Heavenly Sword Sect, Disciplinary Hall
Jian Ning received another urgent message from Huanle City. Like before, it was marked as important. She dared not delay, immediately bringing the jade slip to Jian Li Zhūnzhǔ in person.
"Zhūnzhǔ, this message came from Huanle City. It's marked as critical. Please take a look."
Jian Li Zhūnzhǔ accepted the jade slip, scanning its contents swiftly. For the first time, a heavy expression crossed his usually stoic face. Without a word to Jian Ning, he vanished from the great hall in a flash.
Jian Ning's gentle features clouded with concern. Since Jian Li Zhūnzhǔ had succeeded Jian Jun Zhūnzhǔ, this was the first time she had seen him reveal emotion. Whatever the message contained, it had clearly left him deeply troubled.
At that very moment, dark clouds surged over the Heavenly Sword Sect's skies. Thunder rolled, lightning crackled across the heavens. A tribulation storm had begun to form.
Spreading her divine sense outward, Jian Ning pinpointed the epicenter. It was coming from Sky-Isolation Peak—Senior Brother Jian Wu's Divine Transformation tribulation. At last, a trace of joy lit her face.
Huanle City, Hua Family Auction House
Jian Dan's party of four arrived discreetly. Manager Hua Si had been waiting at the gate since early morning. Once he spotted them, he greeted them in person and activated a short-range teleportation array to escort them directly into a private suite overlooking the auction floor.
The VIP suite was simple yet luxuriously appointed. A floor-to-ceiling crystal wall faced the stage, offering a clear view of the proceedings. In front of it, four sets of table and chairs carved from ten-thousand-year pine wood had been neatly arranged.
Top-grade spirit tea and a tray of spirit fruits sat on the table. After settling them in, Hua Si quietly excused himself, leaving Hua Shisan stationed outside the door to stand watch.
The moment he saw Jian Dan, Hua Shisan grew visibly excited. He stepped forward and bowed deeply before speaking.
"Shisan thanks Jūnshàng for the gift. I will cultivate diligently and not let your kindness go to waste."
One glance was enough for Jian Dan to see that he had already nurtured the seed given by Liu Chuan and formed a bond with it. It seemed he did possess a degree of talent after all.
"Mm. Cultivation is like rowing against the current. If you don't move forward, you fall behind. Push yourself, but don't forget that a stable foundation is just as important."
"Yes, I understand."
"Your Hua Family has its own unique cultivation methods. You should speak with your elders about them. Hiding your talents too much isn't wise."
Hua Shisan's heart skipped a beat. He understood Jūnshàng was offering him advice and immediately bowed again before withdrawing quietly. He stood straight outside the door, already deep in thought over her words.
"Mo Yue, if we make it back safely from the Ming Valley, I think it's time you took on a disciple."
It was Moqi who casually brought up the subject.
"Spare me," Jian Dan waved her hand. "I'm too lazy for that. If I see someone with potential, I'll give a few words of advice. That's more than enough. I'm not cut out for teaching."
"How could that be? You looked like a proper mentor the way you guided that kid the other day," Mo Yi chimed in.
The group laughed and idly chatted about taking on disciples until a clear chime rang out.
"Ding—"
The auction had officially begun. The room quieted as all eyes turned to the stage.
Tonight's auctioneer was a strikingly seductive female cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage. Her crimson sheer robe left little to the imagination. That perfect balance of hidden and revealed stirred the blood of many low-ranked cultivators in the crowd.
"Honored guests, this evening's auction will be hosted by me, Yan Yue. Thank you all for coming. I hope you'll find a treasure worth your spirit stones."
Her soft, syrupy voice made the crowd of male cultivators practically swoon. The auction hall echoed with applause and excited cheers.
"Tch. Her charm arts are well-trained," Mo Qi whispered knowingly.
Jian Dan winked at her and grinned. "She's working for her living, Senior Sister. Let her use her assets."
Mo Su and Mo Yi remained unbothered, waiting quietly for the items they had their eyes on.
