"Senior Brother Jian Li only said they are temporarily safe, but as for the exact situation, we can only wait until he emerges from seclusion and ask him in detail."
Hearing this, Jian Jing smiled with narrowed eyes and asked: "Junior Sister, does this mean you intend to go into the rift yourself this time?"
Jian Dan blinked at her Senior Sister's round, smiling face before answering: "Yes. After all, Hall Master Jian Jun is the true master of the Law Enforcement Hall. It is my duty to bring her back."
"Don't think I don't know what you're plotting. You are just sick of being stuck in the Law Enforcement Hall. Everyone knows you send Senior Brother Jian Li a message talisman every single day urging him to come out of seclusion!"
"Ah! Senior Sister, you knew?"
Jian Dan asked with some embarrassment.
"Heh! You send a talisman every day without hiding it from anyone. All the high-ranking cultivators in the Heavenly Sword Sect know about it."
Hearing that, Jian Dan's mood sank, her voice turning a little plaintive: "Senior Sister, when do you think Senior Brother will finally come out? I spend every single day in the Law Enforcement Hall without rest. I cannot even circulate two full cycles of cultivation, one matter after another with no end. I'm so tired that even my once beautiful looks are starting to fade!"
Jian Jing, amused by her complaints, chuckled without sympathy and gave her a suggestion:"Then take a Beautifying Pill! You, acting hall master of the Law Enforcement Hall, surely can exchange for at least one."
"I already took one earlier, but I still feel my looks are changing. I truly think the position of Law Enforcement Hall Master is not something a female cultivator should shoulder..."
Thus, the two women drifted into a serious discussion about beauty-preserving techniques. Off to the side, Jian Mao only shook his head, while the other male cultivators turned dark-faced and went into meditation, utterly uninterested.
Suddenly, Jian Mao, seated at the prow, snapped open his eyes. Jian Dan also halted mid-sentence in that instant. All members of the Heavenly Punishment squad swiftly gathered together.
Jian Dan fixed her gaze on a patch of sky the flying boat had already passed and spoke gravely:"Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, a Mahayana Zhēnzūn has arrived!"
"They must be here for Jian Lu's life-bound spirit sword!"
Jian Mao spoke with certainty, but without panic. With their nine members plus Jian Lu, they still had the strength to fight.
Jian Dan's eyes flickered and she said to Jian Mao: "Senior Brother, we've already left the Cloud Sea Sect's territory."
"Yes, we just left. Jian Lu, what do you mean?"
"Those who know of our early departure are either from Cloud Sea Sect or the spies constantly watching its movements."
After saying that, Jian Dan patted Cotton Candy, who had been silent all this time: "Cotton Candy, hide the flying boat."
Cotton Candy gave a little shake, like stretching lazily, then dropped from Jian Dan's hair bun. In a flash, it darted outside the flying boat, circling it twice quickly. A thick blanket of white cloud instantly enveloped the vessel.
At the same time, a rift tore open in the sky. A male cultivator in a robe of green bamboo stepped out, standing high in the air as his eyes searched for his target.
His cultivation was at the early Mahayana stage. Though he looked like a Dao cultivator, his weapon was a bamboo flute.
The flying boat was not far away. Seeing that only one person had come, Jian Mao and the others felt some confidence. With their combined strength, they might hold their ground.
Jian Dan turned to her companions inside the boat: "I must trouble Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters to assist from the shadows. Clearly this person has come for me. I will meet him."
Jian Mao frowned. Among them, Jian Dan's cultivation was the lowest. He was uneasy about letting her go, especially since the enemy was a Mahayana Zhēnzūn.
"Can you handle it? Don't force yourself. Do not let yourself be harmed."
Jian Dan accepted his concern wholeheartedly, but this was no time to retreat. Yue Liang had already leapt onto her shoulder, fur bristling, ready to fight.
"Rest assured, Senior Brother. I won't act recklessly. If I truly cannot handle it, I will call for your aid."
Cotton Candy floated back, wrapping Jian Dan in mist, then teleported her outside the flying boat.
"Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Jian Lu, greets Zhēnzūn. May I ask what business brings you to seek me?"
The Zhēnzūn in bamboo robes, Qing Rui, gazed at the ethereal female cultivator before him. His eyes briefly swept to her shoulder pet. Yue Liang stared back with bright black eyes, utterly unafraid.
"You know I am a Zhēnzūn, yet you dare step out. Do you truly think you can defeat me?"
From his tone, Jian Dan instantly understood. Qing Rui was supremely confident. Otherwise, he would have attacked immediately instead of talking.
"Zhēnzūn jests. I have no grudge with you. Why escalate to bloodshed? May I ask what it is you seek from Jian Lu?"
"I want your weapon."
Jian Dan was unsurprised. She only smiled lightly: "That is my life-bound spirit sword. Unless you kill me, you cannot claim it. And if you do, the sword will be damaged, its rank falling. Would that not be a loss?"
"No matter. I don't want it for myself. I will gift it to a junior. They can re-nurture it anew."
Qing Rui Zhēnzūn dismissed her warning.
Jian Dan shook her head: "Zhēnzūn should know, my sword already has a spirit. If you slay its master and force it back to infancy, it will never submit to you."
Qing Rui gave a proud smile: "I am still giving you face by speaking kindly. If you sever the bond yourself, perhaps your cultivation will remain intact."
Inside the Mò Xī Jiàn, the sword spirit stirred restlessly, rolling across the yin-yang formation and transmitting: "Why waste words? Slay him already!"
"Patience. We must show courtesy before force. If I kill him outright, and later his clan or sect comes seeking vengeance, it will cause endless trouble."
"Hypocritical! Swords should speak with steel, not chatter."
"No need to rush. You are my trump card, to be revealed only at the decisive moment. For now, rest until I summon you."
After soothing the sword spirit, Jian Dan clasped her hands toward Qing Rui Zhēnzūn: "Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Jian Lu, requests guidance from Zhēnzūn."
"Hmph! Courting death!"
Qing Rui instantly unleashed the full pressure of his early Mahayana cultivation. He knew sword cultivators were troublesome and capable of leaping realms. Better to suppress her immediately.
The crushing might swept forward like a tidal wave. But Jian Dan stood unharmed. If he had been late Mahayana, she might have been troubled. But her divine sense had already reached Mahayana Great Perfection. This much pressure was bearable.
At that moment, silver-armored insects swarmed out from her pendant, covering her robes like living armor.
Instead of drawing the Mò Xī Jiàn, Jian Dan flipped her hand and summoned her sword-shaped zither.
With a flick, a single resonant note shattered Qing Rui's pressure. Then she began to pluck the strings, deep and steady tones rolling outward as her spiritual power poured in.
Qing Rui's brows knit. He had not expected this. Was she not a sword cultivator? How could she wield musical arts?
He was not the only one baffled. Jian Dan's fellow disciples aboard the hidden flying boat were equally shocked.
"It seems Junior Sister Jian Lu has many talents. She not only wields the sword but also plays the qin."
Jian Jing spoke with a hint of envy. She herself had never mastered such elegance, which was why she took up the sword.
"Let's watch carefully."
Jian Mao hushed her softly, not daring to disturb the duel.
Qing Rui lifted the bamboo flute to his lips. A clear, piercing note rang out, riding spiritual power, cutting sharply through the zither's heavy resonance.
Gray waves of zither tones and green ripples of flute sound spread through the air like circles on a lake. When they met, they clashed, neutralized, and surged toward one another again.