Chapter 178: Reaching a Consensus

"But I don't understand," the Fairy said, puzzled. "Women also possess Spirit Bone; how are they different from men? Why does the Six Suns Study only allow men to cultivate and sacrifice to the Boundary Tree?"

Cui Yurong was a native of the Xumi Realm and had been educated this way since childhood. Hearing this, she said gloomily, "The world believes that women are tainted by the monthly menstrual blood."

"That is merely a superficial excuse," Ruan Xing shook her head. "In reality, it is to promote population growth."

She had seen in the Boundary Tree's memories that, at the very beginning, those two people had only captured a few thousand children.

But under their intentional guidance, women were not permitted to do anything outside of established norms, forcibly pinning them to the role of childbearing.

Consequently, in less than thirty years, the population exceeded ten thousand, and over several thousand years, it grew to over a hundred thousand.

In her past life, she had once encountered a very ironic question: how to promote population growth.

Among the options, besides seemingly normal ones like improving medical and health conditions or strengthening maternity protections for women, there was one highly absurd option—

Lowering the level of education for women.

Yet, even more absurdly, this was the correct answer.

When Ruan Xing saw this answer at the time, she felt the person who wrote the question had lost their mind.

Later, she understood that the profound meaning contained within this question was to imprison women's thoughts and will, and to deprive them of their human rights.

Only then would they allow themselves to be manipulated by others.

It was just that in a feudal society, this was carried out even more thoroughly.

Ruan Xing explained the logic behind it in simple terms; neither the Fairy nor Cui Yurong were fools, so they naturally understood.

A chill radiated from the Fairy's cold, frosty eyes. "Such filthy and base methods—they are simply unworthy of being born of a mother! Are these men not also born of mothers?"

Cui Yurong lowered her eyes and murmured, "No wonder..."

In the past, she had the ability to manage the family business and trade caravans. During the few months her father was imprisoned, she relied entirely on her own hard work to maintain them, running everywhere to preserve the family's assets and the title of Imperial Merchant.

Yet in everyone's eyes, the family business had to be left to her younger brother, even though he was just a toddler who couldn't even walk steadily at the time.

In such an environment, she had also grown up believing that women should just marry and have children.

Hearing these words, the Demon Lord rubbed his nose in some embarrassment.

The Fairy swept a glance at him. "Was I scolding you?"

"Well, we Demon Cultivators live a life of indulgence one day and carefree pleasure the next; we don't care about those complicated twists and turns," the Demon Lord chuckled sheepishly. "Anyway, I'll be going first. This mountain range is so large, perhaps I'll encounter something interesting."

Having said that, he hurriedly patted the head of his demon snake and slipped away.

Seeing that the Fairy's emotions had been stirred, Ruan Xing continued, "So I want to reform the system, and I need many hands to help me."

"Fine, I understand. If it can help these pitiful mortals, I will listen to you," the Fairy nodded.

"It will just delay keeping an eye on the Demon Lord."

"He is someone who cherishes his life," the Fairy looked in the direction the Demon Lord had left. "To survive, he has eaten everything in his Cave Abode. In the Xumi Realm, it was because no one there could threaten him, but outside it is different. If he causes any trouble, any random Nascent Soul Cultivator could kill him with a single move. He wouldn't dare act recklessly. He has survived for thousands of years, not to come out and die at the hands of some nobody."

Yet, such a life-cherishing Demon Lord was willing to share the hard-won power he had obtained in the Secret Realm's Cave Abode to sustain her Divine Soul.

The Fairy shook her head in annoyance and asked Ruan Xing, "What specifically needs to be done?"

Ruan Xing rubbed her chin. "Matters in the Xumi Realm are not urgent. The priority is to rebuild the sect. Don't worry about the boundary and the Mountain Protection Array; I have already reached an agreement with the Boundary Tree, and it is responsible for those things. Does the Fairy understand arrays? You can help check if there are traces of arrays in the damaged parts of these buildings and palaces; if there are, you can repair them."

"I know a little," the Fairy replied.

"Hu San!" Ruan Xing called Hu San over. "Take your subordinates, those Qi Refining disciples, and clean up the battlefield. Pile the corpses together and burn them. Collect the Dharma Artifacts, Storage Bags, and other items, categorize them, record them into the inventory, and wait for me to handle them later. If there is anything you don't recognize, go ask the Fairy or the Demon Lord."

"Yes, Sect Master!" Hu San took the order and left.

Now everyone had something to do.

It was just that Ruan Xing felt she had forgotten something.

She looked left and right, wanting to erase the words "Six Suns Study" from above, but thinking that there were still some disciples outside who hadn't walked into the trap, she stopped her movement.

"Eh, right!" Ruan Xing slapped her forehead. "Where is my sister? Sister, I'll take you to undergo your tribulation!"

She shouted a few times and called Ruan Tao out from the crowd.

