Chapter 100: Golden Core Stage? A Defeated Foe

Ruan Xing began to ponder the possibility the Demon Lord had mentioned.

Thinking about it carefully, the only difference between the Demon Lord and the fairy and the other puppets was that they had inserted their own Divine Souls into the essence of the puppets, rather than her using the Soul Summoning Incantation.

She had originally thought it was because both of them had been at the Spirit Severing cultivation level before death, and their Divine Souls were powerful, but now it seemed there were other reasons.

Of all the puppets she knew that had used the Soul Summoning Incantation, without exception, all had lost their consciousness; only Sword Lai still retained some memories and instincts. After she re-refined him and added the blessing of the Ink Marrow's yin energy, he now possessed the consciousness of a seven or eight-year-old child. At least he could recognize people, knew Hu San was his brother, and knew Ruan Xing was his master.

However, Sword Lai was very special. In the mortal world, where most materials only had weak Spirit Qi, Hongtou Daoren had refined so many puppets, and only Sword Lai had succeeded. He could practice Internal Strength techniques to develop True Qi and could also learn the Ghost Escape Technique; these were things the other puppets could not do. Cai Jiao, even now, only knew how to hoe the ground and plant flowers, let alone fight; if someone pushed her, she could sit on the ground for half a day and be unable to get up.

If only she could encounter another cultivator with a powerful Divine Soul to refine into a puppet and test it; that way, she would know if it was truly a problem with the Soul Summoning Incantation.

The Demon Lord curled his lips in disappointment and did not dwell on this topic further.

Cai Wen said worriedly, "Should we leave? This town is under the jurisdiction of the Six Suns Study, and it is not far from Yunyang City. I am afraid that Yunyang City will send people over very soon."

With such a huge commotion, they had almost destroyed half the buildings in the small town, and quite a few low-level cultivators and mortals had died; it would be unreasonable not to send someone.

But Sword Lai had not returned yet.

"Demon Lord, do you know which direction they went?"

The Demon Lord tilted his head and pointed in a direction, "That way, I suppose."

"Alright, then we will head in that direction too," Ruan Xing said.

She could not order the Demon Lord to come and carry her, and with Cai Wen's cultivation level, he had no way to fly on a Sword while carrying two people. Ruan Xing thought for a moment, took out a mask and put it on her face, transforming into the appearance of Wang Zhi.

She chose to walk out of the town, and before setting off, she took a Healing Pill to stabilize her injuries.

This way, it would not matter if she was seen on the road.

The Demon Lord was using the body of a Central Province cultivator who had never been to Nanzhou, and Cai Wen was a low-key Inner Sect Disciple of the Six Suns Study who rarely went out; on the surface, neither had any connection to Ruan Xing. As long as no one saw her face, she would not have to worry about getting into trouble.

While walking, Ruan Xing performed a Text Simulation in her mind.

【Simulation in progress】

At seven years old, you left the Xuanbing Sect and were assassinated by Elder Xu and others in the town. With the help of Xie Feng, Shen Lingyun, and Sword Lai, you successfully survived the ordeal.

To avoid others coming to investigate and discovering you, you planned to leave the town. Not long after leaving the town, you encountered Sword Lai, who was carrying the head of Elder Xu.

Because you were severely injured and unable to use Spiritual Power, you found a secluded place on the way to the mountain pass to rest and recuperate. Three days later, your injuries had healed by fifty percent. You spent two days crossing the mountain pass and reached the edge of the barrier. Shen Lingyun also woke up. You had Sword Lai notify Hu San. After Hu San and Ruan Tao arrived, they accepted the inheritance of Shen Lingyun and Xie Feng from across the barrier.

After staying outside the barrier for a few days, you planned to return to the Xuanbing Sect. Xie Feng and his companion also fulfilled their agreement with you, and thus, you parted ways.

Seven days later, under the arrangement of the Sect Master, you headed to the Central Province. After arriving in the Central Province, you closed your doors to visitors, focused on cultivation, and ignored worldly affairs.

