

What a pity!

He shook his head, filled with deep regret.

The moment his words fell, something changed with Song Wanning.

The Demonic Qi and Spiritual Energy, which had been coexisting peacefully, suddenly grew volatile and began launching frenzied attacks on each other.

They rampaged and roared, vying for dominance as if trying to tear Song Wanning’s sanity to shreds.

The final moments of her past life replayed themselves, and an endless hatred once again submerged Song Wanning, attempting to awaken the deepest evil in her heart.

To awaken her madness.

Song Wanning spat out another mouthful of blood. Her Dantian was already ravaged and full of wounds.

But upon closer inspection, her expression was unexpectedly serene, a stark contrast to the violent aura emanating from her.

Deep within her Sea of Consciousness, there had always been a small, hidden corner.

In it were the wonderful times of her master’s careful tutelage, the happy memories of her parents’ love and support, and the vibrant years of her own unyielding cultivation.

It was also one of the few things that had sustained Song Wanning through those dark times.

And now, it was struggling to help her persevere.

"Wan Ning, your comprehension is extraordinary. Your achievements on the path of the Sword Dao will surely surpass even Qingyuan’s.

But what is too rigid is easily broken. I worry that if you walk the path of slaughter, you will create too much carnage..."

Her master’s teachings echoed faintly in her ears. Back then, he would always gently pat her head, telling her that above the Cultivation World was the Spirit Realm, and above the Spirit Realm was the Immortal Realm.

As long as she cultivated diligently, she could surely ascend to those vast, starry heavens and witness a new world.

Her master, worried she would eventually lose control of herself if she walked the path of slaughter, had her learn Alchemy instead.

Her talent for Alchemy was not outstanding.

But Song Wanning was never one to admit defeat. Since she had started learning Alchemy, she was determined to become the best.

While others ate, drank, and made merry, she practiced Alchemy.

While others traveled and explored, she practiced Alchemy.

Besides Alchemy and swordsmanship, the only other thing in her life was Gu Qingyuan.

Back then, he would take meticulous care of her. If he came across something she liked, he would travel any distance to bring it back for her.

When she was in pain and wanted to give up, it was Gu Qingyuan who sat with her in the Snow Domain for three days and three nights.

But when she finally refined the Heavenly Yuan Nourishing Heart Pill and excitedly told Gu Qingyuan, he coldly demanded she hand over the Elixir Pill.

Song Wanning had never doubted the sincerity of a loving heart.

But such hearts are fickle, impossible to grasp, impossible to hold.

It was better to just throw it away.

Yet in her past life, she couldn’t see this, stubbornly trying to win back Gu Qingyuan’s heart.

She had turned her life into a joke.

Song Wanning smiled self-deprecatingly. ’Perhaps it was my own unyielding nature, my refusal to admit defeat, that made me cling so stubbornly to something so illusory.’

’But in that pursuit, I lost myself and threw away the earnest hopes of my parents and my master.’

Song Wanning’s eyes snapped open. She abruptly raised her hand, her fingers forming the grip of a sword hilt, and slashed viciously forward.

This strike severed her lingering attachments to the past.

This strike sundered her naive hopes for love.

This strike carved out her new beginning!

This strike forged her future!

Deep within her Sea of Consciousness, a Golden Small Sword suddenly shot upward, erupting in a dazzling light that enveloped the entire room.

The once-rampant Demonic Qi was now like a mouse that had seen a cat, trembling in fear.

It frantically burrowed into the corners of her body, looking for a place to hide.

The golden light flickered for only a few seconds before fading, as if nothing had happened at all.

Song Wanning slowly opened her eyes. The aura around her stabilized; she had suppressed the Demonic Qi.

She tilted her head, a smirk playing on her lips as she glanced upward.

Wanton and defiant!

Her gaze seemed to say:

’See? I’m still alive and well!’

Mu Zixu slammed a hand on the stone table in annoyance. "How arrogant! She merely suppressed the Demonic Qi; does she really think she can rest easy now?"

"What an ignorant brat!!!"

’That glance just now was a clear provocation aimed at me!’

"As long as I don’t approve, she can forget about receiving any inheritance from my Medicine King Sect!"

As an Alchemy Grandmaster, when had Mu Zixu ever been provoked like this?

’To be so arrogant right in front of me!’

"The girl hasn’t had it easy. You don’t need to be so malicious toward her."

Wang Yang frowned, looking at Mu Zixu’s exasperated expression.

Her ability to suppress the Demonic Qi in her body and use her swordsmanship to break the stalemate proved she was no simple character.

"I doubt she wanted to birth a Heart Demon. In fact, I find her situation quite pitiful."

A trace of regret flickered in Wang Yang’s eyes. ’If only the young woman could have completely eliminated her Heart Demon just now. What a shame.’

’I wonder what she went through to breed such a powerful Heart Demon.’

"Hmph! And here you are, siding with an outsider!"

Mu Zixu hadn’t expected his friend to stick up for that young girl, and a flash of displeasure crossed his face.

Still, he said no more.

’In any case, as long as I don’t yield, she can forget about getting the inheritance!’

’I refuse to believe I can’t handle a mere girl!’

Mo Yang Immortal Monarch listened to their argument with a blank expression, his gaze fixed on Song Wanning. The sword at his side vibrated intermittently, expressing its excitement.

He reached out and pressed a hand on it, signaling for it to quiet down.

But the sword only trembled more violently in response.

Feeling helpless, Mo Yang Immortal Monarch gently reached out and held it still, and only then did it quiet down.

Back in the great hall, Song Wanning had already pushed open the second door.

As an Alchemy Grandmaster from the Lower World, the trials before her were not difficult.

Even though the Medicine King Sect’s system of Alchemy differed from her own, she quickly grasped its secrets. In a matter of minutes, she had passed the stage and moved on to the next.

"Oh? This young woman actually has such comprehension for Alchemy. Zixu, look!"

Wang Yang’s eyes lit up, and his face shone with pleasant surprise.

"She’s a Sword Cultivator, yet she also knows Alchemy!"

A Sword Cultivator who knows Alchemy is a rare sight indeed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Mu Zixu’s expression darkened; he had clearly noticed Song Wanning’s excellent performance as well.

"Hmph! She already knew Alchemy. It’s just a cheap trick!"

"If we’re talking about talent, the one in white is still a cut above."

Wang Yang: "..."

’Mu Zixu is just hopelessly prejudiced against her!’

He couldn’t be bothered to argue with Mu Zixu. A faint sense of anticipation for Song Wanning began to stir within him.

It was then he realized that everyone’s attention seemed to be on the girl in black.

The girl in white had become a mere foil.