After saying all she needed to say, Jian Dan made a stop at Heavenly Sword Peak's Operations Hall. Yu Yuanhai happened to be on duty. Seeing her walk in at an unhurried pace, he went up at once.
"Greetings, Jian Lu Zūnshàng."
"Mhm. Steward Yu, please exchange some space stones for me."
Lately Jian Dan had been refining cubic artifacts for a Rubik's Cube trial space, and her space stones were running low. Since she was passing by, it was the perfect time to restock.
"Yes, Zūnshàng. One moment, I will fetch them now." Yu Yuanhai respectfully accepted the purple-jade sword token she handed over and went to the back hall.
This wasn't her first time here, so Jian Dan wasn't in a rush. She took a seat at a jade table to the side. Moments later, Yu Yuanhai returned with a storage ring, handing it back along with the purple-jade sword token.
Jian Dan checked the contents, slipped the ring into her sleeve pouch, and rehung the sword token at her waist.
"Zongfan is already at the tenth level of Qi Refining," she said as she walked toward the doors. "His foundation is solid. He should be able to attempt Foundation Establishment before I go into seclusion."
Yu Yuanhai followed to see her out, grateful for the update on his younger kinsman. "Thank you for your guidance, Zūnshàng. If Zongfan does anything poorly, please reprimand him as you see fit."
Jian Dan smiled and nodded. Parents all shared the same mindset, and in the cultivation world, a disciple's temperament mattered even more. Respecting teachers came first.
For the next three years, Jian Dan was practically submerged in her cave residence, refining artifacts and carefully instructing her three disciples.
Mao Dou had already turned twenty-one. The boyishness was gone, replaced by steady bearing and a sense of responsibility fit for a senior brother. His cultivation had advanced to the twelfth level of Qi Refining.
Yu Zongfan, nineteen, had been molded by Jian Dan into a courteous young gentleman. He usually trained alongside Mao Dou and had also reached the twelfth level of Qi Refining.
Zongfan's spirit pet, Bai Bai, lived very comfortably on the east side peak of Tianyue Peak. From time to time the Law Enforcement Hall would requisition the pet to sniff out heaven-and-earth treasures, padding its own hoard nicely.
Whenever Bai Bai saw Yue Liang, it would trot up wagging its tail. The aloof Yue Liang might flick her tail in reply. That counted as a greeting.
Because she had contracted a wind spirit, Xue Ru, after Jian Dan pressed her to consolidate for a time, advanced smoothly to the tenth level of Qi Refining.
Earlier, since Jian Dan was busy refining and not taking missions, Yue Liang had felt idle and useless, so she ran all over the sect. She came to know nearly every spirit beast on every peak. In the end, Jian Dan took her to the Law Enforcement Hall and accepted a sweep-and-check task.
"You've just toured our inner nine peaks and outer nine peaks," Jian Dan asked her, "did you find any evil souls' split bodies or black-armored insects?"
"No," Yue Liang answered crisply, tail swishing. "I worked with the Operations Hall formation cultivators. With their cover, my probing went well. I checked every cultivator who was inside the sect."
In truth, after Jian Dan raised her concerns with Hall Master Jian Li, he had gone to the back mountain to see Tian Yun Zhēnzūn.
With Tian Hong Zhēnzūn still away, Jian Li met with Tian Yun Zhēnzūn and Tian Shou Zhēnzūn.
After proper salutations, he explained his purpose.
Both Tian Yun and Tian Shou listened, then fell briefly silent. Tian Shou stroked his two narrow mustaches and chuckled, "This one is a second Jian Jun for sure. She inherited that forward-planning knack whole."
Tian Yun smiled. "Hence why Jian Lu was pulled into the Law Enforcement Hall early."
He drew the jade slip from Jian Li's hand and read it carefully, asking as he did, "This is your hall's revised plan for the sect-protecting formation?"
"Yes. Meng Congjian of the Operations Hall is in charge. This is only the preliminary adjustment. If the Zhēnzūn approve, I will inform Sect Master Jian Chong and refine the details."
"Quite a commotion you're planning," Tian Yun said, passing the slip to Tian Shou. "You've practically adjusted all secondary array nodes."
"Yes. Junior Sister Jian Lu said Jian Yu spent a century in the sect and is certainly familiar with everything here. If we change things, it has to be large-scale. Tinkering around the edges does nothing."
"Mhm. Her concern is justified," Tian Yun said after weighing it. "With her Void Refinement realm and the Fu clan backing her, there would have been some obstacles to learning these things, but nothing insurmountable."
