Chapter 143 (2/2): What Is the Flower Language of Hanami?

The gap between this and the Inner City she imagined was too large.

The illusion was shattered. What happened to the Saint Sect? Why was it a construction site!

This isn’t right, is it? We couldn’t have come to the wrong place, could we?

Hua Jian and Shiqi looked at Linglong together. They desperately needed an explanation right now.

“The Senior Brothers and Sisters are preparing for the next Ascension Gathering, so it’s a little bit lively…” Linglong’s expression was also a bit strained.

Being greeted with such a “gift” right after entering the Inner City made it hard for her to explain for these Senior Brothers and Sisters.

Her understanding of Ascension City was also limited to books. How could she have known such a situation would occur?

While the three of them were dazed, the Penglai Senior Sister over there finally noticed the three girls standing there blankly.

“Hey, you three over there, stop slacking off! Come over and help!”

“Don’t tilt your head, I’m talking about you!”

Hua Jian, who pointed at herself with a tilted head and a confused face, blinked. Was it better for her to explain or not explain at this moment?

Before she could figure out the situation, that Senior Sister rushed over to the three of them like a whirlwind and stuffed a Jade Plate into Linglong’s hand.

“You three are from Yaochi, right? Go to your station and bring the materials listed on this. Tell those guys who are used to slacking off that if they don’t give me the materials today, I’ll come knocking on their door for an explanation tomorrow!”

After saying that, this Senior Sister ran off to other places without stopping. It seemed she was a minor supervisor in this area, which explained her fiery temper.

Linglong sensed the contents of the Jade Plate. It was all basic construction materials, but the floating materials among them were a specialty of Yaochi, which was likely why she was asked to bring them.

Sighing, Linglong tucked the Jade Plate into her sleeve and turned to the two girls beside her. “Since it’s on the way anyway, let’s go.”

The further they walked into the depths of the Inner City, the more the impression of the Saint Sects crumbled in Hua Jian’s and Shiqi’s hearts.

This place really was a giant construction site, with busy Saint Sect disciples everywhere and various half-built structures.

It turned out that the buildings for the Ascension Gathering weren’t reused from before, but were built anew every year. The Saint Sects were truly wealthy.

“Logically, this Ascension Gathering isn’t particularly special. It shouldn’t cause such a huge commotion…” Never mind Hua Jian, even Linglong didn’t know why this Ascension Gathering had turned out like this.

The venue for the Ascension Gathering wasn’t fixed and indeed changed according to the year. Every ten or twenty years, the Saint Sects would also carry out a major renovation and upgrade of the buildings here.

But it wasn’t time for that this year, so it was a bit baffling.

They could only ask the Senior Sisters at the station.

When the sky had almost completely darkened, Linglong finally arrived at the Yaochi ground station with Hua Jian and Shiqi.

Because their main territory was in the sky, Yaochi’s station on the ground was much smaller than those of the other sects.

Someone who had never been to the Inner City would likely have a hard time finding this pitifully small Yaochi station sandwiched between Penglai and the Jian Sect.

Even Linglong had to search carefully according to the Map before she could be sure that the giant building with an ancient charm in front of her was indeed Yaochi’s station in the Inner City.

This building was indeed beautiful and large, but as a station in a place like Ascension City, it appeared somewhat shabby.

The nearby Penglai station had almost brought over the characteristics of the Penglai Sacred Sect—a huge Lake with numerous islands surrounded by immortal qi.

The Jian Sect station on the other side was even more direct.

They had placed a scaled-down version of their sect’s symbol—the Sword Peak, which resembled a giant sword and was rumored to be transformed from the personal sword of the Jian Sect’s first patriarch—at the center of their station.

From a distance, this small Sword Peak could still make one’s eyes sting, indicating it wasn’t just an ordinary replica.

In comparison, the Yaochi building seemed a bit more worldly. Although its layered structure disappearing into the clouds didn’t look like something from the mortal realm, it ultimately fell short when compared to the two grand scenes next to it.

Leading the two of them to the front of the building, just as Linglong stepped onto the stairs, the Jade Plate tucked in her sleeve suddenly lit up. It broke free from Linglong’s control and flew into the building.

Then, that Penglai Senior Sister’s characteristic cursing rang out inside the building.

“?!” Linglong’s eyes widened. Had she been set up?

It turned out that the Senior Sister hadn’t just asked her to get things, but also had her bring back the recorded voice of her cursing?

