The events that followed could only be described as a complete mess.
Hua Jian was wrapped tightly in Caidié’s arms, while the Wanling Sect cultivators, fixated on the spirit beasts—the Spirit Bee and Butterfly—beside Caidié, fell into deep thought.
Meanwhile, the spectators from Penglai and the Jian Sect grew increasingly curious about why Hua Jian, an outer sect disciple of Yaoci, was on such friendly terms with a direct disciple of Wanling Sect.
No, it wasn’t just Caidié—judging from Linglong’s recent behavior, Hua Jian’s relationship with Linglong was also quite good.
Where did this outer sect disciple get such charm?
“All right, all right, everyone’s still watching,” Hua Jian said, feeling somewhat uneasy under so many gazes, especially Linglong’s. The way Linglong looked at her was off—very off.
What kind of look was that?
It was like a wife who had faithfully waited alone in an empty house finally saw her husband return from a long journey, only to find him accompanied by a young, beautiful stranger.
Though the husband kept insisting they were just friends and that the woman was merely staying at their house for a couple of days, only a fool would believe such an explanation.
“Where did you go, Sister Hua Jian?” Caidié jumped down from Hua Jian and curiously asked, “And who is this sister? Her gaze is so scary.”
“This is Linglong, the Saintess of Yaoci. And that over there is a Wanling Sect inner sect senior brother—the one who caught you and wanted to hang you on the big pillar to show everyone you’re a bad kid.”
Hua Jian didn’t bother introducing the others since she didn’t know them well.
Upon hearing that, Caidié immediately looked at the Wanling Sect cultivator whose eyes kept darting around, her big watery eyes full of discontent.
“Bad person!”
“That… I… how could this be the direct disciple of Five Poisons Peak? I don’t believe it!” The Wanling Sect cultivator’s face twisted instantly upon being called that.
No matter how Wanling Sect prided itself as one of the Five Great Sacred Sects, to have a direct disciple like this was embarrassing—truly disgraceful!
Just look at Caidié. Where did she ever seem like a direct disciple? And her mismatched outfit from five sects—was she serious? Calling an outer sect disciple of Yaoci “sister”?
Ridiculous! Ancestors, please open your eyes and strike this embarrassing direct disciple down with a thunder tribulation!
“This is the token my master gave me!”
This seemed to trigger some special reaction—or maybe Caidié was trained on what to do when someone questioned her identity.
In any case, after the Wanling cultivator expressed her doubts, Caidié pulled out a small gray-black token from her storage pouch.
The moment the token appeared, a cold chill rose from everyone’s hearts, as if they were thrown into a den of snakes, watched by countless venomous eyes filled with menace.
Without a doubt, the token was genuine, and the Caidié who held it was unquestionably a direct disciple personally appointed by the Peak Lord of Five Poisons.
“So why did this little one come back with us?”
After Caidié revealed the token, the farce was completely over. Among everyone present, only Linglong—the Saintess of Yaoci and direct disciple of the Sect Leader—could surpass Caidié’s status.
The rest of the disciples couldn’t compare at all.
After all, sect elders were not casual in choosing disciples; most elders would only select a handful to cultivate throughout their lifetime.
And these newly inducted Spirit King-level cultivators of the Saint Sect were difficult to gain elders’ favor.
Logically, with the matter settled, and Caidié, after Hua Jian’s guidance, willing to return the stolen items and promising not to cause trouble again, everyone should have gone their separate ways.
Yet Caidié followed Hua Jian into Yaoci’s temporary camp instead of returning to Fanglingmen.
“Maybe she just prefers the atmosphere here over Wanling Sect?” Hua Jian chuckled awkwardly twice.
“Is that so? I think she came for you,” Linglong’s vertical pupils lingered on Hua Jian for a moment, then waved to dismiss the junior sisters in the reception room, asking them to take Caidié along as well.
“Speak. What exactly do you want from me?”
Linglong knew Hua Jian’s habits well; she wouldn’t come find her without a serious reason.
