Law Enforcement Hall
Jian Li saw that his Junior Sister Jian Lu had already sunk into cultivation. Yue Liang lay beside her, eyes apparently closed, tail swishing lazily, but her guard never dropped.
"Zhengrong, record everything that happened with the Rubik's Cube Realm today. Lock the information down. Do not let it spread," Jian Li ordered.
"Yes, Hall Master."
"How many cultivators were kicked out of the realm today?"
"One thousand eight hundred forty-three."
Jian Li nodded. The number was tolerable.
"Both the Affairs Hall and the Operations Hall have already calmed them," Wei Zhengrong added.
"After reburying the spirit vein, is the Rubik's Cube Realm running normally?" Jian Li asked, getting to what worried him most.
"Sect Master Jian Chong has already sent people with Hall Master Meng to inspect it," Wei Zhengrong said. "There's no report yet."
Jian Dan finished repairing most of her meridian damage and stepped out of meditation into the main hall, answering the doubt before he could ask again.
"Senior Brother Jian Li, don't worry. Once Tian Hong Zhēnzūn left, the Rubik's Cube Realm returned to normal. If you are still uneasy, reopen it tomorrow."
"Junior Sister, are you truly alright?" Jian Li scanned her face. She looked pale. He frowned.
"I only mended my meridians for now. The Zhēnzūn are waiting for us both. After we pay our respects, I'll return to my cave to heal properly." She smiled as she spoke.
"In that case, let's go at once."
Jian Dan nodded and told Yue Liang, "Yue Liang, return to Tianyue Peak first. I will come back after meeting the Zhēnzūn."
"Yes, Zūnshàng." Yue Liang knew serious business would be discussed. It wasn't her place to be present.
Jian Li did not rush her, mindful of her injuries. The two walked toward the forbidden back mountain, trading words along the way.
"Good thing you acted when you did," Jian Li said. "Otherwise, Master's trial might not have completed."
"The Zhēnzūn gave the order. I had to grit my teeth and go. What choice did I have? I refined that troublesome Rubik's Cube Realm. If every Zhēnzūn decides to go in one by one…" Jian Dan shook her head. Just imagining it made her temples throb.
Jian Li's lips quirked into a rare smile. He soothed her, "Judging by Master's condition, he gained something today. I doubt a second Zhēnzūn will enter in the short term. It burns spirit veins."
"Senior Brother, I hate to jinx us, but precisely because Tian Hong Zhēnzūn gained something, the others will definitely want a turn." She loathed that her instincts were so accurate. Even if she tried to play dumb, the Zhēnzūn would never allow it.
Jian Li held back a laugh at her aggrieved little look. This was the Heavenly Sword Sect. Which Zhēnzūn here hadn't carved a path with the sword? With a trial ground like that, of course they would try it, and of course his Junior Sister would end up shouldering the work.
They passed through the barrier and saw all four Zhēnzūn present. Tian Hong Zhēnzūn sipped spiritual tea while Tian Yun Zhēnzūn poured him a second cup of mind-clearing brew.
"Greetings, honored Zhēnzūn." Jian Li and Jian Dan bowed deeply.
"You two are regulars here. No need to be so stiff. Come, sit," one of them said.
"Yes."
They answered respectfully, but neither dared to actually sit. They stood and waited.
Only after draining his second cup did Tian Hong Zhēnzūn speak, and his gaze fell on Jian Dan.
"Jian Lu, for the Mahayana trial's dreamscape, what scene did you originally set?"
"Reporting to Zhēnzūn," Jian Dan replied. "I collected records of the Demonic Path's Ming Valley War and used the Dream Beast Eye to deduce and construct the trial space. My cultivation had not reached Mahayana when I refined it, so it was indeed a stretch."
"Details," Tian Yun Zhēnzūn said.
As Jian Dan began, the four Zhēnzūn settled around the violet-jade table, each with a cup of tea, clearly ready for a long discussion. Tian Shou simply waved, conjuring two round stools below the elders' seats and motioned for the two juniors to sit as they spoke.
After saluting again, Jian Li and Jian Dan took their seats.
Jian Dan thought for a moment and then said, "For the Mahayana level, I sketched a comprehensive war-trial in which the insect race breaks the domain of the Lingyun Continent and launches a full invasion of the cultivation world. It evaluates a Zhēnzūn's total capability, including command, deployment, and personal combat."
The three other elders traded looks, all approving. If such a calamity ever occurred, they would each be holding a front somewhere.
"I set the initial line at the Heavenly Sword Sect," Jian Dan continued. "When the spatial node ruptures, the first defense is the sect's forbidden back mountain. The second line is the inner nine peaks. The third is the outer nine peaks. The fourth is the seven Beidou Seven Star Cities under the Heavenly Sword Sect. The fifth is the entire territory of our sect. The sixth is all lands held by the Dao Gate. The seventh covers both Dao and Demon territories. The eighth spans the lands of Dao, Demon, and the beast race. The ninth is the whole Lingyun Continent."
As they listened to her calm explanation, the four Zhēnzūn and Jian Li reassessed her yet again. Such breadth. From the back mountain to the entire continent, her staging was grand.
"But," Jian Dan said, pausing to glance at them, "when the Rubik's Cube Realm passed through thunder tribulation, its formation patterns shifted slightly. Not obvious to others, but as the refiner, I know it well.
When the realm survived the thunder, I also advanced in cultivation," she added. "I only inspected it briefly, but the Mahayana trial's formation changed the most."
"So that's why you had Jian Li deliver a roundabout message, hoping we would investigate," someone said lightly.
"Jian Lu is ashamed to admit it," Jian Dan said, rising to bow. "I don't fully grasp the current condition of a tool I refined."
"Then tell us this, Jian Lu," Tian Hong Zhēnzūn said. "Since the trial was altered, what do you think it became?"
"If someone tampered with it, then it must be beyond what I originally touched," she answered without hesitation. "I boldly guess it moved us outside the domain, forcing us to face the insect race beyond the boundary."
At that, Tian Hong Zhēnzūn's expression flickered with surprise, which told everyone she was right.
"Well now," he said with a faint smile, "that mind of yours. Looks like Jian Jun didn't choose the wrong successor. With your cultivation speed, even Jian Jun will be surprised when she returns."
His words confirmed Jian Dan's conclusion.
"Thank you for the praise, Zhēnzūn." Jian Dan bowed, sat again, and then ventured, "Forgive my boldness, but may I ask about your trial, Zhēnzūn?"
All understood why she asked. She was the refiner, after all.
Tian Hong Zhēnzūn did not hide anything. He began to recount his experience.
"After I infused Mahayana-level spiritual power, the Rubik's Cube pulled me in. I did not enter the trial immediately. I first stopped in what should be the artifact's core space."
Jian Dan understood at once. She pinched a hand seal, sketched the realm's structure with spiritual light, and suspended it before the crowd. Pointing to the central spindle, she said, "Zhēnzūn, the place you stood should be here."