“If you don’t explain clearly, I’ll hang you here and whip you three times a day! So young yet you’ve already learned such bad habits, coming into the Secret Realm to plot against people!”
Holding a slender, multicolored Spirit Vine, Hua Jian pointed at Caidie, who was hanging from a large, crooked-necked tree, and scolded her.
You might ask how a large, crooked-necked tree could grow in a Secret Realm area that was covered in lava just a few days ago.
To Hua Jian, it was incredibly simple. Just bury a seed in the ground and inject it with Spiritual Power. It didn’t need to be maintained for long; a few days was plenty.
Compared to the tree, she felt it was more important to figure out why Caidie was here.
She had expected to encounter Demonic Cultivators or Senior Brothers and Sisters from the Saint Sect, but she never imagined that after ripping off the black-robed person’s hood, the face revealed would be her own Direct Disciple, Caidie!
No wonder those plotting methods felt strangely familiar; they were all taught by her personally.
While Hua Jian conducted her interrogation, the others didn’t dare approach, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire of her anger. However, that didn’t stop them from watching from a distance.
Among them, the loyal subordinates of the Sword Hero were the most enthusiastic.
“It looks like Hua Jian has some history with that little girl. Can we take this opportunity to attack her…”
“Exactly. Force her to punish the girl. If she refuses, her reputation is ruined! If she does, her friendship is over!”
Hearing their conversation, the Sword Hero couldn’t help but shake his head. It was no wonder these people were assigned under him; they truly couldn’t handle great responsibilities.
Could they not look at the reactions of the people around them before trying to come up with a plan?
Most of the cultivators here hadn’t suffered at Caidie’s hands. Seeing Hua Jian hanging Caidie from a tree and whipping her, none of them would think Hua Jian was protecting her.
Most likely, they all thought Hua Jian was being too heartless toward the child!
“You’re wrong. What we need to do now is plead for mercy for the little girl and have Hua Jian release her.” The Sword Hero glared at the group of fools and stepped toward Hua Jian and Caidie.
Before he could take more than a few steps, a petite figure blocked his path, stopping him with a smile.
“Miss Hua Jian is busy. Please do not approach her, all right?”
Looking at Xia Hui standing before him, the Sword Hero suddenly shivered for some reason. His intuition told him it was best not to disobey the girl’s command.
She might be an existence even more terrifying than Hua Jian.
In his nervousness, his peripheral vision caught several patterns of different colored flower petals on Xia Hui’s shoulder.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
“You…”
“Hmm?” Xia Hui raised her tone slightly.
The Sword Hero immediately lowered his head and retreated respectfully.
So that was it. He had wondered why something felt off; it turned out there were other people in this Secret Realm besides him.
This Xia Hui, who had been acting as Hua Jian’s little follower, was actually one of his peers!
He hadn’t expected the other party to hide so deeply. If not for that hidden pattern on her shoulder, he wouldn’t have been able to identify her.
After retreating into the crowd, a cold voice rang in his ear.
‘This is my target. Manage your people.’
He instinctively looked up at Xia Hui. He only saw her lips moving slightly; the voice he heard had floated from there.
To use Voice Transmission without attracting anyone’s notice—the other party’s strength far exceeded his own!
Just how much had Wanhuagu invested this time to even send such a master into the Secret Realm?
A drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead. The Sword Hero didn’t dare think about how big of a scene Wanhuagu was trying to create.
From their unusual enthusiasm and help beforehand to the powerful masters appearing in the Secret Realm, he felt he might have become a piece on a massive Qipan.
And Wanhuagu was the one strategizing from outside the board!
‘Don’t ask, don’t speak. Otherwise, I will make you disappear without a sound.’
The Sword Hero quickly lowered his head. He believed the other party had the strength and the will to do such a thing.
The people of Wanhuagu were never soft-hearted.
Seeing him blocked by a little girl, his subordinates looked puzzled. What was going on?
“Don’t ask. This isn’t something you should know.” The Sword Hero silenced them before they could speak.
The heavy emotion in his voice made everyone’s pupils shrink. For something to make the Sword Hero so cautious, it had to be incredibly serious.
“Do what we need to do. Don’t think about anything else, and don’t do anything else.”
“Understood!”
……
Hua Jian noticed Xia Hui had blocked the Sword Hero and couldn’t help but praise her internally. This little girl was quite sharp, knowing not to let others interfere here.
Although she seemed to be whipping Caidie forcefully, the whip was actually landing on the large cocoon surrounding her. The little girl was just a bit dizzy from being swung around in the air.
This was a bit of a “bitter meat” tactic. By punishing Caidie in front of everyone, there wouldn’t be too many objections when she eventually let her down.
