Yun Tao Zhēnzūn frowned deeply after listening, his thick brows knitting together, before continuing to ask:
"Have you arranged for people to search?"
"I personally went once myself, and also sent people to investigate the sea where we fought. Moreover, it is not just our sect searching for the evil blade. Other sect cultivators and Loose Cultivators are also probing in secret, but so far, all efforts have come up empty."
"Then let this matter drop. Do not waste the sect's resources any further. For at least a thousand years, that blade will not resurface. That in itself spares us some trouble."
"If we could have Jian Lu take the lead—"
"No need!"
Yun Tao Zhēnzūn cut her off sharply.
"Jian Lu has already forced the enemy into self-sealing. With her cultivation only at the Unity stage, what she accomplished is already beyond reproach. Setting aside whether she would agree, we have no grounds to even raise such a request."
"I understand, Senior Brother. I will not bring this matter up again."
"Good. As for the sect's preparations for the coming war, you must put more effort into it. The Heavenly Sword Sect has already begun recruiting disciples in the mortal world. Yunhai Sect too must replenish its bloodline with fresh strength."
With that, Yun Tao shifted the conversation, discussing with Yun Yun the preparations for the two-hundred-year deadline.
The "Jian Lu" mentioned several times in their conversation was, at this very moment, aboard the returning sect's flying vessel, speaking with her Senior Brothers and Sisters about the matter of Yin Zhengchuan.
"Junior Sister, why didn't you simply strike him down outright?"
The brisk, straightforward voice of Senior Sister Jian Jing sounded from her meditation cushion.
Jian Dan, cradling Yue Liang in her arms, laughed as she replied: "When we fought, I did intend to kill him. But the Yin family cultivators intervened, costing me the chance. When I met him again, his Ancestor was present at his side. It was not convenient to act."
"Hah, I don't believe it. Knowing your temperament, if you wished him dead, you would not fear the Yin family's Ancestor."
Jian Jing shot her a sidelong glance, her face written with disbelief.
"Oh my, Senior Sister, must you always speak such blunt truths?"
Jian Dan's lips curved in a free, unrestrained smile before she explained: "Yesterday, after parting from you all, Wushuang came to see me. Not only did he inform me of the time they would perform the ritual on Yin Zhengchuan, he also delivered Yun Yun Zhēnzūn's words. She urged me that while removing the evil soul, I should let Yin Zhengchuan conveniently perish."
"Hmph, what a convenient little scheme."
Jian Jing's tone dripped with mockery. She asked, "And how did you refuse?"
For according to Senior Brother Jian Mao, at least before they departed, Yin Zhengchuan was still alive.
Jian Dan stroked the small Yue Liang in her arms, her expression mischievous. "I had no wish to offend Yun Yun Zhēnzūn. So I let Wushuang shield me from the request. I simply pretended I never received that message."
"Oh? So it seems you share some connection with this Wushuang?"
This time, it was Jian Mao who asked.
"Indeed, there is some connection. He owes me two lives, after all."
She then recounted how the two first met, and how she had twice saved him.
"From the sound of it, this Wushuang is not without ability. He is simply overprotected."
As a female cultivator, Jian Jing was naturally more observant. She immediately pointed out Han Pengfei's greatest obstacle in cultivation, then added to Jian Dan: "It is clear he values you highly, which is why he dared take upon himself a Zhēnzūn's demand on your behalf. And you, in turn, gifted him supplies and encouraged him to stand higher in the future."
Jian Dan laughed and nodded. "At the very least, he has pride and principles of his own. If one day he replaces his Ancestor, it would benefit everyone. Why would I not encourage that?
Besides, Yun Yun wanted Yin Zhengchuan dead. I deliberately thwarted her wish. In this way, the Yin family's Zhēnzūn owes me a favor."
Hearing this, Jian Mao raised his thick brows and asked, "In the side hall, you purged all the evil soul, didn't you? I saw that remnant soul nearly devour you alive."
"I didn't completely erase it. I destroyed the main soul, but a sliver had already fused with Yin Zhengchuan's own Primordial Soul. If I had purged it, he would have lost one of his three souls entirely."
The group exchanged glances. One of them voiced doubt: "Junior Sister, just to spite Yun Yun, was it wise to handle it this way?"
Jian Dan was not offended by the doubt. Sword cultivators were always blunt, laying everything openly on the table.
"Rest assured, Senior Brother. I would not leave such a calamity unchecked. When we left, Yin Zhengchuan had yet to regain consciousness. Whether he ever wakes will depend on his fate."
"And if he does awaken?"
"I have prepared for that as well. Should he awaken, his cultivation will regress to the Qi Refinement stage. Moreover, I planted a secret art in his sea of consciousness. Should he commit any misdeed, it will trigger and he will end himself."
Jian Dan spoke lightly, but all who listened knew how perilous it had been. To perform such delicate work before the eyes of a Zhēnzūn required not only courage, but strength.
"And if he never wakes?" another Senior Brother asked.
"So long as he remains alive, the Yin family owes me a debt. After all, their only request was to keep him alive. I have fulfilled that."
"Haha! Well done, Junior Sister. No matter how events unfold, you remain unassailable."
"You overpraise me, Senior Brother. However—"
After laughing, Jian Dan shifted her tone, speaking solemnly: "No matter what, the evil soul will one day awaken. That is only a matter of time."
Jian Mao, representing the group, asked: "Then why spare him at all?"
"I spared Yin Zhengchuan, not the evil soul. His life is the blade I leave hanging over everyone's heads. By keeping him, I remind the cultivators of Lingyun Continent that a sword forever hangs above them, and not for a moment may they relax their vigilance."
The "Heaven's Punishment" squad members shared glances and smiled, silently approving Jian Dan's reasoning.
"You and your habit of thinking five steps ahead... the more I watch, the more you resemble that fellow Jian Jun."
Jian Mao teased, breaking the serious air.
At the mention of Jian Jun, the Chief of the Enforcement Hall, Jian Dan said, "Senior Brother, after the succession ceremony, the Purple Sky Sect's envoys, Xiao Yong and Xiao Rong, came to me. They said the spatial rift Jian Jun was investigating had grown unstable. They wished to take advantage of the gathering of sects to consult on sealing it."
Jian Mao asked, "And how did you answer?"
Jian Dan spread her hands helplessly. "Since the node was already attacked, Purple Sky Sect would never leave such a flaw. Closing it is inevitable. But as some of their high-level cultivators are still inside, they will at least delay somewhat. My suggestion was to send people in once more, to see if they could be retrieved."
"Do you have confidence in that?"
"None. But it must be attempted."
She looked over at her companions, then added: "When I advanced in that strange space and later left, I was thrown into the far west of Lingyun Continent, in the Empire of Ling. There, at the Windcloud Ridge, lies a cold pool. Above it hangs a spatial rift. From it fell Jian Jun's sword pendant."
This was news the "Heaven's Punishment" squad had not heard. Only the Law Enforcement Hall's Jian Li, Jian Ning, Jian Wu, and Jian Sheng knew.
"So you suspect the Purple Sky Sect's rift has other exits?"
"Yes, Senior Brother. It is only my conjecture. When I returned from the Di Ling Kingdom, I had planned to visit Purple Sky Sect, but circumstances prevented it. Later, I became Acting Chief of the Enforcement Hall, and I had no chance to leave the sect. So the matter has remained unresolved."
"In that case, it seems Jian Jun is not in immediate danger. Otherwise, Jian Li would have already acted."