The Heavenly Demon Palace moved swiftly, heading toward the Heavenly Sword Sect. Recently, the Heavenly Sword Sect had been bustling with activity.
Because the Huang Jue Secret Realm had opened earlier than expected, all Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect were sharpening their swords and preparing to enter, eager to seek their fortunes. Talismans, pills, and array disks had all become highly sought-after items.
Even disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall were tempted. Those without assigned missions were eager to explore the Secret Realm. Meanwhile, Meng Zhonglun of the Operations Hall had just recovered his early Nascent Soul cultivation and had also registered to enter the Huang Jue Secret Realm.
Meng Zhonglun had discovered a "blood sac" in the mortal world and was nearly possessed by an evil cultivator who disguised himself as a royal advisor. When the evil cultivator's Primordial Soul invaded his sea of consciousness, Meng Zhonglun was tainted with evil energy and his cultivation plummeted sharply.
Fortunately, Jian Dan had intervened in time, summoning the intruder back and cleansing Meng Zhonglun of evil energy with her golden light of merit. Because he had contributed greatly by eliminating the evil cultivator in the mortal world, he was granted special permission to enter the Ascension Hall to restore his cultivation. He had only recently emerged from seclusion.
Upon hearing news of the Huang Jue Secret Realm, Meng Zhonglun immediately reported to the Hall Master of the Operations Hall, seeking permission to explore it.
"This incident dealt a heavy blow to your cultivation," said the Hall Master, robed in black. "You were originally capable of breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage, but you've only just managed to claw back your strength. This Secret Realm's opening is indeed a rare opportunity for you. Zhang Xuefeng of the Operations Hall has just advanced to Nascent Soul as well. You two can enter together and watch each other's backs."
"Yes, Hall Master. I will make preparations at once," Meng Zhonglun responded, bowing before withdrawing.
Meanwhile, Jian Dan had settled back into a steady daily routine. Each morning at the hour of Chen, she guided her three disciples, tailoring their training to match their individual progress.
The rest of her time was devoted to refining tools. In order to finish creating the trial magical artifacts as soon as possible, Jian Dan spent nearly all her hours working in her Cube Space, where she had adjusted the flow of time to optimize productivity.
On this day, Mao Dou and Zong Fan were once again put through their paces by their master. This time, the trial was underwater combat against sea beasts. The two boys struggled in the depths of the ocean for seven entire days before finally being swallowed by a massive whale shark beast, marking the end of the trial.
When they opened their eyes, they were greeted by the familiar, smiling face of their master.
"How was your experience battling in the water this time?" Jian Dan asked with a fan in hand, her tone light and teasing.
"We haven't reached Foundation Establishment yet," Mao Dou admitted, "so we can't switch to internal breathing. Our breath-holding is limited, which left us at a big disadvantage."
"In water, spell casting and sword swings feel different compared to on land. Everything is… off," Zong Fan added thoughtfully.
"Good," Jian Dan praised. "You've each identified your weaknesses—both personal limitations and environmental challenges. That's the right approach. Now, I'll give you a new assignment."
"Yes, Master!"
Delighted by their master's approval, the two disciples bowed deeply and waited for her orders.
"Without Foundation Establishment, you can't switch to internal breathing," Jian Dan said. "You may use a Water-Avoiding Pearl to temporarily solve that. Ultimately, only cultivation advancement will truly fix this.
"As for combat in unusual environments, I will adjust your weight rings to match what early Foundation Establishment cultivators can withstand. Starting today, you'll each swing your swords a thousand times daily beneath the waterfall on the eastern peak."
"Yes, Master."
Neither boy flinched outwardly, but inwardly they were wailing. Their master was merciless—already ramping up the difficulty.
"You are senior brothers. You must set a proper example for your junior sister," Jian Dan continued, waving her fan lazily. "Xue Ru has only been cultivating for a short time, yet she's already at the fourth level of Qi Refining."
With a casual wave of her hand, Jian Dan adjusted their weight rings and dismissed them to train at the eastern peak. The two disciples bowed stiffly and began trudging toward their stone houses. They didn't dare use Light Body techniques, struggling first to adjust to their new weight.
"Tsk, tsk! Stop dragging your feet," Jian Dan called after them, amused. "Channel spiritual energy to your arms and legs when you use Light Body techniques."
Realizing their oversight, the two quickly infused their limbs with spiritual power, finding the weight more manageable, and took off from the mountaintop.
As they left, they passed Xue Ru, who had just finished her body-tempering drills. The boys immediately straightened up, greeting her with serious senior-brother expressions before fleeing at full speed.
Xue Ru bowed sweetly to her senior brothers, then carried her ironwood sword to the banyan tree to practice.
