Boom!
Awooo!
Boom, boom, boom!
Blinding lightning clashed with violet flames in the jungle, erupting with a thunderous commotion.
The cultivators hidden among the trees craned their necks toward the source of the battle sounds. Was that person fighting the Spirit King Black Tiger again?
Just as Hua Jian had thought, the commotion from Linglong’s battle with the Spirit Beast drew plenty of onlookers.
Everyone wanted to see what Linglong was up to, and why she was fighting that Spirit Beast.
If possible, they’d love to see Linglong and the Spirit Beast both end up wounded, so they could swoop in and reap the rewards.
Everyone knew there were valuable things within the Territory of the Spirit Beast, but the Spirit Beast’s strength was simply overwhelming— they didn’t dare enter and explore.
And today, yet more cultivators had been drawn over by the uproar.
“What a racket! Which clueless fool provoked that Spirit Beast this time?”
A white-clad girl wearing a veil stood atop a treetop, gazing curiously in the direction of the fierce battle.
The male cultivator beside her, observing the scene intently, instantly realized that this white-clad girl must be an old hand at this as well.
The idea he’d just had about tricking her was quickly squashed.
“You’re late, so you don’t know. That person has already fought with this Spirit Beast for several days, always at this time. They exchange a few blows and then she runs away.”
“Wow, to escape from that Spirit Beast’s clutches— she’s no ordinary person.”
“I’m guessing she’s a Disciple of a Great Sect out here for experience. Tch, I really envy those geniuses.”
Their conversation piqued the interest of the cultivators around them.
Since they were squatting here anyway, they might as well chat and brag a bit— maybe even make some friends to explore higher-level, more dangerous Secret Realms together in the future.
“That genius probably got tricked by the Linglong Pavilion, coming to this Secret Realm to search for a Dragon Scale.”
“Dragon Scale? You guys don’t really believe the Linglong Pavilion would put such a treasure in this Secret Realm, do you?”
“I think it’s real. Maybe it’s hidden in the Spirit Beast’s lair to lure us in.”
The cultivators chattered noisily, but their opinions were pretty much unanimous: the Linglong Pavilion was full of tricks, and even if the Secret Realm had a Dragon Scale, it was just bait to lure them into the Territory of the Spirit Beast and get them killed.
The white-clad girl who had just joined the group mixed in happily, echoing everyone’s complaints and joining in on the verbal bashing of the Linglong Pavilion.
Cursing those scheming planners— she was well-practiced at it!
Naturally, the white-clad girl was Hua Jian. Since Linglong was off provoking the Spirit Beast and gathering information for her, Hua Jian had to do her part over here.
In the Secret Realm, people weren’t necessarily any safer than Spirit Beasts.
If other cultivators interfered with her and Linglong’s plan, their chances of success would be hard to predict.
So Hua Jian came to sound out these cultivators and see what they were really thinking.
And the results put her somewhat at ease. It seemed these cultivators weren’t paying much attention to the matter.
They all thought Linglong was just another overconfident genius trying to seek treasure in the Spirit Beast Lair.
Many cultivators entering this Secret Realm for the first time made this mistake, but after being sent out by the Spirit Beast once, they’d realize just how foolish they’d been.
Now, these cultivators looked at Linglong the same way— except Linglong was truly powerful, far stronger than any of them.
She was someone who could clash briefly with a Spirit Beast and walk away unscathed.
“I don’t think this person’s goal is treasure hunting,” Hua Jian said as the discussion reached its peak.
Her words drew astonished looks from the others. They couldn’t understand how Hua Jian could say something so unreasonable.
Why else enter a Secret Realm, if not to seek treasure?
If not for treasure, why provoke the Spirit Beast— was she just itching for a beating?
But Hua Jian’s reasoning was solid. “According to you, that person has never entered the Territory of the Spirit Beast. If her goal was to find treasure, why would she hang around the outskirts and never go in?”
Every time, Linglong used thunder to lure the Spirit Beast out to fight, rather than entering its territory.
That kind of behavior didn’t seem related to treasure hunting at all.
“You all said she might be from a Great Sect. Would someone like that even care about a hundred Spirit Stones? Maybe, in her eyes, using a hundred Spirit Stones as a protective charm to challenge a Spirit Beast above her level is actually a great deal.”
Ordinary cultivators coming here to earn money would never do such a thing— provoking this Spirit Beast brought nothing but trouble, not a single benefit.
But Disciples of Great Sects were different. They had wealth and time to spare, and challenging high-level Spirit Beasts to stimulate their potential made perfect sense.
This explanation left the cultivators silent.
You know, it actually sounded pretty reasonable.
They weren’t Disciples of Great Sects themselves, so how could they know what those lofty folks were thinking?
“Well…”
“Of course, I’m just guessing. Maybe she wants us to let our guard down so she can sneak into the Spirit Beast Lair… Hey, come to think of it, could we take a stroll through the Territory of the Spirit Beast while she’s fighting it?”
Hua Jian slapped her palm, feigning sudden inspiration, as if she’d just thought up this brilliant idea.
The cultivators looked at each other, feeling this sounded a bit dangerous.
That was the Territory of the Spirit Beast, after all. No cultivator who’d dared enter before had made it out alive.
Even if someone else was distracting the Spirit Beast this time, they still felt uneasy— not quite brave enough to explore the Territory of the Spirit Beast.
“But I don’t have the guts for that. That Spirit Beast is terrifying. I haven’t even made back my costs this trip,” Hua Jian quickly distanced herself after raising the topic, saying she was just talking.
It was a realistic reason, and everyone found it reasonable.
But just because Hua Jian wouldn’t go didn’t mean the other cultivators, now intrigued by her words, wouldn’t.
They hadn’t thought of this before and had only planned to profit as bystanders.
Now, after Hua Jian’s suggestion, it seemed they didn’t need to wait for the cultivator and Spirit Beast to both be injured to benefit.
As long as the fight started, they could slip into the Territory of the Spirit Beast and see if there were any treasures inside— low risk, high reward, worth a gamble!
Noticing the greedy glimmer in several cultivators’ eyes around her, Hua Jian’s lips curled slightly beneath her veil. It seemed some greedy fish had taken the bait.
They thought Linglong would play the perfect decoy, drawing the Spirit Beast’s attention.
But if tomorrow Linglong acted a little, got defeated a little faster, their expressions when they faced the Spirit Beast themselves would definitely be interesting.