After walking for a day and a night in the biting wind and snow, Zhou Qin finally arrived at the foot of Mount Karzi.

Situated where Southern Tibet meets the central and later regions, north of the Yarlung Tsangpo River south of Lhasa, Mount Karzi is one of Tibet's four great sacred mountains. Because it stands so toweringly amidst the forests, resembling a sharp sword thrusting towards the heavens, soaring into the clouds with magnificent grandeur, it is called "Karzi," meaning 'touching the sky.'

Zhou Qin looked up at the majestic sacred mountain. From the base, she could see a mark near the summit that looked as if it had been carved by a blade. In some of the ancient texts she had read, she clearly recalled that this was the mark left when the great Roc, shot down by arrows from the legendary hero King Gesar of Tibet, fell there. For this reason, it is known to the world as "Diedong," meaning 'quiver.'

Although Zhou Qin had failed in her previous attempt at Foundation Establishment, the wildly surging Yin energy within her was promptly soothed, largely flowing into Meiduo’s body, thus avoiding significant damage to Zhou Qin’s meridians. Moreover, Zhou Qin possessed a resolute and unyielding character; she was not discouraged in the slightest by the initial failure to establish her foundation. On the contrary, as she stood at the foot of Mount Karzi, the awe-inspiring sacred mountain seemed to fill her with boundless spirit: I will conquer this sacred mountain!

Initially, at the mountain's base, the climbing was not difficult, thanks to the numerous trees and the stone paths laid out for pilgrims to walk and worship.

But when Zhou Qin reached the mountainside, the slope suddenly steepened dramatically. The snow covering the incline was so deep that with every step she took, half her body would disappear. Yet, this was not the hardest part. After climbing another thousand meters or so, the summit was almost entirely pathless; the incline had become so sheer it was nearly vertical.

An ordinary person would surely have given up by now, but Zhou Qin was single-mindedly focused on reaching the peak, using all four limbs to scramble up the nearly vertical cliff face.

Mount Karzi is the highest divine mountain among the four great sacred mountains of Tibet. Zhou Qin climbed thousands of meters above sea level, surrounded by the piercing, howling cold wind, a gust of which could almost render her fingers numb.

But Zhou Qin seemed oblivious, grinding her teeth as she ascended. Her delicate form on the cliff face resembled a tiny, swaying blade of grass, constantly threatened with being blown away.

Watching Zhou Qin climb the mountain face from afar, both Ruan Hongling and the other woman instinctively held their breath for her.

Ruan Hongling whispered nervously, "Sister Ziyuan, has she gone mad? Why climb so high? One doesn't need to reach the very summit to establish a foundation."

Ziyuan also watched Zhou Qin with palpable tension. She knew that if Zhou Qin suffered even the slightest mishap—even if Ziyuan could fly over and rescue her—Zhou Qin's chance of ever achieving Foundation Establishment would be ruined for life.

"Zhou Qin is challenging the limits of cultivation..." Ziyuan murmured under her breath. She could vaguely sense why Zhou Qin had suddenly gone to such extremes to scale the peak of Mount Karzi.

What burden did this girl carry in her heart that drove her to strive so desperately to surpass everything?

The two women watched, eyes wide, as Zhou Qin slowly ascended inch by inch. Seen from a distance, on the vast white expanse of Mount Karzi, there was only a tiny black speck constantly crawling upward.

Though Zhou Qin now possessed the Body of Reconstituted Golden Core, her strength and vital energy far surpassed that of ordinary people—many times over—yet before Heaven and Earth, she was as insignificant as a speck of dust!

And yet, this very speck of dust yearned to conquer the supreme divine mountain, the pinnacle of Heaven and Earth!

Ruan Hongling nearly rushed forward to save her several times, thinking Zhou Qin would surely fall into the valley, but each time, she watched in disbelief as Zhou Qin managed, in seemingly impossible moments, to wrench her body back from the brink after losing balance in the fierce wind.

Ziyuan watched Zhou Qin with a moved expression, unable to comprehend how such a delicate woman could endure such terrifying heavenly might and such agonizing physical torment in such extreme cold.

After an immeasurable time, when Ruan Hongling finally saw Zhou Qin reach the summit, she couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "Sister Ziyuan, in my entire life, I have never admired anyone besides you, but today, I truly admire Zhou Qin! She is astounding, to climb such a high peak bare-handed without having established her foundation!"

Ziyuan watched as Zhou Qin stood atop the peak, spreading her arms as if to embrace the sky. She shook her head slightly. "Zhou Qin must have been stimulated by what happened with Meiduo. She must have felt the pain and frustration of powerlessness for the first time, which is why she is single-mindedly aiming for the highest peak, striving for the ultimate realm of cultivation! What we cultivators need is precisely this kind of brave, progressive, and fearless heart. I believe Zhou Qin will succeed in her Foundation Establishment this time!"

As if to prove Ziyuan right, Zhou Qin, with her arms spread wide, suddenly let out an incredibly wild cry—a sound so savage that it was hard to believe this refined young lady, usually like a pampered princess who never smiled openly, could produce such a primal shriek!

This cry was earth-shattering; the clouds in the sky seemed to tremble, spinning continuously to form a swirling, colorful vortex. At the center of the vortex, a pair of majestic eyes appeared faintly.

Ziyuan started in alarm, her face draining of color. "Not good, Zhou Qin has disturbed the Divine Spirits of the Nine Heavens!"

