Chapter 231 (Part 2): As Expected

As for whether Hua Jian should enter the Secret Realm, Huaxinyuan did not have much of an opinion.

She just felt Hua Jian was a little too full of herself, which she found somewhat displeasing.

A difficult problem that so many Ling Emperors could not solve—could you, a single Ling King, solve it just by going in? How could that be possible!

You are the Wanhua Saintess, a Heavenly Talent favored by the Gu Zhu.

But even a Heavenly Talent cannot solve this matter now.

If Hua Jian really could solve it, then Hua Jian would not be a Heavenly Talent but an Immortal!

“Hard to say… it might be relatively difficult?”

“There is no such thing as hard to say. Forget it. If you want to meddle, then meddle. I can’t control you anyway.”

Huaxinyuan was angered into laughter by Hua Jian’s answer.

She had only asked casually; who would have thought Hua Jian would actually give such an answer.

“It might be relatively difficult”—was there any need to use the words “might” and “relatively”?

This was simply very difficult, so difficult that it was impossible for Hua Jian to solve!

But if Hua Jian wanted to join the fun, Huaxinyuan would not stop her.

It was also good for her to see more of the world and know that there were still many difficult problems in this world she could not solve.

Besides, Hua Jian was a hot favorite with the Lingcaifeng Master, a precious Treasure she feared would melt if held in her mouth.

As long as the Lingcaifeng Master was not sick in the head, it was impossible for her to let Hua Jian risk herself.

Even if the Lingcaifeng Master’s brain short-circuited, the Valley Master of Wanhua’s brain would not short-circuit.

It was impossible for her to let Hua Jian do such a dangerous thing.

With double insurance, Huaxinyuan felt very secure.

If Hua Jian loved watching excitement, then let her watch.

It would not be bad if she came up with some bad ideas to prank Wanling Sect.

“Then it won’t do for me to just rush over there cluelessly like this…”

“Fool, just say that after you heard the bad news from me, you rushed over without stopping to report it. You are so shrewd when dealing with us, so why are you so silly with others?”

Huaxinyuan reached out and lightly tapped Hua Jian on the forehead.

“I didn’t teach you to be like this back then, did I?”

“You didn’t teach me any good things back then either.” Hua Jian covered her forehead and retorted with a speechless expression.

Back when she worked at the tavern, none of the things Huaxinyuan taught her were things a proper person would do.

Joking aside, for Hua Jian later becoming a black-hearted little cabbage, Huaxinyuan definitely deserved more than half the credit.

Most of those common tricks like stealing, cheating, and swindling were taught to her by Huaxinyuan.

This is the influence childhood experiences have on a person!

“Fine, you ungrateful thing! Didn’t you also teach me all the bad things instead of the good ones!”

Hua Jian glared angrily at Huaxinyuan for a few seconds, then realized she was acting a little childish.

It was just like a little sister complaining to her Elder Sister. This did not fit her persona.

She rubbed her face hard, returned to her usual expression, and said with a light snort, “I’m leaving first. Just watch me solve this matter perfectly!”

With that, she turned and walked out of Huaxinyuan’s room, even forcefully slamming the door on her way out.

This sulking appearance delighted Huaxinyuan.

She had not expected to see such a childish side of Hua Jian.

In the entire Wanhuagu, probably only she had such an honor.

After saying goodbye to Huaxinyuan, Hua Jian rushed all the way without stopping to the outside of Wanling Sect’s station.

The Wanling Sect Cultivators guarding the entrance of the station were now very familiar with Hua Jian.

Seeing Hua Jian run over, they did not even need to confirm her identity and directly let her into the station.

After spending so much time together, Hua Jian’s bad reputation no longer frightened these Wanling Sect Cultivators.

They all knew Hua Jian was actually a good girl, not the wicked villain described in rumors.

At most, she was a little wicked-minded. This was not an unacceptable flaw.

Sometimes, they would even naturally treat Hua Jian as their own Shimei.

Only after being reminded would they realize Hua Jian was not yet a member of Wanling Sect, but the Saintess of the Demonic Sect.

Entering Wanling Sect’s station, Hua Jian could clearly feel the change in the atmosphere inside.

The originally somewhat relaxed atmosphere had become much heavier today.

The various Cultivators walking along the road all wore grave expressions; one look was enough to tell something had happened.

It seemed Wanling Sect’s intelligence was not that slow.

They already knew what the situation was now.

Hua Jian did not rashly go looking for the Lingcaifeng Master.

Instead, she first found a familiar-looking Shijie and asked about the current situation in the station.

Only after asking did Hua Jian feel glad about her choice.

Fortunately, she had not gone directly.

The Fengzhu was currently in a meeting with Cultivators from other Saint Sects in Frozen Winter City, dealing with the current crisis.

With Hua Jian’s current identity, if she appeared before those people, she would definitely cause a lot of trouble for the Lingcaifeng Master.

Even if some of those people knew Hua Jian was a good person.

But these three Saint Sects would not necessarily believe such a thing, especially Tiandao Sect.

They would very likely use it as a pretext to make trouble.

Hua Jian thought she might as well stay here and wait for the Lingcaifeng Master to finish discussing matters.

And this wait lasted nearly an hour.

