If it was this difficult for Hua Jian to fight him, wouldn’t others be even worse off? Sometimes, human wave tactics were useless.
Just now, when the man stomped the ground and covered the platform in fire — those flames alone were enough for cultivators with insufficient strength to deal with, let alone the raging fire swirling around him.
No matter how she looked at it, this didn’t seem like an enemy that Spirit Masters could defeat.
“Hahaha! There is naturally a way, but you have to find it yourself. You can’t always expect to get the answers from others.”
The Senior Brother was actually a good person, reminding Hua Jian that the Saint Sect wouldn’t completely block the possibility of defeating him.
Since he was so powerful that ordinary methods couldn’t defeat him, they had to think about other ways.
The hint was quite vague. After some thought, Hua Jian decisively began searching the vicinity of the platform.
Since the man had given her such a reminder, it meant that the method to defeat him was an actual setup that wouldn’t change based on the challenger’s strength.
And that thing likely wasn’t in the outermost areas. After all, this Forbidden Land wasn’t too large or too small; if it were truly outside, it might take a group several days and still not find it.
Seeing Hua Jian and Shiqi get busy nearby, the man laughed twice, sat down cross-legged again, and began to cultivate, looking exactly like a video game boss.
As expected of a test prepared by the Saint Sect; it was surprisingly user-friendly.
Hua Jian had already reached the massive Stone Pillar. It was this pillar that emitted the terrifying pressure, scaring other cultivators away.
Curiously, this pillar was not within the platform’s boundaries but outside, unprotected by the man.
As everyone knew, the most prominent thing in a place surely served a purpose beyond being visible.
In the following plot, it would likely serve as something to be blown up to render a crisis atmosphere.
“So big, so tall…” Hua Jian crossed the lava river outside the pillar and flew close to it. Only then did she notice many ancient characters on the surface.
Even though Hua Jian’s knowledge of ancient writing was quite superficial, she easily understood the content after reading it once.
It wasn’t hard at all; these characters were among the simplest in ancient linguistics, understandable to anyone who knew even a little.
Despite how grand and magnificent the Stone Pillar was, leading one to think its inscriptions would be incredibly obscure, it actually just had its own instruction manual carved into it.
This was an Earth Vein Spiritual Pillar, a tool used by the Saint Sect to control the direction of the Earth Veins.
The varying terrains and environments in this Secret Realm were adjusted by these pillars.
As for this lava hell situated in the middle of a snowy world, it was because the Earth Vein Spiritual Pillar had been interfered with for unknown reasons, reversing its effect and causing the nearby area to undergo a change completely different from the intended result.
As long as the pillar was reset, the environment would return to its original state!
And at the very end of the inscription, it pointedly added that the imbalance of the Earth Vein would cause powerful monsters to be born there.
Once the pillar was reset, the monsters would be significantly weakened, making them easy to defeat.
“I understand. This is the way to win. We just need to reset this big pillar to weaken him.” Hua Jian understood. The mechanic was indeed hidden here.
“I see. Then let’s hurry and…”
Before Shiqi could finish, a scorching airwave suddenly came from behind them. The man had actually launched a surprise attack while they were talking.
“Now that you know my secret, I cannot let you stay!”
Hua Jian hurriedly pulled Shiqi to the side to dodge, and then, ignoring everything else, they bolted.
The Saint Sect was truly shameless to set such a lethal trap, and this Senior Brother from Penglai was truly devious for not mentioning this other mechanic.
After learning the pillar’s purpose, how could they still be hunted down?
“Senior Brother, you’re shameless!”
While throwing various items behind her to slow the man’s pursuit, Hua Jian loudly accused him of intentionally hiding important information, which was truly not the act of a righteous person.
“If you had kept your discovery hidden in your hearts, I naturally wouldn’t have known you learned my secret. But now that I know, how can I let you leave?”
The man laughed and burned a sachet Hua Jian had thrown with a burst of fire. A sweet, cloying Flower Fragrance filled the air for a moment.
This caused the man to pause. The scent of this flower seemed somewhat familiar. It was this very pause that allowed Hua Jian and Shiqi to pull far enough away.
Seeing that he could no longer catch them, the man helplessly returned to the Obsidian Platform.
