Even Hua Jian hadn’t expected the Magic Path group to be so ruthless; once they realized they couldn’t win, they simply self-destructed all the remaining puppets on the field.
She had been in the middle of dismantling a puppet when she felt the surge of spiritual power from its chest.
She quickly threw it into the air and only took some of the blast’s shockwave.
After that puppet self-destructed, all the other active puppets simultaneously abandoned their opponents and charged toward Hua Jian.
Meanwhile, the puppets she had already dismantled into immobility self-destructed just like the one she had been holding.
The other cultivators tried to help Hua Jian block the lunging puppets, but once intercepted, the puppets exploded immediately, causing significant injuries to those trying to help her.
In the end, several puppets still reached Hua Jian’s vicinity, delivering a parting gift of a triple explosion.
If Hua Jian hadn’t been wearing her Spiritual Garment and wasn’t naturally resistant to shockwaves, she probably would be lying on the ground like the other injured cultivators.
‘I should have thought of this when I realized the enemies were puppets. Sigh.’ After letting A Meng return to the Godsoul Space to rest, Hua Jian let out a soft sigh.
Those who suffered the most in the explosions were the cultivators surrounding the immobilized puppets, trying to destroy their energy cores.
They had been enthusiastically smashing away with various methods, never expecting the puppet to explode the moment a hammer hit it.
The unlucky ones were blown to pieces on the spot, while the luckier ones barely kept their lives.
Hua Jian, who had been the primary target of the puppets, had also suffered some minor injuries. A few bloody scratches from flying shrapnel lined her cute little face.
However, such small injuries were nothing to her. Before she even descended from the sky, the wounds on her face had already healed, and not a single drop of blood escaped.
“Miss Hua Jian, there are so many injured. We don’t have enough people.” Xia Hui ran over in a hurry.
“It’s fine. If my guess is correct, help should be arriving very soon.”
Hua Jian wasn’t too worried about the aftermath. There were scouts patrolling near the forbidden zones.
When they were attacked, she had already sent out a call for help to the nearby zones. Calculating the time, help would arrive shortly.
She couldn’t speak for the Tiandao Sect’s zone, but Linglong would definitely send people to help.
“That’s good. These enemies are too hateful, using such lowly methods when they can’t win!” Xia Hui waved her fist angrily. “They didn’t even dare to fight us with their real bodies. How shameless!”
“They are enemies, after all. As an enemy, your job is to make your opponent uncomfortable. If I were in their position, I might have done things even more disgusting than them,” Hua Jian said, defending the black-robed men.
In terms of being shameless, she was also quite capable, so she couldn’t really judge.
Xia Hui’s eyes lit up, and she began to press Hua Jian on what she would have done, appearing very curious about what kind of bad ideas were brewing in Hua Jian’s head.
Suspecting nothing, Hua Jian explained that if it were her, she would have equipped the puppets with things more suitable for self-destruction, like packing them with blades or coating those blades in poison.
She could also use the puppets for various ruses, like having them lie on the ground and play dead, only to detonate once an enemy came to inspect them.
In short, there were countless underhanded methods. The black-robed men’s tactic of just exploding when they lost a direct fight was practically like child’s play.
“Miss Hua Jian is amazing, to even think of such methods!” Xia Hui’s eyes sparkled, her face full of admiration as if she had been completely conquered by Hua Jian’s cleverness.
“You just like flattering me!” Hua Jian reached out to tap Xia Hui’s head, but Xia Hui ducked to avoid it.
Hua Jian was suddenly unhappy that her hand strike had missed. ‘I didn’t even say anything when Linglong hit my head, but you, a little thing, dare to dodge my strike?’
“Being hit on the head makes you stupid!” Xia Hui covered her head with her hands and spoke to Hua Jian seriously. “Besides, I’m older than Miss Hua Jian. You shouldn’t do that to your elder sister.”
‘An elder sister who is even more petite than me? That’s quite the authority,’ Hua Jian thought, rolling her eyes. If Xia Hui hadn’t emphasized it, she really would have forgotten.
“Oh, right. Take this, Miss Hua Jian. It can help you recover your spiritual power.”
“Alchemy Pills? I still have plenty. Keep them for yourself; I don’t need them.” When Hua Jian saw Xia Hui take out a pill, she refused without much thought.
