Chapter 232: It Is Like This, But Not Like This

“It sounds like a real hassle… don’t the Fengzhu and the others carry Spirit Tools that can resist interference when they come out?” Hua Jian asked curiously.

For such a big operation, they couldn’t have made no contingency plans at all, right?

It was impossible that no one had thought of interference inside the Secret Realm, especially for an experienced senior like the Fengzhu.

“Of course preparations were made, but in many cases interference cannot be countered just by preparation.”

Many communication interferences in the cultivation world are not due to technology, but purely due to strength.

You can’t expect Ling Emperors and Ling Kings to break an Interception Formation laid down by a Venerable, can you?

Sometimes even if Ling Emperors and Ling Kings hold Spirit Tools prepared by a Venerable, they still have no way to resist high-intensity interference and send messages out of the blockade.

This isn’t a technical problem!

And the situation the Wanling Sect is facing now is probably exactly like this.

Ordinary communication methods are basically useless, so they can only temporarily pull some new methods out of the Main Sect.

No matter how good an electronic communication device is, if a big iron pot is placed over your head, everything falls silent.

“Then what method is generally used to deal with this kind of interference?”

“The Wanling Sect keeps a group of Spirit Beasts. Wanling Sect Cultivators can investigate intelligence in a blockaded area through the Soul Connection between them and the Spirit Beasts.”

Linglong didn’t hide it from Hua Jian; this wasn’t much of a secret.

If methods using Spiritual Power can’t be used, then use methods involving Soulforce.

Communication and exchange through this method can hardly be blocked.

As for why the Saint Sect doesn’t widely use this communication method… there’s no way around it.

Spiritual Power communication saves time and effort, and in most situations Soul Communication doesn’t even need to appear.

This is a trump card kept at the bottom of the box; it won’t be sent out to work unless they’re at the end of their rope.

And now, it’s about time for Soul Communication to make its appearance.

“Those Spirit Beasts will sign a Contract with specific Cultivators, then receive training…” Linglong went on and on introducing the principles of this communication method to Hua Jian.

Normally, when the Saint Sect encounters a situation where internal and external information exchange is cut off, the first thing they do is seek help from the Wanling Sect.

After all, the Wanling Sect is the most experienced in this area.

Moreover, those Spirit Beasts kept by the Wanling Sect are basically consumables.

No matter how many die, they won’t feel too heartbroken.

Asking them for help is the most economical and practical.

One hand pays money, the other provides service.

The Wanling Sect’s business has already become very mature.

It’s just that this time the matter happened in Beijing, and it will still take some time for the Wanling Sect’s support to arrive.

“Then why didn’t the Fengzhu directly bring these people when she came out?” Hua Jian continued to press.

According to what Linglong said, wouldn’t Lingcaifeng Master directly bringing these Cultivators to Beijing save a lot of effort?

Other Saint Sects don’t have this ability and can only ask the Wanling Sect for help after something happens, but Lingcaifeng Master herself is a Venerable of the Wanling Sect, so she could absolutely bring people with her, right?

Linglong, however, shook her head and told Hua Jian that this wasn’t the case.

“Those Cultivators are extremely precious. If there’s no need, they won’t leave the mountain.”

Spirit Beasts are consumables, but the Cultivators who can Contract with those Spirit Beasts and receive the Spirit Beasts’ Soulforce feedback are not.

Their status in the Wanling Sect is quite extraordinary, and they are key protected targets.

Only when a Mission requires them to move out are they permitted to leave the mountain, and along the way they are protected layer by layer by Wanling Sect elites.

“So important? This is even grander than the entourage of a Fengzhu’s Direct Disciple, isn’t it?” Hua Jian gaped.

The several Wanling Sect Direct Disciples she knew now had never had such an entourage.

“Their selection standards are much stricter than those for Direct Disciples. Many of them are also Direct Disciples of other Peaks, so their status is naturally very high.”

Linglong raised a finger and pointed at her own head.

“Especially the requirements for Soulforce, which can be called harsh.”

Even she might not have the confidence to pass that kind of assessment.

“I see… so it’s actually relying on the Soul Connection between Cultivators and Spirit Beasts, letting the Spirit Beasts enter the Secret Realm in place of the Cultivators to die and scout for intelligence?”

Hua Jian felt she understood everything.

Linglong’s expression stiffened. That was putting it too bluntly.

Although that was indeed the essence, couldn’t it be said a little more nicely?

And this was exactly why these Cultivators needed to undergo strict assessments.

When Spirit Beasts disobeyed, they had to forcibly control the Spirit Beasts to do all sorts of things that might get them killed.