Jian Dan nodded in satisfaction. Xue Ru never needed reminders to train; she completed every assignment and often added extra practice herself.
As a teacher, Jian Dan felt proud, but she also worried about Xue Ru overexerting herself. To help her, Jian Dan had copied beginner jade slips on the four major cultivation arts—alchemy, tool refinement, talisman crafting, and formation design—and handed them to her disciple.
"I know you want to make up for lost time with your diligence," Jian Dan said gently. "But cultivation is not achieved overnight. The tasks I assign are designed to push your limits while keeping you safe. Don't overdo it.
These jade slips cover the basics of the Four Cultivation Arts. After you finish your training for the day, read them carefully and choose one path to delve deeper into."
"Thank you, Master. I will study them well," Xue Ru said, bowing as she tucked the jade slips into her storage pouch.
"Master, I've finished my training for today. May I visit my senior brothers on the eastern peak?" she asked, her eyes bright.
"Go on," Jian Dan chuckled, seeing through her intentions. "I know you're eager to check out your new cave abode."
"Hehe, thank you, Master!" Xue Ru said, skipping off joyfully.
With her disciples occupied, Jian Dan retreated into her cave, set up defensive barriers, and resumed refining the remaining cubic space modules.
The next morning, after testing her disciples' progress, Lü Se approached respectfully."Zūnshàng, Wei Zhengrong requests an audience."
"Let him in," Jian Dan replied. "He's probably here about Xue Ru."
Moments later, Wei Zhengrong appeared before her. "Greetings, Jian Lu Zūnshàng," he said, bowing.
"You're not on duty today?" Jian Dan asked, noting his cheerful expression.
"I just returned from an errand, Zūnshàng," Wei Zhengrong explained. "I reported in at the Law Enforcement Hall and came here right after."
"Let me guess—good news? Have you secured the Wind Spirit?" Jian Dan asked with a knowing smile.
"Yes, Zūnshàng. Thanks to your guidance, I managed to acquire the Wind Spirit at a reasonable price," he said, producing a sealed jade box from his storage ring and presenting it respectfully.
Jian Dan examined the contents and confirmed it was indeed a newly awakened Wind Spirit.
"Did the Hua family question you further?" she asked.
"They were curious about how I obtained their family token," Wei Zhengrong admitted. "I brushed it off, saying it was lent by a senior."
Jian Dan nodded.
"There's more," Wei Zhengrong continued. "I also gathered news on Du Yanran. She was ambushed by Yin-Yang Gate cultivators but managed to escape."
Jian Dan's gaze sharpened. She instantly guessed Du Yanran had once again escaped using the magnolia space. Frequent use of such an artifact would inevitably draw unwanted attention.
"There are also rumors," Wei Zhengrong added, "that Du Yanran possesses a life-bound spatial treasure, which is how she keeps evading capture."
===
Didn't I just say yesterday that I found a bunch of new novels that caught my interest? Well… after a quick search, I already have 59 new novels on my list. Most of them are in the 15–200 chapter range, so not too crazy length-wise.
And yeah, like I mentioned before, for casual reading I usually rely on the Google Translate extension. I'm honestly too lazy to "think" when I'm reading—if I read raw Chinese, my brain has to actually work, but with English my brain just automatically processes the meaning without effort (￣▽￣).
But here's the thing… I've kinda gotten used to how bad MTL translations can be. If you've read enough MTL, you know exactly what I mean (lol). And since my eyes are now spoiled by my own translations, whenever I read raw MTL I'm like, "Hah? What's going on??" (－‸ლ). Basically, my comprehension for raw MTL has gotten worse.
Of course, I can still manage stuff that's not too messy—like modern settings, or maybe some xianxia. But when I tried reading 杀道侣后,修仙界恶女成魔门老祖 (After killing her Taoist partner, the evil woman in the world of immortal cultivation became the ancestor of the demon sect), I could follow along and understand the gist… but wow, it was painful to read (ಥ_ಥ).
So in the end, I decided to just pick it up for translation instead (After Killing Dao Partner, the Villainess Becomes the Demon Ancestor). Each chapter's word count is short, kinda like The Invincible Money-Grubbing Fairy or The Cube Queen's Apocalypse Feast. Right now it's at 184 chapters and still serializing. Honestly, at my pace, I'll probably finish catching up with it in just 2 days.
And maybe after that, I'll add a couple more serialized novels from the batch I found yesterday during my novel hunt. Decisions, decisions…
Oh, and one more thing! From now on, I'll also try to make my novel covers as close as possible to the original ones. Of course, sometimes I might still make my own version too, but I'll do my best to stay faithful to the original designs (*≧▽≦).