She might lack many things, but she had an abundance of pills—those given by Linglong, those she prepared herself, and those that fell from the sky.
Combined, she had enough to consume them like candy.
But when Xia Hui opened the stopper of the small jade bottle and a faint Flower Fragrance drifted out, Hua Jian’s expression changed instantly.
This thing didn’t seem simple.
“This is what Mother told me to give to Miss Hua Jian, but there hasn’t been a chance until now.” Xia Hui peeked around to ensure no one was watching before leaning in to whisper in Hua Jian’s ear.
“This is the Flower God Condensate from Wanhuagu. It is an incurable poison to others, but for a cultivator who practices Wanhuagu’s Cultivation Method, it has the miraculous effect of bringing one back from the brink of death.”
“Every disciple with the Flower surname in Wanhuagu receives a single drop. Mother took this drop with her when she defected. This item is now useless to her, so she asked me to give it to you.”
Hearing this, Hua Jian’s hand trembled. Earlier it had been subtle hints, but now it was an exclusive item from Wanhuagu?
‘How much stuff is Xia Hui’s mom actually holding onto?!’
“But I don’t practice the Wanhuagu Cultivation Method. In my hands, isn’t this just a poison?” Startled by the effect of the condensate, Hua Jian forced herself to remain calm.
Even though it was valuable, she had no way to use it.
She couldn’t actually use this thing as a poison.
Xia Hui gave her a puzzled look. She tightly plugged the bottle, pressed it into Hua Jian’s hand, and continued to whisper.
“Mother said Miss Hua Jian could use it. I believe Mother’s judgment.”
‘So your mom still suspects I’m from Wanhuagu,’ Hua Jian thought as she looked at the jade bottle. After a moment of consideration, she put it into her Storage Pouch.
Fine, whether she could use it or not, she would keep it for now.
If all else failed, she would just throw it as a poison!
Seeing Hua Jian accept the condensate, the corner of Xia Hui’s mouth curled slightly. She then stepped back two paces. “Then I’ll go back to helping! Just call me if you need anything, Miss Hua Jian!”
Watching Xia Hui skip away, Hua Jian rubbed her nose. She felt that Xia Hui seemed exceptionally happy after she accepted the gift. She really didn’t understand why.
‘I don’t get what this little girl is thinking…’ Hua Jian scratched her head and stood up to walk toward the injured cultivators, starting to help treat their wounds.
However, her expertise in medicine was quite poor. Moreover, in the world of cultivation, injuries didn’t require many fancy treatments; just feed everyone Alchemy Pills and call it a day.
After helping for a while, the reinforcements from the other forbidden zone finally arrived. Just as Hua Jian had thought, it was the cultivators from Linglong’s zone.
As soon as they arrived, they immediately began helping the injured, which made the cultivators here a bit uncomfortable.
After all, just a few days ago, they had been enemies trying to kill each other on the battlefield. Now they were lying on the ground injured, and the ones coming to help were those same enemies.
This shift was quite awkward to process, especially for those who had just fought with the people now helping them.
“Ouch, isn’t this that guy? You were so lively a few days ago, and now you’re lying on the ground.” Some of the helping cultivators still made mocking remarks, which made the injured cultivators feel even more conflicted.
“It’s not like we’re truly enemies for life. Once we leave the Secret Realm, we might all end up in the same Saint Sect. Don’t take it to heart.”
Seeing the awkward atmosphere between the two groups, Hua Jian leaped into the air and shouted to the cultivators.
So what if they had split into two groups and fought a bit in the Secret Realm? It wasn’t a big deal. Hadn’t they heard the saying “a fight can lead to a friendship”?
“I even beat up Senior Brothers and Sisters from the Saint Sect. Do you see me being afraid or worried?”
Hua Jian even used herself as an example. Technically, shouldn’t she be the most embarrassed one?
The truth was that no one really cared about these minor things in the Secret Realm—excluding those who had entered with personal grudges.
The formation of the two factions was due to the personal conflict between Ji Caiyue and Zhao Ming, but the cultivators who joined later didn’t share that conflict. They had joined simply because they thought one side was stronger.
Without a fundamental conflict, it was perfectly normal to set aside previous small skirmishes and work together in the face of a greater threat.
