This change didn’t just baffle the Saint Sect disciples; even the Venerables who had been closely monitoring the Secret Realm were unsure of what it signified.
The outer region of the Secret Realm was now completely overtaken by black mist, rendering everything occurring there a black box.
They could only infer what was happening based on various fluctuations of spiritual power.
This particular fluctuation wasn’t caused by someone intruding from the outside, but by someone escaping from the inside, which was truly perplexing.
Who had fled from the Secret Realm? Was it the actual Magic Path?
Why would they run? They hadn’t even done anything yet.
It couldn’t be that they were frightened by the Right Path’s actions and fled in a panic, could it?
That would be too humorous; no one would believe such a thing.
“Send people to investigate. Why would they leave the Secret Realm at this time, especially when it hasn’t even reached its conclusion…”
“Maybe they got scared? It’s not impossible they felt things were going south and decided to leave,” the Tiandao Sect Venerable said, tapping his finger on the table.
Though he spoke the words, his expression remained skeptical.
Everything was supposedly progressing according to their plan, yet a faint sense of dissonance lingered in his heart.
With that thought, he looked up at the two Venerables who should be most concerned about the situation. “Fenghua, Lingcai, what do you two think?”
“The Magic Path must have tampered with the black mist; otherwise, our understanding of the Secret Realm wouldn’t be so limited.” Peak Master Lingcai didn’t answer the Tiandao Sect Venerable directly, instead bringing up another matter.
This black mist wasn’t supposed to have the ability to obscure vision; it was meant to be purely atmospheric. As it turned out, it was performing its job a bit too well.
If the true Magic Path was hiding within the black mist, those of them on the outside wouldn’t be able to handle it effectively.
“I believe, to be safe, we need to send more cultivators into the Secret Realm.”
Since there was a risk of unexpected circumstances, the best move was to invest more combat power.
The Saint Sect had plenty of resources, and cultivators at the Ling King and Ling Emperor levels were a dime a dozen.
This proposal received unanimous approval from all the Venerables. Increasing their numbers was the most stable choice.
However, they soon received terrible news: the space passage leading to the Secret Realm had become unstable.
Whether it was a tactic by the Magic Path or some other unknown cause, attempting to enter the Secret Realm now carried a massive risk.
One wrong move could result in being lost forever within the spatial rift.
The atmosphere grew heavy. After a few breaths, Fenghua Venerable slammed the table and stood up. “I propose we use the backup plan and evacuate the cultivators from the Secret Realm as soon as possible!”
If no accidents had occurred, the cultivators in the Secret Realm would have spent the next few days fighting a defensive battle against the Magic Path before defeating a powerful enemy on the final day.
After defeating the enemy, the Saint Sect would announce they had regained control of the Secret Realm and retrieve the survivors.
As for why those who ‘died’ in the Secret Realm were still alive in reality, the Saint Sect could simply explain it as a deceptive trick by the Magic Path intended to break their fighting spirit.
It would have been enough to fool most people.
But now things had changed. If the instability of the space passage worsened, the death-teleportation mechanic might be genuinely compromised.
That was a situation the Venerables could not accept.
Within this Secret Realm were individuals of immense importance to the Saint Sect.
Hua Jian, Linglong, and even Caidie were the sect’s precious treasures.
“I agree,” Peak Master Lingcai immediately seconded.
The other Venerables exchanged glances before one by one choosing to agree.
They couldn’t afford to gamble now. If those young ones were truly lost in the Secret Realm, it would be an absolute disaster for the Saint Sect.
“Activate the evacuation array at the center of the Secret Realm. Bring those children out!”
……
Hua Jian was unaware of the changes happening outside. When a white beam of light pierced the sky from the center of the Secret Realm, she was genuinely startled.
“What is that?!” She looked up at the sky. Despite it being night, the Secret Realm was lit as bright as day.
That pillar of light acted like a lighthouse, signaling everyone in the Secret Realm to gather.
“If it’s at the dead center of the Secret Realm, maybe it’s a trump card left by the Saint Sect?” Xia Hui, who had been guarding her side, answered in a low voice.
She squinted, seemingly trying to get a clearer look at the pillar.
