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

Chapter 170: Kill Him While He's Sick
The situation outside was even more tragic than when Ruan Xing first entered the dungeon.

Through her telepathic perception, she knew that most of her puppets and the evil spirits in the pennants were killed. Only Jian Lai, who had been hiding in secret under her instructions, was looking for the trace of the master.

The broken stones in the rockery were scattered and the original passage was no longer recognizable.

She thought to herself that if she delayed a little longer, the old man with the whisk and the other two would probably come back. She also wanted to test the master's strength in this simulation.

So he said to Cui Yurong: "Since you can't use your Yin Qi, it's not convenient for me to take you with me when I fight. Find a place to hide. If I win, I will come back to find you."

"Okay, benefactor, please be careful." Cui Yurong nodded with some shame.

The benefactor saved her life again, but she still couldn't help much.

Ruan Xing did not care about Cui Yurong's thoughts, but asked Jian Lai through the mind link and found out the location of the master.

The syrupy, brown and bubbling barrier separated the mountain from the foot of the mountain. The outer disciples were all outside. They only guessed that something seemed to have happened in the inner sect, but they did not dare to get close. Their status in Liuyang Study was only slightly better than that of servants. How could they risk their lives for the sect?

The inner disciples who had not yet reached the Golden Core stage all found places to hide. Except for the capable disciples who were caught off guard by the self-destructive puppets at the beginning and suffered several casualties, the rest soon realized the self-destructive puppets' single combat mode, and after provoking them, they quickly hid in the surrounding protective buildings.

Some disciples also retreated to the main hall as soon as the chaos began, seeking the leadership of the master, the backbone of the sect.

Ruan Xing pretended to be one of the latter, and hurriedly ran to the back of the main hall with his sword in hand.

The master of the study looked at the scene in Liuyang's study with a serious expression and let out a long sigh.

He seemed to have been affected by several self-destructive puppets. He had some minor injuries and dust on his body and looked a little disheveled.

A disciple looked anxious and asked, "Master, what should we do now? How about we open the barrier and go out to seek help from other nearby sects?"

"No!" Another disciple stopped him loudly, "Right now, the unknown enemy should still be hiding in the sect. He has only released some inhuman creatures to launch sneak attacks. If the barrier is opened, that person will take the opportunity to escape, which will cause endless troubles!"

"What should I do? I saw several dead bodies of my fellow disciples on my way here..."

"Why panic? With the master here, how can that villain get to us? As long as we hold on and wait for the two elders to come back, we'll be safe!"

"Alright, shut up!" The master growled and said calmly, "It is safest not to open the barrier now. The barrier will absorb the power of the golden elixir explosion and weaken its power. Once the barrier is opened, at such a close distance, I can't guarantee that I will be safe, so how can you save your lives?"

What the host didn't say was that the nearby sects were not as strong as them. In the past, there was a Nanzhou Xuanbing Sect that had a Yuanying Zhenjun, but now there is only one Jindan elder. As for other Red Robe Pavilions and the like, they have no friendship, so why would they come? Moreover, if they come, they will be killed, and it is easy for the news to leak and expose the Xumi Realm.

Several Jindan disciples immediately stopped moving and fell silent.

The master's analysis was quite good, but he didn't know that Ruan Xing only had six self-destructive puppets in his hands, and they had all completed their missions.

And now the ones creating the chaos are the evil spirits in the triangular flags. They have a strength close to that of the Jindan stage, and are not afraid of most physical attacks. If ordinary Jindan cultivators do not have magical weapons to restrain them, they really have no way to deal with them.

It's just that the master and others had gathered together from the beginning, and Ruan Xing's instructions to the puppets were to blow up in crowded places, which naturally attracted the self-destruction attacks of several puppets. Therefore, it seemed that there were a lot of puppets, as if they were endless.

Ruan Xing's heart moved and he summoned the sword over.

He, along with a few other disciples, approached the host casually.

It seemed that it was because she had just reported two important events to the master today, and the master still had some impression of her and was not on guard, thinking that she was still frightened and seeking shelter.

This is normal. No one in Liuyang Study is good at fighting. Before they reach the Nascent Soul stage and reshape their bodies, everyone is in their sixties or seventies with old arms and legs. Even if they take good care of themselves, it would be good if they don't get sick. Even if they take the anti-aging pill, they will only look better on the outside. How can they compare with young cultivators?

What's more, everyone is afraid that they won't be able to break through before their life ends. In order to achieve immortality, since there is no bottleneck anyway, they all focus on practicing and rarely make progress in other things. Being able to learn a sword technique and a few spells is already considered a lot of knowledge.

