The sword, in its chain-sword form, seemed to come alive as it curved around Linglong’s body.
In the next moment, Hua Jian was held firmly in Linglong’s embrace.
“You couldn’t bring yourself to do it.” Linglong spoke softly into Hua Jian’s ear.
She naturally saw Hua Jian’s soft-heartedness at the final moment.
If not for that, she would still be flying against Hua Jian’s sword blade right now.
“As if everyone is as cold-hearted as you.” Hua Jian threw her head back with force, giving Linglong a solid headbutt.
“Hmph, I am just that cold-hearted. So what?”
Locking her arms tightly around Hua Jian, Linglong did not fly toward the Thunder Dragon as she had originally planned.
Since Hua Jian had been soft-hearted at the last moment and unwilling to hurt her, how could she repay kindness with enmity?
Fine. They would just take the Thunder Dragon’s self-detonation right here. Whether they lived or died would be up to fate.
The Thunder Dragon not far away no longer had a dragon’s shape. It had expanded into the form of a sphere.
At first, the energy within its body could barely maintain stability, but now it had completely lost control.
The lightning began to expand rapidly without restraint.
Violent Spiritual Power began to sweep across everything nearby indiscriminately.
Even the mist Hua Jian had laid down could not withstand the impact of the Spiritual Power and was blown away completely.
In terms of distance, she and Linglong were closest to the Thunder Dragon. They were also the first to feel the power of this lightning.
The world in their eyes seemed to turn into a pure, pale white in an instant.
A numb, tingling sensation flowed across the surface of her body, making Hua Jian feel quite uncomfortable.
An enormous amount of energy slammed into the two of them, sending them flying back directly.
This actually reduced the damage they took to some extent.
Braving the full force of the explosion at point-blank range was a world of difference from only taking the first wave and being blown away.
But this method was not something just anyone could use.
A normal cultivator would be sent straight out of the Secret Realm to find a doctor after taking that first hit.
Only Hua Jian and Linglong were capable of withstanding the first wave.
Hua Jian relied on her naturally high health and the all-around protection of her Spiritual Garment.
The aftershocks of a Ling King’s full-power strike hitting her would, at most, knock the wind out of her; they could not cause any substantial damage.
The impact force was indeed unavoidable, but she was not afraid of that kind of force.
Venerable White Flower had likely considered this when she gave the gift.
At this time, taking Alchemy Pills was of little use. They had been drained of power so many times in a short period and had relied on pills to recover each time.
Taking too many pills at once caused the effects to diminish.
Now, even if they took pills to recover Spiritual Power, the effect they could enjoy was less than half of the original.
Shiqi was doing alright; she had not taken any pills before, so she still enjoyed full recovery. But she alone was not enough to satisfy the need.
To reduce the wear on the Array, Xia Hui had even drastically changed the distribution of Spiritual Power in the barrier.
She shifted the primary direction of defense toward the explosion, leaving the defense in other areas at nearly zero.
The current formation was no longer the simple Five Elements Array it had been; it was now a formation under Xia Hui’s control that extracted Spiritual Power.
The effect this formation currently displayed was not much different from the original Five Elements Array, but that was only because Xia Hui was using the gathered power for defense.
Once she wanted to use this power for attack or support, the manifestation of the formation would naturally be worlds apart.
The cultivators here did not notice this change at all. They simply assumed Xia Hui had not made any changes to the formation.
Little did they know that Xia Hui could have sucked them dry in a single breath and then casually walked away.
Of course, Xia Hui would not do such a thing. She still had to stay by Hua Jian’s side to protect her from any unexpected harm.
However, she would not care much if a few of the people here died.
Combat eventually led to deaths; things could not always go so smoothly that victory could be achieved without any injuries.
Boom!
The shockwave that had sent Hua Jian and Linglong flying slammed into the barrier Xia Hui had set up, causing it to flicker wildly.
Xia Hui put on a look of great effort, and the cultivators within the formation turned pale as they felt the speed at which their Spiritual Power was being extracted increase further.
The impact continued. The Thunder Dragon had completely turned into a massive bomb and exploded.
The first wave of impact was the most violent, but that did not mean the subsequent waves were safe.
