The Vast Stagnation of Heart Demons, the Daoist Assembly; The Soaring Submersion, Exploring the City, Startling the Iron Chariot

"Could it be... that our martial niece has broken through again?"

Inside a thatched hut deep in the wild mountains, several old Daoists suddenly changed expression, all turning their eyes toward the window.

They sensed a ripple of primordial qi. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was continuously surging in, gathering around the hut. They knew this phenomenon all too well—it arose when someone attained insight after a breakthrough in their state of mind, when their spirit resonated with heaven and earth.

A breakthrough in one's state of mind often meant an elevation of the spirit. The road of cultivation ahead would become a broad, level path, free from inner demons.

Yet just as the ripple reached its peak, it came to an abrupt halt. The old Daoists' expressions changed again, and they all frowned.

"What's going on? Is she stuck again?"

"With our martial niece's talent, how could she get stuck while breaking through her state of mind? It seems that previous incident has already become her inner demon."

A moment later, a soft sigh drifted from outside the hut.

Yun Miao opened her eyes, shame flickering within them.

Her sudden epiphany and breakthrough in her state of mind were connected to this journey into the secular world—and also to how she had stopped Zhao Cheng from killing the corrupt official.

That incident had given her a far deeper understanding of how unfathomable the human heart could be.

After many days of sitting in meditation and contemplating, she had finally grasped the Taoist School's principle of nonaction on a deeper level.

Yet that very matter was also why her breakthrough had stalled.

Back then, she had fought Zhao Cheng for the sake of a beastly, dog-like corrupt official such as Wang Bo. After learning the story of that