Chapter 177: Don't Make Me Regret Saving You

While enduring the pain from his wounds, the Sect Master was still brainstorming.

He wondered, what kind of sect is the Fengling Yueying Sect? Does Nanzhou even have such a sect?

Isn't she a Demon Cultivator?

Can Demon Cultivators now openly expose their own sect? The Sect Master was filled with questions.

Meanwhile, A Jiao had already returned to Ruan Xing's hand.

With a Spirit Tool in hand, Ruan Xing's confidence surged; she directly suppressed the two old men, and whenever the two dared to use Dharma Artifacts to resist, she would use her Divine Ability to snatch the Dharma Artifacts away and toss them aside.

In an instant, the two were in a sorry state.

The Sect Master was also being annoyed to no end by the constant harassment from Sword Lai.

Although Sword Lai was also injured, he was a Puppet Body after all; as long as the essence of the puppet remained undamaged, it had almost no impact on his combat effectiveness.

Although the Sect Master's cultivation realm was higher than Sword Lai's, he could not catch a glimpse of Sword Lai within the Ghost Escape Technique.

"This won't do," the Sect Master pondered. "Now that the Ghost Fire has ignited, I fear there are few disciples left on the entire mountain. It would be better to temporarily avoid the sharp edge; firstly, I can lure this person into the back mountain, and secondly, once the Ghost Fire burns out, other disciples may return to provide assistance."

The two Elders saw the Sect Master's signal and tacitly retreated while fighting, withdrawing directly into the woods of the back mountain.

Yet Ruan Xing's originally closing figure stopped just before the woods.

"Old geezer, trying to trick me into going in?" Ruan Xing said with a smirk.

The Sect Master's expression turned horrified, "You even know this!?"

The whisk-wielding old man frowned and whispered: "What is to be done? Now that we have fallen into such a passive situation, we cannot hide in the forest forever, and we certainly cannot let the Xumi Realm be revealed to the Cultivation world!"

If it were just to save his own life, since this woman is a Demon Cultivator, they could just wait for her to be discovered by other high-level Cultivators and driven out of Nanzhou.

But the problem is, if others discover this woman, they will also discover the Xumi Realm!

Their expressions were all uncertain, but now, facing Ruan Xing who had the upper hand, they were completely helpless.

"That sword in her hand is undoubtedly a Spirit Tool. If she didn't have that sword, we two would still have a seventy percent chance of winning, but with the sword in her hand and us both injured, we don't even have a one percent chance," the golden-ringed old man said with an ugly expression.

Watching them whisper and discuss for a long time without coming up with a solution, Ruan Xing felt a bit bored; she stretched, raised her sword, and said, "Since I'm idle anyway, try taking another strike from me."

A brilliant white light erupted from the sword, and in an instant, it split into tens of thousands of afterimages that appeared before Ruan Xing.

She recklessly poured in her Spiritual Power, feeling that this move was vastly different from when she used it in the past.

Sensing the immense power contained within those ten thousand afterimages, the whisk-wielding old man's eyes were filled with horror, and he shouted sharply: "Move!"

He stood in front of the others, waved his hand to fling out his whisk, and the thousands of silver threads scattered in the air were quickly shredded by the sword light. The whisk-wielding old man, whose Dharma Artifact was damaged, had no time to feel the heartache; he simply took advantage of the split second gained by the Dharma Artifact's obstruction to sacrifice the Sumeru Mirror.

The ancient carved wooden mirror floated above everyone's heads, reflecting a caramel-colored eggshell that surrounded them.

A smile appeared on the corner of Ruan Xing's mouth, "Finally waited for you to use it."

The sword light afterimages fell incessantly like wind and rain, battering the eggshell until it was on the verge of collapse.

The whisk-wielding old man guessed that Ruan Xing even knew about the Sumeru Mirror, but as long as the opponent dared not step into the woods, they still had the strength to fight.

However, inside the sealed caramel eggshell, the soil suddenly loosened, as if something underground wanted to come out.

"What's going on?" The golden-ringed old man was confused.

None of the three of them were in a near-death state, so why would the tree roots activate?

Could it be that it doesn't distinguish between friend and foe?

From the damp, soft soil, a thin, withered yellow hand suddenly reached out, struggling as if trying to crawl out.

A moment later, all around them, there were hands and heads reaching out from the ground, stiffly squirming as they crawled outward.

"What are these things?" The golden-ringed old man only felt his hair stand on end.

They had never buried any corpses in the woods! And even if there were any, they should have been digested by the tree roots.

Chen Donghao was trembling against a tree trunk at this moment, wishing he had already fainted, and cried out: "Sect Master, Sect Master, please think of a way!"

Silence.

If they withdrew the Sumeru Mirror, they would be attacked by Ruan Xing like targets.

If they didn't withdraw it, they would have to maintain the Sumeru Mirror while fighting these strange corpses.

"I'll choose for you." Ruan Xing put away her sword, flew high into the air, and feeling that she was about a thousand meters away, she extended her palm.

This was her first time controlling hundreds of puppets simultaneously.

She was not yet at the Transformation Stage, so this time it consumed a great deal of her Divine Sense.

