“Some of our people have been to the nearby Forbidden Land. According to them, terrifying thunderclouds have been circling there constantly. Just getting a bit close makes your hair stand on end. Looking inside from the outside, you can see Thunder constantly falling from the sky…”
During the break, Hua Jian didn’t stay idle. She sent Xia Hui to ask other Cultivators in her camp for clues about another Forbidden Land.
That Forbidden Land was similar to the Lava Forbidden Land they had already conquered.
Both had terrifying auras and environments that were drastically different from the surrounding area.
Hua Jian suspected that the method to conquer it wouldn’t be much different.
“Anyway, it’s just an enemy who plays with lightning. I’m familiar with this.”
As someone who had fought Linglong so many times, Hua Jian was already used to Thunder-type Cultivators.
However, if it were a Thunder Element Ling King, it would definitely be harder to fight than the Fire Element Ling King they just defeated.
Thunder-types might not have the same attack power as Fire-types, but they were fast.
Looking at Linglong’s Thunder Escape, she could overtake Hua Jian with ease.
“Miss Hua Jian, do you need me to maintain your Ling Sword for you?” After finishing the report, Xia Hui pointed at the Ling Sword beside Hua Jian and gave a soft reminder.
Hua Jian raised an eyebrow. “You know how to do this?”
Xia Hui nodded vigorously. “Before coming here, Mother specifically taught me and gave me this…”
She reached into her Storage Pouch and took out a small bottle with a colorful flower pattern.
“She said that after a battle, I should replenish the Poison on the sword in time; otherwise, the sword will slowly lose its ability to poison people.”
Before Hua Jian could react, the Yaochi Maiden, who had been following them closely, widened her eyes and reached out to grab the bottle from Xia Hui’s hand.
Xia Hui hurriedly protected the bottle in her arms, giving the girl no chance.
“This is Poison from Wanhuagu! Hand it over right now!” the Yaochi Maiden shouted, somewhat annoyed.
She was speechless. How did this young girl dare to openly take out such a thing?
“Mother said this Poison isn’t on the Hudaosi’s prohibited list. It’s a Poison that can be used.”
Xia Hui shook her head, indicating that while the Poison was indeed from Wanhuagu, the Hudaosi hadn’t said that ordinary Cultivators couldn’t use it.
This Poison just had a slightly stronger effect and a somewhat strange mechanism; it wasn’t at the level where the Hudaosi would ban it.
It wasn’t as if everything from Wanhuagu was unusable.
The various clothes and accessories made by Wanhuagu were also exquisite, and many people in Beijing loved to wear them.
Was that not allowed either?
“Even if it’s not on the list, this is still from Wanhuagu…”
“My Mother made it herself. It’s not from Wanhuagu,” Xia Hui interrupted.
Ultimately, anyone could make poison. Once you had the Formula and the strength, making some poison was easy.
Xia Hui said her mother made the poison herself and it didn’t come from Wanhuagu, so the Yaochi Maiden really had no reason to refute her.
“And Mother even modified the Formula. The current Poison has nothing to do with Wanhuagu anymore.”
‘Damn, I’m actually speechless.’
The Yaochi Maiden was rendered silent by Xia Hui.
She suddenly felt that, compared to Hua Jian, this little girl seemed more like a Cultivator from Wanhuagu.
Her ability to find loopholes and stir up trouble was simply too impressive.
“In other words, I can use it?” Hua Jian tilted her head to look at the Yaochi Maiden.
“I don’t know, don’t ask me!” The girl stomped her foot in frustration and ran to the side to pout.
She wasn’t qualified to say no, nor did she think it was okay. She could only use ‘I don’t know’ to stall.
This answer was essentially a tacit agreement that Hua Jian could continue using this Poison.
Picking up the Ling Sword by her feet and handing it to Xia Hui, Hua Jian watched with interest as Xia Hui began to carefully repair her Ling Sword.
In Xia Hui’s hands, the Ling Sword was quickly disassembled into many small parts.
Hua Jian hadn’t even noticed some of those details herself.
The interior of the Ling Sword wasn’t as clean as she had imagined.
Perhaps because it hadn’t been used for a long time, some of its components showed signs of slight corrosion.
‘So even Spirit Tools can rust?’ Looking at the parts Xia Hui was carefully wiping, Hua Jian couldn’t help but feel a bit confused.
Xia Hui noticed Hua Jian’s confusion. After hearing the question, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Even the Spirit Tools of a DaoistSaint need regular maintenance. Of course, low-level Spirit Tools are the same.”
