But if she ever chose otherwise, she’d instantly become a rising star among demons.
The kind major demonic sects would go mad trying to recruit.
“I’ll come in with you. You stand guard outside and open the door when I signal,” Linglong said.
This was the only way to get information from the dying men without letting Hua Jian handle all the darkness.
Hua Jian glanced at Linglong and nodded calmly.
She understood the need for caution. Still…being managed like this was a bit uncomfortable.
Though she knew Linglong meant well, being constantly restricted and watched made her feel like a thief.
Am I really that untrustworthy in Linglong’s eyes?
Even if my skills are all ones villains use, I really am a peace-loving, decent person!
As she spread her hands and drew Linglong and the four dying cultivators into the Godsoul Space with Illusory Dream Flower mist, Hua Jian complained inwardly.
“A Meng, don’t you think she’s a bit too controlling?”
A Meng replied, I’m just a butterfly—don’t ask me questions like that.
If she had to choose, she’d just have Hua Jian find a hidden place to quietly grow stronger—eventually, Hua Jian would become truly powerful.
The Illusory Dream Flower’s potential was clear. As long as nothing went wrong, she’d become one of the world’s great powers.
It’s just, on the way to that strength, Hua Jian would have to eat many, many things…
Every general’s success is built on bones—the Illusory Dream Flower is that general, and the fertilizer it needs is not ordinary.
Souls were its favorite food, be they human or beast; the Illusory Dream Flower never refused. It was its nature.
You can’t just stop a being from eating its natural food, right?
Well, you could—normally, such creatures would be strictly controlled or destroyed by the Hudaosi.
It was only because Hua Jian fused with the Illusory Dream Flower that the mysterious spiritual flower escaped destruction.
The Protectorate wouldn’t prosecute the flower for past soul-devouring crimes, but they wouldn’t allow it to continue, either.
“It’s not easy to raise, you know. I can’t find anything for it to eat,” Hua Jian grew even gloomier after hearing A Meng’s thoughts.
She thought she’d gotten a rare flame-like treasure, but it turned out the Illusory Dream Flower was a time bomb.
Where was she supposed to find souls to feed it?
“The Illusory Dream Flower has merged with you—you are the Illusory Dream Flower. Don’t separate yourself from it,” A Meng reminded Hua Jian to mind her words. Now, Hua Jian was the flower, and the flower was her.
After merging, the flower’s diet wasn’t as restricted. It was more like Hua Jian now had the power to consume souls to grow stronger, but other cultivation paths remained unaffected.
Feeding herself was feeding the flower.
“How did a normal person like me end up fused with the Illusory Dream Flower? Am I still human, or am I—what—a plant person?”
A Meng didn’t get the joke, nor did she know how to answer the first part.
Anyone able to merge with the flower was no ordinary person. If Hua Jian said she was a good person, A Meng would reserve judgment for now.
While she was grumbling, Linglong finished her business.
Hearing the call from deep in the Godsoul Space, Hua Jian closed her eyes, focused, and opened the exit.
It was much easier to bring people in than to let them out—almost as if this power was never meant to release people.
Linglong opened her eyes quickly, but the Gang Wolf Legion cultivators beside her died one after another.
They’d only been clinging to life, and after enduring Linglong’s soul torture in the Godsoul Space, their bodies couldn’t hold out any longer.
“You killed them outright?” Hua Jian drew a sharp breath. Linglong was this ruthless?
“I used necessary measures—otherwise, they’d never have talked,” Linglong replied flatly.
She never showed mercy to enemies—those who should die would die, no saintly softness.
“This one was one of the Gang Wolf Legion’s Four Great Experts—the second strongest in this area,” Linglong pointed at a now lifeless, thin man.
That weak? Hua Jian was speechless.
“The Gang Wolf Legion is a formidable force in the Northern Mountains, even vying for the top. There are three Lingwang Realm masters in charge—the Commander and two Deputy Commanders.”
“Below them are the Four Great Experts—also called the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“This man replaced the previous Heavenly King, who vanished mysteriously a few years ago. Of the current Four, he’s the weakest, so he was sent here to assist another King in overseeing this territory.”
Oh, now she understood. No wonder he was so weak—he was the weakest King.
The Gang Wolf Legion controlled three major Resource Zones in the northern mountains—each Commander supervised one, and each of the Four Great Experts was stationed at one.
This weakest King couldn’t handle a zone alone, so he was sent here to assist.
“So there’s another Heavenly King stationed here?”
“Correct. That Shiqi girl is likely heading straight for him, which puts her in grave danger.” Linglong nodded.
Unlike the weak King, the one remaining here was a true half-step Lingwang. At least, that’s what the thin man said.
After so many Legion members were killed, that King had gathered the remaining cultivators from the Resource Zone. With so many defenders, Shiqi was walking to her death if she tried to fight head-on.
“But what about the three Commanders? Where did they go?”
Hua Jian realized something was off—weren’t the Commanders mentioned earlier? Why were they missing?
She was right—and she already knew the reason.
Linglong’s expression grew subtle. “The three Commanders took the elites deeper into the mountains to fight for a new Resource Zone.”
Ah, that tied everything together. Hua Jian suddenly understood.
The Commanders and their elites were gone, leaving the secondary experts to guard the camp. Shiqi, with her grudge against the Legion, seized this chance for revenge.
It all lined up!
“Did this man know why Shiqi was targeting them?”
“No. He became a King recently and doesn’t know many secrets. And the Legion isn’t clean—having enemies is normal.”
A group that could carve out territory in the Northern Mountains wasn’t made of good people.