For the remnants of the forces on this side, even the later aftershocks could easily wipe them out.
Fortunately, although the barrier looked as if it were on the verge of collapsing, it miraculously managed to hold on.
Fine cracks covered every part of the barrier, as if it would shatter in the next moment, leaving everyone sheltered by it to be submerged in the thunderstorm.
Yet, such a crack-filled barrier stood firmly in front of everyone like an insurmountable city wall, completely blocking the thunderstorm outside.
Seeing this scene, the emotions in the cultivators’ hearts were nothing short of stirred.
Some even let out spirited shouts, actually managing to squeeze out one last bit of Spiritual Power from their bodies.
However, just as that person finished shouting, their body directly turned into white points of light and disappeared from the spot.
“Don’t over-exert! You’ll be considered as damaging your life essence and sent out of the Secret Realm!” Xia Hui turned and shouted to the cultivators.
If these cultivators all over-exerted themselves and were sent out one by one, she would not be able to keep up her act.
Truly, how could the strength of these cultivators possibly block the attack of the Thunder Dragon’s self-detonation?
The barrier had only held up until now because of her secret efforts.
These cultivators were just actors meant to make her performance less conspicuous.
A girl who could block the Thunder Dragon’s self-detonation alone and a girl who could only block it by borrowing everyone’s power were two completely different concepts.
Xia Hui’s persona was not the former. If she truly did that, her identity would surely be questioned.
Would you believe that a usually unremarkable little follower suddenly had a burst of willpower and unleashed power greater than a super genius like Hua Jian, or would you believe that this child had been replaced by an impostor?
Most rational people would choose the latter.
Therefore, Xia Hui still needed these cultivators to act as a cover.
She needed to be like a drop of water vanishing into the ocean, blending in with the world.
If someone asked how she did it, she would say it was the result of everyone’s hard work.
In any case, she did not need any credit or points. Once the assembly ended, she would take Hua Jian and leave.
The Saint Sect would not even be able to catch up to her.
The cultivators did not feel sadness over the departure of their companion.
It was not that they were so cold-blooded, but rather that the manner of that person’s exit was truly a bit hard to describe.
If you called it heroic, it certainly was heroic. But it hadn’t reached the point where someone had to be heroic.
The barrier was still holding there, yet you over-exerted and sent yourself away first.
The cultivators staying behind mostly wanted to mock that person.
It was not to say his departure was a good thing, but rather that it was relatively meaningless, and no one else could be blamed for it.
Perhaps after claiming one “kill,” the Thunder Dragon also felt it could rest in peace.
The subsequent lightning impacts gradually weakened.
Xia Hui also took the opportunity to put on a weakened look, allowing the shattered barrier to be truly smashed by the lightning.
The remaining lightning struck the cultivators fairly, but not a single person was forced out because of it.
Those with poor physical constitution were shocked until their eyes rolled back, while those with good constitutions remained conscious.
And under their protection, the true core of the entire battle—that massive Stone Pillar—had already submerged more than halfway into the ground.
Just like the Stone Pillar in the Lava Forbidden Land before, when the reset was mostly complete, the environment of the Forbidden Land would begin to change, and the strength of the enemies would begin to decrease.
Perhaps because this Stone Pillar reset had prerequisite conditions, the reset cost much less than the previous one. The group of five cultivators was not even out of breath yet.
Compared to their companions outside who were so weak they could not even crawl, they were like nobility, enjoying everyone’s protection while doing the easiest job.
“Xia Hui, are you alright?” Shiqi leaned on her sword and walked over to Xia Hui, who had been knocked to the ground by the lightning and rolled several times, asking with concern.
A small portion of the lightning earlier had fallen on Xia Hui, the leader of the formation. Shiqi had been so scared she thought Xia Hui would be struck directly out of the Secret Realm.
Fortunately, Xia Hui’s constitution was quite tough, and she had withstood the lightning attack.
“I’m… I’m okay.” Xia Hui lay flat on the ground, her small face dusty and her voice weak, as if she had used up all her strength. “Miss Shiqi, hurry and go help Miss Hua Jian…”
‘Even in this state, she is still worried about Hua Jian? What a touching bond between master and servant… Wait, Hua Jian and Xia Hui aren’t master and servant, are they?’
