Chapter 190: Big Black Grape Fruit Tea

Ruan Xing did not seek to be repaid for her kindness; regardless of how Xie Feng understood it in his heart, he could never have guessed about the Simulator.

After returning to the hall, Ruan Xing opened the Text Simulation, wanting to check the consequences and changes that today's events would bring.

【Simulation in progress】

At twelve, in order to obtain the breeding method for the Silver White Fish, you traveled to Xizhou to find Qintai He.

Qintai He was very generous and taught you the method, also gifting you a batch of fish fry. After you brought the fry back to Nanzhou, you selected over a dozen Foundation Establishment disciples in the sect to be responsible for raising the Silver White Fish in the underground pool of the National Teacher Palace.

At thirteen, you arrived at the border of the Northern Territory and settled down in a city there, wanting to uncover the secret of how Demon Cultivators traveled back and forth.

At fourteen, the borderlands were chaotic and lawless, the people were fierce, and fights occurred frequently. You were cautious and careful; although you made no progress, you did not make any enemies or get involved in the conflicts.

At fifteen, news came from Xizhou that Qintai He had suddenly suffered a cultivation deviation while in seclusion attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Cang Lin took action to stop it and protect Qintai He, and both of them died.

At sixteen, the Demon Cultivators in the Northern Territory suddenly stirred up a massive commotion, frequently attacking the sect outposts near the borderlands. Several large sects in the Central Province could not bear the harassment and decided to join forces to launch a punitive expedition. Soon, the Conquer North Alliance, formed by various Central Province sects such as the Xuanbing Sect, Moon Brilliance Sect, and Green Luan Sect, set off in the direction of the Northern Territory.

However, after the Conquer North Alliance reached the Demon Cultivators' habitat inside the Northern Territory, they found it completely empty; even the Underground Palace of the Saint Demon Lord was vacant.

At this time, south of Fengtian City in the Central Province, a massive number of Demon Cultivators suddenly appeared—hundreds of thousands of them—sweeping through the empty rear areas of the various Central Province sects like a plague of locusts.

Once the Conquer North Alliance realized what had happened, they turned back and engaged the Demon Cultivators in a vast, unprecedented Immortal-Demon War across the Central Province.

At seventeen, the Immortal-Demon War was still ongoing. The high-level cultivators above the Transformation Stage on both sides had not really taken action; most of those fighting to the death were the low-level cultivators below. The borderlands were now extremely dangerous, so you decided to return to Nanzhou first.

But due to the war, the Teleportation Array outposts across the Central Province had almost all become ineffective, and the Conquer North Alliance did not allow Loose Cultivators to pay to use the arrays they had built themselves. You did not think you could gain the trust of the Conquer North Alliance using your identity as a Registered Disciple of Qinghong Zhenjun, so you decided to rely on your own cultivation to cross the battlefield and traverse the Central Province.

At eighteen, during a surprise attack launched by Demon Cultivators against Xianyuan City, you happened to be passing by and were surrounded by several Nascent Soul cultivators who mistook you for an enemy. You died.

【Simulation ended】

Ruan Xing chose to keep the memories and began to examine them carefully.

She now had the breeding method for the Silver White Fish, but she still needed to make a trip to Xizhou to retrieve the fry.

Qintai He would die while breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage; she had known this from the previous simulation, but since the focus of this simulation was on the Demon Cultivators in the Northern Territory, she had not gone to save her.

She wondered if Qintai He sending her a message before dying was because Qintai He trusted her more than in the previous simulation, or because of their partnership regarding the Silver White Fish?

And another thing she had expected also happened.

That was, Xie Yao had indeed launched the Demon Cultivator invasion ahead of schedule.

That meant that her destroying the Six Suns Study and those few words she had spoken to Xie Yao from afar had truly influenced her.

And the fact that Xie Yao chose to believe her and broke through to Fengtian in less than four years also proved that she indeed did not have much time left to live.

As for the Demon Cultivators' method of relocation... Ruan Xing still did not understand it.

The only thing she could confirm was that they definitely were not using Teleportation Arrays.

Not only did they bypass the borderlands, but even after the war began and all Teleportation Arrays became unusable, the Demon Cultivators were still able to move back and forth between the Northern Territory and Fengtian City.

In her knowledge, no Teleportation Array or Magic Art could achieve such a thing.

Perhaps it was a means similar to the Divine Ability that had inexplicably appeared on her?

It was a pity that her understanding and use of Divine Ability were still too shallow, and she had never seen another cultivator with this kind of Divine Ability.

Letting out a long sigh, Ruan Xing rubbed her brow, troubled by how to obtain new cultivation techniques.

She still had to improve her cultivation.

Otherwise, on the battlefield, a few Nascent Soul cultivators could finish her off.

How unlucky.

A few more days passed.

