After destroying the Immortal Sky Crystal, Gu Qinghe stepped into the blue portal that had opened before him.

In an instant, the blue portal closed on its own, leaving Gu Qingyin alone on the volcano.

When Gu Qinghe arrived and opened his eyes, he found himself in a dense and lush forest area.

He had arrived on the stone altar of the seventh mountain peak, where the altar served as the exit mechanism from the three stars within the Closed Realm Dimension.

However, it was still too early for him to leave after arriving at the valley of the seventh mountain altar.

His gaze focused ahead, witnessing a peaceful and serene landscape accompanied by refreshing streams of spiritual qi.

Unfortunately, I still can’t fully absorb this spiritual qi energy.

From the bag of holding, Saint Yue emerged and looked around with widened eyes full of amazement.

This place was far cleaner, purer, and more beautiful than the Transformation Realm Star.

Spiritual qi was far more abundant here, making it perfect for cultivators.

"This is the main peak of the Seven Northern Mountain Peaks," Saint Yue replied.

"It looks calm and harmless. Are there no more trials?"

"Apparently not. The seventh peak is the peak for collecting artifacts."

I didn’t have time to take any artifacts from the sixth mountain. Right now, I only have four artifacts.

Is that... enough to bring me to the legendary eighth peak?

"How does the mechanism work?" Gu Qinghe asked.

Saint Yue turned and looked straight ahead, gazing at the staircase connected to the sky.

In the sky floated a single island connected to the staircase.

"Over there is the artifact altar. To reach the eighth peak, they must offer three out of the five artifacts from the Seven Northern Mountains."

"Will the artifacts disappear after the eighth peak appears?" Gu Qinghe asked.

Saint Yue turned and smiled faintly. "Yes. It is a form of sacrifice for cultivators."

Her face looked sad. Fairies were included among the artifacts provided by the Northern Mountains to open the eighth peak.

Saint Yue was certain that Gu Qinghe would sacrifice her instead of the Golden Sky Energy Sword or the other artifacts.

However, as the light fairy assigned to guide cultivators to the seventh peak, Saint Yue had already prepared herself for every consequence.

Without another thought, Gu Qinghe walked forward without flying. He climbed the stairs one by one toward the floating island in the sky.

Deep in his mind, he had already decided which artifacts he would sacrifice to open the eighth peak.

After all, the eighth peak was Gu Qinghe’s main objective for joining the Seven Northern Mountain Peaks Event.

Thousands of stairs were climbed. Around them, there was nothing but clouds and bright blue skies, while birds flew back and forth past Qinghe and Yue.

"Do you know anything about the Golden Dragon Marrow?"

"I do," Yue explained. "It is the remains of an ancient golden dragon buried deep beneath the Demon Screaming Abyss Star."

"You had a chance to see it earlier. However, I’m afraid your strength isn’t enough to obtain it," Yue explained.

"It would require a Soul Formation cultivator and a dao conception to obtain it through battle," Saint Yue added.

So what that old man said was actually true.

Gu Qinghe continued climbing the stairs and looked toward the end of them.

His steps halted when his foot touched the ceramic floor of the island.

Lush trees bloomed and flourished, while towering white pillars gave the place a powerful, majestic, and solid feeling.

Qinghe’s steps stopped once he arrived at the circular altar located at the center of the platform.

According to Saint Yue, it was the altar capable of bringing Gu Qinghe to the eighth peak.

Realizing her end had arrived, Saint Yue turned and called out to Gu Qinghe.

"Thank you for this journey. Even though it was short, I learned a lot from you, Qinghe," Yue said.

"I hope your cultivation path goes smoothly. I hope you can overcome the dual soul conflict within your body."

"What are you talking about?" Qinghe asked with a glance.

"I... won’t leave you."

Saint Yue gasped in shock, confused by what Gu Qinghe had just said.

"But I am an artifact," Yue explained.

"I have the right to decide which artifacts I sacrifice," Gu Qinghe said.

The man tapped his bag of holding and threw three of his artifacts forward, consisting of the Ninefold Pagoda from the first peak, the Thousand Sage Beads from the second peak, and the Golden Sky Energy Sword from the third peak.

Those three artifacts were valuable and important, each comparable to a high-quality King-grade treasure.

Saint Yue looked clearly at the three artifacts. In her opinion, those artifacts could help increase Qinghe’s cultivation base and strengthen his attacks.

"Why are you giving all of them up instead? Wouldn’t those three artifacts make you stronger?" Saint Yue asked.

"Yes, enough to match Nascent Soul."

"But I don’t plan to stay trapped in Nascent Soul forever!" Gu Qinghe declared firmly.

"Once someone reaches Soul Formation, the strength of their techniques and cultivation is determined by how deeply they understand their dao conception."

"Dao conception is flexible. It can be used for defense, attack, and even cultivation itself," Gu Qinghe said.

"Then what about me?" Saint Yue asked.

"You possess important knowledge that’s useful to me. I’ll keep you so you can help me."

Hearing Gu Qinghe’s words made Saint Yue smile shyly. She was happy that she had not chosen the wrong cultivator.

Even though Gu Qinghe was currently filled with dark qi energy, he still maintained awareness of his soul.

In short, he was only exploiting the power of dark qi and had no intention of falling into the demonic cultivation path.

The three artifacts rested upon the altar stone. A golden light suddenly shone brightly across the engravings on the altar floor, drawing Gu Qinghe’s attention.

The golden light illuminated every engraved mark on the altar floor, shining brilliantly and summoning a pillar of golden light from the sky.

With that pillar of golden light, Gu Qinghe and Saint Yue were instantly teleported away from the floating island in the sky.

The three artifacts on the altar stone vanished in an instant, returning to the main hall chambers of their respective mountain peaks.

The light from the ancient engravings on the altar floor also faded on its own.

Gu Qinghe and Saint Yue were carried through a dimensional tunnel of golden light toward a higher sky.

Through the pure qi power of that golden light, the dark qi within Qinghe’s body gradually faded and disappeared.

His clothes returned to the black robes typical of wandering cultivators.

The veins across his body no longer glowed bright red. His eyes no longer displayed the crimson red light from before.

Saint Yue turned and smiled. "Qinghe, the dark qi in your body is disappearing."

"It seems so," Qinghe replied, no longer wearing a cold expression, his voice returning to normal.

"The pure qi energy from the golden pillar tunnel seems to be purifying the evil effects inside my body."

"That’s good and quite relieving for me."

His cultivation base returned to Early Nascent Soul, no longer surging after the dark qi disappeared.

Now, Gu Qinghe was free from that evil energy.

But the pain in his body returned, stabbing through him once more. Still, Gu Qinghe was able to endure it for the time being.

They finally arrived upon a golden floor beneath a star-filled sky, where thousands of golden stairs stretched before them.

Saint Yue clasped her hands together and lowered her head as if giving respect.

"That is the eighth peak," Saint Yue replied.

At the eighth peak stood a golden gate and palace. Its appearance, qi presence, and aura reminded Gu Qinghe of something.

"I feel familiar with that golden palace."

"Allow me to tell you, Qinghe," Yue explained while looking upward once more.

"That is the Immortal Dragon Palace."