No matter what spirit technique they released, that multicolored flying flower could weave through the techniques and coalesce into the girl’s figure in front of them.
Then, vines formed a gaping maw that snapped at their heads. The psychological trauma was incalculable.
At that moment, they finally understood why the Saintess was the Saintess. A monster of this level would be a Saintess anywhere!
Beautiful as a flower, ruthless as a monster—truly worthy of the Saintess of Wanhuagu!
Hua Jian had intended to take on a few more, but when she looked back, everyone else had already retreated far away.
‘Ancestor, please stop bullying us and go away.’ That was probably the look in their eyes.
In another place, Hua Jian might have left. After all, she wasn’t a villain. There was no need to force people.
But here…
‘It can’t be just to beat these people up, right?’
‘But now she’s different. If she doesn’t push her luck, can she still be called the Saintess?’
‘Wanhuagu wants her to be the Saintess, then let Wanhuagu see what kind of ancestor they’ve invited back!’
“All of you, come at me too.”
Throwing the last Ling King, dizzy from being whipped by vines, to the ground, Huajian’s beast-like gaze fell upon the group of trembling cultivators.
Watching Huajian floating in midair like a ghost, and then looking at the Ling King lying on the ground barely in human shape, the remaining Wanhuagu cultivators all showed expressions of despair.
‘We can’t beat her. We’ll definitely be killed!’
But they didn’t dare to disobey Huajian’s orders. The Saintess was the most revered existence in
Wanhuagu aside from the Gu Zhu Venerable. Even the senior Flower-surname Ling Emperors had to show her some face.
And they were just expendable resources in Wanhuagu, neither more nor less.
If they truly angered the Saintess, one word from her and they would be finished.
It’s a knife whether you stick your neck out or pull it back; they had no choice.
……
“I thought there was something that required me to come personally to resolve. So this is it.”
When Huaxinhu, this pink-furred fox spirit, was ordered to bring the troublemaking Huajian back, the plain was already littered with corpses.
Huajian was just breaking the legs of a person in her hand with vines.
There weren’t many cultivators still standing, and Huajian wasn’t spotless either. In fact, when facing so many cultivators’ attacks, she couldn’t dodge all of them perfectly.
What made these Wanhuagu cultivators most desperate was that while Huajian couldn’t dodge, she could take these attacks from her peers as if playing a game.
Even without any Spiritual Power protection, she would block a Spirit Technique with her hand and not get injured at all.
Once, someone even cut off Huajian’s right forearm in a sneak attack, but that severed forearm flew off by itself, broke the attacker’s arm, and flew back.
Then Huajian picked up the severed arm and reattached it at the break. Nothing happened, not even a drop of blood.
After this battle, everyone reached a consensus: they must never provoke the Saintess Daren from now on.
It was too terrifying. If not for the sake of being fellow disciples, those cultivators lying on the ground not daring to cry out would probably already be corpses.
“Aren’t you going to stop the Saintess?” Huaxinhu looked at Xia Hui, who had been spectating the whole time.
Among the many Flower-surname disciples, her relationship with Xia Hui was undoubtedly the worst, after all, she was the one who captured Xia Hui.
“The Saintess Daren’s decision, I have no right to stop.” Xia Hui retorted stiffly.
Haven’t you all said Huajian is the Saintess now? Then don’t get mad when Huajian uses the authority as a banner. What’s wrong with beating up a few peripheral cultivators to vent?
It can’t be that the Saintess of a noble Demonic Sect can’t even do such a small thing.
Huajian was even considering whether to create some tokens herself, give them to people she trusted, make them her lackeys, and stir up trouble in Wanhuagu.
“That’s true. You can’t control her.” Huaxinhu snorted softly, moved her steps under her skirt, and appeared behind Huajian.
Whether she didn’t react in time, Huajian turned around and threw a punch when Huaxinhu appeared.
Bam!
Her fist was easily caught, and when she tried to release vines, Huaxinhu twisted her wrist and easily flung Huajian away.
“You’ve played enough. Hurry back.”
After experiencing the gap in power between a Ling King and a Ling Emperor, Huajian sighed.
This fox spirit was quite tough to deal with, worthy of being Wanhuagu’s most valued genius before her.
Floating next to Huaxinhu, Huajian glared fiercely at this bad fox. “What? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Of course you did nothing wrong. Well done. Keep it up afterwards.”
