Did Hua Jian make a profit this time?
She did.
After returning to Linglong Pavilion and carefully reviewing the contents of the Jade Slip, Hua Jian had to admit that the Old Hag really knew how to sell things.
Age does bring wisdom, and that Old Ginger was definitely on a whole different level of cunning.
Inside was indeed a fragmented Escape Technique, and it actually matched well with Hua Jian’s own affinity. But the idea of completing it was nothing short of fantasy.
She could only extract some usable parts from it and try to integrate them into the Escape Technique she currently used.
“This section is relatively complete; it should be able to produce sufficient effect…”
In her mind, Hua Jian painstakingly constructed a Spiritual Power model of the technique bit by bit, carefully dismantling the more intact parts and attempting to merge them into her own Escape Technique.
This was rather draining. It took Hua Jian a full two days just to absorb the partial fragments of the broken technique into her own. That was almost longer than the time it took her back then to begin cultivation by painstakingly studying a cultivation Pillow Book under her bed.
Cultivators releasing Spirit Techniques don’t just think “I want to cast a Fireball” and have the Spiritual Power automatically coalesce into a fireball.
In fact, the vast majority of Spirit Techniques are extremely complex, requiring cultivators to have an incredibly precise control over their Spiritual Power to execute them. Even the lowest-rank Spirit Techniques used by entry-level cultivators involve mental effort comparable to those Mathematics Problems Hua Jian had struggled with in her past life.
As for higher-level Spirit Techniques, they are terrifyingly intricate to the point that ordinary people feel dizzy just from glancing at them.
Without instruction from a sect, most roaming cultivators can only master some of the simpler Spirit Techniques; anything more complicated easily stumps them.
After all, Spirit Techniques are like math problems — it’s not that one is completely incapable, but rather that one has no clue where to start.
“Feihua Dun… the name’s actually quite nice.” Hua Jian muttered softly as she stuffed the now-drained old Jade Slip into her Storage Pouch.
After absorbing the remaining parts of Feihua Dun, her Escape Technique improved noticeably: the petals swirling around her when she ran now shimmered with rainbow colors!
Ahem, you have to admit that this rare visual upgrade is pretty impressive ().
Four Spirit Stones spent just to color her Spirit Technique — Hua Jian felt like she’d just fed her Spirit Stones to the dogs. Next time she met that Old Hag, she was definitely not getting scammed again!
Forget about transmigrators casually snagging deals while shopping. That was nonexistent. She only ever got swindled by those old immortals.
Standing up from the meditation cushion, Hua Jian stretched and pushed open the door to leave her room.
Linglong Pavilion was still bustling as ever, with cultivators entering the secret realm full of hope, and others leaving with downcast faces as if they’d lost their closest kin.
The secret realm was like a casino — some might strike it rich overnight, but overnight riches were more myth than reality.
Smart Hua Jian knew from the start that merely digging up spirit herbs and slaying spirit beasts wouldn’t recoup the investment. Only by targeting other cultivators was there a chance to break even.
Still, many young and impulsive cultivators believed themselves to be the destined ones who would find hidden treasures in the secret realm and suddenly ascend into the Sacred Sect to win the favor of a Beautiful Senior Sister.
To that, Hua Jian could only silently hope for more of these naive hopefuls; each one was at least worth five Spirit Stones.
Halfway down the corridor, she bumped into a grim-faced Ma Shijie, who grabbed her by the collar and dragged her back.
“Ah, I’m about to be sent back to Penglai.”
“Ah?!”
Ma Shijie’s first words shocked Hua Jian. Had Ma Shijie made some grave mistake? Why was she being sent back to Penglai?
But Ma Shijie’s following explanation only made Hua Jian’s expression awkward.
The main reason Ma Shijie was being sent back was because of that genuine dragon scale Linglong had taken.
From the beginning, Linglong Pavilion never really intended to part with the dragon scale; it was meant to be a mere display piece.
No one expected Linglong to suddenly appear halfway through, defeat the spirit beast in a flash, and snatch the dragon scale.
What made it worse was that Linglong was the Saintess of the Yaoci Sect — Linglong Pavilion simply dared not renege on handing over what she’d taken and had to begrudgingly accept it.
Because of this, the Pavilion’s High Echelon was furious, and Ma Shijie, as the secret realm supervisor, was inevitably punished — she was directly expelled from Linglong Pavilion and sent back to Penglai.
“That secret realm will have a new person in charge from now on, so you can’t stay here anymore either,” Ma Shijie said awkwardly to Hua Jian.
The free room and board Hua Jian had been enjoying was courtesy of Ma Shijie, who used the excuse of cooperating with the Dao Protection Division’s investigation into demonic cultivation. That excuse held while Ma Shijie was around, but without her, it wouldn’t fly.
“That’s no problem. I’ll just find a nearby inn to stay…”
“No need, no need. If you don’t mind, you can come stay at our Penglai outpost,” Ma Shijie quickly interrupted, reassuring Hua Jian that she wasn’t dead, just expelled.
After all, Ma Shijie was a Ling Emperor-level cultivator, a core strength in the cultivation world. Linglong Pavilion was just a side gig and a place to relax; Penglai was her real home.
Bringing a talented younger sister back to the outpost earned Ma Shijie praise from the Penglai elders — finally snatching some spoils from the damned Yaoci Sect’s grasp.
“Uh, isn’t that a bit much?” Hua Jian hesitated. Ma Shijie seemed to be treating her too well.
“There’s nothing wrong with it. Our Penglai outpost here shares space with Wanling Gate. It’s common to bring friends made outside back for a couple of days. What I’m doing isn’t unusual.”
Ma Shijie explained that cultivators understood human relationships. Disciples of the Sacred Sect, especially those from the outer sect, weren’t so aloof.
They didn’t mind making friends with other cultivators; more friends meant more paths forward.
“Besides, the secret realm token you have requires a specific formation to activate. If you go stay at an inn alone, how do you plan to handle that formation?”
Ma Shijie’s concern over Hua Jian’s next secret realm excursion wasn’t due to kindness, but because she’d accepted a bribe from Senior Sister Xia and needed to ensure Hua Jian’s smooth entry.
“Don’t overthink it. Tomorrow, come with me and Xiao Xiao to the outpost. And if you really feel bad about it… just think about joining Penglai next year,” Ma Shijie said cheerfully.
A little genius favored by Yaoci — if she could successfully snatch some spoils from the tiger’s mouth, the elders’ reward wouldn’t be small.
To Ma Shijie, Hua Jian was no longer just a person, but a gold mine waiting to be tapped!
Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity wasn’t something she’d let slip away.