Chapter 42: Sacred Sect

Dingling~

“Yo, I heard you’ve been feeling a bit lost lately. Want big sister to give you some guidance?”

The door to the room was thrown open with a bold push, and Ma Shijie strode in energetically, looking at Hua Jian, who was absentmindedly plucking flower petals.

“Ma Jiejie, don’t make fun of me. I’m really annoyed right now,” Hua Jian replied weakly, resting her head on the table.

She felt like a little mouse who had just managed to stash away some savings, only to suddenly discover a new map with higher loot rates but much greater risks had opened up. If she didn’t go, it felt like a missed opportunity; if she did, she worried she’d lose everything.

To make money, she needed something simpler. How could she possibly earn anything in such a huge, dangerous place?

“Three hundred Spirit Stones for a chance to enter the Secret Realm—that’s a good deal that many wouldn’t even dare to dream of. Want me to run the numbers for you?”

“Okay.”

“The last Secret Realm you entered cost a hundred Spirit Stones each time, but the resources there were pretty scarce, right?”

“Right.”

“But the one that Xia Xuan from Yaoci gave you the Sacred Sect Entry Token for—the resources in that Secret Realm are dozens or even hundreds of times more abundant. There might even be higher-grade spiritual treasures.”

Ma Shijie counted off the possible treasures with her fingers as she explained. Each one made Hua Jian’s eyes light up a little more.

And these were all treasures that would greatly benefit her cultivation, which made Hua Jian even more tempted.

“I’ve heard rumors about that Secret Realm—it’s said to be the capital city of an ancient dynasty from thousands of years ago, so there should be no shortage of treasures inside.” Ma Shijie then pointed at the ancient book Hua Jian had on the table. “You can find many such books in there as well.”

Hua Jian liked earning Spirit Stones, and she also enjoyed collecting odd little trinkets, like strange secret recipes or ancient books that seemed useless but actually were just that—useless.

Just like a Hoarding Mouse!

“Making back three hundred Spirit Stones in a place like that is a piece of cake. If you’re lucky, some Saint Sect might even notice you and recruit you under their wing.”

“Saint Sect… Ma Jiejie, what exactly is a Saint Sect like?”

Hua Jian knew Ma Shijie was a disciple of the Penglai Sacred Sect and wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about the Saint Sect.

“It’s like this—actually, a lot of people imagine the Saint Sect as something way too grand. The truth is, they’re not aloof at all. They’re quite down-to-earth.”

Ma Shijie perked up, clearly enjoying herself. One of her favorite things these days was bragging to naive little cultivators.

Telling them funny little stories about the Saint Sect, gaining their admiration and awe. Maybe she could even convince a few prodigies to join her sect—a guaranteed win.

“Do you think everyone in the Saint Sect is solely focused on cultivation, with such a stiff atmosphere that you can barely breathe?”

“Isn’t that the case?”

“That’s true for those middle-tier sects, but not the Saint Sect. Apart from the geniuses who are truly determined to transcend and ascend to immortality, everyone else is pretty normal. They play when it’s time to play, cultivate when it’s time to cultivate, and get the tasks assigned by the sect done…”

While she spoke, Ma Shijie pulled a small green bottle out of her storage pouch and smiled at Hua Jian. “Guess what this is?”

The little bottle looked a bit like the ones Linglong used to store pills, so Hua Jian guessed it must contain some kind of elixir.

But when Ma Shijie removed the seal, Hua Jian realized it was actually filled with wine.

“Our specialty in Penglai is wine. Many disciples in the sect can’t live without it; they get drunk every day, stumbling around the sect until the Enforcer Team drags them to the Drunkard Prison to sober up, haha…”

Penglai was a sect of drunkards? Hua Jian blinked, surprised—it was so different from the Saint Sect she’d imagined.

“There’s also Yaoci, full of vain folks. All those perfumes and fragrant spiritual garments that fill the cultivation world? Most of them come from Yaoci—they’re beautiful but useless.”

“The Jian Sect is a bunch of fools. They parade around with their swords everywhere, always causing trouble.”

“The Wanling Sect is unmatched when it comes to raising Spirit Beasts and Lingcao, but the people there are eccentric, with fierce internal conflicts. I heard once an inner disciple’s ox ate another inner disciple’s grass, and the two sides fought each other right then and there.”

“Oh right, almost forgot Tiandao Sect. They used to be wealthy, but sadly they’ve declined now…”

Listening to Ma Shijie’s half-hearted roast of the Five Great Sacred Sects, Hua Jian couldn’t help but crack a smile.

So this is what the Saint Sect was like?

Not nearly as terrifying as she had imagined.

“Here, want to try some?”

Still deep in thought, Hua Jian reflexively reached out to take the small cup Ma Shijie handed her—and only then did she realize what was inside.

“Wine?!”

“This is Penglai’s Hundred Flower Wine, brewed from a hundred kinds of Lingcao and spirit flowers. It doesn’t get you drunk and can even prolong life.”

Looking up at Ma Shijie’s face, full of mischief like she wanted to corrupt a good kid, Hua Jian felt something was off.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t drunk before. Back when she was struggling to get by, she drank when she had to, and she had decent tolerance.

But this spirit wine smelled extraordinary. If she drank it in one gulp, would she pass out immediately?

“Just try it. It’s delicious,” Ma Shijie coaxed.

Under such enthusiasm, Hua Jian couldn’t resist the temptation. Thinking it was just a sip, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Gulp—she drank the transparent liquid in the small cup in one go.

Just as Ma Shijie said, the Hundred Flower Wine was indeed fragrant and sweet, and as it touched her tongue, she felt as if she were immersed in a sea of blossoms, surrounded by the scent of hundreds of flowers.

Hua Jian felt like a butterfly fluttering through this sea of flowers, dizzy and lightheaded, her mind going blank.

“You guessed right. It really is a special constitution.”

Watching Hua Jian take a sip of the spirit wine and immediately slump over the table, fast asleep, Ma Shijie called out toward the door.

Xia Xuan silently slipped into the room, which was now filled with the scent of flowers, almost giving the illusion of being in the heart of a floral sea.

“Using such a precious thing to test her constitution—you’re bold,” Xia Xuan said without looking at Ma Shijie.

“Because I know you’ll give me something better as compensation. I know how generous Yaoci is.”

“Oh? You didn’t say that earlier.”

“Different times, different words. But I must warn you, I won’t keep your Yaoci’s secrets. This little one might not even belong to you.”

“Then you don’t need to worry about that.”