This was a great challenge to their Soulforce strength and their minds.

Some Cultivators might give up because of softheartedness, while others would gradually become cruel and extreme in the process, applying their attitude toward those Spirit Beasts to people.

Long ago, such a situation appeared in the Wanling Sect.

That Cultivator ultimately betrayed the Wanling Sect and became a Big Demon Head who dominated the Magic Path for decades.

Of course, in the end the Wanling Sect still spent a great deal of effort to deal with this traitor and protect its reputation.

But the losses and casualties caused during that period could no longer be recovered.

After that incident, the Wanling Sect strengthened supervision over this group of Cultivators who possessed special methods.

Every few months, their mental state had to be judged, and after completing Missions they were observed for quite a while, to avoid another traitor appearing.

“Whoa, the treatment is this bad and people are still willing to do this kind of work!”

“As long as nothing goes wrong, they can learn the Wanling Sect’s true Secret Techniques and enjoy treatment one level higher than Direct Disciples. If it were you, would you be willing?”

Linglong rolled her eyes and retorted rudely.

Hua Jian fell silent for a moment. It did sound quite reasonable.

Although there would be a few more restrictions, the treatment was indeed good.

There were gains and losses, so it couldn’t be considered a bad thing.

“Oh, now that you mention it, I think I can do this too. It’s just controlling Spirit Beasts to enter the Secret Realm, right? I can do that!” Hua Jian struck her palm with her fist.

She was familiar with Soulforce.

As an Illusory Dream Flower, she had a unique advantage in this area, and controlling Spirit Beasts with fragile Soulforce was even simpler.

As for whether she could sense things inside the Secret Realm, that wasn’t even a problem.

She had tried before controlling Huā Xīn Ruǐ’s body inside a Secret Realm, and aside from a small delay, there were no issues.

“The Fengzhu doesn’t need to go all the way to the Central Continent to summon people. She just needs to find me…”

Before Hua Jian finished speaking, Linglong shot her a look as if she were an idiot.

Being looked at like that by Linglong, Hua Jian’s voice grew quieter and quieter, but she still couldn’t understand what she had said wrong to make Linglong look at her that way.

“What did I say wrong? No way, I think it’s very right.”

“It is indeed very right, but have you ever thought about who you are?”

“I’m Hua Jian.”

When asked the question of who she was, Hua Jian gave her answer without thinking.

Then she realized that what Linglong was asking wasn’t that, but the question of ‘who Hua Jian is.’

Oh! Got it!

Hua Jian was also damn well the Wanhua Saintess. This identity was very delicate here.

Some words can be spoken by good people, but when bad people say them they become somewhat off.

And Hua Jian was unfortunately a ‘big bad guy’ now.

Her, the Wanhua Saintess, telling Lingcaifeng Master that she wanted to help, and in a way very characteristic of the Wanling Sect, was really far too suggestive.

At the very least, it would easily make people who didn’t know the truth confuse the Wanling Sect’s Secret Technique with Magic Path sects like Wanhuagu, damaging the Wanling Sect’s reputation.

Although this Secret Technique of the Wanling Sect had indeed caused trouble before, hardly anyone knew about that kind of thing now!

“So even if I can help, I can’t help?” Hua Jian tilted her head and asked.

The disadvantages of this identity were now apparent.

Wearing the hat of Wanhua Saintess, there were many things she couldn’t do.

“Right, at least openly you can’t help.” Linglong nodded, then looked around and leaned close to Hua Jian’s ear to add, “But if you help secretly, then secretly send the information to the Fengzhu, there won’t be a problem.”

It wasn’t a big problem for Hua Jian to give intelligence from the Secret Realm to Lingcaifeng Master.

She just couldn’t openly work together with the Wanling Sect.

As for why Linglong agreed to let Hua Jian get involved in this matter, the reason was simple: this matter wasn’t dangerous.

Hua Jian’s true body was outside the Secret Realm, and what entered the Secret Realm was a Spirit Beast controlled by Hua Jian.

That meant Hua Jian’s true body was absolutely safe, so of course Linglong was willing to let Hua Jian do a good deed.

She wasn’t the kind of selfish petty person who wished to see all Saint Sect Cultivators in the Secret Realm die.

If the situation inside the Secret Realm could be discovered earlier, then naturally it was better to discover it earlier.

Besides, if Hua Jian really helped, afterward Hua Jian’s image on the Right Path would improve a lot.

Fewer people would be deceived by the Smoke Screen released by Wanhuagu and think Hua Jian was a big bad guy.

In the future, if Hua Jian wanted to Turn from Darkness to Light, the resistance would also be much smaller.

