Wei Zhengrong was temporarily handling the Operations Hall while Jian Sheng was away, and he was sharp enough to notice something was off. It felt intentional, and the deeper he dug, the more the trail twisted back toward the Kong Family. The problem was, nothing tied them to it on the surface. After all, they'd tried to smear Jian Lu Zūnshàng several times and failed every time, so they'd gotten a lot more cautious.
But Yue Liang didn't care about any of that. Anyone who dared badmouth her respected one deserved payback. After confirming Wei Zhengrong's intel, she grabbed Mo Ran and headed straight for the Kong Family's territory on a dark, windy night.
The moment she saw an opening, she struck hard. She shattered the primordial souls of several high level cultivators from Kong Qiankun's line, tapped the dust off her hands, then used Instant Flash to disappear. She didn't leave them any chance to retaliate. They did not even know who hit them.
The Kong Family was an affiliated clan under the Heavenly Sword Sect. When had they ever suffered humiliation like this? They even had a Mahayana stage Zhēnzūn in residence. Naturally, they ran straight to the sect to beg the Law Enforcement Hall to find the culprit.
Once the Law Enforcement Hall took the case, they sent out three groups in total to "investigate." They claimed they were searching for clues about the attacker, but each group they sent was stronger than the last. The final squad was filled with cultivators who were half a step from Mahayana.
Some clueless families were impressed. They felt the Heavenly Sword Sect really lived up to its reputation, taking such good care of the clans under their wing. The sect's prestige quietly rose again.
But the Kong Family couldn't take it anymore. Every family had secrets. With high level cultivators dropping by over and over, they couldn't summon their Ancestor every time to meet guests. Kong Hong, the clan head, could only grit his teeth and receive the Heavenly Sword Sect's bigshots himself, repeating the same explanations again and again.
What made it worse was that every visiting expert was polite and gentle. They insisted the previous group's cultivation wasn't enough to uncover the culprit, so they had been sent instead, and naturally, they had to tour the entire Kong Family estate.
Eventually, Kong Hong realized the problem. He politely suggested that they shouldn't trouble the sect's high level cultivators anymore, especially since so many had already come without finding anything.
His meaning was clear: so many visits and still no results.
But the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect were not fools. They smiled and replied,"Actually, after several rounds of investigation, we found that the attacker is likely someone from your own family. There wasn't any unfamiliar aura besides those belonging to your clan."
That single line shut Kong Hong up completely, and the visiting cultivators left with satisfied smiles.
The Kong Family had no choice but to swallow the loss, and from then on, that branch of the family was basically done for. Meanwhile, Yue Liang was happily drilling Jian Dan's three disciples. Tianyue Peak was lively every single day.
Right when the story reached this point, Lü Se completed his task and returned to the cave residence.
"Zūnshàng, here's the phoenix wood branch I exchanged for. If it's cultivated well, it can grow again, though it'll be slow."
"You worked hard."
She accepted the brocade box holding the phoenix wood, hooked the Obsidian Bracelet back into place, and swept it with her divine sense. Her points had dropped by seven digits this time. She sighed. Points were always too few.
Honestly, Lü Se had hesitated at the exchange counter and only redeemed the branch after confirming repeatedly.
Jian Dan waved her hand to undo the seal. Inside was a half arm length brown forked branch, rich with spiritual energy. A sweep of her divine sense told her the branch was still very much alive and could definitely grow.
She flicked her wrist, tossing it into a spirit field at the cave entrance. Then she scraped up a bit of "Springwood's Blessing" powder from Liu Chuan and sprinkled it around the phoenix wood. In just a moment, the branch visibly grew by an inch.
Yingge was thrilled. He immediately flew over, perched on it, squinted his shiny black bean eyes, and started absorbing the benefits of the phoenix wood.
Because of that tiny bit of powder, the green plants in the spirit field and the peach blossom tree beside it started rustling without wind, as if trying to steal a bit too.
Seeing Yingge's blissed out expression, Jian Dan let him be. She turned back to Lü Se and explained how she planned to arrange the four attendants, then continued,
"The Kong Family situation is resolved?"
"Please rest assured, Zūnshàng. Not a single rumor is circulating anymore."
"My three obedient disciples?"
"Zūnshàng, your three disciples are all outstanding. Within a hundred years, they advanced to Nascent Soul one after another. After passing the trials of the Dreamlike Illusory Rubik's Cube Realm, they left the sect for training. Yue Liang, Mo Ran, and Jade are quietly protecting them, which is why they're not on Tianyue Peak right now. Do you want me to send message talismans to call them back?"
Lü Se bowed respectfully.
"No need. It's training, so I won't interrupt their plans. Tell me how the three are doing."
"Yes."
Lü Se began explaining in detail.
Mao Dou, as her first disciple, had grown up in the sect. He had a strong sense of belonging, and with abundant resources and a perfect cultivation environment, he broke into the Golden Core stage in the tenth year after Jian Dan left.
After that, Mao Dou soared like someone had turned on cheats. His sword qi solidified, he comprehended Sword Intent, and his cultivation shot upward. It happened when he was sparring with Yue Liang and was coincidentally noticed by Jian Li Zūnshàng, who discovered Mao Dou's innate sword bone physique.
Only then did everyone understand why Junior Sister Jian Lu chose Mao Dou as her first disciple. Jian Li regretted not snatching him earlier, but who would bother investigating the physique of a mortal child who hadn't even cultivated yet, especially when the child had already tested as having three spiritual roots?
On top of that, the life saving talisman inside Mao Dou's dantian protected his secret tightly. Junior Sister Jian Lu really treasured her disciple.
Because Jian Li's divine sense had swept him earlier, he almost triggered the passive defense on that talisman. Mao Dou and Yue Liang noticed him instantly, and that almost led to something disastrous.