Of course, Miss Hua Jian didn’t enter the Territory of the Spirit Beast looking like such an unbearable sight.
She first soaked her black robe in disguise materials, then wrapped herself in the black robe before entering the Territory.
It turned out that this method was extremely effective. She wandered around the Spirit Beast Territory for quite a while, and no Spirit Beast came chasing after her.
To test just how effective this method really was, Hua Jian even tried digging up a Lingcao within the Spirit Beast Territory.
But this time, the result was less than satisfactory. After digging up the Lingcao, Hua Jian heard the roar of a Spirit Beast from afar—she had already alerted it.
Quickly, she dove into a nearby lake, and only after the enraged Spirit Beast left did she poke her head out of the water.
At that moment, several cultivators nearby recognized her and began accusing Hua Jian of endangering many of their comrades.
Hearing this, Hua Jian couldn’t help but smirk. It was clearly her own incompetence, so why were they blaming her? Besides, she hadn’t said anything wrong—Spirit Beasts did indeed track their targets by scent.
You can’t disguise yourself as Lingcao or a Spirit Beast, then blame me for giving the correct advice? Disgusting!
“Hmph, I haven’t told a single lie. If they got chased by Spirit Beasts, it’s because they lack strength,” Hua Jian said as she pulled the Lingcao she just dug out from her Storage Pouch, holding it up for everyone to see.
“This is the treasure I obtained from the Spirit Beast Territory. If you can’t do it, that’s because you’re weak and clueless!”
With that, Hua Jian flew away amid the astonished gazes of the crowd.
Her words and actions truly shook those cultivators who had survived two attempts at temptation.
So there really are treasures in the Spirit Beast Territory? And there really is a way to get those treasures right under the Spirit Beasts’ noses?
But… if such a thing exists, why did that person tell them about it?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to guard the secret tightly and prevent any leaks?
“I get it!” a cultivator suddenly shouted, “Her method must have flaws, or else why was she chased by the Spirit Beast?”
“It’s very likely that her method only fools the Spirit Beasts temporarily. Once you start collecting treasures, the Spirit Beasts notice… She’s egging us on to enter the Spirit Beast Territory just to buy herself time!”
It all made sense now!
That person wasn’t acting out of goodwill but wanted to use them as expendable bait to delay the Spirit Beasts, exchanging their lives for greater profit.
Truly ill-intentioned!
“So what should we do?”
“Hmph, naturally we can’t let her succeed. She can fool the Spirit Beasts temporarily, but we can’t,” the cultivator who saw through Hua Jian’s scheme sneered coldly. “We won’t fall for her trap and die for nothing.”
One life is worth a hundred Spirit Stones; such a loss was utterly unacceptable for these cultivators.
“Let her deal with the Spirit Beasts if she wants. If she really gets some treasure… hmph, there will be plenty of people to deal with her!”
Recently, a sizable group of cultivators appeared in the Secret Realm, rampaging under the banner of hunting down Demonic Cultivators.
If they learned about this place and that someone could enter the Spirit Beast Territory to hunt for treasures, that would be very interesting.
……
“As long as you don’t do anything a Spirit Beast or Lingcao wouldn’t do, you won’t be suspected. In other words, before entering the Spirit Beast nest to search for treasures, you can completely evade the Spirit Beasts’ senses. It’s perfectly safe.”
After rinsing her black robe with the Ling Water Pearl Linglong gave her, Hua Jian said this to Linglong.
“You continue to attract the Spirit Beasts’ attention for the next few days. I’ll enter the Spirit Beast Territory to scout out the exact situation inside.”
The method to draw the Spirit Beasts’ hatred was set, and the way to evade their perception was ready. All conditions were met to send Linglong into the Spirit Beast Territory to find the True Dragon Scale.
To increase the plan’s success rate, Hua Jian decided to make one more preparation. Before the plan officially started, she would help Linglong draw a map of the Spirit Beast Territory.
Otherwise, what if Linglong went into the territory blind and couldn’t find the Spirit Beast nest?
How many clueless newbies have gotten lost in radar-shielded zones already?
So Hua Jian wanted to create a simple map for Linglong, allowing her to reach the Spirit Beast’s nest and find the treasure as quickly as possible.
This would also ease some of the pressure on Linglong.
“By the way, the arrays I set up throughout the Secret Realm are being destroyed one by one. Those who’ve got it out for me sure have some persistence.”
Hua Jian clicked her tongue lightly. Every time an Array of Bewilderment was destroyed, she could feel it. These arrays were painstakingly set up as her fallback, so seeing them broken one by one was a bit painful.
“But as long as you don’t appear again, they won’t find you.”
“I have to leave through the Spatial Gate eventually. If they block it… that would be troublesome.” Hua Jian pursed her lips, already thinking about how to deal with those lurking near the exit.
Storage Pouches can’t be placed inside other Storage Pouches, which meant she couldn’t stash the Storage Pouches she’d stolen from other cultivators inside her own. She’d have to rely on Space Stones to shatter and bring them out of the Secret Realm directly.
If she wanted to bring these treasures out, she had to retreat through the Spatial Gate.
“Besides, I think the Dragon Scale you’re after won’t be any easier. They won’t let you just take it out of the Secret Realm so easily.”
Even Hua Jian’s Mirage Incense was stored inside a Storage Pouch, forcing the cultivators who obtained it to retreat through the Spatial Gate. The even more precious True Dragon Scale would definitely be the same.
“Or do you have a way to absorb the Dragon Scale directly inside the Secret Realm?”
Linglong shook her head. The Dragon Scale wasn’t like Mirage Incense; even she needed to return to the Sect and have the elders handle the Dragon Scale before it could be absorbed.
“Impossible.”
“Then we have to plan our retreat well. Getting the treasure isn’t the end—the safe withdrawal is the ultimate goal…”
In the Secret Realm, searching and fighting are important, but if you can’t escape, those things mean nothing.
And the tactic of ambushing others at the withdrawal point to snatch their treasures wasn’t something only Hua Jian thought of. Many cultivators had done this before her.
The last time Hua Jian escaped through the Spatial Gate, she was almost ambushed herself. Fortunately, she was more skilled and turned the tables, getting a little extra meal before leaving.
“Saintess Daren, how many can you fight alone?” The most important factor was Linglong’s combat power.
If Linglong could take on ten opponents at once, Hua Jian’s pressure would lessen significantly.
“If it’s all together… six or seven,” Linglong thought for a moment before giving a relatively conservative number.
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