Having secured a solution, Jian Li immediately recorded Jian Dan's method onto a jade slip and presented it to Tian Yun Zhēnzūn.
After reading it, the Zhēnzūn chuckled and passed the slip to his junior brother, Tian Hong Zhēnzūn. "Jian Lu's mind turns quickly. This is a good approach."
"Mn. Indeed."
After looking it over, Tian Hong Zhēnzūn sat to the side and spoke with Tian Yun Zhēnzūn. "Since the succession ceremony, sects and cultivators across the continent have quieted down. Everyone is focused on cultivation. That is a good sign."
"Mn. I received a message from Elder Yin today. The Huang Jue Secret Realm will open ahead of schedule. We should prepare."
"The one for Nascent Soul cultivators."
"Yes. This time, let the sect's cultivators all go in for a trial."
"Good. I will send a message to Sect Master Jian Chong."
Tian Hong Zhēnzūn pinched out two transmission talismans, one to Sect Master Jian Chong, and one directly to his disciple, Jian Li.
Upon receiving the news, Jian Chong and Jian Li began making arrangements. Because the opening was moved up, the exact time was unknown. Notices were posted at the Affairs Hall and the Deacons Hall. Anyone whose cultivation qualified could enter to seek their own fortune.
Once the notice spread, Nascent Soul cultivators were stirred. All who were not in seclusion or out on assignment went to the Affairs Hall to register.
Among them were ten cultivators such as Bian Qikang and Bu Ji, the group that had been trapped in the Ziyu Mountain Range and later advanced after joining Jian Dan at the inter-sect competition.
They had held out until sect reinforcements arrived, squeezing their potential dry. Three were seriously injured, then went into seclusion upon return. All successfully advanced to Nascent Soul.
This time, led by Bian Qikang, the ten gathered to discuss entering the secret realm as a team.
Tianyue Peak
Back on Tianyue Peak, Jian Dan swept her divine sense across her three disciples. Mao Dou and Yu Zongfan were accumulating spiritual power, a breakthrough near at hand.
After soaking in the body-tempering bath, Wei Xueru was practicing the body-tempering forms. Each punch and kick followed proper method. After three rounds, she began her sword-swing practice.
Very satisfied, Jian Dan nodded, returned to her cave dwelling, set down restrictions, and slipped into her inner space.
In the artifact-refining room, Jian Dan brought out the materials she had refined earlier and, following the ratios from her tests, began forging the central axle of the magic cube-type artifact.
One material after another was added to the refining cauldron in precise order. Beneath it burned Jian Dan's Verdant Flame. Under her exact control, meteoric iron fused with the carapace of black-armored insects. After that came space stone.
With the addition of the space stone, the six-faced cross-shaped main axle of the cube gradually took form. Jian Dan used divine sense to finalize the six faces, then flicked her hand to cast five-element crystals into the inner space of the axle.
As the crystals merged, the space within the axle began to shift and expand. Jian Dan projected her vast divine sense inside, inscribing formation lines and embedding the dreamscape crafted by her dream-beast's eye.
The process lasted a full three days. When the final stroke of the formation lines was complete, Jian Dan withdrew her divine sense. The finished axle rotated slowly within the cauldron.
She felt that the divine sense consumed over these three days exceeded what she used in combat. She immediately circulated the Primordial Chaos Art for a full cycle within her space. Once restored, she stepped out at once.
Jian Dan decided to rest briefly before refining the remaining twenty square spaces. As soon as she lifted the restriction, she saw Steward Lü Se.
"Zūnshàng."
Jian Dan stepped out of the cave. "What is it?"
"A female cultivator from the Yao Clan claims she has come to return your treasure, and has been waiting at the Guest Peak for two days."
Jian Dan arched a brow and smiled, then instructed, "Invite her to Tianyue Peak to see me."
"Yes."
After Lü Se withdrew, Jian Dan summoned Wei Xueru and asked about the last three days of cultivation.