All things considered, Hua Jian lending a hand was beneficial and harmless.

It absolutely could not be considered a wrong choice.

“Got it, you mean Tacit Understanding!” Hua Jian’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t expect you’d also learn to exploit loopholes!”

After staying by her side for so long, Little Dragon Girl’s mind had become active too.

She could actually think of such a win-win method. Hua Jian was truly proud.

It seemed her teaching by example had worked!

“This has nothing to do with me. You figured it out yourself.” Linglong glared at Hua Jian with a hint of reproach.

If you’re going to praise someone, praise them properly.

What did she mean by “also learned to exploit loopholes”?

Couldn’t she use some normal praise words, like saying she was so smart?

“Yeah yeah, it was smart me who came up with the method.”

Hua Jian nodded tactfully, then asked Linglong which Spirit Beasts in Beijing could better resist the cold climate.

“The kind that is very weak, but not afraid of cold.”

This was selecting the beast candidate to enter the Secret Realm.

“Your little Spiritual Civet would work, but you definitely wouldn’t be willing to part with it.” Linglong first eliminated one wrong answer.

Hua Jian’s little Spiritual Civet was a proper Contract Spirit Beast, not a consumable meant to be sent to die.

“The environment inside that Secret Realm is extremely cruel. Weak Spirit Beasts that enter will likely soon be frozen until they lose the ability to move.”

Linglong frowned and began eliminating answers one by one.

In the end, she discovered that no matter what, the Spirit Beast entering the Secret Realm had to have Ling Wang Realm strength.

If it only had Ling Shi Realm strength, then no matter how thick its fur was, in the Extreme North Icefield’s Blizzard mixed with extremely cold Spiritual Power, its only ending would be freezing into an ice sculpture.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need them to be alive to control Spirit Beasts.”

At this point Hua Jian indicated that Linglong needed to open her mind.

She was different from those Wanling Sect people.

Those Cultivators controlled Spirit Beasts. Once a Spirit Beast lost the ability to move, there was no way for them to restore that ability.

But Hua Jian was different. She had many ways to control Spirit Beasts.

Not only could she control them through Soulforce, she could also leave a necessary trace of Vines inside the Spirit Beast’s body.

That way, even if the Spirit Beast’s body had an accident, she could change the operating system and let the Vines carry the Spirit Beast’s body forward.

Compared to a Spirit Beast body that easily stopped working after taking a bit more damage, a Spirit Beast parasitized by her Vines was clearly more durable.

Even if its heart was pierced or its head cut off, Hua Jian could still control this Spirit Beast body to do what she wanted it to do.

To use a vivid analogy, Wanling Sect Cultivators played a Simulation Game.

Any little problem could easily cause the game character to lose functionality.

Hua Jian played in a Health Bar World.

As long as the health bar had even a sliver left, her character could jump around as if nothing were wrong.

This gap couldn’t even be described as a difference in ability; it was simply something from two different worlds.

“That sounds too evil, Hua Jian. You must never let the Tiandao Sect find out about this method.”

Linglong rubbed her brow with a complicated expression.

This news was naturally very good at this moment, but after this matter ended, this thing would absolutely become one of Hua Jian’s death warrants.

Since she could control Spirit Beasts, she could naturally also control Cultivators.

Hua Jian had even already used these little clever ideas against Demonic Cultivators.

If someone caught this handle and attacked with it, the Jade Pool and the Wanling Sect really wouldn’t be able to openly protect Hua Jian, because this really was a Magic Path method.

If a Magic Path Cultivator displayed this kind of Talent, the Venerables and Saints of the Right Path would probably already be holding a small meeting to discuss how to strangle this Magic Path genius in the cradle.

“I know. Anyway, I won’t use it in front of them, so they can’t guess who is behind that Spirit Beast.”

Hua Jian nodded repeatedly, but didn’t think this matter was important.

This time she was basically entering under a skin suit.

Even if the Cultivators in the Secret Realm tore her skin suit completely apart, it was impossible for them to know who was under the skin suit.

They wouldn’t even know that it was actually a Spirit Beast controlled by her.

Because what Hua Jian needed to do was investigate the situation inside the Secret Realm.

As long as she took out the intelligence and gave it to Lingcaifeng Master, her Mission would be perfectly completed.

The rest could be left to the Fengzhu.

Surely, with intelligence support, the Fengzhu wouldn’t still mess things up, right?

Hua Jian thought it was unlikely.

At least she was a Venerable, at least she was a Fengzhu of the Wanling Sect!

Believe, just believe. She believed the Fengzhu definitely wouldn’t disappoint her!