Oh no, I accidentally cultivated three spiritual roots and became an empress!

Qu Xin stared at the Lingyun Sect crowd, searching for Shen Shiqing. She thought to herself that when she got the chance to see Zhong Lingxin alone next time, she would threaten her to impersonate a Lingyun Sect disciple. If she dared not to serve her as a servant, she would expose her.

Meanwhile, Zhong Lingxin was crouching behind Qu Xin, wondering how she could snatch the remaining Soul-Chasing Incense from her.

After crossing the Jade Dragon River, everyone felt an increase in spiritual energy. Those disciples who wanted to advance in the secret realm found a safe place to begin their advancement.

Seeing more and more people leaving the team, Qu Xin became very anxious.

These days, she and the others from the Qingyun Sect have kept a distance of five miles from the Lingyun Sect. She also dared not use her divine sense to check on the Lingyun Sect members, so she did not know whether Shen Shiqing had left the group.

She remembered that Zhong Lingxin had already reached the twelfth level of Qi Refining, and she had also formed a contract with the Nine-Tailed Fox in the secret realm. It was hard to guarantee that she wouldn't advance to the Foundation Establishment stage under the Nine-Tailed Fox's guidance.

She suddenly realized that Zhong Lingxin had most likely already advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage.

No wonder she lost to her twice; it turns out that Zhong Lingxin had already been promoted, but was just pretending not to.

This is truly unfair to Zhong Lingxin.

The nine-tailed fox is indeed a mythical beast, but it's still just a little cub.

It's unclear how Qu Xin could be so blind; she was convinced that Qu Xin had made a contract with the nine-tailed fox, completely unaware that the nine-tailed fox hadn't even grown a second tail yet.

This is understandable for Qu Xin, as her memory is filled with Zhong Lingxin's image of dominating the arena with her nine-tailed fox.

Zhong Lingxin's situation was completely different from Qu Xin's. Ever since she killed the unicorn dragon by the Jade Dragon River, she knew that her divine sense surpassed that of the cultivators who had entered.

The cultivators had just crossed the Jade Dragon River, and the riverbank was still the territory of the Unicorn Flood Dragon, not yet occupied by other demonic beasts.

Therefore, she spread out her divine sense, and the actions of all the cultivators on the riverbank were under her divine sense monitoring.

This includes communications between Qu Xin and Qu Zhihao.

Of course, she couldn't care less about Qu Xin urging Qu Zhihao to take action against Hua Qinglian; that was their business.

All she needs to do is keep Qu Xin in check so she doesn't harm her.

Seeing Qu Xin's eyes constantly glancing in the direction of Lingyun Sect, Zhong Lingxin couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that Qu Xin mistook someone from Lingyun Sect for her?

If you think about it carefully, it's really possible.

Qu Xin must have mistaken someone's scent for hers.

I'm reminded of Comrade Li Yunlong's famous saying, "You're a real talent!"

Qu Xin is indeed a talented person.

In order to implement a talent incentive program, Zhong Lingxin decided to give her a push.

She led several disciples from the Loose Cultivator Alliance to a spot not far from the Qingyun Sect, and deliberately pointed at several Lingyun Sect cultivators who were looking for a safe place to advance their cultivation, saying, "Look, the Lingyun Sect disciples have all dispersed. They must be going to advance their cultivation, right?"

Several disciples from the Loose Cultivator Alliance looked at the dispersing Lingyun Sect disciples and said enviously, "Yes, they've all gone to find places to advance their cultivation."

"This place has always been a good place for advancement. In previous years, most of the disciples who came here, once they reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, advanced in this area. The spiritual energy here is abundant, making advancement easier."

"That's right. Once you advance in rank, your combat power will increase exponentially, making it much easier to go out and gather spiritual herbs together."

"That's right, we're still a bit short of the mark, otherwise we would have been promoted here too."

"I remember when we first came in, that short Lingyun Sect disciple was only at the twelfth level of Qi Refining. How could he have advanced so quickly? Did he have some kind of fortuitous encounter in the secret realm?"

"That's for sure. Even with a fortuitous encounter, one needs sufficient spiritual energy to advance to the twelfth level of Qi Refining."

"Makes sense!"

Qu Xin listened to their conversation and was unsure whether Zhong Lingxin should be promoted.

She looked at the short Lingyun Sect disciple that Zhong Lingxin was pointing at, and he looked exactly like Zhong Lingxin from the last time she met him.

Qu Xin couldn't make up her mind for a moment.

Zhong Lingxin added fuel to the fire: "Look how delicate he is! If I hadn't seen her on the other side of the river, I would have thought she was a female cultivator!"

Qu Xin was startled. Upon closer inspection, the short Lingyun Sect disciple really did look more and more like a female cultivator.

She couldn't help but conclude that it was Zhong Lingxin dressed up.

Her feet involuntarily took two steps forward.

But that Lingyun Sect disciple had already run far away using the Swiftness Talisman.

