Surrounded and chased by so many cultivators, was Miss Hua Jian feeling pressured?
Actually… not much.
At this stage, where few cultivators mastered Escape Techniques, having such a technique was like riding a motorcycle among pedestrians.
As long as she wanted to run, this group simply couldn’t stop her.
If she didn’t want to lure these people little by little into the trap she set, she would have already lost them long ago.
As for the mist dispelled by the Antidote Pill, that was hardly mist at all — just ordinary water vapor.
Hua Jian wasn’t about to waste much energy on it at this stage of baiting the enemy deeper.
Linglong had already sneaked deep into the Spirit Beast Territory beforehand.
According to their agreement, Hua Jian would activate the Array of Bewilderment at midnight, trapping both the Spirit Beasts and the nearby cultivators, giving Linglong a chance to act.
And now, the agreed time was fast approaching.
Leading these cultivators closer and closer to the Spirit Beast Territory, Hua Jian quietly activated her spiritual power and subtly altered the pursuers’ perception using the Forest Maze.
She didn’t change much — just enough to blur their sense of distance.
These pursuers were experienced Secret Realm explorers who had a general understanding of the boundaries of the Spirit Beast Territory.
Even under the dim moonless night, they wouldn’t easily wander into danger.
But with this small trick from Hua Jian, without exception, all of them fell into her trap, becoming bait for the Spirit Beasts.
“Hahaha, you’re all dead!” Once they fully entered the Spirit Beast Territory, Hua Jian stopped and turned around to sneer arrogantly at them.
“You little thief, you still have the nerve to spout nonsense? Watch us act as the heavens’ justice…”
“Look beneath your feet. Don’t you find this place strangely unfamiliar?” Hua Jian interrupted the pursuer’s scolding and reminded him to check what he was stepping on.
Did I say you were dead? Did you really think I was lying?
Who said I had to get my hands dirty? Using the neutral resources within the Secret Realm to kill is still killing, isn’t it?
When the pursuers looked back, as their sense of distance returned, their expressions turned pale instantly. Damn it — they’d fallen into the trap!
That damned scoundrel had lured them into the Spirit Beast Territory, trying to drag them to their deaths!
So ruthless — no wonder the Alliance Leader Lu called him someone who might be a demonic cultivator.
“If we die, you die too. Do you have a way to escape the Spirit Beasts’ hunt…?”
“Coincidentally, I really do have a way to avoid being hunted by the Spirit Beasts. Hahaha!”
“Damn it, brothers, let’s all attack together. We can’t let this villain escape!”
Hua Jian’s confident laughter unsettled the pursuers. Could this villain really avoid the Spirit Beasts’ chase?
If that was true, then they were just handing themselves over. No, they had to kill this villain before the Spirit Beasts arrived!
The glow of spiritual power lit up the night sky as a fierce battle unfolded in the very heart of the Secret Realm’s Forbidden Zone.
……
“How did they manage to chase into the Spirit Beast Territory? That’s reckless!” Seeing most of the cultivators in the Alliance blindly following Hua Jian into the Spirit Beast Territory, Alliance Leader Lu immediately voiced his frustration.
“Brother Lu, what should we do? The Spirit Beasts are probably coming soon…”
“There’s no other way. We’ll all attack together. First, deal with that villain and take back our treasure!”
The Spirit Beasts would still take some time to arrive, and they had strength in numbers. Taking down one little thief wouldn’t take long.
As long as they defeated Hua Jian before the Spirit Beasts came and reclaimed their treasure from her, they’d still have a chance to temporarily dispel the Spirit Beasts’ hatred by retreating far enough from their Territory, possibly even escaping the Secret Realm through the Spatial Gate near the distant Lake.
The Spirit Beasts’ hatred wasn’t infinite in range. If they kept a sufficient distance from the Territory, even if they had been chased before, the beasts wouldn’t go through all the trouble to chase them across mountains and rivers.
“Good! Everyone, for the peace and order of the Secret Realm, let’s move out!”
……
In the pitch-black depths of the forest stood a hidden Nest burning with Purple Flame.
This was the Spirit Beasts’ home. Every night, they rested here to replenish their strength for the challenges of the next day.
But tonight, the Spirit Beasts’ peaceful slumber was disturbed.
A massive number of abnormal spiritual presences flooded their network of Fire Sparks perception, so many that the Spirit Beasts’ Fire Sparks couldn’t even distinguish exactly how many had invaded — only knowing that a whole area was currently filled with humans.
The Spirit Beasts weren’t very clever. Their first reaction was that these cultivators were trying to unite to hunt them down.
This had happened before, but the Spirit Beasts had made it clear with overwhelming strength: Spirit Masters shouldn’t even think about using numbers to kill a Ling King, especially weak Spirit Masters like them.
This time, it was probably another group of fearless fools.
Awakened by the noise in the middle of the night, the Spirit Beasts cursed and charged off into the distance, unaware that just nearby, a pair of golden eyes were fixed steadily on them.
Watching the Spirit Beasts leave, Linglong knew Hua Jian’s plan had officially begun.
According to their agreement, after the Spirit Beasts had left for the length of a single incense stick, she could enter the Nest to search.
Within two hours, she needed to finish the search and withdraw.
If all went smoothly, she would successfully leave the Secret Realm with the treasure before dawn.
Hopefully… everything would go according to plan.
……
“You little thief, don’t run! If you’ve got the guts, face us head-on!”
“Do I look stupid? You’ve got dozens of people, and I’m just one. If I don’t run, am I looking for death?”
As someone who often mocked others, Miss Hua Jian had a high tolerance for insults.
Facing the provocations from behind, she simply replied with one sentence: “If a few people can’t take down one, what else can you do besides pulling and tugging?”
I’m just waiting for my big daddy to show up. What are you all waiting for?
“Train more if you’re weak, learn more if you don’t know. You can’t catch me with dozens chasing one? Go back to your mother’s womb and get remade!”
“Bastard, I’ll kill you, ahhh!”
See? Just two simple sentences and Hua Jian had another person losing their cool. That’s what happens when your mental strength isn’t up to par. This guy was stuck at this level for life.
Of course, most of the cultivators kept their composure, and under Alliance Leader Lu’s command, gradually tightened the space around Hua Jian, pushing her into an inescapable predicament.
But this was only their so-called predicament.
After about the time it took to burn an incense stick, Hua Jian was completely surrounded in a small patch of forest with no escape route left.
“Scoundrel, today you’ll pay for everything you’ve done!” The triumphant Alliance Leader Lu shouted, not bothering with any pleasantries. “Everyone, attack! Purge the demon!”