"Mm. Since Xue Ru put her heart into it, we'll do it your way."
Yun Juan and Yun Shu lit up at once. They knew how many sect points it cost to enter the Rubik's Cube Realm now. Between the two of them, they only had enough for a single entry each. After that, they'd be almost empty.
They had already planned to take on tasks within the sect, things that let them both care for Xue Ru and earn points. Now that Xue Ru had won them such a chance, their gratitude ran deep. They stepped forward to thank her.
"I can't favor some and neglect others," Jian Dan added. "Lü Se, Ting Feng, and Wang Yu will each get one entry to the Rubik's Cube trial as well."
With that generous decision made, Jian Dan headed to the Law Enforcement Hall. She still needed to see Hall Master Jian Li and hand off a few things.
Law Enforcement Hall
Senior brother and junior sister exchanged formal bows. After they sat, Jian Li teased, "Junior Sister, watching your cultivation speed makes me jealous."
"Please don't," Jian Dan sighed, palms up. "Even I feel like this breakthrough came out of nowhere."
"Oh?" Jian Li was puzzled. What cultivator advanced "out of nowhere"? It was either accumulated power reaching a threshold, or some fortuitous encounter. Which was it for her?
Catching his searching gaze, Jian Dan explained, "When I went into seclusion to forge the Rubik's Cube Realm, I'd just broken through to mid Unity. I planned to use artifact forging to stabilize my realm, then go to the arena so you and the others could sharpen my swordwork."
"Still as modest as ever," Jian Li chuckled.
"But when the artifact succeeded and faced the thunder tribulation, the Rubik's Cube Realm was re-tempered by the lightning. It was… altered."
"Altered?" Jian Li's expression turned serious at once. That he hadn't expected. "Altered how?"
Jian Dan understood what he was really asking and didn't hedge. "The trial realms were changed, especially the high-level ones. They're more complete, more realistic, and harder.
When I forged this," she went on, "my cultivation was only mid Unity. Only my Primordial Soul had reached Mahayana, which let me finish at all. The array patterns for the Mahayana trial were the hardest for me. I drew them with great effort, and they took the longest. The thunder tribulation happened to perfect the parts I'd barely managed."
Jian Li frowned, thinking it through. At last he ventured, "So because this pseudo-immortal artifact you forged achieved a certain… purpose, then—" He glanced upward meaningfully before looking back at her.
"Mm. The Rubik's Cube Realm I forged provided a solid foundation for a certain hand to make its move. So when the pseudo-immortal artifact succeeded, I also received a little… benefit."
"Good or bad?"
"Senior Brother, have you gone inside the Rubik's Cube Realm yet?" Jian Dan didn't answer directly. Instead, she asked whether he'd tried it himself.
"Not yet. No time. Do you want to go see it personally?"
"I do. I want to look at the Mahayana trial."
She took a sip of spirit tea and stated her goal plainly.
Jian Li needed only a moment to understand why. "Junior Sister, you're the first person on Lingyun Continent in more ways than one. Yet you don't know the details of your own artifact."
"Exactly," Jian Dan said with a wry smile.
"Truth is truth," he agreed, seeing that she wasn't angry, just intent on the investigation.
"You know I based this artifact on dreamscapes," she continued. "Aside from the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment tiers, every other trial space was sketched from the Battle of Ming Valley."
"I'm aware."
"So, I suspect the Mahayana trial…"
She didn't finish. She didn't need to. Jian Li understood.
"Junior Sister, I don't mean to underestimate you. Your Primordial Soul may be at Mahayana, but your cultivation is truly Unity. Even if you enter, the artifact will likely send you to the Unity trial immediately."
"You're right. Even though I'm the creator, this artifact is nearly at the level of an immortal tool. I doubt I could bluff it."
"This time you're absolutely right," Jian Li said. "Master said its artifact spirit has been born. Whether it's awakened yet, we still don't know."
"Looks like I won't be visiting the Mahayana trial after all." Jian Dan shook her head, then smoothly shifted to the second reason she'd come. "Senior Brother, does the sect reward the forging of the Rubik's Cube Realm?"
"It does. What do you want?"
"I want a trip to the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion to choose suitable techniques for my disciples."
"As far as I know, Yu Zongfan is cultivating a technique his clan obtained. Mao Dou and Wei Xueru do need new arts. Mao Dou has already formed his foundation, and Xue Ru is close, right?"
"Thank you for keeping an eye on them. Still, as their master, I need to keep things fair. Zongfan has his own, but he should be allowed to pick something that fits him even better."
Jian Li smiled. "You've already planned it all out. Go straight to the Scripture Pavilion and find Tian Zhen Zhēnzūn. Your sect points will take a heavy hit, though."
"No problem. Points are earned to be spent. I'll just earn more."
Jian Dan rose with a sunny grin, ready to take her leave.
Just then, Wei Zhengrong entered the hall. Seeing Jian Dan, he hurried forward and saluted. "Greetings, Jian Lu Zūnshàng."
"Mm. You two are busy. I won't take more of Senior Brother's time," Jian Dan said.
"Zūnshàng, please wait."
She paused. "Is there something?"
Wei Zhengrong bowed first to Hall Master Jian Li. With permission granted, he reported directly, "Zūnshàng, Du Yanran, whom you asked me to watch, has fallen."
That caught her off guard. Jian Dan sat back down. "When?"
"Two months ago, while you were in seclusion."
"Tell me everything."
"The Hua Clan periodically provided Yin Yang Gate with her hiding places, so Du Yanran was in constant disarray as she fled. Her body was eventually found in a mortal household.
Her resources were exhausted. In the end, she self-detonated her sea of consciousness. Her body wasn't destroyed. When Yin Yang Gate's trackers found her, her storage ring, robes, and protective artifacts were all present. They confirmed it was Du Yanran."
"And then?"
"Once a death is confirmed, the hunt stops. But a few stubborn ones are still searching for her life-space. No one knows who it will end up with."
A cold glint flashed in Jian Dan's eyes. "Hmph. What a tidy cicada-sheds-its-shell."
"You mean she isn't dead?" Wei Zhengrong asked. "But Hua Clan cultivators confirmed the Hua imprint was on that body."
"Du Yanran discovered someone had tampered with her. She couldn't locate it, couldn't remove it, and faced endless pursuit. So she abandoned the skin, blew apart her sea of consciousness, and covered the fact that her Primordial Soul slipped free."
"Possession? There were suspicions at the time, but the mortals in that household were thoroughly investigated. No signs of possession."
Jian Dan tapped the table with one finger, then said, "If she plans to possess someone, it'll be either a cultivator with a decent realm, or a child with exceptional aptitude. Otherwise she wouldn't risk it."
As her words fell, a short blade of blue light appeared in Jian Dan's hand.