Chapter 178 (Part 2): Just Take Me As That, Then

Naturally, they also had means to call for help from their own Saints.

Although not as powerful as a Saint arriving in person, it was better than watching helplessly as the situation became irreparable.

“I’ll do it.” Without another word, the Master of Lingcai Peak took out a small bone whistle from her storage pouch.

As long as it was blown, it could summon an avatar of the Wanling Sect Leader.

Just as she placed the bone whistle to her lips and was about to blow, the shadow covering the secret realm suddenly underwent a strange transformation.

The pitch-black color receded like flowing water, revealing the true color of these vines before the Venerables.

It was actually… a striking, bright array of colors!

“The aura of these things has changed! Damn it, how can there be a Saint-level aura appearing?!”

Not long ago.

Hua Jian and Linglong arrived together at the light pillar at the center of the secret realm.

Most of the cultivators in the secret realm had already gathered here, with only a few who had been guarding the forbidden lands still on their way.

This place also seemed to be the most severely eroded area. Slender, colorful vines hung down from the sky, and the space around them cracked layer by layer.

Just a glance at the deep shadows beneath the shattered space was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

Everyone consciously avoided these colorful vines. In this panicked moment, some discordant voices also emerged from the crowd.

Some said these vines might be the work of someone among them—a spy from Wanhuagu who had infiltrated the Ascension Gathering, aiming to completely sabotage it.

The vines she used were practically identical to the ones now hanging from the sky. The evidence was irrefutable!

“This is definitely that woman’s doing! She’s a Wanhuagu spy! She wants to kill us all!” Zhao Ming loudly spouted nonsense among the crowd.

About half of the cultivators showed disbelief in their eyes, but the other half, who had truly seen Hua Jian fight, had already fallen into deep thought.

It wasn’t that they were overly suspicious, but the vines hanging from the sky were indeed nearly identical to the ones Hua Jian usually used.

Asking them to believe there was absolutely no connection between the two was simply asking too much.

As for Zhao Ming… his role now was merely that of a clown. No one paid him any mind anymore.

Without those spirit tools, he had long since become just another face in the crowd.

If he hadn’t taken a pill sent over by the Sword Hero, he probably wouldn’t even have had the strength to stand up and slander Hua Jian.

“And Ji Caiyue! She’s also a Wanhuagu spy! They’re in cahoots!”

When he was insulting Hua Jian, no one said anything. But the moment he started on Ji Caiyue, refutations emerged from the crowd.

These were cultivators from Ji Caiyue’s faction. Fairy Caiyue was different from Hua Jian; she truly had a power base around her.

“You stray dog! How dare you slander Fairy Caiyue! The fairy is not that kind of person!”

“That’s right! What relationship does Hua Jian have with the fairy? Don’t make wild connections!”

“If the fairy were here, she’d tear your mouth to shreds!”

Facing the cultivators below who were cursing him, Zhao Ming glared with bloodshot eyes and argued back in a sharp, nearly cracking voice.

The gist of his argument was simple: Hua Jian was undoubtedly a Wanhuagu spy, and since Hua Jian was helping Ji Caiyue, Ji Caiyue was naturally also a Wanhuagu spy.

“That Hua Jian is full of suspicious points from head to toe! If she’s not from Wanhuagu, then who is?”

Thinking of the inside information he’d gotten from the Sword Hero, Zhao Ming felt not a shred of fear.

He was merely exposing the true face of a Wanhuagu spy. Even outside the secret realm, his actions would be considered a great merit!

And these guys who dared to defend a Wanhuagu spy, every single one of them would absolutely not be spared by the Saint Sect.

When the time came, these people, and that Ji Caiyue, none of them would escape! They’d all go sit in the celestial prison!

“You actually speak up for her? You’re all Wanhuagu spies too! Just wait, the Saint Sect will make you pay!”

“Before they pay any price, I think you’d better shut your mouth first.”

Before Zhao Ming’s words even finished, a voice drifted out from the crowd.

His bloodshot eyes immediately glared in the direction of the voice. He wouldn’t mistake it; this voice was absolutely that Wanhuagu spy!

The cultivators gathered nearby also sensed the change in atmosphere and quickly shut their mouths, making way.

Hua Jian was like an emperor with her own imposing aura. The flow of people around and in front of her instinctively parted.

If one looked down from above, they would see a truly awe-inspiring scene.

The densely packed crowd automatically split open before Hua Jian. She walked forward step by step, like an immortal from legend parting the seas.

“Hua Jian! You, a Magic Path spy, dare to show your face here? Do you think our Right Path has no one left?!”