But just as she was about to move, the oblivious Zhou Qin found a small, sheltered nook at the peak. As soon as she sat down cross-legged within it, she immediately entered a state of deep meditation.

The moment Zhou Qin entered concentration, thunder roared overhead. Soon, bolts of lightning began to crash down relentlessly, striking toward the summit of Mount Karzi.

However, as the lightning struck, a multi-colored golden wheel appeared above the peak of Mount Karzi. Within this golden wheel shone a blazing red sun. The wheel spun ceaselessly, the red sun at its center acting like a massive vortex, drawing in every bolt of lightning.

Ruan Hongling stared, dumbfounded. "What is that?"

Ziyuan said solemnly, "That is the Red Sun Golden Wheel of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism! It is the spiritual power accumulated over hundreds of years from the pious faith of the pilgrims who have come to worship Mount Karzi. This power is now automatically resisting the heavenly tribulation!"

Ruan Hongling gasped, "Zhou Qin triggered a heavenly tribulation?"

Ziyuan nodded. "With Zhou Qin’s immense aura, climbing this high, and letting out that scream—it was practically a provocation to the Divine Spirits of the Nine Heavens! Do you think the heavens are so easily bullied if they don't strike her down?"

Ruan Hongling was both startled and amused. "So Zhou Qin just narrowly escaped disaster?"

Ziyuan replied with a sense of helplessness, "Perhaps this is fate. I don't know why the spirits of Mount Karzi would help Zhou Qin block the heavenly tribulation."

Ruan Hongling shook her head. "Lightning is the might of Heaven and Earth; every bolt that strikes leaks spiritual energy from the world. With the heavenly thunder raining down above Zhou Qin, think how much vital energy is leaking! And Zhou Qin won't be struck while establishing her foundation—this is an extraordinary stroke of luck! How much spiritual energy can she absorb during her Foundation Establishment?"

Ziyuan sighed, "This is what they call timing and destiny! If Zhou Qin hadn't insisted on climbing to the peak, how could she have provoked the heavenly thunder? If she hadn't climbed the highest peak, Mount Karzi, how could the divine spirits have been triggered to defend her?"

The two fell silent for a time, filled with a sense of awe.

After an unknown period, the heavenly thunder above Zhou Qin gradually subsided, and the swirling clouds reluctantly began to dissipate.

But just as the clouds were about to vanish, a muffled thunderclap suddenly boomed from the summit of Mount Karzi. A massive shockwave exploded violently where Zhou Qin was meditating, the ring of energy expanding outward, layer upon layer, like waves.

From a distance, Ziyuan and Ruan Hongling saw that the peak of Mount Karzi seemed to have gained a white halo, strikingly beautiful.

At this moment, Zhou Qin let out a long breath and stood up from the cave, letting out an extremely clear, long cry.

This cry was pure and refined, like the cry of a phoenix from the Ninth Heaven, completely different from the wild shriek before. It sounded like a treasured sword finally forged, howling toward the sky!

Hearing Zhou Qin's long cry from afar, Ziyuan and Ruan Hongling both adopted solemn expressions, speaking not a word. Though they were veterans on the path of cultivation, they were still profoundly shaken by the astonishing momentum of this newcomer.

After completing her Foundation Establishment, Zhou Qin seemed still unsatisfied. She sat down again and began to subdue the Blazing Moon and the Fire God Whip, following the method Li Yundong had taught her.

Zhou Qin was inherently the body of a Yin Maiden Cauldron, a rare vessel of one in ten thousand. Coupled with the Golden Core tempering her body, and possessing Li Yundong's Primal Yang energy within, her Yin and Yang energies combined during Foundation Establishment, while the power of the heavenly thunder tempered her externally. Now that her foundation was established, the might of her nascent Inner Core alone was in no way inferior to the Inner Core Li Yundong had forged when he first established his foundation.

Her choice to subdue the magical artifacts now was like a victorious army pressing its advantage to conquer new territory—it was naturally twice as effective with half the effort. Moreover, having carried the Blazing Moon and the Fire God Whip close to her body along the journey, these artifacts had long been imbued with Zhou Qin’s spiritual energy and were quite familiar with her.

Before long, the Blazing Moon let out a clear chime. This artifact, which had once displayed magnificent power at Tianlong Mountain, now rejuvenated with brand-new vitality. It flew into the sky with a swoosh, excitedly circling Mount Karzi a few times before stopping sharply before Zhou Qin with a zheng. It emitted a faint silver glow, resembling a silver crescent moon, humming softly in recognition of its master.

In Zhou Qin's hand, the tip of the Fire God Whip suddenly twitched. In an instant, the whip transformed into the shape of a red python, its entire body engulfed in intense flames, like a fiery serpent crawling from the abyss, flicking out its terrifying, ferocious tongue.

Zhou Qin flicked her wrist, and the fiery snake vanished instantly. The Fire God Whip cracked out a flourish, transforming into a brilliant streak of red light that enveloped Zhou Qin entirely.

When the light faded, the Fire God Whip was tightly coiled around Zhou Qin’s slender waist, like a form-fitting sash, making her look vigorously heroic. Her entire being seemed reborn, every pore exuding a sharp, piercing edge!

Even from a distance, Ziyuan could feel this razor-sharp aura, like that of a peerless sword, rushing toward her, seeming sharp enough to make the pores on her skin open.

Ziyuan was startled and couldn't help but exclaim, "From now on, the cultivation world will have gained another Great Cultivator!"