Just as Hua Jian had said before, she had been scouring the outer region of the Secret Realm for overlooked spiritual materials, trying to acquire resources with minimal risk.
Her plan was going smoothly, so why had she suddenly come to find Linglong?
There had to be something going on!
“I encountered a demonic cultivator in the outer region of the Secret Realm,” Hua Jian glanced around before lowering her voice to speak only to Linglong.
“A demonic cultivator… Where? What’s the strength level?”
“She brought me here and then left. I don’t know where she is now. As for her strength… Spirit King-level.”
A Spirit King-level demonic cultivator? Linglong immediately felt a headache coming.
She hadn’t been unprepared for demonic cultivators’ appearance—after all, this joint five sect Secret Realm expedition was a big deal, and demonic cultivators showing up to cause trouble was expected.
But a Spirit King-level demon sneaking in? That was seriously over the line.
…Wait!
Linglong suddenly noticed something troubling from Hua Jian’s words.
What did she mean by the demonic cultivator brought Hua Jian here and then left?
Hua Jian wasn’t saying she escaped after encountering the demonic cultivator—she was caught and brought here?
Was this demon’s sense of secrecy that poor? Didn’t she fear Hua Jian exposing her identity?
“You were captured but not harmed. Instead, she brought you here to tell me she’s in the Secret Realm. Is this a declaration of war?” Linglong’s face was unreadable, but if she were any more expressive, she’d look thoroughly confused.
Even if she wasn’t particularly bright—half her brain being muscle—she knew demonic cultivators eliminated all witnesses when infiltrating. There was no way they’d let a witness live to deliver a message.
“She seems to have mistaken me for her ally, thinking I’m from Wanhuagu. Is that also a demonic path?” Hua Jian scratched her head, still puzzled.
“Wanhuagu… I see.” Linglong tapped her chin thoughtfully, her eyes flashing with realization. That explanation fit.
“Wanhuagu is half demonic. Compared to other demonic paths, it’s safer—they specialize in covert infiltration. That demonic cultivator probably took you for a Wanhuagu operative planted within Yaoci.”
This conclusion was close to what Hua Jian had guessed, but that wasn’t the main point. The pressing issue was how to deal with this demonic cultivator.
“Do you have a way to contact the outside? A demonic cultivator has snuck in—that’s a huge crisis!” Hua Jian urged Linglong to quickly call for help and get the “cheater” kicked out.
Facing a cheat-level player head-on was unwise—if she had cheats, how could the unassisted little ones hope to defeat her?
The best approach was to report her directly, letting the higher-ups expel her from the Secret Realm and restore peace.
Among the people in the Secret Realm, Linglong, the Saintess of Yaoci, was the most likely to contact the outside.
Since Linglong was the only Saint Sect cultivator Hua Jian knew, coming to her made perfect sense.
Sure enough, her choice was right. Linglong indeed had the tools to reach outside. After hearing Hua Jian’s full account, she immediately contacted beyond the Secret Realm.
After a long wait, Linglong opened her eyes. “Master said… everything is under control. We don’t need to worry.”
“Is it really under control or just a bluff?” Hua Jian whispered.
Big shots always say that when faced with trouble, but who really knew if it was true?
The game’s official also claimed no cheating in the game. Could that be trusted?
“Master wouldn’t lie. She also said we can cooperate with that demonic cultivator to some extent.”
Linglong’s tone was puzzled, but since her master said so, she naturally followed orders.
Her master knew more than she did. Listening to her was better than acting smart on her own.
“Fine then. I’ll take the righteous side’s top forces and head to that Spirit King corpse…” Hua Jian shared what she’d discovered in the Secret Realm’s outer region. She planned to bring a full force to the Spirit King corpse.
Whether they could win, how to split spoils, or what the demonic cultivator would do next—none of that Hua Jian could predict.
If she could, she’d be a fortune teller by now.
“A lone Spirit King corpse outside? That’s indeed a tempting target.”
Most Spirit King enemies in the Secret Realm core region watch out for each other. When one is attacked, others nearby rush to assist.
