Mortal: I really didn't want to be reborn as Zi Ling!

In the pavilion in the distance.

Jin Kui stood with his hands behind his back. He had just watched Zhou Yuan rescue the group of Qi Refining cultivators from the illusion array and make clear arrangements for the onlookers. A satisfied smile was still on his lips.

Although his cheap apprentice was a handful, her mother was a very considerate person.

But when he heard the word "concubine," his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

His fingers clenched slightly, and his knuckles made a cracking sound.

He was the Grand Elder of the Star Palace, a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, and one of the top cultivators in the Chaotic Star Sea.

What kind of woman haven't I seen?

He was inexplicably portrayed as a lecherous old man who lusts after women?

Unfortunately, the rumor only started because he had taken on a disciple, making it difficult for him to retaliate.

Jin Kui took a deep breath, his sinister gaze lingering on the young cultivator's face for a moment before he subtly withdrew his gaze.

He remembered what the boy looked like.

"but--"

Putting aside all these messy rumors, the fact that Zi Ling was able to achieve Core Formation at the age of eighty-one is certainly something for his master to be proud of.

Thinking of this, Jin Kui's mood improved a bit.

For so many years, the two saints have been in seclusion, and almost all the affairs of the Star Palace have fallen on his shoulders.

Those elders, powerful families, and affiliated forces treated him with utmost respect on the surface, but behind his back, they each had their own agendas.

The Sixth Elder's actions on Kui Xing Island had been giving him a headache for years, and the underhanded tactics of both the righteous and demonic factions had never ceased.

If Zi Ling can grow up quickly, it will only benefit the Star Palace and Jin Kui.

Jin Kui's gaze passed over the pavilion railing and landed on the cave below, where the spiritual light was gradually fading. His eyes gleamed.

"It seems that it's only been about twenty years since that place opened."

Jin Kui muttered to himself, tapping his fingers lightly twice on the pavilion railing, as if he were considering something.

The Void Heaven Palace is the greatest opportunity in the entire Chaotic Star Sea.

Every time the Void Heaven Palace opens, countless cultivators fight tooth and nail for the Heaven-Mending Pill.

As for the Heaven-Mending Pill, it's no exaggeration to say that for a cultivator like Zi Ling with three spiritual roots, it's the best stepping stone to the Nascent Soul stage.

Although with Zi Ling's special physique, even without the Heaven-Mending Pill, it would not be difficult for her to reach the Nascent Soul stage.

However, if she wants to go further and glimpse the glimmer of light at the late Nascent Soul stage or even the Divine Transformation stage, the Heaven-Mending Pill's role in compensating for insufficient spiritual root aptitude becomes indispensable.

"As the master, I should at least offer a decent apprenticeship gift."

Jin Kui muttered to himself, then frowned.

One Heaven-Mending Pill? That still seems a bit insufficient.

Speaking of which, when he formally accepted her as a disciple, he only gave her a magic artifact. Although he later spoke up for her in front of the two saints, in Zi Ling's opinion, apart from his impressive reputation, this master did not seem to have given her any substantial benefits.

Jin Kui was unusually somewhat guilty.

He was pondering whether he should prepare a few more things for Zi Ling. The Void Heaven Palace could bring out more than just the Heaven-Mending Pill; there were also some ancient treasures, pill formulas, and even spiritual materials that were quite good.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed sharply.

"This is--"

Just a moment ago, he suddenly felt the divine sense of a cultivator of the same level sweeping around him.

That divine sense was extremely concealed, like a gossamer thread that swept lightly across a radius of a hundred miles. The moment it touched him, it receded like a tide, collapsing instantly, so fast that it was almost an illusion.

But Jin Kui absolutely refused to believe that it was an illusion.

He had been trapped in the mid-Nascent Soul stage for over two hundred years, and his foundation was so solid that he was confident he could even exchange two blows with a late-Nascent Soul opponent.

To be able to conceal themselves to this extent within his perception range, the other party must be at least at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, or even—at the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"No. This divine sense—"

Jin Kui's brows furrowed more and more, and his usual calm expression vanished without a trace.

