“That’s true enough.”
Lin Huanhuan nodded, her expression suddenly shifting as she glared suspiciously. “The reason you’re explaining all this is to pull me into your group so I can help you, isn’t it?”
Given their history as rivals, they weren’t just incompatible—they were like two tigers sharing one mountain. It was a good day if they didn’t start a fight the moment they saw each other; cooperation seemed like an impossible dream.
“You could say that. I wasn’t planning on hiding my intentions anyway,” Shangguan Muqing said bluntly. “It’s one question: are you in or not? If you don’t help, you definitely won’t be getting any Mysterious Water.”
“Besides, it’s not like there are no benefits for you. Repairing the formation requires several magical artifacts, but our side has already gathered them. You won’t have to provide anything,” Shangguan Muqing added simply.
Lin Huanhuan thought for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. ‘There’s no need to give up current benefits for old grudges; I need to keep the big picture in mind.’
Shangguan Muqing smiled, a grin that came from the bottom of her heart.
Finally, she had finally triumphed over Lin Huanhuan again. The last time she had won felt like ages ago. This feeling was sweeter than the finest nectar and more refreshing than rewarding herself 100 times over. There was no greater joy in life than this.
Lin Huanhuan let out a cold snort. ‘This is so annoying. Maybe I should just scratch Shangguan Muqing’s face to vent my frustration… I’ll wait until right before we leave to do it.’
Feeling better than ever, Shangguan Muqing put her previous minor irritations behind her. She turned to the remaining two and said, “You two heard everything. You’re joining as well, right?”
Ye Jinxiu and Lv Ye didn’t hesitate for a second before nodding.
To Lin Huanhuan, 150 spirit stones might not have been much, but for them, it would take at least 6 months to save up. That was only if they were extremely frugal with their cultivation resources; with normal expenses, they might not save that much in 1 year. They were actually relieved that someone was taking the lead to fix the formation, otherwise their efforts this time would have truly gone to waste.
Lv Ye cursed inwardly, ‘Who the hell was it? Couldn’t they have waited until I got the Mysterious Water before breaking the formation? I’ll definitely report this when I get back.’
Excluding Shangguan Muqing, there were four people in the party: two men and two women.
Shangguan Muqing introduced them. “These are Yijia, Zhuge Chen, Feng Bowen, and finally, Huyan Yazhi. Huyan Yazhi is an Array Master, and she will be in charge of the repairs this time.”
Lin Huanhuan and the others briefly introduced their own specialties. Among them, Huyan Yazhi’s behavior caught Lin Huanhuan’s attention the most.
Not only did Huyan Yazhi look at them with arrogant eyes throughout the introduction, but she also wore an unruly smirk. She didn’t even move when they greeted her, treating them as if they were nothing but air.
‘Such an arrogant person, won’t she get beaten to death?’
Lin Huanhuan initially suspected that Shangguan Muqing had hired Huyan Yazhi just to annoy her, but when she saw that Huyan Yazhi treated everyone else the same way, she realized the woman was just naturally arrogant.
‘Whatever, I’ll observe for a bit. Maybe she actually has the talent to back up that arrogance.’
Next came the issue of materials. After some discussion, everyone pooled together some basic supplies. As for the remaining core materials, they could be found within the Mysterious Water Secret Realm. If that hadn’t been the case, they wouldn’t have decided to fix it themselves.
Ultimately, they decided to split into four small teams to gather the materials. Lin Huanhuan was paired with Yijia.
Lin Huanhuan glanced at Huyan Yazhi, who sat idly in place. She frowned slightly; usually, she was the one who exercised that kind of privilege. However, since no one else seemed to have an issue with it, she didn’t say anything.
Yijia was a playful-looking girl who was 1 year younger than her. At first, Yijia kept looking back at her every now and then. Her eyes held a mixture of caution and curiosity, much like someone who wanted to watch a horror movie but was too scared to do it alone.
By the fifth time Yijia looked at her, Lin Huanhuan finally couldn’t take it anymore. She glared at the girl fiercely, causing Yijia to jump away like a startled rabbit.
Lin Huanhuan smiled coldly. “If you dare look at me like that again, don’t blame me for being rude!”
Yijia nodded rapidly, but then she walked within 3 meters of her and asked curiously, “Back at our place, everyone says that Senior Sister Lin is a terrifying person. They say you humiliate at least ten or more pure girls every day and that anyone who dares to resist you is ruthlessly eliminated. Is that really true? You didn’t seem like that just now.”
Lin Huanhuan’s face darkened immediately upon hearing those words. ‘Damn it, no wonder Yijia was acting so weird. The rumors about me have upgraded again.’
Lin Huanhuan rolled her eyes. For the sake of her reputation, she explained, “Use your head and think. The Lingyun Sect isn’t a demonic path. If I really did those things, I would have been arrested long ago. How could I still be walking around perfectly fine?”
“That’s true.”
Yijia nodded and flashed a playful smile. “If you really humiliated that many girls every day, almost no girl in the entire Lingyun Sect would be safe. But the people around me have only heard of these things; no one has ever actually been snatched away. It seems the rumors are indeed false.”
Lin Huanhuan’s eyelid twitched. ‘So she still thinks I’m a pervert; she just thinks I’m a regular pervert instead of a super pervert.’
Since she wasn’t close with Yijia and likely wouldn’t see her again in the future, Lin Huanhuan decided to act as if she hadn’t heard anything.
However, the tree craved stillness, but the wind would not stop.
Yijia put her hands behind her back and leaned in again, smiling. “Normally, with your status, you should be able to suppress things even if you did do those things. So, Senior Sister Lin, did you offend someone?”
Lin Huanhuan stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at her with a cold gaze. “Aren’t you talking a bit too much? Even if I haven’t gone to that extreme, I’m not necessarily a good person. Aren’t you afraid I’ll give you a taste of my medicine for prying so much?”
Hearing this, Yijia’s body froze instantly, looking as though she had been scared senseless.
Lin Huanhuan walked forward with a satisfied mood. ‘The annoying bird finally shut up. I’ll have to try this on Ye Jinxiu next time; maybe it’ll work on her too.’
Her joy lasted only a few seconds before Yijia caught up again, grinning happily. “I don’t think that’s possible. As the saying goes, barking dogs don’t bite. If you were actually going to punish me, you wouldn’t have said anything.”
Lin Huanhuan was speechless and could only let the girl chatter away beside her. Yijia truly could talk; in the 30 minutes they spent walking, her silence lasted for less than 15 minutes. Lin Huanhuan had never met such a chatterbox.
The materials they needed to collect were fruits called Cold Essence.
When they reached their destination, several large, azure-blue trees were rooted there. Hanging from the branches were ice-like starfish—the Cold Essence. Numerous azure-blue monkeys stood on the branches, baring their teeth and screeching at them.