Shiqi shook her head, driving the impolite thought from her mind, and then turned to look toward the other side.
“The two of them… I’m afraid they can’t fight anymore.”
……
“Heh heh heh, Little Dragon Girl, you didn’t expect I’d have this move, did you!”
While being held by Linglong in a mutual destruction attempt, Hua Jian had not been idle.
Since Linglong could lock her down to take the explosion together, she could naturally lock Linglong down so she could not escape.
The vines growing from her body had tied her and Linglong together completely. Now, even if Linglong wanted to run, she had no chance.
At this face-to-face distance, Linglong was no match for Hua Jian.
During the explosion, Hua Jian had no way to counterattack, but now that the explosion had ceased, was Linglong not finished?
In their usual sparring sessions, Hua Jian’s biggest frustration was how to close the distance to Linglong and then restrain her so she could not pull away.
As long as she could maintain this distance, Hua Jian was certain to win, because Linglong had absolutely no way to resist the mist of the Illusory Dream Flower.
And now was exactly the perfect situation Hua Jian had imagined. With things like this, Linglong was completely finished.
“Awoo!” Linglong tried to bite Hua Jian with her only remaining movable part—her mouth—but with the veil still covering her face, she could not bite Hua Jian at all.
As Hua Jian blew the Colored Mist into her face, the Little Dragon Girl did not disappoint. Her eyes rolled back, and she slumped against Hua Jian.
Sensing her Godsoul Space and confirming that Linglong’s soul was locked inside, Hua Jian released the vines binding them and carried Linglong back on her shoulder.
Seeing that Hua Jian had defeated the boss ahead of time, the cultivators were in high spirits.
Boss Hua Jian was truly amazing; she had defeated the enemy before the Stone Pillar had even finished resetting.
But why was it that after winning, Hua Jian did not kill the enemy directly like she had in the previous Secret Realm, but instead carried her back on her shoulder?
“Boss Hua, why did you carry her back?”
“That’s a long story. The method I used to defeat her is quite special. I’m not sure if something extraordinary would happen if I used conventional methods to send her out of the Secret Realm.”
Hua Jian shook her head, indicating that this was an act of necessity.
“We’ll wait for the Stone Pillar over there to finish resetting, and then I’ll wake her up and let her surrender herself. That’s simpler.”
Hua Jian believed Linglong was someone who cared about her reputation. In a situation like this, did Linglong still have any chance of a turnaround?
Since there was no possibility of a turnaround, was she not defeated?
Hua Jian just did not want to personally send Linglong away. And besides, what she had said just now was indeed a concern.
She really did not want to gamble on the Saint Sect’s teleportation technique being infallible.
It was better to just let Linglong surrender later.
“You guys continue resetting the Stone Pillar. I’ll rest for a while.” Hua Jian placed Linglong beside her and then sat cross-legged, sinking her consciousness into her Godsoul Space.
……
“Are you going to surrender?”
As soon as Hua Jian entered her Godsoul Space, she saw Linglong sitting on the grass, staring blankly at the sky with an expression as if life were no longer worth living.
“Haven’t I already lost? You could have just knocked me out of the Secret Realm.” Linglong’s spirit drifted back from the sky.
She glanced at Hua Jian and murmured softly, “I feel like you look quite okay like this, too.”
At least it was better than how she would look wearing the clothes of the Wanling Sect in the future.
“Oh ho, I didn’t expect to hear that from you. What, do you actually have a thing for the demonic girls of the Magic Path?”
Hua Jian sat down beside Linglong, holding her skirt and swinging her small feet as she asked cheerfully.
Linglong gave a light snort, neither admitting nor denying it.
“Even if you went to the Magic Path, you probably wouldn’t be able to act demonic.”
She knew Hua Jian’s nature through and through.
Just now, Hua Jian couldn’t even bring herself to stab her; someone like that could never be a proper member of the Magic Path.
“Still, it’s better to stay on the Right Path. Ideally, you should come with me to the Jade Pool…”