At twenty-three years old, Demon Cultivators invaded Nanzhou. The Nanzhou Xuanbing Sect sent a distress signal. The Sect Master summoned all Inner Sect Disciples to go to Nanzhou to provide support. In the battle against the Demon Cultivators, you were unfortunately severely injured, and you died.

【Simulation ended】

Seeing this simulation result, Ruan Xing first let out a sigh of relief; there were no survivors hiding in the town who could potentially expose having seen her.

Afterwards, she pondered for a moment. It seemed she had not done much in this simulation, and choosing any of the options was not very good; only the cultivation realm had a slight gain.

Ruan Xing chose the realm. Although she was still at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage with no improvement, a stream of pure Spiritual Power appeared out of thin air within her body, nourishing her damaged frame, and it even made her faintly aching meridians feel much more comfortable.

This was an unexpected joy. She had not expected that increasing her cultivation would have such an effect. If she increased her realm while severely injured, could she recover to full status like leveling up in a game?

She could try it when there was an opportunity.

However, thinking of the few sentences mentioned in the simulation, Ruan Xing's mind shifted, and she sent a message to Sword Lai through their mental link, telling him not to just bring the head back, but to bring the whole thing back.

Regarding the puppet aspect, she just had a new idea; perhaps she could try it on Elder Xu's corpse.

Not long after leaving the town, Ruan Xing saw several meteors streaking across the distance.

Those were the light halos of Flying Swords moving rapidly in the air.

Only battles at the Golden Core Stage or above would appear on such a scale. Once they inspected the scene, they would discover that there was more than one Golden Core Stage present, and perhaps the Demon Lord and the others had left traces of yin energy. Small sects like the Six Suns Study would not be willing to rashly provoke several Golden Cores. They would likely smooth things over after investigating and then report the traces of yin energy to other sects.

It was a pity that she could not erase such a large area of traces. She would have to be even more cautious during the remaining days in Nanzhou; unless absolutely necessary, she could not let the puppets take action again.

After another moment, Sword Lai returned.

He was carrying a corpse that was already broken beyond recognition, which could barely be identified as Elder Xu.

"Ah, this... it should still be usable, right?" Ruan Xing said uncertainly, and casually put the corpse into her Storage Bag.

Sword Lai leaned over somewhat affectionately and rubbed against Ruan Xing's shoulder; his cold cheek pressed against her arm through her clothing.

It seemed to be the appearance of waiting for praise.

Ruan Xing smiled and touched his head, "Well done."

After traveling some distance from the town, the surroundings were desolate and uninhabited. Ruan Xing took off the mask to restore her own appearance and let Sword Lai carry her.

Since she had a means of transport, why should she walk herself?

She turned her head and said to Cai Wen, "You go back first. When you have the ability, I will tell you what to do."

"By the way, take this, a one-way Transmission Talisman. You can record a sentence or two inside. If there is any emergency, you can send a message to me." Ruan Xing took out a talisman and gave it to Cai Wen.

Although this one-way Transmission Talisman was a disposable item and quite expensive, it had one advantage: it ignored distance. Even if she were in the Central Province, she could still receive the message if Cai Wen used the Transmission Talisman.

Cai Wen took the Transmission Talisman, bowed in silence, pushed Cai Jiao forward, and then left.

Ruan Xing looked at the ignorant Cai Jiao in front of her, sighed, and put her into the Storage Bag.

"Sword Lai, let's go." Ruan Xing gave the order, curled herself into a ball in Sword Lai's arms, and half-closed her eyes to take a nap.

Sword Lai nodded. The air distorted imperceptibly for a moment, and together with Ruan Xing, the two fell into concealment, traveling through a passage filled with wind and waves.

Sensing that the two had completely disappeared from his Divine Sense without a trace, the Demon Lord curled his lips slightly, "Interesting. You don't tell me where you are going, and you hide so that I cannot detect you. How do you expect me to follow you?"

