Outside the shimmering barrier of the magnolia domain, Jian Li, Meng Congjian, and the various members of the Law Enforcement Hall were all standing in the air, watching the unfolding situation inside with focused intensity. Jian Dan's three disciples were also standing at a safe distance from the center of the conflict, observing the events while leaning in to whisper among themselves.
"So that's why Master suddenly held a Mahayana ceremony. It was all for this artifact spirit."
Jian Miao said it, her eyes lighting up with a look of sudden realization as she watched the struggle.
"Junior Sister, you mean this artifact spirit made Master unhappy?"
Jian Feng frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on the teenager inside the domain. Jian Chong beside him also turned his head to look at their Junior Sister, waiting for her to elaborate.
"You two just got back to the sect, so you probably don't know the full details yet. Before I left the sect myself, the contribution points needed to enter the Dreamlike Illusory Rubik's Cube Realm kept getting higher and higher with each passing month. The sect disciples were already complaining quite a bit about the cost."
She paused for a moment to watch a flash of energy, then continued calmly.
"After all, Master forged the Rubik's Cube Realm herself, so I specifically went to ask about its maintenance. That's when I found out the realm needs more and more spiritual power to sustain its trials. In the hundred years since Master left, more than a dozen spiritual veins have already been poured into it by the sect elders."
Jian Feng and Jian Chong both sucked in a sharp breath of air at the staggering cost. Spiritual veins weren't like wild grass that you could simply pick anywhere in the wild. With that information alone, it was obvious to everyone that this situation had everything to do with that greedy artifact spirit.
"Master is the forger of the artifact, so once she knew what was happening, she was definitely furious. The Rubik's Cube Realm is an immortal artifact without a master, so if it really had its own hidden plans, the ones who would suffer in the end would be the sect disciples who rely on it. That's why there's this Mahayana ceremony today."
Jian Miao explained the tactical move to her two Senior Brothers. Even if she hadn't said anything at all, they could already see the clues for themselves. They knew their own Master well. She was someone who preferred fewer troubles over more, and the little patience she had was all spent on the three of them. Using the most direct method possible to solve a problem was exactly her style.
To protect the disciples currently training inside the Rubik's Cube Realm from getting dragged into this sudden confrontation, she had used the Mahayana ceremony as a grand distraction to draw everyone's attention. It's hard to arouse suspicion that way, which was why this became the simplest Mahayana ceremony in the sect's history.
Their conversation wasn't hidden from the others nearby. The Law Enforcement Hall members heard everything clearly and were full of admiration for Tian Lu Zhēnzūn's extreme caution in the matter. She hadn't even told her own disciples about the plan beforehand.
The truth was that Jian Dan had completely forgotten to tell the three of them the details. They had been attending the Bai sisters' intensive lessons lately and barely had time to see their Master at all during the preparations.
Inside the domain, Xiao Meng was facing two aggressive artifact spirits at the same time. Neither of them was easy to deal with in a fight. After just a few rapid exchanges, Xiao Meng's body began to change under the pressure. He could barely maintain his young adult form before, but now his figure had fallen back into the appearance of a teenager, with spiritual power leaking out in visible wisps around him.
Jian Dan frowned deeply as she watched the leakage. She immediately took out a top-grade spiritual vein that had already been drained of its power from her storage bracelet. This was the one she and Tian Yun Zhēnzūn had used when they were destroying the Myriad Souls Banner. Because top-grade spiritual veins had the ability to slowly recover on their own over time, she had kept it in her possession for a moment like this. Today, it finally came in handy for her purpose.
She formed complex seals with her fingers and directly drew the scattered spiritual energy in the air into that gray, lifeless top-grade spiritual vein.
"No. Zhēnzūn, please. I'm willing to acknowledge you as my master. Don't erase me."
"Hmph. At this point, you still want to scheme against me? What, you see that I'm now a Mahayana Zhēnzūn with hope of ascension, so you want to bet everything on me and have me take you to the Immortal Realm when I leave?"
