Chapter 213 (Part 1): Why Not Pull?

“How is it? Were you scared by me?”

“Actually, a little.”

After the sounds of battle at the resource point died down, Linglong carefully crept over.

Hua Jian naturally knew Linglong had returned. Without turning her head, she asked a question.

Linglong’s reply was just that—she was indeed a bit surprised by Hua Jian’s methods.

The fourteen demonic cultivators originally surrounding the resource point had all been killed.

Counting the unlucky one killed at the start, a total of five full squads had been wiped out at this resource point, and each squad was full of experts on the magic path.

They died in confusion, not even knowing why they had fought and who ultimately benefited from the fisherman’s gain.

All of this was Hua Jian’s work.

Linglong hadn’t seen the specific operations, but she could guarantee that Hua Jian definitely hadn’t solved these fourteen demonic cultivators by brute force.

Most of these people should have died killing each other, which meant that Hua Jian’s performance seemed poor, but actually highlighted her strength.

Most of the time, people who kill with their brains are more dangerous than those who kill with violence.

“How did you do it?”

“Very simple. Just use their inner greed, then fan the flames, and they’ll fight among themselves.”

Hua Jian smiled and took out the Mirage Pearl she had condensed from her bosom.

Seeing this pearl, Linglong’s eyes widened. She almost struggled immensely to control her urge to snatch the pearl from Hua Jian’s hand.

This scene made Hua Jian curious. Linglong didn’t seem like a greedy person, so why did she react so strongly to this pearl?

To verify her guess, Hua Jian waved the pearl left and right in front of Linglong.

Seeing that Linglong’s gaze indeed followed the pearl, she confirmed that Linglong had an unusual fondness for this pearl.

“You like it too?”

“Cough, not that much.” Linglong swallowed and forced herself to look away.

If she couldn’t see it, she could pretend it didn’t exist.

If your expression counts as not liking it, then there’s nothing in the world you like.

Hua Jian wasn’t fooled by such words.

She could see that Linglong really loved this pearl, even more than she loved her!

Stared at by Hua Jian’s questioning eyes, Linglong’s face grew redder and redder.

Finally, unable to bear it, she covered her face and whispered her little secret.

“I do like these shiny, round things, but… but it’s our dragon race’s nature!”

Actually, Linglong didn’t care about the value of the Mirage Pearl.

As a super rich young lady, a personal disciple of the Saint Sect leader, and the precious daughter of the Dragon Saint, she would never lack money.

She was attracted by the Mirage Pearl in Hua Jian’s hand entirely because Hua Jian had made it so beautifully that it struck the softest part of Linglong’s heart.

So big, so round, so shiny, so want!

“I thought dragons only had a lecherous nature. So you’re also greedy?”

Greedy and lecherous? What a terrifying creature the dragon race is!

Whoosh! Clap!

In a flash, Linglong’s hand chop was blocked by Hua Jian’s crouching defense with her head covered.

“Haha, the same trick won’t work on me twice!” Hua Jian, who had suffered countless hand chops, laughed loudly.

“If you’ve got the guts, say that to another dragon.” Linglong glared helplessly at Hua Jian.

She felt that the biggest obstacle to Hua Jian’s future prospects was that loose mouth of hers.

She really dared to say anything.

If it weren’t for their good relationship, Linglong would have fought Hua Jian over that one sentence.

How could anyone insult dragons like that? Dragons are a very proud race, but called greedy and lecherous—which dragon could stand that?

“I’m not stupid. I only say that to dragons I can bully.” Hua Jian puffed out her chest, indicating she was a soft, good girl who knew what to say and what not to say.

But this sentence sounded different to Linglong.

What do you mean, “only to dragons I can bully”? Am I a dragon you can bully?

It seems she had given Hua Jian too much freedom!

“Don’t move. Explain properly what you mean by ‘dragons you can bully’!”

“Cough, I suddenly remembered I have something to do. Goodbye, no need to see me off!”

Hua Jian turned without hesitation and ran, even using the Flying Flower Evasion technique.