He added, "If we are to move, then thoroughly. Shift the main array core that used to sit behind the Sect Master's hall on Heavenly Sword Peak to Tianyue Peak."
Jian Li started. That was drastic. Even the main core. His original plan had not included moving the main core. "Zhēnzūn, if we do that, my whole adjustment plan must be redrawn."
"Good. See to it," Tian Yun said. "Have Jian Chong involved. Moving the main core is no small matter. As for Tianyue Peak, simply ask Jian Lu for help. The proposal was hers anyway."
With one sentence from a Zhēnzūn, Jian Dan set aside her cube artifacts and spent a year elbow-deep in work, finishing the overhaul of the entire sect's formation.
When the Law Enforcement Hall's task order first landed in her hands, Jian Dan almost rolled her eyes. The Zhēnzūn had tossed this pot very cleanly. Moving the main core to Tianyue Peak was obviously because it was her idea.
She gritted her teeth and accepted, dragging Yue Liang along to keep the fox from growing moss.
Yue Liang's assignment was to pair with the Operations Hall. Whenever they adjusted the formation, she swept every large and small peak all over again.
At last, under Jian Chong's oversight, the main array core was transferred from Heavenly Sword Peak to beneath Jian Dan's cave residence on Tianyue Peak using the Sect Master's Command Token.
Jian Dan nearly had to excavate her cave anew. She sent Xue Ru to a cave on the east side peak early so the girl could live independently, but left Yun Juan and Yun Shu to look after her.
With the formation overhaul complete, Jian Dan finally ticked a major task off her list. She gave herself a proper break. After confirming Yue Liang had finished her rounds, she nudged her to go into seclusion and advance.
"Yue Liang, I won't be leaving the sect for a while. Seize the chance to go into seclusion and try for seventh rank."
Yue Liang scratched one ear. "What if I advance while you're away at Purple Sky Sect?"
"I'll bring you to Purple Sky Sect with me," Jian Dan said, patting her head.
"Alright. I'll try my best and hit seventh rank."
Having settled it, Yue Liang prepared to seclude. Before she left, she reported, "Zūnshàng, I will go to Medicine Peak to greet my brother, then return to start seclusion."
"Go ahead."
Jian Dan never kept Yue Liang on a short leash. The fox came and went as she pleased.
Yue Liang visited her brother and asked after their Ancestor's situation among the beast race. Xing Xing told her in detail how Ancestor Xingchen had rebuilt the beast clan's territory.
===
Hi everyone! Just a quick announcement: I've hit the 20-novel limit on my Webnovel account, so I won't be able to upload any new projects here for now. To keep sharing my translations with everyone, I've decided to migrate my new uploads to AO3!
For my completed novels, I'll also be making them available in .epub format on Google Drive or TeraBox, so you can read them offline whenever you want. I'll put the links in the comment section. If you're reading on the app, it can be tricky to copy or open links there. In that case, please use your browser to access the web version at https://www.webnovel.com and, if needed, switch to desktop mode in your browser settings to copy/paste or access the links properly.
I've already started a new project there: "My VR Games Terrify the World"—I hope you'll enjoy it! Don't worry—all ongoing/serializing projects on Webnovel will continue here. I won't be abandoning anything you're currently following!
For extra safety, I'm also putting my translations on Royal Road (username: Reiya_Alberich) so they're accessible in multiple places.
If you'd like to follow my AO3 account, my pseud is Rikhi and you can find my profile here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikhi/pseuds/Rikhi
Or just search 'Rikhi' on it's search bar.
Thanks so much for your support, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy all the translations—both old and new—no matter the platform! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
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Meng Shu never expected to wake up in a parallel world where VR technology is everywhere, but horror games are painfully primitive. His saving grace? A game development system that's incredibly easy to use, with a unique currency: player fear.
Every scream, every jolt, every moment of pure dread his players experience fuels his progress. With this terror tax, he can unlock the blueprints for every classic horror game from his past world. While everyone else ignores the genre, Meng Shu sees a golden opportunity.
He begins to unleash a series of VR horror experiences that leave players traumatized. Outlast has them pleading for mercy. Visage keeps them perpetually on edge, jumping at the slightest sound. SOMA plunges them into deep existential dread, and Alien: Isolation teaches them the true meaning of helpless fear.
From Silent Hill to Resident Evil and Five Nights at Freddy's, Meng Shu's growing library of nightmares has one simple goal: to become the undisputed master of fear and make the entire gaming world scream.