He could have continued the chase if he really wanted to, but neither Hua Jian nor Shiqi were weak, and his flight speed was restricted.
It would be difficult to catch them before they left the Forbidden Land’s range.
He could leave the Obsidian Platform under special circumstances, but he absolutely could not leave the Forbidden Land.
After all, his setting was a monster born from the Earth Vein anomaly; the Forbidden Land was his source of life and power.
Once he left, he would turn to ashes in a matter of moments.
“Sigh, forget it. The next time those two little ones come back, it should be time for me to be defeated.”
The man took a jug of wine from his Storage Pouch and took a swig. He couldn’t communicate with the outside from within the Forbidden Land.
Until he was defeated or the Ascension Gathering ended, he couldn’t act freely. The only thing he could do was drink alone.
Thinking about it that way, being defeated and exiting early didn’t seem too bad. That little one with black hair and colored eyes was quite capable and smart.
Being defeated by a group led by her wouldn’t be shameful.
……
“I looked at the control method for that pillar just now. It requires five cultivators of different attributes working together to trigger the energy within the pillar, making it sink back into the ground to regulate the Earth Vein.”
After escaping the man’s pursuit, Hua Jian, with slightly damp temples, told Shiqi what she had seen on the pillar.
Using a real Earth Vein Spiritual Pillar was naturally not that simple; what Hua Jian had seen were the instructions for the auxiliary array.
That part was indeed simple. They just had to inject Spiritual Power and wait for the array to run itself. The only requirement was five cultivators of different attributes working in unison.
So, they now had no choice but to form a team. After all, Hua Jian alone couldn’t produce five different types of Spiritual Power.
And five people weren’t enough. Given what the man had revealed, the moment they started cracking the mechanic, he would charge down from the platform to eliminate them.
To solve this, they needed other people to desperately block the man’s assault to buy enough time for the comrades running the formation.
In this situation, Hua Jian and Shiqi would definitely have to be on the front lines fighting the man.
The other cultivators weren’t even on the Genius List; they likely wouldn’t last a single exchange against him.
At least the two of them could barely hold on for a while, right?
“In other words, we need to recruit at least five cultivators of different attributes, and preferably bring in a few more pieces of combat-capable cannon fodder…” Hua Jian counted on her fingers and realized their manpower shortage was quite significant.
Upon returning to the small hill, Hua Jian found to her dismay that they had returned a bit too early; there weren’t many cultivators left on the hill.
However, a few of them remembered what Hua Jian had said yesterday.
Seeing her return looking disheveled, they couldn’t help but ask about the scenery in the Forbidden Land.
Hua Jian didn’t exaggerate and shared the information she had gathered. Everyone immediately showed expressions of surprise.
They hadn’t expected Hua Jian to actually enter the Forbidden Land, fight a master inside, and return safely.
And the other information Hua Jian provided made them think they might be able to get a share of the spoils.
Originally, they were afraid the Forbidden Land contained something too powerful and that they would become meat buns thrown at a dog.
But with Hua Jian’s exploration, their fears were proven unfounded.
A Ling King who couldn’t use Ling King-grade Spirit Techniques or tools was still strong, but not so strong that he felt unbeatable.
Furthermore, Hua Jian mentioned that the Ling King enemy could be weakened through a mechanic.
After some consideration, these cultivators began to show interest.
Previously, the risk was high and the reward was low. Now that the risk had decreased and the reward had increased, they naturally changed their minds.
Fighting other teams didn’t seem as satisfying as everyone working together to defeat a powerful enemy.
As the sky grew dark, the other cultivators returned. They heard the information about the Forbidden Land from the comrades who had stayed behind, and a heated discussion broke out.
Soon, the first small team approached Hua Jian, stating they were now willing to cooperate with her to face the powerful enemy in the Secret Realm.
Once there was a first, there was a second. Before long, Hua Jian successfully gathered the number of cultivators needed to activate the formation, even keeping one as a backup.
As for what those who hadn’t accepted her invitation were planning, Hua Jian was temporarily in the dark, but she suspected it wouldn’t be anything good.
They probably wanted to swoop in and take the kill after they had done the hardest work.
