Happy departure! You are able to step on your feet.

The mountain peak she had been standing on had already been flattened.

Not only that, the mountains, rivers, and vegetation had no ability to resist the wind calamity, leaving behind only a barren, exposed land, as if plowed by a giant blade.

“This was only the first disaster?”.

Qin Ximo looked up at the tribulation clouds.

Something terrifying still seemed to be brewing within them.

She knew all of it was targeting her.

The wind, fire, and lightning tribulation — each harder than the last.

The wind disaster earlier had nearly exhausted all of Qin Ximo’s spiritual power, and she barely managed to endure it.

If it had lasted for another hour, she might truly not have been able to hold on unscathed.

Taking advantage of the short pause before the second disaster, the fire tribulation, descended, Qin Ximo hurriedly pulled out several pills from her storage pouch and forced them into her mouth.

Then she stood on her flying sword and began regulating her breath.

From this moment forward, every second mattered.

Any bit of spiritual power she could recover would help.

Besides, she still had a few trump cards she hadn’t used — surviving the remaining two disasters was not impossible.

After an hour, Qin Ximo’s tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open.

She looked up to see several crimson-golden cracks tearing open within the tribulation clouds.

Immediately, she felt the temperature around her rising at a terrifying speed.

What started as dry heat soon ignited the barren land below into a sweeping blaze.

“Heavenly fire has arrived…”.

Qin Ximo murmured.

She did not dare lower her guard.

The current heat wasn’t enough to harm her — not even enough to burn her clothes.

But the true fire tribulation of the three disasters had not yet descended.

Since this calamity was delivered by the Heavenly Dao, it would not easily spare a cultivator attempting to defy the heavens.

After a few breaths, flames burst across the tribulation clouds.

Qin Ximo clearly saw clusters of crimson heavenly fire emerging.

The moment they appeared, they seemed to understand their heavenly mission — carrying the power to burn mountains and boil seas, falling straight toward her.

The closer they got, the more unbearable the heat became.

In the blink of an eye, the heavenly fire reached her.

Qin Ximo had spiritual protection, but even so, she soon felt she could barely endure.

This fire was far beyond mortal flames or even earthfire.

It felt as though it could burn spiritual power itself — Qin Ximo sensed her power evaporating like mist.

Her expression grew solemn.

The tribulation ahead was no longer something she could brute-force her way through.

Clang!

Her sword finally unsheathed.

At this moment, she held nothing back — letting her lifetime of sword comprehension pour entirely into this single strike.

A single slash of sword qi split the heavenly fire before her — a fire that seemed capable of burning until the end of time — cutting it apart, preventing it from rejoining.

As if losing its spirit, the flame weakened, the temperature steadily dropping.

The wind, fire, and lightning tribulations were all manifestations of the Heavenly Dao’s will — they were forms of “Dao” itself.

Qin Ximo’s swordsmanship, having reached such a level, was already infinitely close to Dao.

A sword technique originally meant to harm only tangible things could now extinguish heavenly fire.

At that moment, Qin Ximo felt enlightenment flood her heart.

Something — or someone — appeared before her.

The figure’s face was blurry, their gender indistinguishable, holding a glowing three-foot sword extremely similar to her own.

The figure also swung a sword.

At first glance, it looked ordinary — like the basic strike practiced by a novice at a sword hall.

But to Qin Ximo, it was divine.

Heaven and earth fell silent — only the clear sword cry remained in her ears.

Nothing else.

And the heavenly fires falling from the clouds were all cut apart by that single sword strike…

Qin Ximo blinked, returning to reality.

Everything she experienced felt like only a brief moment.

Yet in reality, the sky was still filled with falling heavenly fire — and the flames were even more numerous.

From above, it looked like a sea of fire descending from the Nine Heavens.

“Was that an illusion?”.

Qin Ximo was still engrossed in the sword struck by that familiar silhouette, unaware she stood in the midst of a blazing inferno.

Her protective spiritual power evaporated within a few breaths, and excruciating heat tore through her flesh and bones, boiling her blood.

Qin Ximo frowned — but didn’t let out a single scream.

In her mind, she replayed that divine sword strike again and again.

Finally, heaven itself seemed to favor her — just as the flames were about to burn through her dantian, Qin Ximo unleashed another sword strike.

