Chapter 143: The Hero Sent to Die

A rift in space and time appeared abruptly in the sky, shimmering with eerie and beautiful colors.

Ruan Xing, bored, took out a key and toyed with it in her palm.

The Sect Master merely glanced over lightly, then showed no further reaction.

It seemed he did not recognize this key.

After some thought, Ruan Xing asked the Sect Master, "I have an item here that I obtained by chance, but I haven't been able to figure out its purpose in my hands so far. Could you help me take a look?"

As she spoke, she handed over the key in her hand.

The Sect Master lifted his eyelids to look, a flash of surprise in his eyes, and took it.

After examining it in his hand several times, he cautiously refrained from channeling Spiritual Power into it and shook his head. "The world is full of wonders; even a Return to Void expert does not recognize everything. I have never seen this thing either, and I cannot tell what material it is made of. However, since it is shaped like a key, it should serve to open a door or act as some kind of transport. But this material is unusual, and the place it leads to must be the same. With your current Golden Core cultivation, it is too dangerous to enter an unknown realm rashly. It is best if you do not step into it lightly."

"I understand, thank you for the clarification, Senior Uncle." Ruan Xing nodded.

Hearing the address "Senior Uncle," the Sect Master was startled for a moment, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

Ruan Xing continued to ask, "How long do we have to wait here?"

"I don't know," the Sect Master said. "If they come out in a day, we wait only one day; if they never come out, we wait one month."

Mentioning this matter, a trace of anxiety was clearly etched between the Sect Master's brows.

He was also very worried about whether the people inside could come out safely, but this was not something he could control.

"This is my first time in Nanzhou. Since there is still some time, could you lift the concealment spell here for me, Senior Uncle? I would like to go out and look around, then come back in a few days?"

"This... I'm afraid that won't do." The Sect Master refused after thinking for less than a second. "The barrier here was set up jointly by me and cultivators from two other sects. If I open it, those two will certainly be suspicious of what unsavory business you are going out to do. It is only a month at most, so just stay here with peace of mind."

"Yes." Ruan Xing lowered her eyes and agreed calmly, though she felt somewhat anxious inside.

If she were trapped here and her Illusion Technique failed at night, the information gained from this simulation would be too little.

Was it going to end now? Just as she was caught in a dilemma, the Sect Master's expression suddenly shifted, and he took out his Sect Jade Token, seemingly having received some news.

He frowned and whispered, "Damn it, why did he come?"

Hm? Who came? Ruan Xing quietly pricked up her ears, but the Sect Master did not say anything more. Instead, he stood up and exchanged a few words with the cultivators left behind by the other two sects, and then the three of them joined forces to open the barrier.

The Sect Master said to Ruan Xing with some helplessness, "Consider yourself lucky, kid. Do you want to go out? But let me say this first: once you go out, you can't come back in. The barrier won't be opened again until a month later."

"Of course I do. Don't worry, Senior Uncle, I understand everything," Ruan Xing said hurriedly, picking up her box and following him.

As the two walked out of the barrier, Ruan Xing finally understood why the Sect Master had suddenly decided to open it.

A male cultivator in green robes was slowly descending on a Sword, his jade-like face cold as frost. Ruan Xing had seen him from afar in a previous simulation; he was Fu Qinghong's master, Qingyuan Daojun.

Upon seeing him, Ruan Xing remembered the Puppet Body of Fu Qinghong in her Storage Bag and instinctively tucked her tail and lowered her head to minimize her presence.

However, it had no effect. As soon as Qingyuan Daojun saw her, he sneered, "Why didn't you go into the space-time rift?"

The Sect Master explained, "Tianyan Peak Personal Disciple Gu Duo went in for him."

"You certainly have good fortune, having a good master," Qingyuan Daojun said to Ruan Xing, seemingly implying something.

The pressure of the Transformation Stage was sharp and overbearing, and he had no intention of restraining it. If it weren't for the Sect Master standing in front, Ruan Xing felt she shouldn't be standing right now, but should have been kneeling prostrate long ago.

But judging by what Qingyuan Daojun said, combined with the information she had just learned from Gu Duo, it seemed that the matter of Gu Duo replacing Qintai He was a private decision between the two of them, and the other Peak Masters and officials were unaware. Perhaps Qintai He's status as a disciple could still be preserved.

Ruan Xing dared not speak and was brainstorming on her own. The Sect Master was not idle either; he quietly reached out a hand to block Qingyuan Daojun's pressure for Ruan Xing behind him and said helplessly, "Didn't you say you had a secret order from the Sect Master to deliver? It's not appropriate for a junior to hear such things. Let him go first."

"It doesn't matter," Qingyuan Daojun smiled. "You can listen together; it's just right."

The Sect Master heard the ill intent in Qingyuan Daojun's tone and frowned, "What do you mean by this?"