Whether in the past or now, their hands were surely stained with blood.
That naive boy they’d met earlier had said a cultivator was beaten to death in public—clearly, such brutality wasn’t rare here.
Such a group was bound to have countless enemies. Being attacked was only normal.
“So what do we do now—leave, or join the fun?”
Though she asked, Hua Jian already guessed how Linglong would answer.
Before, they’d hoped to avoid trouble and just pass through. But now, trouble was right at their door, and there was no avoiding it.
Other than the one Shiqi killed, the rest had all died by their hands—including a Heavenly King.
They’d made themselves enemies of the Gang Wolf Legion. Instead of waiting for retaliation, it was better to strike first.
Plenty of justifications: seeing Shiqi under attack, Lady Hua Jian could repay her savior, and so on.
Rumble…
Sounds of battle drifted faintly from afar. Hua Jian and Linglong exchanged glances—their savior must have already clashed with the last remaining Heavenly King here.
Glancing at the sun’s position, a sly grin appeared on Hua Jian’s face.
“It’s already dusk. By the time we arrive, it’ll be completely dark.”
The night was the best cover. In the dense forest after sunset, Hua Jian’s powers would be greatly enhanced.
Her mist would be hard to spot, and flying through the forest with Feihua Dun would make her as elusive as a ghost.
By day her escape techniques were flashy, but at night, nobody would see it.
Feihua Dun was all about subtlety, like petals on a breeze—the total opposite of Linglong’s explosive Thunder Escape.
One perfect for stealth, the other hopeless at it.
“I’ll make the forest their grave~”
“Ahem!”
“I’m just saying, don’t take it seriously!” Hua Jian quickly raised her hands in surrender.
The mood had been just right—she had to say something dramatic, right?
“You just knock them out; leave the rest to me.”
“Understood~”
……
Boom!
A giant axe and black sword clashed in midair. After a moment’s contest, the axe sent the sword flying.
“Did you kill that useless fool? Pathetic.” The burly man with the axe glared coldly at Shiqi, murderous intent in his eyes.
Since the Deputy Commander had left with most of the elites, arrogant little rats had been appearing, daring to challenge the Gang Wolf Legion’s authority.
Already, several Legion cultivators had died at this little rat’s hands, and today, she’d dared to appear before him.
Just because she’d killed a few weaklings, she thought herself invincible.
He had nothing but contempt for the other so-called Heavenly King—the thin man. In every way, that one was inferior.
He wanted nothing to do with such trash.
Now, at least, the annoying weakling was dead, and the little rat had delivered herself.
Time to show everyone the price of defying the Gang Wolf Legion!
“Form up! Don’t let this rat escape!” He raised his hand, commanding the men behind him.
Over twenty Gang Wolf Legion cultivators remained. Though not strong individually, if they formed a battle formation, they could still put heavy pressure on Shiqi.
Seeing this, Shiqi quickly withdrew. She couldn’t get tangled up with so many enemies here.
Her strengths were in ambush and stealth, not frontal assault—especially outnumbered. Direct combat would be suicide.
“Trying to escape? Too late!” The axe-wielder lunged at Shiqi, hounding her relentlessly.
The two darted through the forest in a chase neither could easily win or lose.
Shiqi lacked the will to fight—she just wanted to get away, dodging every one of the man’s attacks.
Though the axe-man was stronger, it was hard to gain any real advantage.
As for the Legion cultivators in formation, they were left in the dust. Their formation was powerful but clumsy, lacking mobility.
This wasn’t a particularly sophisticated formation—its main flaw was how hard it was to move.
Now that the axe-man and Shiqi were fighting while moving, the rest had to break formation to catch up and help.
And so, the battle raged from dusk until deep into the night.
“Your swordsmanship looks familiar. Ha, was it that traitor who taught you?” the axe-man taunted, never letting up.
“He wasn’t a traitor!”
“Seduced by a female prisoner, betraying the Legion and eloping—how is that not a traitor? I get it now, you must be that bastard’s offspring!” The axe-man’s words dripped with ridicule.
“It took us a lot of work to get rid of that traitor. Who’d have thought his brat survived? The cleanup crew really messed up.”
As he spoke, he swung his giant axe at Shiqi. “The Commander only brought back the traitor’s head. The slave girl was missing—don’t tell me she used him and left? Hahaha.”
Clang!
Shiqi caught the falling axe with her sword, her mind thrown into turmoil by his words.
She really had never met her mother, and now, she almost believed what he said.
Perhaps her mother really did…
“An opening!” With a burst of strength, the axe-man sent Shiqi flying.
She crashed into a giant tree, the force shaking her very core.
Her strength was already beneath his—now, after such a blow, she couldn’t stand against him at all.
Mist was rising in the forest. Gasping for breath, Shiqi steadied herself, fury beginning to overtake her reason.
“A traitor’s spawn and a useless waste. What a pity—if he’d stayed here, he could’ve become Deputy Commander. Hah!” The axe-man sneered, his words further shattering Shiqi’s focus.
“If not for that mess, I’d be taking orders from him. To throw it all away for a woman—truly a fool beyond saving!”
Remembering how he’d once been overshadowed by that man, the axe-wielder felt a surge of relief.
“Good thing he’s dead—so stupidly dead. Otherwise, I’d never have gained my current rank. In fact, I ought to thank your idiot father.”
“And now his idiot child delivers themselves as well. Perfect. I’ll take your head for myself!”
“Shut up!”
All reason gone, Shiqi screamed and charged at him.
Black sword and giant axe clashed again in the silent forest.
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