Deng Bagu had poured too much of her soul into her Earth Penetrating Divine Needle, believing that even the Earth's crust could not withstand its power and that it could shatter any Protective Dharma Treasure in one strike.

She also understood that this was her last chance. With her insight and experience, she easily recognized that Shi Feiyang had not used his full strength; had they truly fought to the death, she would have long been utterly defeated and, even if she had not lost her life, she would have had to flee in disgrace. At this point, she knew she had to break his Iron Umbrella to regain some measure of dignity; otherwise, her reputation as the "disastrous goddess," cultivated over centuries, would become a joke.

Shi Feiyang was determined to make her admit defeat wholeheartedly and thus let her attack fiercely with the Earth Penetrating Divine Needle for half an hour.

Deng Bagu exhausted all her methods and used up all her strength; she even resorted to her Flying Sword and the Soul Capturing Great Technique from the heterodox teachings. Shi Feiyang merely defended with his Iron Umbrella, allowing her to do as she pleased.

Once he saw she had exhausted all her techniques, he began to activate the treasure umbrella, making it spin rapidly. The three hundred and sixty Circulation Talismans on it shone brightly, and a ring of golden Heavenly Talismans flew out, forming a golden light tube that enveloped Deng Bagu.

The Circulation shifted, naturally causing chaos in Yin Yang and inverting the Five Elements.

Deng Bagu, like a cat thrown into a spinning washing machine, initially thought she could use her centuries of hard-earned mystical powers along with the Earth Penetrating Divine Needle to lock down the universe. However, her essence energy soon began to boil, the acupoints throughout her body felt as if they would burst, she spewed fresh blood from her mouth, and then she could no longer stabilize her figure. She spiraled along with the light tube, physically unstable and mentally in disarray, as if she had been plunged into an endless dream from which she would never awaken.

Shi Feiyang performed a hand-seal to direct the Circulation Treasure Umbrella, spinning it a full three thousand six hundred times before stopping the spell. Deng Bagu was already lying unconscious in the snow.

He waited for about fifteen minutes, allowing the essence energy and blood in Deng Bagu's body to stabilize slightly before pointing his finger in the air and touching her forehead.

Deng Bagu came to with a bewildered look in her eyes. The Iron Umbrella that Shi Feiyang wielded had been refined in the Wind Cave of Mangcang Mountain with the Righteous Skill from Guang Chengzi's Heavenly Book, which was incredibly profound. The Nine Heavens Divine Light emitted enveloped a person, and with each rotation, it felt as though a year had passed inside. After three thousand six hundred circles, it seemed as though countless eons had passed in moments, experiencing numerous lifetimes of birth, aging, sickness, and death—these experiences were not actually occurring but were the continuous combination of fragmented memories drawn from the person's mind.

Deng Bagu was stunned for a while before she realized where she was and remembered what had happened. She finally understood that the young man before her possessed incredible magical power and was unfathomably profound and mysterious. Not only did she accept defeat willingly, but she also gained some insight into her future tribulations. She swiftly knelt on both knees, "Junior thanks Master Long for your mercy. I am willing to admit defeat and pledge to follow Master from now on."

Shi Feiyang asked her, "Do you feel compelled? If you truly do not wish it, I won't force you. You are free to leave at any time, but the Snow Soul Pearl cannot be given to you for nothing."

Deng Bagu quickly declared her intentions, "I was stubborn and blind in the past, not recognizing the True Master. Looking back on everything, it feels like a dream, and thinking about it, it seems laughable. With my humble abilities, being able to follow the True Master, it's more fortune than I could cultivate in ten lifetimes. I am grateful for the True Master's mercy and guidance. If I were to be ungrateful now, I would face downfall and death without a place to be buried!"

She was now worried that Shi Feiyang would not accept her: "Junior musters the courage to ask the True Master to forgive my previous disrespectful sins with the hope that, recalling today's fateful encounter, you would accept me as your disciple. Deng Bagu would be eternally grateful!" She then kowtowed to the ground and did not rise.

Having originated from a heterodox teaching closely related to the Western Demon Cult, she knew many magic techniques and, though she considered her swordsmanship and Mana on par with others, she had faced many setbacks over the centuries, surviving near-death experiences that nearly destroyed her body and soul, leaving her often terrified. Especially after the prolonged chase with Caiwei Monk and Jiang Xuejun years ago, she was thoroughly frightened. Initially, Master You Tan had converted her longtime friend Yu Luocha, Chen Yufeng, who had taken Buddhist vows and was henceforth known as Yuqing, to the Righteous Path for a life of purity. She had likewise intended to convert but still harbored a trace of stubbornness.

