Chapter 235: Hello, are you there?

Ruan Xing looked at the unremarkable Heavenly Dao Order in her hand; even after inputting Spiritual Power, she could not feel any feedback.

"Could it be that they put a fake on the pedestal..." Ruan Xing muttered, though in her heart she was considering whether to destroy the Heavenly Dao Order right then or take it back for Xie Yao to see.

Destroying the Heavenly Dao Order would certainly sever the connection between the Hidden Sect and the Heavenly Dao, but judging by Cheng Zhishu's behavior, it was likely the Heavenly Dao Order had already given them orders regarding targeting her.

Cheng Zhishu might not have implemented them before due to other concerns, but after whatever Mo Cijun did, it had made Cheng Zhishu resolve to act.

Perhaps taking it back to Xie Yao could verify whether this Heavenly Dao Order was real or fake, and she could also see what exactly Xie Yao wanted to do with it.

After weighing the matter repeatedly, Ruan Xing prepared to use Instant Movement to return to Xianyuan City.

Before leaving, she snapped her fingers, detonating the Puppet she had brought into the venue disguised as a disciple.

Thinking of the venue they had just tidied up, where they were preparing to hold a meeting to discuss the specific details of the Conquer North Alliance, only for her to make a mess of it again, Ruan Xing curled her lips in pleasure.

Inside Xianyuan City of the Xuanbing Sect.

It was a scene of devastation; the Demon Cultivators, who had been reveling like locusts all night, still could not suppress their excitement, even though the blood around them belonged not only to Immortal Cultivators but also to their own companions.

Expecting them to be as disciplined as an army was impossible; if they were ordered to stand by, many impatient Demon Cultivators might secretly run off.

Thus, Xie Yao had Demon Lord Cheng Huan and Demon Lord Chen Xin lead the Demon Cultivators to sweep through several nearby towns.

Xianyuan City, Fengtian City, Luming City, Hujia City, Jiwu City...

All were ravaged by the Demon Cultivators.

Hundreds of thousands of Demon Cultivators were scattered across these cities.

If any high-level Cultivators were present, Demon Lord Cheng Huan and Demon Lord Chen Xin would step in; the other low-level Cultivators were simply no match for the swarming Demon Cultivators.

After Ruan Xing arrived via Instant Movement, she was somewhat silent as she looked at the scene before her.

Yesterday, she had still felt that Shao Yang's Possession of a mortal child was a very cruel thing.

Today, seeing the Demon Cultivators start a slaughter mode in the Immortal Cultivator towns, she suddenly felt that Shao Yang was actually not so bad...

No, no, the two parties were just the difference between excessive and even more excessive.

After entering Xianyuan City, she quickly found where Xie Yao was; she was currently distressed, pruning the extra vines on her body.

She had devoured too much in the past two days, resulting in excess nutrients, and the vines were growing even faster.

Sensing Ruan Xing's arrival, Xie Yao lazily put down the scissors and pointed to the sky, asking, "Can we go up now?"

Ruan Xing did not answer, but instead asked, "Why indulge them in slaughtering mortals? To Demon Cultivators, aren't mortals also a type of resource?"

Back in the Northern Territory, although Demon Cultivators did not treat mortals very well, at least because they needed mortals for their cultivation and to replenish the number of Demon Cultivators, they rarely slaughtered mortals out of their own emotions; even when they fought, it was mostly Demon Cultivator against Demon Cultivator.

"I don't seem to have an obligation to explain this to you." Xie Yao tidied the hair behind her ear, paused, and said, "Because these mortals are not resources to the Demon Cultivators. Deep down, they believe they won't stay here long and will sooner or later be driven back to the Northern Territory. So, before returning, looting the resources here and killing the foundation for Immortal Cultivators to recruit new disciples is the most correct course of action in their minds."

Even if these mortals were currently powerless and could only beg in the face of Demon Cultivators, in the future, the children born to mortals would eventually become Cultivators and wield swords against them.

This was also one of the potential enemies.

Mortals could not withstand the pressure brought by traversing the Secret Realm, and since they could not take this resource of mortals back to the Northern Territory, they could only do this.

After a long silence, Ruan Xing sighed softly.

Having practiced Cultivation for so long, she still felt more identification and belonging to her identity as a mortal. Perhaps due to the education she received from childhood and the shaping of her values, she could accept vendettas between mortals and could also understand the struggles between Cultivators. But she could not accept that Cultivators were high and mighty, lording over mortals and deciding their life and death.

Why... would Cultivators who slaughter mortals at will not encounter things like karmic retribution? Why would they not be punished?

Sure enough, this was all the Heavenly Dao's fault; it did not establish such rules! Ruan Xing cursed the Heavenly Dao inwardly, organized her thoughts, and continued to say to Xie Yao, "The matter of planting the tree is not urgent; I brought something back for you."

She took out the Heavenly Dao Order, and Xie Yao was surprised at first, "This is...?"

Xie Yao only vaguely knew of the existence of such an object; she had never seen it with her own eyes, so she could not recognize it immediately.

"The Heavenly Dao Order."

Ruan Xing replied.

Upon hearing this, Xie Yao stood up somewhat excitedly, "How did you know I wanted this?"

Of course, she knew from the Simulation...

She coughed twice, "That is not important, but I am also very curious about this object. I hope that when you use it, I can be present to watch you."

Xie Yao thought for a moment and said, "Fine, no problem."

She believed that Ruan Xing's goal and her own were both to ascend to the Spirit Realm, so how the Cultivation world fared should not be that important to either of them.

"By the way, where is your Envoy? Why isn't she by your side?" Xie Yao probed, "She should be your confidante."

Ruan Xing paused and smiled, "She told me everything she did after I returned. I felt her actions were truly inappropriate in many ways, so I punished her by having her stay behind in Nanzhou. It is a pity that you two will not have the chance to meet this time."

"It is indeed a pity." Xie Yao nodded.

She had originally intended to kill that Envoy after Ruan Xing finished planting the tree.

But now that the other party was not there, Xie Yao did not want to waste time on her and urged, "You should just give me the Heavenly Dao Order first."

"Are you going to use it now?"

Ruan Xing handed over the Heavenly Dao Order, watched Xie Yao input magic power into it, and reminded her, "I tried it before I came; simply inputting Spiritual Power has no effect. I guess it also requires some specific Magic Art incantations..."

Before she finished speaking, she saw the Heavenly Dao Order begin to glow and was instantly stunned.

"Why is this..."

Xie Yao could not help but mock, "Maybe it doesn't want to talk to you."

Ruan Xing was speechless.

What did that mean? The Heavenly Dao Order was actually just a chat app? Her inputting Spiritual Power was equivalent to sending a message saying 'Hello, are you there?'

And then the Heavenly Dao saw it but didn't want to reply, so it pretended not to be there? The white light quickly gathered into a small, phantom salamander, circling and drifting above the Heavenly Dao Order.

The salamander's eyes darted away quickly after glancing at Ruan Xing, and it said to Xie Yao, "You seek Us?"

"Yes." Xie Yao said, "I have a deal I want to make with you."

"Negotiate a deal with Me?" The salamander's deep voice laughed, "Who do you think you are?"