Good news: Hua Jian’s bones weren’t broken.
Bad news: Hua Jian was really hurting now.
Climbing up from the bushes and shooing away the little spirit beasts who were laughing at her, Hua Jian reluctantly leaned against a nearby tree and began to observe her surroundings.
She was currently in the Outer Region of the Secret Realm. The terrain was mostly jungle or wasteland, and looking into the distance, she could see a majestic city— that was the true Core Region of this Secret Realm.
From the information she knew, this Secret Realm was formed thousands of years ago when Saints battled Outer Demons in the Eastern Region, shattering a piece of space that drifted out of the world.
Over the course of millennia, it evolved into this Secret Realm.
There might still be some ancient mechanical devices left behind by the ancients here, and possibly traces of Outer Demon influence remaining as well…
“Based on my experience reading novels all these years, that ‘might be’ should definitely be called a ‘certainly is,’” Hua Jian thought.
Urban legends whispered on street corners always turned out to be true, and the bad news mentioned in the pre-battle intel would inevitably come to pass.
Only the good things were uncertain.
So, the influence of the Outer Demons must exist here, but it should be concentrated in the Core Region of this Secret Realm, not out here on the outskirts.
It shouldn’t be dangerous to hunt around the Outer Region, Hua Jian figured.
Having entered an unfamiliar Secret Realm, she naturally wouldn’t think about immediately setting traps to catch someone by chance. She had to explore first and open up the map, illuminating it as she went.
The geniuses from the Saint Sects would definitely head straight to the Core Region to explore. She planned to do the opposite: thoroughly sweep the Outer Region, which was a guaranteed profit.
Even if she encountered others, there was no need to be too afraid. Who else would think the same way she did? Only little mice like herself.
The ambitious ones would have already gone to the Core Region to raise spirit beasts— who would bother to scavenge in this resource-poor Outer Region?
Hua Jian was pretty confident in handling any competitors she might meet.
After resting for a while and settling on a plan, Hua Jian stood up and started moving away from the Core Region.
The farther from the Core Region, the less likely she would encounter others.
Safety came first on a Secret Realm expedition.
As she walked, Hua Jian gathered all kinds of wildflowers and herbs by the roadside. Before long, she easily collected a large pile.
These things weren’t valuable on their own, but Hua Jian had her ways to turn them into useful little tools.
Her signature techniques relied heavily on the help of these small helpers.
After traveling for half a day, Hua Jian unexpectedly discovered several spirit beasts gathered in a nearby wasteland, surrounding a shiny object. They seemed to be doing something with it.
Concealing her aura, Hua Jian crept closer to get a better look at the shiny object.
Hmm… it looked like some kind of wreckage, but it was too far away to see clearly.
The spirit beasts were licking the wreckage with their tongues. Judging by their auras, their strength hovered around the borderline between Spirit Master and Spirit Practitioner.
Even Hua Jian could easily handle them head-on. Their status was probably like the common grunts you’d find everywhere in a game.
With defenses like this, Hua Jian thought the wreckage likely wasn’t anything valuable. If it were something truly powerful, the spirit beasts it attracted wouldn’t be this weak.
Would a high-grade resource point be left unguarded by elite monsters?
This place was clearly just a small outdoor material point, one the big shots wouldn’t even glance at because it wasn’t worth their time.
But just because the big shots ignored it didn’t mean Hua Jian would.
She came here to scavenge, and even a mosquito is meat. Spirit beasts were a resource, too— skinning and picking their bones could net her a few Spirit Stones.
Pointing the palm of her hand toward the unsuspecting spirit beasts, Hua Jian quietly activated her Spiritual Power.
A faint, colorful mist drifted toward the beasts in the breeze. Everything happened so naturally that not a single spirit beast sensed anything wrong, and one by one, they closed their eyes and fell down.
Easy pickings! After all the spirit beasts were knocked out, Hua Jian summoned sharp, vine-like thorns from above and struck their vital points, sending them off to Paradise in the safest and most reliable way.
Only after confirming all the spirit beasts were dead did Hua Jian step out from her hiding spot and walk over to the shiny wreckage.
The wreckage wasn’t large— about the size of a small table. There was indeed a faint flow of Spiritual Power on it, but it was very weak. Taking it out would probably only fetch scrap metal prices.
Even Hua Jian showed a troubled expression and hesitated to pick it up.
No way would her little mouse want to collect such trash.
“Hey! Yaochi girl over there, did you find anything good?”
Just as Hua Jian thought about how picky she was being, a voice came from not far ahead.
Hua Jian looked up sharply. The person greeting her was a young man in unfamiliar clothes. He looked honest and walked steadily, giving Hua Jian a decent first impression.
He didn’t start with an attack, but greeted her first, which showed he had no hostile intentions— at least for now.
That meant he was a neutral party open to communication.
As for which sect he came from, Hua Jian already had a guess.
“You’re… an Inner Disciple of the Tiandao Sect?” Hua Jian widened her eyes and put on a look of admiration.
“Ha ha, caught so quickly!” The young man’s face lit up with pride.
He was proud of his status as an Inner Disciple, and Hua Jian’s reaction boosted his vanity greatly.
In that moment, Hua Jian appeared to him as a neutral and even friendly presence.
How did Hua Jian know he was an Inner Disciple of the Tiandao Sect? Before entering the Secret Realm, Su Xiaoxiao had given her a quick lesson on the attire differences between inner and outer disciples of the Five Great Sacred Sects.
The young man’s clothes matched the Tiandao Sect’s Inner Disciple uniform.
“Senior Brother, are you interested in this wreckage too? Unfortunately, it’s useless. If you want it, I can give it to you,” Hua Jian said generously, offering the scrap to the Tiandao Sect disciple.
It was big and worthless— only a fool would want it. She’d rather strip the skins off those spirit beasts; that was worth more than this junk.
Hearing Hua Jian’s words, the Tiandao Sect disciple looked a bit embarrassed. “That’s really kind of you, Junior Sister. This treasure was discovered by you; how could I possibly snatch it away…”
“No, no, Senior Brother, you’re overthinking. I really don’t want it,” Hua Jian waved her hands, mentally marking the Tiandao Sect cultivator as an easy mark.