Song Ciwan fiddled with the Tongcao Hairpin in her hand.

The hairpin was exquisite, resembling a half-bloomed autumn chrysanthemum at first glance. Its petals were so vivid they seemed alive.

The Heaven and Earth Scale provided a description—

Tongcao Hairpin: An item used by wraiths. When worn, it grants a female wraith a brief moment of tranquility and enhances her beauty and charm.

So it was actually an item meant exclusively for wraiths!

It was, admittedly, quite the novelty.

The strangeness of Marvels was truly diverse; it seemed that if you could imagine something, a Marvel for it existed.

Song Ciwan put the Tongcao Hairpin away, then strolled out of her cave to look at the world outside.

It was Midnight, and the tranquil night air brought a sense of calm to Song Ciwan’s heart.

She was still disguised as the Black-clothed Blade Master, Lu Bell. "Lu Bell" raised his head and gazed toward the distant mountain peak.

’It’s hard to say what’s on the peak now. Three days have passed. With Midnight gone, it’s now the fourth day of the new year. Are the cultivators on Wangjiang Mountain Peak still guarding that curtain of light?’

’Is the hunt for Lu Bell, the "Black Heart Demon Saber," still going on?’

’What about Pinglan City?’

’And Illusory Nether City?’

’Have the cultivators found a way back? Has the Spiritual Treasure emerged?’

...

Song Ciwan knew none of it. But since she had decided to lay low, she had to commit to it completely.

And so, she quickly returned to her cave.

She kept the Duality Heart Protection Array Plate activated. For someone of her current strength, the power of the Duality Heart Protection Array was far too weak. However, she wasn’t relying on it for protection, but as an early warning system.

Until she could find a better array plate, she would have to make do with the Duality Heart Protection Array.

Song Ciwan sat cross-legged in the center of the array, cleansed her hands, and lit incense. Then, she took out the Marvel she had just obtained: the Netherworld Book!

’The Netherworld Book... I can ask a total of three questions. What should I ask?’

Song Ciwan opened the book to find its pages completely blank.

She took out a brush and ink from her Storage Talisman. After a moment of thought, she lifted the brush and wrote her first question on a blank page:

How does one return to the real world from the Otherworld of Illusory Nether City?

Indeed, this was a question that had been plaguing Song Ciwan.

So many cultivators had emerged from Illusory Nether City, only to find themselves in this strange state.

It seemed as though they had all returned to the Mortal World, but in reality, this group of cultivators had been exiled to a crevice between Illusory Nether City and the Mortal World.

They could neither return to Illusory Nether City nor find the way back to the true Mortal World.

Was this not the most pressing problem she currently faced?

After writing the question, Song Ciwan held her breath and waited.

Soon, a line of black text materialized out of thin air beneath her question: The four hanging mirror-curtains on Wangjiang Peak form a Netherworld passage back to the Mortal World.

The answer had appeared! 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Song Ciwan was delighted. Was this what they meant by searching high and low for something, only to find it when you least expect it?

So that curtain of light on Wangjiang Mountain Peak was the passage back to the Mortal World all along!

Song Ciwan immediately lifted her brush and wrote a second question: Is the Spiritual Treasure real or fake?

She didn’t ask where the Spiritual Treasure was. The Heaven and Earth Scale’s previous appraisal had been very clear that the Netherworld Book only "might provide an answer." In other words, there was a chance it wouldn’t answer her questions at all!

The Netherworld Book was only a Three-star Level Marvel, while the Spiritual Treasure was a Super Grade item. After weighing the pros and cons, she decided not to waste a question and opted for a simpler one.

A moment later, the Netherworld Book provided another line of text below her question: The Spiritual Treasure is half real, half fake.

’Half real, half fake?’

Song Ciwan let out a soft breath and lifted her brush, preparing to ask a follow-up: What did it mean by "half real, half fake"? What was the Spiritual Treasure’s true form?

But in the end, Song Ciwan didn’t write the question down.

Her mind raced, but instead of writing, she closed the Netherworld Book.

There was no need to ask any more about the Spiritual Treasure. She would save her precious third question for later!

To keep herself from acting impulsively, Song Ciwan stored the Netherworld Book in the deepest corner of the Heaven and Earth Scale.

Then, she put the brush and ink back into her Storage Talisman.

Song Ciwan began to chant a mantra in her mind: ’Resist greed, resist greed, resist greed...’

’All foolishness, suffering, and hatred are born from greed. Only by resisting greed can the Spirit Platform remain clear. That is the way of superior Cultivation!’

Song Ciwan silently recited the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting for a full quarter of an hour before her emotions finally settled.

With her mood stabilized, she began her true seclusion in the cave.

’Let the outside world turn itself upside down; I shall remain here in my cave, unmoved.’

Song Ciwan began trading in large quantities of "human desires."

She started with the human desires of Xie Yunxiang. He had been a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator, while Song Ciwan was currently in the Late-stage Qi Cultivation. Because she hadn’t yet broken through to the next Great Realm, a single jin of his human desires could still be exchanged for a year’s worth of Cultivation.

She first made two trades, using the time gained for no other purpose than to solidify her Cultivation at the Late-stage Qi Cultivation.

In total, she gained three years and six months of cultivation time, which she used to completely stabilize her fluctuating Cultivation, making it firm and dense, yet imbuing her with an ethereal lightness.

This was still a characteristic of the Qi Cultivation Stage: Lifting Heavy as Light!

Next, Song Ciwan made two more trades.

She again used Xie Yunxiang’s human desires, gaining one year and six months, and two years and three months of cultivation time, respectively.

However, she did not use this time for her Main Cultivation Method. Instead, she devoted one period to practicing the Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique, and the other to the Void Illusion Demon Sword.

Although the Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique was a Martial Technique and the Void Illusion Demon Sword was a Daoist Skill, the two shared a great deal in common. The deeper she delved into her practice, the more Song Ciwan felt that they were mutually complementary.

Furthermore, the nature of these two Techniques was a perfect match for her Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting.

Song Ciwan had a feeling that the ultimate potential of these two arts was no lower than that of the Celestial Spirit Daoist Skill—in fact, they might even surpass it!

The only regrettable part was that she currently only possessed the First Layer Cultivation Method for both techniques. She had not yet been able to obtain the methods for the subsequent layers.

Song Ciwan now had a plan. She would temporarily postpone her cultivation of the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting, lowering its priority. At the same time, she would prioritize practicing various Techniques, like magic and martial arts.

This way, her combat strength would steadily increase, while her Cultivation progress would be deliberately slowed.

For Song Ciwan’s current situation, this was clearly the optimal solution.

And so, several days passed in a flash. Song Ciwan cultivated in her cave, steadily raising the level of her various magic techniques. She had long since traded away all of Xie Yunxiang’s "human desires" and had even started converting the "human desires" of ordinary mortals to accumulate more cultivation time.

The wound on her arm, which had refused to close due to the lingering Death Qi, had also healed without her noticing.

Most interestingly, this process had also given Song Ciwan a deeper understanding of the Wither-Glory Life-Death Art!