How could Huaxinhu not know Huajian’s thoughts? She must be throwing a small tantrum inside.
What could she do? Just honestly appease her. She knew very well Huajian’s status among the elders.
It didn’t matter if she couldn’t be tamed. As long as they treated Huajian well, fulfilled all her requests, and made Huajian have favorable feelings toward them, that was enough.
In the end, it would be best if Huajian stayed in Wanhuagu, but if she didn’t, it was fine. After all, they wouldn’t take the title of Saintess away from Huajian.
To put it more clearly, Wanhuagu actually wanted to treat Huajian like a Guest Elder—give her full treatment and respect, but not let her participate in truly core affairs.
“I think you should also be aware of some of your current weaknesses. Let’s go back and discuss how to resolve them, okay?”
“Fine, but what about these people…”
“It is their honor to have sparred with the Saintess. You don’t need to worry. Someone will help you take care of them.”
Wanhuagu wouldn’t go so far as to bury all these Ling Kings at once. The handling here was indeed to clean up after Huajian.
They gave medicine and treatment, letting these Wanhuagu cultivators who had been inexplicably beaten know that Wanhuagu still had human touch, and their beating wouldn’t be in vain.
On the way back with Huaxinhu, Huajian tentatively mentioned her idea of giving out tokens to people.
She originally thought Huaxinhu wouldn’t agree, but to her surprise, Huaxinhu agreed very readily.
“As the Saintess, you indeed need your own exclusive token. I’ll have a Shimei skilled in design come to find you later. Just tell her your requirements.”
Huaxinhu’s respectful attitude made Huajian a bit nauseous. After struggling to suppress the goosebumps rising all over her body, she suggested Huaxinhu act normally.
“You’re not someone who doesn’t know the truth. Stop pretending. Just say it directly.”
“I didn’t lie. I just used words with respect for the Saintess.” The fox ears on her head twitched twice. Huaxinhu indicated she wasn’t lying.
Huajian indeed had the right to form her own clique. In fact, all Flower-surname disciples had this right. Many of them had a group of loyal followers.
If they could, there was no reason Huajian couldn’t.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll poach from your Wanhuagu?”
“It’s ‘our’ Wanhuagu. You’re the Saintess now. Watch your wording.” Huaxinhu chuckled twice. “And how do you know poaching is not a good thing for me?”
Theoretically, whatever Huajian did had little effect on Huaxinhu.
Huajian’s status in Wanhuagu was too special.
If she wanted to develop in Wanhuagu, then the other Flower-surname disciples shouldn’t think about other things; they might as well obediently be Huajian’s dogs.
After all, whether others could become Saints was unknown, but Huajian was destined to become a Saint.
If Huajian didn’t want to stay in Wanhuagu to develop, then whatever she did now had nothing to do with Huaxinhu.
If Huajian could poach a few people from Wanhuagu, Huaxinhu would actually be happier.
This way, her competitors would be fewer.
Although she was previously the most promising new-generation disciple, she had quite a few competitors.
Those people had already developed large factions, and dealing with them wasn’t easy.
In the Demonic Sect, there was no habit of declining or yielding. If you wanted something, you had to fight for it yourself.
Huaxinhu was clearly the type who wanted to compete.
“If you can poach those veteran disciples, I, Elder Sister, will have to thank you.”
“Ha? What if I poach from you?”
“You look down on my people.”
She knew very well what her subordinates were like.
If Huajian wanted them, she would gladly offer them with both hands.
This attitude of ‘a dead pig isn’t afraid of scalding water’ left Huajian speechless.
How bad were Huaxinhu’s subordinates that Huaxinhu thought she wouldn’t want them?
Her curiosity suddenly rose.
“But there’s something Elder Sister must tell you. Those older-generation disciples are not easy to get along with at all. They will do anything for themselves. Even if you are the Saintess, you should avoid them when necessary.”
There was no hint of joking in these words, which surprised Huajian.
Wanhuagu was indeed not as peaceful as it appeared on the surface.
But according to Huaxinhu, could it be that among the disciples of Wanhuagu, Huaxinhu was actually one of the better ones?
No way. Was this bad woman considered a good person here?
“Although it might not be appropriate for me to say this, there are some things you will know sooner or later. The core disciples you have met so far were specially selected, so that you wouldn’t dislike us from the start.”
Huaxinhu began to count on her fingers. Huajian had only truly interacted with two core disciples of Wanhuagu: one was her, and the other was Huaxinyuan.