"Master, over these three days my physical toughness has increased, and the time I need to complete one hundred swings has decreased."
"Mn. Good. Your progress is obvious."
As they spoke, Bai Bai hopped out from behind the hilt of Wei Xueru's ironwood sword, lifted her tiny claws, and saluted Jian Dan with two cheerful chirps.
"Bai Bai is missing her master. Xueru, take some time to return him to the East Peak."
"Yes. I came to report that I was going to deliver Bai Bai back."
"Good. Go on."
Wei Xueru tucked Bai Bai into her arms, used a light-body technique, and headed for the East Peak. With a wind spiritual root, even a basic light-body art looked more buoyant in her hands. Her leaps carried higher and farther.
Watching Wei Xueru's departing figure, Jian Dan felt even more satisfied. Her eye for disciples was not bad.
Meanwhile, Yao Yingying had already waited two days at the Guest Peak of Tianyue Peak. She lacked confidence, unsure if Zūnshàng Jian Lu was deliberately giving her a show of force. She paced the temporary cave anxiously.
Lü Se triggered the restriction and courteously invited her to meet Zūnshàng Jian Lu.
Upon seeing Zūnshàng Jian Lu, Yao Yingying stepped forward and saluted. "Yao Clan's Yao Yingying pays respects to Zūnshàng Jian Lu."
"No need to stand on ceremony. Sit." Jian Dan flicked her round fan for her to take a seat.
Yao Yingying inclined her body and sat on a jade stool. She first drew a brocade box from her storage bracelet and presented it with both hands. "Yao Yingying has come specifically to return Zūnshàng's Soul-Nurturing Pearl."
"Mn. You have worked hard. How is Yao Bin now?" Jian Dan waved a hand, sending the Soul-Nurturing Pearl back into her space, and asked.
"The Ancestor found a newborn infant in the mortal-world Yao Clan, allowing Yao Bin to reincarnate. His memories have been sealed and will be released when the time is right." Yao Yingying answered respectfully.
"Good. His Primordial Soul was weak when it left the body. Slowly fusing and nurturing it together with the infant's soul will do him good. When he is able to cultivate, his divine sense will outstrip others."
"Yes. Many thanks for Zūnshàng's guidance."
Seeing Jian Dan's tone remain even and her expression unchanged, Yao Yingying weighed her words for a long time before speaking again. "The agreement between the Yao Clan and the Jin Clan remains in effect. We will prioritize supplying cultivated spiritual plants to the Jin Clan for pill refinement."
"That is good."
"The Yao Clan will also gradually reduce cooperation with the Kong Clan."
At those words, Jian Dan turned her gaze to the graceful female cultivator before her. "That is your Yao Clan's affair. Neither I nor the Heavenly Sword Sect will interfere with any clan's development."
"I have always believed it is better to rely on oneself than on others. I believe a Mahayana Zhēnzūn will emerge from our clan."
"Ambitious. I hold the Yao Clan in high regard." Jian Dan looked at Yao Yingying, her words carrying deeper meaning.
Yao Yingying's eyes brightened. She stood at once, offered a salute, and took her leave.
After returning, Yao Yingying reported her audience with Jian Dan truthfully to the Yao Clan's Ancestor.
"Ah. It seems the Kong Clan is on the decline. Zūnshàng's words are already an implicit sign."
"Ancestor, I still hold to my view. We can cultivate a Mahayana Zhēnzūn. If we must, we will pile up high-grade spiritual plants until we build one."
"Yingying, you have been clever since childhood. Handle this. We will slowly disengage from the Kong Clan."
The Kong Clan had yet to realize how much damage Kong Xingkun's foolishness had caused them. Their high-level cultivators would see no progress for a hundred years. And the Yao Clan, which had supplied them with spiritual plants, was gradually slipping out of their grasp.