‘Hmph, you think you can scheme against me?’ Hua Jian coldly glanced at the remaining people, her vigilance already heightened.
……
“Mmph…”
“Shh… don’t move. I won’t hurt you.” A slender finger with rose-gold nail polish was pressed lightly against her lips.
The Fox Woman smiled at the girl before her, who was tied up and completely unable to move. “I remember you’re called Xia Hui, right?”
Xia Hui could only make muffled sounds. She didn’t even know how she had been tied up by this fox-like woman.
Not long ago, she had been hiding and running toward the meeting point Hua Jian had set.
The next moment, everything went black, and when she opened her eyes again, she was already bound.
A sweet, cloying flower scent floated in the air, giving Xia Hui a very bad feeling.
The Fox Woman’s next actions further confirmed her ominous thoughts.
The Fox Woman’s fingertips traced over her face, body, and limbs. Each time a part was touched, the Fox Woman’s appearance changed.
When her fingertips left Xia Hui’s body, another version of herself had appeared before her eyes.
After that, the Fox Woman untied the clothing over Xia Hui’s chest and gave her a sharp prick.
With a heart-wrenching pain, Xia Hui saw the Fox Woman take a drop of blood from her chest and swallow it.
Now, the Fox Woman’s aura had also completely transformed into hers.
What kind of sorcery was this?!
“This figure is too pitiful. Take her back and raise her well.” The Fox Woman, now in the guise of Xia Hui, beckoned toward her back.
Several girls in various dresses stepped out from behind her and carried Xia Hui away.
“Senior Sister, do you intend to put yourself in danger?” One girl stayed behind after Xia Hui was taken away and asked softly.
“You think this counts as putting myself in danger?” Wearing Xia Hui’s face, the Fox Woman showed an incredulous expression.
“Those sorts of people think they can hurt me? I just want to see what kind of person that little one is and prevent any problems with the plan.”
If Hua Jian were eliminated before their plan even began, that would be a huge joke.
She was going both to see what was so special about the girl the Elders treated as a treasure and to protect Hua Jian personally to prevent any accidents.
“Your mission is complete. Hide yourselves now. No matter what happens, do not interfere until I give the command. Understand?”
“Understood!”
……
“Penglai and Wanling Sect certainly have good eyes. This little one’s performance is indeed different from the others.” Looking at the images in the Silver Mirror, the Venerable from Penglai couldn’t help but praise her.
Although she only started working on the boss on the fourth day, one couldn’t ignore what Hua Jian had encountered in the previous days.
First, she had dealt with two consecutive pursuits by Saint Sect Disciples, and then she was traveling the whole time; it was normal for time to be wasted.
Compared to the others who were entirely focused on infighting, Hua Jian was like a breath of fresh air.
“Those two groups have gathered such great strength, yet they don’t think about exploring the Forbidden Land. Instead, they only think of fighting each other. It’s simply not good enough.”
Forming a sharp contrast with Hua Jian were the two largest forces in the Secret Realm.
After gathering, these two major powers had already begun intense friction, and the cultivators under them were brawling with each other.
Currently, most of the cultivators eliminated from the Secret Realm belonged to these two forces.
These cultivators likely didn’t know that by being eliminated this way, they had already lost their chance at the Neimen, even for those at the top of the Genius List.
This was a tacit Rule shared by the Five Great Sacred Sects: to be directly admitted to the Neimen, one had to perform an irreplaceable service during a Forbidden Land crusade.
Clearly, the person closest to achieving this condition now was Hua Jian.
“Speaking of which, Fenghua, your girl from Jade Pool sent up a very interesting report.” The Venerable from Tiandao Sect looked at Fenghua Venerable, his face full of sarcasm.
“The Hua Jian you favor seems to have been labeled as someone from Wanhuagu, and the report was even passed… Don’t you have anything to say?”
Fenghua Venerable’s expression froze. Right now, she wished she could personally go down and knock that silly girl’s head.
Of all people to suspect, she had to suspect Hua Jian. What was even more frustrating was that she couldn’t stop the report from being passed.
During the Ascension Gathering, unless a Demonic Path Invasion actually occurred, they as Venerables were not allowed to interfere with the process.