Chapter 75: Two Months' Stipends

Within the Sect, Xie Huai had many concerns about killing her, but it was different outside the Sect; even though she threatened Xie Huai with solemn oaths, Xie Huai did not believe her words entirely to begin with.

This simulation probably could not change Xie Huai's intentions.

"Suit yourself." Ruan Xing sighed, "I'm leaving."

She turned to leave; if she left the Sect in the remaining time, perhaps she would still have time to fight Xie Huai and test his depth.

"Isn't it a bit early for you to reach Foundation Establishment now? The Jin Tai Dao Discussion won't start until next year. The Inner Sect is not as free as the Outer Sect. If some Elder takes a fancy to you and takes you in as a Personal Disciple, being watched by so many eyes all the time won't be a pleasant experience." Xie Huai's cold voice interrupted her footsteps.

Ruan Xing's heart stirred, and she took the opportunity to ask: "Then what time do you think is appropriate for Foundation Establishment?"

Xie Huai was clearly at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet he hid his cultivation and lurked in the Outer Sect; so this was the reason.

The Hanshan Ink Marrow was not his only goal.

"If it were me, I wouldn't reach Foundation Establishment until at least three months later." Xie Huai chuckled as he probed, "What do you want to do by entering the Inner Sect so early?"

"You want to know?" Ruan Xing was in no rush to leave, "Trade me for the news about the Jin Tai Dao Discussion?"

Xie Huai rolled his eyes at her, "The Golden Terrace Secret Realm will open next year. The Central Province will also send Inner Sect Disciples over to compete with us for the spots to enter the Golden Terrace Secret Realm. Besides the Hanshan and Jin Tai Secret Realms, what other value does the Nanzhou Xuanbing Sect have that is worth you and me hiding our true talents here?"

"Who is the tiger and who is the dragon? You sure know how to gild yourself." Ruan Xing scoffed, "So you're saying your next goal is some treasure inside the Golden Terrace Secret Realm?"

The arrogance in Xie Huai's words was about to overflow. Ruan Xing pondered that this kid might not be an ordinary Demon Cultivator; he probably had some status in the Demon Sect, perhaps the illegitimate child of some big shot.

However, if a big shot sent him to do such a high-risk job as an undercover agent, they might not value him very much; he didn't seem to face any punishment for failing to snatch the Hanshan Ink Marrow.

Hearing Ruan Xing's retort, Xie Huai was all smiles, "It seems your goal is different from mine."

He continued, "As long as you don't mess with me, I can hand over all the treasures in the Golden Terrace Secret Realm; it just depends on whether you have the ability to take them."

"Then don't go and collapse the Golden Terrace Secret Realm again." Ruan Xing muttered.

A flash of anger crossed Xie Huai's eyes, "That was you who collapsed it."

"Hey, I'm not arguing with you, I'm leaving."

Ruan Xing reached out to stop Xie Huai's words and ended the simulation.

Jin Tai Dao Discussion... it sounded like a debate competition, but she didn't know how exactly they competed for the spots to enter the Secret Realm.

If there were benefits, Ruan Xing naturally didn't want to miss out, but she was more worried that Xie Huai would find an opportunity to strike at her after entering the Secret Realm.

Her little life was much more important than treasures.

Ruan Xing started the Real-scene Simulation again, preparing to find Xie Huai and ask for more clarity. Just now, she had exposed her ignorance in front of Xie Huai from the start and let the other party control the rhythm of the conversation; she could only resort to banter and pestering, and if she kept asking, Xie Huai would only act like a riddle-monger.

It was better to start over.

Ruan Xing calmly knocked on Xie Huai's door.

Xie Huai was somewhat surprised to see her, "How did you reach Foundation Establishment?"

"What do you think?" Ruan Xing squeezed into the room and found a random place to sit down.

"Being so presumptuous in front of me, aren't you afraid I'll kill you right now?" Having his private space intruded upon without permission, Xie Huai's face was somewhat gloomy.