Unfortunately, in a chase, flowers can’t outrun Linglong’s Thunder Escape technique.

Before she could take two steps, Linglong grabbed her by the collar.

“Let me call you greedy, let me call you lecherous, let you bully me!”

Squeezing Hua Jian’s cheek hard, Linglong pulled her cheeks to both sides with such force that it seemed she wanted to tear Hua Jian’s mouth apart.

Hua Jian promptly put on a hurt expression and whimpered for mercy.

“Wrong, wrong, I know I was wrong!”

“Where were you wrong?”

“I shouldn’t have had prejudice against the dragon race, shouldn’t have believed rumors that dragons are greedy and lecherous. Even if dragons really are greedy and lecherous, the beautiful Saintess Linglong must be the great, bright, and righteous exception!”

Linglong admired Hua Jian. She could flatter so smoothly, yet usually loved to be so sharp-tongued.

Sharp-tongued young imps aren’t popular these days, right?

“I’ll let you off this time. Don’t say that again!” Linglong glared at Hua Jian and stopped tormenting her cheeks.

“Yes, sir!”

“Huh?”

“Understood, Commander Linglong!”

Linglong was used to ignoring Hua Jian’s strange oral expressions, knowing them to be something Hua Jian had picked up from who knows where.

Hua Jian was simply a giant dye pot that absorbed everything indiscriminately, both good and bad. She couldn’t be judged simply as good or bad.

The most fitting description for Hua Jian was probably chaotic—both good and bad, but not extremely so.

Her personality was full of surprises, and no one knew whether that little mouth would say something nice or mean next.

Especially in front of her, Hua Jian’s unpredictability was at its peak.

“You, why can’t you always be as well-behaved as you are in front of the Venerables?”

“Because the Venerables could really slap me to death with one palm.” Hua Jian indicated she was acting good, not really good.

Liking to court death and cause trouble was human nature, just like Linglong’s greed and lechery—it can’t be changed.

‘Of course, I didn’t dare say that. If I did, Linglong would pinch my face again.’

“By the way, if you want the pearl, I can give it to you. It’s just something I made myself, not worth much.” Hua Jian held the pearl out to Linglong with a grin.

For Hua Jian, this pearl really wasn’t valuable—just squeezing out her Mirage Qi that she hadn’t used for years into a ball.

It consumed very little, and in a few years she could make another one.

But in Linglong’s eyes, this gift was too precious. She didn’t want to accept it for nothing.

Mirage Qi was something Hua Jian could produce herself, but for other cultivators, it was still a fairly rare material.

And this Mirage Pearl was so beautiful that it would increase its value even further.

Linglong estimated that outside, this pearl could sell for no less than high-level spirit items of the Lingwang Boundary.

Even if Mirage Qi was dangerous and troublesome to use.

“It’s still unnecessary. What I like isn’t this pearl, but a pearl of this shape.” Linglong shook her head.

She didn’t care about the practical value of the Mirage Pearl; she simply liked this colorful, round ball.

So Hua Jian didn’t need to give her the Mirage Pearl. If she gave her a pearl that looked similar, she would be happy.

Hua Jian tilted her head, then clapped her hands.

She understood!

“Then I’ll make a few more for you. Tell me, what color do you like?”

“Colorful… Don’t you have things to do? No rush?”

Hua Jian’s eyes darted around as she thought about how to make colorful pearls while explaining why she wasn’t in a hurry now.

“The initial mechanism can remain open for two days. I’ve installed four mechanisms in the secret realm. Now we’ve pulled two, and there are two more, both in other core zones.”

“After we activate the mechanism here, the mechanisms in other core zones will sense it. By now, the demonic cultivators in those core zones probably know someone is trying to activate the mechanisms.”

“If we rush over without stopping, we might be ambushed. So we should take it easy. My Agitation Tactic succeeded this time, but it probably won’t succeed a second time.”

Hua Jian’s Wolf-Swallowing Tiger Strategy wasn’t foolproof.

If the demonic cultivators in other places were more vigilant, the strategy’s effect would be greatly diminished.