“Um, Miss Hua Jian, do you think the seniors of the Saint Sect opened the space passage to save us?”
“It’s possible… Wait, look at the sky again. There’s something on top of that pillar!”
Just as Hua Jian thought Xia Hui’s idea made sense, another change occurred at the pillar.
Starting from the very top of the light, an ominous shadow gradually began to cover the peak of the pillar, causing the entire structure to shake uncontrollably.
Because it was so far away, Hua Jian couldn’t see the exact shape of the shadow, but she was certain it wasn’t anything good.
“It looks like roots. I don’t know what it is,” Xia Hui said, seemingly able to see better than Hua Jian.
Not far away, Sword Hero and his group were also looking up, their expressions even more confused than those of Hua Jian and Xia Hui.
They couldn’t even see the shadow clearly.
“In any case, it’s not good news. I’ll ask Linglong and Senior Sister; maybe they know something.”
Hua Jian took out her Token and sent a message to Linglong. After a long wait, Linglong finally replied.
As expected, neither Linglong nor Xiao Qi knew what it was. As ‘Bosses,’ they actually knew very little about the Secret Realm.
Their task was to stay in their respective Forbidden Lands and crush whoever came to challenge them. They had no idea what lay in the center of the Secret Realm.
This time, the Saint Sect had kept its secrets tightly guarded. Likely only those managing the Secret Realm from the outside knew the truth.
“Could it be an effect triggered after all five Spirit Pillars were activated?”
Not long ago, the arrays in the other Forbidden Lands had been completed one after another.
Now, the effect of the array restricting the power limit covered the entire central region of the Secret Realm.
With the sudden anomaly occurring at the center, Hua Jian couldn’t help but suspect a causal link between the two events.
Perhaps the Saint Sect’s design was that once the five Spirit Pillars formed a grand array, the mechanism at the center would be activated.
“I’m not sure. Miss Hua Jian, should we go over there?”
“Someone needs to check it out, but we can’t leave this place undefended. If the Magic Path takes the chance to sneak attack, I’m worried those people won’t be able to hold them off.”
Hua Jian pointed at Sword Hero’s group, her lack of trust evident in her tone.
It wasn’t even a matter of whether they could hold the line; Hua Jian was worried that if she wasn’t there, these people would simply hand the place over to the Magic Path as a gift.
“Xia Hui, can you make a trip for me?”
“Um, I think Miss Hua Jian should ask the people on Sword Hero’s side for help. They would surely do a good job with this.” Xia Hui unusually declined Hua Jian’s request.
She expressed that she could do more by staying here. For errands like this, it was better to leave it to Sword Hero’s group.
“Don’t worry! I’ll go talk to them. I’ll make sure they’re ‘willing’ to run this errand for us!”
Patting her meager chest, Xia Hui guaranteed it with a confident look.
‘Since when did this little one enjoy socializing so much?’ Hua Jian remembered that Xia Hui hadn’t been like this before, but now she was completely different.
‘Could it be that staying by my side has rubbed off on her?’
“Fine, go ahead then. If they dare to give you a hard time, come back and tell me.”
“Hehe, don’t worry, Miss Hua Jian. If I get bullied, I’ll definitely come running back to you in tears for a hug.”
With that, Xia Hui ran toward the other side with a cheerful stride.
Hua Jian watched her leave, scratching her head. ‘Why does she seem so lively all of a sudden?’
……
“That pillar of light? Don’t worry about it. That’s a large-scale transmission array set up by the Saint Sect to move everyone else out of the Secret Realm. However, it won’t be usable for a while.”
“You’re asking how I know? Remember your place. Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”
Xia Hui didn’t talk to Sword Hero’s subordinates; she went straight to Sword Hero himself.
She had lied to Hua Jian just now. In truth, she knew exactly what that light pillar was, and she knew what the shadow above it represented.
Everything was within her plan. The next step was to push the plan forward and let the Right Path hand Hua Jian over to her personally.
“I want your people to find that Zhao Ming and have him spread rumors that Hua Jian is a spy for Wanhuagu. As for proof, I believe you have quite a bit in your hands.”