She hadn't sent Xie Huai a message in advance this time, so he had no mental preparation and was completely in a state of being disturbed. Anyway, they were both evil cultists, so Xie Huai didn't need to manage his expressions in front of her, and his face was full of displeasure.

"Do you dare?" Ruan Xing blinked and looked up, asking sincerely.

Xie Huai was speechless, and after a long while, "Speak, what is it?"

"Asking about your understanding of the Inner Sect. I just reached Foundation Establishment and am about to enter the Inner Sect; I'm quite nervous."

The expression on Xie Huai's face was a bit strange, "I thought you were going to warn me not to lay a hand on Qin Yi and Zhao Fengchun."

"Why would I warn you?" Ruan Xing looked puzzled, deliberately acting as if she didn't care, "Have you already made a move? Suit yourself, it makes no difference to me."

Xie Huai verified, "Aren't they the backup you left behind? Won't your heart ache if they die?"

Ruan Xing drew out her tone and said 'oh', "I've only known them for a few days. You don't really think I would openly associate so closely with a secret contact within the Sect, do you?"

"That's true." Xie Huai agreed, "Then why do you think I would answer you truthfully about what you want to know?"

Ruan Xing gave a malicious smirk, "If you don't tell me, I'll mess with you in the Golden Terrace Secret Realm."

"You!" Xie Huai was both shocked and angry, "You know my purpose?"

Heh, of course she didn't.

But Ruan Xing said: "Guessed a little. Just say whether you agree or not."

"You had best not let me find an opportunity to kill you before the Golden Terrace Secret Realm opens." Xie Huai glared at her with slightly reddened eyes.

This sentence was no different from saying 'I agree', so Ruan Xing took it as him happily agreeing.

So she asked a series of questions, "How many disciples are in the Inner Sect now? How many Personal Disciples are there? Are there any particularly powerful ones among them? What is the format of the Jin Tai Dao Discussion?"

"Did you not think to look things up and do your homework before entering the Sect for such common knowledge?" Xie Huai said with disdain.

"Alas, how could I be as omnipotent as you, knowing the Inner Sect like the back of your hand?"

Ruan Xing's tone was somewhat exaggerated; as for whether it was sarcasm or flattery, it depended on how Xie Huai interpreted it himself.

"Aren't you worried about being picked by some Elder to be a Personal Disciple, and then having many eyes staring at you, leaving you with no freedom?"

Ruan Xing borrowed Zhao Fengchun's words, "Even if my aptitude is good, my Spirit Bone is destined to be underdeveloped at my age of reaching Foundation Establishment; my limit for this life is just like this, no Elder will take a fancy to me."

"I didn't expect you to have even considered this; this is indeed a way." Xie Huai sighed, stopped talking, and turned to answer Ruan Xing's previous questions, "There are currently over one hundred and thirty Inner Sect Disciples. Excluding those who are over the age limit, those who have been training outside for years, and those who participated in the last Jin Tai Dao Discussion, there are over ninety people participating in next year's Jin Tai Dao Discussion. There are nine Personal Disciples, three of whom will participate. Among these people, eleven are at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. However, you don't need to worry, because there are thirty spots to enter the Secret Realm; with a one-third probability, you shouldn't be unable to get selected, right?"

Speaking of this, Xie Huai looked at her with a half-smile, "I don't think there are any particularly powerful ones inside, but I don't know if you will think so."

"The Jin Tai Dao Discussion is just a fancy name for a cultivation competition. I am an Array Cultivator; unless I meet someone with higher attainments in arrays than me, otherwise, a few interlocking Binding Arrays will naturally be able to trap the opponent until they voluntarily admit defeat."

"It seems you were prepared early on." Ruan Xing remembered that when she first went to Blackwater Lake with Xie Huai, who was using the alias 'Wang Zhi', he had once said that he was good at Binding Arrays.

