Chapter 92: Why Did You Save Me

Ruan Xing could not think of a good explanation for the time being. If she said nothing, these people would probably not realize that those inside the Secret Realm could never come out again until a month later. She could rely on this month to defect directly and run far away, but once a wanted notice was issued, she would no longer have a place to stay in at least Nanzhou or the Central Province. This hell-difficulty side quest was not the result she wanted.

Why was she so insistent on Cultivation instead of Demon Cultivation in the first place? Wasn't it just the thought that righteous sects were all one family, and having more friends meant more paths?

Moreover, this was a Real-scene Simulation; staying an extra day would consume 10 more points. She had already gained a lot this time, so she chose to end the Simulation directly.

She had to save the lives of a few Cultivators. Only if more people survived would she be inconspicuous while hiding among them.

After thinking for a moment, Ruan Xing activated the Text Simulation, headed straight for the Cave Abode, and after making Puppets to fish out the two big shots, she persuaded them to go everywhere to capture Cultivators, knock them out, and bring them back to the Cave Abode to hide. As for herself, she ran to the Xian Tai Tree without stopping to save Xie Huai. After waiting for Xie Huai to recover from his injuries and leave the Secret Realm, she would go to the Cave Abode to collect the big shots' Puppet Bodies into her Storage Bag, pretending that she was also one of the people captured, and leave the Secret Realm together with those gradually waking Cultivators.

She saved over a dozen people, and now the Sect began to pay attention to and take this matter seriously. She fished in troubled waters among them and passed this crisis safely.

Even the elites and geniuses of the Central Province had met their end here; what kind of waves could she, a mere Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, stir up? Besides, quite a few people survived this time, including several Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators from the Central Province, making her even less likely to stand out.

As for what happened afterward, how the Sect got angry and investigated or handled it had nothing to do with her. She hid herself without anyone noticing. The two big shots had covered their faces when capturing people, and she had not participated from beginning to end. Everyone thought she was just another unlucky person who had been captured and knocked out in the Cave Abode.

Not long after, the Sect Master met her personally and chatted with her for a few sentences.

The only pity in this Simulation was that the two big shots had also captured Xu Sixi and his gang. By the time she blended in, it was too late to pick them out. Afterward, on the way to the Central Province, she died at the hands of Xu Sixi again.

The other details were perfect. If she optimized it a bit more, she would surely be able to achieve the result she hoped for.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not intend to defect from the Sect. After all, if she left the Xuanbing Sect, what would she do about the cultivation techniques for after the Golden Core Stage? The techniques were incompatible, and it would not be easy to switch paths, not to mention she currently had no techniques to switch to. She still had to continue practicing this Tongxuan Scripture.

After planning, Ruan Xing felt her thoughts were comprehensive and foolproof. She casually chose a random item for the result of this Simulation, and her hand suddenly felt heavy. Looking closely, she didn't expect to actually get a good item.

Heh, Soul Nourishing Wood. Adding the piece she would get after entering the Secret Realm tomorrow, she now had two pieces. Could it be that this Simulator really intended for her to follow the path of developing Puppets and becoming an Evil Cultivator?

However, she had already obtained the item anyway, so wasn't it up to her how to handle it? Happily putting the Soul Nourishing Wood into her Storage Bag, she counted the remaining Spirit Stones. She had returned to simulate today without waiting for the competition to end, and it wasn't too late yet, so there was still time to go to the Treasure Pavilion.

She exchanged the remaining Spirit Stones for materials to draw talismans, and after returning to her residence, she carefully drew three Earth Escape Talismans.

She still had one unused one on her, which she had previously used as a trump card for saving her life in the Hanshan Secret Realm, but this time she had to use it as a consumable. She had to hurry back and forth between the Cave Abode and the Xian Tai Tree.

There was no help for it; the Golden Terrace Secret Realm was simply too large, and the time wasted on the road was too agonizing.

However, she believed the return on investment this time would be very high, because the time she saved on the road would be used to loot the Storage Bags of her fellow disciples...

For some reason, a tiny sense of guilt welled up in her heart.

It must be an illusion.

The next day, early morning, Ruan Xing arrived at the square in front of the hall, looking spirited.

She had two matches in the morning, which would decide the top three qualified to enter the Secret Realm, while the afternoon had nothing to do with her; the top three would be selected to receive the Breaking Boundary Pill and two Dharma Artifacts as rewards.

With her current strength, wanting to get the Breaking Boundary Pill was a fantasy, so she didn't consider it.

Come to think of it, her Talisman Making and alchemy skills hadn't improved for a long time. Firstly, because she had no money to simulate upgrades, and secondly, because she lacked high-level Pill recipes and new talisman drawing methods.

If she wanted to upgrade, she would either have to join a sect specializing in this path or apprentice under a master famous for it. Unfortunately, she currently had no conditions for such learning.

It seemed she would have to put more effort into this later, looking for Pill recipes and talismans. Although there might be some investment in the early stages, once the level was raised after simulation, the Spirit Stones earned would definitely cover the costs.

However, before improving her skills, she had to improve her cultivation first. She didn't want to be captured and forced to refine pills day and night because of her low cultivation.

While she was thinking messily in her heart about the paths she might simulate in the future, she waited in front of the water screen for her turn to compete. Perhaps because of the mediation from the External Affairs Hall, the Central Province Cultivators didn't look so overbearing today, and the atmosphere was actually quite harmonious.

Her opponent was no different from the previous Real-scene Simulations. The first one was a Foundation Establishment Mid-stage she was somewhat familiar with, who had once bought pills from her. The two of them stopped at the point of contact; the opponent's strength was slightly inferior to begin with, and Ruan Xing had the memory from the Simulation as a foundation, so she could prepare in advance for whatever moves the opponent wanted to make. Winning this match was without suspense.