"The first item tonight is a broken sword fragment, discovered by a Foundation Establishment cultivator in an ancient cultivator's ruins. Only the tip remains. It cannot be refined by a new owner, but its sharpness is extraordinary. The seller once used it to wound a Nascent Soul cultivator. Now, in urgent need of spirit stones, they've consigned it to us."
As Yan Yue finished her introduction, murmurs spread through the room. Some began considering whether to bid.
Jian Dan, meanwhile, circled one particular item in the auction list and summoned Hua Shisan.
"Shisan, I'm interested in this artifact. Ask Manager Hua if I can negotiate for it directly. Name your price."
"Yes, I will inform him at once."
Hua Shisan memorized the item Jian Dan had marked and departed immediately.
She had chosen not to follow standard auction procedure because this item had once belonged to the first follower of Du Yanran.
It had originally been a spirit treasure. After its owner died, it was damaged and fell to the level of an ordinary artifact. But its form remained intact.
After changing hands a few times, it ended up with one of Du Yanran's acquaintances. With her help, it had been reforged using ten-thousand-year ice silkworm thread and deep-sea jiaoxiao silk, becoming a pseudo-immortal weapon known as "Thousand Threads of Return." A deadly tool.
Even if Jian Dan didn't know its full history, that didn't stop her from making a move.
Soon after, Manager Hua returned to the suite and bowed to Mo Yue.
"Jūnshàng, if you had made the request yesterday, I could have pulled the item from the auction list. But now…"
Jian Dan nodded. She had been too focused on learning Hua Chunshan's whereabouts the day before and hadn't reviewed the catalog in time.
"It's fine. I don't want to make things difficult for you. I'll bid fairly. Whoever offers more will win."
"Thank you for understanding, Jūnshàng. If you do win the item, we'll honor the Hua Family's discount and give you forty percent off the final price."
Roughly one-third through the auction, Thousand Threads of Return was brought onto the stage.
It appeared as an ordinary artifact and was suitable only up to the Nascent Soul stage. Few were interested. The final price settled at one thousand mid-grade spirit stones. When no one else increased the bid, Jian Dan added another thousand and claimed the artifact.
Mo Qi and the others were puzzled. With their current strength at the Divine Transformation level, the artifact held no value.
Jian Dan offered no explanation. She simply paid the spirit stones and tucked the embroidered box containing the artifact into her spatial ring.
Sweeping her divine sense through the space, she noted with satisfaction that Cotton Candy was now two-thirds complete in its transformation. Its emergence was near. She nodded, then withdrew her sense.
"Woman," came Liu Chuan's lazy voice in her mind. "That Divine Soul stage cultivator we saw in Tian Mo City? He's here. Just intercepted a Nascent Soul cultivator. Poor little guy's in trouble."
Jian Dan's expression turned cold in an instant. She had planned to seek out that wretch anyway. How thoughtful of Hua Chunshan to deliver himself.
"Senior Sister, Senior Brother, I won't be staying for the final item. An old friend has shown their face."
With that, Jian Dan left the suite, murderous intent radiating from every step.
===
Here's a new novel I'm currently translating! "My Daughter is the Empire's Lucky Charm"
What happens when a modern-day lottery winner gets yeeted into the body of an overlooked princess in a historical novel? For Yun Shu, the answer is simple: Keep calm and keep scrolling.
After her family's sudden windfall, Yun Shu was all set for a life of luxury—until she woke up in the body of the fifth princess of a dynasty she literally read about in a book. Good news? Her mega-mansion came with her as a cheat-like pocket dimension, complete with Wi-Fi (thank heavens for food delivery). Bad news? The original novel did not promise her a happy ending—just a quick exit as a cannon-fodder side character.
But there's a twist: Her new "dad" is the all-powerful Emperor Xuanwu, a man with a mysterious system that predicts the future… and keeps pointing to her as the key to saving the empire.
Yun Shu just wants to nap and binge fried chicken, but fate (and her suddenly very attentive imperial father) has other plans. Between dodging court politics and accidentally becoming the empire's secret lucky charm, can this transmigrated slacker survive—or will she end up crowned empress?
Feel free to give it a try, and if the blurb catches your interest, don't forget to add it to your library~ (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