In the end, the person she waited for was not the Lingcaifeng Master, but the frowning Little Dragon Girl.

“Why did you come too?”

Hua Jian, who was secretly drinking tea, heard the sound of the room door being pushed open.

The teacup in her hand shook; she thought it was the Lingcaifeng Master coming.

But the one who walked in was the white-haired, golden-eyed Little Dragon Girl, making her feel her fear had been somewhat unnecessary.

“With such a big thing happening, as the Saintess, I naturally had to come and learn about the situation. But it is so noisy inside right now that my head hurts from listening, so I secretly slipped out.”

Linglong sighed, sat down directly beside Hua Jian, snatched the teacup from Hua Jian’s hand, and drank all the tea in it in one gulp.

This action immediately made Hua Jian understand how unhappy Linglong was right now.

The usual Linglong would not do something so proactive.

“Then how did you know I was here?”

“The Fengzhu told me via voice transmission. She saw I was upset, so she let me secretly slip out to find you.”

It seemed the Wanling Sect Disciples had told the Lingcaifeng Master the news that Hua Jian had come, and then the Lingcaifeng Master passed the news to Linglong.

First, to let Linglong come out and relax. Second, to use Linglong’s mouth to let Hua Jian understand the current situation.

“Many Wanling Sect Cultivators are in danger this time. The Fengzhu is anxiously seeking a solution, while the other Saint Sects are not so anxious.”

“Oh, is Tiandao Sect causing trouble again?” As soon as Hua Jian heard this, she immediately locked onto the suspect.

But this time she had guessed wrong.

Tiandao Sect was not playing the villain this time.

On the contrary, they stood on the Lingcaifeng Master’s side, advocating sending people into the Secret Realm as soon as possible to investigate and rescue the Cultivators trapped inside.

The reason was quite simple: their people were also trapped in the Secret Realm.

No matter what, Tiandao Sect was still a Righteous Sect.

They still had to try their best to save their own people; they could not be so heartless as to abandon them directly.

“The ones with somewhat different ideas this time are actually Penglai. They are not very concerned about this matter, and the Fengzhu is already planning to leave Penglai aside.”

Linglong explained the current situation.

Jian Sect had always been quite warm-hearted. If other Saint Sects encountered difficulties, they would definitely come to help.

But these sword fanatics could usually only be useful in battle.

In a situation like this, the Sword Sect Cultivators also had the will but not the power.

Jade Pool was still observing Wanling Sect, but they definitely had to help with this.

Tiandao Sect was currently the most steadfast ally.

As a Saint Sect cooperating with Wanling Sect, they shared the same interests.

That is, Penglai did not touch anything.

They truly had no motivation to meddle in such a dangerous matter, and would probably only provide spiritual support.

“Is this Secret Realm really so dangerous?”

Hua Jian was now even more curious about just how dangerous this You Xue Lian Secret Realm was, that it could trap so many Ling Emperors in it.

At this, Linglong could only spread her hands to show she did not know the secrets within.

“The Cultivators who entered the Secret Realm have not sent out any news at all. Right now, we only know they are still alive. Apart from that, there is no information whatsoever.”

No one knew exactly what had happened inside the Secret Realm, or what kind of alive these Cultivators were.

Although something like a Life Token could reflect whether a Cultivator was alive or dead, it could not determine their specific state.

For example, being instantly frozen and losing the power to resist—this situation could not yet be counted as death, but it was no different from death.

And the Cultivators in the You Xue Lian Secret Realm had very likely encountered this situation.

“But judging only from the various phenomena appearing near the Space Passage, the climate inside this Secret Realm is extremely harsh. It is a desperate place colder and harsher than the deepest Ice Plain.” Linglong added.

“Such an environment is no longer suitable for the vast majority of Cultivators to display their strength. Especially for fire-element Cultivators, this place is simply hell.”

“So we need ice-element Cultivators to go in and explore?” Hua Jian tilted her head.

She remembered that Jade Pool should have a lot of say in ice-element matters.

Facing Hua Jian’s curious gaze, Linglong nodded with a very small motion.

“Yes, but most of Lingcaifeng’s Disciples are Wood Element. That is why the Fengzhu came to us to discuss countermeasures.”

While discussing with them, the Cultivators stationed in Beijing, the Lingcaifeng Master had also sent a request for aid to the Central Continent.

They should be able to borrow some Cultivators and Spirit Beasts suited to the severe cold from Wanling Sect’s other Peaks.

It was just that the situation inside the Secret Realm was unclear now.

Even if these reinforcements arrived, it would probably be difficult for them to take effect immediately.

“Right now, the Fengzhu and the others suspect that a special force field exists inside this Secret Realm that can interfere with the Communication Jade Talisman’s communication. That is why the Cultivators inside cannot send out messages.” Linglong stated the biggest current predicament.

The lack of communication between inside and outside was the fundamental reason the Saint Sects were helpless.

If they knew exactly what had become of the inside of the Secret Realm, with the Saint Sects’ foundation, they would definitely be able to think of various ways to respond.

“It is not that we have no way to deal with communication interference. It is just that it is almost never used normally. If we want to use it now, we would still have to temporarily retrieve it from the Central Continent…”