After Ruan Xing finished organizing all the affairs of the Xumi Realm and the Fengling Yueying Sect, she prepared to set off for the Central Province.

She called Hu San over and asked him, "How many Spirit Stones are left in the sect treasury?"

She didn't have a single cent on her now; the ten thousand plus Spirit Stones she had left previously had been topped up into the Simulator.

Since taking over the treasury of the Six Suns Study, Ruan Xing had handed those items, along with the previous Red Head Gang treasury, to Hu San to manage. She hadn't originally wanted to spend the treasury's Spirit Stones, but she couldn't help but reach out her sinful hand.

"There are still 168,000 Spirit Stones," Hu San replied.

With the increase in Foundation Establishment disciples, the consumption rate of Spirit Stones had also accelerated.

Ruan Xing hesitated for a moment. "Give me 50,000."

50,000 would be enough for emergencies; if it really wasn't enough, she could still go find Wanbao Tower. Anyway, there was a Contract in place, and she was a prestigious Fifth-Tier Alchemist; they still had to cater to her.

"Is the Sect Master going on a long journey?" Hu San asked. "The remaining 8,000 is enough; the Sect Master can take the rest."

"Hm? If I take them all, what will the disciples in the sect do? Won't they be able to live?" Ruan Xing asked curiously.

Hu San scratched his head and smiled honestly. "That won't happen. I will manage the Fengling Yueying Sect well for the Sect Master. Regarding that method of planting Spirit Fruit to brew wine that the Sect Master mentioned before, Sun Xian told me to buy some seeds outside or dig up some wild saplings in the mountain passes. I thought I'd try it out first, so I bought some low-tier Spirit Fruit edible for Qi Refining cultivators to brew wine. The first batch has already succeeded, so leaving 8,000 is enough to maintain this year's sect expenses. Next year, once our own planted Spirit Rice and Spirit Fruit come out, it will keep up with the sect's consumption."

Hu San's initiative had always been high, and his efficiency was fast. Ruan Xing praised, "Not bad, I thought it would take at least until next year to see results."

"You can see them now," Hu San laughed. "I have some on me. Why doesn't the Sect Master have a taste and give this wine a name?"

He took a wine pot out of his Storage Bag and poured it into a clear white porcelain bowl. The wine was amber-colored, with a pale purple luster under the sunlight, and smelled of fruit.

Ruan Xing picked up the white porcelain bowl Hu San handed her and took a sip.

It was sweet and sour on the palate, making one's mouth water, with a slight astringency from the wine.

It was a bit like modern fruit-flavored beer, but without those additives, and with a faint Spirit Qi as a seasoning, it tasted even better.

"Adding some tea to the Spirit Fruit might also be worth a try." Ruan Xing remembered the various brands of flavored drinks and milk tea shops, feeling a bit nostalgic.

She had never drunk these when she was a child; it was only after she grew up and started working that she made up for her childhood regrets, but her state of mind could never go back. Now, in a foreign land, it wouldn't be bad if she could drink something similar.

Hu San's eyes lit up at these words. "Good, I'll go back and try it. Sect Master, give this wine a name."

"The wine is called Year Lafite," Ruan Xing said. "I've also thought of the name for the tea; use it once you've successfully made it: Big Black Grape Fruit Tea."

A hint of amusement and regret flashed in her eyes.

In this world, no one would understand her abstraction. Hu San stood there as if struck by lightning.

He repeated blankly, "Year... Lafite... Big Black... Big Black..."

"Big Black Grape Fruit Tea."

"Oh, right." Hu San repeated it once more, then struggled to commit the two names to memory.

Although he completely failed to understand what meaning these two names held.

But the Sect Master's orders must be executed unconditionally! His gaze gradually turned resolute and fervent, "Sect Master, rest assured, I will definitely create this fruit tea and sell it far and wide across the Xianyuan Continent!"

"Good!" Ruan Xing patted his shoulder, moved, "I believe in you!"

In the end, Ruan Xing only took away one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Although Hu San had patted his chest in promise, Ruan Xing was still a bit worried about what would happen if he failed; she couldn't let the disciples go hungry, and now that the Demon Cultivator invasion had been brought forward, she could not accept the disciples' cultivation speed slowing down any further.

Boarding her Flying Sword with Sword Lai and Cai Jiao by her side, Ruan Xing flew in the direction of the Central Province.

A few days later, she arrived at Fengtian City.

Ruan Xing first stayed there to rest and recuperate, and only then did she open the Text Simulation.

This time, she spent three years in Fengtian City without finding any trace of the Demon Cultivators.

It wasn't until one day in the fourth year that a large number of Demon Cultivators suddenly surged out from within the city, their faces filled with fanatical expressions, cheering and leaping as they began a massacre in Fengtian City.

The cultivation level of the vanguard was not very high, only enough to bully Cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage; unfortunately, there were only a few Nascent Soul Cultivators in Fengtian City, and they were completely unable to attend to everything.

