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

"It's the Deep-Eyed Spirit Beast?!" Ying Li was indescribably shocked. She never expected that she would see the only Deep-Eyed Spirit Beast on the Spirit Realm Continent in the illusion of Bixia Palace.

The alluring man smiled faintly and remained silent, stroking the Deep-Eyed Beast with both hands. When he first raised Wanwan, she was only the size of an ordinary puppy, but now she had grown so tall. She was five zhang tall and about ten zhang long. Although she was the size of a small beast, she was already a behemoth compared to ordinary spirit beasts.

The deep-eyed spirit beast tilted its head to look at Ying Li, a flash of red light in its eyes, which was extremely similar to Ying Li's eyes. It seemed that it was indeed the deep-eyed one. When Wanwan saw Ying Li's eyes, she was first taken aback, and then a hint of hatred appeared in her eyes. "Roar!" With another shout, Ying Li felt a strong wind blowing in his face, making it impossible for him to stand.

"Alright, Wanwan, this girl is a good person. She doesn't have your clan's blood on her hands, so I can't take you away now. You should rest in Bixia Palace for now. When the opportunity arises, I will take you away from here." The alluring man shouted, and only then did Wanwan withdraw her murderous aura towards Ying Li. She glared at her fiercely before slowly walking back into the cave and never coming out again.

"Girl, the exit is closing, let's get out of here quickly!" The alluring man watched as the light behind him gradually disappeared, then pulled Ying Li up and channeled his spiritual energy, finally rushing out before the exit closed.

Ying Li also suppressed her shock. She knew what had happened in this illusion, but she pretended not to hear or see it. If it were to spread, she would probably suffer the consequences later.

Jiang Yunhe watched the last glimmer of light disappear from the illusion before finally letting out a sigh of relief. He wondered what treasure the girl had obtained within the illusion. It's not wrong for someone to enter an illusion to obtain treasures, since the martial arts techniques within are meant for the disciples of Bixia Palace to cultivate. However, some of these techniques are exceptionally fierce, and some even employ special illusionary traps, making them unattainable for ordinary disciples.

Ying Zhe and Ying Xue were already waiting outside. When they saw Ying Li come out, their expressions softened. But when they saw that Ying Li had the third level token, the spirit pigeon, the crowd erupted in cheers.

"What?! There's actually a girl who passed all three challenges in a row?! That's unbelievable!"

"I thought it was already quite an achievement that Jia Gen and He Qiang could pass this year, but I didn't expect that a little girl could also pass. It seems that girl is quite interesting! And her appearance is sweet with a touch of mystery. I wonder what she tastes like?!"

"Look, that's Ying Li with her deep pupils, a legendary figure among this year's new disciples. As expected of her terrifying talent, becoming a lower-level disciple should be a piece of cake for her!"

"This is Ying Li?! How come she's so small?!"

"..."

People were buzzing with discussion, some even coveting Ying Li's position. But Jia Gen and He Qiang, who had passed through first, remained silent. They had both followed closely behind Ying Li through the three trials; if others found out, it would be disastrous—they had no face to lose! Ying Li ignored them and walked up to Ying Zhe, asking, "Second Brother, how are you?"

Ying Zhe stuck out his tongue, his face slightly flushed. He was happy for Ying Li becoming a lower-level disciple, and also for himself and Ying Xue. Although he and Ying Xue had only passed the first test, becoming ordinary disciples meant they wouldn't have to return to their hometown, which was already a very good result. He didn't dare to dream of anything more. Hearing Ying Li's question, he quickly replied, "My third sister and I are naturally not as capable as my youngest sister, but the fact that none of the three of us have to return to the family is a great honor for the Ying family!"

Ying Li then revealed a relieved smile. Being able to cultivate with them in Bixia Palace was naturally excellent. Yue Wei and An Yao also passed the first test and came over happily. The group chatted for a while, accompanied Ying Li to receive the servants of the lower-level disciples, and then returned to their respective residences.

Ying Li is now a lower-level disciple, and in principle she could find a residence closer to Bixia Palace to live in. However, she still wanted to live with the Ying family, so she did not move. Instead, she returned to Xiaoshan Pavilion with Ying Zhe and Ying Xue.

After chatting with Ying Zhe and Ying Xue for a while and seeing off Yi Bicheng who came to offer his congratulations, Ying Li picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Ying Wuyou and Ying Qishan, explaining in detail their situation here. He then, together with Ying Zhe and Ying Xue, sent away the ordinary disciples who wanted to curry favor with him before entering his own courtyard.

The fawning faces of those people flashed through Ying Li's mind, and her expression changed. Sure enough, the strong are respected. She was only a lowly disciple, yet so many people were giving her gifts and flattering her. If she became a high-ranking disciple, the threshold of this mansion would probably be worn down.

"I'll think about these useless things for now. I'll deal with them after I become a top disciple." With that thought, Ying Li closed the doors and windows, then took out the ancient book he had kept hidden for a long time. The yellowish-brown dirt was deeply embedded in the leather, indicating its great age. Turning to the first page, a strong smell of ink wafted out, and the four characters "Frost Flying Sword Dance!" came into view.

The alluring man, who had been resting to the side, suddenly became serious after catching a glimpse of those words out of the corner of his eye. The martial arts technique looked so familiar. After a moment's thought, he suddenly understood and walked over to Ying Li, saying, "This is the Frost Dance Technique! A peerless skill created by the founding master of your Bixia Palace. Girl, you've hit the jackpot!"