Today's duel had stripped her of her last bit of stubbornness and face, and she knew that if she did not become a disciple now, she would face a dire fate. She also saw Shi Feiyang's kindness towards her and thus knelt repeatedly to plead for acceptance into his sect.

Seeing her reform and establish a foundation on the Righteous Path, Shi Feiyang nodded in agreement, "From now on, you will be the second female disciple under my guidance. You also have an elder sister named Xiong Man, who is currently cultivating at Bu Xu Mountain in Immortal City, Zhejiang. Although she doesn't have your depth of mana, her foundation in the Mysterious Sect is more solid. She faces only one tribulation, and once it's past, her future will be smooth and limitless. You must not judge others solely by their powers of mana and look down upon them arrogantly, as it would hinder your own cultivation."

Deng Bagu had now understood the difference between Dao Level and Mana, and she finally realized why so many from the Righteous Path, despite having terrifyingly strong mana, still had to reincarnate. Many were reborn to cultivate their Dao Level, with Mana being secondary. Deep Dao and virtuous nature naturally invited less disaster and more peace, unlike people like her, who focused solely on spells for fear of lacking power, eventually facing calamities too great to withstand with mana alone.

She knew there was a senior from her sect, Gongye Huang, who, despite high levels of mana akin to a Heavenly Immortal, was perpetually unable to ascend and was constantly plagued by countless tribulations, walking on thin ice.

Upon hearing Shi Feiyang accept her, she finally felt relieved and formally kowtowed to become his disciple.

Shi Feiyang asked her, "I have already sent people to dig a tunnel to retrieve the Snow Soul Pearl, but the deeper layers of frozen rock, especially the solid bedrock, have accumulated billions of years of Earth True Qi and are too hard for them to penetrate with their limited strength. Although I have a way to proceed, it's not as convenient as your Earth Penetrating Divine Needle, so I will need you to go down and lend them a hand. After all, the Pearl will be used by you."

Deng Bagu hastily refused, "Disciple, in my former ignorance, I wanted to contend with my Master over treasures, which was truly pitiful and laughable. Now that I have taken refuge under Master's guidance, I have no more thoughts on that Treasure Bead and am willing to go down and retrieve it to offer it to my Master as a slight expression of my repentance."

"That Snow Soul Pearl, formed from the essence of thousand-year-old snow and ice, is a fine item that can break all Yang Fire and Demon Fire and can withstand the Nine Heavens Godly Flames during tribulation. It can also be used to host the Second Primordial Spirit and forge a second incarnation. But I do not need it. The retrieval of the pearl today is also because of our mentor-disciple connection."

As Shi Feiyang spoke, he took out an Immortal Pill and tossed it to her through the air, "You had previously deviated in your cultivation and buried the seeds of deviation deeply within you. Just now, I used the Nine Heavens Mysterious Origin Great Technique with that umbrella to churn your essence, Qi, and spirit into chaos, causing you to suffer internal injuries, but I have actually cleared the blockage of Poison Fire. Take this pill to recover your Primordial Qi, then go retrieve the Snow Soul Pearl. Afterwards, I'll teach you how to use the pearl to refine your True Yuan, and you should be able to safely overcome this tribulation."

Overjoyed, Deng Bagu repeatedly thanked him and took the Elixir to confess her faults. She sat cross-legged, guiding her Qi back to the source according to Shi Feiyang's instructions. She rearranged her chaotic essence energy back onto the right path. Moments later, she stood up, "Master, I will go down now to help our senior brothers and sisters retrieve the Snow Soul Pearl!"

Shi Feiyang waved his hand, "Hold on, they are not your senior brothers and sisters. I will call them up so you can meet them."

He cast the Constraining Demon Transmission, and soon after, two beams of Demon Light flew up from the ice cave and transformed into two great demons over three meters tall, their bodies blood-red and their mouths full of sharp teeth.

Deng Bagu was startled, knowing such demons could not only attack the body but also extract the soul from afar, extremely dangerous beings. Instinctively, she was about to release her Flying Sword but saw that Shi Feiyang beside her made no move, and the two demons showed no intention of attacking. Instead, they stood side by side, heads bowed and shoulders drooped, like obedient dogs.

Could these be demons refined by the Master? Typical demons would snarl and think of digesting their masters, constantly fantasizing about tearing them apart and devouring them alive. If given a chance, they would attempt to do so. Her master treated divine demons with considerable respect, even making offerings akin to worshiping gods at home, presenting sacrifices of livestock or even humans and offering their own blood during duels as sacrifices to these divine beings.

Strictly speaking, half of her lineage was from the Western Demon Cult, and she was intimately familiar with these practices.

While her mind was still trying to understand, another creature, clearly a monster bird, flew up from the ice cave and lined up well with the two demons, obediently behaving.

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