This persona had been firmly solidified by him at all times. "Thank you for your explanation, farewell." Ruan Xing ended the simulation.

She already knew how to save Qin Yi and the others.

Knocking on Xie Huai's door, Xie Huai showed a flash of surprise on his face after seeing her, and just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Ruan Xing, "I reached Foundation Establishment to enter the Inner Sect early; you can guess any reason you like."

"Uh..." Xie Huai choked, "What is it?"

"Don't touch Qin Yi and Zhao Fengchun, otherwise, don't blame me for causing you trouble in the Golden Terrace Secret Realm." Ruan Xing threatened with a serious face.

Xie Huai's expression changed, "You know?"

"Don't worry about it, just tell me if you agree or not." Ruan Xing looked at him, "Unless you can kill me before the Golden Terrace Secret Realm opens, don't even think about achieving your goal. I'm going to the Inner Sect in these two days; I'm afraid it will be even more troublesome for you to kill me then."

"I agree." Xie Huai hurriedly and readily responded; the Golden Terrace Secret Realm was extremely important to him, and there could not be the slightest mistake.

"However... I have already made a move." Xie Huai looked somewhat troubled, "It's still not too late for you to go and stop them."

Ruan Xing sneered, "You certainly move fast, but I don't care about that. As long as people die, I won't let you off. Put away all those schemes and tricks behind this, understand?"

She wasn't worried about this, because after she gave Zhao Fengchun two 【Speed】 talismans, what she saw in her cultivation simulation changed. Qin Yi was heavily injured and unconscious, and Zhao Fengchun was accused of being a traitor to the Sect. Both of them died after returning to the Sect due to other reasons, but Ruan Xing did not choose to memorize those memories, so she was not clear on the details.

But as long as Xie Huai stopped, the two of them would only need to rest and recover after returning, and there would be no danger to their lives.

"I understand," Xie Huai said in a low voice.

Xie Huai's current humbleness was simply like a different person compared to the first simulation.

If it weren't for the fact that Xie Huai was too arrogant and smug the first time, allowing Ruan Xing to find a flaw, she wouldn't have broken the deadlock so easily. After all, she had no better way besides bluffing Xie Huai.

Thanks to Xie Huai's suspicious nature!...

The next day, Qin Yi, Zhao Fengchun, and the others went down the mountain.

Ruan Xing stayed in her room and practiced the Illusion Technique for three days. Although the skill did not level up, the duration was half a minute longer than before.

Furthermore, she discovered that the reason her Spiritual Power consumption was high when using the Illusion Technique was because she was changing her body size. If she only changed her appearance, she could maintain it for about five minutes.

Ruan Xing thought for a moment and stopped forcing the appearance of an adult, instead imagining the form of a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl and working toward that direction.

Her height and build shrank quite a bit compared to an adult woman, and now she could maintain it for nearly four minutes.

That was also quite good.

Let's just practice like this. Maybe one day she could reach the second level through her own efforts, and wouldn't that save her five thousand Spirit Stones?

Ruan Xing walked out of her room and headed toward the Treasure Pavilion, preparing to register and become an Inner Sect Disciple according to the Sect's arrangements.

As for why she had to wait three days...

Because today was the first day of the eighth month; she could collect her monthly stipend first, and then collect an Inner Sect monthly stipend once she entered the Inner Sect.

No choice, the kid is poor.

She went to the old Cultivator who distributed the monthly stipends first. After the man saw her, his half-closed eyes suddenly widened, and he stammered, "Y-y-you, it's only been how many days? And you're already at Foundation Establishment?"

"You don't understand the troubles of a genius," Ruan Xing said with a grin, "Can I collect my monthly stipend now?"

"The Inner Sect Disciple's portion is not collected here. Go to the back and find that senior brother inside to apply for entry into the Inner Sect; he will guide you on what to do."

