Chapter 59: Immortals and Mortals Are Different, The Dynasty's Fortune

Things did not go as planned.

Dust filling the sky obscured the view, and a figure slowly approached from the turbid air. He said, "Using this kind of trash to kill me, are you looking down on me?"

Anger twisted his face, making him look as deranged as if he had lost his mind. The daoist robe that had been spotless was now tattered and covered in gray dust from the ruins, making him look utterly disheveled.

He strode over, reached out, and gripped Ruan Xing's chin and neck with enough force to seemingly crush her skull. "Mortal, ant, on what grounds do you look down on me?"

Ruan Xing endured the pain of suffocation, as if she could already hear the sound of bones cracking. She used her final ounce of strength to bite down hard on his hand to express her unwillingness to submit.

Simulation ended.

Ruan Xing pondered this memory for a moment. More than two hundred 【Break】 Talismans had only made him look disheveled while he was off guard, without causing him a single injury. Even if he possessed defensive Dharma Artifacts, his cultivation realm could be roughly estimated: between Qi Refining Layer 5 and Qi Refining Layer 8.

Once she reached the Innate realm and looked back at this memory, she might be able to distinguish this range more precisely.

But there was no help for it; with her current strength, it was absolutely impossible to kill a Cultivator above Qi Refining Layer 5.

However... Ruan Xing suddenly thought of something. Following the route from just before, she simulated again, choosing random items. After repeating this a few times, she finally obtained what she wanted.

A piece of flesh the size of a fingernail, stained with blood.

It was what she had desperately bitten off from Sun Daozhang's hand in the simulation.

Carefully placing this small piece of flesh into an empty medicine bottle and sealing it, Ruan Xing began to think about the direction for her next simulation.

In fact, she had been too impatient before. She did not need to find a way to expose Sun Daozhang, because even if she did nothing, the National Preceptor did not choose to take Sun Daozhang with him when he eventually left.

It was just that Ruan Xing's greater concern earlier was that as long as Sun Daozhang remained in the Mortal Dynasty and his wicked heart did not die, Ruan Tao would still fall victim to his poison.

She had to leave behind a contingency to ensure he could no longer commit evil.

After starting the simulation, she first sent Sword to Jiangning City to deliver the list as usual, tidied up Zhang Huizhang's home, and then began to inquire about which Clans in the Capital were surnamed Sun.

Perhaps because this dynasty was truly too small—Huaining City was about the same size as a county in her past life—there were not many families surnamed Sun, and only one family had produced an Immortal through officialdom, which made it even easier for Ruan Xing to search.

Coincidentally, this Sun family had a connection with Ruan Xing; some time ago, they had just been enfeoffed as a First-Class Duke of Loyalty and Courage.

No wonder Sun Erlang was extremely sensitive to the significance represented by the Luoqi Pill at such a young age, even when Cai Wen did not know why the Luoqi Pill was so strictly controlled.

Compared to the splendor of the National Preceptor and Sun Daozhang, the Sun family, having just held a funeral, appeared somewhat desolate and cold. Ruan Xing broke in and grabbed an old servant to interrogate, only to learn that the current head of the family was the National Preceptor's own grandson and Sun Daozhang's biological father. When the National Preceptor retired to pursue Cultivation, Sun Daozhang happened to be born. The National Preceptor was particularly fond of this great-grandson, so Sun Daozhang's father had the idea that "when one person attains the Dao, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven," and sent him into the National Teacher Palace when Sun Daozhang was fourteen.

The subsequent events could be understood with a little speculation.

Both the National Preceptor and Sun Daozhang harbored resentment toward the Sun family head afterward. The National Preceptor resented him for dumping a burden on him without a word, forcing him to take care of a great-grandson while cultivating himself. Sun Daozhang resented him for sending him to pursue Cultivation as a servant, watching as others' cultivation levels soared like rockets while he, lacking literary talent and official luck, lingered in the Qi Refining stage past the age of forty. He was the only Inner Sect Disciple in the entire 【Six Suns Study】 who had stayed at the Qi Refining stage for so long.

Therefore, after the two of them returned to the Mortal Dynasty, they both avoided the Sun family, treating them as strangers.

Calculating this way, the National Preceptor had actually only cultivated for forty-some years before reaching the Golden Core... The speed of this evil technique was almost on par with a Demon Cultivator.

After asking for the bedrooms of the family head and his wife, Ruan Xing knocked out the old servant and found the mistress to ask for the birth date of Sun Daozhang, also known as Sun Dalang.

This mistress was not Sun Daozhang's biological mother, but a second wife married later. Although she had no maternal bond with Sun Daozhang, his pursuit of Cultivation was, after all, a glorious thing for the family, so the birth dates of both the National Preceptor and Sun Daozhang were enshrined in the Ancestral Hall.

After Ruan Xing went to retrieve the birth date, she returned to the National Teacher Palace and quietly waited for movement from Sun Daozhang and the National Preceptor.

She had thought that after she broke into the Sun residence, the Sun family would report it to the National Teacher Palace, but unexpectedly, it remained calm from beginning to end. The second wife continued to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha's name at home as if nothing had happened, praying for her deceased son, Sun Erlang.

