Currently, only one Jianxiu from the Hudaosi had entered the mountains. The rest would probably take days to arrive.
In the meantime, Hua Jian’s group could move ahead to the new Resource Zone, investigate, and maybe even lure out Hei Long Gang cultivators for the Hudaosi to sweep up.
The Jianxiu was quite tempted by the proposal, and almost without thinking, agreed.
“Thank you, Shimei.”
“It’s our duty to uphold justice and destroy evil. No need to be so formal, Shixiong,” Hua Jian answered, standing tall and dignified.
Though she dearly wanted to add, “Just pay us in spirit stones,” she knew Linglong would knock her on the head for that—better to keep it to herself.
……
“Alright, that’s the situation. Now, we have to get to the new Resource Zone deep in the mountains as quickly as possible, locate the Hei Long Gang, confirm their situation, and guide the Hudaosi elders to come wipe them out. Any questions?”
Hua Jian clapped her hands and looked at the other two girls.
Linglong, naturally, had no objections.
Cai Qi was still a bit hesitant, not about the destination, but because Hua Jian’s plan didn’t quite match what she’d imagined.
She’d wanted to cut a bloody path through the Gang Wolf Legion’s Resource Zone, killing every last one of their cultivators. But with Hua Jian’s plan, that kind of rampage seemed unlikely.
“Any problems? Speak!” Hua Jian asked directly.
“I want to keep going after the Gang Wolf Legion…” Cai Qi scratched her head, a little embarrassed.
“No problem. We’ll still have to cross the Gang Wolf Legion’s territory, and conflict is inevitable. You can do what you like—at most, we’ll just leave without waiting for you.”
Hua Jian thought it was a trivial issue. They weren’t sneaking around; their goal was speed, so they’d be charging straight ahead, fighting anyone in their way.
Once in Gang Wolf Legion territory, would they just step aside? If their tempers were so good, they’d never have destroyed Cai Qi’s family in the first place.
Conflict was unavoidable, so fists would have to do the talking. Hua Jian and Linglong would handle the higher-level threats; the cannon fodder would be left for Cai Qi. Perfect.
“I have no problem, then!” With Hua Jian’s assurance, Cai Qi’s face lit up with happiness. Having a plan that satisfied both sides was wonderful.
“No problems? Then let’s go. Time waits for no one!”
“Alright!”
After traveling day and night for a full day, the three arrived safely at the third Resource Zone. It was marked as Gang Wolf Legion territory, but something strange was going on.
Cai Qi, who’d dealt with the Gang Wolf Legion many times, felt something was off the moment she entered the outskirts of the Resource Zone. She glanced around, seemingly searching for something.
When Hua Jian asked, she explained that the Gang Wolf Legion usually posted roaming scouts at the zone’s edge to monitor all traffic.
At the slightest sign of trouble, those scouts would immediately alert the main force.
The dead female cultivator they’d encountered at the first Resource Zone had been such a scout.
If Cai Qi hadn’t killed her first, the Gang Wolf Legion’s main force would have been alerted to Hua Jian and Linglong’s presence.
So, in a way, Hua Jian and Linglong should thank Cai Qi for getting rid of the Gang Wolf Legion’s eyes.
“The scouts are gone. This isn’t right,” Cai Qi whispered to the other two.
Then she slipped away into the forest’s depths. After startling a flock of birds, she returned with a puzzled look.
“No trace to be found. Even the markers are from days ago.”
Could it be that someone else besides her had wiped out all the Gang Wolf Legion here?
Hua Jian tiptoed ahead for a peek, but the area didn’t look like the site of a massacre.
The three walked farther into the Resource Zone, soon spotting many cultivators busily working.
Some hunted Spirit Beasts in groups, others carefully harvested spiritual herbs—a strangely harmonious scene.
None of them seemed to disturb each other, which was truly odd. Hua Jian suspected this group had been bewitched.
