Chapter 134
Only after sending off the Rogue Cultivators from the Eastern Continent did Baek-Cheong let out a long breath.
It was the first real battle of her life, and her back was drenched in cold sweat.
Still, she had protected the Cloud Spirit Pearl and hadn’t revealed her identity.
‘I’ve passed one hurdle for now.’
Calming her pounding chest, she rummaged through the Cloud Sea again and gathered medicinal herbs.
Even while she was distracted by picking up Cloud Spirit Fruits and Cloud Root Herbs, her mind was constantly elsewhere.
She kept mulling over what had just happened, wondering if she had missed anything.
“Did I do anything that could be used against me?”
It bothered her that she had initially tested them by putting Baek-Roe forward to uncover their intentions.
Because of that, it was attacked, the illusion covering it was blown away, and it was revealed to be Puppetry.
It seemed she hadn’t been found out thanks to the continuous pressure she applied afterward, but still.
“Just using Puppetry is evidence enough.”
Of all things, she had fought using Puppetry at the Martial Arts Competition.
Since she had also used a sword alongside other means, it wouldn’t be hard to think of her.
“Maybe I should have dealt with them myself back then.”
Sending them back alive left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Even though she had hardened her heart, dug a trap, and launched a surprise attack, it hadn’t been enough.
‘I couldn’t finish it cleanly.’
Still, it wasn’t as if there was absolutely no room for relief.
The Yeonha Baek Clan was under the protection of the Biun Sect, and a female Disciple was taken in by the Pacheon Sword Saint.
No matter how massive a Faction the Eastern Heaven Rogue Cultivator Alliance was, openly messing with her would mean turning both the Biun Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect into enemies at once.
‘Still, it’s better not to give them an excuse.’
It would be best to confess today’s events to her uncle as soon as she leaves the Secret Realm.
If it were her uncle, he would be able to clean up the aftermath without any future trouble.
“Anyway…”
However, a sigh naturally escaped when she recalled clashing with the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
She had only barely managed to subdue him after using Puppetry, floating her sword, and even deploying a Formation.
Even after gathering all sorts of skills, she had to keep her chest tight with anxiety until the very end.
“Because my realm is low, I end up relying on all sorts of methods.”
If her realm had been high in the first place, there wouldn’t have been any reason to tremble like this.
She had no choice but to admit that both her mindset and her realm were lacking.
“My cultivation was severely lacking.”
Baek-Cheong made up her mind to devote herself to Training for a while once she returned to the Main Family.
Getting things easily was good, but one could only comfortably enjoy ease when one had the foundation to back it up.
She never wanted to experience risking her life and feeling so anxious as she did today ever again.
“To live comfortably, being strong is ultimately the best.”
Even so, she couldn’t just stay depressed.
Training was something to do after returning to the Main Family, and right now she is inside the Secret Realm.
Since she had already come in, she intended to extract everything she possibly could.
‘Since I’m here, I have to get my money’s worth before I leave.’
She roamed the Cloud Sea again, sweeping up spirit herbs and spirit fruits.
She didn’t forget to put everything she gathered up on the Nameless Forum Marketplace.
As long as they were registered on the Marketplace, they disappeared from the Storage Platform, preventing the jade token from counting them.
Before she knew it, seven Cloud Root Herbs and three Cloud Spirit Fruits that she had siphoned off were listed on the Marketplace.
It was right when she was about to register the Cloud Root Herb she had just dug up.
‘Huh? Why isn’t it going up?’
No matter how many times she tried, the post wouldn’t register on the Marketplace.
As it turned out, the maximum number of items one person could list at the same time was ten.
Adding seven Cloud Root Herbs and three Cloud Spirit Fruits meant the ten slots were already full.
“Ah, I can only list up to ten.”
Baek-Cheong looked down at the Cloud Root Herb in her hand and fell into thought for a moment.
Actually, she had planned to list the Cloud Spirit Pearl on the Marketplace as well.
The fact that she had obtained the Cloud Spirit Pearl was something she absolutely couldn’t let anyone find out.
There was no benefit in letting it be known that she had obtained a Heaven and Earth spirit treasure either.
Above all, she had taken the Cloud Spirit Pearl while pretending to be a demonic cultivator, so if she was caught having it, it would be a complete disaster.
‘It’ll be a headache if I get caught.’
