I imitate others' cultivation, and I will never reason with you.

Chapter 158: Cooperation after the New Year

After asking Cai Jiao to collect the seeds and put them away, Ruan Xing went to see Qin Taihe again and made up a story for Jian Lai and the other two, saying that they were followers.

Qin Taihe didn't care about it and just thought of her as a playmate of similar age.

He didn't have any other business with Ruan Xing, he just wanted to ask her to have dinner together. After learning that Ruan Xing was in seclusion, he didn't disturb her anymore.

However, he seemed to be stimulated by Ruan Xingfei's cultivation speed during this period, and he also began to practice in seclusion. Occasionally, he would come out for two days to eat spiritual food and refine his spiritual energy. The rest of the time, he would lock himself in a quiet room, determined not to come out until he broke through to the middle stage of the Golden Core.

As the year draws to a close, snowflakes begin to fall in Xizhou. The white plum blossoms in the yard bloom and fall, and the cranes at Qintai finally come out of their confinement.

"Congratulations, brother, on your breakthrough~" Ruan Xing winked playfully.

Qintai Heya pursed his lips and smiled, then asked, "It seems that there has been a lot of noise outside. What happened?"

"New Year's Day, haven't you ever celebrated New Year's Day in Zhongzhou?"

Qin Taihe was stunned for a moment, "...No, do the monks in Xizhou also celebrate the New Year like ordinary people?"

Ruan Xing naturally didn't know. Cang Lin stood behind Qin Taihe and said in a gentle voice: "No matter how many cultivators there are in a family, everyone is a mortal before the age of thirteen. Celebrating the New Year... is just an excuse to play with children. Therefore, most cultivators who love their children will celebrate the New Year."

Qintaihe was silent.

It turned out that the light that kept flickering in the distance was not the result of monks fighting each other, but parents using magic to let their children watch fireworks.

"When you were a child, your parents probably took you to experience these things," Ruan Xing comforted.

"But I don't remember it anymore." He was only one or two years old when his father died. His mother was always depressed afterwards. When she was in a good mood occasionally, she would only chat and laugh with him and rarely took him out to play.

"You can experience it now." Cang Lin suddenly said. He looked at the two of them, and a smile appeared on his usually dull face. "Aren't there children here too?"

Ruan Xing was stunned for a moment.

Although she is already a big shot in the Nascent Soul stage, she is still a child less than six feet tall.

Forget it, just think of it as accompanying Qin Taihe to reminisce about his childhood.

By the way, let’s commemorate her second year in the world of immortal cultivation!

Ruan Xing happily called Jian Lai and Cai Jiao, and they went out together.

The streets were filled with parents who looked like Taoist priests and their children wrapped up like balls, which was a bit funny to watch. Occasionally, a few children wearing robes and not afraid of the cold would walk by with their heads held high with pride, and would be greeted with envious glances.

There was a magic show organized by monks on the square in the city. Accompanied by their families, the children were immersed in the safe illusion, watching the fairies flying in the clouds and the monks slaying demons. They exclaimed in amazement and imagined that they could become such powerful figures after they drew qi and became monks.

But for Ruan Xing and Qin Taihe, this kind of environment had too many loopholes, and the special effects were not even as good as those in 3D movies, so they were easily seen through.

Jian Lai and Cai Jiao were not interested either, because they themselves were considered demons in the eyes of ordinary people.

"If you want to see the real thing, you can go to the riverside on the outskirts of the city, where there will be performances by monsters," Cang Lin suggested.

A few people then went to the outskirts of the city, where there were also people gathered in a circle, watching several eels swimming in the water to form various patterns and characters, and koi of different colors forming a circle and jumping out of the water.

Qin Taihe's expression was somewhat surprised. "This... I see that several of them have reached the foundation-building stage. Many of the children in the stands are mortals. Isn't there any danger?"

"Basically, there is no danger..." Cang Lin said, "Because these are captive monsters. They have been raised and trained by monks since birth, and they are almost not wild."

A koi carp leaped high up from the water, turned over in mid-air, and its tail splashed out beautiful water splashes. Suddenly, colorful rainbow lights appeared on the surface of the river, causing the children to cheer.

Cai Jiao stood on tiptoe and watched eagerly. If it weren't for the sword pulling her back and her inability to speak, she would probably have shouted out in excitement.

Her fragmented memories were all about the bits and pieces of the mortal world. She had never seen the fantastic and magnificent world of immortal cultivation.

A monk said something to the manager who was maintaining order by the river, and the koi was caught by a net-like magical tool, sealed with several spells, and handed over to the monk.

Ruan Xing saw it and asked curiously: "What is that?"

"Koi fish meat is mild in nature and is most suitable for children before and after the Qi induction." Cang Lin said leisurely, and then added, "The day you just returned to Xizhou, I also picked koi here to cook. Besides, this is the property of the clan, so it is much cheaper for us to buy it than other cultivators."

