Hua Jian’s mouth fell open. She had completely run out of words to say.
Had she and Yao Mei used the same method to become human?
That was too… Well, to be honest, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
The spells that could turn spirit items of their level into human form were already extremely rare.
For two successful transformations to happen within such a short time, it wasn’t unlikely that they were connected.
“So what am I, exactly?”
“I don’t know.” The Valley Master shook her head.
She must have known that her words would lead to misunderstanding, so she immediately added, “There are countless spirit items in the world that have never been recorded. You are one of them.”
Before this, no spirit item like Hua Jian had ever appeared in human history. Naturally, no one knew what she really was.
“A few decades ago, we discovered a secret realm heavily polluted by demonic qi. You were the only living thing that survived inside.”
“So you saved me?”
The Valley Master shook her head again. “You attacked us directly. You devoured three Ling Emperors and dozens of Ling Kings. In the end, I had to personally intervene to suppress you.”
Hearing this from the Valley Master of Wanhua, Hua Jian suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
Even though she had no memory of any of this, her instinct told her it might really have been her doing.
‘So I really was a man-eating flower after all.’
And the fact that the Valley Master of Wanhua could directly suppress her original form meant her strength was terrifyingly excessive.
“At that time, you had absolutely no reason. You were heavily polluted by demonic qi… Actually, it’s not quite right to call it pollution. You had already evolved the ability to devour demonic qi. The demons in that secret realm were almost all eaten by you.”
In other words, that secret realm without a trace of life might not have been the work of demons, but rather Hua Jian’s feast.
“But if I had no reason at all, why did you want to turn me into human form?”
Hua Jian grew more confused as she listened. A terrifying plant with no reason—shouldn’t the Valley Master of Wanhua have killed it without hesitation?
Why spare its life and give it human form? That didn’t seem to match Wanhuagu’s style.
“You ran away. For the next ten-plus years, you kept fleeing through various secret realms, and I kept chasing you.” Thinking back on those years, a hint of emotion appeared on the Valley Master’s face.
It was hard to imagine her using the word “rambunctious” for a plant that didn’t even have a brain, but that was the impression Hua Jian had left back then.
If any Venerable from the Saint Sect had been standing here, they would have remembered that Wanhuagu had indeed gone through an inexplicable period of dormancy decades ago.
They generally assumed that period was when Wanhuagu was pioneering a secret realm, but they would never guess that Wanhuagu was actually chasing a plant all over the secret realms.
Wanhuagu controlled quite a number of secret realms, many of which were tasteless—not worth developing but a pity to abandon.
Even Wanhuagu itself hadn’t stationed many people there, which gave Hua Jian a huge stage.
Over the course of those ten-plus years, Hua Jian had secretly devoured nearly half of Wanhuagu’s unmanned secret realms.
The stealth of her movements and the sheer scale of the consequences left Wanhuagu utterly helpless.
Perhaps because she had been hunted too many times and devoured too many people, Hua Jian, who had originally acted purely on predatory instinct, gradually learned to think.
Finally, after paying an extremely painful price, Wanhuagu gained the opportunity to talk to this plant that had just awakened intelligence.
Newly awakened Hua Jian was no match for the old foxes of Wanhuagu. After being thoroughly coaxed, she sold herself, principal and interest included.
After hearing the agreement she had struck with Wanhuagu, Hua Jian could only feel that her past self was so, so stupid.
How could she have agreed to such an indenture contract? Giving up everything just for the chance to become human.
‘What’s so great about being human anyway? And I’m not even a normal human now!’
“Don’t make that face like you got the short end of the stick. If it weren’t for this, you would never have been able to touch the Immortal Path in your entire life. Born in a secret realm, you were inherently deficient. The only way to complete your origin essence was through devouring. But devouring secret realms to complete yourself was far too slow.”
“Once you invaded the lands outside the secret realms, what do you think the Saint Sect would classify a spirit item like you as?”
A spirit item that strengthens itself by devouring everything—something like that would definitely be labeled an evil thing by the Saint Sect and eradicated completely.
Otherwise, would they just watch her swallow the entire Four Domains of Zhongzhou?
