Chapter 208: Returning Home in Glory

Hearing Ruan Xing's words, Ruan Tao finally relaxed and revealed a comforted smile once more.

She couldn't help but start telling Ruan Xing about the various things she had encountered down the mountain, and how she had handled them.

In Yunyang City and Huayang City, there were often incidents of Cultivators bullying mortals in the past; although the original town management regulations had designated separate areas for mortal residences and Cultivator activities, intersections were inevitable.

Cultivators were noble, and mortals who suffered grievances could only swallow their bitterness and let the matter drop.

Ruan Tao and the other disciples of the Fengling Yueying Sect grew up in the Xiaoxumi Realm, and their backgrounds were all from the lower classes who used to run with gangs; compared to other practitioners of Cultivation, they could empathize more with mortals.

Since Hu San happened to be short on Spirit Stones, Ruan Tao simply carried out sweeping reforms, establishing a series of clauses: regardless of the reason, if a mistake was made, they had to pay with Spirit Stones to atone; if they couldn't pay, they were forcibly sent to hunt Monster Beasts or perform dirty and tiring work like breaking down materials.

Any Cultivator who disagreed with her management methods was beaten up and driven out of the city.

Those originally lax Cultivators had quite a few complaints after being driven out, but after they left, some of them were actually robbed by Loose Cultivators wandering outside.

How could Ruan Tao stand for that? She immediately organized her disciples to sweep the surrounding area, decisively killing a few of the robbing Cultivators, which finally restored peace to the wilderness around the two cities.

Not only did she win the gratitude and reverence of the mortals—whose vast farmlands were outside the city and were often destroyed by Cultivators fighting, leading to grain yields that never met projected profits—but with these robbing Cultivators gone, the probability of their farmlands being destroyed was greatly reduced.

She also gained the admiration and submission of other Cultivators; they realized she wasn't just finding excuses to drive Cultivators away, but was genuinely trying to manage the town with strict methods, and their impression of Ruan Tao changed.

Originally, the reputation of the Fengling Yueying Sect in the nearby towns wasn't very good, but people just didn't say anything because it was under their jurisdiction.

Now, after this incident with Ruan Tao, the rumors that the Fengling Yueying Sect acted ruthlessly and were suspected of being Evil Cultivators gradually faded.

However... those resentful robbing Cultivators spread the word to even further places.

Ruan Tao spoke with great animation, while Ruan Xing listened quietly, a faint smile playing on the corners of her lips.

It was a pity, she didn't know how much of Ruan Tao's efforts would remain after the Demon Cultivators invaded.

But she did not dampen Ruan Tao's enthusiasm.

Ruan Tao doing these things she felt were useful, and being happy because of it, was not bad.

"What about you? How have you been doing out there?" Ruan Tao asked suddenly after talking for a long time.

Ruan Xing felt her own experiences really had nothing interesting to tell, so after thinking about it, she found a few things from her Simulation and recounted them lightly.

This included the matter regarding Qintai He.

Ruan Tao nodded thoughtfully after listening, "So, is that person you mentioned the only friend you've made in the world of Cultivation?"

Ruan Xing was startled, "It seems so."

She had always been a loner; the only one who could be called a friend was Qintai He.

She seemed to never feel lonely.

"Since he didn't stand on your side, does that mean you won't have any more contact with him in the future?" Ruan Tao asked with some melancholy.

When her sister had unpleasant things happen outside, she would also feel a bit down. "Probably. No one can say for sure about the future." Ruan Xing gave a vague answer, then said: "After we return to the sect later, call Hu San over to discuss something; I am about to advance."

Ruan Tao immediately ignored her previous unhappy mood and quickly said, "Okay."

After they returned to the Fengling Yueying Sect, they called for Hu San, and the three gathered again.

In the main hall, Ruan Xing took the lead and asked Hu San: "How are the Demon Cultivator disciples on the mountain?"

"Currently, only a small number of Demon Cultivator disciples live in the Underground Palace with the Demon Lord; most of them have been transferred by me to the Xumi Realm to plant trees. Staying on the mountain is not suitable for their own cultivation, and I am also worried that the Demon Lord might lead them into improper behavior. The ones left behind now are all honest, loyal, and reliable disciples," Hu San replied.

Hu San's conduct was becoming increasingly steady.

Ruan Xing nodded with satisfaction, "Very good. I have already learned about what Sister did outside the city. The matter I want to talk to you about now is related to what I just asked you; that is exactly what I am most worried about."

She took a deep breath, "I am about to go into seclusion to advance, but I don't want others to know about my advancement, so I will undergo the tribulation within the Xumi Realm. After the tribulation ends, I will take the Sumeru Tree seeds away. By then, the barrier within the Xumi Realm, as well as the Mountain Protection Array on the mountain, will gradually disappear."

"The mountain is fine; there is still the Mountain Protection Array, and the Underground Palace is hidden behind the main hall. There aren't many Demon Cultivator disciples left, so there shouldn't be any problems. As for the Xumi Realm, there are numerous disciples with low cultivation and mortals; you must arrange for disciples to guard the no-man's land where the barrier previously stood to prevent Monster Beasts from the mountains and forests from invading."

Ruan Xing had mentioned taking the seeds away before, but at that time they didn't have the ability to protect the Xumi Realm without the barrier, and Ruan Xing's cultivation was insufficient, so she had temporarily left the seeds for another two years.

Now that Ruan Xing was about to advance, there was no need to leave the seeds behind anymore.

None of them considered the possibility of Ruan Xing failing her tribulation.

In their eyes, Ruan Xing was a legend. In just eight or nine years, she had gone from a little girl whom Hu San could easily pick up with no power to resist, to leading them step by step, becoming the Gang Leader of the Red Head Gang, establishing the Fengling Yueying Sect, taking them to practice Cultivation and see the vast world outside, and changing the age-old landscape and the lives of the people within the Xumi Realm.

So many things, and a six-year-old girl had only spent less than ten years.

For anyone else, it might take hundreds of years to accomplish.

Hu San's eyes shone with light as he looked at Ruan Xing and said solemnly: "Sect Master, rest assured, I will definitely guard the Fengling Yueying Sect and the Xumi Realm for you."

"Me too, I now have the ability to help you." Ruan Tao clenched her fists.

She was now the person with the highest cultivation in the entire Fengling Yueying Sect who could stand in the public eye.

Ahem, mainly because the Fairy Demon Lord Cui Yurong and the others were all products of the Nether Ghost Record and could not be seen by others.

"Good, you two make the arrangements. I won't see anyone else for now; the fewer people who know I've returned to undergo the tribulation, the better," Ruan Xing said.

"I understand."

Both of them nodded and said.

The more people who knew about Ruan Xing's tribulation, the more variables there would be.

Even though Ruan Xing already knew from her Simulation that she could successfully pass the heavenly tribulation, she still had to be careful and cautious.

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