Junior Sister must ascend this time!

Perhaps the backlash from the Condensed Ruins Pearl has nothing to do with who triggered it, but rather with who used their bloodline to break the protective array around it.

Thinking of this, Yun Qing said to Si Mingche, "Let's not use their blood for now."

Shi Yan and Shi Qi breathed a sigh of relief; Yun Qing was still kind after all.

Yun Qing pulled out the spirit of the secret realm again and asked, "It's the formation that's going to backfire, not the Condensing Void Pearl, right?"

The spirit of the secret realm answered truthfully, "Yes."

Yun Qing vigorously rubbed the spirit of the secret realm, "Alright, you almost fooled me!"

The spirit of the secret realm complained, "You didn't even ask..."

Jiang Mian keenly picked up on the information from their conversation and asked, "Junior Sister, what did you mean by 'backlash' just now?"

Yun Qing glanced down at Shi Yan, who was secretly frantically calling for help using his communication jade tablet, and said with a light smile, "Still trying to escape? Let me explain to you what backlash is before you consider whether you want to escape."

Shi Yan's fingers stopped awkwardly. "Wh...what backlash?"

"You think entering the secret realm to obtain the Condensation Pearl is really a trial for the Illusionary Spirit King to choose his successor? You're too naive..."

Yun Qing said, word by word, "That's him choosing a substitute, a ghost!"

Si Mingche and Jiang Mian behaved normally because they had always known that the Phantom King was not a good person.

Shi Yan and Shi Qi grew up in the Illusionary Spirit Palace. The sentence they heard most often was, "Everything your grandfather did was for the Illusionary Spirit Clan. Your goal in life is to learn from the Illusionary Spirit King and eventually become the Illusionary Spirit King."

Shi Yan, who was most "valued" by the Illusionary Spirit King, couldn't believe it. "You're talking nonsense! Grandfather would never treat us like this. Besides managing the Illusionary Spirit Clan, the thing he cares about most is us."

Yun Qing sneered, "Yes, if we don't properly train you, how will you have the strength to enter this secret realm and obtain the Condensing Void Pearl for him?"

She pointed to the formation in front of her and said, "The Condensed Void Pearl is the core of power in this secret realm. The existence of this formation is to punish those who covet the Condensed Void Pearl. Anyone who destroys it will suffer its backlash."

She stared at Shi Yan and Shi Qi, "The consequence of the backlash is the loss of their eyesight, complete loss of spiritual power, and immortality!"

"That's all I have to say. Believe it or not."

Yun Qing didn't want to explain to them so patiently, but she wanted to take a gamble; perhaps these two would lend them a hand.

Ignoring the incredulous expressions of Shi Yan and Shi Qi, she poked the spirit of the secret realm and said, "You swallow this formation."

Spirit of the Mystic Realm: ??? "Why should I be? You're afraid of the backlash, but I'm not?"

Yun Qing: "The formation only works on living things. Are you a living thing?"

The spirit of the secret realm choked; it truly didn't meet the standards of a living being. It could only shudder indignation, "Your words are truly hurtful..."

Yun Qing raised the spirit of the secret realm above the formation, "The backlash only works on living beings with bloodlines. You're just a wisp of spirit, so it can't do anything to you."

The spirit of the secret realm approached briefly, then bounced back, vehemently protesting, "No, it tastes awful. Is there really no other way?"

Yun Qing thought for a moment and then asked, "Is there a cultivation level restriction in this secret realm?"

The spirit of the secret realm didn't know why it asked this, but it still answered honestly, "No, those with lower cultivation levels can't see through the illusion, and those with higher cultivation levels have no need to come in. So it's assumed that everyone who comes in is between Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul."

Yun Qing nodded, "Then you should suppress your cultivation level in the secret realm to the Golden Core stage."

The spirit of the secret realm asked, "Huh? Why?"

"Can't you do it?" Yun Qing sneered. "Then I'll just have to blow up this secret realm."

Si Mingche's fingertips were already poised to unleash explosive tags. "Junior Sister, just give the order, and I'll explode!"

The spirit of the secret realm was so anxious that the whole ball was shaking up and down. "Okay, okay, I can do this little thing."

Jiang Mian couldn't help but ask, "Junior Sister, have you thought of some wicked trick—no, some brilliant idea?"

Yun Qing snapped her fingers. "You guessed right! I plan to bring the Illusionary Spirit King into this!"

Si Mingche and Jiang Mian almost lost their footing. "You... what did you say?"

Even the spirit of the secret realm, who had no legs, felt a little weak in the knees. "You don't really think you can kill the Illusionary Spirit King by suppressing his cultivation to the Golden Core stage? His cultivation has been stable at the Integration stage for hundreds of years. Even if his cultivation level drops, you are still no match for him!"

"And if you fight in here, do you think this secret realm will be preserved? Huh? Answer me!"

Yun Qing turned the spirit of the secret realm's "head" toward the direction of the Condensing Void Pearl. "Isn't there still this formation? I just want him to reap what he sows."

Before the spirit of the secret realm could even process what was happening, Shi Yan spoke up: "I can help bring in the Ancestral... Illusionary Spirit King."

Shi Qi lowered his head, then looked up again with a changed expression, as if he had made a very important decision. "I can do that too. I can pretend to assassinate him with my older brother and then lure him here."

Since he is unrighteous, they can also be unjust.

Before this, they had heard about the methods the Phantom King used against their father and aunt, but they were unwilling to believe it until it happened to them or harmed their own interests.

Yun Qing smiled and nodded. "Very good."

"However, you don't need to assassinate anyone. You just need to pass on the news that the secret realm is about to collapse to the Illusion King when you leave."

Shi Yan asked suspiciously, "Is it really that simple?"

"It's that simple," Yun Qing continued. "He's been planning for the Condensing Void Pearl for so many years, he doesn't think he'll let the secret realm collapse."

Before Shi Yan and Shi Qi left, Yun Qing added, "Remember to give a shout near Shi Nian's palace too!"

Jiang Mian immediately understood, "Are you trying to kill two birds with one stone?"

Yun Qing clapped her hands. "Yes. There's going to be a tough battle later. Let's take a breather and prepare."

…………

Chengtian Sect.

Pei Shubai had just completed the mission assigned by the sect and rushed back to Qingyun Peak. He'd been gone for so many days; had his junior brothers and sisters blown Qingyun Peak into a crater again…?

However, when he landed, his first impression was of silence, a silence that was frightening, and he couldn't see them on Qingyun Peak either.

"Where are my junior brothers and sisters?"

"Where are my fellow junior brothers and sisters? Did they all die from their own foolishness?"

It's understandable that the second junior sister hides in the weapon-refining room every day to refine weapons, but the three of them are definitely not the kind of people who stay put.

So he rushed to Tianxuan Peak to find Xuanwei.

Pei Shubai was furious when he learned that the three of them had gone to the Phantom Spirit Clan alone.

They've completely forgotten what respect for teachers means. "How could Master agree to this?! How could the Sect Leader agree to this?!"

"What will happen if they encounter danger in the Illusionary Spirit Clan, given their cultivation levels? Who will protect them?!"