Chapter 131: Impersonating a Missing Person

Qintai He prepared five thousand Spirit Stones for travel expenses and two mid-grade Magical Artifacts for Ruan Xing; after a few words of polite conversation, Ruan Xing left.

She first used the Mask Artifact to transform into the appearance of Wang Zhi, then found the Teleportation Array station and passed through one array after another to head in the direction of Nanzhou.

From learning yesterday morning that Meng Hui was undergoing her tribulation, to the two of them escaping the Xuanbing Sect and heading to Xizhou, it had been at most eleven or twelve hours; Ruan Xing had been undergoing her tribulation just as the sky was brightening, and it would take her about two hours to reach Nanzhou by Teleportation Array now, so she could just make it in time.

Moreover, the few Inner Sect Golden Core disciples selected by the Sect would likely be delayed for a while due to the disappearance of Qintai He; perhaps she would even arrive a step faster than them, though she did not know who would fill Qintai He's vacancy now that Meng Hui was dead.

The only thing that troubled Ruan Xing slightly was that she had never truly reached Nanzhou in her previous simulations, so she did not know the specific location of that space-time rift, only that it was at the border between the Hanhai Sect and the Jinxia Sect, so she could only wait for the rabbit by the tree at the Jinxia Sect's Teleportation Array station.

Fortunately, she had seen the appearances of those disciples in her simulations.

When she saw those familiar-looking Xuanbing Sect disciples walk out of the Teleportation Array, Ruan Xing immediately used the Illusion Technique to transform into the appearance of Qintai He, straightened her back, and walked over with an arrogant attitude.

Playing Qintai He was not difficult; there were no acquaintances within the Sect who truly understood him, and his outward attitude was always extremely cold and kept people at a distance, so even when acting with others, one could reduce eighty percent of the trouble just by putting on an impatient look.

The only flaw was that Yinfeng was not by her side; after Qintai He gave up the idea of throwing his life away, his request to entrust the white wolf to Ruan Xing no longer counted.

However, it was not a big problem; she could just think of an excuse to brush it off. After all, exploring a space-time rift was not a good mission, and they would not be able to imagine why anyone would bother to impersonate Qintai He just to enter the space-time rift.

Furthermore, these people were still being kept in the dark; they did not know that in the eyes of the Sect's upper echelons, this mission was a one-way trip.

From the Central Province, three Golden Core disciples, including Qintai He, were originally supposed to be sent out; besides those two familiar faces, there was one Ruan Xing had never seen before, and she did not know who it was.

Yet, when she walked up to them, it was that person she had never seen who reacted first, saying with a strange expression, "Qintai He?"

The other two looked at Ruan Xing a beat late, shocked, "Didn't you run away? Why have you suddenly appeared again?"

Although Qintai He was a very famous and influential figure within the Xuanbing Sect, many disciples actually only recognized his white wolf; if they did not pay enough attention to his own appearance, they truly could not identify him at first glance.

Ruan Xing gave a light hum, "Who said I ran away? I just didn't want to be with you all, so I came ahead of time."

"So that's how it is." The few nodded in realization; it was common knowledge that Qintai He liked to act alone.

The first person to speak was somewhat suspicious, "Then why didn't you explain it to True Monarch Qinghong and the Sect Affairs Hall? And your white wolf is inseparable from you; why is it not by your side this time?"

If Qintai He hadn't suddenly disappeared, the Sect Affairs Hall wouldn't have sent him over at the last minute.

"I don't need to report what I want to do to anyone," Ruan Xing said, lifting her chin, "And this is my first mission, so isn't it normal to be inexperienced? Yinfeng has never left Xianyuan City since it was small and isn't used to Teleportation Arrays, so I left it at the Sect. You ask so many questions, who are you?"

The disciple's expression was somewhat complex, "I am a Personal Disciple of Tianyan Peak, Gu Duo."

Ho, as expected of a close friend of True Monarch Qinghong, even his own Personal Disciple had been sent out.

Daojun Qingmeng was truly willing to pay the price.

The other two also introduced themselves. "Inner Sect Disciple Wei Ke."

"Inner Sect Disciple Qian Changyue."

One of them was at the Golden Core Mid-stage, and the other was at the Golden Core Late Stage; the one she had once ambushed and wanted to impersonate was Wei Ke, who was at the Golden Core Mid-stage.

Gu Duo was the one sent out temporarily to replace Qintai He.

Ruan Xing nodded haughtily to show she understood, then said to Gu Duo, "Master said that the Central Province was sending a total of three people for this mission, so are you here in my place?"

"Yes." Gu Duo nodded, hesitating for a moment, "However, since you have reappeared, the roster for this mission has changed again. You decide; I don't mind. If you still intend to participate in this mission, I will just treat this as a trip out to gain experience."

This was a matter of life and death, yet Gu Duo let her choose so casually; it seemed Daojun Qingmeng had told him nothing, and he was merely a discarded pawn.

Ruan Xing had transformed into Qintai He to test the depth of these muddy waters, so she naturally would not refuse, "Since it is my first mission, I must participate, of course. Senior Brother Gu Duo is experienced, so I will trouble you to hold the line for us."

With this division, Gu Duo's trip was essentially for nothing; on the surface, the reward for this mission was still very generous, otherwise, no one would be willing to come for such a dangerous task as exploring an unknown Secret Realm.

However, he did not care; quickly composing his expression, Gu Duo said, "Then let us hurry over; the senior brothers from Nanzhou are already waiting for us."

He took out his Sect Jade Token to send a message with his Divine Sense, and after confirming the direction, the group drove their Flying Swords together and rushed over.

Ruan Xing was still using the one Qintai He had bought for her in Xianyuan City, but neither she nor Qintai He had many people who understood them closely, so there was no situation where her identity was exposed through her weapon.

About five miles away from the location Gu Duo mentioned, the group stopped their Flying Swords; Ruan Xing faintly sensed that the aura of this place had a unique quality, yet she could not explain where this strange intuition came from.

Before them was a vast expanse of what looked like abandoned farmland, with grid-like fields spreading out beyond the reach of the naked eye, overgrown with weeds that were already three or four inches high.

Ruan Xing did not understand farming, but she could judge that this farmland had not been tended to for at least a month; the space-time rift had appeared less than a month ago.

However, Ruan Xing did not see any obvious abnormalities; they must have been covered by other cultivators using concealment techniques. As soon as they jumped off their Flying Swords, the air suddenly distorted, and several cultivators appeared.

Leading them was the Sect Master, whom she had not seen for some time; he was accompanied by two old men, the hunched, lazy Elder Wen with a white beard, and another white-haired old man she had never seen before, who looked full of twilight.

There were also two men and one woman, clearly dressed in the style of other sects.

The female cultivator frowned when she saw the group, "Why have four people come?"

Ruan Xing let her eyes go blank, pretending she hadn't heard; after all, with Qintai He's persona, he would not take the initiative to talk to others.

Seeing this, Gu Duo had to step forward and say, "This must be a fellow Daoist from the Hanhai Sect, right? Rest assured, our Sect's agreement has not changed; it is still five people. I am just following along to see the world and acting as a runner to deliver messages."

Thanks to Lizi liz for the monthly ticket~ (End of chapter)