She, Huaxinhu, was actually a flower raised in a greenhouse.
She was raised by Wanhuagu all the way to the Ling Emperor realm before leaving the sect, and had never suffered much grievance in her life.
If she had to say, it was probably that when she was young, she was bullied for her ears and tail as an anomaly.
Fortunately, she was soon discovered by Wanhuagu and taken in for careful cultivation.
That was also the reason she was so loyal to Wanhuagu.
As for Huaxinyuan, her background was a bit different, but she also had an easygoing personality that didn’t care much about fame or profit.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been the one to become Huajian’s nanny and protect Huajian as she grew up.
Judging from Huajian’s impression of Huaxinyuan not long ago, it was clear that Huaxinyuan had completed her mission quite well, leaving a very good impression on Huajian.
But beyond the two of them, the other core disciples of Wanhuagu were not so easy to get along with.
Some had reached a level that even Huaxinhu couldn’t stand.
“Sigh, those guys dare to do anything and fear nothing.” Huaxinhu looked around, carefully leaned her head close to Huajian’s ear, and whispered, “You should know what the predecessor of our Wanhuagu is, right?”
This piece of knowledge had been told to Huajian by Linglong before. Wanhuagu’s predecessor was the former Hehuan Valley.
“Mm, Hehuan Valley.”
“If we are the newly born Wanhuagu lineage, then those people are the remnants of Hehuan Valley. What they cultivate are true Demonic Arts.”
Wanhuagu’s Huashen Canon wasn’t actually a Demonic Art. Even if it were given to the Saint Sect for them to practice, there wouldn’t be any major issues.
As for the true Legendary Secret Manual of Wanhuagu, it directly points to the path to heaven, a righteous technique that couldn’t be more righteous.
Unfortunately, its cultivation requirements were too harsh, and it was unknown if anyone in Wanhuagu was practicing that technique.
Beyond these two techniques, there were the things passed down from the former Hehuan Valley.
All those Dual Cultivation Methods originated from there.
“You’re telling me all this. Aren’t you afraid I’ll run away and make your elders’ plan fail?”
Huajian roughly understood Huaxinhu’s meaning.
Wanhuagu wasn’t as good as it seemed on the surface. There were many bad people hiding here. But could such things be told to her?
“It’s better than you actually run into them and get ambushed.” Huaxinhu grinned. “Besides that, it’s also because I want you to side with me.”
Theoretically, they were on the same side, the true Wanhuagu lineage!
Those Hehuan Valley scum should be driven out of Wanhuagu, left to fend for themselves outside!
“When the time comes, we sisters will unite, wipe out those disgusting guys. I’ll become the Gu Zhu, and you’ll be the Great Elder. How about it?”
Good grief, I haven’t even poached from you yet, and you’re already starting to poach me?
Huajian immediately shook her head. She didn’t want to get involved in this mess of Wanhuagu.
Once the five-year period was up, she could run away. If she really couldn’t stay, she could go find Mother Lingcai to hug her thigh.
Even if Lingcaifeng didn’t want her, she had plenty of places to go.
She could go to the Spirit Beast Mountain Range to find Bai Hua Zun Zhe and play the ‘double flower bond’ game.
Being strong was so satisfying. She had too many paths to choose from; there was no need to be locked in this place.
“Not good at all. I’ll probably only be the Saintess for another year. There’s no use trying to win me over.”
“Sigh, don’t be so absolute. If you break your promise, you’ll be in an awkward spot.”
Huajian felt she wouldn’t break her promise on this matter. Wanhuagu wasn’t that great anyway. There was nothing that could attract her to stay.
But while she was still here, she had to thoroughly fleece Wanhuagu. For example, she wanted Spirit Tools and Spirit Techniques that matched her current strength!
Hearing this request, Huaxinhu said Huajian’s appetite was too small. Wanhuagu wouldn’t skimp on these things for Huajian anyway.
After all, Huajian would eventually have to go out and about. If Huajian looked poor, it would be Wanhuagu’s face that was lost.
Even if they clearly knew Huajian would run away later, within this year, Wanhuagu had to give Huajian full treatment.
“You’re just a Ling King. How much money can you spend?”
Wrapping her tail around Xia Hui, who had been barely noticeable, Huaxinhu poked Xia Hui’s little face and said with a smile.
“Not only will we fill your belly, but this little girl by your side will also be dressed up beautifully, so she won’t embarrass you.”