But she gritted her teeth against the stinging pain in her Soul Sea, sensed a flash of enlightenment in her heart, and suddenly curled her fingers with force! She clenched her fist.

As if invisible threads gathered in her palm, she gave a light tug, and over a hundred puppets performed the same action simultaneously.

It was as if the experience of Puppetry in the Simulator panel had suddenly increased by a large margin, and the number one quietly transformed into a two.

【Puppetry (Level 2)】

It was a pity that the Divine Ability was not displayed on the panel, otherwise she could have felt that her mastery of the Divine Ability had also strengthened by a sliver.

She snapped her fingers, her lips parted slightly, and she simulated the sound of an explosion, "Bang!"

In an instant, the puppets buried under the forest floor detonated one after another! The entire mountaintop was filled with smoke.

Unfortunately, they were all confined within the caramel-colored eggshell.

When the dust and mist gradually dissipated, the eggshell also gradually vanished.

Clatter—

An ancient carved wooden mirror fell into the ashes.

A pale hand picked up the wooden mirror and handed it to Ruan Xing.

Ruan Xing took the wooden mirror, stroked Sword Lai's silvery-white, soft hair, and then stroked A Jiao floating beside her, saying with pleasure: "Well done."

Looking at the devastated mountaintop, Ruan Xing only felt a sense of relief in her heart.

Finally...

The first big mountain has been toppled!

This was the grand ambition Ruan Xing had set when she killed Sun Daozhang.

Only now was she able to fulfill it.

Although the restraint on her heart had not been completely lifted, without the Six Suns Study, the Boundary Tree had no one to provide for it, and it would be a matter of just these few years before it died.

Ruan Xing summoned the Fairy and the Demon Lord to bring people over via their mental link.

Seeing that things had ended here, Cui Yurong also arrived at Ruan Xing's side.

"You've come?" Ruan Xing raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would go to the dungeon to take revenge first."

Cui Yurong shook her head. "Benefactor is right; as long as I am alive, revenge is a matter of time, no need to rush. Of course, I had to come see Benefactor first." "It is good that you can think this through," Ruan Xing said. "What are your plans for the future?"

"To tell the truth, from my death until now, the ups and downs, the great sorrow and great joy, it has only been three days, like a dream. I went from a woman in a deep courtyard to a Ghost Cultivator; this is a future I never imagined. I do not know what to do, if Benefactor does not mind..." Cui Yurong suddenly knelt on one knee and said respectfully, "Yurong is willing to be at Benefactor's beck and call!"

Ruan Xing pondered for a moment; taking in Cui Yurong was not impossible, but...

"Not just anyone can work under me. I will give you a test."

Cui Yurong said without hesitation, "Benefactor, please give your orders."

"There are still many fish that slipped through the net on this mountain and below. Whether they are Outer Sect Disciples or servants, sweep them all clean; do not let a single one go," Ruan Xing said. "And those disciples who were sent out today, if they return, it is the same."

Cui Yurong nodded. "I was just in front of the mountain gate; the commotion on the mountain was mostly blocked by the barrier. Those Six Suns Study disciples sent out to search shouldn't know the situation on the mountain. It would be no problem to catch them all in one net when they return. However, those low-level Outer Sect cultivators and servants, they know nothing—must they be killed too?"

"Of course. If I don't kill them, am I to wait for someone to suddenly pop up in a few hundred years, shouting about revenge and trying to kill me?" Ruan Xing said with amusement.

Although she was not afraid of such things, it would be quite annoying if it really happened.

She patted Cui Yurong on the shoulder. "Don't be a 'saint mother,' and don't make me regret saving you."

Although Cui Yurong did not know what 'saint mother' meant, she understood that Ruan Xing was telling her not to be blindly kind.

It was true; now that she had been forced to become a Ghost Cultivator, why should she still sympathize with and pity others? Do Ghost Cultivators need to be kind? They do not.

Think about it: if she hadn't met her Benefactor this time and had been locked in the Six Suns Study suffering torture, if she had been lucky enough to escape, let alone the Outer Sect servants and mortals, she might not have even spared an ant hill in the Six Suns Study.

Cui Yurong's gaze became firm. "Yes, Benefactor, I understand what I must do."

Ruan Xing nodded in satisfaction.

This was only the first test for Cui Yurong.

The most important thing was to see her attitude toward the male lead.

If she were reluctant to kill him or showed signs of forgiveness, then no matter how well Cui Yurong spoke, she would not accept her by her side.

Otherwise, it would be too dangerous.

However, in this lifetime, Cui Yurong hadn't even given birth to the child, so she didn't have deep feelings for the daughter still in her womb, and the male lead hadn't entered the path of cultivation yet—he was just a mortal. Cui Yurong had no opportunity to forgive him at all.

She had completely rewritten the plot of this world.

After Cui Yurong swept through the entire mountain, the Fairy and the Demon Lord arrived with their people.

It wasn't that the two of them were slow, but over ninety percent of the team were Qi Refining stage disciples, so they really couldn't move fast.

The Demon Lord even brought that Monster Beast snake; he sat on the snake, using it as a mount, looking quite leisurely, and said to Ruan Xing, "Impressive, Sect Master. Is this our new headquarters?"

