Asking for rewards openly was perfectly fine.
While Linglong was hesitating, Hua Jian had already finished her negotiation with the mother.
The Spirit Tool was taken out of a Storage Pouch.
Before her defection, the mother’s strength was already at the Ling Wang Realm.
Moreover, she was a Core Disciple of Wanhua Valley, so the Spirit Tool in her possession was naturally not an ordinary item.
“After injecting Spiritual Power into this Spirit Tool, these flower petal guards will bloom…”
The mother handed over a Spirit Tool that looked somewhat similar to a normal Ling Sword, except for the hilt guards.
While Hua Jian turned it over to examine it, the woman explained its usage.
Following the instructions, Hua Jian injected Spiritual Power into the tool. Soon, a single petal detached from the guard.
“The consumption is a bit high, but it’s really powerful.” Watching the sharp petal spinning through the air, Hua Jian’s eyes sparkled.
A Ling Sword with built-in hidden weapons—how cool!
“Not only that, try injecting Spiritual Power here.”
“Oh, okay!” Hua Jian continued to familiarize herself with the Spirit Tool according to the explanation.
This time, the blade itself changed. This Ling Sword was actually a chain sword.
Once Spiritual Power was injected, it could transform from a standard sword into a whip-like chain state.
Combined with the flower petal projectiles that could fly out at any moment, this sword practically had “I’m here to backstab you” written all over it.
It could only be said that the Cultivators of Wanhua Valley were perfectly suited for such weapons; they matched their reputation exactly.
Having gained a new toy, Hua Jian couldn’t put it down. She was already thinking of many great ways to ambush people.
“Cough! Don’t worry, Auntie. I will definitely solve your Heart-Eating Vine problem, and I’ll take Xia Hui safely to Ascension City for the Ascension Gathering!”
After gushing over the Spirit Tool for a while, Hua Jian finally restrained her excitement and gave a solemn promise.
Of course, she added the second half herself. She knew that Xia Hui was what the mother cared about most.
Since the mother had given her such a precious gift, she naturally had to return the favor.
Besides, their party already had three people; adding one more didn’t matter.
As for solving the Heart-Eating Vine, it was no longer a difficult task for Hua Jian. As long as she had enough time, she could eat all the vines inside the mother.
The Heart-Eating Vine was only tough against the host; against external invaders, it was a complete weakling.
It was only because no one else had Hua Jian’s specific ability that they couldn’t deal with it.
Wanhua Valley probably never imagined that one day, an existence like Hua Jian would appear, capable of so easily removing the method they used to prevent their disciples from defecting.
They probably… never saw it coming.
……
“I’ve cured your illness, and I can cure your mother’s too. Once she’s better, you’re coming with us to Ascension City.”
When Xia Hui woke up from her deep sleep again, these were the words she heard.
After hearing them, she didn’t hesitate to reach down and pinch her own thigh.
“Ouch…” She really used some strength, and the pain almost brought tears to her eyes.
The pain meant she wasn’t dreaming. So, why was she hearing dialogue that usually only appeared in dreams?
“Are you and Mother lying to me?” Xia Hui stared at Hua Jian with wide eyes, believing that had to be the case.
Surely Hua Jian and her mother had teamed up to trick her into leaving?
“I’m telling the truth. After you fainted, your mother told us many things, including the reason why your house is ‘haunted’.”
To be honest, the situation in Xia Hui’s home wasn’t exactly a haunting. The abnormal temperature was something her mother had intentionally created.
Her goal was to prevent others from noticing the abnormalities in her own body.
By using the excuse of being drained by a ghost, she could hide the true reason for her declining health.
For a former Ling Wang, stealthily setting up an Array Formation in the house to lower the temperature was child’s play.
In fact, Xia Hui’s mother had spent the last few years actively yielding to the Heart-Eating Vine’s destruction of her body.
‘Her thought was likely that if she died, her daughter would be able to go to the Saint Sect without any lingering attachments and have a brighter future.’
Unfortunately, the Heart-Eating Vine was designed for torture. Even after several years, it hadn’t let her pass away.
Instead, it kept her body in a precarious, suffering state.
Xia Hui’s mother suspected that the vine sensed her wish and intentionally acted this way.
It wanted her to stay alive specifically so she couldn’t have what she wanted.
There was no greater malice than this.
“My mother used to be a Demonic Cultivator? That’s just…” As she listened to Hua Jian finish the story, Xia Hui was dumbfounded.
She believed Hua Jian wasn’t lying because the story was simply too bizarre for someone to make up.
Furthermore, Hua Jian even produced detailed information about the Heart-Eating Vine.
She couldn’t have prepared that in advance, right?
Actually, Hua Jian had quickly looked up some information yesterday.
