Chapter 1: Caught Right After Possessing a Body

“Heavenly might surges forth— where do you think you can run!”

A flash of pale thunder swept through the forest, and a voice full of righteous indignation echoed across the sky.

A white-haired girl stood amidst the clouds, sword in hand, her Ling Sword stirring thunder and lightning, vowing to wipe out evil beneath the boundless heavenly thunder.

What a lively scene of a heroine catching a thief. If only the one being hunted wasn’t herself, Hua Jian would have enjoyed watching the show.

“Linglong Saintess, stop chasing me! You’ve been after me for a whole day and night, can’t you just take a break!”

The one chasing her was named Linglong, the current Saintess of Jade Pool in the Central Continent.

It was rumored that she bore the bloodline of the Dragon Race, and her mastery of Thunder Magic was second to none.

It was said that Linglong was a champion of justice, always stepping in to help whenever she saw injustice or someone in need.

And as for Hua Jian, she had no master, and her cultivation relied entirely on an old book she dug out from under her bed.

She had no money to continue her cultivation, so she could only crawl and scrape through this Secret Realm to earn some spare Spirit Stones.

Given her situation, should she really be hunted down by Linglong? Wasn’t Linglong supposed to help someone like her instead?

“You thieving villain, how dare you still try to deceive others! Divine Thunder, descend!”

A bolt of lightning crashed down before Hua Jian. If she hadn’t slowed down in time, it would have struck her right on the head.

“I only tried to steal some wealth, I never killed anyone! Don’t slander me!”

“And you dared to lay your hands on female cultivators with wicked intentions!”

“I was just trying to strip off their Spiritual Garment! Don’t you know how valuable those are?”

“Villain, still trying to argue? Taste my Azure Thunder Justice!”

She resorts to lightning whenever she’s angry— this Saintess is really too much! Hua Jian clenched her teeth and fists.

You’re a great sect’s Saintess, with people supporting your cultivation— how noble!

Do you have any idea how hard it is for us low-level cultivators? Just to enter a Secret Realm that’s already been looted hundreds or thousands of times, we have to save up Spirit Stones for half a year.

There aren’t many valuable things left in this Secret Realm. If she wanted to break even, what else could she do but come up with some other ideas?

“I only drugged you to strip your clothes and Ling Sword! Did you really have to chase me all the way here!” Hua Jian shouted back at Linglong without looking back.

The tricks that worked on ordinary cultivators were far less effective on a Saintess.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been caught by the awakened Linglong halfway through her looting, and then chased all the way here.

Linglong’s clothes were still a bit disheveled, her chest heaving with anger. This little thief still dared to say such shameless things!

“Even now you still want to argue? Take this— my sword!”

The thunder-clad Saintess dove down from the clouds. Hua Jian, terrified, turned into a flurry of flying petals and darted into the forest, continuing her cat-and-mouse game with Linglong.

There was no way she could win a fight. All her skills were for sneak attacks and escaping— how could she possibly beat Linglong, a famous Thunder Magic Saintess from a great sect?

Cultivators who practiced Thunder Magic were among the most destructive of all spell cultivators, and even compared to sword cultivators, they were evenly matched.

In short, Hua Jian couldn’t win. All she could do was run.

Lightning kept crashing down in front of her, forcing Hua Jian to slow her escape. She could only weave through the dense forest, trying to wear down Linglong’s spiritual power.

Inside this Secret Realm, if a cultivator suffered a fatal injury, the Space Stone given upon entry would activate and send them safely out of the Secret Realm.

But that also meant the exploration would end there, and re-entry would require another hefty entrance fee.

Unfortunately, Hua Jian couldn’t afford that. She hadn’t even made a single Spirit Stone yet this time, and already she’d kicked an electrified steel plate.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn…

Forced into a dead end by layers of thunder and lightning, Hua Jian’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat. Was her hundred Spirit Stones really about to go down the drain here?

Behind her lay the territory of a Spirit King-level Spirit Beast. If she entered, she’d be hunted by that Spirit Beast— and even she wasn’t confident she could shake it off.

This was a trap deliberately left by the owner of the Secret Realm, luring overconfident cultivators to throw their money away.

“Give me back my Identity Jade Plate!”

“…What? I only stripped off your Spiritual Garment, and I didn’t even finish! I tried to take your Ling Sword but you snatched it back! I even tossed your Storage Pouch back at you when I was escaping!” Hua Jian was dumbfounded. How could this Saintess conjure a jade plate out of thin air?

You never even had an Identity Jade Plate on you— I never saw it!

“You think I’d believe a thief like you? Take my sword!”

“Can’t you listen for once? We can’t fight here, don’t provoke that thing…”

Before Hua Jian could finish, a peal of thunder exploded right by her ear. The rumble was so loud it nearly deafened her.

Linglong, gripping her Ling Sword, stared coldly at Hua Jian. That last bolt of lightning had been a warning.

Hua Jian almost wanted to thank the Saintess for not striking her directly, but honestly, she would have preferred a straightforward fight.

She’d already said there was something nasty here— now that Linglong had unleashed her thunder, it was all over.

“I’m going to search you. If you don’t have my Identity Jade Plate, I won’t pursue your sneak attack on me.”

“Fine, search me! Good sister, let’s hurry and get out of here, we can’t stay any longer!”

Hua Jian nodded quickly. Maybe it was her imagination, but she felt her back getting colder and colder, as if something terrifying was drawing near.

In her panic, she couldn’t care about danger anymore. She rushed to Linglong, reaching out to grab her arm, wanting to drag her away first.

But the moment her fingers touched Linglong’s Spiritual Garment, a current shot into Hua Jian’s body, making her hair stand on end.

“You little thief, what trick are you trying to pull now?” The Saintess hugged her sword to her chest, golden eyes wary as she glared at Hua Jian. “I’ll search you right here. Stand still!”

Before entering the Secret Realm, she’d heard there was a notorious thief inside who liked to ambush other cultivators, stripping them of their Spiritual Garments and treasures to sell for cash.

Clearly, the petite black-haired, multicolored-eyed girl before her was the culprit. Linglong remembered her master’s warning before she left the mountain: be extremely cautious in all things.

She’d already fallen for one of Hua Jian’s traps. If not for her special constitution, she might have ended up like those other stripped cultivators, searching the auction house for her lost treasures.

So, she absolutely would not believe a single word from this little thief.

“We really can’t stay here! A super strong Spirit Beast is coming— if we don’t run, we’re dead!” Hua Jian was nearly in tears. Saintess, you might not care about your life, but I still want to live!

I’m only in this business for money— there’s no way I’m throwing away my life for a hundred Spirit Stones.

“I don’t believe you. Stand still, I’ll finish searching you quickly.”

Linglong didn’t believe a word Hua Jian said. She walked straight up to the thief, whose limbs were still numb from the shock, and reached her hand into Hua Jian’s clothes.

She searched here and there, turning Hua Jian’s face pale, but found nothing.

“I told you, I don’t have your Jade Plate!”

“Did you hide it in your Storage Pouch…”

Before Linglong could finish, a faint beastly roar echoed from the forest.

With it came an incredibly fierce and violent aura.

“There’s really a Spirit Beast?!”

“I told you already, didn’t I!”