“Spirit Liquid of the Soul? That’s a rare item. Record how much you took, you know the rules.”
“What do you mean you don’t know how much? Show me with your hands.”
“That much?! You absorbed it all?! Little girl, are you messing with me!”
The male cultivator wearing a robe marked with the Heavenly Dao Sect emblem slammed his palm on the table, roaring at Hua Jian, who looked completely innocent on the opposite side.
The female cultivator from Penglai beside him, who was recording, also looked completely incredulous.
The amount Hua Jian just indicated was simply too large, and she actually absorbed it all?
How could a young Spirit Master possibly absorb that much Spirit Liquid of the Soul?
It’s not that they were inexperienced—Spirit Liquid of the Soul isn’t exactly unheard of in the cultivation world.
Plenty of Demonic Cultivators have tried to walk that crooked path, and Hudaosi deals with the demonic path more than anyone, so their understanding of Spirit Liquid of the Soul is, without a doubt, thorough.
First of all, unrefined Spirit Liquid of the Soul is highly poisonous to cultivators. If consumed, at best, it pollutes the soul, at worst, it drives one completely mad.
Even the Ling Emperor or Spirit Lord aren’t exempt from this; not even the boldest Demonic Cultivator would dare to use the stuff directly—they might be wicked, but they’re not stupid.
But what did Hua Jian say now?
She said she absorbed a massive amount of Spirit Liquid of the Soul, but her current state looked perfectly normal. This made no sense at all.
“Did you hide some of the Spirit Liquid of the Soul? This isn’t something you can keep for yourself,” the Heavenly Dao Sect male cultivator frowned and asked.
Hua Jian quickly shook her head. “Everyone in the Secret Realm saw it at the time. The Spirit Liquid of the Soul flew straight into my chest. As for where it ended up, I really don’t know.”
She could more or less guess where the Spirit Liquid of the Soul had taken effect, but she couldn’t exactly pull down her collar in front of these two and show them the Flower Pattern on her chest.
If it were just the female cultivator from Penglai, it might be fine, but with a man here, Hua Jian wasn’t about to do something like that in front of the opposite sex.
“Were there witnesses? Fine, we’ll go ask around. For now, stay put in here. If we find out you’re lying…”
The Heavenly Dao Sect male cultivator clenched his fist, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
“I get it, I get it. It’s not like I haven’t dealt with Hudaosi’s Senior Sisters before.”
Hua Jian cut him off. She’d dealt with Hudaosi quite a bit lately and knew what they were like.
Now that she had strong ties with Jade Pool and hadn’t done anything wicked or unjust, and her actions in the Secret Realm were exemplary for the righteous path, there was no way Hudaosi would target her.
And since she wasn’t in the wrong, Hua Jian had no fear of Hudaosi at all.
Go on, try making things difficult for me—I’m someone with backing now!
Seeing how fearless and defiant Hua Jian was, the two Hudaosi cultivators interrogating her exchanged glances, both seeing the same helplessness in each other’s eyes.
This little girl didn’t look like she was lying at all, but what she was saying was so unbelievable. How could they submit a report like this?
Their superiors would scold them to death.
Sigh, what a headache.
*
Because she was directly involved with the Spirit Liquid of the Soul, Hua Jian was temporarily under soft confinement in Hudaosi, enjoying a life of having everything done for her—someone to dress her, someone to feed her.
They said she couldn’t see anyone until her innocence was established, but every night Fenghua Venerable would visit Hua Jian, answering her cultivation questions and personally instructing her in using Spirit Techniques.
This kind of life was rather comfortable for Hua Jian; she could get used to it.
But of course, this couldn’t last forever.
After three days of confinement, the Spirit Lord of Hudaosi, who had received the report, finally arrived at Tianbei City with a large team.
This incident was linked to a conspiracy thousands of years old, possibly involving the demonic path, and even more concerning, it involved a huge quantity of Spirit Liquid of the Soul—Hudaosi couldn’t afford not to take it seriously.