The illustrated guide given by the Lingcai Peak Master was truly impressive; it even had records of the Heart-Eating Vine.
Not only were there records, but it also listed several hypothesized methods Wanhua Valley used to control the vine.
One that Hua Jian found most likely was Flower Fragrance control.
The Cultivators of Wanhua Valley were almost always covered in fragrance.
It was possible the vine was controlled by a specific substance in that scent.
If a disciple went too long without smelling it, the vine would begin to grow and kill them.
“In short, that’s how it is. I’ve already solved the vine in your body, but your mother has been very severely corroded. I’ll need at least… ten-plus days to fix her,” Hua Jian said, counting on her fingers to give a relatively conservative estimate.
She was basing this on her current speed. As she got more practice, she could probably compress the time to a more acceptable number.
Once the Heart-Eating Vine was cleared from the mother’s body, the other internal injuries wouldn’t be hard to manage. Taking a few more Alchemy Pills would eventually patch her up.
After all, she was a Ling Wang; her physical constitution wasn’t that fragile.
This number made Xia Hui doubt if she was dreaming even more. Curing her mother in ten days? That was unbelievable.
She had looked for so many solutions before, even seeking out Immortal Masters from the Saint Sect, but everyone said there was no way.
Why was it that as soon as Hua Jian arrived, the problem dissolved like ice under sunlight?
“Hua Jian, you’re amazing.”
“Of course. This is something only I can solve; no one else can do it.”
The word “modesty” generally wasn’t in Hua Jian’s dictionary. When praised, she usually chose to take it and run with it.
She was definitely an expert at managing how much people liked her.
The fact that no girl had fallen irrevocably in love with her after all this time was at least 50% due to her big mouth.
Hua Jian’s greatest talent was using her actions to gain favor and then using her words to destroy it.
……
Wanling Sect, Lingcai Peak.
A young girl in a light red dress flew hurriedly into the main hall of Lingcai Peak, situated amidst a sea of blooming flowers, to bring good news to the Peak Master who was carefully tending to the Spiritual Flowers.
“Peak Master, the Sect Leader has approved your application! You can go to this year’s Ascension Gathering!”
Hearing this, the Lingcai Peak Master didn’t show much of a reaction. “Hmph. If he dared to reject me, I would have gone and torn down his main hall.”
While the various Peaks of the Wanling Sect weren’t exactly brothers-in-arms, they usually had their own hidden agendas. Lingcai Peak was considered the most detached from worldly affairs.
This was thanks to the Peak Master’s personality. As long as her bottom line wasn’t crossed, she couldn’t be bothered with the sect’s internal strife.
If others wanted to fight over resources, let them; just as long as they didn’t touch her Peak.
But this time, the Lingcai Peak Master had made her stance very clear: she was definitely going to the Ascension Gathering, and she was definitely going to snatch that child, Hua Jian!
The Sect Leader of the Wanling Sect had also heard a bit about Hua Jian, knowing she was a young Heavenly Talent who was slowly becoming famous.
Now that the Lingcai Peak Master had volunteered to go and recruit her, he had no reason to refuse.
“You girls head to Ascension City first. I will follow once I’ve settled the matters on the Peak.”
“Ah? Going that early?” The girl looked confused.
Generally, they only needed to arrive a few days before the start of the Ascension Gathering. There was no need to go so far in advance.
The Lingcai Peak Master gave her silly disciple a sharp look.
“Many people have their eyes on that child. If we go late, we’re just giving others the chance to strike first.”
“We’ve already lost the initiative once. we can’t lose it a second time!”
“Oh, I understand.” The girl scratched her head.
Although she still didn’t quite understand why the Peak Master valued Hua Jian so highly, she knew that listening to her Master was always the right choice.
The Peak Master nodded, her gaze drifting toward the north, her eyes filled with fighting spirit.
‘Hmph, Jade Pool. This time, we’ll compete head-on to see who that child actually likes more!’
“Master, the Peak Lord of Five Poisons sent a visiting card! He says he wants to see you!”
Just as the Lingcai Peak Master was ambitiously planning how to fight to the death with Jade Pool, another disciple ran in frantically with more news.
News of the Sect Leader’s approval for the Lingcai Peak Master to attend the Ascension Gathering spread incredibly fast.
Almost as soon as she knew, the other Peak Lords knew as well.
Most Peak Lords had no objection to the decision.
They had been to many gatherings before, and by rotation, it was finally the Lingcai Peak Master’s turn.
However, there was an outlier. Upon hearing the news, he had immediately sent a visiting card to Lingcai Peak.
Based on the timing, it must have been sent the second he heard the news.
“Five Poisons Peak? Didn’t that old guy just take in a treasure of a disciple? What does he want with me?”