Chapter 135
Before long, the Young Prodigies who had entered the Cloud Sea Secret Realm gathered outside one by one.
The expressions of those exiting the Secret Realm varied.
Some could not hide their satisfaction at having amply filled their Storage Platforms, while others lamented coming out empty-handed.
Since it was a Secret Realm said to be full of fortuitous encounters, it seemed they had managed to snag some.
“To think they still found fortuitous encounters even after I swept up so much.”
Baek-Cheong blended into the crowd and looked around.
Among them, Seo Ju-A stood out the most.
Unlike her usual confident self, she was restless.
As if she had gotten her hands on something, she kept touching her robes and checking her surroundings.
“Looks like she picked up something too.”
Seeing her act as if she had obtained a fortuitous encounter, Baek-Cheong pouted.
However, who had snagged what was no longer a matter of great importance.
“We might not have made it out safely either…”
“Who would have thought a Demonic Faction bastard would sneak into a Great Sect’s Secret Realm? You don’t think they’re still inside, do you?”
Whispers filled with evident anxiety flowed among the Young Prodigies.
A Demonic Cultivator had sneaked into the Secret Realm, and two people ended up dead.
The only saving grace was that no one else had been injured or killed.
Even then, the only ones who lost their lives were two Rogue Cultivators.
No one from a Sect or a Prestigious Clan had died or been injured.
Thanks to that, the taut tension had eased considerably.
Instead, it was the True Disciples who became busy.
The Foundation Establishment True Disciples with profound realms and outstanding skills, including Mong-Yo and Baek Gyu, entered the Secret Realm without a moment’s delay.
It was to track down the Demonic Cultivator hiding somewhere in the Secret Realm.
Baek-Cheong quietly watched the backs of the True Disciples as they entered the Secret Realm.
‘There’s no way a Demonic Cultivator is in there.’
To begin with, the Demonic Cultivator was a lie she had made up.
Not knowing it was an obvious wild goose chase, even her Eldest Brother would be scouring the Secret Realm.
She did not feel comfortable about it, but there was nothing she could do.
‘It’s not like a real Demonic Cultivator is going to pop out…’
While the Young Prodigies were gathered, an Inner Sect Elder stepped forward.
“Our Sect will investigate the detailed circumstances, so the young prodigies should return to their abodes without further delay.”
It meant that the invasion of a Demonic Cultivator was a matter for the Biun Sect to handle, not a place for the Young Prodigies to carelessly intervene.
With stiff expressions, the Young Prodigies turned away one by one.
Jin-Wi also ended up joining the returning group.
It was because he had only recently reached Foundation Establishment and was still young.
No matter how much he was considered a future pillar of the Sect, it was still too early for him to squeeze in among his senior Disciple brothers to chase a Demonic Cultivator.
* * *
On the way back to the Guest Quarters, Jin-Wi’s expression hardly relaxed.
“To think a mere Demonic Cultivator dared to defile Our Sect’s Secret Realm…”
Even as he walked, Jin-Wi ground his teeth, unable to suppress his anger.
“Of all places, a gathering of Young Prodigies. Rogue Cultivators even lost their lives, yet we let that Demonic Faction bastard slip right under our noses.”
For Jin-Wi, both the defilement of the Biun Sect’s Secret Realm and the fact that Baek-Cheong was almost put in danger were unbearable.
“Even if I die and wake up, I have to keep this a secret.”
Seeing him like that, Baek-Cheong pretended to be terrified as she walked.
She had to take to her grave the fact that the Demonic Cultivator and the Nine Nether Demonic Palace were just nonsense she had spouted, no matter what.
‘I’m just a little kid who doesn’t know anything.’
Feigning ignorance inwardly, she put on a frightened act.
As she trembled so delicately, Jin-Wi was startled and softened his voice.
“Y-Young Lady Baek. Please do not be too afraid. my senior Disciple brothers will definitely catch that Demonic Faction bastard. I, no, Our Sect will never let this slide.”
“…Yes.”
Baek-Cheong nodded, acting pitiful.
Inwardly, she prayed that no matter how much they searched the Secret Realm, not a single trace would be found.
Before long, as they reached the Guest Quarters, her uncle quickly came running out.
“Cheong-A! Are you hurt anywhere? Are you injured?”
Baek Mu-Yeong stamped his feet as he looked his Niece up and down.
“It’s this uncle’s fault for dragging you all the way to the Biun Sect out of useless greed. If I had known such a disaster would happen, I never would have brought you…”
His usual sly and calculating demeanor was nowhere to be found.
Only the pale, terrified look of a man who heard that his Niece was in a Secret Realm invaded by a Demonic Cultivator remained.
Originally, Baek-Cheong had intended to confess what happened in the Secret Realm to her uncle.
It was because capturing, interrogating, and then releasing the two Rogue Cultivators weighed on her mind.
To cleanly sort out any aftermath, it was better to borrow her uncle’s hands.
But now, even the reason to do so had vanished.
Because the two she had let live had somehow become cold corpses at the hands of Cheong Un.
The very repercussions she had to worry about had cleanly disappeared.
‘Now there’s no need to even tell uncle.’
Baek-Cheong quietly looked up at her uncle, who was hugging her, and she didn’t know what to do.
“Uncle, I’m really perfectly fine. Look, not a single hair on my head is hurt.”
“Are you sure? Let me see, nowhere really…”
“I didn’t even see a hair of the Demonic Cultivator inside the Secret Realm. There was nothing for you to worry so much about, uncle.”
