Chapter 199 (Part 1): What a Sin, What a Sin

The biggest floating ship—how large could it possibly be?

Hua Jian made a guess in her heart, eventually concluding that it might be as big as a small city.

She knew that size was absurd, but this was a cultivation world, a fantasy realm.

She couldn’t measure this world’s scale using her previous assumptions.

“Do all your tower ships have that many spirit masters?” Hua Jian, craning her neck to look around, noticed something strange.

On this tower ship, many cultivators of mediocre strength were bustling about.

Their power wasn’t great—they didn’t look like disciples who could be accepted into the Yaochi Sect.

For instance, a middle-aged woman not far away was commanding a team of silver-haired disciples.

Her cultivation was only at the Ling Shi Realm.

“Yes, they are cultivators specially assigned to operate the floating ship. Even though they aren’t official Yaochi disciples, their treatment is no different from that of outer sect disciples.”

A floating ship this massive couldn’t possibly be fully controlled by Yaochi disciples.

There were many non-critical positions that didn’t require high cultivation, allowing weaker cultivators to handle them.

These Ling Shi cultivators did exactly that. Their talents couldn’t compare to Yaochi’s regular disciples; they might never break through to the Ling Wang Realm in their lifetimes.

But Yaochi didn’t mind—as long as they did their jobs well.

After all, Yaochi’s ordinary disciples needed to cultivate obediently within the sect until they reached the Ling Wang Realm before they could go out.

Having Ling Wang cultivators handle these menial tasks seemed a bit extravagant.

“Then aren’t you afraid some of them might be spies from the Demonic Sect?”

“These people also have to go through layers of selection to get here. The screening is just as strict as recruiting disciples.”

Linglong indicated that Hua Jian was being alarmist.

If there were problems among these people, then there would also be problems among Yaochi’s disciples—it was about the same.

Ordinary Demonic Sects didn’t have such strong infiltration capabilities. As for those that did… well, they wouldn’t name names here.

If they wanted to infiltrate, they would always find a way.

No matter how tightly a Saint Sect guarded itself, it couldn’t guarantee complete protection from external intrusions.

All a Saint Sect could do was minimize the risk of infiltration.

Yaochi had done fairly well in this regard. Over the years, the number of traitors and spies they’d exposed could be counted on one hand, and none had caused major damage to the main sect.

“Let’s go. The Shijies are up ahead in the main control area. We’ll go straight to them.”

Linglong took Hua Jian’s hand again and led her directly toward the core region of the tower ship.

If the posts where those Ling Shi cultivators worked were the ship’s minor branches and leaves, then the area where the Ling Emperor sat was the ship’s true nerve center.

This hub was at the highest point of the tower ship. Here, cultivators could oversee the entire situation and issue the most appropriate commands to guide the ship’s movements.

And the two Ling Emperor Shijies, ostensibly the strongest combat power for this operation, were currently sitting at two desks piled high with documents, utterly stumped.

When Linglong brought Hua Jian in, the two Ling Emperor Shijies looked up at them simultaneously, then let out a simultaneous sigh.

They had already guessed that Linglong would bring Hua Jian aboard, but they hadn’t expected Linglong to move so fast.

It had only been a few days, and she’d already brought her up?

“Hello, two Shijies!” Hua Jian greeted the two Shijies politely.

The two Shijies nodded in response. At that moment, they weren’t quite sure what to call Hua Jian.

If they called her Shimei directly, it didn’t seem right—after all, Hua Jian was still the Wanhua Saintess. But calling her anything else felt too distant, which was truly troublesome.

“Linglong Shimei, did you bring this little sister up for a tour?” one Shijie asked.

Linglong immediately shook her head. “No, Hua Jian has some new perspectives on our plan. I wanted you Shijies to hear them too.”

The two Shijies, who had been troubled by the plan, showed curious expressions. What new perspectives could Hua Jian have on this plan?

And were those perspectives related to Wanhuagu? Could it be that Wanhuagu intended to use Hua Jian as a bridge to convey new information to them?

A flood of suspicion flashed through their minds. The two Shijies exchanged a glance, and one of them asked, “Is this Hua Jian’s own idea, or is it from those above her?”

“It’s my own. I only learned about this plan from Qian Feixue and Linglong. Wanhuagu never told me anything about it.”

Hua Jian spread her hands, indicating that they didn’t need to be so tense. It really was just her personal idea.

Wanhuagu had never intended for her to be involved in this matter. It was after she heard about it that she decided to meddle.

“But there are still some aspects of your plan I don’t understand. How are you going to lure the Tianmomen cultivators into the trap, and how will you eliminate them inside the secret realm?”

