A Meng grew anxious, while Hua Jian quietly thought to herself.
Anxiety meant she was about to lose her act.
“What’s the matter? Do you know something?” Hua Jian squinted, resembling a cunning little fox.
“I don’t know anything at all. What exactly is this Treasure Map…”
This time, A Meng truly wasn’t lying—she genuinely didn’t know about the existence of the Treasure Map.
But any possibility of a surprise should have been ruled out; she shouldn’t have been so careless!
“I think we need to hurry over there. If we’re late, someone might get there first.” She pointed toward the direction of the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon.
So now she’s anxious? Hua Jian studied A Meng closely and detected a trace of unnaturalness on the girl’s face.
It was clear that, at her core, A Meng was still a rather shy girl, feeling awkward and uneasy in such a situation.
“We want to hurry too, but you all have shoes on and don’t mind the long walk—I don’t.” Hua Jian sighed sincerely.
Having shoes and not having shoes were two completely different experiences.
She wasn’t just making excuses; walking barefoot in such a complex environment was truly uncomfortable.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stopped midway to rub her feet and rest.
“Then just fly over!”
“But if we fly up, we’ll be attacked by a swarm of bees.”
“That could just be a special rule of that place. Once we leave, it’ll be different.”
Hua Jian gave A Meng a long look. “Really?”
“You try it. If you get attacked, just come back down.”
A Meng neither confirmed nor denied; she simply told Hua Jian to try it first.
So Hua Jian gave Linglong a look. Linglong understood and summoned the Flying Sword, soaring into the sky.
This time, Linglong truly wasn’t attacked by the poisonous bees.
Those monstrous creatures that had wanted to tear them apart just moments ago seemed to have never appeared at all.
“See? I told you so.” A Meng snorted lightly.
“Indeed, even a fool can have a moment of insight. You guessed right.”
“Huh?” A Meng felt like Hua Jian was insulting her.
But Hua Jian wouldn’t admit it. She already pictured Su Xiaoxiao’s Flying Artifact that she had used when taking her flying before.
Then, she slipped her hands under A Meng’s armpits and lifted the girl up.
The silver-white wings on her back spread, flapping gently twice before carrying them into the sky.
Hua Jian actually liked Su Xiaoxiao’s Flying Artifact design, but after subtly inquiring about the price, she realized it was beyond her means.
Only in dreams could she use such a fine item.
“Don’t carry me! I can fly too!” A Meng struggled a bit in Hua Jian’s arms.
She didn’t particularly like being held by Hua Jian.
Hearing this, Hua Jian immediately loosened her grip, unafraid that A Meng might fall.
Most people would be stunned and then panic to find a Flying Artifact, but A Meng was calm.
After Hua Jian let go, she turned nimbly in midair, and a pair of colorful Butterfly Wings sprouted from her back.
These wings looked nothing like a Flying Artifact; they were distinctly biological, sparking some strange guesses in Hua Jian’s mind.
For example, maybe A Meng’s true form wasn’t human but a butterfly or something similar…
Following this line of thought, perhaps A Meng was the Guardian Spirit Beast of the treasure in the Secret Realm, her ability being to pull invaders into dreams and deal with them.
Now she realized the situation had shifted subtly, beyond her expectations.
That was why she was so anxious to head to the busiest part of this dream space and take a look.
Before, A Meng had been watching the show; now she was the most anxious one. Following her should be no problem.
“Let’s go quickly.” A Meng flew a bit ahead, then turned back to call to Linglong and Hua Jian.
“Got it, don’t rush.”
Linglong watched the interaction between Hua Jian and A Meng with a gradually strange expression.
Why did she feel there was something almost… good between the two, even though their exchange was sharp and antagonistic?
She could hear subtle undertones. Could it be just her jealousy acting up?
Was her possessiveness too strong? Linglong felt a little guilty, thinking maybe it was her problem.
Hua Jian was clearly warning her about A Meng’s strangeness—how could she mistake that for mere bickering between rivals?
That was disrespectful to Hua Jian.
Strange… why do I find A Meng weird now? Didn’t I just not think that way?
Linglong’s thoughts plunged into chaos again, conflicting ideas battling in her mind, making her movements stiff.
She nearly crashed into Hua Jian and A Meng flying ahead, almost causing an aerial collision disaster.
Only Hua Jian’s loud shout pulled her out of self-doubt.
“Watch where you’re flying! I feel like something’s been off with you since earlier.” Hua Jian scolded but kept glancing at A Meng.
Linglong was usually reliable, despite being a little spacey. She wouldn’t act this foolishly.
So Linglong’s strange state could only be caused by A Meng!
A Meng feigned calmness, refusing to meet Hua Jian’s gaze—wasn’t that a silent signal to Linglong that “she’s trustworthy”? She hadn’t done anything else suspicious.
Meanwhile, Hua Jian wouldn’t take any hints—that was the weirdest part.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought… where are we now?”
“Thanks to someone, we’re almost there. They say ‘a watching horse runs itself to death’, but this time we got here way too quickly,” Hua Jian said, glancing at A Meng.
She knew exactly how fast she and Linglong could fly.
Given their previous distance from the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon, it should have taken at least half a day to get here.
But now, far less time had passed, and they were already beneath the phenomenon.
Ruling out any sudden leaps in their abilities, there had to be someone behind the scenes speeding up their flight or shortening the distance.