Until three days later when Sword returned with good news, no one had caused her trouble because of the Sun family.

As for the National Teacher Palace, perhaps due to the butterfly effect caused by the unexplained death of Zhang Huizhang, the corpses on the mountain were discovered ahead of time.

Because she did not know how furious the National Preceptor was or what punishment Sun Daozhang had received, she risked stealing a set of Daoist boy's clothes and disguised herself as a serving boy to sneak into Zhaixing Terrace.

After the National Preceptor summoned Sun Daozhang into Zhaixing Terrace, she hid in a corner behind the main hall, lying on the ground and pretending to wipe the floor to conceal her presence.

"You wretch! Weren't the absurd things you did before enough? You actually dared to reach your hand into the Patrol Security Division! I have told you many times, Immortals and mortals are different! Do not interfere with the operation of the dynasty at will. Do you think it was just twelve Acquired Realm Qianling Guards who died? Each of them had the potential to break through to the Innate realm and enter the Outer Sect to become your fellow disciples!"

Although Sun Daozhang was kneeling on the ground, his expression was dismissive. "They were merely Outer Sect Disciples; they had the potential to become them, but they weren't yet."

The National Preceptor laughed in extreme anger. "Without me, you wouldn't even be an Outer Sect Disciple now! Forty years in the Qi Refining stage, you would have long been kicked out of the Sect to fend for yourself. All these years, my old face has been completely disgraced by you!"

The National Preceptor mentioned the one thing that stung him the most, but he could not refute it, only pursing his lips in silence.

"Do you still think you are not wrong? How many people in the Patrol Security Division have been implicated by you? Once a Cultivator is stained with mortal karma, their official luck is no longer pure. If there were any juniors with stunning talent among them, let alone you, even I would be punished by the Sect. I have lectured you so many times not to interfere with the dynasty's operations, yet you just won't listen! Do you know what the simplest solution is now?"

The National Preceptor sneered. "That is to excise your Spirit Bone. Once you lose your cultivation and become a mortal, the impact of the karma can be minimized, and I will not be punished by the Sect." "No—" Sun Daozhang panicked upon hearing this, crawling forward a few steps to hug the National Preceptor's thigh, crying and begging: "Grandfather, please spare me this once! I won't dare to do it again! Once I return to the Sect, I will focus on cultivation and reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible, I won't make mistakes again! If you abolish my cultivation and leave me alone in the mortal world, how is that any different from letting me die!"

"I have already given you chances." The National Preceptor's face was cold. "When you humiliated those mortal women, I only considered your character inferior and your nature wicked, and that was that. Our Sect's mental cultivation method has no inner demons and will not affect cultivation. But you lack a sense of the big picture and right from wrong. I told you not to touch the daughters of officials, and you did not listen. Now that the great mistake is made, it is irreparable. Our bond as master and disciple, grandfather and grandson, ends here!"

The National Preceptor's aged hand pressed onto the crown of Sun Daozhang's head, applying slight pressure. A blood-red light shot from the top of Sun Daozhang's head downward like lightning, and he convulsed all over, collapsing and fainting as if his bones had been dislocated.

The National Preceptor looked up and sighed deeply, then waved his hand casually. All the Daoist boys in Zhaixing Terrace, including Ruan Xing, were turned into dust at the same time.

Although he did not clear the area before reprimanding his disciple, how could a Golden Core True Person be wrong? The only ones who could be wrong were others.

Ruan Xing suddenly realized after seeing the memory why the National Preceptor was so furious.

He had come specifically to recruit for the Sect. Literary talent, official luck, and Spirit Bone were all indispensable. He had only recruited six Inner Sect Disciples in fourteen years, which was already difficult. The Sect had spent great effort to build such an isolated petri dish, not for Cultivators to use the mortals inside for fun to satisfy their own selfish desires.

What the National Preceptor cared about was only that Sun Daozhang had used his name to damage the foundation of the dynasty.

This was actually one of the reasons why many families found it difficult to prosper after producing a Cultivator. Once they knew that they could seek longevity and the path of Cultivation after retiring from officialdom, the reason for reading was no longer to enrich their own cultural cultivation or to seek officialdom through imperial examinations to achieve great things; it only turned into reading for the sake of Cultivation.

With the direction wrong, how could there be literary talent or official luck? Therefore, the fact that the National Teacher Palace was where Immortals recruited disciples was basically tacitly hidden from everyone who was unaware.

With Sun Daozhang's cultivation abolished, she felt much more at ease. The crisis was resolved, and her tense nerves began to relax.

As long as she successfully dealt with Zhang Huizhang's family, she could wait in peace to enter the world of Cultivation.

Following the experience from the memory in the simulation, Ruan Xing bribed the logistics Daoist boy with a gold ingot, left the National Teacher Palace, summoned Sword to write down the list and hand it to him, and then immediately found Zhang Huizhang's residence. After cleaning up, she still had time to return to the National Teacher Palace for dinner.

Slurping the white porridge in her bowl, Ruan Xing also found the light porridge and side dishes in the National Teacher Palace quite tasty. Cai Wen was old and his appetite had declined; after eating simply, he sat on the grand armchair to the side. What he did every day now was accompany Cai Jiao, trying to awaken her soul and restore her to normal.