Hua Jian didn’t say a single word. She just walked, her face dark, up to the raised platform where Zhao Ming stood.

Zhao Ming couldn’t help but take a step back. But then he remembered this was in full public view; Hua Jian wouldn’t dare do anything to him, and his courage immediately swelled.

That’s right! This Magic Path spy wouldn’t dare attack me. If she makes a move, her identity will have no room for maneuver left!

“If you have the guts, kill me! Let everyone see your true face as a spy! You used underhanded methods to steal my family heirloom treasure, and now you want to silence me too?” Zhao Ming straightened his back once more, pointing an accusing finger at Hua Jian.

Hua Jian took a deep breath. Without wasting words on this guy, she directly pulled out her whip and lashed it across his face.

“Scram!”

Arguing with this kind of person was too demeaning. Hua Jian couldn’t be bothered with such meaningless lip-flapping. She had real business to attend to.

After whipping Zhao Ming off the platform like a spinning top, Hua Jian gathered her spiritual power and shouted loudly to the crowd watching this spectacle, “Everyone, listen to me! These Cai Vines are high-tier spirit items arranged by the Magic Path! They have the effect of sealing space!”

“Now, I will use a secret technique to dispel their spatial sealing effect! Everyone, get close to that light pillar, and you can safely leave the secret realm!”

Hua Jian’s words made the people below look at each other in confusion. A large portion of them weren’t familiar with Hua Jian, and after Zhao Ming’s instigation, they harbored some doubts about her.

Now, Hua Jian suddenly jumped out and told them these Cai Vines were a Magic Path plot, that she had a secret technique to resolve this crisis… How were they supposed to believe that?

Soon, someone loudly asked, “Miss Hua, do you have any proof for what you’re saying?”

“I can vouch for her. Every word she says is true.”

A white-haired, golden-eyed Dragon Girl descended from the sky, landing at Hua Jian’s side.

Her appearance plunged everyone present into a brief silence. Then, they began to whisper frantically, exchanging information, trying to figure out who this white-haired Dragon Girl was.

Soon, cultivators who had been led by Linglong passed on her identity to the others.

They hadn’t heard Linglong admit she was the Saintess of Yaochi herself, but that Xiānzǐ Ranking was widely circulated in the cultivation world.

A few matching descriptions were enough to identify Linglong.

Hearing that the one standing beside Hua Jian was the Saintess of the Yaochi Holy Sect, these cultivators began to feel that Hua Jian’s words weren’t entirely unbelievable.

The Saintess of a Saint Sect couldn’t possibly be colluding with a Magic Path spy to deceive them, right?

Just think about it; such a thing was impossible!

“You’re in league with her too! Everyone knows about your relationship!” Zhao Ming, who had been whipped off the platform, was still cursing, but no one paid him any attention now.

At that moment, the other cultivators who had been guarding the forbidden lands arrived one after another.

The leading Saint Sect cultivators came up to understand the situation, and their expressions varied greatly.

The big dog Xiao Qi naturally believed Hua Jian’s words were true. The Jianxiu remained noncommittal.

But the Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator now showed some hesitation. “You’re saying you just happen to have a method to deal with this exact crisis?”

He stared at Hua Jian. He couldn’t be blamed for looking for trouble; this whole thing just seemed a bit too coincidental.

Alright, the Magic Path used some unknown method to invade the secret realm, wanting to completely destroy the Ascension Gathering. And the method they used just happened to be one you, Hua Jian, have a way to counter.

What a joke!

“Explaining all this is a bit troublesome. I need to use my special constitution to communicate with those vines, temporarily lift their spatial lockdown on this secret realm, so the Venerable can activate the teleportation array here and send us out of the secret realm.”

Hua Jian did her best to explain her method in language that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

She definitely couldn’t say now that this method came from Wanhuagu. Given the Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator’s level of suspicion, if she said that, he might attack her the next second.

“You’re confident? Moreover, how do you know your constitution will work on those things?” the Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator pressed further.

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Linglong. “If you’ve called us all here based on this unfounded nonsense, and it causes an accident with the array in the forbidden lands, can you, Saintess, bear that responsibility?”

“I believe in her. Holding the array and waiting for external reinforcements is no different from waiting for death. At this point, we must seek change.” Linglong’s face hardened; she had now fully entered Saintess mode.

A single “I can take responsibility” blocked the Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator’s words.

You don’t believe Hua Jian? I do!

I’m the Yaochi Saintess, my status is much higher than yours. If I can believe her, why can’t you?

“She’s a Wanhuagu spy! You can’t believe her!”