“It probably doesn’t take that long to fly over here anyway.” A Meng laughed lightly, then pointed ahead. “Look over there!”
Her attempt to change the subject was clumsy, but not baseless.
At her pointed spot, a group of grotesque monsters were fighting each other.
…
The monsters looked bizarre and unnatural, their forms defying normal biological structure, more like imagined demons.
Their faces were terrifying, exuding a horrible stench that turned the area into a putrid cesspool.
Hua Jian’s hair stood on end, firmly deciding not to go anywhere near down there.
She wasn’t wearing shoes; if she had to fight those abominable creatures barefoot, she’d rather be dead.
“What the hell are those things?”
Linglong didn’t answer—because she didn’t know.
After a moment of contemplation, A Meng gave a serious explanation, “Maybe these are the true forms of the Cultivators who have entered the Secret Realm.”
Within this Secret Realm, Cultivators’ appearances changed based on their inner hearts. Who would casually enter a strange Secret Realm to hunt treasure if they weren’t bad people?
Did they think they could peacefully cooperate with others and share the treasures?
Of course not!
They entered to monopolize the treasures. If they met others, they wouldn’t show mercy.
Compared to the treasures, perhaps the other Cultivators were even tastier.
The dark-hearted ones changed into these hideous forms in this space that reflected their inner souls.
Those who could maintain their original appearance here—like Linglong and Hua Jian, who even looked more beautiful—were extremely rare good people.
“So these things are the ones who entered the Secret Realm before us?” Hua Jian gasped.
If that was the case, then those monsters they met earlier were actually people?
Below them, the monsters’ chaotic battle was nearing its end.
One tore another into pieces; the shredded monster wailed, its body breaking into dazzling light spots that flew into the phenomenon above.
“So the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon isn’t caused by treasure appearing, but by the accumulation of these shattered monsters?” Linglong immediately realized the phenomenon’s true source.
This wasn’t a phenomenon triggered by treasure emergence. It was a trap luring monsters to fight to the death.
The more they slaughtered each other, the larger the phenomenon grew, attracting even more monsters.
Every Cultivator who entered was greedy. How could they resist such temptation?
Blinded by greed and turning monstrous, they kept coming here like moths to flame, becoming fuel for the phenomenon…
No, if they were just fuel, something must be growing. Otherwise, why create such a commotion?
Hua Jian looked sharply at A Meng. Could the gathered Soulforce be food for her, helping her rapidly break through her realm?
That look was obvious. A Meng quickly shook her head to say it wasn’t related to her.
Although she wanted to see this happen, she wasn’t the beneficiary.
Thud!
Suddenly, Hua Jian heard a heavy rumble that spread through the entire space, causing the fighting monsters to pause.
Linglong, Hua Jian, and A Meng—the only three still human-shaped—were most affected. They briefly lost all awareness.
When Hua Jian came to, she and Linglong were already being flown through the sky by A Meng.
The handcuffs she had put on A Meng were now useless; A Meng seemed to have effortlessly twisted them into two pieces.
This girl was definitely pretending to be weak!
Unlike Hua Jian’s understanding and Linglong’s confusion, A Meng’s face was filled with anxiety.
That rumble was an extremely dangerous signal, meaning a huge change had occurred in the outside world.
She had to leave here as soon as possible, but even for her, leaving required considerable effort.
“What was that? I felt my Soulforce tremble uncontrollably.” Linglong gasped after recovering.
That rumble felt like it shook her entire Soulforce violently, as if it might tear her spirit apart.
At this moment, she was less composed than Hua Jian, who hadn’t felt the Soulforce tremor, only briefly stunned.
This space was being attacked from outside. If it continued, this space wouldn’t hold!
A Meng released her grip on their hands and pointed to the center of the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon.
“We have to leave this space immediately. I know a way out!”
At last, she didn’t bother hiding her identity. Hua Jian and Linglong were allies worth winning over, and she needed their strength to leave and deal with what was happening outside.
What would happen after leaving… she didn’t care now. Getting out quickly was what mattered.
If they didn’t hurry, the people outside would succeed, and everything would be lost!
Before, she said there was no exit here without her help.
Now that she was helping, the exit naturally existed.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
A Meng took the lead, flying faster than Hua Jian’s Flying Sword.
Hua Jian didn’t rush like A Meng. She slowed down to wait for Linglong, and when Linglong caught up, she flapped the wings of her Flying Artifact and chased after A Meng.
“Can we trust her?” Linglong finally sensed something was off about A Meng.
The earlier hesitation and confusion now made sense.
She must have been influenced somehow by A Meng, which was why she missed the clues.
Now that the influence had waned, Linglong detected the discord and doubted A Meng’s true nature.
“Judging by how anxious she is, I think we can trust her for now,” Hua Jian nodded.
“You probably noticed that at first she pretended to be clueless, but once I mentioned the Treasure Map, her attitude changed sharply.”
“And that rumble just now stopped her from pretending; she started guiding us somewhere.”
All these signs pointed to one conclusion: A Meng was truly anxious, and the Treasure Map was not part of her plan.
Otherwise, she’d still be playing coy with us.
“I suspect she might be the Guardian Spirit Beast of the treasure in the Secret Realm. This dreamlike space seems created by that treasure. She knows a lot but doesn’t have full authority over it.”
Otherwise, if she knew something had gone wrong outside, she would’ve left immediately instead of dragging us through this whole process.