Was this really what one would see in the Northern Mountains? It just didn’t seem right!
“I’ll go ask what’s going on. You two be careful,” Hua Jian said, stopping Linglong and leaving the other two behind. As the one with maxed-out social skills, she’d go test the waters.
Finding a friendly-looking big sister among the crowd—someone harvesting a spiritual herb and seemingly easier to talk to—Hua Jian approached quietly and watched her dig.
However, the big sister’s movements were rather clumsy. After several tries, she still hadn’t succeeded.
“Big sister, you’re doing it wrong,” Hua Jian coughed lightly to get her attention.
The woman blushed, realizing she was being laughed at, and sounded annoyed, “Then how should I do it?”
Gotcha! Hua Jian smiled and extended her hand. “Let me help, but you have to answer a question for me.”
A question? The woman thought for a moment and then handed over her trowel. “Ask away, but I might not know the answer.”
Hua Jian giggled, sprouting a few Xiteng from her palm to dexterously wrap around the trowel.
Without even looking at her work, her colorful eyes locked onto the big sister’s surprised face.
“My question is simple—why is everyone here so… harmonious?”
At that, the woman relaxed—so that’s all it was.
She’d been worried for nothing, thinking this odd little girl might ask something sensitive.
“Did you just arrive here?”
“Yeah. This place is nothing like the other Resource Zones I’ve seen,” Hua Jian nodded.
“In fact, all the zones you’ll visit next are about the same. The reason? Well… The Gang Wolf Legion that used to occupy this place suddenly disappeared.”
A few days ago, all the cultivators scraping by here discovered that the Gang Wolf Legion had vanished overnight. No one knew where they went.
After a day of cautious probing, the next day saw a frenzy. With the Gang Wolf Legion gone, everyone rushed to pick the zone clean!
Places they’d never dared go were now open, spiritual items they couldn’t touch were now fair game.
As for fighting over spoils? They couldn’t be bothered.
After the Gang Wolf Legion left, the zone was overflowing with spiritual resources—if someone beat them to one, they’d just go after another.
And a day earlier, some cultivators from deeper in the mountains had brought back an even stranger message: not just this Resource Zone, but all major factions’ cultivators in other zones had disappeared as well.
“All gone?” Hua Jian, using Xiteng and the trowel, carefully dug up the coveted spiritual herb, then asked quietly.
This news surprised Hua Jian. She’d been prepared for a bloody road ahead, only to find the enemy had vanished—what was going on?
“Little sister, what kind of spell is that? So impressive.” The woman didn’t answer, nor did she need to.
It was clear from Hua Jian’s tone that she was talking to herself anyway.
Besides, she’d already said everything she knew. Why the Gang Wolf Legion vanished was a mystery even to a bottom-rung cultivator like herself.
“Ah? It’s just an ordinary shapeshifting technique,” Hua Jian replied, thinking the woman was very good at flattery. Wasn’t this just a basic skill for wood-type cultivators?
Handing the freshly-dug herb to the woman, Hua Jian patted the dust from her hands and ran back toward Linglong and Cai Qi.
She’d gotten her answer—time to go.
“Ordinary?” The woman stared at the spiritual herb, feeling like comparisons really were odious.
How were little girls these days all so powerful?
……
“All gone? Why?!” Cai Qi was the most shocked by the Gang Wolf Legion’s disappearance. She’d spent so long preparing for revenge, only to find her enemies had run away?
What was the point of all her mental preparation, then?
“Not just the Gang Wolf Legion—the other major factions in the next few zones have all vanished too,” Hua Jian mused, rubbing her chin, an idea forming. “Maybe they’ve concentrated all their forces to do something big?”
And in the Northern Mountains, there was only one place worth risking everything.
At first, the major factions had just sent their main forces, but perhaps that wasn’t enough. Now they’d gathered every last bit of strength for this challenge.
“So to them, that place is so important they’d give up all their territory for it,” Linglong added.