Those cultivators who have not gotten used to the world of immortals still have the thinking of mortals. When they get old, how can they not be afraid of death?

The reason why Ruan Xing was able to kill each of these cultivators with one sword, apart from the fact that his own cultivation was higher than theirs and his actions were decisive, was also because of this point.

Ruan Xing suddenly shouted in panic: "Master, be careful!"

The master's heart skipped a beat and he looked back to see a white figure flying straight towards him.

The figure did not show any signs of impending self-explosion, but the master did not dare to be careless. He waved his sleeves and wanted to knock the opponent away with one palm.

Unexpectedly, the white figure suddenly disappeared when it was almost in front of him, and a chill came from behind him.

The sword in Ruan Xing's hand flashed with an icy blue light. The wound on the master's back was covered with a layer of ice. He was shocked and angry. He pointed at Ruan Xing and said tremblingly: "You... So there is a traitor like you in the sect..."

The disciples around were stunned by the scene that happened in a flash.

After a few seconds, someone finally reacted, "Help the master kill this traitor!"

Ruan Xing smiled slightly and no longer concealed her cultivation level. The power of the Nascent Soul stage burst out from her, instantly knocking away several disciples who were close to her.

The two late Jindan cultivators were still able to stand after flying out, but the others either hit pillars or flew far away. After landing, they had distorted faces and spat out mouthfuls of blood.

"Yuanying Stage...you are not Li Jinfu!"

Ruan Xing did not answer, but let Jianlai cooperate with her to continue attacking the master.

Let him die while he is injured.

As we all know, villains die from talking too much.

She is now outnumbered, and there are two Nascent Soul Stage warriors outside the barrier who are eyeing her covetously.

Fortunately, from her perspective of the enemy, the master's strength is not as good as those two elders.

In terms of swordsmanship, Ruan Xing currently only knows two sets of Xuan-level swordsmanship, but she has upgraded both sets of swordsmanship to the maximum level six through the simulator. This is more than enough to defeat an injured master, and he is not as good as him anyway.

Ruan Xing felt a sense of unreality. When she just came out of the Xumi Realm three years ago, the owner of Liuyang Study was like a mountain hovering over her head.

Suddenly, there was a long roar in the sky, the sound was so sharp that it could pierce people's eardrums.

The only two remaining disciples exclaimed in surprise: "Master! Black Hawk is back!"

They were simply happy because the Black Hawk could be considered the second most powerful fighter in Liuyang Study after the old man with the Golden Ring. After all, it was a monster, and in addition to carrying people, it could also protect the sect.

But the barrier was not opened, so the Black Hawk could not fly in and could not land on the square. The Black Hawk circled over the square anxiously.

The host smiled bitterly. How could they, who had never experienced the dangers of the immortal world, understand? This was the Nascent Soul stage. Even if they let Black Hawk in, he might not be able to defeat him...

He could only hope to hold on a little longer until the other two came back.

Two quarters of an hour had passed since Ruan Xing killed the Confucian monk and set off the barrier warning. She couldn't help but become a little anxious, and her attacks became more and more ruthless. Soon, the already exhausted host suffered many new wounds.

He had to deal with Ruan Xing while guarding against the elusive sword. In just a moment, he was already losing ground. The two Jindan disciples were also unable to help. If they dared to step forward, Ruan Xing would be able to severely injure them with one sword.

"Ahem..." The master spat out a mouthful of blood foam, "You won't succeed..."

"Oh?" Ruan Xing raised an eyebrow, "Do you know who I am and what is my purpose?"

"Only a few people in Liuyang Study and the Northern Territory know about the affairs of Xumi Realm. You are a demon cultivator of the Ghost Path, so how could I not know?" The study owner laughed hoarsely, "They have come to my home, but they only sent you. It seems that the Northern Territory has not had a good time these years."

The North... Demon Cultivator...

Liuyang Academy is indeed not a simple righteous sect. It has been colluding with the evil cultivators for thousands of years!

Ruan Xing simply followed the identity imagined by the host and tried to get him to say something: "Then how can you be sure that I was the only one sent and not the first wave?"

She had a fake smile on her face. "It's just that I saw that you were the only old thing left on the mountain, so I thought it was a godsend opportunity, so I decided to take action. When you open the barrier, you will know whether it was me, the Northern Territory Demon Cultivator, or your useless elder who came in first."

The master did not reveal any more information, but just said stubbornly: "I will not open the barrier... You will die here, and when you die, everything will be clear."

Ruan Xingqi asked, "Why, do you want to learn my method and self-destruct your Nascent Soul? Do you really want nearly a hundred disciples in this barrier to be buried with me?"

