The man parted his thin lips lightly and spoke: "You are a descendant of the Jian clan, aren't you?"
Jian Dan nodded in response: "Yes."
"My name is Qing Yue, the founding patriarch of the Jian clan. I see resentment in your eyes, and the mark of time reversal upon you. Have you experienced a reversal of time?"
"Ancestor, your insight is true. I do carry memories of my past life. It seems a great supernatural being aided me in reversing time to escape my inevitable death."
"Some things are predestined. When they are meant to happen, they will. How can you overturn them?"
Jian Dan bowed slightly, her gaze firm as she met Qing Yue's eyes:
"I have no regrets—only unwillingness. I know the heavens' will cannot be defied, but my very presence before you is proof enough. My fate lies in my own hands. Even if I must pay a price, it is worth it!"
A faint smile touched Ancestor Qing Yue's lips:
"Understanding what to sacrifice proves your prior cultivation was not in vain. The Heavenly Dao always leaves a sliver of hope. As for the path you take, it depends on your choices… and your Dao heart. I have appeared before you because this remnant of my soul is about to depart. I shall pass on the Chaos Spiritual Root cultivation method to you before I return to my true form."
With a flick of his finger, a sphere of violet light flew into Jian Dan's consciousness. She quickly closed her eyes to receive it. Six glowing characters—"Primordial Chaos Sutra"—slowly unfolded before fading into particles of light that sank deep into her mind. Only the Qi Refining stage's technique remained, shimmering in her sea of consciousness, awaiting unsealing.
Jian Dan knew this method was uniquely created by the Jian clan for descendants with the Chaos Spiritual Root. It could be cultivated until the Mahayana stage, allowing one to ascend to the upper realm. Beyond that, the remaining techniques could be obtained by returning to the Jian clan's main family in the Cultivation Realm. This was the clan's way of gathering and uniting their bloodline descendants, ensuring the family's enduring prosperity.
In her past life, Jian Dan had never returned to the main family, though she had heard of its prestige. At the time, doubts had held her back—some planted by Du Yanran's subtle discouragement.
Du Yanran feared that if Jian Dan rejoined the clan and gained its backing, she would never obtain the magnolia pendant. So, she insinuated that the Jian family was corrupt—that they offered women with Chaos Spiritual Roots as cultivation cauldrons to powerful sect disciples in exchange for resources.
Jian Dan had never verified the truth, but fate seemed determined to intervene. During her travels, she encountered a runaway Jian clan woman, her cultivation regressed, her body bearing the marks of forced energy absorption. The woman entrusted her child to Jian Dan before detonating herself to escape pursuers.
Discovering the child had no spiritual roots, Jian Dan swapped it with a stillborn infant in the mortal world and departed. She never learned of the child's fate, but the incident solidified her decision to never return to the clan.
Now, with the Chaos Spiritual Root and a matching technique, her cultivation would proceed smoothly.
Yet, if a Chaos Spiritual Root cultivator was taken as a cauldron, they could be exploited indefinitely—unless drained to death. Such a person became a living breakthrough tool. For female cultivators, it was a living hell: watching their hard-earned cultivation stolen again and again, their hearts breeding inner demons, forever barred from ascension.
The thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. When she opened her eyes, the space before her was empty. The painting had transformed into a bamboo door, seamlessly blending into the wall.
Jian Dan circled the desk and pushed the door open. Stepping through, she found herself in a vast chamber lined with orderly shelves. They held a variety of items—gold, silver, jade, books, jade slips, swords, spears—each encased in a faint protective glow. Most were beyond her current reach as a non-cultivator.
Only the foremost shelf lacked barriers, likely holding items she could use now.
She approached and examined them one by one. The first was a scroll titled "Shadow Step"—a movement technique. Its origins were unknown, but as a non-elemental method, it had been recorded on beast hide rather than a jade slip, hinting at its antiquity.
In her past life, Jian Dan had once obtained an overlooked jade slip in a ruin. It revealed that, in ancient times, the Dao and Demonic paths were not strictly divided. Some techniques were interchangeable, regardless of alignment.
Thus, she cared little whether a method was labeled "righteous" or "demonic." In primordial times, demonic cultivation thrived precisely because its body-refining techniques allowed combat even in spiritless environments, earning it great respect.
Next, she picked up a wooden box from an adjacent compartment. Opening it, her pupils contracted—inside lay a set of magnolia white jade jewelry, identical to the pendant that had merged with her space.
A small jade slip beside it clarified: this was a replica, crafted to deceive her ancestors' paternal clan before being reclaimed by Jian descendants. Though still a top-grade magical artifact with storage and defensive functions, it paled in comparison to the true treasure.
Jian Dan absorbed the information, lost in thought for a moment, then carried the box out of the space. Just as she tucked it into a drawer, a knock came at the door.
"Jian Dan, are you home?"
The voice was unmistakably Du Yanran's.