And listening to those curses, that Penglai Senior Sister seemed to have long-standing grievances against Yaochi.

She shouted things like how she had listened to their nonsense and changed the design drawings, and now everything that was built had to be torn down and rebuilt.

Even if they changed it, these culprits were still delaying the materials. Did they not want the Ascension Gathering to go well?

When Hua Jian followed Linglong into the building’s lobby, the Yaochi girls moving through the hall were all making bitter faces and covering their ears, clearly having no way to deal with the shouting.

As Linglong entered, these girls finally showed warm, smiling faces. The girls of Yaochi, of course, recognized their own Saintess.

“Junior Sister Linglong is finally here!”

“Junior Sister is so beautiful!”

“Junior Sister Linglong, can I touch your tail… hey, who’s pulling me? What are you doing!”

Ignoring a certain pervert being dragged away by the crowd, Linglong was still very popular among the Yaochi disciples.

And Hua Jian was surprised to find that she seemed to have some minor fame here as well.

Quite a few Senior Sisters could call out her name, and their attitude toward her was almost the same as their attitude toward Linglong.

‘Am I already this famous?’

“Senior Sister, I saw the Inner City is a mess. What’s going on?”

While Hua Jian was confused, Linglong had also found the Neimen Senior Sister with the highest status here and asked her about the problems in the Inner City.

After hearing Linglong’s question, the Neimen Senior Sister, who had just been hit on the head by the cursing Jade Plate, gave a long sigh.

“It’s nothing. It’s just that this Ascension Gathering will be different from previous years.”

“It seems the Sect Leaders reached some consensus to try some new things at this year’s Ascension Gathering. So, all the original plans had to be changed, and the buildings that were already completed had to be transformed into new ones according to the plan.”

There wasn’t much time left before the Ascension Gathering began. To complete such a large shift all at once, the ones with the biggest headaches were the Saint Sect disciples here in Ascension City.

“I will arrange for someone to deliver those materials as soon as possible. Junior Sister Linglong, take Sister Hua Jian and this Jianxiu sister to the station first.”

Although Shiqi was also brought over by Linglong, this Senior Sister could tell at a glance that Shiqi wasn’t Yaochi’s type. This girl would surely be snatched away by the Jian Sect next door.

“Also, don’t take Sister Hua Jian out for the next few days…” The Senior Sister lowered her voice and whispered a warning into Linglong’s ear.

The rumor about Hua Jian was that if you were slow, she’d be gone.

It was lucky Linglong had brought Hua Jian under the cover of Night. If it were broad daylight, those from the Wanling Sect would probably have blocked the door to snatch her away before Linglong even arrived.

“To snatch people from our hands, the Wanling Sect doesn’t even want their dignity anymore. You guys go up now. Once you reach the heavens, they won’t be able to do anything to you.”

While explaining, the Senior Sister pushed the three of them toward the spatial Array Formation in the building.

Through this spatial Array Formation, Linglong and the others could go directly to the Yaochi station in the sky.

The other Yaochi disciples also knew what to do and immediately ran to the main entrance to stand guard.

Sure enough, as soon as they reached the door, they saw several black dots rushing toward them from the distance.

Hua Jian didn’t know about these little interludes. She had been semi-forced by the Senior Sister into the Transmission Array. After the space distorted for a moment, she was sent to the Yaochi sky station.

“Where’s Hua Jian! Where is she!” Just as the people were sent away, a young girl in a red dress stepped into the building aggressively.

The Yaochi Senior Sister directly began to lie through her teeth. “What Hua Jian? Don’t know her, didn’t see her.”

“I smelled the fragrance on her! Don’t try to play dumb with me!”

“Hey, I really don’t know. Our Saintess just returned from her training in the North and brought back two good friends. Why? Is your Lingcaifeng even going to interfere with our Saintess’s choice of friends?”

The girl from Lingcaifeng was so angry her eyes widened. She wanted to lash out, but her reason told her that force definitely wouldn’t work.

Her Master hadn’t sent her to lead the charge just to make a fool of herself.

Before coming, her Master had specifically told her to win her heart. Hua Jian was no ordinary person, and ordinary methods wouldn’t work on her.

They had to seduce Hua Jian and make her come to them voluntarily.

“Tch, consider yourselves lucky this time. Next time, we definitely won’t let you succeed!” Leaving behind a harsh word, the girl left the Yaochi ground station in a huff.

Staying here wouldn’t win Hua Jian back, so she didn’t linger. She had to quickly find a way to lure Hua Jian out!