But now, after forging an alliance with Wanhuagu, although Hua Jian was still seen as a bad person in the eyes of the Saint Sect, it was much better than being a thing that had to be killed at all costs.
Moreover, the origin essence she needed could be obtained through a gentler method—like eating some things to get enough samples, and then replicating that origin essence through her own training.
“What you paid was your saint’s remains. Wanhuagu won’t default on its debt. Before you return to the Saint rank, we will protect your growth and gather the origin essence you need.”
As she spoke, the Valley Master of Wanhua shook her head again and revealed something that left Hua Jian speechless.
That secret realm where she had obtained the Illusory Dream Flower had actually been targeted by Wanhuagu too.
Wanhuagu had originally planned to take the Illusory Dream Flower’s seeds and give them to Hua Jian after her return. But Hua Jian had gone ahead and eaten the seeds herself.
Still, this counted as a blessing in disguise. By eating the seeds, Hua Jian had whitewashed her identity into an Illusory Dream Flower, which was much better than her original identity.
Of course, Wanhuagu didn’t lose out on this deal either. Not to mention the item already used, the saint’s remains in Wanhuagu’s hands were also a very precious treasure.
It was just too, too big—so big that the Valley Master of Wanhua needed a dedicated secret realm just to hold it.
This giant withered plant was enough to provide Wanhuagu with an inexhaustible supply of low-level spirit items for the next few hundred years.
A piece of dead skin chiseled off it was more valuable than those low-level spirit items.
“Now, do you understand why you came to Wanhuagu?”
Hua Jian stared blankly at the pile of withered vines stacked like a small mountain inside the secret realm. She nodded stiffly.
She understood. She really understood now. It was all trouble she had caused in the past!
“If you don’t want to stay, that’s fine. But then these things and our previous agreement will be voided.”
The Valley Master indicated that Wanhuagu wasn’t being unreasonable. Hua Jian could choose to refuse their help.
Wanhuagu would just go from a big profit to a small one. Forcing Hua Jian to stay in the valley wouldn’t be a good thing either.
They understood human nature too well. They knew that forcing someone to stay would only result in losing both the person and their heart.
Letting Hua Jian go was the right move to win her over.
Even if they couldn’t be fellow disciples, they could still be friends, right?
After all, Wanhuagu had already gotten what it needed. If Hua Jian left now, they would even have one less burden.
The resources meant for Hua Jian could be used on others instead. No loss there.
Hua Jian thought it over and realized that if she really left, she would be losing badly.
Her past self had dug a super huge pit for her present self, and now she couldn’t jump out.
The most fatal issue was her identity. There was basically no way for her to go over to the Right Path now. Staying with Wanhuagu wasn’t so bad after all.
As for love… could she apply for an external mission?
The Valley Master of Wanhua saw the complicated expression on Hua Jian’s face and pretty much guessed what she was thinking.
With Hua Jian’s original personality, she would have made a decision right then and there. The hesitation now could only be due to emotional attachments.
And that wasn’t hard to solve.
At least in the short term, it wasn’t hard to solve.
“A clue to a secret realm was recently discovered in Beijing. The Qian Family is currently conducting exploration operations in full swing. I heard they’ve already invited Jade Pool to assist.” The Valley Master of Wanhua chuckled twice. The implication in her words was quite clear.
‘Missing your little girlfriend? No problem. She’ll be in Beijing soon. Just go to the Qian Family and find her there.’
As for what happened afterward, that could be dealt with later. At least you’ll be able to see each other soon.
This news lifted Hua Jian’s spirits. “Really?”
“What benefit would I get from lying to you? Making you hate me?” The Valley Master chuckled, walked to Hua Jian’s side with her hands behind her back, and said, “Come with me. You should also want to go see your ‘mother’ now.”
Hua Jian and Yao Mei had similar ways of being born, so she naturally had a mother too.
But… compared to Yao Mei’s family, who knew nothing before, the mother-daughter relationship on Hua Jian’s side might be very strained.
Hua Jian was indeed born from her mother’s ten-month pregnancy, but could such a child really be considered a child?
Following behind the Valley Master of Wanhua, Hua Jian felt uneasy. Having been an orphan for so long, suddenly knowing she still had a mother alive felt surreal.