This strike looked no different from the last.

But as faint Dao-rhythm emanated from the blade, the surrounding flames froze.

No dramatic scene followed — it was a simple sword.

But unlike the illusion earlier, this time the flames truly vanished.

The sea of fire dissipated into wisps of smoke.

Qin Ximo exhaled deeply, and at the same time, a brilliant golden light escaped her lips.

Within the light was the golden core she had kept inside her dantian.

But now, cracks appeared across its previously smooth surface.

Those cracks aligned perfectly with the nine existing lines etched into her core, as if following a predestined pattern.

Qin Ximo stared at her damaged core, expression complicated.

The nine cracks were the result of her efforts these past ten days.

Each time a crack formed, she clearly sensed a warning descending from the heavens.

Her mind was filled with visions of her own death under divine calamity.

It was the Heavenly Dao’s warning to anyone who defied it.

Cultivation was inherently an act of defiance.

Shattering one’s golden core to form a nascent soul crossed heaven’s bottom line.

Qin Ximo had always been afraid.

Each time she tried, she stopped immediately.

But this time, she ignored the chaos in her mind — and shattered her core along all nine lines in one go.

Thus, she triggered Heavenly Fury.

Now, the Nascent Soul tribulation was nearly over.

It was time to shatter the core and form the nascent soul.

Heaven momentarily calmed — and then came the lightning tribulation.

The most terrifying of the three disasters.

It could destroy the body and damage the soul.

A single mistake meant utter ruin.

BOOM!

A heaven-shaking thunderclap erupted.

Qin Ximo barely saw a streak of lightning before a bolt struck her directly.

Crack crack crack crack…

Nine faint cracking sounds drowned within the thunder.

Qin Ximo looked miserable — her robes torn and scorched, black smoke rising.

She staggered, nearly falling from her flying sword.

But her gaze remained fixed on the golden core she had just spat out — or rather, what was no longer a core.

Instead, a transparent little figure floated before her, unclothed, faceless, vaguely shaped like a woman.

“This… is my nascent soul?”.

Qin Ximo murmured in disbelief.

But soon, she reached out toward it.

The tiny figure, like a newborn child, curiously leaned forward and touched her fingertip.

It clearly wasn’t physical, yet Qin Ximo felt a merging sensation through her fingertips.

They were one.

The nascent soul then happily dove into Qin Ximo’s forehead, entering the Niwan Palace.

The place where spiritual consciousness was born — and where the nascent soul would now reside.

Qin Ximo froze, then joy surged through her.

She had successfully formed a nascent soul.

Heaven seemed to realize her breakthrough and roared in anger — more bolts of lightning descended.

Qin Ximo laughed boldly.

“Come!

Let me test your power!

Your lightning may be fierce, but my sword is no less sharp!”.

…

“Do you hear that?”.

Lu Qianyun suddenly said to Cao Xueyan, who was still coldly ignoring her.

“What?”.

Cao Xueyan didn’t want to respond, but the woman — who had been lounging like a lazy cat the whole time — suddenly rose and walked to the door.

With a gentle push, the door opened.

Blinding light poured inside, forcing Cao Xueyan to squint.

Once her eyes adjusted, she finally looked up.

It was a sight she had never seen — a sword stretching through the heavens, its tip piercing the tribulation clouds, confronting the roaring thunder head-on.

“It’s Qin Ximo.”.

Lu Qianyun said softly, leaning against the doorway.

“She’s broken through to Nascent Soul.”.

Cao Xueyan didn’t need the reminder — the simulator had already reacted.

【Task Three Completed — Reward Granted】

【Reward: Qingqiu Fox Bloodline Concentration Increased】

【Thanks to the auspicious qi you provided, Qin Ximo comprehended the essence of the sword at the critical moment and broke through to Nascent Soul.

Good job — you let her experience being a main character!

Now, your Qingqiu bloodline has reached the level of Three-Tailed Fox.

Your ability to grant auspicious luck to others has greatly increased.

Do you know what that means?

You can now juggle three love interests.

Go try it — you’ll thank me later!】

Cao Xueyan had been filled with joy at Qin Ximo’s breakthrough moments ago —

But now her expression instantly darkened.

Bro…