When Jian Dan opened her eyes again, the blue light within them had grown even more intense. With her cultivation breakthrough, the Eye of the Dream Beast had evolved once more. Now, a single glance from her could send an unguarded Divine Transformation cultivator into a dreamscape of her own making.
As the Mó Yuè Zhǎn continued its advance, both she and the blade absorbed demonic energy at a frenzied pace. With each breath of miasma, the fine cracks on the blade began to vanish, and the edge grew sharper still. Wherever Jian Dan moved, arcs of blade light followed, leaving crescent-shaped marks etched into the ground, forming a signature all her own.
By now, her Yuányīng had fully integrated into her physical body and could freely exit it. Her cultivation had stepped into the Divine Soul stage. The pace was nothing short of astonishing. When she first entered this place, she had only been at the peak of early Divine Transformation, just a step shy of mid-stage. Now, she had crossed that threshold entirely.
The meridians within her body had widened by half again, their resilience strengthened, allowing them to store even more spiritual energy. In her dantian, the Yin-Yang Taiji Disc now spun slowly, having taken the place where her Nascent Soul once resided.
The Mò Xī Sword was embedded at the core of the disc's yin side, quietly absorbing the spirit energy refined through its rotation. It, too, was in the process of restoration.
Jian Dan clenched her fist and felt strength surging through her limbs. Still, something was missing. Though her cultivation had advanced, she had yet to endure the Five-Nine Thunder Tribulation. Her body lacked tempering, leaving her power somewhat hollow.
She knew there was no quick solution to that. For now, she had Mó Yuè Zhǎn protect her while she summoned the Yin-Yang Taiji Disc outside her body. Sitting cross-legged, she began channeling the Primordial Chaos Art. The disc spun faster, drawing in demonic energy and converting it into spiritual energy, which streamed steadily into her meridians.
It was the start of a new cycle of refinement.
Yunling City
Not long ago, Du Yanran had suddenly felt as if an invisible weight had lifted from her shoulders. In that fleeting moment of distraction, she collided with someone.
She had been wandering through the western market of Yunling City, looking for rare materials and perhaps a lucky find. But when she bumped into a stranger, her instincts flared. Most cultivators were vigilant against others getting close, but this man had let her walk right into him. Whether it was intentional or not, she couldn't tell.
"This is my fault. Please forgive the intrusion," she said calmly.
But the man seized her wrist before she could step away.
"Caught you, you little thief," he sneered. "Tried to snatch my storage pouch and just walk away like nothing happened?"
Anger and killing intent flickered in Du Yanran's eyes, but she kept her voice soft.
"You must be mistaken, Daoist friend. I'm no thief. I've never even seen your storage pouch."
"Oh? All my friends saw you throw yourself into my arms. Now my pouch is gone, so who else could it be, beauty?"
A few jeers rose from the crowd nearby.
Du Yanran glanced toward the group—pampered playboys, all of them. Their cultivation hovered around mid to late-stage Core Formation. One among them, clearly a bodyguard, had reached the Nascent Soul realm. Her expression darkened.
She looked up, eyes glistening with innocence, her voice gentle and full of grievance.
"Then what... do you want from me?"
"What do you think I want?"
His leering tone made it clear. To him, this Golden Core beauty was no more than prey.
Without waiting for her answer, the man tugged at her wrist, dragging her away like some sordid scene from a bad play. If Jian Dan had been here, she probably would have watched with gleeful amusement.
"Stop right there! Yunling City isn't ruled by your Qi clan!"
A powerful voice rang out. A burst of palm force knocked the man's hand away from Du Yanran. A figure appeared in a swirl of robes, stepping between them with righteous fury.
It was an old acquaintance of Jian Dan—Fan Ji'an, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
Demonic Beast Territory
After Jian Dan's group left the beast clan's sacred grounds, Bai Jue immediately sought out the Nine-Tailed Beast Lord.
"Xiao Bai, what's got you in such a rush?" the Nine-Tails drawled lazily. She was reclining on a soft platform, playing with a howling moon pup nestled beside her. A long, purple tail flicked in the air as she teased it, not looking at all like a proper Beast Lord.
Bai Jue's handsome face twitched slightly. He stepped forward and bowed.
"Beast Lord, Mo Yue and others have left the territory."
"Good, then. Anything else? Is the Howling Moon clan here to demand their pup back? That can't be right. Serving at my side should be an honor. Why would they complain?"
Bai Jue felt the crack on his face deepen another notch. He took a moment to compose himself before continuing.
"The young master of the Howling Moon clan was attacked inside the 'Fourth,' but Mo Yue protected him. He has been safely returned to Clan Leader Lang Xiao."
He paused, then spoke again in a deliberately neutral tone.
"I also ran into Kong Que. She said her father intends to propose a marriage alliance between the Kong and Bai clans."
The Nine-Tails, who had been idly twirling her tail, suddenly narrowed her eyes.
"I see. Leave that matter to me. You just focus on what I've assigned to you."
"Yes."
Without another word, Bai Jue turned and left the den.
Once he was gone, the Nine-Tails' expression darkened.
"They really think I'm letting go of the reins? One by one, they're already laying their groundwork, as if the title of Beast Lord were theirs to claim."
The peacock clan never could shed their habit of flaunting. Now they even covet the position of the future beast consort. But whether that happens... depends on whether I allow it.
With a flick of her hand, a violet fox token formed in her palm.
"Summon the Seven-Tailed Elder," she ordered.
The elder, a white fox with seven tails, was long accustomed to the Beast Lord's whims. Without asking questions, she left to deliver the message.
Soon, news spread across the demonic beast territory: Kong Que had been summoned to the Beast Lord's side for a personal audience.
Before the peacock clan could finish celebrating, more news arrived the next day.
No one knew what Kong Que had said wrong, but it had enraged the Beast Lord. In a fit of fury, she scattered the girl's cultivation, reverting her to a first-stage spirit beast. As punishment for raising such a daughter, the old peacock himself was whipped, one of his prized peacock feathers plucked from his crown. His cultivation dropped a full tier, back to sixth rank.
From that day forward, he behaved himself and never again mentioned marriage.
As for Bai Jue, he paid the matter no mind. Yingge had entered the final stage of bloodline refinement, and he stayed beside the flame pool every day to watch over her, leaving only for clan affairs that demanded his