The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

"Cough cough..." Ying Li barely managed to get out of Ying Luo's sight, and couldn't help but cough twice. The difference was the difference. Even though she won with speed, how could her body, which hadn't been trained in the past fifteen years, compare to Ying Luo's? That palm strike just now had almost exhausted all her spiritual power, but the damage to Ying Luo was just a trivial superficial injury.

"Girl, I didn't expect you to be so short but so ambitious. That kid Dongfang Lin is a genius in spiritual studies, what do you have to fight him with?! You're already having such a hard time with Ying Luo, let alone Dongfang Lin who is stronger than Ying Luo!" Blue light appeared on the bone ring at the right time, and the sneer of the monstrous man reached Ying Li's ears.

"Grandpa just looked at my bracelet. Did he figure it out?" Ying Li asked, as if she had thought of something. If her grandfather knew about this, she didn't know whether he would be happy or worried. Her skills were not high, but she had obtained the Bone Ring that the entire Spirit Realm Continent wanted to fight over. If they came to take it, Ying Li would probably be devoured even if it was just bones!

"No, although your grandfather is a Spirit Lord, he's only at the third stage. Coupled with his frail and ailing body, to him it's just an ordinary black bracelet, like everyone else. The Bone Ring only shows illusions to the weak; only the truly strong can see the real thing," the monstrous man said, then asked after a moment, "What are your plans now?"

Ying Li clenched her fists, staring intently at the bone ring, her eyes grave. "I must become stronger. No matter the method, I will defeat Dongfang Lin at next month's registration exam and avenge my humiliation!"

The devilishly handsome man smiled slightly. "It's not that there's no way, but you'd better think it through, girl. There's no such thing as a free lunch. You have to pay for what you want to gain. There's a Spirit Cultivation Mountain to the east of Ye Ling City, rich in spiritual energy, suitable for cultivation. However, violent spirit beasts often appear there. If you want to become stronger quickly, you can only try going to the Spirit Cultivation Mountain. Whether you go or not is up to you."

After saying that, he hid in the Bone Ring and never spoke again.

Ying Li gritted her teeth. She had endured too much humiliation and hardship in the past fifteen years. She had to endure everything, because she had no ability to protect or bear the burden. Sorrow outweighed joy in her life. Even if she were to die, she would die with dignity in her pursuit of power!

Thinking of this, Ying Li mustered her courage and left the Ying family gate. As the sun set, Ying Li, carrying her bundle, finally arrived at the foot of Lingxiu Mountain. It was not yet autumn, but the foot of Lingxiu Mountain was covered with withered rocks and devoid of vegetation, not at all like a place rich in spiritual energy. Could there be some mystery at the top of the mountain?

Ying Li looked at the winding mountain path, washed away by mudslides and floods, bit her lower lip, turned her bundle around and placed it in front of her, then gripped the rock face and began to climb step by step. For some reason, since their last conversation, the monstrous man in the Bone Ring had not uttered a word since morning. Ying Li had tried to communicate with him along the way, but to no avail.

"Everything depends on yourself," Ying Li muttered to himself. With a sudden upward scramble of his right hand and a leap of his body, he crossed the destroyed, winding mountain path and climbed onto the stone steps.

Standing at the top of the stone steps, Ying Li wiped the fine sweat from his face. The steps stretched endlessly, one after another, their sheer height reaching towards the sky, a truly awe-inspiring sight. Thick clouds enveloped the stone layers, obscuring the view to the horizon. Ying Li smiled bitterly, "How long will this take to climb!"

Despite his complaints, Ying Li continued climbing the desolate spiritual mountain, too exhausted to hear the man's words from the skeleton ring.

The moon disappeared behind the clouds. Ying Li looked around, then turned around and stared in disbelief at how high she had climbed. The bottom of the mountain was pitch black, and the vast Ye Ling City could only be distinguished by the scattered lights.

Thinking that the journey was almost over, Ying Li decided to find a place on the mountaintop to hide and take a nap before continuing his cultivation the next day.

Unexpectedly, just as his thoughts returned, Ying Li felt the mountain tremble, and the stone steps beneath his feet tumbled down with a deafening roar that seemed to shatter the heavens! Ying Li trembled violently, his mind going completely blank!

"Hey, what's going on here? Answer me!" Ying Li shouted at the Bone Ring. All the muscles in Ying Li's back stiffened and turned cold. A dim yellow eyeball appeared behind him and hissed as it slowly moved forward.

Ying Li turned around stiffly. A huge spirit snake was winding its way up the mountain. To her, its yellowish and eerie eyes planted a deep fear deep into Ying Li's heart.

"Hiss!" Another bone-chilling sound rang out as the serpent's neck slithered, its gaping maw lunging towards Ying Li!