The aura of that divine consciousness felt both familiar and strange to him; he must have sensed this person's divine consciousness somewhere before.

But strangely, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't remember who it was.

Could it be that an elder who has been in seclusion for many years sensed the commotion here and happened to come out of seclusion?

Or was it some reclusive old monster who was disturbed by the extraordinary phenomenon of Zi Ling forming her core?

Jin Kui's expression shifted, and after standing still for a moment, he no longer hesitated and disappeared from the pavilion in a flash.

This matter must be thoroughly investigated.

Tianxing City is the core and most important location of the Star Palace, and it must not be lost during the seclusion of the two saints.

If some old monster has infiltrated Tianxing City, he must immediately ascertain the other party's identity and purpose.

Inside the cave.

Zi Ling sat cross-legged on the futon, her slender, fair hands pressed against her chest, and she exhaled a long breath. A rare look of lingering fear appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face.

Just moments ago, when she had successfully condensed her golden core and was in the most joyful and relaxed state of mind, the Great Evolution Technique suddenly broke through to the fourth level without any warning.

It wasn't that she actively tried to break through the bottleneck, but rather that the third barrier that had trapped her for many years collapsed on its own the moment the golden core was formed.

A surge of immense divine power erupted from the depths of her consciousness like a flood bursting its banks, instantly pouring into her limbs and bones. The resulting dizziness was several times stronger than when she first cultivated the Great Evolution Technique.

She gritted her teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, and then was pleasantly surprised to find—

Her divine sense covered an area of ​​120 miles.

What does this mean?

The range of a normal Nascent Soul cultivator's divine sense is no more than a hundred miles.

Her spiritual sense not only far surpassed the level of the Core Formation stage, but was even stronger than that of an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator.

In future battles, her advantage in spiritual awareness alone will be enough to give her the upper hand.

Overjoyed, she subconsciously unleashed her full divine sense.

Then she saw the figure standing in the pavilion with his hands behind his back.

Jin Kui.

Her cheap master was standing in a pavilion five miles away, gazing in the direction of her cave with a complicated expression.

Zi Ling's heart skipped a beat.

She almost instinctively withdrew her consciousness.

Only after she took it back did she realize what she had just done.

She used her divine sense to scan a cultivator at the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm.

Although it was only a fleeting glance, and although the other party didn't seem to notice immediately, it was still Jin Kui after all.

"I wonder if Master has discovered it was me."

Zi Ling frowned slightly.

Although Jin Kui is his master, in a sense, the stronger he is, the happier Jin Kui should be.

But in this world of cultivation where old coins are everywhere, she knows a golden rule better than anyone else.

The more you reveal your hand, the greater the chance of being outmaneuvered and killed.

Why was Han Li able to survive to the end in the original novel?

It wasn't because he was that strong, at least not in the early stages.

It's not because he's hiding his trump cards so well that his enemies always underestimate him, and he always manages to pull out something new to turn the tide of battle.

Zi Ling suppressed her unease, regained her composure, and carefully contained her newly awakened divine sense within the cave.

She looked down at her dantian.

The four colors of gold, blue, cyan, and purple complement each other, and each rotation brings forth the powerful true essence in the dantian, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to fluctuate.

The golden core formed from three times the size of her dantian, combined with the purification effect of the Three Revolutions Rejuvenation Technique, and the spiritual boost from the breakthrough in the Great Evolution Technique, greatly increased her confidence.

Currently, his strength far surpasses that of Han Li, who is at the same level.

The thought that Han Li hadn't yet formed his core made a meaningful smile appear on Zi Ling's lips.

She stood up and stretched her somewhat stiff legs.

On the stone door of the secret chamber, the spiritual light left over from the formation of the Golden Core had gradually faded. Through the crack in the door, one could vaguely hear Wen Siyue outside gesturing frantically to her mother and Fan Jingmei, her voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

From time to time, her mother's concerned voice could be heard from the side.