“A few rumors won’t be enough to bring her down. Besides, the Saint Sect won’t believe it.” Sword Hero frowned, feeling this plan was somewhat unreliable.
The power of public opinion could be terrifying, but in this situation, it didn’t seem so formidable.
Hua Jian’s contributions were plain for all to see, and no major faults could be found. The Saint Sect would certainly favor such a disciple.
Moreover, he knew that Hua Jian had good relationships with many Saint Sect disciples. With that kind of background, how could they successfully frame her?
“Rumors? You’re wrong. She used Flower God Condensate to build the array and drove everyone else away. Her cultivation techniques are so similar to those of Wanhuagu that even the Saint Sect disciples in the Secret Realm suspect she is a spy.”
Xia Hui grinned. The connection between Hua Jian and Wanhuagu was something that couldn’t be easily explained away, and her goal was to make everyone notice those details.
After that, she wouldn’t need to do anything. Those who wanted to drag down a brilliant rival like Hua Jian into the mud would take care of the rest.
“Soon, the Secret Realm will undergo a major change. Given Hua Jian’s personality, she won’t stay out of it. When she achieves great merit only to be betrayed by those Saint Sect disciples, I think she’ll understand where her true home lies.”
“…You people really are terrifying.” Sword Hero gave a light snort, but he had to admit this was the classic style of Wanhuagu.
Wanhuagu only needed to flap its wings; the subsequent hurricane was merely the result of many chain reactions.
This time, Wanhuagu’s goal happened to align with his own. Neither of them wanted the Saint Sect to have Hua Jian, and that was enough.
As for whether Sword Hero wanted to snatch Hua Jian for his own sect… Hah, that was just a pipe dream.
Given Wanhuagu’s setup, they had been eyeing Hua Jian for a long time. No outsider could possibly steal her from them.
“She wasn’t even supposed to be here. Who knew such an accident would occur?” Xia Hui sighed.
According to Wanhuagu’s original plan, Hua Jian was supposed to slowly discover her deep ties to the valley and then seek them out on her own.
Who would have thought a Saintess of Yaochi would jump out and kidnap Hua Jian in a completely different direction, throwing Wanhuagu’s plans into chaos?
To avoid further complications, Wanhuagu decided to settle the matter in this Secret Realm, led by the valley’s strongest current disciple to ensure the plan was foolproof.
“Currently, our biggest threat is the Saintess of Yaochi. How many people do you still have in the Secret Realm? Try to find some trouble for that half-dragon woman.”
“Tsk, how would I know how many people are left? I only know a few.” Sword Hero rolled his eyes. He wasn’t a top leader, just a minor one in charge of one part of the Magic Path’s plan.
The different divisions didn’t report to each other, so he didn’t know how many others had infiltrated.
But the numbers wouldn’t be too high; after all, available identities and auras were limited.
Speaking of which, this was Wanhuagu’s fault.
“You don’t know how many people you’ve given disguise techniques to?”
Wanhuagu’s disguise technique, which could transform one person completely into another, was indeed powerful, but its requirements were extremely strict.
“Your own poor performance made the Hudaosi suspicious, and now you’re blaming us?” Xia Hui sneered but didn’t intend to waste time on this topic. “In any case, these are the things you need to do. Any objections?”
Sword Hero naturally had none.
Spreading rumors was one of the simplest tasks, especially since Xia Hui had given him a very clear path: let Zhao Ming do it.
That made it even easier. His people didn’t even need to say much; a little nudge to Zhao Ming would turn that man, who had been knocked from grace by Hua Jian, into a mad dog tearing at her.
“By the way, give this to Zhao Ming. It will temporarily restore some of his strength.” Xia Hui tossed a small bottle to Sword Hero.
“Oh? You’re being this kind?” Sword Hero took the bottle, knowing that once Zhao Ming consumed its contents, he would surely end up in a state worse than death.
Wanhuagu never did business at a loss.
“Just letting a dying man exert as much value as possible before his end.” Xia Hui chuckled, walking a few steps forward with her hands behind her back before turning around to give Sword Hero a sinister smile.
“I know you didn’t take the pill I gave you. You’re quite clever.”
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Sword Hero’s forehead.