Shen Xian lightly brushed his fingertips across the surface of the Void Reflecting Spirit Mirror. Instantly, ripples spread like water across the low-grade spiritual treasure.

Yet, the reflection that stared back was not his own face, but an immense, boundless starry sky.

“Since you all enjoy playing with fire…” Shen Xian’s lips curved into a faint smile.

Suddenly, the mirror’s surface erupted with blinding golden light.

An invisible wave of spiritual awareness swept across the entire Li Realm, instantly freezing every member of the Shen family who had been struggling against the will of the Karmic Flames.

Under the crushing spiritual awareness of a Celestial Venerable, no one was spared.

Among them, Shen Xiao bore the brunt of the assault.

“Aah!” A piercing scream tore from Shen Xiao’s throat.

Before his eyes, the world twisted and distorted. The defensive formation that had protected him mere moments ago vanished, replaced by an endless sea of flames.

Even more terrifying was his current state: he found himself shackled to a bronze pillar, his body entangled in pitch-black chains.

“What is this… Karmic Flames refining my soul?!” Shen Xiao’s eyes widened in terror.

He initially thought he was merely enduring the mental assault typical of this realm. But soon, he realized something was terribly wrong.

“No… This is an illusion!” Shen Xiao struggled frantically against his bonds.

He was supposed to be undergoing the ancestral trial in the family grounds—how could he possibly have ended up here? Furthermore, the Karmic Flames before him were fundamentally different from those he had encountered earlier.

To his horror, he discovered that his cultivation base was plummeting at a terrifying speed.

Perfected Foundation Establishment… Late Foundation Establishment… Mid Foundation Establishment…

In the blink of an eye, he had fallen all the way down to the Qi Refining Realm!

“Welcome to my domain.” Shen Xian’s voice echoed from all directions, reverberating through the space.

Shen Xiao’s consciousness had been forcibly dragged into Shen Xian’s mental realm. Terrified, he realized the scorching pain from the surging flames was all too real; it was driving him mad.

“This isn’t an illusion… It’s spiritual awareness made manifest!” Shen Xiao finally grasped the horrifying truth. His voice trembled uncontrollably. “Third Young Master, spare me! It was all Shen Li’s doing!”

Before he could finish his plea, Shen Xian’s figure materialized amidst the sea of fire. With a gentle flick of a finger, he spoke coolly, “Since you enjoy watching the show so much, why not experience it yourself?”

“Aaaah!”

Amidst agonizing screams, those watching from the outside saw flames suddenly erupt from Shen Xiao’s eyes, nose, and mouth. His entire body began to melt like wax.

His spirit was refined into a wisp of blue smoke, which was then completely devoured by the Li Fire essence hovering in Shen Xian’s palm.

“Shen Qing.” Shen Xian turned his gaze toward another figure who had already collapsed in terror. “Did you enjoy running your mouth so much?”

Shen Qing’s legs gave way, and he fell to his knees, his trousers already soaked with urine. “Third Young Master, spare me! I…”

“It’s too late.”

Shen Xian tapped the air with his fingertip. Instantly, Shen Qing’s body burst into flames from the inside out.

With the aid of his cultivation technique and vast spiritual awareness, Shen Xian’s mastery over the rules of this realm had reached a profound and mysterious level.

The onlookers watched in horror as Shen Qing was reduced to a charred husk, frozen in a kneeling position. Their faces turned ashen. Several disciples fainted on the spot, instantly losing their eligibility to proceed.

The survivors trembled uncontrollably. Some prostrated themselves on the ground, pressing their foreheads against the scorching earth as they begged for mercy.

“Third Young Master, spare us! We were blind and ignorant!”

“It was Shen Xiao who forced us! We never meant to offend you!”

“Please, Third Young Master, have mercy! We are willing to serve you like dogs and horses!”

…

Shen Xian couldn’t help but sneer at their blatant hypocrisy.

He ignored them completely, closing his eyes once more to enter a state of deep concentration. The recent enhancement of his spiritual awareness had brought him new insights, which he now needed to quietly contemplate.

The Mystic Essence True Congealing Art circulated spontaneously within him. The mercury-like protective layer in his consciousness began to glow with a faint golden light.

The Li Fire essence danced joyfully around him, like birds returning to their nests.

Following the trajectories of these fiery essences, Shen Xian’s spiritual awareness gradually touched the deepest layers of the Li Realm’s fundamental laws.

He “saw” the flame runes that constituted the very essence of the Li Realm, arranged and interlaced in a mysterious pattern.

“So that’s how it is…” Shen Xian’s lips curved into a faint smile.

With the support of the Mystic Essence cultivation technique, he managed to memorize every single one of these runes.

Even more wondrous, his internal energy began to circulate on its own, tracing the patterns of the runes through his meridians. With each complete cycle, his understanding of the Dao of Li Fire deepened.

Suddenly, the entire plaza quaked violently.

The fiery clouds in the sky spun wildly, forming a massive vortex. At the center of the vortex, a pillar of crimson-gold light crashed down, completely enveloping Shen Xian.

“Could this be… the Li Realm’s recognition?!” The surviving cultivators stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.

Within the pillar of light, Shen Xian felt an extremely pure Li Fire essence surging into his body.

Guided by his Mystic Essence true energy, this primordial force began to refine every inch of his meridians and every bone in his body. Even more astonishingly, the protective layer in his consciousness began to absorb the Li Fire runes, adorning its surface with crimson-gold patterns.

Boom!

As the final rune was absorbed, the pillar of light suddenly contracted, transforming into a crimson-gold seal hovering before Shen Xian.

The seal pulsed with pure Li Fire essence, emitting heart-stopping vibrations.

“The Li Fire True Seal…” Shen Xian reached out to take it, and the seal instantly sank into his palm.

In that moment, he felt a mysterious connection form between himself and the entire Li Realm, as if he could summon the myriad fiery essences of this world with a single thought.

Simultaneously, his cultivation underwent another subtle transformation. Though his stage remained unchanged, his internal energy had become several times purer than before, approaching the quality of the Golden Core Realm.

Not only that, but deep within himself, he sensed an inexplicable shifting, as if he were now anchored by something profound.

Could it be the recognition of the grand formation? Shen Xian thought, a gleam of joy lighting up his heart.

The members of the Shen family stood dumbfounded, staring at the scene with faces drained of all color.

“The Li Fire True Seal…” A mid-stage Foundation Establishment disciple’s throat bobbed. His voice was dry and cracked, as if scorched by fire. “This is the first time anyone has mastered it since the ancestor worship ceremony began…”

They had all thoroughly studied the history of the ancestral grounds before entering. That was precisely why the shock was so overwhelming.

A junior branch family member’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees. He stared fixedly at the seal disappearing into Shen Xian’s palm, his eyes filled with utter disbelief. “A ninth-grade spiritual root… How is this possible…?”

Those who had shouted the loudest earlier were now deathly pale, their lips trembling uncontrollably. Recalling their mockery, they felt their faces burning with shame.

What kind of useless trash was this?

Clearly, he was a peerless genius capable of resonating with the very essence of the Li Realm!

“We…” An older disciple suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself fiercely across the face. “What exactly did we miss…?”

Several junior branch family members who had once received kindness from Nangong Wan regretted their actions deeply.

One of them gripped his robes so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “If only we had known earlier that Third Young Master possessed such talent…”

Everyone’s gaze was riveted on Shen Xian, their shock almost tangible in the heated air.