“Oh, Xia Hui, you really know a lot…”
“Ahem, I only heard about it from Mother before coming here.”
The hand holding the parts trembled slightly.
Xia Hui stole a glance at Hua Jian.
Seeing that Hua Jian didn’t suspect anything, she felt a bit relieved.
‘I almost forgot I’m supposed to be a little girl who knows nothing.’
‘Did I become careless because I’m with Hua Jian?’
Taking a deep breath, Xia Hui calmed the waves in her heart and continued to focus on maintaining the Ling Sword components.
Soon, she had refurbished the old parts. After reassembling the Ling Sword, she applied the Poison she had just taken out.
Having done all this, she handed the sword back to Hua Jian.
Then, she took a peek at the Yaochi Maiden, who was still puffing out her cheeks and looking their way from not too far away, and a trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mother also asked me to give something else to you, Miss Hua Jian, but — ” Xia Hui gestured with her chin toward the Yaochi Maiden.
Everything was understood without being said.
“If it’s not contraband, just give it to me openly. Don’t be afraid.”
“Of course it’s not contraband. It’s Soul-Confusing Incense improved from the Magic Spices used in Wanhuagu.”
Xia Hui took another box from her Storage Pouch.
When she opened it, two rows of small round balls, six in total, were neatly arranged inside.
“If you encounter a powerful opponent, take one out and throw it at their face. You can buy a lot of time!”
Hua Jian understood. So it was a smoke bomb for stalling time. This was good stuff.
However, when she turned her head, the Yaochi girl had already drifted behind her like a vengeful spirit, her eyes gloomily staring at the Soul-Confusing Incense Xia Hui had brought out.
This thing certainly wasn’t contraband, but couldn’t the two of them show some restraint?
There was even a Wanhuagu logo on the box. Did they really think she was blind?
When your family’s Wanhuagu traitor makes Soul-Confusing Incense, do they still use a Wanhuagu box?
“Senior Sister, can this not be used?”
“You can use it. Of course you can use it. Use it as much as you like.” The girl squeezed out cold words through gritted teeth.
This thing was different from Poison; it truly was allowed.
But could someone please cover the Magic Path logo on the box when they used it?
“Oh, oh, as long as it’s usable.” Hua Jian reached out and took the box.
Although she also saw the mark on the corner of the box, she didn’t think of it as a Wanhuagu logo.
Her understanding of the Magic Path came entirely from snippets of conversation with Linglong.
How could she know this was the logo of Wanhuagu?
She thought it was just a common decorative pattern.
“And also, Mother asked me to give this to you as well, Miss Hua Jian.”
The Yaochi Maiden watched as Xia Hui continued to pull things out of the Storage Pouch, her eyes nearly turning red with anger.
This Wanhuagu person was being too insolent! Could they not show some restraint?
This time, what Xia Hui took out wasn’t a combat tool, but something that looked like perfume.
“What is this again?” Hua Jian took the bottle and looked at it against the light.
She just felt the bottle was quite pretty.
The angry Yaochi Maiden was also staring blankly at Xia Hui. She didn’t know what it was either.
Xia Hui blinked, her small hands spread out. “It’s just ordinary perfume. But you shouldn’t need it, Miss Hua Jian.”
As she spoke, she peeked at Hua Jian and added softly, “The scent on Miss Hua Jian’s body is much better than this.”
Realizing she had been toyed with, the Yaochi Maiden turned her head and walked back angrily. She could see it now — Xia Hui was just playing with her!
This girl looked small, but she had who-knows-how-many tricks in her mind!
Hua Jian was a bit curious about the scent of the perfume, so she sprayed it into the air.
The fragrance was a bit heavy, and Hua Jian didn’t like such strong scents. It felt a bit cloying.
The Spiritual Civet, which had been huddled in her clothes all this time, also poked its head out. After smelling the perfume in the air, it let out two violent sneezes.
Through the telepathy of the Contract, Hua Jian felt the Spiritual Civet’s thoughts: ‘It smells like a fox.’
The Spiritual Civet seemingly hated foxes and found the scent in the air very unpleasant.
It waved its claws forcefully at the air, using ice-element Spiritual Power to create a cold wind to completely disperse the smell.
“Does Miss Hua Jian not like it?” Xia Hui looked at Hua Jian eagerly, her expression looking a bit hurt.
“The scent is too strong. I really don’t like it.” Hua Jian nodded and spoke frankly.
“I see. Then does Miss Hua Jian prefer lighter scents?”
“More or less. Why are you asking?”