However, by this time, Ruan Xing had already been carried far away by Sword Lai and could not hear him.

Helpless, the Demon Lord had to ask a question through the mental link, and only then did he follow.

In the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, Sword Lai had already run to the vicinity of the Six Suns Study, entered the mountain forest, and crossed the mountain pass; beyond that was the Mortal Dynasty.

After waiting for a moment, the Demon Lord also caught up.

The outer perimeter of this mountain pass was a dark and tall forest, and the three-fold mountain pass in the center was covered by lush and dense vegetation, among which were many Monster Beasts that grew inside. Ruan Xing had once forced her way through it several times in the simulation, and finally concluded that only by reaching the Golden Core Stage could one barely move through it unimpeded. Although she had not yet reached the Golden Core Stage, Sword Lai's Ghost Escape Technique could already carry her along.

After giving the Demon Lord a few instructions and agreeing to meet in front of the barrier, Ruan Xing was again carried by Sword Lai and stepped into concealment.

In less than an hour, Ruan Xing saw the eerie land belonging to the intersection of the barrier.

She was a living person and could not pass back through this barrier, so Sword Lai set her down, seemingly excited to go call Hu San and Ruan Tao over.

"Wait, it's almost dawn, no need to rush. Let them have a good sleep before coming over to meet. I also want to rest for a while," Ruan Xing said.

She had just taken two Healing Pills; although the cultivation gained in the Simulation had caused her injuries to develop in a good direction, she still felt very weak right now.

Hmm, she needed a good rest! Ruan Xing took several pieces of clothing out of her Storage Bag, had Sword Lai chop down a tree and cut it into long wooden sticks to serve as a frame, and set up a small tent.

Ruan Xing curled up inside to heal her injuries, and the late-arriving Demon Lord also arrived, squeezing in to meditate on the side.

"Tsk, barely acceptable. At my worst, I used to have a Cave Abode, but now following you, I have to experience sleeping in the open," the Demon Lord shook his head.

"Heh, you said before that Demon Cultivators don't follow rules like Righteous Cultivators do. I don't believe you didn't suffer or endure grievances when your cultivation was low."

Ruan Xing muttered in a weak voice.

The Demon Lord lowered his eyes and said indifferently, "Those who could make me suffer are all already dead."

"Mhm, right, they were all worn down to death by you. Who could outlive you?" Ruan Xing was full of perfunctoriness.

"I meant those people were all killed by me! Do you understand?"

"Alright, stop arguing, let me sleep for a while," Ruan Xing said, her breathing gradually becoming steady.

The Demon Lord looked at her and muttered in a low voice, "Already at Foundation Establishment and still sleeping, what a strange person."

The pitch-black night, the moonlight somewhat dim, cold wind blew from the forest, puffing the simple tent into a soft mound.

The Demon Lord was silent, watching quietly for a while, then also closed his eyes.

Sword Lai sat quietly at the tent entrance, like a guardian statue.

One night without dreams.

When Ruan Xing woke up, she felt her body and bones had loosened up quite a bit.

The sky was bright, the Demon Lord was no longer in the tent, and when she opened her eyes, she only saw Sword Lai squatting beside her, his one black and one white pupil staring at her eerily.

"You scared me," Ruan Xing patted her chest. "Stop squatting, go call your brother and my sister over. Keep an eye on them so they don't cross the barrier; if they come out, they can't get back in. By the way, bring some wind-blocking fabric and bedding to fix up this tent properly. We'll be staying for several days, and the ground is too hard and uncomfortable."

After listening, Sword Lai crawled out of the tent, and Ruan Xing also got up and stretched.

She ate a Healing Pill and then began to heal herself again.

The Sect Master gave her fifteen days, and there were twelve days left now. She planned to heal her injuries at the edge of the barrier first, then wait for the fairy to wake up. The Simulation had already told her that Shen Lingyun would wake up in about five days.

By then, the fairy's inheritance would go to Ruan Tao, and the Demon Lord's inheritance would go to Hu San; that would be perfect.