She soothed her uncle by shamelessly spinning a bald-faced lie.
Only then did Baek Mu-Yeong let out a long sigh, as if a weight had been lifted.
“…Right, as long as you’re safe. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”
However, the shadow cast over his face did not clear easily.
“The Biun Sect has activated the Hosan Grand Formation. Until it catches the Demonic Cultivator, no one will be able to step outside the Sect.”
Since the Hosan Grand Formation covered the entire Sect, there was no way to leave the Biun Sect for the time being.
“The inside of the Sect is incredibly chaotic right now, so don’t wander around needlessly and just stay in the Guest Quarters. Do you understand?”
“Yes, uncle. I’ll stay put.”
Baek-Cheong nodded obediently.
She had no reason to refuse the instruction to stay holed up in the Guest Quarters.
Rather than carelessly wandering around and getting caught up in something unnecessary, she found it a hundred times better to sit quietly in her room.
After reassuring her uncle and returning to her room, Baek-Cheong flopped down on her bed.
Only then did the sigh she had been holding back leak out long and deep.
“How did the words I just threw out there end up getting this big…”
Slapping on the name of a Demonic Faction she had picked up from the Nameless Forum just to shake off the two Rogue Cultivators was the root of the problem.
The name Nine Nether Demonic Palace had somehow turned the Biun Sect upside down.
Lies begot lies, and the situation kept snowballing.
At this point, she didn’t even dare to try to do anything about it.
“At times like this, staying still is the best policy.”
Stepping out because she couldn’t overcome her anxiety would only result in tying herself up in her own trap.
Baek-Cheong connected to the Nameless Forum with the thought of soothing her chaotic mind.
But as soon as she connected, she frowned.
The Nameless Forum was completely in an uproar.
『Dao Friend(238.19): The Marketplace is going absolutely crazy over a single pearl lol. Everyone is just talking about this.』
『Dao Friend(307.6): There’s a whole pile of Cloud Root Herbs posted too. What is all this?』
『Dao Friend(48.21): Are they really selling it or just messing around?』
The Dao Friends were in the middle of arguing over the items she had put up in the Marketplace.
Not a single one of them had the slightest idea that she was using the Marketplace as her Storage Platform.
They were merely debating whether the items listed at insane prices were genuinely meant to be sold or just a massive prank.
『Dao Friend(451.0): If it’s priced at ten thousand High-High-Grade Spirit Stones, it’s definitely an artifact with some kind of backstory.』
『Dao Friend(238.19): It’s obviously a trick to bait someone lol.』
Baek-Cheong smacked her lips as she scrolled down the posts.
She wanted nothing more than to take down the items she had posted in the Marketplace right away.
However, with the Biun Sect turned upside down, she couldn’t hastily retrieve them either.
Especially for a special spiritual pearl like the Cloud Spirit Pearl, it was unknown whether she could hide it from the great cultivators of the Biun Sect with just a Storage Platform at that level.
With the Biun Sect already in a state of unrest, she loathed the idea of drawing attention in any way.
‘I can’t do this, and I can’t do that.’
Even so, leaving it as it was didn’t put her mind at ease either.
If the Dao Friends kept tossing around bait about the pearl, someone might just buy it out of curiosity.
Ten thousand High-High-Grade Spirit Stones could also be considered a massive fortuitous encounter, but the problem was that she wouldn’t be able to use them openly since their origin would be unclear.
In the end, there was only one path she could take.
To divert the Dao Friends' attention away from the Marketplace to somewhere else.
‘It can’t be helped. I have no choice but to drop my trump card bait.’
Baek-Cheong pondered deeply for a moment before typing out her triumphant bait.
『Dao Friend(913.14): If the Righteous Faction and the Demonic Faction fight, who wins?』
[I really don’t know.]
To the Dao Friends of the Cultivation World, the Righteous Faction and the Demonic Faction were topics that could never be brought up lightly.
One side had the pride of the Righteous Faction on the line, and the other had the insidious beliefs of the Demonic Faction.
Since neither side knew how to back down, throwing even a single spark would cause it to blaze up fiercely.
“Please let this work.”
The effect was immediate, making her desperation seem pointless.
As soon as she threw the bait, replies sprang up like bamboo shoots after the rain.
[Dao Friend(733.19): Obviously the Righteous Faction. Those Demonic Faction bastards have never had a good end.]
[Dao Friend(307.6): Those Demonic Faction bastards aren’t worth associating with.]
[Dao Friend(45.88): The Righteous Faction are hypocrites who call the Soul Extraction Art cruel and ruthless to your face, but use it all behind your back.]
Naturally, Demonic Cultivators were also mixed into the Nameless Forum.
The Nameless Body appeared along with the awakening of a spiritual root during the Spiritual Root Examination.
It did not discriminate between the Righteous Faction and the Demonic Faction, nor did it discriminate between humans and demonic beasts.
[Dao Friend(238.19): A Demonic Faction guy just showed up above.]
[Dao Friend(17.938): An honest Demonic Faction is better than a hypocritical one tbh.]
[Dao Friend(23.8): Are they so honest that they spread so many dark schemes?]
In an instant, they divided into the Righteous Faction and the Demonic Faction, busy tearing each other down.
Dozens, then hundreds of replies were posted, and soon derivative posts deviating from the original post began to appear.
As a result, the interest in the bizarre occurrence in the Marketplace vanished without a trace.
“As expected, this is how you drop bait.”
Baek-Cheong looked at the blazing Nameless Forum with a pleased smile.
This much seemed enough to put her mind at ease.