Xia Hui tapped her chin with her index finger. After thinking for a few seconds, she revealed a very sunny smile.
“If I have a scent that Miss Hua Jian likes on me, will Miss Hua Jian like me even more?”
Hua Jian almost choked upon hearing this.
‘Oh my god, has my female confidante finally appeared? But with Xia Hui’s figure, she really can’t be a confidante, can she?’
If she actually ended up with her, she’d probably be arrested as a pervert the next second.
“I… you… I already have someone I like!” Hua Jian took a deep breath, pressed her hands on Xia Hui’s shoulders, and said seriously, “It’s impossible for us!”
Xia Hui tilted her head slightly. “Miss Hua Jian likes someone else. What does that have to do with me wanting Miss Hua Jian to like me?”
“Of course it matters!”
“Can Miss Hua Jian only have one friend? Isn’t Miss Shiqi your friend?”
Hua Jian’s expression froze. Did she misunderstand Xia Hui’s meaning?
So Xia Hui wasn’t talking about *that* kind of liking, but the liking between friends?
“Haha, so that’s it. Don’t worry, I already like you very much. No need to think about those other things.”
Hearing this, Xia Hui couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
She wanted to ask if Hua Jian had been thinking about something else just now, but after some thought, she felt it was better not to ask.
Miss Hua Jian was still an innocent child. However, that person she said she liked just now, could it be…
If it really was that person, perhaps she could use this relationship a bit.
A dark light of contemplation flashed in her eyes, but Xia Hui’s face still bore that brilliant smile, making it impossible to see anything unusual.
……
That day, many major events occurred in the Secret Realm.
The primary event wasn’t the successful conquest of the Lava Forbidden Land, but rather Fairy Caiyue and that B-Alliance finally falling out and engaging in a Great War on the Western Great Grassland of the Secret Realm.
Both groups of Cultivators went all out in their internal strife, even utilizing military tactics.
One side would make a feint while the other would lure them into a trap.
After fighting for a day and a night, the battle remained incredibly fierce.
The High Echelon of both sides had already entered the fray.
Ji Caiyue had even achieved the feat of taking on several enemy experts single-handedly, establishing the true value of her being first on the Genius List.
However, in terms of the number of geniuses, Ji Caiyue’s side was at a disadvantage.
Faced with the enemy’s numerical superiority, Ji Caiyue had to adopt a more conservative strategy.
The battle here would likely turn into a long-term war of attrition.
Without any unexpected events, they might fight until the Secret Realm closed.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Jungle of the Secret Realm, some Cultivators who stayed there seemed to have encountered a ghost and were being sent out of the Secret Realm one after another.
No one knew what was happening. These Cultivators were being kicked out of the Secret Realm one by one as they turned into white light.
The Saint Sect Cultivators monitoring the Secret Realm from the sky were quite puzzled.
There were no killers; these Cultivators seemed to have been killed from a distance.
After contacting the outside, they learned that these Cultivators were suffering from Jiedu.
If they didn’t leave the Secret Realm in time for treatment, they would likely die inside.
But who was the one striking?
The junior examiners, unable to understand, finally decided to send someone down to investigate.
After some commotion, the examiner from the Tiandao Sect was sent out.
After all, many Cultivators were now missing from the sky pavilions in the Eastern Jungle area.
Those from the Wanling Sect were sent away by Hua Jian’s Poison, while those from the Jade Pool and Jian Sect had run off to monitor Hua Jian.
The remaining Cultivators were insignificant in number and skill.
Among them, the one from Penglai had the strongest strength and had to stay in the pavilion.
The others weren’t quite up to the task, so wasn’t the one from the Tiandao Sect the only one they could send?
However, half a day later, the sky pavilion received terrifying news: the Tiandao Sect Cultivator who had been sent out had also been kicked out of the Secret Realm.
He had also been poisoned!
And now he was so poisoned that his mind was clouded, and he couldn’t even speak properly.
This troubled the Cultivators here. They certainly couldn’t leave the matter alone, but who should they send to check the situation now?
“We have to call those two back. Don’t worry about the suspected Wanhuagu Cultivator for now; the fellow in this forest is the priority.”
Finally, the junior examiner from Penglai made a decision.
The area they managed was the Eastern Jungle.
Hua Jian had already run into the middle, so she was no longer under their jurisdiction; there was no need to keep managing her.
Each area in the Secret Realm had its own managers. They only cared about the eastern side.
Running to the middle was already overstepping their boundaries.
Now that something had happened in the jungle and they were short on manpower, what else could they do but call people back?
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