Hu San probably wouldn't resist being a Demon Cultivator or an Immortal Cultivator; anyway, his brother was already an evil entity, so there was no need for him to cultivate the opposite.

Moreover, the important thing was that once Hu San cultivated the demonic path, when the Demon Cultivators invaded at the age of twenty-three, she could take advantage of the situation to have Hu San infiltrate the Demon Cultivators while she hid behind the scenes.

As for Ruan Tao, firstly, she felt Ruan Tao was prone to being soft-hearted and not suitable for demonic cultivation, and she didn't want the Demon Lord and Ruan Tao to have much contact. Secondly, the fairy's personality was simpler; perhaps Ruan Tao would be more liked by her, and besides the inheritance, she would also teach her other things.

Not long after, Ruan Tao and Hu San came over.

Ruan Xing raised her eyes to look over and stood up, walking to the edge of the barrier. Ruan Tao wanted to step forward excitedly but was pulled back by Sword Lai in time.

"Young Miss." Hu San also looked uncontrollably excited, but compared to when she left, he had become much more mature and steady.

"Mhm, long time no see." Ruan Xing nodded with gratification. She felt a bit surprised now because, unexpectedly, both of them were at Qi Refining Layer 3!

Relying only on the Basic Qi Refining Mantra and a few bottles of Gathering Qi Pills she sent, the two of them were able to reach Qi Refining Layer 3 in half a year. Their Spirit Bone aptitude must be quite good; now she didn't have to worry.

Ruan Tao took a deep breath, her eyes moistening, her clear eyes shimmering with starlight. "You've grown taller."

Ruan Xing curled her lips, showing her a bright smile. "Sister, you have too."

"Why do we have to be separated by such a distance?" Ruan Tao was puzzled.

There was about a meter or two of distance between the two.

"This, it's a long story." Ruan Xing rubbed her nose. "The cultivation technique I had Sword Lai bring to you before, do you know what it is?"

Ruan Tao hesitated. Previously, she had always thought it was just an ordinary martial arts technique, but after witnessing Sword Lai's elusive skills and her own body undergoing various changes that ordinary people couldn't explain, it was a power completely different from True Qi.

She couldn't deceive herself, but she didn't dare to believe it. Only when Ruan Xing said it so bluntly did she bite her lip and say, "It is... a very magical technique."

"It is the method of Cultivation." Ruan Xing paused and said, "Sister, I want to take you to cultivate immortality together, so I not only sent you the technique but also brought you a master."

Master? Ruan Tao's expression had a hint of strangeness. "Is it the man in black who suddenly appeared in the city this morning? His methods are very similar to Sword Lai's."

The Demon Lord secretly ran into the city this morning!? Ruan Xing suddenly had a bad premonition.

Babies, look here~ Previously, babies kept commenting that the book title wasn't suitable enough. I asked the editor and got a reply that I could try changing the book title to see how it works, but I don't really know what kind of book title is more attractive, so I listed a few below for everyone to help me deliberate QAQ. You can comment with the number or the book title, and you can also like other people's comments. Finally, I will send the more popular ones to the editor. The deadline is July 28th~ 1 "The Waste-Constitution Me Uses the Cultivation Simulator to Slaughter Everyone"

2 "The Supporting Female Character Simulates Becoming a God in the Cultivation World"

3 "After Transmigrating into the Book, I Accidentally Simulated Becoming a God"

4 "My Simulated Cultivation Path"

5 "The Great Heroine Awakening Simulator Ascends to Immortality All the Way"

6 "Simulating Endless Dead Ends, Intercepting a Thread of Immortal Opportunity"

7 "The Simulator's Smooth Immortal Path"

8 "About the Matter of Awakening a Simulator After Transmigrating into a Book"

9 "I Have a Simulator"

10 "Others Cultivate Immortality While I Simulate, I Won't Reason with You"

If babies have other titles they think are more suitable, you can also continue to number them in order and write them in the comments~(End of this chapter)