Instinctively, she wanted to meet her mother. Even if the other party might not acknowledge her as a ‘daughter.’
“Don’t be so scared. She’s a very gentle and kind person… Unfortunately, someone like her doesn’t belong here.” The Valley Master of Wanhua said calmly from ahead.
“She would be better suited for the Saint Sect. She’s a bit of a mismatch with Wanhuagu.”
Hua Jian nodded dazedly. So her mother was a good person?
“After learning someone needed to become your mother, she tried to persuade several disciples to back out. But in the end, only one person believed her. When things came to light, she volunteered to be the mother who would conceive you.”
The Valley Master continued speaking, and Hua Jian’s expression turned subtle again.
‘It connected again… this time with Xia Hui’s mother.’
‘Hiss… so all those seemingly unrelated events were actually connected like this?’
It was truly surprising.
Following the Valley Master of Wanhua out of the lifeless secret realm, the two returned to the sunlit Wanhuagu. But Hua Jian’s instinct told her this still wasn’t the real world.
“Is Wanhuagu located inside a secret realm?”
“Not just Wanhuagu. The mountain gates of the Five Great Sacred Sects and many demonic sects are all located in secret realms. Compared to the outside, secret realms have more controllable environments and are harder for outsiders to find entrances to.”
This wasn’t a secret, so the Valley Master didn’t mind explaining.
Only smaller sects set their headquarters outside. Sects of any significant size would try their best to move their headquarters into secret realms.
After all, secret realms were much safer. If a major crisis occurred, they could sever the connection between the secret realm and the outside world and hide behind closed doors.
Finding a deliberately hidden sect secret realm was as hard as reaching the heavens. Even Saints would find it difficult.
As they talked, Hua Jian followed the Valley Master into a valley filled with blooming flowers. As soon as she entered, she heard the sounds of many children playing.
Looking closely, there was a large group of seven or eight-year-old kids chasing each other through the flower bushes.
‘Since when does Wanhuagu have a daycare?’
“Some are orphans taken in from outside, others are descendants of our main sect’s disciples.” The Valley Master said casually.
Some disciples of Wanhuagu liked to increase their cultivation using that particular method. Sometimes things went wrong, and these children were the price of those mistakes.
But Wanhuagu wasn’t short on resources to raise a few kids. It was fine to just support them.
“Those with good talent will be taken in as disciples when they grow up. Those with poor talent will be sent out to work in the sect’s external assets. Children raised from a young age are more loyal and easier to use than others.”
‘Haha, Valley Master, you’re really not holding back. You’re just telling me things like this?’
Hua Jian knew Wanhuagu wasn’t a charity, but hearing the Valley Master so bluntly state that raising these kids was for profit still caught her off guard.
“Are they all loyal?”
“Those who aren’t loyal don’t stay here.” The Valley Master said flatly.
The topic was immediately shut down by the Valley Master. A demonic sect was a demonic sect.
The horror hidden in that simple sentence was not something one wanted to think about.
Didn’t stay here… then where did they go?
The flowers here grew so well. Could it be that the soil was fertilized with those disloyal people?
But according to that logic, Hua Jian’s mother seemed to be a disloyal person too. Why did Wanhuagu keep her and let her take care of the kids here?
Hua Jian was confused and voiced her doubt.
The Valley Master didn’t avoid the question. Instead, she said coldly that Hua Jian’s mother was simply too soft-hearted.
Strictly speaking, Hua Jian’s mother should have been dealt with by Wanhuagu long ago. But who would have thought she’d stumbled upon the last lifeline?
As Hua Jian’s ‘mother,’ Wanhuagu felt it was better to keep her alive than to kill her.
Death could be avoided, but not punishment.
As a disciple with the surname Hua, she was excluded from all matters of Wanhuagu, confined to this seemingly beautiful prison cage to raise children.
This was undoubtedly a punishment.
On the surface, it was passable, but everyone knew this disciple was just a prisoner trapped in the Flower Valley.
“What do you think?” The Valley Master turned to look at Hua Jian.
What could Hua Jian say? She had nothing to say.
“Uh… thank you for sparing her life?”
She was an outsider now, with no sense of belonging to Wanhuagu.