The idea of ​​"reducing the sauce over high heat" may seem absurd, but it perfectly reflects the current state of Liu Yunqing's body.

The only difference is that the "juice" that the fire absorbed was actually impurities from her body.

And just as Liu Yunqing fainted, the last bit of "juice" was burned away completely.

The ring, radiating a golden-red light from the heart meridian, also ceased its supernatural powers the moment the impurities were burned away.

The red light on the ring flickered and contracted, and a gentle, healing spiritual energy flowed back into Liu Yunqing's body.

...

When Liu Yunqing woke up again, it was already night.

Despite the complete darkness of the room, Liu Yunqing could see clearly. Overjoyed, she knew this was due to the activation of her essence and blood and the recovery of her spiritual root. She raised her hand to check her physical condition, but was immediately stunned by the foul stench emanating from the air.

After Liu Yunqing had taken three full baths and confirmed that there was no more odor, her overly excited mood due to the initial recovery of her spiritual root had calmed down.

All that remained was longing and curiosity about the new world.

The clothes are a bit too short; well, that means I'm too tall.

The calluses on his palms were nowhere to be seen, and his skin was smooth and supple like jade, yet he possessed even greater strength.

The thumb ring in the heart meridian was nowhere to be found. Liu Yunqing thought about it for a moment, and then felt a slight coolness on her right thumb.

Looking down, Liu Yunqing saw a blood jade thumb ring appear out of thin air on his previously empty right thumb. When he looked at it, the thumb ring seemed to greet him, appearing and disappearing for a moment before vanishing again.

Upon closer inspection, even though he couldn't see, Liu Yunqing knew it was on his hand.

Thinking back to his past life, after his death, Liu Yunzhao found this ring under the guidance of his blood essence, and finally soared to great heights by relying on the resources within the ring, Liu Yunqing couldn't help but gently touch the ring.

She needs to quickly draw qi into her body in order to access the supplies in the ring.

Liu Yunqing sat down cross-legged and, following the knowledge he had gained over the past hundred years, began to try to draw qi into his body.

A spiritual root capable of sealing and nurturing that drop of essence blood must be quite powerful.

The normal time for inhaling air into the body is generally between three days and three months.

Liu Yunzhao had a single water spiritual root, and it took him exactly three days to draw qi into his body back then.

Liu Yunqing was unsure of her own qualifications, and she did not intend to engage in a meaningless contest, giving herself an estimated timeframe of ten days.

...

The next day, at dawn.

Liu Yunqing, who was preparing not to draw in Qi or open her eyes, stared wide-eyed at the faint fire elemental energy swirling around her fingertips.

Is that all?

Wasn't it supposed to be at least three days?

"laugh--"

As the fire elemental power at her fingertips disappeared, the wisp of energy within Liu Yunqing's body also vanished.

She was stunned for a moment, then quickly circulated her meridians again. She saw the fire elemental energy rushing into her body, and only then did she believe that it was not an illusion.

She really succeeded, and Liu Yunqing smiled with relief.

Not only did he successfully draw Qi into his body, but judging from the absorption of spiritual energy, he should also have a single fire spiritual root!

That would be even better. They both have a single spiritual root, and she really wanted to see if Liu Yunzhao's water could overcome her fire.

Liu Yunqing continued to circulate her spiritual energy, completing two more cycles within her body. She felt the spiritual energy stretching her meridians until they ached slightly before stopping to check on the ring.

The thumb ring, imbued with spirituality, flashed through Liu Yunqing's mind with emotions of joy and intimacy before she released it as if presenting a treasure.

However, Liu Yunqing, who was full of anticipation, was dumbfounded after seeing the situation inside.

Where are the mountains of rare stones and the piles of natural treasures?

Why is there nothing here?

In her previous life, Liu Yunzhao had taken out a large number of spirit stones and various rare and precious materials after obtaining the ring, so how come she had nothing left when it came to her?

Looking at the abandoned space of the ring, where there was only a vast expanse of mist and a small mound of earth faintly visible in the distance, shimmering with red light, it was hard for Liu Yunqing not to feel frustrated.

