Jian Dan moved swiftly between teleportation arrays across various cities. Midway through, she slipped aboard a crowded flying vessel bound for Huanle City, located at the intersection of human, demon, and beast territories.
Upon boarding, Jian Dan casually entered one of the rooms, then vanished into her personal space. The cultivator who had been tailing her all along never saw her again, even after the vessel reached its destination. It was a silent indication that he had failed his mission.
Jian Dan could have easily killed this pursuer from the Purple Sky Sect, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator nearing the peak. But since Yue Liang was still within the sect, she decided to let him live, chalking it up as a favor for Yue Liang's karmic fortune.
That Purple Sky cultivator had no idea how close he had come to death.
Inside her space, Jian Dan first examined her surroundings. The bamboo pavilion had gained an entirely new floor. This upper level was filled with jade slips, beast-hide tomes, and even paper-bound books, all neatly categorized and arranged.
Cotton Candy floated up eagerly, drifting between the shelves before sending her a voice transmission.
"Master, this feels like a sect's library pavilion. There aren't as many volumes, but they all seem rare. I haven't seen most of these before!"
Jian Dan nodded, acknowledging the observation. She casually picked up a paper-bound book—it was a mundane martial arts manual. On a different shelf were manuals focused on individual spell applications.
She selected one titled "Flourishing Step", a spell that allowed the user to summon their favorite flowers beneath their feet with each step, creating the illusion of walking through blossoms. In short, it was beautiful—perfect for dramatic entrances.
Jian Dan found it worth learning. One day, she too would make a splendid entrance bathed in blooms. She continued exploring. The space now housed a volcano, a glacial mountain, and a lush jungle. The land had expanded significantly.
After tending to her spiritual fields and spirit rice, Jian Dan rewarded herself with a hearty meal: purple rice and braised octopus slices. The meal solidified her spiritual energy even further.
Once rested, she took out a unique jade pendant from her mother's legacy. It was a pale green and white piece of jade. Sweeping her spiritual sense over it revealed no reaction. She then pricked her finger and let a drop of blood fall—still, nothing.
Jian Dan flipped the pendant back and forth in her hand, scrutinizing it. At last, she steeled her resolve and forced out a drop of essence blood from between her brows. This time, the jade finally responded.
A soft glow surrounded the pendant, growing brighter until the Jian Clan crest—the Wheel of Fate—appeared on its surface.
As the Wheel emerged, five-colored spiritual light shimmered across the jade, eventually condensing into a quail-egg-sized orb that flew to Jian Dan's forehead, adhering between her brows and transforming into a forehead ornament. A powerful Mahayana-stage pressure surged out from her body, then swiftly withdrew into the ornament.
In the Immortal realm, Jian Qingyue seemed to sense something. He briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were full of warmth.
Jian Dan could now confirm this was the ancestral protective jade left behind before her forebear ascended. Only a direct descendant of the Jian line could activate the pendant's safeguards.
With this, she felt more secure. Her cultivation wasn't yet at the peak of this realm, and she couldn't hide in her space forever. She had no desire to become overly dependent on it. Now, with the jade recognizing her as its master, she had another layer of protection.
Next, Jian Dan pulled out her rarely used makeup box from her time in the Nether realm. She intended to employ one of the Four Great Oriental Arts: the Art of Makeup. It would allow her to transform her appearance completely. Of course, she could have used typical disguises or illusion masks from the cultivation world, but those were often detectable by high-level cultivators. Worse, without continuous spiritual energy to sustain them, they could unravel at any moment.
Most cultivators relied on spiritual sense to perceive and identify others. Jian Dan was going to exploit that weakness. She would still be herself, and yet, not quite—this was the pinnacle of disguise.
An hour later, she conjured a mirror before her. The woman reflected there had an oval face, delicate willow-leaf brows, upward-slanting phoenix eyes, a graceful nose, and rose-tinted lips. A single tear-shaped mole adorned the outer corner of her right eye, lending her an air of alluring charm.
Her hair was half-pinned into a loose topknot, the rest cascading to her waist. A golden butterfly-shaped artifact sat above her temple. She changed into a black robe embroidered with the crimson petals of a Manjushahua, paired with black cloudstep boots.
Activating the Heavenly Demon Art, the yin half of her internal Taiji diagram rose to her upper dantian. A wave of dense, pure demonic energy spread outward. The Mó Yuè Zhǎn, resting in her core, stirred faintly.
Jian Dan smiled at her reflection. Her red lips gleamed like blood. Alluring and bloodthirsty—that was who she had become now. A demon cultivator.
Several days later, Jian Dan stood at the gates of Huanle City. The streets were as busy as ever, perhaps even more chaotic. Within moments of arriving, she sensed five or six spiritual senses sweeping across her.
Without hesitation, she struck back at every single one. At her current stage—mid Divine Transformation—such efforts were effortless.
As expected, there were no more reckless intrusions. At most, a few senses circled her briefly before withdrawing.
At the city gate, she verified her identity by placing her token into the mouth of a large stone toad. The gate opened, and she entered with the crowd. She now appeared to be at the peak of the Golden Core stage in demonic cultivation, which was her actual level. However, because her demonic energy was so refined, her aura felt more imposing than others at her rank.
"Fairy immortal, is this your first time in Huanle City? Would you like a guide? I only charge two low-grade spirit stones."
The speaker was a half-beastkin with fluffy rabbit ears who eagerly offered his services.
"I won't be staying. I'm looking to take a flying vessel to Tianmo City under the Heavenly Demon Palace."
"Understood! Come with me, I know where the next departing vessel is docked."
Jian Dan followed the half-demon into a narrow alley. Just as they turned the corner, a massive net dropped from the sky.