This was why the sect’s current strategy was going poorly. Now, with a single isolated Spirit King enemy, it was very attractive.
Even without that conversation just now, Linglong would seriously consider leading people to attack the corpse.
Now, she had no hesitation at all.
Since Master told her to do it, of course she would listen!
After deciding, Linglong turned her attention to small matters she hadn’t had time to consider.
“Where are the things I gave you?”
God knew how upset she was when the Tracking Compass couldn’t find the items’ traces. If Hua Jian dared say she’d sold them, Linglong would sell Hua Jian instead!
“Of course, they’re stored outside the Secret Realm. Don’t worry. The storage place is the Saint Sect’s outpost—very safe!” Hua Jian thought Linglong was worried about the items’ safety and immediately patted her chest, assuring her she had it under control.
Such good things? Of course she wouldn’t bring them into the dangerous Secret Realm. If they got stolen, that’d be a huge loss!
Linglong was speechless. She felt she should’ve guessed this from the start.
What kind of person was Hua Jian? A miserly tightwad who valued money above all. When entering small Secret Realms, she’d only bring necessary items.
How could she have brought the things Linglong gifted her into this perilous Secret Realm?
“I thought you had sold them.”
“No way! Are you doubting my taste? Even if I were to sell them, it’d be after you become Sect Leader and top of Yaoci. Then, they’d be ‘Spirit Robes worn by Saints, Dragon Scales shed by Saints,’ worth a lot more Spirit Stones…”
Before Hua Jian finished speaking, Linglong’s iron fist descended on her head.
When it came to irritating people, Hua Jian really had a talent—she managed to provoke the Saintess’s urge to hit her in just a few sentences, a unique skill indeed.
After punching Hua Jian, Linglong took a scale from her storage pouch and handed it to Hua Jian. “Take this. It will let me know where you are.”
Hua Jian nodded and took the scale with both hands.
It felt similar to the last one but seemed of better quality, maybe freshly shed recently, Hua Jian thought.
Then she saw Linglong continuously pulling items out of her pouch—spiritual garments, spirit tools, even a few bottles of alchemy pills.
“Wait, what are you trying to do?” Hua Jian hurriedly stopped her.
This didn’t seem right.
“You’re going to be with the demonic cultivator soon—very dangerous. I need to prepare some life-saving items for you.” Linglong didn’t understand why Hua Jian was stopping her.
“Giving me all this won’t help. That demonic cultivator is a Spirit King. Even with these, I wouldn’t survive a hit. You should keep them yourself.” Hua Jian pushed the spiritual garments and weapons back toward Linglong but kept the pills.
Opening the bottle, a herbal fragrance wafted out, accompanied by a faint scent Hua Jian recognized.
Hmm… similar to the Lip Qi Pill from before.
“So many alchemy pills. No wonder you’re a Saintess.”
“They’re not precious pills—just ones I brewed myself. Each costs only a few Spirit Stones,” Linglong explained.
Low-grade pills didn’t require expensive ingredients or high skill. She could easily brew a bunch in her spare time.
“Did you use your saliva to brew these too?” Hua Jian quickly recapped the bottles, wanting to return the pills to Linglong.
Taking one Dragon Saliva Pill was fine, but taking many… she feared others would misunderstand her feelings about Linglong’s saliva.
Linglong instinctively looked away and softly explained, “No. Even I don’t use Dragon Saliva in all my pills.”
Using Dragon Saliva on low-grade pills was wasteful. Linglong only used it on a few pills she took personally.
That eased Hua Jian’s mind. As long as the pills weren’t brewed with saliva, it was fine.
“Actually, Dragon Saliva isn’t precious to me. You don’t need to be so polite,” Linglong thought Hua Jian refused the pills due to a misunderstanding of their value.
Though Hua Jian loved money, when faced with unexpected windfalls, she was extremely cautious.
Maybe that was her attitude toward Dragon Saliva Pills.
“Uh, it’s not about the value. I just find taking someone else’s saliva a bit… gross.”
“…Then give me the stuff back.”
“No way. You said it wasn’t made with saliva, so I’m keeping them!”