Under the scorching sun.

The sounds of rolling wheels and lashing whips rose and fell.

Traveling along the rugged mountain road, the convoy assembled by Tie Niu seemed to be carrying extremely heavy loads, moving forward slowly.

The wheels left very clear marks on the ground, and every now and then, martial artists would get off the cart and push the iron ox forward while muttering to themselves.

"You brat, you're finally awake!"

Danqing's somewhat worried figure echoed in Qin Xin's mind.

Upon hearing Danqing's words, Qin Xin realized that after being struck by the purple lightning, his life force had begun to rapidly decline, and he had almost had his soul shattered.

However, the Spirit-Devouring Stone in his Niwan Palace suddenly moved, directly devouring the terrifying purple lightning energy, which prevented Qin Xin from being completely annihilated.

Qin Xin breathed a sigh of relief upon sensing that Wu Dan was still there. He was unwilling to experience a life where he could not cultivate again. However, this was also because Dan Qing had reversed the protection of the strange fire of life, and Dan Qing's originally weak spiritual body almost turned to ashes in the confrontation with the purple lightning.

"Thank you, teacher."

Qin Xin expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Dan Qing. Without him, Qin Xin would probably have turned to dust in Tianyuan City.

"Stop doing all this. I almost died trying to save you. Go and rest first. Also, the stone in your Niwan Palace seems to have changed a bit. Take a good look at it."

Qin Xin knew that Dan Qing had already damaged a lot of her spiritual body when she fell from a great height to protect him, and now, in order to fight against the purple lightning, her spiritual body was so weak that it was about to be annihilated at any time. For a moment, he felt a little guilty.

Qin Xin was somewhat surprised to sense the Spirit Devouring Stone floating in mid-air within his Niwan Palace.

After absorbing the energy of the purple lightning, the Spirit Devouring Stone began to shimmer with a hazy light, appearing more vibrant than before and no longer lifeless.

However, Qin Xin also discovered that there were six missing parts on this Spirit Devouring Stone, indicating that it was not a complete stone.

When Qin Xin tried to control the Spirit Devouring Stone, he found that he could not regulate his true energy in his dantian and had to give up.

Upon examining the Martial Core again, Qin Xin was pleasantly surprised. The Martial Spirit, which was once completely black and thus called the Black Stick by Qin Xin, now had golden and purple patterns intertwined. It seemed that the Devouring Spirit Stone had absorbed the power of the purple lightning, causing some changes to the Black Stick Martial Spirit.

"A five-star Martial Spirit!"

To Qin Xin's surprise, he also discovered that on the Martial Pill, next to a True Aperture with a strong light spot, there were two other True Apertures with weaker light, clinging to the True Meridian.

"It seems that the saying that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune is true. This is the third level of the Enlightenment Realm."

Qin Xin was also reluctant to accept this breakthrough, because it was something he had almost risked his life for.

However, what troubles Qin Xin is that the damaged meridians in his body prevent his true energy from circulating properly, and he will need to rest for a period of time to fully recover.

~~~~~~

"I wonder if this kid is stupid. He's been open for three hours and hasn't said a word."

Several old men, watching the boy lying on the carriage staring blankly at the sky, drank and discussed among themselves.

"I have to say, Miss, why did you save this idiot?"

A somewhat helpless voice came out, as if someone was eating something, and the scars on their face looked rather ferocious as they muttered something.

"I say, Zhu Nian, if it weren't for Miss picking you up from the roadside back then, you probably would have died somewhere."

A middle-aged man with a somewhat composed demeanor spoke up. He was dressed as a guard, with a resolute look in his eyes.

"Captain Zheng Qiu, I was just saying."

Zhu Nian, whose face bore a hideous scar, chuckled as he spoke.

"Alright, Miss's affairs are not for us to discuss." Zheng Qiu waved his hand, signaling everyone to shut up.

"Captain, what exactly did we bring back from our journey to the Flame Dynasty, crossing the dangerous Dead Leaf Forest?" asked one of the others who were resting nearby, somewhat puzzled.

“These things are related to the future status of our Zhan clan in the Ding Dynasty.”

Zheng Qiu spoke with a slightly cold expression.

Seeing Zheng Qiu like this, everyone dared not make a sound, but instead rested and whispered among themselves.

After Qin Xin regained consciousness, he was unable to control his severely injured body for a while. He could only activate his martial spirit and quietly circulate a wisp of true energy to gradually regain control of his body.

Therefore, Qin Xin could hear the conversations of some people very clearly.

The bumpy journey allowed Qin Xin's body to slowly recover, but the intense pain caused him to let out a groan.

"Wow, it can actually make a sound!"

Upon hearing Qin Xin's painful groan, the guard-like man quickly made an announcement.

"Stop!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qiu also ordered the oxcart to come to a slow stop.

"Phew, thank you for saving me."

After a period of recovery, Qin Xin was able to get up and speak, but he was still somewhat weak.

"Young man, you've had a tough time. You practically ran back from the brink of collapse."

Zheng Qiu was very surprised to see Qin Xin awake. "When I found you, your whole body was charred black, as if you had been struck by lightning. I thought you were definitely dead, but I didn't expect you to come back to life."

"If it weren't for the fact that the Ten Thousand Mile Thunder Swamp is tens of thousands of miles away from here, I would have thought you crawled out of there."

Before Qin Xin could speak, Captain Zheng Qiu sat down and began talking to himself, which reminded Qin Xin of Jin Yuanbao from the outer courtyard of the Eastern Wilderness Academy, as the two had similar mouths.

"Captain Zheng, why did the team suddenly stop?"

A clear voice came from the vehicle behind.

"Miss, the guy we rescued on the road who looked like he'd been struck by lightning has woken up."

Zheng Qiu replied softly, lowering his voice as if he were worried about disturbing the nearby monsters.

"Oh? Now that he's awake, let him recover and leave on his own."

The clear voice was extremely cold, and after speaking, it ordered the convoy to continue.

"Young man, please don't mind her. That's just how our young lady is, but she has a very kind heart."

Zheng Qiu sat directly next to Qin Xin as they traveled, and he seemed to be a very kind-hearted person.

"Please thank your young lady for me."

Qin Xin smiled and said, after all, being able to save a stranger showed that the young lady in the car behind was a kind-hearted person.

"As for Captain Zheng Qiu, where are we and where are we going?"

Because Qin Xin was riding the Wind-Riding Eagle and running wildly through the Dead Leaf Forest, coupled with the bombardment from that mysterious place filled with purple lightning, he now had no idea where he was.

"This is the intersection of the Ding Dynasty and the Yan Dynasty. We are heading to the capital of the Ding Dynasty, Da Ding City."

Zheng Qiu spoke casually, but one could sense the pride in his voice when he mentioned the Ding Dynasty.

"The Ding Dynasty? The Hundred Flowers Pavilion."

Upon hearing the name, Qin Xin breathed a sigh of relief. The secular world of the Eastern Wilderness is now ruled by the Great Xia Dynasty, the Ding Dynasty, and the Yan Dynasty. In addition, the Spirit Beast Sect and the Eastern Wilderness Academy, which are part of the One Sect, One Academy, One Gate, and One Pavilion, are located in the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Celestial Master Sect is located in the territory of the Yan Dynasty, and the Hundred Flowers Pavilion is located in the territory of the Ding Dynasty.