To be replaced later.

The next second, he saw Gong Shaojun standing on a sea of thunder, parting the layers of clouds and mist. A towering pillar of lightning appeared before his eyes.

"Who is it?!"

A deafening roar echoed from the clouds, its rage threatening to tear the heavens asunder.

Gong Shaojun's expression remained unchanged. He raised his head and, with a forceful pinch, tore a dark purple bolt of lightning from the towering thunder pillar.

With a light sweep of his arm, Lin Qi vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the next thunderous pillar.

After half an hour, the Mahayana cultivators hiding in various places gathered together in a panic to discuss.

"Have you heard that someone with great ability stole four Heavenly Pillars of Extreme Purple Lightning in just a few breaths?!"

"Who dares to be so arrogant?!"

"Arrogant? You should all think about when such a formidable figure appeared in the Cangwu realm! With this kind of ability, taking your heads would be as easy as lifting a finger."

A man with white eyebrows sighed: "Last night, the heavens sent thunderbolts that filled the sky above the deserted city. I sensed something was wrong then. Today, cultivators have stolen the purple lightning. Heaven is furious...I don't know what kind of terrible consequences this will bring."

Upon hearing this, the group couldn't help but sigh together.

Someone cautiously asked, "With these strange occurrences happening one after another, could it be that something big is about to happen in the Cangwu realm in the coming years?"

"This matter, I'm afraid we still need to ask Tianjizi..."

……

Gong Shaojun took Lin Qi to the Four Pole Regions and then had her dive into the depths of the four seas, extracting four streaks of extreme cold qi.

Once everything was ready, she used the single drop of Ice Phoenix essence from within Lin Qi's body to seal these four auras of extreme cold and the purple heaven thunder inside Lin Qi's body.

Stroking the Ice Phoenix mark on Lin Qi's brow, she instructed in a cold voice: "These eight Heavenly Sources are your mother's first gift to you."

“After you attract it into your body, you must spend three years building a foundation, ten years cultivating the golden core, thirty years becoming an infant spirit, and fifty years reaching the Great Ascension. If you can achieve all this, these eight sources of heavenly energy will help you ascend to a higher level, shed your mortal shell, and forge the immortal golden body.”

Lin Qi widened her eyes and listened, before opening her mouth after half a day to ask: "What if we can't do it?"

Gong Shaojun lowered his eyes, looking down at her from a height. His eyes were deep and dark like clouds.

"His soul was extinguished."

Lin Qi's heart was struck by the slow-paced fear, her small mouth slowly opening, her tender voice carrying a strange calmness.

"Will I die?"

Gong Shaojun calmly said: "Are you afraid?"

Lin Qi nodded dumbly after half a minute.

"You have no chance to regret this." Gong Shaojun's gaze shifted from her delicate face to the mark on her brow. "An orphan's daughter can die, but she must never become someone else's stepping stone!"

"Changing one's destiny is not something that can be done with just a single word,"

Lin Qi reacted slowly and nodded.

I will try my best not to die.

She still needs to go to the Upper Realm to find her mother.

Gong Shaojun looked at her innocent and naive appearance, he couldn't help but frown.

Not long after, Lin Qi received the second gift from her mother, a storage bracelet inlaid with blue gemstones.

The bracelet is very ordinary, with no trace of spiritual energy on it. It doesn't look like a congenital treasure at all.

Lin Qi opened the bracelet happily, but she found that she couldn't open the space inside the bracelet at all.

He blankly lifted his big eyes and looked at his mother.

Gong Shaojun nonchalantly said, “When you become a cultivator, you'll be able to open it naturally.”

Soon, Gong Rong led over a girl with big eyes that were half a head taller than Lin Qi.

The girl's eyes looked as if they had been punched hard, dark and bloodshot. Her skin was unnaturally white, her features... a little eerie.

"This is the last gift I'm giving you, my daughter."

Lin Qi and the short figure in front of him looked at each other for a long time, then slowly asked: "Gift?"

Gong Rong explained beside him: “Young master, from now on, Zhi Yi will be your personal maid.”

Lin Qi spat out half a sentence: "No."

She means that the sect cannot bring maids back, so even if she gives it to her, it would be useless.

Zhiyi blinked and stared at her for a long time, as if he suddenly understood Lin Qi's meaning. He blushed and said shyly: "I can go through the back door."

Lin Qi looked at her with suspicion, then spoke after a long silence: "The back door...is it easy to get through?"

Zhiyi nodded, then shook his head.

Lin Qi now truly wondered, was it good or bad to leave?

These two people, one slow-witted and fearful, the other awkward and innocent, took half a day to say a single sentence. It was as if they were communicating from different dimensions.

Palace Rong, who was watching from the side, was worried for the two of them.

I am very worried about whether I will be able to communicate effectively in the future.

Lin Qi's eyes, black and white, swept across Zhi Yi before settling on her mother.

Then, as if understanding something, a hint of reluctance and dependence flashed in her eyes.

It was night, Lin Qi woke up suddenly from his dream.

She walked around the room, but she couldn't see her mother anywhere.

He flung off the covers and dashed toward the practice room next door.

The mother sat, her eyes lowered, upon a cushion. Lin Qi didn't even glance at her and ran straight towards the backyard.

The moment the gate was burst open, a phoenix cry echoed through the heavens.

A pale blue radiance enveloped the entire ruined city, and a powerful imperial aura poured down like a tidal wave.

Lin Qi was immediately captivated by the enormous ice phoenix soaring straight into the clouds.

The pitch-black sky appeared with countless vortices, filled with purple-black lightning that grew stronger with each bolt, radiating a terrifying power of annihilation.

The ice phoenix, encased in frost, had no fear in its eyes. Ample spiritual energy hovered around it.

The Five Paths of virtue, namely propriety, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, and trustworthiness, illuminate the body of the Ice Phoenix, transforming into a blizzard that sweeps across the heavens and earth.

Thunderbolts crashed down one after another, like raindrops falling densely.

The Ice Phoenix flapped its wings, carrying with it a sweeping wave of icy frost. It surged forward relentlessly, straight towards the heavens.

The sky was ripped open, revealing a fissure that let through threads of white light.

A mysterious and profound aura, surpassing even the heavens, permeated the Azure Wilderness Realm.

The figure of the Ice Phoenix vanished in a blink.

A drop of crimson blood slid from Gong Shaojun's fingertip, transforming into an icy blue bead as it fell, drifting toward a corner of the Cangwu Realm.

Lin Qi clasped her hands together, catching the teardrop of ice-blue blood.

A bone-chilling coolness spread through her entire body. Lin Qi raised her head, her clear eyes looking at the gradually returning calm sky, and a layer of mist suddenly appeared in her eyes.

After a long silence, she calmly spoke, "Mother... has finally passed away..."

A tear rolled down my cheek involuntarily.

When the tear fell to her face, a voice echoed from afar in the void: "Nine Realms, Ice Phoenix Temple, waiting for you..."

Lin Qi woke up suddenly, wiping away the remaining tears from the corner of her eyes with her hand. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted: "Mother, wait for me, I'll find you soon!"

In the vacuum of space, Palace Shaojun heard Lin Qi's shout without a flicker in his eyes. She strolled to the corner of heaven.

Lifting her eyes to look at the sealed boundary path, a thoughtful gleam flashed in her cold eyes.

"That's why no one from the Cangwu Realm has ascended in a million years."