Both of Qingyuan Daojun's Personal Disciples had died in Nanzhou, so it was normal for him to be angry. But more than a month had passed, and Qingyuan Daojun had not impulsively rushed to Nanzhou to teach him a lesson; presumably, the Sect Master had used some method to appease him.

The Sect Master had also realized that since Elder Xu was dead, sending the two remaining elderly Elders and the younger generation of cultivators to explore the space-time rift was a punishment for the Elders. As for himself, he would not have a good end once the matter of the space-time rift was over.

But this was, after all, in the middle of executing a Sect mission, and there were cultivators from two other sects nearby. Could it be that Qingyuan Daojun really intended to make a move on him here? Would it not be a laughingstock to other sects if it got out?

"What are you afraid of? I'm just here to chat with you for a bit," Qingyuan Daojun sneered. "Do you know why the disciples sent to explore the Secret Realm this time were not the elites of the Sect?"

The two old men were one thing—that was punishment for dereliction of duty. But the younger generation—two obscure, ordinary Inner Sect Disciples, plus Qintai He, who had just entered the Golden Core Stage—this was indeed not a good lineup. If the other two sects hadn't been uninformed and only known that Qintai He was a genius Personal Disciple who formed his Golden Core before the age of thirty, they would have seen that something was wrong with this team.

Before the Sect Master could answer, Qingyuan Daojun continued, "After Peak Master Li came to investigate that day, she was severely injured while resisting the power of the space-time rift. I visited her privately, and she told me that this space-time rift is likely not a lost Secret Realm, but a path leading to the Juelin Zhidi."

"What!?" The Sect Master was horrified. "Then why let them go in to die?"

Anyone who understands the horror of the Juelin Zhidi knows that unless one is at the Transformation Stage, entering means certain death.

"Die? No, you misunderstand. They are heroes of the Sect. With such a good reputation left behind, you should be happy for them," a trace of satisfaction flashed across Qingyuan Daojun's face. "Soon, the Xuanbing Sect will have a new Secret Realm left behind by Gui Xu Xianjun, and they will be the heroes of this event."

"A Secret Realm...?" The Sect Master looked dazed. "It must be the Secret Realm left by Guangyou Xianjun who has 'ascended,' right? It has been over twenty years; his Guixuzhidi should indeed be turning into a Secret Realm."

Hearing the Sect Master's words, Ruan Xing suddenly remembered: yes, the Return to Ruins Stage—if one does not become an immortal, one returns to the void. Guangyou Xianjun's ascension was a facade, a false message released by the Xuanbing Sect to the outside world. But the Secret Realm formed after Guangyou Xianjun returned to the void could not be hidden. So, taking advantage of this opportunity, they wanted to "whitewash" Guangyou Xianjun's Secret Realm. Regardless of whether this space-time rift was a Secret Realm or not, the final answer would be affirmative.

"So, you are here to..." the Sect Master spoke with some bitterness.

"That's right, I am here to kill you. You can resist. Once the cultivators from the other two sects are distracted, Hall Master Xu and Peak Master Cheng will come to join forces and seal the space-time rift. Even if they have the ability to reach the heavens and come out, after the seal, it will be impossible."

The other two sects would only think that they had mastered the core of the Secret Realm and had other ways to get out, which is why they sealed the rift. The rule that they could attack each other inside the rift was proposed by themselves, so they would have to accept their fate.

After all, the Xuanbing Sect had personally sealed their own thirty-year-old Golden Core genius inside; how could it be fake?

Although the Qintai He that Ruan Xing was impersonating did not go in this time, another Personal Disciple had entered, so the weight was barely enough.

Qingyuan Daojun's tone was full of malice. "I never participate in the affairs of the Sect, but this time I cannot sit idly by. Why is it that when my disciples died, the ones pushed out to take the fall were just a few Golden Core Elders waiting to die? Shouldn't you pay the price of your life for this?"

So, what the Sect Master had promised Qingyuan Daojun was to let him take the life of the Nanzhou Sect Master with his own hands to vent his anger.

"I underestimated the coldness and ruthlessness of the Sect," the Sect Master smiled bitterly. "The wounds that Brother Wen and I suffered at the hands of Demon Cultivators, the blood shed before the Heavenly Sword Sect—in the end, it was all for nothing."

Having said this, he understood everything. He sighed, "Do it."

He knew that as an Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, it was impossible for him to defeat the Transformation Stage Qingyuan Daojun, not to mention that Hall Master Xu and Peak Master Cheng were also nearby. He was bound to die today, but if he didn't resist, how could he be reconciled?

A pity for Brother Wen... A look of sorrow flashed across the Sect Master's face, and with a wave of his hand, he summoned his Dharma Artifact.

Ruan Xing had quietly retreated as soon as Qingyuan Daojun revealed his murderous intent. Qingyuan Daojun had no good look for her, and if a fight broke out, she might be the first one he targeted. And since he wouldn't let her leave before speaking... Ruan Xing could only pessimistically conclude that this simulation was coming to an end once again.

Who would have thought that the most exciting part was actually outside the space-time rift.

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