Jian Dan reappeared within the Yunhai Sect, quietly returning to the temporary cave dwelling at the summit of Yunyin Peak.
"Cotton Candy, thank you for your hard work. You didn't alert anyone from the sect, did you?"
"Of course not. You can always count on Cotton Candy!"
The cloud-like fluff surrounding Jian Dan's body slowly retreated as Cotton Candy gathered it back. A soft white cloud hovered inside the cave just as the dwelling's restriction was triggered.
Jian Dan raised her brow and waved to unlock the restriction. A flash of yellow light darted inside and landed straight into her arms.
"You're back, Zhūnzhǔ?" It was Yue Liang.
Yue Liang had been tasked the day before with guarding Jian Dan's cave dwelling while she slipped away for a secret errand. Dutifully, Yue Liang had concealed herself outside the cave, keeping watch. When she detected the spatial fluctuation within, she immediately guessed her master had returned and stepped forward to trigger the restriction.
"I made you worry. I was delayed for half a day due to some unexpected matters. I meant to return sooner," Jian Dan said with a smile, gently stroking Yue Liang's head.
Yue Liang sniffed at Jian Dan, her little nose twitching. "Zhūnzhǔ, you're hurt? Who could have injured you?"
Her soft, fluffy face was unusually serious. In Yue Liang's eyes, her Zhūnzhǔ was invincible. For anyone to harm her was no small feat.
"You don't need to worry, Yue Liang. The nasty villain who hurt our master has already been eliminated!"
Cotton Candy floated over and answered on Jian Dan's behalf.
Still uneasy, Yue Liang flicked her tail and gave Jian Dan a thorough once-over. Suddenly, a golden gleam flashed through her black eyes. She bared her teeth slightly, then shot out a paw in a blur of motion. Her five claws gleamed with golden light as she struck hard at Jian Dan.
"Yue Liang!"
Cotton Candy cried out in alarm and instantly teleported to Jian Dan's side, trying to pull her out of harm's way — but she was still one step too slow.
"Ah—" A low male voice rang faintly beside Jian Dan's ear before dissipating into nothingness. Jian Dan, throughout it all, hadn't moved a muscle.
"Yue Liang, what just happened?"
Cotton Candy hovered protectively around Jian Dan, suddenly realizing something was off. She quickly turned to Yue Liang for an explanation.
Jian Dan, calmly holding Yue Liang in her arms, gave her ears a soothing rub and smiled. "Is it taken care of?"
"Zhūnzhǔ, that strand of remnant soul has been destroyed."
"Good."
Only then did Jian Dan recline lazily on the soft couch, finally allowing herself to relax.
Cotton Candy buzzed with nervous energy. She zipped from Jian Dan's side to Yue Liang's head, shrinking down into a tiny yellow cloud and landing on Yue Liang's ear. "Quick, Yue Liang, tell me everything! Cotton Candy's about to burst!"
Yue Liang flicked her tail and finally spoke. "I smelled blood on Zhūnzhǔ just now. I wasn't sure, so I used my divine ability to check her. That's when I discovered a tiny black remnant soul, barely the width of a hair, clinging to her. I took care of it before it could do anything."
"That was from that Unity-stage cultivator, wasn't it?"
Cotton Candy caught on quickly and pressed her.
"Most likely," Jian Dan replied. "That final blow I struck must have triggered it. He used the opportunity when my spiritual power was depleted and my mind was exhausted to latch on. I did feel something strange at the time, but with my energy drained, I couldn't check it in time."
"Was it some kind of evil art?"
"Not entirely. It's a life-preserving method used by Unity cultivators. That remnant soul was meant to take over my body if my divine soul weakened further."
"Zhūnzhǔ, that thing had turned so dark red it was nearly black. It must have committed countless atrocities in life. Yue Liang just saved us from a serious threat. Normally, if the physical body is destroyed, the soul should appear translucent. If it had been in its normal state, I might not have noticed it at all!"
"Why's that?" Cotton Candy asked, curious.
"I told you. Zhūnzhǔ's soul is pure and untainted, protected by a layer of golden light. Imagine a pitch-black bug crawling in a field of light. How could it possibly stay hidden?"
Yue Liang's explanation made sense. Jian Dan nodded in agreement. The golden light she mentioned was likely the glow of merit that protected her.
In truth, even if Yue Liang hadn't discovered it, the remnant soul would've eventually been destroyed under the merit. Her body was not so easily defiled.
"Alright, you two go play. Zhūnzhǔ's tired."
Yue Liang nodded obediently and turned to leave with Cotton Candy. But before they could step out, Cotton Candy floated back to Jian Dan and gave a little shake. From the cloud emerged a storage bracelet that dropped softly into her palm.
"Zhūnzhǔ, this belonged to that Unity cultivator. I kept it aside and forgot to hand it over!"
This time, Jian Dan's smile turned downright pleased. Cotton Candy was finally learning to pick the fattest spoils off the battlefield.
"You clever little things. I'll keep it."
She flicked her sleeve and stored the bracelet away. Yue Liang was already nudging Cotton Candy as they left the cave.
"Cotton Candy, tell me everything. How did Zhūnzhǔ take down that Unity cultivator?"
"Oh, it's a long story. Let me tell you..."
Jian Dan smiled and lowered the restriction on her cave before closing her eyes to rest.
Inside her sea of consciousness, the fusion between the violet jade tablet and the magnolia had significantly accelerated. Only a third of the magnolia petals still remained visible. Apparently, yesterday's intense battle had catalyzed the merging process.
—
The next day, Jian Dan sat cross-legged in her cave, cycling her qi. She was surrounded by a mountain of high-grade spirit stones — all treasures she'd found inside the storage bracelet Cotton Candy had "privately set aside."
The Unity cultivator from the Jia Clan must have never imagined he'd be unable to escape. He had taken the entirety of the Jia Clan's resources with him, only for Jian Dan to end up with everything.
Inside that premium storage bracelet were towering piles of spirit stones, three sealed spirit veins in jade boxes, as well as arrays, talismans, rare plants, heavenly materials — and even several Feng Stabilizing Orbs, carefully separated into two piles.
A quick sweep with her divine sense revealed one pile was defective. Among them, she even found orbs that had been aged for ten thousand years — a complete waste of precious resources.
Without hesitation, Jian Dan burned the defective Wind-Fixing Orbs with a burst of exotic flame until not even ashes remained.
She only kept the spirit stones from the bracelet, categorizing the rest and sealing them in separate storage rings. The original bracelet was locked and set aside.
Then, sitting atop her mountain of spirit stones, she began her cultivation. Her mood was excellent. The Primordial Chaos Art flowed effortlessly. With a single cycle, she drained all the spiritual energy from the stones around her — and still hadn't fully recovered her strength.
With a wave, she stored the depleted stones and replaced them with another hundred top-grade spirit stones before beginning the next cycle.
Eventually, she grew tired of swapping stones again and again. So instead, Jian Dan took out a small spirit vein she'd found in the bracelet, embedded it beneath her cave, activated a spirit-gathering array, and sat at the array's heart to absorb energy as fast as possible.
She had no idea that this short seclusion would nearly make her miss the start of the sect-wide tournament.
That day, clouds and wind suddenly stirred atop Yunyin Peak. A massive silver sword appeared in the sky above — an enormous illusory blade that sliced through the clouds before fading out of sight.
Every cultivator in Cloud Sea Sect witnessed it clearly.