Lü Se had already organized his entire report in his head. He planned to step forward the moment his Zūnshàng sat down and deliver everything that happened in the nearly hundred years of her absence. He didn't get the chance. A colorful Yingge suddenly poked his head out from Jian Lu Zhēnzūn's collar.
"Xiao Zhuzi, is this your mountain?"
Everyone froze for a beat, then all eyes snapped toward the little bird.
"Yeah. This is Tianyue Peak. I don't stay here much though."
Yingge flew out from Jian Dan's collar, beating his wings as he circled the sky above the cave residence. He gave the nearby wutong tree an approving look, swooped up and down a few times, then landed neatly back on her shoulder.
"Xiao Zhuzi, this place is great. The spiritual energy's rich and everything's arranged so cleanly. It's exactly your style."
He even offered a critique as he settled in.
"I didn't know you'd show up, so I didn't prepare anything in advance, but it's not too late."
She tapped his head lightly, then pulled out her black jade token and handed it to Lü Se.
"Lü Se, go to the Operations Hall and check if they've got any wutong wood available for exchange. Seeds are fine too."
He accepted the token with both hands, bowed, and left in a streak of light toward the Heavenly Sword Peak's Operations Hall.
That beast was clearly extraordinary, and since it called his Zūnshàng in such an intimate way while she treated it casually and even wanted to exchange wutong wood for it, Lü Se knew exactly how he should handle the creature. Maybe it wasn't contracted to her, but he definitely couldn't afford to slight something his Zūnshàng valued.
He'd followed Jian Lu Zūnshàng since his Foundation Establishment years, and now that he was about to break through to Divine Soul, he'd long since developed his own way of judging things. The priority right now was getting that wutong wood.
After Lü Se left, Jian Dan called her four attendants over and asked about everything that happened while she'd been gone.
Yun Juan, Yun Shu, and Wang Yu had all reached peak Nascent Soul, only a single step away from Divine Transformation. Ting Feng had gone into bitter cultivation for a century and managed to break through first. He was the strongest among the four now and had vaguely taken the lead position among them.
"Looks like you all worked hard while I was gone."
She took a sip of her favorite Bodhi Tranquil Tea and felt her whole mind clear up.
Ting Feng stepped forward and bowed. "After you left, we trained according to Steward Lü's instructions. And we followed your earlier orders too. We all went to the Dreamlike Illusory Rubik's Cube Realm for trials. Our foundations are solid, so our breakthroughs happened naturally."
"Good. You've all worked hard. With your current cultivation, each of you can handle things on your own now."
She acknowledged their progress, then continued, "Yun Juan, Yun Shu, Wang Yu, the three of you are about to break through to Divine Transformation. After you help me tidy up the backlog of tasks, pick a mission and go out for tempering. You'll need to find your own opportunities to advance."
The three brightened instantly. They knew she'd planned ahead for them, so they bowed deeply.
"Thank you for thinking of us, Zūnshàng. We won't disappoint your expectations."
"As long as you understand. Now tell me what's been happening in the Heavenly Sword Sect while I've been away."
"Yes."
Yun Juan stepped forward first and chattered nonstop for two full quarters of an hour. She talked about their Zūnshàng's departure, Yue Liang's return, and the two high ranked beast cultivators who'd come back with her, Mo Ran and Jade. With three high ranked great beasts stationed here, everything on Tianyue Peak had been steady and peaceful.
After the three returned, they reported to Jian Li Zūnshàng at the Law Enforcement Hall, registered themselves properly, and settled on the peak. They guided Jian Dan's three disciples in their cultivation, focusing on actual combat drills. Once the three disciples broke through to Nascent Soul one after another, each great beast took one disciple out for training.
Of course, there'd been trouble too. The Kong family kept suffering losses to Jian Dan in the past, so while she was away, they tried spreading rumors to tarnish her reputation.
They weren't completely stupid. Knowing they couldn't spread nonsense among people who knew the truth, they stirred trouble outside the sect. They also targeted newly recruited disciples, spreading vague rumors describing Jian Lu as someone who loved killing, acted tyrannically, and relied on robbing others for resources.
Lü Se ignored all of it. No one dared talk nonsense in front of him, and if someone actually tried, he'd take it straight to the Law Enforcement Hall. So instead, the troublemakers went after Jian Dan's three disciples.
The three had been saving up points on their own to get entry into the Dreamlike Illusory Rubik's Cube Realm. While training in the back mountain, they overheard several comments slandering Jian Dan. Whether it was intentional or not, those words landed right in their ears.
Mao Dou's face darkened immediately. Yu Zongfan knew someone was doing it on purpose to provoke them. The sharpest of the three, Wei Xueru, pulled out a Recording Stone and captured the whole thing, then dragged her two senior brothers to find her brother Wei Zhengrong.
Less than fifteen minutes later, the Law Enforcement Hall grabbed every troublemaker involved. They were just a bunch of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Who gave them the courage to spread lies about a high ranked cultivator? They confessed the moment they saw the Law Enforcement Hall officers. Turns out they were paid in spirit stones and told to spread rumors.
As for who hired them, they didn't know. The mastermind never showed their face. They assumed they were just muttering a few words among low ranked disciples. They never imagined they'd be dragged to the Law Enforcement Hall. They regretted everything instantly. These troublemakers all came from families affiliated with the Heavenly Sword Sect.
The issue never even reached Jian Li. Wei Zhengrong buried it immediately. All offenders were sent back to their families. The Heavenly Sword Sect still gave the affiliated clans some face. If this batch had bad character, then the clans could send another group with better conduct.
The clan leaders understood the sect had already shown enormous leniency. At least the sect didn't wipe them out or strip their clan status. They still got to send new disciples. That alone meant the sect was giving them mercy.