It was better to list it on the Marketplace and quietly retrieve it outside.
The problem was that to list the Cloud Spirit Pearl, she had to empty one of the full item slots.
She threw the Cloud Root Herb in her hand into the Cloud Sea and canceled the registration of one of the Cloud Root Herbs she had listed on the Marketplace.
Since she was only taking down the registered item and not deleting the post, it was possible even without a registered name.
“One or two Cloud Root Herbs are nothing.”
Now, all she had to do was list the Cloud Spirit Pearl in the empty slot.
However, she hesitated as she was about to set a price.
The Cloud Root Herbs and Cloud Spirit Fruits were listed at prices no one would dare to buy, so she didn’t have to worry about them selling.
But the Cloud Spirit Pearl was a spirit pearl in name and reality, so the situation was different.
A spirit pearl was a Heaven and Earth Spirit Treasure that couldn’t even be priced.
If she clumsily listed it for around 1,000 High-High-Grade Spirit Stones, it might actually sell.
“Because there might be a Lower Realm overflowing with spirit stones but lacking spirit pearls.”
1,000 High-High-Grade Spirit Stones was indeed a massive amount of wealth.
Still, handing over a priceless spirit pearl for a mere 1,000 would be an unparalleled loss.
“It would be unfair if it sold because I listed it clumsily.”
After some thought, Baek-Cheong hid the fact that it was a spirit pearl and listed it as if it were a common bead.
Instead, she inflated the price to the maximum, pricing a single bead at 10,000 High-High-Grade Spirit Stones.
It was an insane price no matter who looked at it, so at this point, there was no way it would sell.
“No one will be able to buy it like this.”
However, the problem was that the price was too steep.
An item worth 10,000 High-High-Grade Spirit Stones was historically rare even in the Nameless Forum.
The eyes of the Dao friends snooping around the Marketplace were bound to be drawn to it instantly.
“Dao Friend (238.19): Here we go again lol. This time they put up a single bead for ten thousand High-High-Grade Spirit Stones.”
“Dao Friend (38.24): But since Dao Friend (913.14) posted it, it feels iffy to just ignore it.”
“Dao Friend (451.0): You never know, it might be a fortuitous encounter for a Five Elements Spirit Root holder, such as a Five Elements pill.”
The Dao Friends took the bait and started speculating about the item she had listed.
Baek-Cheong quietly watched the familiar sight.
Normally, she would have jumped in and stirred things up.
In particular, it annoyed her that Dao Friend (451.0) was acting like a troublemaker to draw the attention of the other Dao friends.
‘I can’t even step in.’
Her hands - no, her Divine Sense - itched, but she soon dropped the thought.
Right now is a time to lay low as much as possible, lest the Cloud Spirit Pearl be discovered.
Stepping in for no reason might only make things worse.
‘It’s a shame, but let’s hold back. Now is not the time.’
Smacking her lips, Baek-Cheong exited the Nameless Forum.
At this point, she had gathered what she needed to gather.
She took out the Escape Jade Token to leave the Secret Realm.
Just as she was about to break the jade token, she saw the number engraved on it and looked into her Storage Platform.
There was still some junk left that she hadn’t managed to throw away.
Most of it was useless to her, so it wouldn’t matter if she threw it away.
However, she was the Top Ranker of the Qi Condensation Group in name, so it would be awkward to leave empty-handed.
“I should at least save face as the Top Ranker before I leave.”
She picked out only the items that seemed somewhat valuable from among the junk.
One was a 2nd-Tier High-Grade Supreme-Grade Dharma Treasure salvaged from the Secret Realm, an item that could easily fetch ten High-High-Grade Spirit Stones.
The other was a 2nd-Grade Low-Tier Technique/Spell suitable for someone at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage to learn.
Even though she, a Qi Condensation cultivator, couldn’t use either of them right away, they were more than enough to show off as a Top Ranker’s share.
She threw the rest of the junk away, scattering it into the Cloud Sea.
She carefully inspected the Storage Platform to see if she had missed anything.
The Cloud Spirit Pearl and medicinal herbs were on the Marketplace, and the dharma treasure and spell were safely kept as the two items to be taken out.
“Done. I can leave now.”
Baek-Cheong gripped the jade token in her hand and crushed it without hesitation.