Once Liu Yunzhao obtains the essence blood and the ring, she will be able to soar to great heights and become the universally recognized senior sister in the cultivation world.

But in her hands, all that remained was ruins.

So, is it that I'm not good enough?

fart!

What in this world is there that a master is unworthy of using, but a robber is worthy of using?

"Is the spirit here? If it is, you'd better come out and explain yourself, or I'll smash it!"

Sensing that its master's mood had suddenly plummeted, the spirit, which was just thinking about how to comfort him, was then shocked by its master's domineering anger.

*crying* I finally got to see my master, why is she so fierce?

The already weakened spirit was filled with grievance.

But before it could finish complaining, Liu Yunqing's even colder voice came:

"I can feel your presence, speak!"

The spirit trembled, no longer daring to hesitate, and a tearful, aggrieved voice echoed in Liu Yunqing's mind:

"My master is so mean! My master doesn't like me!"

Seeing that Liu Yunqing did not comfort her, the spirit pursed its lips and stopped crying, saying:

"What does Master want me to explain?"

Liu Yunqing wasn't sure whether the thumb ring possessed a spirit.

She said that only because she sensed the spirituality of the ring and the red-glowing mound behind the mist, which was unlike an ordinary storage ring, so she decided to try to trick it.

Unexpectedly, she actually managed to trick me.

However, this thing sounds like a whiny little thing, which isn't really to my taste, but luckily I have good eyesight.

Liu Yunqing softened his expression and touched the ring on his thumb, saying:

"What's inside this ring?"

The spirit's voice sounded somewhat confused.

"What is it? It was just repaired, there's nothing there!"

Liu Yunqing, sensing that it didn't seem to be lying, said directly:

"Spirit stones? Magic treasures? Cultivation techniques? Rare and precious materials? You don't have any of those? Then what is your purpose?"

"Those things...this..."

The spirit's voice was somewhat weak, and after stammering for a long time, it couldn't come up with a coherent explanation.

"who?!"

Just as Liu Yunqing was about to press the spirit of the artifact, he sensed something amiss in the courtyard and immediately stood up to ask.

As soon as Liu Yunqing pushed open the bedroom door, she saw two middle-aged men crouching and bending over, preparing to push the door open.

"It's you?"

Upon seeing the two men clearly, Liu Yunqing was shocked to discover that one of them was the neighbor who had been spying on her when she arrived the day before.

The man was dressed in coarse old clothes, was in his thirties, had a strong build, and a square face that looked as if it had been slapped with a brick. His overly lively eyes kept darting around the bedroom behind Liu Yunqing.

Seeing that Liu Yunqing recognized him, he didn't panic, nor did he look away. He just laughed it off and said:

“I heard some noise coming from your sister’s place yesterday. The neighbors were worried that something had happened to you, so they came over to check on you.”

Liu Yunqing closed the door slightly, blocking the other person's view, and said coldly:

"I'm perfectly fine here, please go back."

The man wasn't about to leave obediently; he reached out to stop the door from closing, and said with a grin:

"No way, brother, I care about you so much, how come you won't even offer me a sip of tea? Could it be... there's a man hiding in the house?"

As he spoke, the man gave a lewd look to the skinny, short man next to him, and the two of them began to squeeze into the room.

The square-faced man squeezed into the room, a look of vengeful pleasure on his face.

Hmph! A mere mortal girl, putting on a fierce but cowardly act, actually fooled him yesterday.

Dare to mess with him? I'll show this little tigress what I'm made of!

As the square-faced Wang Laosan thought to himself, he suddenly found Liu Yunqing's glaring eyes and fiery personality quite alluring.

Looking at the small, fair hand outstretched before him, Wang Laosan neither flinched nor flinched, but instead leaned in with a look of rapture—

"Smack—!!!"

A crisp, loud slap followed by a dizzying, star-studded motion. By the time Wang Laosan realized what was happening, he had already been sent flying a great distance, crashing to the ground in excruciating pain.

He habitually opened his mouth to curse, but before he could even open his mouth, something cold pressed against his neck.

The curse that was about to come out was quickly veered off course by the instinct for survival, and he said in a trembling voice:

"Fairy, spare me! I... I have a secret to exchange!"