Chapter 136: This Is Real Travel Money

You are very curious why these two invisible islands suddenly appeared in reality and descended so far, appearing so close that it feels as if you could reach them by simply stretching out your hand, so you decide to fly up and see what exactly is on the islands.

You died.

【Simulation ended】

Lived to the age of 172.

Very good, the lifespan has extended quite a bit.

This is a very good omen.

It was just that Ruan Xing hesitated for a moment when choosing the reward; should she choose the Illusion Technique first? After thinking for a second, she chose a random skill.

Her Illusion Technique was successfully cultivated to the third level.

The most significant factor influencing her decision was that the cost of simulations after the Golden Core stage would rise again.

Since she would have use for it in the future, it would be better to take this opportunity to upgrade the Illusion Technique first.

It's just that this Magic Art really takes time... In total, she has spent six or seven hundred years of simulated time on the Illusion Technique.

Ruan Xing simulated a few more times, focusing on the Illusion Technique, and after upgrading it to the fourth level, the time she could change her appearance extended to four hours.

With over eight thousand points remaining, Ruan Xing stopped and then chose cultivation in a new simulation to begin undergoing the tribulation.

Without going to the Central Province, she hid in the deep mountains and forests and lived until she was over four hundred years old before dying; it was just that because she lacked a reliable source of cultivation resources for the latter few hundred years, she only reached the Golden Core Mid-stage by the time her lifespan ended.

The moment she chose cultivation, the tribulation clouds in the sky instantly spread out, thick and dark, connecting into one piece.

To avoid being detected by Qintai He, who was guarding the perimeter, Ruan Xing hurriedly used the Mask Artifact to disguise her cultivation as Foundation Establishment Perfection.

After the three bolts of Tribulation Lightning dissipated, she changed her displayed cultivation to Golden Core Initial-stage.

Opening her eyes with joy, Ruan Xing felt the Golden Core spinning rapidly in her dantian; the icy blue patterns on it were dazzling, and the thumb-sized Golden Core contained vigorous Spiritual Power.

Seeing that Ruan Xing had finally finished, Qintai He wore an imperceptible smile on his face and congratulated her: "Congratulations, Junior Sister, on successfully forming your Golden Core."

To tell the truth, having seen the miserable state of Senior Sister Meng Hui undergoing the tribulation yesterday, his mind had been wandering and he had been on pins and needles while guarding the array just now; fortunately, Ruan Xing's core formation process went smoothly, otherwise he would have added another psychological shadow.

Because Ruan Xing underwent the tribulation with Golden Core cultivation, although the heart-protecting mirror shattered, the Dharma Artifact robe remained unscathed. Just as Ruan Xing was about to return it to him, Qintai He waved his hand, "Keep it. After I get settled in a few days, I will find an Artifact Refiner in the clan to make a few Dharma Artifact robes that suit your preferences."

That sounds great, Ruan Xing happily agreed, "Then I shall accept it without modesty."

Dharma Artifact robes are all crafted through the meticulous "water-polishing" process and are much more troublesome than Dharma Artifacts; robes of the same grade are always two-thirds more expensive than Dharma Artifacts.

Without further ado, Ruan Xing suddenly said seriously: "However, there is one more thing I need to trouble Senior Brother with."

Qintai He said generously: "Speak your mind."

As long as it is a problem that can be solved with Spirit Stones, it is not a problem to him.

Ruan Xing pondered for a while before stating her plan.

She wanted to borrow that key and leave Xizhou.

Upon hearing this, Qintai He did not agree immediately, but frowned slightly, full of confusion: "Why leave? Isn't it better to stay here and cultivate together with me using the power of the family? As for that key, it is fine to lend it to you to look at, but after all, it is my only memento for bringing back my late father's remains... I don't understand why you would take it and leave Xizhou."

This key had extraordinary significance to Qintai He; Ruan Xing knew he would not agree easily and had to persuade him first, otherwise, even if she got the key, if Qintai He did not let her take it out of Xizhou, she would be unable to move a single step in the simulation.

Moreover, Qintai He was not safe here either; in a few years, he would go into Qi Deviation and die just like his grandfather. He had no chance to use the key at all.