The second match was that late-arriving Sword Cultivator. Ruan Xing had tried it in the Simulation; if she used all her means and fought with all her might, she could barely win, but she would be injured, and she would still have to participate in the afternoon's competition after winning, which was really not worth it.

Therefore, Ruan Xing only parried a few moves before stepping down and conceding. After the afternoon's competition ended, the final top three were all Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators Ruan Xing did not recognize, presumably Personal Disciples from Elder Peak.

Elder Xu delivered a closing speech with a satisfied look. Ruan Xing didn't listen to a word, but instead focused on remembering the appearance of the Cultivator who took the Breaking Boundary Pill.

If there was a chance, she would let the two big shots pay attention and make sure to capture this one.

The Cultivators who entered the top thirty were all beaming. A Cultivator who had bought her pills came over and said kindly, "Junior Sister, do you want to team up? There is no lack of danger in the Secret Realm; it's better to have support if two people work together."

This was also the norm. The Cultivators she encountered after entering the Secret Realm were basically all in groups of two or three; she had never seen anyone alone.

However, everyone's landing point in the Secret Realm was different. If one was unlucky, it would take a day or two just to find teammates.

Ruan Xing had her own things to do and it was inconvenient to be with others, so she politely declined, "Thank you for your care, Senior Brother, but I'm worried about holding you back, and I'm used to being alone, so I won't trouble you, Senior Brother."

"Alright." The Cultivator left with some disappointment. Ruan Xing's performance in the competition was not outstanding, but there were not many Nanzhou Cultivators originally qualified to enter the Secret Realm, and the Personal Disciples were cliquish, so the options for him to find a team were very few; he could only try his luck and ask around.

An ordinary night passed quickly. At dawn, it was time to enter the Secret Realm. One hundred and thirty disciples gathered together. The Central Province and Nanzhou were divided into two distinct teams. The leading Elder didn't say anything; he stroked his long white beard and led the disciples to the back mountain of the Sect.

This place had always been a forbidden area of the Sect, and few people came here.

The Elder cast a spell to open the entrance to the Secret Realm. The disciples entered one by one. Ruan Xing waited in the middle and saw Xie Huai in front enter the Secret Realm with a calm expression.

Tsk, what good acting... She didn't know what he was really thinking in his heart while facing these Cultivators who were destined to die here.

Maybe he was also very calm in his heart? After all, he was a Demon Cultivator; being ruthless was normal.

Ruan Xing thought about some random things in her mind. After the dizziness of the Secret Realm teleportation passed, she quickly flew toward the Xian Tai Tree on her Sword according to the plan.

This time, she didn't throw the jade token away casually, but threw it into the passage of the Xian Tai Tree.

According to Xu Sixi's persistent attitude... he would probably be here soon. Let him experience Xie Huai's ultimate move of "injuring the enemy by a thousand and damaging oneself by eight hundred."

Ruan Xing found a place to hide. Not long after, Xu Sixi and the others chased after her jade token. They didn't hesitate much before entering the passage, and then were injured by the mechanism array set up by Xie Huai.

This further enraged Xu Sixi. He ordered Xiong Dacheng and the others to quickly destroy the Array Disk, then entered the passage, preparing to find Ruan Xing and "teach" her a lesson.

Watching their disappearing backs, Ruan Xing estimated the time; it was just right, and she could happen to catch up to be buried with Fu Yu.

After confirming that the plan was flawless, Ruan Xing didn't go to verify the results first, but flew on her Sword to the place where the two soft persimmons gathered to wait for the rabbit.

Don't ask her why she didn't directly use the corpses of Xu Sixi and the others as materials; it was mainly because she discovered that if she gave the Fairy a female body, her attitude would be slightly better...

Regardless of whether this bit of friendliness was useful, it was best for her to coax the big shot into being happy to avoid accidents.

After successfully obtaining the bodies and Storage Bags of the soft persimmons, it was already the second day. To save time, she didn't hesitate to use the Earth Escape Talisman to return to the entrance of the Xian Tai Tree passage. After entering, she indeed saw a miserable scene, but not a single one had escaped. The best one had just run to Fu Qinghong's side and kept him company.

After stepping over a few corpses, she climbed onto the platform and saw Xie Huai sitting there quietly.

Pity... there was no way to let Xie Huai die here.

She sighed in her heart, but Ruan Xing, who had already made a plan, would not hesitate in such a place. She walked over, pried open Xie Huai's mouth, stuffed a Healing Pill inside, and then went to Fu Yu's corpse to loot the Storage Bag and Dharma Artifact.

Everyone was already dead, and the locks on the Storage Bags had lost their effect. She easily opened them and checked them, obtaining quite a few Spirit Stones and pills. Fu Yu's Dharma Artifact looked like a high-level Dharma Artifact, but it was already somewhat damaged.

However, she didn't intend to take these people's Dharma Artifacts; they were hard to sell and too conspicuous, making it easy for people to recognize them. But she could take them to be devoured by the Demon Lord big shot as a small gift, so she unceremoniously put them into her Storage Bag.

Not long after, Xie Huai woke up. He coughed a few times, raised his eyes with difficulty, and looked at Ruan Xing with a complex expression, "You... why did you save me?"

This time Ruan Xing did not hit him; the boy was not used to her attitude being slightly better toward him.

Challenge bonus update! Thanks to Aizhizhi12345 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Little Ancestor Ya~ for the monthly ticket~(End of chapter)