She exposed his hidden thoughts in a single sentence. Xiao Meng froze for a moment, his eyes wide with shock. While being attacked by two artifact spirits at once, he could only grit his teeth and keep dodging their relentless strikes.
Jian Dan didn't stop her movements. She kept forming seals and drawing the spiritual power from Xiao Meng's body into the vein. After about the time it took for a single incense stick to burn (around 30 minutes), the originally gray top-grade spiritual vein had fully recovered its deep luster.
After sealing it away, she took out another equally depleted spiritual vein and repeated the same process, continuing to siphon the artifact spirit's own stolen power into it.
When Little Mo Xi and Little Mo Mei saw their master make her move, they immediately sped up their attacks. This time, working together with perfect coordination, they directly tore off one of Xiao Meng's arms. Artifact spirits were made of pure energy anyway, so there was no bloody scene to speak of during the act.
"Zhēnzūn, I'm willing to stay in the Heavenly Sword Sect for a thousand years as a guardian immortal artifact. Please stop. Otherwise, the Rubik's Cube Realm's grade will definitely fall if I lose any more power."
Xiao Meng was panicking now as he felt his essence being drained. Missing an arm, he looked even more miserable than before. He couldn't contact his main body and couldn't return to it, so he could only try to satisfy her demands in exchange for a chance to continue existing. It was his own fault for being so arrogant. The past hundred years had gone too smoothly for him, and he had forgotten what kind of existence a forger truly was.
No matter how much hatred he felt in his heart, he hid it well behind a mask of desperation. He knew that only by lowering his head now could he survive the day. Once Tian Lu ascended and no one else could suppress him anymore, he could make new plans then.
Unfortunately for him, his calculations were good, but the person standing opposite him had lived through two lifetimes of experience. Jian Dan knew exactly what he was thinking in that moment. If he had been stubborn instead of showing such opportunistic flexibility at this moment, she might not have erased him completely, since erasing an artifact spirit would definitely lower the Rubik's Cube Realm's grade.
But precisely because of this kind of flexibility, Jian Dan became even more cautious about his future intentions. She curled her lips into a cold smile and said,
"Stay in the Heavenly Sword Sect for a thousand years so you can make up for everything you lost today? Do I really look that stupid? Don't think I don't know you're planning to wait until I ascend before making your move against the sect."
At this moment, the second top-grade spiritual vein was already filled with spiritual energy. After sealing it, Jian Dan directly called out to Meng Congjian outside the domain.
"Hall Master Meng, give me two more top-grade spiritual veins that the Rubik's Cube Realm has already absorbed."
Meng Congjian had been watching the situation inside the domain the whole time. As soon as he heard Zhēnzūn speak, he swiftly threw a sealed jade box into the domain area.
When Jian Dan opened it, she saw eight top-grade spiritual veins lying inside the box. No wonder Meng Congjian had complained all the way to her about the drain on the sect's resources.
Seeing the situation turn bad, Xiao Meng began to struggle desperately within his constraints, looking ready to drag everyone down with him in a final blow. Jian Dan's eyes flickered slightly, and a curve appeared at the corner of her lips before she spoke again.
"Of course, if you're willing to spit out all the spiritual power you swallowed, I will consider keeping you."
Her words restored a bit of Xiao Meng's rationality, but he still didn't quite believe her promise.
"You're just afraid I will self-destruct. That's why you're saying this now."
"That's only part of it. Considering what you said, erasing you would lower the Rubik's Cube Realm's grade, which doesn't benefit me or the disciples. As for you spitting out the spiritual power now, even if I ascend in the future and leave you to guard the sect, you won't be able to recover to your peak state anytime soon. Naturally, I won't need to worry about you."
Xiao Meng lowered his gaze and thought it over while his energy continued to leak. At this point, Mo Xi and Mo Mei had already stopped attacking him directly. The arm from earlier had been absorbed by the two of them, and it was visibly clear that both had grown a bit stronger from the feast.
The two artifact spirits watched their master calmly talking Xiao Meng into a corner. Both curled their lips. Only an idiot would fall for that.