Using the same reasons she had repeated several times in the simulations, she explained why she had to leave Xizhou. After a pause, Ruan Xing continued with sincere and earnest words: "Senior Brother, do you still not understand why I want to take the key with me? In this world, you are already without support or attachments; yesterday you even harbored thoughts of death. How can you expect me not to worry about you? From your descriptions, I can feel how loving your parents were and how deep your feelings for them are. I am truly afraid that if I leave, you might one day harbor thoughts of leaving again and recklessly use the key to enter that place of nine deaths and one life..."

Her words trailed off, her eyes filled with deep worry as she looked at Qintai He.

"Do not use the key until you reach the Transformation Stage. So, let me keep the key. Senior Brother, if you trust me, I will come back to find you once I obtain a Nascent Soul stage cultivation technique. By then, I will give you both the technique and the key."

"Of course I trust you..." After hearing this, Qintai He's eyes were already slightly red, "Although we have known each other for a short time and I was always impatient with you before, these past two days have made me realize that you have long been like a younger sister to me. Since that is the case, I will leave the key in your care. I will wait for you to come back to me."

"Good, then let us each strive to cultivate and meet at the peak in the future!" Ruan Xing exclaimed with emotion, "Brother!"

Qintai He also said excitedly: "Speak, little sister!"

"Give your little sister some travel expenses."

"No problem, you—" Qintai He suddenly stuttered, somewhat bewildered by the sudden sharp turn in the conversation, "How much do you need?"

Ruan Xing said somewhat bashfully: "Brother, just give whatever you think is appropriate."

After all, she was his newly recognized sister, and she had accompanied him in fleeing the Sect without hesitation over the past two days. Qintai He was caught up in his emotions, so he directly took a Storage Bag off his body and handed it to Ruan Xing, "There are two thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones inside. Take them for now, little sister."

"Thank you, Brother!" Ruan Xing thanked him loudly and happily.

Two thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, this was truly an unexpected joy. She had never proactively asked for travel expenses in the simulations, nor had she thought about whether Qintai He would actually give them.

"Shall we go back now?" Qintai He said.

Ruan Xing shook her head, "Although you have the help of Cang Lin, you still need to put more effort into your family affairs yourself. I won't go back with you; take care."

Qintai He was silent for a while, then replied in a low voice: "Alright."

He looked at Ruan Xing with some reluctance, and only turned to leave after a long while.

Ruan Xing wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.

It is fortunate that Qintai He's personality is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Although he appears cold to everyone on the surface, once you truly win his heart, he is extremely sincere. He hadn't left Xianyuan City for nearly thirty years, had never made friends, and had never experienced being scammed; otherwise, she really wouldn't have been able to fool him.

Because of her several previous experiences, although Ruan Xing had talked with Qintai He for a long time after the tribulation ended, the time passed even faster than in the previous simulations. It was not yet dawn, a half-moon hung in the sky, and the shimmering moonlight spilled onto the ground.

Both Array Disks were damaged to the point of being unusable, and she had sacrificed her 【Fatty No. 1】 to ambush Qintai Mo. Looking at Qintai Mo's corpse in the Storage Bag, Ruan Xing scratched her head and began to hurry to repair it.

The skin surface was too badly damaged, and half an arm was almost ruined. After repairing it for a long time, Ruan Xing could not perfectly carve all the Talismans, so she had to sigh and turn him into a simple Self-destruct Puppet.

It is truly a pity that for a Golden Core stage material, the power after refining can only fill the gap left by 【Fatty No. 1】.

"Let's call it 【Fatty No. 3】," Ruan Xing slowly named it.

Sorting out Qintai Mo's corpse took nearly half an hour, and it was already dawn. Ruan Xing used the Mask Artifact to transform into the appearance of Wang Zhi and walked into the Teleportation Array station.

Spending one thousand eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, Ruan Xing appeared in Nanzhou on time. Looking at the mere two hundred plus Spirit Stones left in her newly acquired Storage Bag, Ruan Xing felt a sharp pang of heartache.

These travel expenses were truly "travel expenses"—there was hardly anything left.

But it is normal; for a Golden Core stage Cultivator, two thousand Spirit Stones can be used to buy cultivation Pills for several months. This Teleportation Array thing is really not something an ordinary Cultivator can afford.

Thanks to yellow wolf for the tip~(End of chapter)