For this reason, they dispatched a leading Spirit Lord from Jian Sect to investigate the entire matter and uncover what happened to the Spirit Liquid of the Soul.
And so, after three days of a salted-fish lifestyle, Hua Jian welcomed the Hudaosi Spirit Lord in her makeshift cell.
The newcomer was a cold, white-haired Sword-Eyed Female Cultivator, her sword intent so fierce that Hua Jian’s face tingled just looking at her. Hua Jian felt as if this sword cultivator venerable was a cactus become human.
This Venerable didn’t bother with formalities at all. She entered the room and immediately asked Hua Jian where the Spirit Liquid of the Soul had gone.
It was as if she might strike Hua Jian down with a sword if she didn’t get a satisfactory answer.
“It should have been absorbed here, but I can’t be sure.” Since her visitor was also female, Hua Jian was a little more open, pulling down her collar slightly so the Venerable could see the flower pattern on her chest.
“My storage pouch has already been confiscated. There’s nowhere on me to hide anything. Venerable, you should be able to confirm my innocence, right?”
After showing the flower pattern, Hua Jian tidied her clothes and asked in return.
Now was obviously not the time to joke around; you had to pick the right moment to be glib, and this was not it.
“Indeed, your storage pouch has no Spirit Liquid of the Soul, and your soul state is not like someone who has absorbed it…” The sword cultivator Venerable nodded.
From any angle, Hua Jian was innocent, yet the Spirit Liquid of the Soul had, before everyone’s eyes, entered her body.
So where could it have gone?
That was the question that troubled her most—and the one she had to answer.
“Asking her is pointless. What could a little girl possibly know?” Just as she was thinking, another voice sounded in the room.
“Fenghua, I don’t have time for your nonsense right now.” The sword cultivator Venerable frowned, clearly displeased at Fenghua Venerable’s unannounced entrance.
But Fenghua Venerable made herself at home, sprawling next to Hua Jian and wrapping an arm around her neck, saying to the dark-faced sword cultivator Venerable, “Yingxue, you’re as stiff-headed as ever.”
Yingxue Venerable’s expression darkened further, the sword intent she emitted growing sharper.
But she was still willing to listen to Fenghua Venerable—after all, they got along decently.
“Don’t be so hasty. In fact, she’s the least suspicious one here. Take a look at this.” Fenghua Venerable handed the treasure map Hua Jian gave her to Yingxue Venerable.
Yingxue Venerable studied it carefully, her brow furrowing. “You’re saying everything written here is true?”
If so, this changed everything.
A legendary spirit flower?
“Who knows if it’s true or not? I can only confirm that this child really did gain some power from the Illusory Dream Flower, and that the Spirit Liquid of the Soul isn’t on her.” Fenghua Venerable shook her head, even she couldn’t be certain about all of this.
But given the circumstances, most of what was on the map was likely true.
“I need stronger evidence. Just your word won’t convince others.” After a moment’s thought, Yingxue Venerable suddenly had a bold idea.
Since this concerned flowers, why not invite a few Venerables who were experts on the subject to take a look?
“I’ll send word to Lingcai and have her come over.”
If any current Venerable knew the most about flowers, it had to be Lingcaifeng Master from Wanling Sect.
The Hundred Flowers List was her work.
Now that a rare Strange Flower had appeared and was ranked ninth, how could they not invite her to verify it?
At this, Fenghua Venerable’s expression stiffened.
“She’s probably busy, maybe we shouldn’t bother her. I remember that Wanhuagu also knows a thing or two about flowers, maybe we could ask them…”
Even Fenghua Venerable herself felt she couldn’t continue with that suggestion. What nonsense was she spouting?
Though Hudaosi often turned a blind eye to Fanghuagu’s antics, their stances were still fundamentally different—how could they ask Wanhuagu for help at a time like this?