Ruan Xing really couldn't imagine how the master could kill her under such circumstances.

The self-detonation power of her puppet is not great. One reason is that its own strength is only 70% to 80% of what it was when it was alive. The other reason is that it is blocked by the barrier and its power is weakened.

But if the master dares to self-destruct, Ruan Xing will not sit there and wait for death when he has no other way to survive.

If the two Yuanying explode at the same time, not to mention those disciples hiding in the corners, the entire mountain might be razed to the ground.

I just don’t know if I can break the barrier... Ruan Xing really wants to try it. She has never used this method of death before.

The master's bloodstained mouth let out a dull laugh, "They are just a few disciples. As long as we get rid of threats like you, Liuyang Study will still be glorious in thirty or fifty years!"

Hiss...isn't he afraid of death himself?

Ruan Xing's heart sank. Indeed, according to the average cultivation speed of three years to build the foundation and ten years to form the golden elixir in Liuyang Study, as long as the Xumi Realm still existed, there would be a large number of golden elixir disciples in thirty years.

There is no restriction on their accepting disciples except that they must be high-ranking officials. As long as they can live to retirement and have spiritual bones, even officials of the fifth or sixth rank meet the requirements.

The cycle of civil and military officials in a dynasty lasts for thirty or forty years, so they have enough students.

But this time her simulation ended up in a dead end.

Even if the master didn't self-destruct, she wouldn't be able to open the barrier and get out after killing him. The self-destructive puppets and the evil spirits on the pennants in her hands had all been used up. When those two came back, her chances of winning would be slim.

"You thief! How dare you break into my sect and hurt my disciples! You deserve my death!"

A roar awakened Ruan Xing who was in deep thought, and the old man with the golden ring began to shout outside the barrier.

The riot happened only half an hour ago, and they came back so quickly.

She quickly pulled out the sword stuck in the master's shoulder and pressed it against his Dantian. "You are not dead yet, so you are my hostage. With you in my hand, what can the two of them do to me? If they dare to move, I will pierce the Nascent Soul in your Dantian and make you die!"

The host sneered, "Do you know why I had to gather people behind the hall even though there are protective formations in the square and the hall?"

why?
Ruan Xing looked at the surrounding stone forests and trees warily. Apart from the fact that the spiritual energy was denser than other places, he really couldn't feel any difference or danger. There was not even any formation.

However, what she couldn't perceive was the most terrifying.

Pursing his lips, he increased the force of the sword, and the tip of the sword slightly pierced the skin. His belly, as dry as tree bark, was spotted with blood. The master suddenly reached out and grabbed the sword, and with his other hand he grasped Ruan Xing's wrist, not allowing her to escape. His whole body suddenly leaned forward, and the sword immediately pierced his body!

His Nascent Soul struggled under the sword for a moment and then began to dissipate.

There was deathly silence all around.

Even the chirping of birds and insects that were common in the woods disappeared.

Ruan Xing began to look around warily.

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet began to wriggle, and the surrounding trees all stood up straight. The roots rose from the ground, densely packed like tentacles and surrounding Ruan Xing.

A sense of shudder arose in her heart.

The whole person began to tremble uncontrollably.

The feeling of being restrained and controlled is getting stronger and stronger——

She used all her strength and thoughts to turn around and run and jump onto the pillar at the back of the main hall.

It was only a distance of a few hundred meters, but Ruan Xing had difficulty moving even half a step.

The gray-brown tree roots covered with dirt wrapped around her tightly like a snake. The dagger slipped out of her hand and the bones in her body broke inch by inch. The extreme pain in her chest made her want to scream out, but when she opened her mouth, she touched the bitter tree roots and dirt, and her whole body was buried in the tree roots, forming a cocoon.

Blood slowly flowed out from the cracks, flowing and dripping along the shape surrounded by the tree roots.

Finally, it returned silently underground, and the forest returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

The simulation ends.

Ruan Xing opened his eyes and couldn't help shivering.

The feeling of being swallowed by a python and slowly squeezed and digested is really creepy.

And that feeling of being controlled and restrained undoubtedly comes from the World Tree.

This experience of powerlessness cast a shadow over her heart.

I couldn't help but ask questions in my heart.

What is the level and origin of this world tree?

Why did the confinement she had in her mortal period still have such a strong power when she reached the Nascent Soul stage? And wasn't its main body underground in the State Master Palace in the Xumi Realm? The distance between the layers of mountain passes was nearly a hundred miles!

How could its roots extend so far and control her, and how could such a powerful thing be obtained by Liuyang Study for thousands of years?

Thanks to book friend 20220301042117805 for the monthly ticket~
(End of this chapter)