“Hmph, little brat, you still want to fight me? Sister Hua Jian is already one of our Yaochi’s people!” the Yaochi Senior Sister muttered at the girl’s back.

Although there was no old grudge between them, to fight over a little Heavenly Talent like Hua Jian, they were now irreconcilable enemies!

……

Hua Jian, of course, didn’t know that such a thing had happened after she left. After her usual bout of dizziness from the Transmission Array, she was deeply shocked by Yaochi’s Floating City.

‘Wow, this is what a Saint Sect station should look like!’

It was so beautiful and full of immortal aura. Living here felt like living in a fairyland.

“Eh? Junior Sister Linglong? Is this Sister Hua Jian?” The Yaochi disciple guarding the Transmission Array rubbed her eyes.

After confirming she wasn’t seeing things, her originally bored expression suddenly turned into surprise.

What a huge surprise! A living, moving Junior Sister Linglong!

And there was also Sister Hua Jian, who had slowly become famous in the sect lately. This time, Sister Hua Jian would surely join their Yaochi, right?

“Ahem, this must be your first time here. Let me introduce the rules to you.”

After the surprise, the Senior Sister quickly put on a serious face and began to tell the three of them about the rules in this station.

Skipping the more basic rules, the one Hua Jian actually cared about was only one.

Using the Transmission Array required a pass Token. Without a Token, one could not use the Transmission Array.

To apply for a pass Token, one either had to do it at the building below or at the station in the sky.

So, a small problem had occurred: Hua Jian didn’t have a pass Token in her hand.

She had been directly pushed into the Transmission Array. In other words, she seemingly couldn’t go down now?

Hua Jian quickly explained the situation she encountered. If she wanted to go down later but couldn’t, wouldn’t that be terrible?

After hearing Hua Jian’s problem, the Senior Sister stroked her chin and thought for a few seconds. Suddenly, she clapped her hands with a look of realization.

“I see!” She understood. This was the perfect excuse to logically keep Hua Jian in the sky!

Why were they so urgent to send Hua Jian up from below? Why were they so rushed that they skipped the process of applying for a Token? It was all for the problem Hua Jian was facing now!

As long as Hua Jian couldn’t go down, she wouldn’t run into other bad women and be led astray by them.

This way, wouldn’t Hua Jian be something already in Yaochi’s pocket?

“I’ll quickly notify the people below to have them issue a replacement Token for you, Sister Hua Jian. Oh right, and for this sister as well.” Finally, the Senior Sister noticed Shiqi’s presence.

“However, things are very busy down there lately, and people are often causing trouble, so it might take some time.”

‘Someone causing trouble?’ Hua Jian thought of the Penglai Senior Sister who used a Jade Plate to curse people. The Yaochi building below indeed had many troubles.

Listening to these words, Linglong’s brow furrowed slightly. Just as she was about to ask something, she saw the Senior Sister shoot her a meaningful look.

‘Junior Sister, don’t talk. Let your Senior Sisters help you keep Sister Hua Jian here.’

Thinking carefully, Linglong also understood the reason. They wanted to keep Hua Jian from coming into contact with other people in a disguised way.

“Our station is very large, with many fun things inside. Sister Hua Jian, you can play and wander as much as you like these days. Just treat this place as your home,” the Senior Sister said with extreme enthusiasm.

As she spoke, she continued to give Linglong looks. ‘Junior Sister, you must seize this opportunity to capture Sister Hua Jian’s heart!’

After all, this method couldn’t last forever. If it went on for too long, it would instead cause Hua Jian to feel rebellious.

Therefore, Linglong’s best time to attack was these few days while Hua Jian hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

As long as she completed the recruitment of Hua Jian during these few days, the other sects could only bite their handkerchiefs and watch as Yaochi took this little beauty home!

Hmph, she didn’t believe the Wanling Sect was so capable that they could even snatch away meat that Yaochi already had between its teeth.

“Right, Junior Sister Linglong?” the Senior Sister continued to signal Linglong.

Linglong took a deep breath. The feeling of the entire station helping her “capture” Hua Jian was truly subtle.

But this was indeed her intention—to capture Hua Jian’s heart before the Wanling Sect had a chance to act. Only then could she remain undefeated in the subsequent struggle!

“Yes, there are many interesting things in the station. I’ll take you two around for the next few days. There’s no need to be in such a hurry about the pass Token.”

Linglong’s gaze became resolute, as if she had made up her mind.