Besides, Wanhuagu only had “flowers” in their name; their understanding of spiritual flowers was nowhere near Lingcaifeng Master’s level of expertise.
There was even a saying that the “flowers” in Wanhuagu referred to the beauty of young women, not actual flowers.
Most people agreed with that, and Wanhuagu had never denied it.
“You just don’t want Lingcai to know about this,” Yingxue Venerable stared at Fenghua Venerable for several breaths, speaking with certainty.
Fenghua Venerable’s face darkened. “Of course! Little Hua Jian is the disciple I have my eye on. If Lingcai finds out she got the Illusory Dream Flower, who knows what that woman will do?”
She and Lingcaifeng Master had already clashed over Hua Jian before. Now that Hua Jian had obtained the Illusory Dream Flower, their rivalry would only get worse.
Fenghua Venerable had intended to quietly bring Hua Jian over first—once the deed was done, Lingcaifeng Master would have no chance to poach her.
But the “rice” was only half-cooked; if Lingcaifeng Master barged in now, her plan would be ruined!
Hearing this, Yingxue Venerable just looked at her like she really couldn’t understand these people. Was it really worth all this drama just to recruit a disciple?
They even resorted to “sneaking a bite.” Was Fenghua Venerable that desperate?
“This is your issue with her. The best solution is to call her over,” Yingxue Venerable said as she produced her Communication Jade Talisman. “With both your testimonies, others will believe this really has nothing to do with the girl.”
If it was just Fenghua Venerable defending Hua Jian, other Venerables could accuse Jade Pool of covering for her.
But if Lingcaifeng Master also vouched for Hua Jian, that accusation wouldn’t stand.
And even if it was favoritism, the forces behind Hua Jian were enough to sway things.
So Lingcaifeng Master was key.
“…Tch, fine, worst case, we’ll just fight it out. Whoever wins gets the disciple.”
“You two really… sigh.” Yingxue Venerable had nothing more to say, only letting out a sigh as she relayed what she knew to Lingcaifeng Master.
In the Central Continent, information travels quickly. The Saint Sect’s outposts across the land serve as relays, swiftly delivering messages sent by Communication Jade Talismans.
The only issue was the high price—usually only Ling Emperors or wealthy Ling Kings could afford them.
A poor little Spirit Master like Hua Jian rarely saw such things, and now she stared curiously at the talisman in Yingxue Venerable’s hand.
As she peered closely, the talisman suddenly vibrated. Yingxue Venerable channeled her spirit power into it, and a familiar figure appeared before Hua Jian.
It was Lingcaifeng Master from Wanling Sect.
“Illusory Dream Flower?! Yingxue, are you trying to fool me?”
“Ask Fenghua, that’s what she told me.” Yingxue Venerable pointed the talisman at Fenghua Venerable, as if it even had a “camera” function.
Lingcaifeng Master, seeing Fenghua Venerable’s arm around Hua Jian’s neck, was immediately furious. “You sneaky cat, how shameless can you get!”
Hua Jian was also the disciple she wanted. She’d already been planning to go all out at the next Ascension Gathering to lure Hua Jian to her sect. But now, damn it, Fenghua was playing dirty!
She’d dared to sneak ahead—no shame!
“Heh, Master, you’re such a busy person, but you still remember little Hua Jian? How many disciples have you taken, huh? Have you ever been as devoted to Hua Jian as I have?”
Fenghua Venerable’s greatest advantage was that she hadn’t taken any disciples before, meaning she could devote all her attention to Hua Jian. Could Lingcaifeng Master do that?
No!
If she couldn’t, then she should just focus on her own business and leave Hua Jian alone!
“I don’t have time for your nonsense. Is the Illusory Dream Flower real or not?”
“How should I know? It says so on the map, and the abilities Hua Jian got match it, so it’s probably the Illusory Dream Flower. You wrote the Hundred Flowers List—what do you think?”
Lingcaifeng Master was at a loss for words. She really couldn’t judge its authenticity from here.
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