"I see." Ruan Xing nodded.

"Young Master, that man is the patriarch of a small clan affiliated with the Qintai family. He came here personally to choose a koi for the performance. It seems that he attaches great importance to the qualifications of that child. Do you want to go over to meet him and congratulate him?" Canglin asked Qintai He's wishes.

Qin Taihe was still hesitating. Ruan Xing thought of what would happen to him seven years later. He felt a pang in his heart and said quickly, "It's better not to. You have no foundation in the clan now. I don't think it would be a good idea to rashly make friends with him."

Cang Lin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "That's right, the young master doesn't have any position in the clan right now, which is indeed inappropriate. It's better to keep a low profile and talk about it later."

Qin Taihe felt relieved that he didn't have to take the initiative to talk to strangers.

The original intention was to take Qin Taihe and the two little ones out for some relaxation, but it almost made Qin Taihe bear the pressure of competing for the succession to the clan leader.

She could understand Cang Lin's expectations, but Ruan Xing actually didn't want Qin Taihe to go down this path. Although it would be a greater help to her if Qin Taihe could really become the successor to the clan leader, his temperament was not suitable. Even if he survived the seventh year, there would still be dangers waiting for him in the eighth and ninth years. The current clan leader had just been in office for more than 20 years. Even if Qin Taihe really became the successor, he would still be many years away from breaking through to the God Transformation Realm. Accidents might happen in the meantime. Moreover, the martial arts he practiced was not a clan martial arts, which would also be a great obstacle for him.

But she couldn't explain all of this clearly to Cang Lin and Qin Tai He.

After visiting the market in the city, Ruan Xing bought some food and toys and prepared to go back.

Of course, Jian Lai and Cai Jiao couldn’t eat those things, so they could only let them smell them and then watch Ruan Xing eat.

After the New Year, spring came. Ruan Xing rummaged through his storage bag and found the invitation.

Before going out, Ruan Xing decided to have a fortune-telling first, so he turned on the text simulation.

Although it now costs 10,000 points to simulate the Nascent Soul stage once, you still have to spend the money for your own safety.

[Simulating]

At the age of eight, you went to the Wanbaolou headquarters in Dongzhou to attend an alchemist exchange meeting. At the meeting, the furnace of boundary-breaking pills you refined made a splash with its extremely high success rate, and won a place in the top three.

After the competition, you received an invitation from Wanbaolou, asking if you are willing to cooperate with them. They will train you and let you inherit the alchemy skills and recipes of the second floor owner. They will also sign a contract to provide Wanbaolou with a certain number and grade of elixirs every year, and the elixirs they refine cannot be sold publicly. Before the end of the contract, they will train a new generation of alchemists for Wanbaolou as successors. You agreed to Wanbaolou's request.

At the age of nine, you settled down in Dongzhou and followed the second owner of the building to improve your alchemy skills. You entrusted all the pills you made in a year to Wanbao Tower for sale and received a considerable reward.

……

At the age of sixteen, you learned a lot of new pill recipes in Wanbaolou.

……

At the age of 208, one day while refining the elixir, you suddenly felt a palpitation and you died.

[End of simulation]

After thinking for a while, Ruan Xing chose a random skill and gained some experience in alchemy, but still failed to break through to the sixth level.

Perhaps the sixth level is a very difficult gap to break through.

The trip to Dongzhou was fine, and basically there was no danger. She was quite happy to reach this agreement with Wanbaolou, as it could help her get more pill recipes, sell the pills she refined, and provide her with spirit stones for simulation use.

This business was a lucrative one for her.

It’s just that his age at the time of death… was exactly two hundred years ago, and the cause of death is still unknown.

Why is this? When she was improving her cultivation in Xizhou, she could only simulate a life of 400 years at most.

It seems that due to some unknown influence, she will face another death calamity two hundred years later. But it doesn’t matter. Simulation is simulation and reality is reality. It is impossible for her to still be in the early stage of Nascent Soul two hundred years later. There must be a way to solve it by then.

Ruan Xing packed up his things and said goodbye to Qin Taihe. Before leaving, he asked for some spirit stones and basic training resources, saying that they were for his two followers.

After Qin Taihe generously gave it to her, Ruan Xing took out the five thousand spirit stones inside, stuffed a Boundary Breaking Pill into it, and asked Jian Lai to send the storage bag back to Nanzhou to Ruan Tao and Hu San.

After all, she is the leader of Fengling Yueying Sect, and she cannot ignore the disciples in the sect. Jian Lai can go back in stealth, which is very safe, and she doesn't have to worry about being discovered at all.

Moreover, she is now in the Nascent Soul stage and does not really need the protection of the sword for the time being.