Qu Xin was very anxious and quickly made up an excuse to catch some fish and shrimp in the river. She urged Gu Yang and the others to leave first and not wait for her, saying she would catch up with them later.

Zhong Lingxin chuckled inwardly, and also made an excuse to leave the disciples of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. She wandered alone into a dense forest, affixed an invisibility talisman and a speed talisman, and chased after the Lingyun Sect disciple, following him at a distance.

Before long, her divine sense detected that Qu Xin was sneaking up on her. To confirm whether it was Zhong Lingxin, she lit the Soul-Chasing Incense again.

The Soul-Chasing Incense confirmed that she was chasing in the right direction.

Qu Xin was overjoyed; this time, she was certain she wouldn't fail.

She had experience with promotions and knew that promotions take time, sometimes as short as three to five days, sometimes as long as half a month.

Then she should take action in about five days.

Zhong Lingxin has three spiritual roots, so her advancement requires more time and spiritual energy, about five days. This is the time when she is desperately absorbing spiritual energy and her dantian is operating at high speed.

As for whether Zhong Lingxin has a defensive formation?

Hehe, she's thought of all sorts of scenarios to deal with Zhong Lingxin.

As far as she knew, Zhong Lingxin's master was a pure Dharma practitioner who did not know the Four Arts.

Moreover, Zhong Lingxin's master never earns spirit stones; he is a cultivator who relies solely on the sect's monthly stipend and contribution points for cultivation.

Such a mentor can only provide Zhong Lingxin with limited resources.

Moreover, Qingyun Sect is only a second-level sect, and the few ninth-grade magic treasures in the sect have long been swallowed up by Linglong Yue.

Because she had such a wealthy father, her mother only gave her eighth-grade magic treasures, never a ninth-grade one.

According to her mother, her father didn't have many items of the ninth rank either.

Moreover, Zhong Lingxin's master was such a poor man during his tribulation; he was so poor that he was ranked among the poorest in the Qingyun Sect.

She boldly speculated that Zhong Lingxin's defensive array was at most an eighth-grade one.

The eighth-grade array-breaking cone and the eighth-grade explosive talisman in her hands could definitely blow up Zhong Lingxin's defensive array and seriously injure her.

This made it convenient for her to force Zhong Lingxin into a contract without saying a word.

Seeing Qu Xin following from afar, Zhong Lingxin bypassed the Lingyun Sect disciples who were preparing for their advancement and found a place to hide.

Qu Xin also saw the short Lingyun Sect cultivator setting up an array in front of a simple cave dwelling.

She was secretly delighted; this time, there was no chance of success!

The short Lingyun Sect cultivator was indeed fiddling with an eighth-grade array plate.

Judging from his pained expression, this array plate is probably his most valuable possession.

Qu Xin sat comfortably cross-legged on a tree, pursing the corners of her mouth.

A second-rate sect is a second-rate sect, and a poor sect is a poor sect. They give their disciple an eighth-grade defensive array, and it's a low-grade one at that.

Now, breaking through the formation is much easier for her!

The short Lingyun Sect cultivator set up a defensive array, then clasped his hands together in front of his chest and muttered a few words to himself, probably praying for a smooth advancement.

Zhong Lingxin sneered. This short Lingyun Sect cultivator had been robbing people in all sorts of ways along the way. No matter what grade of spiritual herbs and fruits they were, he had robbed the disciples of the Loose Cultivator Alliance many times.

Qu Xin also sneered. She sneered that it was no use for Zhong Lingxin to beg. She would definitely break through her defensive formation and make her her servant.

As the short cultivator from Lingyun Sect entered the advancement phase, Zhong Lingxin and Qu Xin both quieted down.

Five days later, a large amount of spiritual energy began to gather on the top of the short male cultivator's head, which was a sign that his dantian was operating at high speed and was about to condense into liquid.

Qu Xin sneered as she leaped down from the tree, holding the array-breaking cone in her hand, and rushed towards the temporary cave where the spiritual energy had begun to rotate.

Zhong Lingxin also sneered, watching Qu Xin court death.

When she used her divine sense to examine the area, she could clearly see that the short Lingyun Sect cultivator had placed three poison pills in the array plate.

The moment Qu Xin breaks the formation, the poison pill shatters. Then the poison will be on Qu Xin's hands.

The excited Qu Xin had no idea about the poison pill. The robe her mother gave her was made of ice silkworm silk, which had the effect of isolating all poisons, so she was naturally not afraid.

Moreover, her mother was afraid she would be poisoned, so she gave her the best antidote.

Holding the formation-breaking cone, Qu Xin sprinted forward and the cone firmly planted itself in the formation.

The short Lingyun Sect cultivator, who was rapidly circulating his spiritual energy, immediately sensed the abnormality in the formation. He cursed under his breath, wondering who the hell was messing with his formation.

There's an unwritten rule among all sects and associations entering the secret realm: because so many disciples advance in this area, no one will disturb another's advancement unless they have a personal grudge, otherwise they'll be besieged by all the other disciples entering the secret realm.