Once they abandoned their territory, reclaiming it would take a huge effort—they had to know that.
Yet they still made the decision. It meant, in their minds, the price was worth it.
Giving up three Resource Zones for a Treasure…
“Feels like a conspiracy,” Hua Jian muttered.
Though the plot might not target them—they were only Spirit Masters, after all—it was hard to believe anyone plotting in the background would have paid attention to two people who’d been in Tianbei City at the time.
After all, Hua Jian and Linglong only decided to go after hearing about that place. If someone was up to something, their real targets should be the major powers nearby.
“Whether there’s a plot or not, let’s just go see for ourselves,” Linglong said. If she couldn’t figure it out, she’d just think on it along the way.
They still had many days of hard travel ahead—plenty of time for Hua Jian to puzzle it out.
……
While the three girls remained baffled, deep in the Northern Mountains, tensions had already reached the boiling point.
The Gang Wolf Legion, Hei Long Gang, and Ci She Hui—three major factions—had gathered here, along with a host of Loose Cultivators. The air was thick with the scent of conflict.
“We have to get that Treasure!” In the Gang Wolf Legion’s camp, flying a banner emblazoned with a wolf’s head, a rugged, fierce-looking cultivator spoke harshly.
He was the Legion Commander, known as Gang Wolf, a Ling King expert.
Flanking him were his two deputy commanders, also Ling Kings. Having seen the Treasure’s power with their own eyes, all doubts had vanished—they wanted only to claim it.
If they could obtain it, perhaps they could escape their days as mountain bandits and become a new power, living in the sun!
“The reserve forces from two of our territories have arrived. But… Old Third, there’s still no word from your territory.”
“Tch, probably got ambushed by some scoundrels and can’t get away,” the named deputy’s face darkened. Days ago, he’d already noticed one of his Heavenly Kings’ Life Tokens had shattered.
Now, it seemed his territory was under attack and locked in a bitter fight.
But the other Heavenly King’s Life Token was still intact, so things were still under control.
“The nearest faction is Hei Long Gang. If they can tie them up, it’s not too bad,” Gang Wolf interrupted. Now was the time to unite for the Treasure—not bicker among themselves.
Though his guess was completely wrong, from another angle… it wasn’t too far off.
Hei Long Gang’s reinforcements truly weren’t coming.
……
“No news? Dammit, how can there be no news! Are those Gang Wolf Legion dogs pulling tricks behind our backs?”
While Gang Wolf Legion called for reinforcements, so did Hei Long Gang.
But with only one territory to draw from, they were far outmatched. If they lost it, it was all over.
Worse, their territory held a Treasure that absolutely could not be lost. If anything happened to it…
Alone in a room, the Hei Long Gang leader shuddered, unable even to imagine the consequences.
No, it couldn’t happen. The Forbidden Land was guarded by his Array; only a powerful Ling King could break through.
All the Ling Kings in the Northern Mountains were gathered here—no one had been left behind.
As long as he could seize the Treasure and offer it to those great elders, he’d soar to new heights, become their confidant, perhaps even…
He took a deep breath and strode to the tightly closed doors, throwing them open.
A wave of floral fragrance drifted in on the wind, making his greedy eyes even brighter.
The nearby spirit plants held no allure for him anymore—he wanted the source that produced all these spirit items!
Looking out, a sea of pure white flowers rippled gently in the breeze. At the very center of that sea lay the Treasure that had all the factions salivating.
Days ago, they’d witnessed the Treasure’s power to nurture spiritual items with their own eyes, and that direct experience had left them obsessed.
All remembered the old rumor: The White Flower Sea in the mountains could make dreams come true.
What that legend referred to, perhaps, was this Treasure!
As long as he got it, his dream would come true!
Drawing a deep breath of floral scent, the Hei Long Gang boss let his fear vanish. Even without reinforcements, he would risk it all!