"Jian Lu Xiaoyou."
Jian Dan only shook her head at Yin Zhēnzūn, signaling him to remain calm. Then her gaze shifted to Yue Liang and Yin Zhengchuan.
Everyone present could see Yue Liang's little claws flashing like afterimages. With each swipe, a wisp of black smoke rose into the air, making the entire side hall reek of foulness. Standing in the middle, Yin Zhengchuan trembled uncontrollably, sweat as large as beans rolling down his forehead. Within moments, his complexion had turned deathly pale.
Only after clearly recognizing that the black fumes were corrupted qi did Yin Zhēnzūn finally confirm the truth: his grandson had indeed been tampered with by an evil cultivator.
Yue Liang's claw strikes grew slower, more cautious, every movement deliberate. Everyone knew they had reached the most critical moment and unconsciously held their breath.
Jian Dan lightly brushed her wrist. The star-and-moon bodhi beads glowed with scattered golden light, purifying the noxious qi within the hall.
Suddenly, Yin Zhengchuan's eyes turned blood-red. From his throat burst a bestial roar, his gaze filled with venom and hatred as it locked onto Jian Dan. A strange and twisted voice emerged:
"I curse you, never to—"
Before the words could finish, his body convulsed violently. This time, it was not Yue Liang's doing.
Every person in the hall felt a wave of killing intent sweep past them. Strictly speaking, they were only brushed by its edge. The true center of that suffocating aura was Yin Zhengchuan—or rather, the remnant soul fragment of the evil cultivator inside him.
For the first time, Jian Dan revealed a smile, yet her eyes were utterly devoid of warmth. Her gaze was cold and indifferent, as though staring at a corpse. Tangible killing intent condensed in the air, cutting into the evil soul like invisible blades.
"You think I do not dare kill you? Or that I cannot? I have endured you for a century already. Since you are so eager for annihilation, then so be it."
As her words fell, Yue Liang unleashed the full extent of her innate soul-destroying ability and slashed down at Yin Zhengchuan.
"Ahhh!"
A scream echoed throughout the entire hall. The bloodlust faded from Yin Zhengchuan's eyes, and he collapsed to the floor as though dragged from drowning waters. His body convulsed a few times before slipping into unconsciousness.
At the same moment Yue Liang leapt back onto Jian Dan's shoulder, Jian Dan retracted all traces of killing intent. Silence fell upon the hall, so heavy it was suffocating.
Holding Yue Liang in her arms, Jian Dan stood and bowed slightly to Yin Zhēnzūn. Only then did she speak. "Zhēnzūn, this is the most Yue Liang and I could accomplish together."
Her remaining words were sent directly into Yin Zhēnzūn's ears through sound transmission.
"The main soul of the evil spirit has been destroyed. However, a faint trace remains unpurged. If too much time passes, I cannot say for certain whether it will recover consciousness. The rest, Zhēnzūn must decide how to handle."
By now, Jian Mao had already positioned himself beside Jian Dan, his presence exerting quiet pressure. A glance from him was enough for the Sect Master to act swiftly, waving his sleeve to undo the restriction on the hall.
Before leaving, Jian Dan glanced once toward the corner of the hall—where she was certain someone was observing—then saluted Yin Zhēnzūn and the Sect Master, departing alongside her Senior Brother.
The Sect Master exhaled sharply and sank into the chair below Yin Zhēnzūn. Circulating his spiritual power, he forced his own face to look less ashen. Just now, he had nearly thought Jian Lu would directly annihilate Yin Zhengchuan.
Yin Zhēnzūn had already stepped forward, supporting Yin Zhengchuan and placing a soul-stabilizing pill into his mouth. His palm pressed against his grandson's back, slowly guiding the medicine into effect.
Suddenly, Sect Master's eyes widened. Yin Zhēnzūn, too, let out a low cry."Chuan'er!"
Even while unconscious, Yin Zhengchuan's cultivation began to plummet—from the late Nascent Soul stage, it dropped uncontrollably, giving Yin Zhēnzūn no chance to stabilize him. In mere moments, it collapsed to the late Qi Refinement stage.