"But I want to collect the Qi Refining Perfection monthly stipend now, eh." Ruan Xing's tone was dejected, "Can't I collect two portions?"

She really had become obsessed with using the Simulator; she was always thinking about exploiting bugs.

The old Cultivator was silent for a moment. The Sect did not have explicit rules against it, so there was no need for him to offend an Inner Sect Disciple over ten Low-grade Spirit Stones, so he said, "Senior Sister, please wait a moment."

He was also at Qi Refining Perfection.

Thus, the form of address changed from Junior Sister to Senior Sister.

Carrying ten Spirit Stones and a bottle of Gathering Qi Pill with a leisurely air, Ruan Xing bypassed the old Cultivator's counter and went to the second floor in the back.

Sitting in the room were a male and a female Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The female Cultivator saw Ruan Xing and gave a gentle smile, "This Junior Sister, congratulations on your Foundation Establishment, may your path to immortality be smooth!"

Was this some kind of Inner Sect welcome phrase? Every Outer Sect Disciple who entered this room must feel quite happy hearing this; it was truly humanized.

Ruan Xing gave a shy smile and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

"Give me your Sect Jade Token." As the female Cultivator spoke, she placed Ruan Xing's jade token in the center of a huge compass-shaped bronze Dharma Artifact on the wall.

As soon as it was pressed on, the Dharma Artifact spun like a well-oiled bearing, the inner ring turning counter-clockwise and the outer ring clockwise for two turns.

The female Cultivator took down the jade token and handed it to Ruan Xing, "Alright, it has been recorded. Junior Sister, you can go back and prepare. Once you receive the Sect's message, you can come find me. From now on, you will also collect your monthly stipend here, so you won't need to go downstairs."

That simple? It's over already? Ruan Xing asked in confusion, "That counts as an Inner Sect Disciple?"

"Yes, Junior Sister. As long as one breaks through to Foundation Establishment, all Outer Sect Disciples can enter the Inner Sect. Getting into the Inner Sect isn't as complicated as you imagine. However, I cannot take you to the Inner Sect Peak yet because you still have to wait for the Sect's message. This message is to see if any Elder will take you as a Personal Disciple. The treatment and living quarters for Personal Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples are different. Once you receive the message and are ready, you can come find me. I will take you through the Questioning Heart Stone. This step is to prevent any Evil Cultivators from infiltrating the Inner Sect. After that, you will officially become an Inner Sect Disciple," the female Cultivator explained.

Ruan Xing nodded blankly after hearing this.

Xie Huai hadn't mentioned this layer; she didn't know if he didn't know or if he was deliberately not saying it.

She wasn't an Evil Cultivator to begin with; she had only been misunderstood by Xie Huai and went along with it to bluff him, so naturally, she wasn't afraid of the Questioning Heart Stone. Moreover, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had been taken away by the Sword, so she had no worries at all; her heart was clear and she had nothing to hide.

She wondered, though, how Xie Huai would pass the Questioning Heart Stone? The female Cultivator did not give her the monthly stipend, but said to give it to her together on the day she passed the Questioning Heart Stone.

Ruan Xing had no choice but to go back and wait for the Sect's message while practicing her Magic Art.

The cloak she had entrusted to a servant had also been washed and delivered; it was full of the scent of sunshine. Ruan Xing cast a few Dust-Gathering Techniques on the cloak, then folded it and put it into her Storage Bag.

Among the crowd of Sect Cultivators in moon-white disciple robes, wearing a black cloak made her look a bit like a bad person, so she'd better put it away and wear it when she had a chance to go out later.

Qin Yi and Zhao Fengchun had already exceeded the time limit without returning; they definitely wouldn't get this month's Sect monthly stipend, but their lives were saved. Moreover, as long as they didn't fail their missions consecutively, they wouldn't be expelled from the Sect.

Thanks to Lan Guihai for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Yi Tang Wei Ming_ for the monthly ticket~(End of chapter)