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, the Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator heard a voice. He’d been hearing someone shouting similar things nearby but hadn’t paid much attention.

Now, looking over, the one shouting and screaming seemed to be a minor celebrity?

He crooked a finger at Zhao Ming, signaling him to come up to the platform.

“You say who is a Wanhuagu spy?”

“Her! Hua Jian!” Zhao Ming, as if he’d found a powerful backer, pointed at Hua Jian triumphantly.

“Do you have evidence?”

“Yes!” Zhao Ming immediately nodded. “The spirit tools she uses, the retreat technique she uses, they’re all from Wanhuagu! Even the forbidden land she’s in charge of is now covered in Soul-Confusing Spiritual Fragrance!”

“And I also know there are many Wanhuagu treasures in her storage pouch! Even that Flower God Condensate stuff!”

After this series of accusations, even the Jianxiu’s gaze towards Hua Jian became subtle.

One or two things could still be explained away as coincidence. But this many? It really couldn’t be explained by coincidence anymore.

Could coincidence explain this much?

The Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator’s eyes became especially sharp. “Is what he said true?”

Hua Jian’s mouth turned down at the corners. She really couldn’t explain these things clearly.

Push all the blame onto Xia Hui? That method wouldn’t work. Everyone knew Xia Hui was her follower. If Xia Hui was a Wanhuagu spy, then what was she, Hua Jian?

Besides, Xia Hui could take the blame for the spirit tools and the condensate, but what about the cultivation method and spirit techniques?

Xia Hui couldn’t shoulder that blame; only Hua Jian herself could.

Once this happened, the issues surrounding her would become completely unexplainable.

“It’s true,” she could only admit frankly.

“I didn’t expect you to dare admit it… Oh, I see! You want to use a diversion, lure us all here so your accomplices can destroy the great array, right?”

The Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator wore an expression of sudden realization and immediately drew his spirit sword to strike at Hua Jian.

Clang!

At the critical moment, Linglong directly raised her sword to block in front of Hua Jian. “She has no connection to Wanhuagu.”

“At this point, you still want to shield this Wanhuagu Demonic Cultivator? I think your tenure as Saintess is about to end!”

“Still better than someone who readily believes rumors.”

Linglong’s sword forced the Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator back several steps. With everyone’s strength not exceeding the peak of the Spirit Master Realm at present, Linglong feared no opponent.

Knowing she could no longer persuade this Heavenly Dao Sect person, after forcing him back with her sword, Linglong turned her head to look at the still-neutral Jianxiu. “Senior Brother, please believe me.”

Before her words even finished, Xiao Qi calmly added from the side, “It’s fine. If he turns, I can stop him.”

Senior Sister Xiao didn’t care about all these complications. Whether Hua Jian was connected to Wanhuagu had nothing to do with her. She came to this secret realm to be Hua Jian’s bodyguard.

She had been wondering why her sect chose her for the Ascension Gathering.

It was only upon seeing Hua Jian that she understood why Senior Sister Luo had meaningfully patted her shoulder with extra force before she was sent into the secret realm.

And softly said to her, “I leave everything to you.”

Leave what to her?

Wasn’t it just leaving Hua Jian to her?

“Even if Hua Jian herself says she’s from Wanhuagu, I still have to protect her!” Xiao Qi glared fiercely at the Jianxiu beside her.

The Jianxiu was also quite hesitant. He also didn’t really believe Hua Jian could be a Wanhuagu spy, but with so much evidence, it was indeed hard to explain.

Doing nothing really didn’t fit the Jianxiu style. He could only look at Hua Jian and continue to press, “Do you have anything else to say?”

How could she persuade this Jianxiu?

Hua Jian couldn’t find a way. There were too many suspicious points about her, many of which couldn’t be explained.

Before, when no one paid attention, these points hadn’t caused any impact. But now, placed under public scrutiny, she couldn’t explain them clearly even with a hundred mouths.

Lying wouldn’t work. So what other method did she have to make the Jianxiu believe what she said?

A bold idea, one that was almost equivalent to cutting off her own retreat, grew from the depths of Hua Jian’s heart.

At this moment, she also understood Wanhuagu’s true intention. Wanhuagu’s goal wasn’t to make her a hero, but to make her admit her own identity with her own mouth!

“Just think of me as a Wanhuagu cultivator. I’ve had a conflict in plans and ideology with my fellow disciples.”

Hua Jian took a deep breath and pointed at Linglong, who was engaged in battle with the Heavenly Dao Sect cultivator.

“I want her to leave this secret realm alive! And the choice you’re making now will only get you all killed here!”

“Now, can you believe me?”