Ying Li listened to the Frost Dance Technique with a bewildered expression. She had never heard of this martial art before, and she didn't even know who the founding master of the Bixia Palace was. She only knew that the Bixia Palace had existed for a very long time, and that it had slain countless villains from the Ghost Realm during the war between humans and ghosts, making great contributions to the human world. Therefore, it became a first-class sect on the Spirit Realm Continent. As for who the founding ancestor was, no one really knew. Some said he was a handsome young man who became a Spirit Lord at the age of ten, a genius among geniuses. Others said that the founding ancestor was a woman with a charming and beautiful appearance, who built the Bixia Empire with the men who fell at her feet.

However, it's just a legend, since all those who had seen the Bixia Palace Ancestor are dead.

Seeing Ying Li's bewildered expression, the alluring man slammed his hand on the table and sat down in front of him, saying, "You don't even know these things? It seems that Bixia Palace is getting worse and worse. But you can also see it. Just look at today's assessment. So many people, yet only a few passed. The quality of the students is truly astonishing! However, it's understandable. After all, you are all children. To be able to find so many experts with Soul Cultivation Level 6 or above to be ordinary disciples, Bixia Palace does have some ability."

"Without further ado, the ancestor of Bixia Palace was once a beautiful young woman. She became a Spirit Lord at the age of twelve, commanding countless divine beasts and naturally attracting numerous followers. Because of her exceptional talent, she caught the eye of a member of the Mu Clan on the Spirit Realm Continent, who wanted to marry her. However, due to her fiery personality and disdain for the Mu Clan member, she angrily shaved off half of her hair to signify that she would never marry again. She then fled to the current location of Bixia Palace to establish her sect and subsequently disappeared from the Spirit Realm Continent. This Frost Dance Technique was created by that young woman. She dedicated her life to creating an extremely powerful martial art suitable for her own physique, and it is said that she used this technique to slay many Ghost Realm Kings."

As he finished speaking, the alluring man narrowed his eyes slightly, and a chill emanated from his body.

Ying Li, oblivious to the situation, countered, "Since this ancestor is so powerful, capable of establishing a palace, why did he shave half his head of hair? Isn't that a contradiction? If he didn't like it, he could have just defeated him. Why should he have to put himself through that?"

"You don't know this, but the Mu Clan has been the ruler of the Spirit Domain Continent since ancient times. Of the four Spirit Lords who have emerged in the Spirit Domain Continent throughout history, three came from the Mu Clan. With such a domineering background and strength, how could a little girl possibly provoke her? Although she's powerful, she's ultimately just an ordinary Spirit Lord, and I've heard she's only at the first level of the Gathering Spirit Lord realm. Compared to the Mu Clan, which has produced three Spirit Lords, even if they're just a relative, a single move can have far-reaching consequences. She could only run away and suffer humiliation. I think she poured her heart and soul into creating this martial art because she was resentful of the bullying from that Mu Clan relative. That's why I said, girl, you've struck gold! There are only about a thousand Spirit Lords in the Spirit Domain Continent right now. Your grandfather is quite powerful, but his family is too small, and his descendants aren't very capable. Even if your grandfather had reached the peak of the third level of the Spirit Lord realm when he was young, standing before this Bixia Ancestor, he would only be crushed!"

Ying Li was utterly shocked. She hadn't expected the Palace Mistress of Bixia Palace to be so powerful. She had become a Spirit Lord at the age of twelve, and at her strongest, she had reached the peak of the first stage of the Gathering Spirit Lord realm. Her Jin'an Kingdom only had less than ten Spirit Lords, and Jin'an Kingdom was one of the nine strongest nations in the Spirit Realm Continent in terms of spiritual energy. Compared to her, the power of the Bixia Palace Ancestor was terrifyingly astonishing, and she was a girl! Putting aside the difference in physical strength between men and women, just considering the various obstacles that girls face in cultivating spiritual energy, Ying Li couldn't help but sigh, "Too strong, that woman is truly too strong."

Ying Li opened the Frost Dance Manual, and the profound methods of cultivating spiritual energy instantly flooded her mind. Every sentence was invaluable, and with each sentence she deciphered, the next became even more difficult. Besides marveling at the power of the Palace Mistress of Bixia Palace, Ying Li secretly resolved to become as powerful as her, so that no one would dare bully the Ying family again!

"Wait, I remember that the Frost Dance Technique can only be cultivated at the Spirit Cultivation stage. You are currently only at the top level of Soul Cultivation, and your spiritual energy is insufficient. Cultivation will definitely backfire. First, raise your spiritual power to the Spirit Cultivation stage, and it won't be too late to cultivate this technique!" The alluring man reminded Ying Li when he saw his anxious appearance.

Yingli paused, put down the book, and poured out all the spiritual herbs her grandfather had given her when she left home—a total of one hundred and fifty herbs, plus the twenty Lingluo grasses she received as a reward for passing the test. She wondered if these would help her break through to the spiritual cultivation stage.

His entire body gathered spiritual energy, and a vortex of spiritual energy enveloped the high-grade spiritual herbs on the ground. The spiritual power swirled and danced continuously, causing the herbs on the ground to shrink little by little. The spiritual power within was constantly absorbed by Ying Li into his dantian. Seeing that the spiritual herbs on the ground were becoming fewer and fewer, Ying Li still did not feel any breakthrough. Could it be that the gap between spiritual cultivation and soul cultivation was so large that even absorbing these spiritual herbs could not help him break through?!

Just as Ying Li was feeling somewhat disappointed, a faint spiritual energy began to emanate from his dantian. The white light on the withered bone ring on his right hand flickered slightly, and with a "crack!" sound, the last spiritual herb was absorbed into dry grass. Ying Li was overjoyed; he had finally reached the first stage of spiritual cultivation!

It seems that the boundary between spiritual cultivation and soul cultivation is quite large, and it will definitely be more difficult to break through in the future. For now, let's just take it one step at a time!