She didn't give the spirit stones because she wanted to use them for simulation herself, and secondly because she was worried that if she gave them the spirit stones, the Demon Lord would cheat her and use them for other things. It would be better to give them the pill array plates and magic tools directly. They were of low grade and the Demon Lord would not look down on them, so they could be given to Ruan Tao and Hu San.

After all, the Demon Lord has lived for so many years and has seen much more than her. Even though he has become her puppet now, she is still afraid that the Demon Lord will cause trouble.

In the past two years, there has been no movement from the Demon Lord and the Fairy in the mind link. It may be because they are far away, or it may be because they both don't want to pay attention to her.

After Jian Lai left, Ruan Xing stuffed Cai Jiao back into the storage bag.

Originally, he was worried that Cai Jiao would be disobedient after playing outside for a while, but unexpectedly, Cai Jiao was very well-behaved. She nodded, holding the seeds and the soul-nourishing tree, and lay motionless in the storage bag. She didn't even look at the wooden horse puppet toy that Ruan Xing placed next to her.

"That's great. Jianlai is the well-behaved No. 1, and A Jiao is the well-behaved No. 2." Ruan Xing sighed, "Well-behaved children are still the most popular."

After getting on the shuttle boat, Ruan Xing flew towards Dongzhou.

Canghai City, Dongzhou.

Ruan Xing had been here once in the simulation, but this was his first time in reality.

But last time she didn't know that this was the headquarters of Wanbaolou.

The sect directly under the jurisdiction of Canghai City is Xuanji Sect, which is the sect of the fairies. It has stood firm after thousands of years and is also one of the three major sects.

She asked around a bit but didn't hear any news about the ancestor of Xuan Ji Sect or the demon cultivator who came from afar.

Then he went to Wanbaolou to make the connection with peace of mind.

If she shows the invitation in any Wanbaolou store in Canghai City, a waiter will naturally lead the way to the headquarters of Wanbaolou.

The manor was almost half the size of Canghai City, and its decoration style was as magnificent as ever. Ruan Xing followed the waiter, passed through the overlapping corridors, and was led into a corner tower.

The corner tower is in the shape of a U.S. character, with a large open space in the middle that is like a small square, with a few tables and chairs placed alone. Above the head is a semicircular dome with various patterns hollowed out on the edges, and the light that shines through illuminates every corner of the venue.

"The reception room on the first floor is where the alchemists communicate with each other. The second and third floors are for living. You can pick any empty room to stay in." The waiter instructed considerately.

Ruan Xing nodded and asked, "How many alchemists are participating in this exchange meeting?"

"That's not certain yet." The waiter looked apologetic. "Two hundred invitations have been sent out in total, but many immortal masters have not yet responded."

There are also people like Ruan Xing who come here directly without replying to the post, and this kind of people are the most favorite alchemists in Wanbao Tower.

Not replying to the post proves that she has no noble family and no foundation, and does not understand the etiquette and rules of replying to posts at all. A cultivator who can feed the whole family with one person's food is more likely to cooperate with Wanbao Tower.

Moreover, the exchange meeting is not open at a fixed time. It is held once every three or five years, depending on the mood of the second floor owner. Their waiters cannot predict the scale based on previous sessions.

Seeing that the waitress didn't know any useful information, Ruan Xing waved her hand and let her go about her business.

Ruan Xing walked around the first floor by herself and only saw a few monks chatting with acquaintances, so she didn't go up to them.

There are still seven or eight days until March 12, and it is unknown how many cultivators will come by then. However, Ruan Xing is not worried. The simulator tells her that one furnace of Boundary Breaking Pills is enough to surpass the others. Among these alchemists, there are probably few who can defeat them.

Most of the one hundred rooms on the second floor were already occupied, and there were only a few people living on the third floor. Ruan Xing guessed that the two hundred invitations would not be received, so in order to have some peace and quiet, she also found a room on the third floor to live in.

The house is elegantly furnished, with a simple layout, and most importantly, there is a bed.

It seems that not all the cultivators who come to participate are third-level alchemists. There are probably lower-level ones as well. Wanbao Tower values ​​potential and talent. Even a first-level alchemist will receive an invitation as long as he has a talent for alchemy.

After stretching, Ruan Xing fell headfirst onto the bed.

She squinted her eyes and thought, Jian Lai would probably be back in seven or eight days. His current strength was only equivalent to that of a late Jindan. Should she find a way to improve Jian Lai's cultivation, or let him learn a few more techniques from the Netherworld Ghost Record?

Thanks to _Panda Jun_ for the reward~
Thanks to book friend 20221023004510870 for the monthly ticket~
Thanks to high school girl Zhou Yingting for the monthly ticket~
Thanks to book friend 20240511135128652 for the monthly ticket~
Thanks to Xiao Miaoer for the monthly ticket~
Thanks to ek0113 for the monthly ticket~
(End of this chapter)