Shocking! The female protagonist unlocked her powers by killing people!

"alright."

Seeing Tianyan's serious expression, Ling Yi knew he couldn't get something for nothing this time, so he asked, "How many spirit stones for one clue?"

Tianyan wasn't fooled: [The Mountain and River Mirror only has one clue, requiring only one spirit stone.]

Upon hearing that it only cost one spirit stone, Ling Yi smiled and said, "The price is fair, I'll buy it."

Tianyan Dao: [Dongyang Mirror, I cannot access any further clues.]

"Understood," Ling Yi replied, without saying anything more.

Dongyang Mirror.

Tianyan provided limited clues, so I'll have to find out for myself from now on.

Thinking of this, Ling Yi left the room and knocked on Ye Qingshuang's door.

Ye Qingshuang opened the door, saw Ling Yi, and asked, "Ling Yi, what's wrong?"

Ling Yi said, "I want to go out for a walk and wanted to let you know." She didn't want the others to worry if they didn't see her when they came back.

Upon hearing that Ling Yi was going out, Ye Qingshuang said, "I'll go with you."

Ling Yi was about to go find news of Dongyang Jing when Ye Qingshuang came along. Just as he was about to refuse, he heard Ye Qingshuang say, "I saved up a lot of money before we came. Let's go to the gambling den and place a bet."

"Gambling house?"

"Mmm." Ye Qingshuang nodded: "Every year during the Imperial Grand Competition, the gambling dens will open special betting for people to place bets. If you bet on an underdog to win the top three, you can make a lot of money."

“In previous years I always bet on the top players, but this year I’m betting on you.” Ye Qingshuang put her arm around Ling Yi’s shoulder: “I’m betting all my savings on you. Aren’t I loyal enough?”

Ling Yi was about to say that he would keep it for himself, but before he could speak, Ye Qing Shuang's expression suddenly became extremely serious: "Ling Yi, I'm serious, I really believe you."

"If you can make it into the top ten, not only will you receive a generous reward, but you'll also be able to cultivate in the Dongyang Mirror for ten days. You don't know what the Dongyang Mirror is like..."

"Dongyang Mirror?" Ling Yi interrupted Ye Qingshuang and asked.

Ye Qingshuang nodded: "Yes, Dongyang Mirror."

Ling Yi's eyes flickered. He thought Ye Qingshuang was going to go out and look for her, but he didn't expect that Ye Qingshuang knew.

"Look at my memory." Ye Qingshuang slapped her forehead: "This is your first time in the Dongyang Empire, your first time participating in the Imperial Grand Competition, and you still don't know about the Dongyang Mirror."

"It's alright, I know." Ye Qingshuang didn't mention going to the gambling den anymore, and pulled Ling Yi back into the house to sit down: "I'll tell you slowly."

Ling Yi poured two glasses of water and pushed one of them in front of Ye Qingshuang: "Speak."

Ye Qingshuang said, "Twenty-one years ago, a mountain range appeared in the sky above the Dongyang Empire. It was not a real mountain range, but just its shape, which caused a huge sensation."

"The Dongyang Empire sent many people to investigate, but it's only a form; they can see it but can't touch it, so there's no way to investigate it. But if we leave it alone, no one can rest easy. Right now it's just a form; what if it becomes real one day?"

“That’s a mountain range. If it were to solidify and fall, the Dongyang Empire would likely be destroyed. Because of this, the Dongyang royal family is worried and has sent people to keep an eye on it around the clock. Since the mountain range is so vast and long, they have sent a lot of people to keep an eye on it.”

"A year passed in this state of anxiety. The mountains remained unchanged. Gradually, the empire was no longer as tense as before. But just as the empire began to relax, a door appeared in a section of the mountains."

"After the person in charge of supervision discovered this situation, he immediately reported it to the Empire. The Empire immediately formed a team and sent people to investigate. The dean of the Imperial Academy also went there at the time."

"The exploration team went through the door into some unknown place. When the door reopened, everyone except the dean was dead," Ye Qingshuang said. "After the dean came out, the door closed, and the mountain range disappeared."

"Everyone asked the dean what had happened, but the dean refused to say anything, only saying that it was not a place they could go."

"The Dean didn't want to say much, but when the people from the Dongyang Empire entered such a strange place, the other three great empires all sent people to find out what was going on. The three great empires put pressure on the Dongyang Empire, and the royal family could only ask the Dean to speak. The Dean knew the royal family's difficulties and finally said something."

"He said that as soon as they entered the mountains, they saw a young man in white fighting a giant snake with three heads. The black mist spewed by the snake blotted out the sky. They were only touched by a little bit and turned into a pool of blood. In fact, he was also affected. But when he started to melt, the young man in white threw something to him. He grabbed the thing and lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was in a pitch-black place."

"There was nothing there. He didn't know how long he had been in that dark place until a sound came from the darkness."

"The voice said that he was the one who had dealt with the three-headed python outside. He said that the poisonous mist spewed by the three-headed python could melt people. He had no choice but to trap him in the mirror. Time in the mirror was chaotic and could be stopped or sped up. After he entered the mirror, time in the mirror stopped, and his melting stopped as well. But once he left the mirror, he would continue to melt."

"The Dean is terrified. He is considered one of the top experts in the Dongyang Empire, but he was immediately attacked upon entering that place. The Dean is afraid of turning into a pool of blood, and even more afraid that the mountain range will collapse and the things inside will come out."

"Later, the boy told the dean that although the three-headed python's venom was potent, as long as one immediately cut off the part contaminated by the poisonous mist when attacked, there would be no problem. They were too weak and too slow, which is why they turned into a pool of blood so quickly. The boy helped the dean cut off the hand that was affected by the venom and then sent the dean out of the mirror." Ye Qingshuang said, "The boy said that he and the dean were destined to meet, so he gave the mirror to the dean, told him about some of the mirror's uses, and then sent the dean out of the mountains."

"Actually, everyone felt that there was more than just this one thing, but the dean said that it was only this one thing, and that his hand was indeed broken. No matter how much they pressed him, they wouldn't get anything out of him. So the three empires had no choice but to give up and instead focused their attention on the mirror, asking the dean what the mirror was for."

"The dean told them that the boy helped it set up a mirror, which can be used as a cultivation place," Ye Qingshuang said. "However, there are restrictions on cultivation level; only those at the Spirit Master level and below the tenth-level Spirit General level can enter."

"Although there are restrictions on cultivation level, the flow of time in the mirror is different from that outside. Ten days of cultivation inside is equivalent to one day outside, and a month of cultivation inside is equivalent to three days outside. This is simply a holy land for cultivating people. As soon as the dean mentioned it, the other three great empires were tempted and all wanted it, but the Dongyang Empire would not give it to them. Moreover, that young man said that he had a connection with the dean. If they were to snatch it, no one knows whether the mirror would malfunction or not."

"The three great empires are wary of this and dare not seize it, but they also do not want the mirror to be used exclusively by the Dongyang Empire, because if that happens, the Dongyang Empire will become dominant in just a short time."

"The four great empires started arguing about this, and after half a month, they finally came up with a solution that satisfied all four empires, and that's when the wrangling stopped."