Ruan Tao sighed, "How did you grow up so much all of a sudden? The way you were just commanding and directing, I almost didn't recognize you."

"That's because I have a unique talent and reached the Nascent Soul Stage early, so I molded a new body for myself," Ruan Xing giggled and scratched her head. "When you reach the Nascent Soul Stage, you can also change your body. Let's go, let's go undergo the tribulation first."

With the experience from the Simulation, Ruan Xing took Ruan Tao to buy Dharma Artifacts and found an open space to undergo the tribulation.

After Ruan Tao successfully formed her Golden Core, she flew back to the Xumi Realm with her.

With the tree roots given to her by the Boundary Tree, the two were finally able to return inside the boundary.

Though it had only been three years, Ruan Xing looked at the bustling streets before her—strange yet slightly familiar—and felt as if a lifetime had passed.

"What do we do now?"

Ruan Xing came back to her senses and said, "Take you to practice. You haven't fought with other Cultivators yet, right?"

Ruan Tao had only learned cultivation and theory from the Fairy and had never practiced it.

Firstly, the other disciples were only at the Qi Refining stage and were too low-level; Ruan Tao started at Foundation Establishment, so there was no gain in fighting them.

Secondly, the only one with a cultivation level comparable to hers, Hu San, was not only busy with affairs every day, but he had already reached the Innate realm before he started cultivating, his physical strength was higher than Ruan Tao's, and he had many years of experience as a martial artist.

There was nothing to be gained there either.

This time, she could let her spar with that person in the National Teacher Palace.

In any case, the old men of the Six Suns Study were not skilled in fighting.

Perhaps it would just be a clumsy brawl.

Ruan Xing patted her chest. "Go ahead boldly; with me here, I won't let you get hurt."

"Okay."

The two arrived at the National Teacher Palace and headed straight for Zhaixing Terrace.

She had originally wanted to destroy the roof of Zhaixing Terrace with a Sword, but thinking that she would still need to use this National Teacher Palace in the future, and it wouldn't be worth it to rebuild it if destroyed, she stopped her restless hands.

She just stood in front of the palace gate and challenged them.

Soon, an old man dressed in Daoist robes with a celestial air came out, looking like his cultivation was only a hair higher than Ruan Tao's.

Ruan Xing then felt at ease and gave Ruan Tao a look, signaling for her to make a move while she stood by to suppress the situation.

"Use my Sword first." Ruan Xing gave her own mid-grade Dharma Sword to her.

Ruan Tao did not yet have her own Dharma Artifact to use.

Ruan Tao took the Sword and charged forward without hesitation. It was just that she did not know much about Magic Art, and sometimes the moves she unleashed were subconsciously the techniques from when she practiced martial arts in the past.

After trading thirty or fifty blows, she fell into a disadvantage.

Seeing that Ruan Tao was already running low on Spiritual Power, Ruan Xing beckoned, and a beam of White Jade Sword light pierced through the old man's body, finishing him off.

Ruan Tao said with some shame: "I couldn't beat him."

"It's okay, Sister, you have only been practicing Cultivation for less than three years, while this old man has already practiced for ten or twenty years; you will become powerful in the future."

Ruan Xing comforted Ruan Tao and then placed the old man's corpse into a Storage Bag.

She currently had no Puppets on hand and was in urgent need of replenishing fresh ammunition.

Moreover, the old man's identity was still useful for the time being, and she could not let others discover the fact that he had died.

Her Divine Sense spread out, sweeping across the entire Capital.

Before long, she saw a few familiar people.

Several old eunuchs in the Imperial Palace, and a Young Master Liu who currently lived in a mansion in the Capital.

Her mind stirred, and as she gripped her palm slightly, a figure appeared before the hall of Zhaixing Terrace.

The person who arrived stumbled, and only after Ruan Xing let go did he stand steady.

That person looked around vigilantly and in a panic; after discovering Ruan Xing and the other, he only took a few seconds to identify them before cupping his hands and bowing: "Gang Leader Ruan."

"You can actually recognize me?" Ruan Xing wondered.

She was currently in her true form, looking like a young girl of fifteen or sixteen.

Three years of time, changing from six to sixteen—how did a mortal who had never come into contact with Cultivation methods guess it all at once?

"Your appearance hasn't changed much, and Ruan Tao is also here."

Liu Shouye steadied himself and replied.

He looked much more mature and composed than he had a few years ago.

He no longer looked like that dashing young master with brocade clothes and a folding fan.

He was even wearing the tight-fitting attire of a military official.

Clearly, he had just been sitting at home when he was suddenly brought to an unfamiliar place by a mysterious force; if it were an ordinary mortal, they would have already been scared out of their wits.

And he was also very clear about the situation.

After he had refused Ruan Xing once before, the Red Head Gang and he only had a simple cooperative relationship; there were only relevant interests involved, without much emotional connection, so he did not understand the Red Head Gang's plan for everyone to practice Cultivation.