His hair had turned white at the temples, and wrinkles etched across his once-youthful face. If he had been a refined and genteel youth before, he now resembled a man in his fifties—an aged head of a wealthy household.
Watching through a water mirror, Yun Yun was visibly displeased. She flicked her sleeve, dispersing the mirror image, and turned to Han Pengfei. "When you delivered the message to Jian Lu, how did she respond?"
"I did not deliver your words at all."
"And what is the meaning of this, Pengfei?"
For the first time, Yun Yun's tone carried sharpness. Han Pengfei had never defied her before.
Han Pengfei bowed, then raised his head to meet his grandaunt's gaze. "Grandaunt, you did not wish to offend Yin Zhēnzūn. Jian Lu feels the same. Had I conveyed your request, she would surely have spoken openly to Yin Zhēnzūn. Even if you later denied it, the seed of suspicion would have been sown, waiting only for the day it erupted."
"She would dare?"
"She would! Jian Lu Zūnshàng has never acted by convention. Moreover, she hails from the Heavenly Sword Sect. It was you who forced her to remain here. You cannot be unaware of why Tian Zhou Zhēnzūn left those nine Unity experts behind. As for her own strength, after her battle with the evil cultivator, you know better than I do."
For the first time, Han Pengfei spoke with clarity and firmness, standing by his judgment.
"If grandaunt wishes to punish me, Pengfei will accept it. But I do not believe I acted wrongly."
Yun Yun Zhēnzūn studied her junior, realizing he was no longer the timid boy she once knew.
"Leave."
She waved her hand. Han Pengfei bowed again and departed.
Once alone, Yun Yun rubbed her temples. She admitted to herself that she had overstepped. Ever since she had forced Jian Lu to remain, the Heavenly Sword Sect likely already harbored dissatisfaction.
But as a guardian Zhēnzūn of her sect, she had to think for the future of Cloud Sea Sect. The evil cultivator Hai Yan had come from their ranks, and the evil artifact had fallen within their surrounding seas. If, on top of that, another disciple destined to fall into the path of evil was allowed to survive, Cloud Sea Sect would inevitably be condemned.
The Zhēnzūns of the Daoist Sects all understood this, yet none of them spoke it aloud. To preserve Daoist dignity, they had united to destroy Hai Yan. Yun Yun's responsibility now was to eliminate all remaining roots.
And after what she had just witnessed through the mirror, a new plan began forming in her mind.
Yin Zhēnzūn flicked his sleeve, using his sleeve-universe technique to take Yin Zhengchuan into its space. He then turned to the Sect Master, who still remained. "Regarding Yun Yun Zhēnzūn, I will explain this matter personally. As for Zhengchuan, I ask you to expel him from the sect, extinguish his soul lamp, and ensure he never leaves the clan grounds again."
"This—"
The Sect Master hesitated briefly, but seeing Yin Zhēnzūn's firm expression, he eventually nodded.
Meanwhile, Jian Dan and Jian Mao had already left the side hall, riding their flight light back toward their temporary residence on Yunyin Peak.
"Junior Sister, you really hide your depths well. With that killing intent alone, who would think you needed our protection?" Jian Mao teased as they flew.
"Senior Brother flatters me. It was only to frighten them a little." Jian Dan smiled.
"I do not think so. That murderous aura of yours was tangible, condensed through countless life-and-death battles. It is not something won through just one or two fights."
Jian Dan knew that for experts like the "Heaven's Punishment" squad—each already half a step into Mahayana—their eyesight was keen. There was no use denying it. She simply chose to phrase it differently.
"After forming my Yuányīng, I took on a sect mission outside and accidentally entered an independent space. The flow of time there was different from Lingyun Continent, and the place swarmed with all manner of monsters—even insect swarms. If you wished to survive, you could only keep fighting without pause.
In the eyes of the outside world, I was gone for less than fifty years. But inside, I fought for nearly a thousand years. Only after advancing did that space eject me back."