If the enemies didn’t fight each other, things would get difficult.

So she had to think of a cleverer method…

Just as she was pondering how to pull the switches in the other core zones, the already-activated mechanism suddenly trembled.

Then, a bright pillar of light shot straight into the sky.

“What’s this?” Linglong was startled by the commotion and instinctively looked at Hua Jian for an answer.

Hua Jian was also confused. What was going on?

“This is the signal that the third mechanism has been activated. Now three out of the four mechanisms in the secret realm have been activated, so a sky-reaching beam of light visible throughout the secret realm is emitted, reminding other demonic cultivators that the secret realm exit is about to open.”

Hua Jian knew what the light pillar meant, but she didn’t understand why someone had activated the third mechanism when she hadn’t even moved yet.

‘What’s happening? I haven’t even acted yet, and you guys are activating the mechanism so spontaneously?’

‘That’s not how the script goes! You should be guarding the mechanism, then fighting wits with me, and finally being outsmarted and wiped out by me. Then I pull the lever in victory.’

‘That’s the normal flow!’

‘Why are you pulling the lever yourselves now? How am I supposed to show off? I won’t accept this!’

“Why? Are they full and want to retreat? But it’s only the first day—the secret realm still has over ten days!” Hua Jian was confused and bewildered.

She had planned to rest a bit, but now there was no time. She had to go to that place and find out what was going on!

……

“Like this, only the last mechanism needs to be activated.”

Looking at the light pillar shooting straight into the sky, a well-dressed demonic cultivator said with a smile to his companions.

The core zone they were in had been leveled to the ground.

A thick scent of blood hung in the area, and several bodies with terrified expressions lay among the ruins, chilling to the bone.

Unlike the second mechanism site that Hua Jian had just overturned, this core zone had an absolute king.

They had killed all the demonic cultivators who dared approach this resource point, causing the other watching demonic cultivators to retreat without fighting.

Demonic cultivators weren’t stupid. Faced with someone so clearly formidable, they wouldn’t rush to their deaths.

That resource point was already someone else’s territory. Even if they wanted to fight these experts, they would have to find a suitable ambush spot.

Charging straight into someone else’s home turf—either you were a lunatic confident in your strength, or a fool who couldn’t see the situation.

“Are we going to activate the last mechanism now, or…”

Before the demonic cultivator could finish, the most mature-looking one among the trio spoke his decision: “We go to that place.”

A map of the secret realm appeared in his hand.

This map was a crude one kindly provided by Wanhuagu, with large areas covered in mist. But among those mist-covered regions, there was a clear path.

This was the only way to leave the secret realm. Only by taking this path could one safely reach the exit point at the very center of the secret realm.

If they took this path, it wasn’t impossible, but they would have to find the correct direction within the massive Array of Bewilderment set up by Wanhuagu.

By the time they found the exit point, the flowers would have wilted.

This road, though called a main road, was no different from a single-plank bridge for Ling Wang Realm cultivators.

Even more, before the exit point of the Secret Realm, a pass stood on the road.

If any cultivator took control of this place in advance, they could block all cultivators wishing to evacuate.

The place that the Demonic Sect cultivator had mentioned was precisely that pass.

“This is the most advantageous spot in this Secret Realm. As long as we can hold this place, the entire Secret Realm will be under our control!”

“But what if nobody comes?”

“Impossible, unless they want to die in this Secret Realm. Besides, three of the four mechanisms have already been activated. The last one will likely be activated soon. If we set up an ambush here in advance, we have a high probability of intercepting and killing those who want to leave early.”

The mature cultivator laughed twice, his confident expression indicating there was no issue with his decision.

If someone else started it, that devil cultivator would indeed pull the gate.

But now that three of the four gates were open, even the cultivators at the last gate point, even if they didn’t want to leave, would probably be unable to resist pulling the gate.

If they didn’t pull it, they wouldn’t be conforming, right?

Why not pull it? Everyone else already pulled, so pulling one more doesn’t matter.

“Being able to send a few opponents away should be a good choice too.”