Ruan Xing could only fight while advancing toward the source from which the Demon Cultivators were pouring out; fortunately, she did not encounter any particularly strong Demon Cultivators along the way and successfully reached a remote spot within the city.

Ruan Xing spread her Divine Sense far and wide.

With her current cultivation, she could basically ensure nothing could hide within a two-kilometer radius.

Before long, Ruan Xing had already found the source with her Divine Sense.

In the void, amidst what seemed like a mass of chaotic mist, Demon Cultivators of various appearances were constantly walking out, much like an assembly line in a factory.

They seemed to have no specific mission; after coming out, they would randomly choose a direction to begin spreading, and upon seeing mortals or Cultivators on the road, they would pull out their weapons with blood-red eyes.

However, Ruan Xing could feel that these low-level Demon Cultivators had their own consciousness; it was just that a certain bloodthirsty thought in their hearts seemed to have been artificially amplified, making them appear as if they had lost their minds.

And her Divine Sense could not enter that mass of chaotic mist.

She was hesitating whether to go into the mist to take a look; after all, the Demon Cultivators surrounding her currently posed no real threat to her, but it would be troublesome if high-level Demon Cultivators came out later.

Before she could consider it for more than a few minutes, the chaotic mist suddenly expanded outward and gave a violent jolt.

An opening appeared in the flow of Demon Cultivators, as if they were all dodging something.

A woman wearing a long dress woven from peacock feathers walked out; she looked to be about thirty years old, her hair draped loosely, and she carried a heavy sense of weariness about her.

Those eyes, filled with exhaustion, looked toward Ruan Xing.

Immediately, the simulation ended.

After digesting the memory, Ruan Xing opened her eyes and sighed with some sorrow.

Although the woman's temperament and some changes in her body were already quite different from those in the Sumeru Tree.

But looking at her features, one could still tell that she was Xie Yao.

She had not changed her appearance or age when she reshaped her physical body after reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

How could a Return to Ruins Stage expert suddenly pop out from an army of Demon Cultivators who were generally at the Golden Core or Foundation Establishment stages? Hiss... wait a minute, Xie Yao is Xie Feng's junior sister, so do they both practice the same technique? Could it be that the reason there are no high-level Demon Cultivators around Xie Yao is that she has devoured all the high-level ones? No way, that's too big an appetite, even eating her own subordinates.

Ruan Xing opened the Text Simulation once again and headed straight for that mass of chaotic mist; she had only just lunged inside and opened her eyes to see Xie Yao's familiar face before she met her death once more.

It seems that starting from here won't work.

Choosing the memory as usual, she savored the experience of passing through the chaotic mist, which felt like a layer of soft, gelatinous substance.

She guessed it might be some kind of barrier.

But she still had no leads; among the people she knew, the one who understood barriers best was the Sumeru Tree, but unfortunately, it was already dead, and the little seed was still in a naive stage, likely knowing even less than she did.

After thinking it over, Ruan Xing decided to first see if there would be any progress on the Xuanbing Sect side, but fearing that dying shortly after starting would waste precious points, she used the Real-scene Simulation.

【Simulating】

Using the Illusion Technique, she changed her body into the appearance of a ten-year-old girl.

Although her actual age was twelve, she had entered the Dao too early, and her growth rate was much slower than that of normal children; ten years old was already the limit, and eight or nine would have been most appropriate.

Her cultivation was also disguised as the early Golden Core stage using the Mask Artifact.

With this cultivation, she could test Qinghong Zhenjun.

She and Qintai He had always retained their status as disciples in the Xuanbing Sect; after producing her Sect Jade Token, she passed through the Mountain Protection Array and walked onto Yaoguang Peak, where there were some unfamiliar faces on the mountain she had never seen before, likely disciples who had been promoted from the Outer Sect or newly recruited in the past few years.

After the space-time rift incident, the Xuanbing Sect had widely publicized the newly acquired Secret Realm and opened up recruitment, so there had been many newcomers in the sect in recent years.

Those disciples showed no expression upon seeing her, merely nodding faintly in acknowledgment.

Just as she was about to find a disciple to ask about the current situation on Yaoguang Peak, her Sect Jade Token suddenly hummed.

"Come see me."

It was a message from Qinghong Zhenjun.

When she entered Yaoguang Peak with her disguised cultivation, her Divine Sense was retracted within her Soul Sea, so she hadn't noticed, but since she had been discovered by Qinghong Zhenjun less than a cup of tea's time after entering, it seemed she was indeed monitoring Yaoguang Peak with her Divine Sense at all times.

If the Fairy were here, she might frown and scold, "Staring at others with your Divine Sense all the time is a rude behavior."

Thinking of this, Ruan Xing smiled.

Thanks to ek0113 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to book friend 20191231194827192 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Xun_ for the monthly ticket~