Chapter 164: Ruan Tao Undergoes the Tribulation

What Ruan Xing found most suspicious was that, according to the distribution of internal resources from the Sect that Cai Xueshi had mentioned, the total number of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core disciples in the sect did not even reach thirty.

This number was far fewer than she had anticipated.

Suddenly, Ruan Xing thought of something and asked, "A few days ago, did several Golden Core cultivators leave the Six Suns Study?"

Cai Xueshi replied, "They did. I wonder if it has anything to do with the matter of the Boundary Tree being damaged."

Presumably, the explanation the sect gave the disciples was that they needed to catch the thief who damaged the boundary, which was why they were making such a big fuss.

"That's not right," Ruan Xing frowned. "It should be that those cultivators left first, and only afterwards did the news of the boundary being damaged spread."

Cai Xueshi recalled carefully, "That is indeed the case. However, over ninety percent of the disciples in the sect come from within the boundary, and their families and kin are all inside. There was a great uproar for a time; if I hadn't been paying close attention, I probably wouldn't have known this news."

The Six Suns Study advocates severing ties with the mortal world and cutting off worldly thoughts.

But cultivators are human too. Although they have become cultivators themselves, they still hold some different feelings for their original kin in their hearts, so naturally, they do not want the boundary to be damaged and the beautiful lives of the mortals inside to be broken.

No wonder they were searching so actively.

"Do you know what reason these cultivators used to leave? Has this kind of group departure happened before? Is it frequent?" Ruan Xing continued to ask.

Cai Xueshi gave a wry smile, "This... I do not know. It seems they went out for travel. In previous years, there was once a time when Golden Core cultivators went out in groups to travel; as for anything before that, I do not know."

He had only joined the Six Suns Study for less than three years, after all.

"Cultivators usually travel alone, or at most with one or two close friends. Five or six people traveling together is indeed suspicious; perhaps they have a secret mission," Cai Xueshi sighed. "Perhaps after I reach the Golden Core stage, the Sect Master will summon me, and then I will know what that secret mission is."

"Wait a moment..." Ruan Xing seemed to realize the key to this. "Have these cultivators who went out to travel ever returned?"

According to the special cultivation techniques of the Six Suns Study, although they do not recruit many disciples each time, they can basically reach the Golden Core stage steadily, and there is no risk of dying halfway, so the number of people should not be this scarce.

Hearing this question, Cai Xueshi was stunned for a moment and said uncertainly, "They have returned, right? At least of the six cultivators from last year, I saw two of them return."

With this, Ruan Xing's hypothesis no longer held up.

"Forget it, you should go back first," Ruan Xing said.

One cannot leave the Six Suns Study until reaching the Golden Core stage; Cai Xueshi was likely using the excuse of visiting his granddaughter to come out. He hadn't visited his granddaughter in over a year, and if he brought it up suddenly and stayed outside for too long, it would easily displease his current teacher.

Cai Xueshi acknowledged this and left.

What Ruan Xing needed to busy herself with next was Ruan Tao's Golden Core tribulation.

She set the location for the tribulation in this village, which was still quite a distance from Yunyang City. When the time came, she would change her appearance and manifest the aura of the Nascent Soul Stage; those searching disciples would naturally not dare to come and disturb them.

It was just that she didn't have many things on her that Ruan Tao could use. Aside from the dharma robe she was wearing, she had almost no Dharma Artifacts that Ruan Tao could use to survive the tribulation. It was too late to refine any now, and this small village was not prosperous enough to have a Wanbao Tower. She could only delay for a day and go to the Black Market to look for some defensive Dharma Artifacts.

She transformed into a middle-aged male cultivator with a dignified air and walked through the streets of the cultivator market with Ruan Tao.

There were two Golden Core stage Six Suns Study disciples patrolling back and forth. Ruan Tao looked at her with eyes that held a hint of complexity and unease.

Ruan Xing patted her hand to reassure her and passed by the two men as if nothing were wrong. One of them hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward to stop her and said respectfully, "This senior, may I ask why you have come here?"

She hadn't expected this kid to be so bold as to actually dare to stop her.

But she couldn't start a massacre here just because of this slight offense, so she had to put on the arrogance of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Just passing through. This humble Daoist is taking my little disciple to wander the four corners and see the mountains and rivers," Ruan Xing said indifferently, her tone carrying a hint of displeasure. "Is Nanzhou such a barren land that its rules are even stricter than those in the Central Province?"

"I wouldn't dare—" the disciple said in a panic, "it's just that a few days ago, a thief damaged our sect's boundary..."

The other disciple hurriedly pulled him back, signaling with his eyes not to talk nonsense. The man immediately stopped speaking and instead said, "Apologies for the disturbance, Senior. We shall take our leave."

Ruan Xing snorted, flicked her sleeves, and entered a shop nearby.

"A-Xing... is this really okay?" Ruan Tao asked in a low voice.

"Yes. What they are looking for is someone who would flee even if discovered by a Golden Core cultivator. In their predictions, that person's cultivation level won't be too high, at most a late-stage Golden Core. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, I don't fit their known information criteria, and I'm also bringing a Foundation Establishment little disciple with me. As everyone knows, when one is doing bad things, one doesn't bring a burden to add trouble," Ruan Xing said. "Of course, I don't mean you are a burden; it's just that the more swaggering we are, the less those people will suspect us."

Of course, it wouldn't matter if they were suspicious. Ruan Xing had returned this time specifically to deal with the Boundary Tree. The over one hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones in her Storage Bag were enough for her to simulate finding the weaknesses of the Six Suns Study many times.

"By the way, why did you change to calling me A-Xing?" Ruan Xing asked, puzzled.

Ruan Tao smiled reluctantly, "I heard them say that you changed a character in your name while you were outside. Since you don't want others to know your real name, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to call you by it casually where others might hear."

In truth, the characters were different even if the sound was the same, so others wouldn't think much of it, but Ruan Tao's sudden change in address made her feel a bit unaccustomed to it.

"As you wish, call me whatever you like," Ruan Xing said indifferently.

She called the shopkeeper out and began to select the Dharma Artifacts for sale.

After checking several shops and stalls, most were only Low-grade Magical Artifacts; mid-grade ones were rare, or they were defective and unsuitable.

After all, this was just a place where low-level cultivators were mixed together. Ruan Xing could only make up for quality with quantity. She spent eight hundred Spirit Stones to buy nine defensive Dharma Artifacts and rented two quiet rooms to let Ruan Tao familiarize herself with how to use them.

She channeled a wisp of Spiritual Power to her fingertip and flicked it to attack, letting Ruan Tao use the Dharma Artifacts to block.

She couldn't use too much force, or it would be a disaster if the Dharma Artifacts were damaged.

It took three or four hours, and it wasn't until late at night that Ruan Tao was barely proficient with the nine Dharma Artifacts.

Ruan Xing stretched, "Alright, let's leave it at that for today. Eat a few Spirit Returning Pills, rest tonight to recover your energy and get into the right frame of mind, and tomorrow we will go to the open ground outside the city for your tribulation."

Ruan Tao nodded after hearing this, "Okay."

Writer's block is severe, QAQ. Thanks to Xin Tang for the monthly ticket~ (End of chapter)