But now, as a high-ranking official, seeing a former Jianghu Gang Leader use unfathomable methods, he still quickly lowered his head and placed himself in the position of a subordinate.

No wonder he was promoted so quickly; it was not just because of good luck.

However, Ruan Xing only knew the news of Liu Shouye's promotion from Hu San and did not know what official position he held after being promoted to the Capital, so she asked: "How are you doing now?"

Liu Shouye understood her meaning and said: "Thanks to the Emperor's favor, I have reached the rank of General Manager, in charge of all the important affairs of the Patrol Security Division."

"General Manager, what rank is that?"

Ruan Xing did not know much about the court structure of this dynasty.

Liu Shouye paused, "Third rank."

"Impressive, it's only been three years, and you've gone from Left Commander to General Manager." Ruan Xing praised.

This spanned at least four or five levels in between.

"Just luck," Liu Shouye said.

Ruan Xing asked: "What business are you handling recently? It's almost dawn and you're still not sleeping; I saw you looking troubled at home just now."

Liu Shouye could tell that the current Ruan Xing was no longer on the same level as him, so there was nothing to hide, and he said truthfully: "Yesterday, an official in the court went missing. I checked his home and found no traces left behind; his valuables were all there, so it doesn't look like he fled to avoid punishment, but his wife is also gone..."

Once Ruan Xing heard this, she knew what was going on.

Yesterday, Sun Xian came and took the male lead away. The male lead thought it was about seeking immortality and was so excited he forgot himself. Anyway, he was an orphan, and his wife had been killed by him, so there was nothing in the world he cared about.

It was just that it left a difficult problem for Liu Shouye.

Ruan Xing signaled him to continue with interest.

"After a deep investigation, I discovered that when he took office at the Household Tax Division at the beginning of the year, he used his in-laws to fill the deficit of the Household Tax Division, causing the deaths of his wife's younger brother and sister. I wanted to close the case by claiming he fled to avoid punishment, but while I can tamper with the matter of the valuables, I cannot explain the matter of his wife. Moreover... this person has opposing political views to mine; I fear that no matter how this case is closed, it will be a stain on me." Liu Shouye paused and frowned: "Perhaps this person is a tactic used by the Chief Councilor's faction to attack me. After all, I am the Emperor's lone official, and my promotion speed is so fast that it inevitably invites jealousy."

"Making it so complicated." Ruan Xing sighed.

Liu Shouye was acting as a blade for the Emperor, doing the work of the Imperial Guards.

Perhaps he was just a minor villain in the original plot.

"I'll solve this for you. Don't investigate the case these next few days. Just help me investigate everyone who has entered the National Teacher Palace in the last hundred years, including those retired old officials, the servants they brought, and the young Daoist acolytes who have been in the National Teacher Palace since childhood," Ruan Xing said.

"That is a huge project. The people Gang Leader Ruan mentioned number at least several thousand..."

And it spanned a hundred years; many old matters were not easy to investigate.

Liu Shouye hesitated: "And the Emperor ordered me to solve this case within three days..."

Ruan Xing said: "You don't need three days. Just investigate as I say; I will deal with your Emperor."

Ruan Tao pursed her lips and stepped forward: "Young Master Liu, you might not understand who we are or what we are doing now, but listen to my sister; it won't make things difficult for you."

She turned her head and explained to Ruan Xing: "Before Young Master Liu took office in the Capital, many things Hu San encountered while expanding the Red Head Gang were carried out under Young Master Liu's protection. I have also met Young Master Liu a few times; he is a good person."

A good person—Ruan Xing's biggest headache was good people, especially those with a savior complex or those blinded by love.

However, for Ruan Tao's sake, Ruan Xing waved her hand, "Forget it, you go back first. Consider what I said; it doesn't matter if you don't do it."

Ruan Xing sent Liu Shouye out of the National Teacher Palace and let him go home on his own.

It was not that she did not want to show Liu Shouye a trick or two.

It was just that... this Divine Ability, she currently only knew how to take, not how to return.

If it weren't for the fact that she seemed to have upgraded her Divine Ability while controlling those Puppets at the Six Suns Study yesterday, she might not have been able to use her Divine Ability to capture living people today, and would have been limited to capturing objects.

"Let's go." After seeing Liu Shouye off, Ruan Xing also planned to take Ruan Tao back.

Summoning her Dharma Sword, the two stepped onto it; she was still using that middle-grade Dharma Sword for her Sword flight, mainly because she couldn't bear to step on A Jiao.

However, what exactly had she forgotten?

It's a bit too closely following current events, I'm starting to worry this chapter will be 404'd, surely not, qaq. Thanks to つ﹏ for the monthly ticket~ (Baby, I can't type the emoticon in your name! So I'm using this to replace it, you know what I mean!) (End of chapter)