As for why Caidie was here, she had already guessed the general reason. Five Poisons Peak must have treated this place as a practical training ground.
With so many cultivators of similar age and strength to Caidie, there was nothing wrong with letting her come in to clash with them.
“Weren’t you taken back by the Peak Lord of Five Poisons to be a disciple? What, did the Peak Lord send you here to bully people again?” Feeling that the act had gone on long enough, Hua Jian stopped the spinning motion and walked over to Caidie to whisper.
Caidie looked at Hua Jian pitifully, keeping her mouth shut and refusing to say a word.
Hey, this little girl was starting a non-cooperation movement. Hua Jian reached out to pinch the girl’s face and said fiercely, “The situation is special now. Demonic Cultivators have invaded the Secret Realm, and we’re all trapped. Don’t you know that?”
Caidie blinked. Her incredibly clear eyes told Hua Jian that she really didn’t know.
“I won’t blame you for poisoning people earlier, but you can’t do bad things anymore. The people you poison can’t leave the Secret Realm, and they will truly die. You don’t want to damage your Master’s reputation because of this, do you?”
Hua Jian knew Caidie well. She knew the child lacked a basic understanding of life; for her, killing carried no psychological burden.
To make her realize it was wrong, she had to approach it from another angle.
“No, Master is a good person.”
“I certainly won’t hurt you either. If you continue to do bad things, I’ll be treated like a big villain too. Do you really have the heart to treat your Elder Sister this way?”
Caidie quickly shook her head. Hua Jian was one of her mentors, the one who had led her through the gates of the “scheming against others” field. How could she want Hua Jian to get hurt?
“I don’t care why you came in or what mission you were given. In any case, your mission is over. We need to deal with the real bad guys together now, understood?”
Caidie was still a bit hesitant, her cute little face scrunched up in a frown, leaving Hua Jian somewhat helpless.
It seemed words alone wouldn’t be enough to convince her.
“The Peak Lord who brought me here told me I just had to knock everyone I saw out of the Secret Realm,” Caidie whispered, revealing the task she had received before entering.
Unlike other Saint Sect Disciples who entered with various missions, Caidie’s task was simple: pure mischief, beating people out of the Secret Realm.
No matter who she met, her mission remained the same. If she met a candidate, she killed; if she met an examiner, she also killed.
And now Hua Jian was telling her she couldn’t kill anymore because the mission had changed. This made Caidie’s tiny little brain struggle to process the change.
“That’s the mission? Don’t worry about it. I know the Peak Lord who brought you here. Just listen to me now, and if anything happens, I’ll take the blame!” Hua Jian coughed, indicating that the matter was easy to solve.
She was going to Wanling Sect later anyway. At that time, she and Caidie would be proper fellow disciples. Even if Caidie were scolded for this, she could step up and protect her.
“Then… I believe in Sister Hua Jian!”
……
Although she successfully convinced Caidie to surrender, after understanding her current capabilities, Hua Jian felt the little girl couldn’t really be considered a proper combatant.
Even though she was a Direct Disciple personally brought back by the Peak Lord of Five Poisons, her current strength wasn’t that high—only mid-stage Spirit Master Realm, which was lower than even Hua Jian’s late-stage.
Her combat also relied heavily on various poisonous insects she carried; her direct combat power was almost nonexistent.
One reason was that the child was simply too young. Hua Jian was 16 years old, which was the minimum age limit for the Ascension Gathering, and Caidie was several years younger than her.
It was difficult to make up for the cultivation disadvantage caused by time.
However, this also highlighted Caidie’s extraordinary talent. To have such strength at such a young age meant that if she grew up smoothly, she might become the next Hua Jian.
But the future was for the future. For now, Caidie was still just a poor little girl who could only hide in the shadows and take potshots.
“As long as you don’t cause trouble, you’re helping. Here, disperse your poisonous insects into the surroundings and let them serve as our first line of warning.”
Hua Jian drew a circle on the Map and had Caidie scatter the insects in those areas.
This way, if anyone invaded, they would receive a timely alarm.
Several of the Sword Hero’s capable subordinates were also listening intently to Hua Jian’s arrangements.
However, whenever she mentioned the “Demonic Path,” they would often show strange expressions.
“The Stone Pillar over there is nearly halfway out. The surrounding environment will gradually begin to change. At this time, the Demonic Path will certainly realize something is wrong. Even though we are far from their main offensive line, we can’t be sure they won’t take a detour to attack us.”
The main offensive direction of the Demonic Path was indeed to the west, but there were Ling Kings stationed in the two Forbidden Lands there.
In the eyes of the Demonic Path, those were definitely hard nuts to crack.