Now he had to add time for cultivation, so he kept a book in his hand all day long.

"You look much better than you did this morning. Was the plan at the National Teacher Palace very successful?" Cai Wen glanced at Ruan Xing while flipping through his cultivation technique.

Ruan Xing responded with an eye roll. She was a magnanimous person and would not bicker with the conspiratorial Cai Xueshi.

Twelve days later, Ruan Xing stepped onto Zhaixing Terrace again. In the square in front of the hall, a clear, long cry rang out. A Black Eagle swept past, casting a shadow under the sunlight.

After circling once, the Black Eagle landed in the center of the square. The National Preceptor flew up and stood on the eagle's back, forming a seal with his hands. Ruan Xing felt herself floating up uncontrollably.

Everyone else was the same. Experiencing this magical scene in person for the first time, many could not help but exclaim. Cai Wen was beside Ruan Xing; he did not make a sound, but held Cai Jiao in his arms even more tightly.

Seeing that everyone was on the eagle's back, the National Preceptor nodded, erected a barrier to block the wind, and signaled that the Black Eagle could take off.

It was unknown how much time had passed when the Black Eagle stopped, and the National Preceptor used magic to move everyone down.

Standing firmly on the ground, the nervous mood eased significantly; the bumpkins, who had never seen the world, looked around and peered at this magical world of Cultivation.

An old man with a white beard bowed tremblingly, "Lord National Preceptor..."

"No need to call me National Preceptor. In the Six Suns Study, everyone is a fellow sect brother. Once you have formally apprenticed, you may call me Senior Brother or Martial Uncle according to the sect seniority." The National Preceptor waved his hand to stop the white-bearded man's words. "If you have anything you wish to ask, other Inner Sect Disciples will lead you to arrange your lodgings later; you may ask them then. After resting for a day, you may go to the main hall tomorrow to formally apprentice. Fellow sect members, I shall go to report to the Study Master first."

Several Foundation Establishment stage disciples had long been waiting on the side. Once the National Preceptor finished speaking, they stepped forward to pay their respects, and the National Preceptor left after giving a few instructions.

The world of Cultivation has Pills for maintaining one's youthful appearance, and those at the Golden Core Stage can even reshape their bodies to regain their youth, but the disciples of the 【Six Suns Study】 do not seem to favor doing so. Most of the disciples Ruan Xing could see looked to be fifty or sixty years old; there were also older ones with white hair who looked as if they could barely walk, and younger ones around forty. She did not know if they had techniques for maintaining their youth or if they had simply entered the sect early, like the male lead, who saw through the vanity of the world at thirty and killed his wife to attain the Dao.

Their attire was also roughly divided into two types: one type wore Daoist robes like the National Preceptor and Sun Daozhang, and the other type wore long scholar gowns with literati caps. Ruan Xing guessed that they might be divided into two schools internally.

A Cultivator dressed as a Confucian scholar said to the crowd, "Fellow sect members, please."

The newly appointed Inner Sect Disciples followed him, while the remaining servants and Outer Sect Disciples were led by another person; after testing their Spirit Bones once more, they were assigned to the Outer Sect or the new disciples' quarters according to their personal wishes.

Those with Spirit Bones could choose to continue serving Inner Sect Disciples or enter the Outer Sect; those without Spirit Bones could only choose to be servants in the Inner Sect or go to the Outer Sect to be servants. Naturally, the choice on the surface was that staying in the Inner Sect as a servant or becoming an Outer Sect Disciple was better; therefore, Ruan Xing's unique choice to go to the Outer Sect to be a servant became very conspicuous.

"Are you sure?" The Inner Sect Disciple responsible for assigning them looked at her with some suspicion. It was already a very strange thing for a six-year-old girl to be brought to the world of Cultivation by an Inner Sect Disciple, and for this little girl not to be a descendant or relative of another Inner Sect Disciple, but to choose to go down the mountain to be a servant, was even more surreal.

Ruan Xing nodded firmly. Staying on the mountain was of no use and was a pure waste of time. Cai Wen would need at least ten days or half a month to guide Qi into his body, and if he could reach Foundation Establishment within three years, it would be considered that he had talent and practiced diligently. Moreover, most Inner Sect Disciples were old men with little lifespan left; to prevent them from diverting their energy elsewhere, they would not teach Magic Art before Foundation Establishment. Ruan Xing had no way to freeload the Magic Art of the 【Six Suns Study】 through Cai Wen, so why not go down the mountain earlier?

"But there is no place down the mountain suitable for you to work..." The disciple hesitated.

Ruan Xing blinked at him, "Just going to the foot of the mountain to look after the Spirit Field will do." She would run away on her own.

The disciple understood immediately; her connections were not in the Inner Sect, but in the city. When he had just apprenticed, there were also people willing to spend a large sum of money to buy this servant quota, so he naturally understood what was going on. He readily assigned Ruan Xing to the Spirit Field area and then took the Outer Sect Disciples and her down the mountain.

Thanks for the lazy monthly tickets~ (End of chapter)