One of the Ling Emperor Shijies waved her hand lightly over the room, and a thin soundproof barrier enveloped them.

After confirming that there were no listening ears, they began to recount the current plan in detail.

The plan was actually very simple: secretly leak the news of treasures in the secret realm to Tianmomen, enticing their cultivators to come and compete for the treasure.

Then Yaochi would provide a gap in the defense, allowing Tianmomen’s cultivators to enter the secret realm.

Once they were inside, Yaochi and the Qian Family could use the secret realm as a battlefield and kill all the Tianmomen cultivators who entered!

“That’s a bit crude and straightforward. Who came up with that?” After listening, Hua Jian felt the plan was decent in some respects, but overly idealistic.

Since this was a joint exploration by three factions, where would Tianmomen get the intelligence? And who would provide the defensive gap?

That task should logically fall to Wanhuagu, but Wanhuagu’s credibility was questionable. Tianmomen probably wouldn’t trust the intelligence Wanhuagu provided.

Moreover, only giving Tianmomen a single Demonic Sect’s message seemed too deliberate. Even if Tianmomen’s Venerable had a sudden flash of insight, they probably wouldn’t take the bait so bluntly.

“How about listening to my idea? I think it’s better than the current one.” Hua Jian grinned.

Her idea was simple. Didn’t Tianmomen want the treasures? Then let them come and take them openly!

If your Tianmomen can kill all the enemies in the secret realm, then you can take the treasures.

But if you can’t, tough luck.

“We hide the treasures deep in the secret realm, in a place where ordinary people can’t detect them. Then we announce that the secret realm exploration is complete, but due to some reason, the secret realm is about to enter an irreversible destruction period.”

“To make the most of the secret realm’s final value, we decide to lift the exploration restrictions on the secret realm and sell exploration permits…”

One Shijie couldn’t help frowning and interrupted Hua Jian halfway through. “Like Linglong Pavilion? But if Tianmomen’s people mingle in, it’ll be hard to deal with them.”

The other Shijie nodded in agreement. “This idea doesn’t sound feasible.”

Hua Jian sighed helplessly. At least let her finish.

She raised one finger and gently shook it in front of her lips, indicating that the two Shijies were overthinking.

Linglong Pavilion’s secret realm allowed entry and exit freely, making it difficult to manage the cultivators inside. But they didn’t have to follow Linglong Pavilion’s rules.

Want to come and go easily? Dream on!

If you don’t clear the map, you’re not getting out!

“First, we’ll offer only a limited number of exploration slots—how many, you Shijies decide. Then we’ll sell those slots by auction to the highest bidder.”

“At the same time, after those cultivators enter the secret realm, we close the exit. Only when they follow the steps we’ve set to activate the mechanisms inside the secret realm can they briefly open the exit.”

“If Tianmomen wants to seize the treasure in the secret realm, they’ll have to pay a high price for an entry permit, kill their way through a bloodbath to find the treasure hidden deep inside, and then activate the mechanism to escape while surrounded by wolves.”

As she spoke, Hua Jian’s expression turned sly.

“The cultivator who manages to bring that treasure out of the secret realm will be the prime suspect for being a Tianmomen spy. Then you Shijies can swoop in with thunderous force, catch them red-handed!”

As Hua Jian explained, the suspicion on the Shijies’ faces gradually faded, replaced by serious consideration of her plan.

It seemed to have some merit. But would Tianmomen really take the bait so obediently? They didn’t know if the secret realm actually contained the treasure they sought.

To the Shijies’ doubts, Hua Jian said that was no problem. Wanhuagu definitely had ways to convince Tianmomen that the secret realm held what they needed.

Moreover, compared to the original plan, her method was more likely to lower Tianmomen’s guard.

The latter plan required Tianmomen to infiltrate the secret realm on their own to steal the treasure, which carried greater risk.

The former plan made it seem like the Qian Family had already explored the secret realm and was using it for a competition, making the risk appear much smaller.

And the former plan’s price tag seemed more in line with Wanhuagu’s habits—essentially monetizing the secret realm in advance. No matter the final outcome, Wanhuagu would definitely profit.

Because those entry permits had to be bought by Tianmomen themselves. That way, it looked like a trap anyone could jump into.

Who would set a pitfall and put a ticket booth next to it, telling people they had to pay to jump in?

Who would be that stupid, that gullible!

“Besides, we don’t have to target just Tianmomen. Spread the word to other Demonic Sects, telling them the secret realm might have what they need. Even if it doesn’t, killing the people inside and looting their treasures is still a good way to get rich.”

Every cultivator attracted by such propaganda would be anything but a good person. Once they entered the secret realm, they were guilty—and deserved to die!

…