Ruan Xing covered her forehead. "Don't learn and use things randomly from mortals."

Does he really think he's in a gang? "Truly ruthless," the Fairy commented sharply.

There wasn't a single living soul left in the entire Six Suns Study.

This was also the reason Ruan Xing had instructed Cui Yurong to do it as quickly as possible.

She was afraid the Fairy would arrive and try to play the 'saint mother.'

Seeing the Fairy's cold face, she hurriedly explained the general reasons to her.

She still needed the Fairy and the Demon Lord, so she had to keep them stable, at least until she had dug out all the cultivation techniques and Magic Arts from their brains.

Her Tongxuan Scripture could not be passed on, or this Fengling Yueying Sect would become a mini Xuanbing Sect.

She also intended to destroy the Six Suns Study's techniques; the method of cultivating through destiny was not a righteous path. Although it allowed for quick success in the early stages, it had drawbacks in the later stages, and the price was not merely serving as an official for thirty or fifty years.

That would leave her with only the Nether Ghost Record, and she couldn't have everyone just go 'pop' and die to become Ghost Cultivators, could she?

That wasn't realistic either; not everyone can turn into a ghost after death.

The Nether Ghost Record was released by the Boundary Tree for its own survival, and with the original plot as proof, it was credible and usable.

But if she went to the Boundary Tree to ask for a new technique, who knew if the Boundary Tree would think the Six Suns Study was destroyed and, fearing the little seed was under Ruan Xing's control, give her a harmful technique?

As for the Fairy, Ruan Xing trusted her character and quality.

The Fairy understood the Demon Lord, and she could help Ruan Xing keep an eye on him so he wouldn't act recklessly.

"The few years I spent in the Xumi Realm were not without knowledge. The evil deeds this sect committed are truly too numerous to record! Even if you aren't a good person either, I don't mean to blame you with these words," the Fairy concluded, her expression softening slightly. "It's just that I cannot let you kill all the mortals within the Xumi Realm."

"Then wouldn't I become a god of slaughter?" Ruan Xing said, between laughter and tears. "I never had that intention to begin with."

The Fairy asked suspiciously, "Then how will you deal with those mortals?"

"What does the Fairy think?" Ruan Xing wanted to hear the approach of someone with such upright principles first.

The Fairy pondered for a moment, lowered her eyes, and said, "Maintaining the status quo will suffice. The Xumi Realm already has its own laws and order. This location is poor, surrounded by towering mountains and ridges with Monster Beasts everywhere. Rashly telling them the truth about the outside world and letting them leave would not be a good thing for them; they might only become food for the Monster Beasts. If you were to open the mountain and establish the Dao for them, I know that is also difficult for you. I will occasionally select children with Spirit Bone from among them to replenish the Sect's fresh blood; as for the rest, let them live out their lives peacefully according to their original way of life."

This was an approach Ruan Xing hadn't considered, because from the moment she decided to take down the Six Suns Study, she hadn't intended to let these mortals fend for themselves. Even if the Boundary Tree hadn't asked her, she wouldn't have ignored them.

Opening the mountain and establishing the Dao was definitely not feasible; with so many Monster Beasts, she couldn't look after them all by herself. If she set up an array, how many Spirit Stones would it take to maintain the array along such a long mountain path every day? She couldn't possibly spend Spirit Stones on such things.

Suddenly, Ruan Xing looked at Cui Yurong. "I remember there was an eagle on the mountain; did you see it?"

Cui Yurong said blankly, "I burned it. Didn't you say not to let a single one go?"

Ruan Xing was silent.

You really carried that out too thoroughly.

"Forget it, it's fine."

Ruan Xing waved her hand; she had just lost a stable and safe transportation tool, that was all.

She continued to the Fairy, "The Fairy's method of maintaining stability is very good, but I think it could be even better."

"How so?" the Fairy asked, puzzled.

"Fairy, what do you think of the status of female cultivators in the world of Cultivation today?"

"The status of female cultivators?" The Fairy thought for a moment and said bluntly, "If one is determined to forge ahead and focuses on Cultivation, I don't think there is any difference between men and women."

According to the Fairy's way of thinking, this was indeed the case.

Ruan Xing sighed, but most male cultivators in the world of Cultivation did not think so.

They believed that female cultivators with cultivation bases were more likely to give birth to offspring with Spirit Bone! Yet, even though the male cultivators had maintained these stereotypes for thousands of years, they would not look down upon female cultivators in the world of Cultivation, and they would respect powerful female cultivators.

She continued to ask, "Then, Fairy, what do you think of the status of mortal women in the Xumi Realm?"

"Naturally..." The Fairy paused, suddenly understanding what Ruan Xing meant.

Within the Xumi Realm, the most esteemed are officials, noble families, and scholars.

Among these three classes, there is almost no place for women.

Ruan Xing clenched her fists, "That's right, I am going to carry out an ideological education reform!"

It starts with the Sumeru Realm! Thanks to No Treasure 233 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Book Friend 20180215225559487 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Book Friend 20200530093008398 for the monthly ticket~ (End of chapter)