===
So, a little random ramble from me ( ･ω･)ﾉﾞ
I rarely go searching for new novels to read ever since I started posting on Webnovel. If you haven't noticed yet, my favorite tags are NoCP first, then FemaleMC. Those two are my "core" tags, so whenever I go hunting for something new, I always start with those. After that, I'll look at "sub tags" or other tags that pair well with them, like #Infrastructure, #Historical, #Xianxia, #Rebirth, #Game, #Counterattack, #Transmigration, #System, #Apocalypse, #QT (quick transmigration), #BehindTheScenes, and #Entertainment. Basically, all those are genres I love, as long as they're built around a NoCP + FemaleMC setting.
It's already been 157 days since I uploaded my very first translation, I Became a Fairy and Lived Forever in the Fairy World, up to my latest project, The Cube Queen's Apocalypse Feast. And in all that time, I honestly haven't gone looking for new novels—I've just been focused on translating nonstop, from the moment I wake up at morning/noon until I crash at morning. I haven't had a job this whole time (◞‸◟;), so honestly, your donations on my Ko-fi and Patreon are my main source of income. That's also why I can pour all my time into translating. This is what my schedule has been like: I usually sleep around 4 am and wake up at 6 or 7. If I have something to do in the morning, I just sleep for those few hours. If I have no activities or my sleep quality was good, I go back to sleep and don't truly wake up until 2 pm in the afternoon.
Out of my ongoing projects, 3 are the ones that need the most attention: Troublemaker's Guide to Immortality and The Cube Queen's Apocalypse Feast both already have more than 200 chapters queued up in drafts, while True Heir of Chaos: From Villainess to Empress has around 100 (because I've been rushing to finish Mom's Apocalypse Survival Log and Reborn as the Fallen Idol, I Leaned Into the Chaos!). And for the 2 projects that are serialized, I've also stocked up plenty of draft chapters for those like what I said yesterday.
So, since I've been feeling a little "free," I wandered over to xxsypro, which is usually where I search for novels rather than other sites. The reason? The filters there are actually useful! You can pick "state" (all, serial, completed), "property" (all, free, paid), and even "renew" (last update within 3 days, 7 days, 15 days, or a month). There's also word count filters (like within 200k, 200k–300k, 300k–500k, 500k–1m, 1m–2m, or more than 2m), plus sorting options like "Comprehensive Popularity," "Best Seller," and "Most Favorites."
You can even narrow it down by "type" (Ancient Romance, Modern Romance, Fantasy Romance, Sci-fi, Fairy Tale, Short Stories, Game Competition, etc.), and "labels" (Popular Tags, Profession, Identity, Character, Background, Plot, School, Style). For example, under "Popular Tags" you'll see things like System Flow, Farming, Strong Women, NoCP, Game Alien World, Quick Wear, etc. Basically, the filters are complete, easy to understand, and—most importantly—actually clickable (unlike some sites that write categories/tags but don't let you click them… so annoying).
Anyway, since I was already there, of course my first stop was the NoCP section, and wow, there were tons of new novels with really interesting intros. And now I'm kinda tempted to add another serialized novel project to translate. Don't worry, if I do pick one up, it'll definitely be something with a smaller chapter count or word count. I'm not crazy enough to throw myself at a monster-length novel right now with the way things are (¬_¬;)
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And guess what… I just came back from browsing the NoCP section, and my eyes were literally sparkling ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆. I found 13 new novels with less than 200 chapters and 7 more that already have over 200 chapters. The intros were so good, my soul got hooked instantly.
Not to mention if I start diving into other sections like Female Supporting Role, Strong Women, Cultivation, Infrastructure, Playing Pig and Eating Tiger, Empress, Boss, Game Otherworldly, Apocalypse, Counterattack, Heroine, Super A, Rebirth, Entertainment, and Vest… that's basically heaven on earth for me (≧◡≦).
Of course, sometimes "NoCP" isn't listed under the tags. Instead, you'll see it written in the description like "无CP", or sometimes not mentioned at all, which means you have to either catch the hints in the intro or rely on your NoCP radar being strong enough (lol).
Anyway—decision, decision, decision. (Important things must be said three times!) (╯✧▽✧)╯