As soon as the jade token crumbled, the surrounding Cloud Sea rushed in all at once.
The gathering clouds gently wrapped around her and carried her to the exit/Entrance of the Secret Realm.
* * *
As soon as Baek-Cheong stepped out of the Secret Realm, she felt that the atmosphere was unusual.
The atmosphere around the entrance was completely different from when she had entered; it was grim, as if something had gone terribly wrong.
She carefully looked around and tilted her head.
The people guarding the entrance to the Secret Realm had changed from when she went in.
Mong-Yo, who had brought her to the Secret Realm, was nowhere to be seen.
Her Eldest Brother and the other true disciples were also nowhere to be found.
Jin-Wi was the only one guarding the entrance to the Secret Realm.
“Young Lady Baek!”
Jin-Wi rejoiced upon spotting Baek-Cheong exiting the Secret Realm.
And on one side stood an Inner Sect Elder.
Beside the Inner Sect Elder was Cheong Un, the Top Ranker of the Foundation Establishment Group.
However, his robe was a mess, as if he had been in a fight.
“That person is…”
Baek-Cheong recognized Cheong Un and flinched inwardly.
He was the Top Ranker of the Foundation Establishment Group she had briefly seen when entering the Secret Realm.
When she lured the Foundation Establishment Cultivator into her trap, she used Cheong Un’s appearance as an illusion.
“It is Extremely Fortunate that you have returned safely.”
At that moment, the Inner Sect Elder recognized Baek-Cheong and approached.
Baek-Cheong hastily bowed her head to show her respects.
The Inner Sect Elder inspected her thoroughly before speaking with relief.
“I almost didn’t have the face to see the Sword Saint.”
“Did something happen in the Secret Realm?”
At this, Baek-Cheong just blinked, not knowing the reason.
Both the mention of her being safe and bringing up the Sword Saint somehow didn’t sound ordinary.
Inwardly, she had more than a few guilty conscience, so her shoulders naturally shrank.
“Elder, did something happen in the meantime?”
Baek-Cheong carefully chose her words and asked.
“Young Lady Baek, a demonic cultivator sneaked into the Secret Realm. They say it’s a cultivator from a Demonic Faction called the Nine Nether Demonic Palace.”
Jin-Wi, who was beside the Inner Sect Elder, spoke up instead.
Jin-Wi’s complexion was stiffer than ever.
“Nine Nether Demonic Palace…?”
At the name Nine Nether Demonic Palace, Baek-Cheong almost screamed.
It was definitely the name of a Demonic Faction she had overheard in the Nameless Forum, which she had randomly attached to confuse the Rogue Cultivators from the Eastern Continent.
Yet the name that only she should know was flowing openly out of Jin-Wi’s mouth.
“What in the world is this situation!”
She barely managed to control her expression and waited for his next words.
“They say the Demonic Cultivator from the Nine Nether Demonic Palace harmed two rogue cultivators, one at Qi Condensation and one at Foundation Establishment, inside the Secret Realm. So, the senior Disciple brothers all went inside to save those who haven’t been able to escape yet.”
At the mention of two Rogue Cultivators, one at Qi Condensation and one at Foundation Establishment, Baek-Cheong’s little chest sank.
Of all people, they were the same ones she had caught and interrogated.
They were undoubtedly the two she had let go alive.
“The two I let go are dead?”
She had definitely sent them off perfectly fine, but before she knew it, they had become cold corpses.
More than anything, what constricted her was something else.
The lie she had made up had become reality.
“Could it be?”
Baek-Cheong carefully looked toward Cheong Un.
Coincidentally, he was connected to the dead, and his appearance was disheveled.
The story about the Nine Nether Demonic Palace, which no one but the dead would know, had come out.
Even the 2nd-Tier Dharma treasure that the Foundation Establishment Cultivator had used was held in a ruined state in his hand.
‘I don’t know what happened, but that person killed them.’
Even if she didn’t know the detailed circumstances, she could vaguely catch on.
And when their eyes met, Cheong Un hid the ruined 2nd-Tier Dharma treasure as if he had shown an unsightly appearance.
‘It seems he hasn’t heard anything related to me either.’
At this, Baek-Cheong merely looked around cautiously, appearing as if she were afraid.
Amidst the massive incident of an unheard-of Demonic Faction invading the Great Sect’s Secret Realm.