The wide-eyed mortal-born disciples, still clueless about what was happening, underwent a full cleansing of their marrow and refinement of their bodies.
Soaked in wooden barrels filled with the body tempering decoction, the young disciples felt its scorching burn and the force stretching their meridians. The pain was excruciating. Their cries and wails rose and fell, sounding like a chorus of piglets being led to slaughter.
The Foundation Establishment disciples and Jīndān Zhēnrén assigned to oversee them all wore serious faces, but behind their calm exteriors, they found the scene amusing.
"Endure if you can. If you can't, get out. This is the first time the sect has invested so heavily in its disciples. With this decoction, your path to cultivation will be much smoother."
Although the young disciples were confused, they clearly understood that last sentence.
After soaking in this medicinal decoction, they would be able to cultivate, to become like the mighty immortals. Gritting their teeth, none dared step out of the barrels without permission from their elders.
Once this process of cleansing marrow and refining bodies was complete, the entire group was enrolled into the academy to begin systematic lessons in cultivation knowledge. Slowly, they started to integrate into daily life in the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Three months later, ninety percent of these disciples had successfully guided spiritual energy into their bodies. A few exceptionally gifted ones had even reached the second level of Qi Refinement.
When these young disciples finally understood the cultivation world, they realized how precious that decoction truly was. It had laid a solid foundation for their future progress, allowing them to embark smoothly on the path of cultivation.
The remaining ten percent, who had not yet succeeded in guiding spiritual energy, were sent to the Miscellaneous Peak. Before their departure, the Foundation Establishment cultivator who taught them gave some encouragement:
"Being sent to Miscellaneous Peak doesn't mean you'll never cultivate. On the contrary, you must work even harder to catch up with your peers. It just means it'll take you more time to draw in spiritual energy. Even in this sect, some disciples who started as menial workers became personal disciples of masters. It all depends on your own effort."
"Yes!"
Reassured, the children went off to Miscellaneous Peak and began a new round of hard work.
Back at her cave after leaving the Law Enforcement Hall, Jian Dan instructed Ting Feng: "I'll be entering a short seclusion. When the sect finishes recruiting disciples from cultivation families, knock on my door."
"Yes, Zūnshàng."
Jian Dan lowered her cave's protective barrier and took out the blueprint she had just shown Jian Li. She decided to start by forging the central axis of her magic cube trial realm.
She checked the cultivation chamber where Yue Liang was cultivating and found her still in deep seclusion. Adding an extra barrier around Yue Liang, Jian Dan returned to her own chamber, then flashed into her personal spatial realm.
The moment she appeared, she was surrounded by a puff of fluffy clouds.
"Master, Cotton Candy has finished its breakthrough!" The cloud's voice was higher now, full of excitement. It wrapped around Jian Dan and zoomed all over the realm, darting through the skies.
"Hmm, your speed is getting faster. Any new tricks?"
Jian Dan didn't resist and let Cotton Candy carry her. Together they flew through forests, dove into oceans, and swirled across deserts, raising waves, winds, and sandstorms in their wake. Finally, Cotton Candy landed before the bamboo house.
"Cotton Candy can now turn into wind and rain!" The small cloud shrank and turned red, sticking itself onto Jian Dan's hair bun as it spoke.
"Oh, impressive!" Jian Dan praised it generously.
"There's more! I can seal Master's sword techniques inside me. When we meet powerful enemies, I can unleash your attacks from within, or pull enemies into my body and bombard them with spells. They'll have no way out."
Hearing this, Jian Dan's smile deepened. Cotton Candy was truly made for battle.
She remembered the first time she had used Cotton Candy, during her fight with Hua Chunli, a Golden Core cultivator.
Cotton Candy had helped the group of four resist oppressive pressure, hide their presence, and counter spells while amplifying their attacks. It was even Cotton Candy who teleported her close enough to shatter Hua Chunli's Golden Core.
Later, during their clash with the Jia family Unity cultivator, Cotton Candy's speed was already comparable to that opponent's, even though Jian Dan herself was only at the Void Refinement stage. Now, after this breakthrough, Cotton Candy had grown even stronger. Jian Dan was eager to see what new surprises it would bring in the future.
"Cotton Candy, my attacks aren't weak. Can you handle them?"
"Yes! Just don't start with your strongest techniques, Master. Let's increase the difficulty step by step."
"No problem, I'll listen to you."
Jian Dan knew Cotton Candy was still mastering its new abilities and wanted her to go easy at first.
She stroked the little cloud nestled in her hair. "Take your time and adjust. I came here to forge artifacts."
"Yes, Master! Cotton Candy will work hard!"
If it had fists, Cotton Candy would surely be clenching them with determination.
After soothing her companion, Jian Dan entered the forging room inside the bamboo house.
She laid out her materials: a piece of meteoric iron ore, a black beetle's carapace, two chunks of Black Mountain Stone, a Spatial Stone, and crystal stones of all five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
The five-element crystals and Black Mountain Stones were rare treasures. The crystals were part of her personal collection in this realm—once used, they'd be gone. The Black Mountain Stones came from a high-grade secret realm and were possibly relics from the previous world, making them priceless.
With the materials assembled, Jian Dan began refining them one by one, the first step being to purge impurities from the ores.
Thanks to her Verdant Flame, whose strength had grown along with her cultivation, the refinement process was smooth. Impurities melted away easily under her fire.
Nine days later, Jian Dan had finished smelting all the materials.
Next came the challenge of fusing them in the correct proportions. This required countless trials.
She took small portions of each material and experimented repeatedly. Failed fusions resulted in wasted resources. Some even exploded, though her protective barrier shielded both her and Cotton Candy from harm.
While Jian Dan secluded herself to refine artifacts, the Heavenly Sword Sect bustled with activity. Over four thousand disciples, having successfully guided spiritual energy into their bodies, began their first round of assignments. The most talented were taken under the wings of powerful masters and admitted to the inner peaks. The rest were distributed among the nine outer peaks to begin cultivation.
Sect Master Jian Chong, now experienced, set up lecture halls on the outer peaks, where Jīndān Zhēnrén took turns teaching. Lessons spanned all aspects of cultivation: alchemy, talisman crafting, artifact forging, formation inscription, and more.
The first year's lectures were free. From the second year onward, more advanced courses required sect contribution points.
And so began an endless cycle. To take classes and advance, disciples needed contribution points, earned through sect tasks. The stronger they became, the more challenging and rewarding tasks they could complete. Beyond cultivation and sect missions, continued study of new knowledge and skills became essential.
Amid this cycle, the new disciples' lives grew busier, and their cultivation rose rapidly, fulfilling expectations.
One day, Jian Dan finally succeeded in stabilizing the material ratio for forging the trial realm's main axis. Just as she recorded the new data onto a jade slip, her cave's protective barrier was triggered.
She set down the materials and exited her spatial realm in a flash.