With that in mind, Hua Jian thought of a good idea.
“Have the injured go to the Flower Sea Forbidden Zone to recover, and then transfer some cultivators from other areas to help here.”
Currently, within the five forbidden zones, the cultivators were still divided into distinct factions. What she needed to do was break the barriers between these factions so these forces could merge.
The cultivators under her weren’t an issue, as they were quite prone to going with the flow. However, for the subordinates of Ji Caiyue and Zhao Ming, she needed to create opportunities for reconciliation.
And now was the perfect time!
Bringing Ji Caiyue’s people here to fill the gap in combat power and sending the injured cultivators there to be cared for would count as opening a wedge.
“Huh?” This statement didn’t just shock the cultivators here; it also startled the ones who had come to help.
They almost instinctively wanted to refuse, but as Hua Jian’s gaze swept over their faces, they all lowered their heads.
The cultivators from Zhao Ming’s faction had already witnessed Hua Jian’s immense combat power and had accepted her leadership role here.
Meanwhile, the cultivators from Ji Caiyue’s faction were in unfamiliar territory and didn’t dare to oppose Hua Jian directly.
“What do you mean ‘huh’? We could be attacked at any time. Do you want me to split my already limited manpower to take care of you patients? Is it beneath you to recover in a safer place?” Hua Jian first glared at the cultivators on her side, quickly outlining the pros and cons.
Naturally, the injured were willing to recover in a safer place. Hua Jian’s words hit home for them.
“And you. They are already seriously injured. We are all on the same side now. Are you not afraid of being looked down upon by them? When they say that defeating the Magic Path was entirely their doing, I’ll see how you try to argue!”
On one side, they had actually fought the Magic Path and successfully repelled the invaders. The other side had arrived late after the battle was over. It truly was easy for them to be looked down upon.
After realizing this, both sides stopped objecting and accepted Hua Jian’s proposal.
However, they still hadn’t completely let go of their original faction mentalities; there was still a hint of wariness in the way they looked at each other.
This would have to happen slowly. It wasn’t something Hua Jian could fix with a few words of reconciliation to erase all past grudges.
While Hua Jian was giving orders, Xia Hui was standing in the shadows with Sword Hero, watching the glowing Hua Jian in the distance and discussing something in low voices.
“Your method was quite good, splitting this era’s Right Path geniuses into two mutually hostile factions. It’s hard to believe you were the one who thought of it.”
Xia Hui looked at the two factions with their clear rift, her voice containing a rare note of praise for Sword Hero.
Sword Hero’s expression stiffened. Could he really admit that he hadn’t thought about that part at all?
He had gathered so many cultivators just to use their power to crush Ji Caiyue and make the great genius look pathetic in the Secret Realm.
Instead, Hua Jian had appeared out of nowhere and completely ruined his plans.
With Hua Jian here, who would care about the old geniuses? Hua Jian was like a sun; when she hung in the sky, the other stars completely lost their luster.
“I’d like to ask what your Wanhuagu is trying to do. What is the deal with that Hua Jian?”
“Hua Jian is our target, and the future Wanhua Saintess,” Xia Hui replied directly.
“The Wanhua Saintess?” Sword Hero let out a light snort. “Wasn’t your Saintess Xinhu?”
Up until now, both the Right and Magic Paths had assumed that Xinhu, whom Wanhuagu had hidden until she reached the Ling Emperor realm, would be the Wanhua Saintess.
Now he was being told that it was all a ruse?
“It was originally Senior Sister Xinhu, but plans change, don’t they?” Xia Hui chuckled, covering her mouth. “Anyway, Senior Sister Xinhu doesn’t have any objections.”
“Heh, who knows if she has objections. Be careful she doesn’t hold a grudge and sabotage the little girl later.”
“That’s not your concern. Our goals don’t conflict. I need you to cooperate with my actions.” Xia Hui tucked away her smile and tossed a small bottle to Sword Hero.
Sword Hero caught the bottle and couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Xia Hui remained silent for a long time. Just as Sword Hero thought she wouldn’t answer, she used a voice transmission technique to send her voice directly into his ear.
“We just want her to be at peace, so she will come to our Wanhuagu of her own free will…”
After the message was sent, she pointed a finger toward the sky. “Say no more. The heavens are watching.”