Because of the suppression by the Spirit Beasts, no one had ever dared to venture into the most prosperous Core Region of the entire Secret Realm.
If Miss Hua Jian could figure out how to enter the Core Region, then that entire core area would belong to her. Ransacking the place could easily yield thousands of Spirit Stones.
Surely, such a vast core Territory wouldn’t be devoid of even a few Jinfenghua or Qianzhang Mushrooms?
If that were the case, Hua Jian would truly be flying away with the horse from the Linglong Pavilion.
“Hehehe, feasting on the entire Core Region!” At the thought of this wonderful future, Hua Jian began to worry that her Storage Pouch might not be large enough. What if she found some huge treasure that couldn’t fit inside?
Ah, what a happy problem to have.
Seeing Hua Jian completely lost in her own world, Linglong felt she might need to make Hua Jian change this habit of hers — getting carried away so easily.
The matter hadn’t even started properly, yet she was already giggling and celebrating a victory prematurely.
“Even if you find a way to remove the Spirit Mark, you still can’t stay long in the Spirit Beast Territory,” Linglong reminded Hua Jian of the main difficulty.
Removing the flames on her body was a strategy for escaping when being hunted by the Spirit Beast.
But how to avoid alerting the Spirit Beast in the first place was the real problem they needed to solve now.
The Spirit Beast’s lair was located at the very center of its Territory.
Linglong would need some time to enter, and judging by how seriously this Spirit Beast guarded its Territory, she would probably be discovered and chased out before even reaching the center.
“What? You’re asking why Linglong doesn’t just use Thunder Escape to speed through?”
Please, just because the Spirit Beast uses Purple Flame to seek its prey doesn’t mean it only relies on Purple Flame.
If thunder suddenly rumbled through its Territory, wouldn’t it know someone barged into its home?
In that case, Linglong wouldn’t be sneaking in to steal—it would be outright robbery.
That’s an order of magnitude harder than sneaking around quietly.
“There must be a way to solve this. We still have plenty of time. If worse comes to worst, we’ll just try every clumsy method one by one.”
“Right now, what I need to confirm is whether I can use this method to eliminate the Spirit Beast’s Hostility toward me. If that works, then I’ll have countless chances to try again and again until I find the right solution.”
……
The next day, Linglong once again struck thunder just outside the Spirit Beast Territory to lure the beast over.
Meanwhile, Hua Jian stayed where the Cultivator had been attacked by the Spirit Beast yesterday, cautiously watching it.
Her attire was roughly the same as when she fled in panic the day before. If the Spirit Beast judged Hostility by eyesight, she would surely have been attacked on sight.
But to her great delight, the Spirit Beast didn’t even glance at her upon arrival. It immediately launched into a fierce battle with Linglong.
Ah, so the key really was the flame that had been washed away by the Ling Water Pearl!
Thinking this, Hua Jian quietly slipped away again, unnoticed by any Cultivators, to conduct today’s experiment inside the Spirit Beast Territory.
Soon enough, she was caught by the returning Spirit Beast and barely escaped by tumbling head over heels into the nearby Lake.
Thankfully, she had chosen a spot close to the Lake; otherwise, she might not have escaped at all.
Linglong Pavilion had deliberately placed such a Spirit Beast right in the Core Region of the Secret Realm— truly sinister.
It was as if they didn’t want ordinary Cultivators to have any chance at all. The area outside the Core Region was so barren that people could only survive by farming.
But with Spirit Beasts guarding the Core Region, any Cultivator who entered would die one by one.
The Linglong Pavilion was truly despicable!
Only after eliminating the Spirit Beast’s Hostility did Hua Jian sheepishly poke her head out from the water and glance around.
Some Cultivators were still crouching in the thickets watching the spectacle. Seeing Hua Jian emerge from the water, they cast curious glances her way.
After the tragic incident two days ago, it was surprising that someone dared to explore the Spirit Beast Territory. To be honest, this person was really bold.
But why was she wrapped up so thoroughly? Was she trying to confuse the Spirit Beast’s perception that way?
“Fellow Daoist, aren’t you afraid the Spirit Beast will send you out of the Secret Realm empty-handed?” a Cultivator shouted at Hua Jian.
This question made Hua Jian burst out laughing. After composing herself, she responded in a disguised voice she had learned long ago for making a living: “Not afraid. The Core Region of this Secret Realm is so rich in resources. I simply can’t miss this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.”
“To be frank, I’ve already discovered the reason the Spirit Beasts hold grudges—they rely on scent to tell if someone has entered the Secret Realm. As long as we can eliminate that scent, we won’t have to worry about the Spirit Beasts’ Hostility anymore!”
Hua Jian’s eyes darted cunningly. Lies came as easily as opening her mouth.
These gawking Cultivators were really troublesome. It was better to get rid of some of them sooner rather than later.
She could use this fake information to lure them into the Spirit Beast Territory to be sacrificed— simple and efficient.
The gathered Cultivators exchanged looks, surprised Hua Jian was so generous as to share such vital intelligence.
“You’re not trying to drag us down with you, are you?” a wary Cultivator loudly accused.
Those greedy souls hadn’t even been gone two days yet, and their fear still lingered.
“Look at what you’re saying. You’re standing here now— don’t tell me you don’t have any other thoughts? If I had found a way to get rid of the Spirit Beasts’ Hostility, would I even need to tell you all about it?” Hua Jian snorted coldly, her tone filled with displeasure.
It was like a great person wounded by harsh words, now disheartened and unwilling to do any more good.
Hearing this, the nearby Cultivators exchanged glances and felt Hua Jian wasn’t lying.
What she said fit their impression of Spirit Beasts perfectly—it was only natural for them to judge whether someone had entered their Territory by scent.
Upon hearing this news, several Cultivators who possessed spells to mask their own aura lit up with excitement.
Perhaps one of them was the Heaven’s Chosen! The resources of an entire Secret Realm Core Region were at stake!
Maybe… they’d try it tomorrow?
……
“I can confirm it now—the Spirit Beasts do indeed rely on this thing to determine Hostility.”
Hua Jian took out tiny sparks, no bigger than specks of dust, from her clothing and began sharing her findings from the day with Linglong.
Before entering the Spirit Beast Territory, she had completely enveloped herself with a Wood-Type Spiritual Barrier.
Under such conditions, the moment she stepped inside the Spirit Beast Territory, she felt her Spirit Energy draining rapidly.
The Wood Spirit Energy barrier was being attacked by scorching assaults from all directions, forcing Hua Jian to withdraw it.
Otherwise, she would have run out of energy to even escape.
But this consumption wasn’t wasted. She had successfully captured the source of those attacks: these tiny Spark particles.