Since there wasn't anything urgent left to handle, Jian Dan prepared to enter seclusion. Before that, she asked whether Yingge wanted to retreat with her or wander around Tianyue Peak.
"Xiao Zhuzi, just focus on healing. I won't bother you. I only came out of seclusion recently, so I'll guard the peak for you. I'll let Lü Se take me around in the meantime."
Yingge rubbed the red feathers on his head while discussing it with her.
"Alright, do what you want."
Lü Se stepped forward right away to agree.
After showing Yingge around her cave residence, Jian Dan let him enjoy himself while she began her healing seclusion.
Once the barrier fell into place, Jian Dan finally sprawled across her ten-thousand-year ice bed without any image to maintain. She rubbed her temples. She really was injured and did need to sort out the energy in her body, but that wasn't the whole story.
Her identity had been exposed in front of Tian Yun Zhēnzūn. How did that Mo Yan Zhēnzūn manage to strip off her disguise so easily? She had originally planned to pass along information about the insect clan's invasion, but now she had to think carefully.
"Chuan, do you think Tian Yun Zhēnzūn will kick me out of the sect after finding out I cultivate both dao and demon paths?"
Jian Dan asked Liu Chuan anxiously.
"Wow, look at that. You actually know fear. Aren't you always the one who thinks the sky comes first and you come second?"
Liu Chuan never missed a single chance to mock her.
"Hey, I spent years building everything in the Heavenly Sword Sect. Of course I'd feel reluctant to leave."
"What's there to feel reluctant about? If you leave, you'll have even more freedom. The only reason you don't want to move is because the insect clan's disaster is coming and you're too lazy to relocate."
Liu Chuan's words were sharp and direct. Jian Dan couldn't deny it.
"Don't expose the truth so casually. I'm asking how I should deal with Tian Yun Zhēnzūn."
"What else can you do? Tell the truth. If he wants to beat you up to vent, then take it. But I suggest that once you're done healing, you break through to Mahayana. Then you'll at least have the strength to fight back."
For once, Liu Chuan sounded sincere.
"I checked last night. My divine sense has already been suppressed back to peak Mahayana."
"Of course it has. You came back from the Immortal Realm's corner. The heavenly laws of the lower realm naturally suppress divine sense. It's normal."
His explanation made sense to her.
"Chuan, do you think that once I recover, I can really push for Mahayana?"
"Don't you understand your own cultivation? When you were in that corner of the Immortal Realm, you still wanted to train. Why are you suddenly so unconfident after coming back?"
Liu Chuan shot back without mercy.
"I know my own strength. I'm just worried. What if I charge straight into peak Mahayana and trigger the ascension thunder? Back in the Immortal Realm's corner, because my cultivation art is special, I accidentally absorbed a bit of Xianyuan energy. And since my physique reached the bone-forging stage, I could handle it. But if I train again now…"
She didn't finish, but Liu Chuan already understood.
"Relax. What you absorbed was just drizzle. I absorbed most of it to recover my own strength. Otherwise, how do you think I crushed that Tan Songyu? And there's still Mó Yuè Zhǎn and the Mò Xī Jiàn."
If he had eyes, he'd definitely be rolling them.
"Alright, with that assurance, I'm relieved."
With everything said, Jian Dan sat cross-legged on the ten-thousand-year ice bed and began running the Primordial Chaos Art's Unity stage method. As she absorbed spiritual energy to repair the meridians that the thunder bombs had damaged, she also gathered power for her Mahayana breakthrough.
For once, Liu Chuan scattered Vernalwood powder throughout the cave and let her absorb it to heal faster.
Breath after breath, Jian Dan sank into cultivation. After absorbing the Vernalwood, the spiritual energy across Tianyue Peak began drifting toward the cave at the summit.
Jian Dan kept a calm expression while she devoured the incoming spiritual energy. It circled through her meridians, completing one large and one small cycle before settling in her dantian. The Yin Yang Taiji Disk refined it further, transforming energy between spiritual and demonic attributes.
Yingge and Lü Se had been chatting under the banyan tree when they felt the spiritual fluctuations. Lü Se couldn't help murmuring, "Jian Lu Zūnshàng truly leaves us all in the dust."
"Mm. Xiao Zhuzi's incredible. When I met her, her cultivation wasn't even close to my big brother's. Now she's surpassed him by a lot."
Yingge narrowed his eyes, proud on her behalf.
"Yingge's big brother is Bai Jue Zūnshàng?"
"Yeah. You've met my big brother?"
Yingge tilted his little head and asked.
"Of course. Bai Jue Zūnshàng ascended to eighth rank right here in the Heavenly Sword Sect."
"He never told me about that. Can you tell me the story?"
"Of course."
The man and the spirit pet happily drifted into another conversation.
Law Enforcement Hall
Jian Li and Jian Jun had always been close. Their masters were senior and junior brothers, so once Jian Li confirmed that Jian Jun was safe, he explained everything that had happened since she left the Heavenly Sword Sect.
This time, he followed Jian Lu's habit of sending one message talisman per day. He recorded many jade slips, summarizing major sect and continent wide events, then passed over a whole stack of jade slips containing scattered information.
Whenever Jian Li got tired of talking, Jian Jun handed him spirit tea with a smile and checked a few jade slips on her own. When Jian Li continued, she resumed listening, occasionally asking a question whenever he paused.
By the time Jian Li finished, Jian Jun already had a full picture of the continent's development. She let out a soft sigh.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
"It wasn't too bad. Luckily you assigned Jian Lu to the Law Enforcement Hall early on. She helped a lot. When I accidentally broke through to Unity and needed to stabilize my cultivation, she took the pressure and held the entire hall together."
"Heh, it's rare to hear Senior Brother praise someone."
"She earned it."
===
I decide to change Wood Spring Bloom or Springwood to Vernalwood, and change it on previous chapters too.
木 (Mù): Wood, tree.
逢 (Féng): To meet, to encounter, to come upon.
春 (Chūn): Spring (the season).
My initial pick for this, and why I decide to change it
Wood Spring Bloom: It captures the components (Wood, Spring, Bloom) but feels clunky and more like a descriptive phrase than a person's name. The rhythm is awkward.
Springwood: It's smooth and sounds natural. However, it reverses the meaning. "Springwood" implies "a wood in spring," which is a state of being. The original name "逢春" is about the act of encountering spring, a moment of change and revival. This crucial element of "meeting" or "encountering" is lost.
Vernal: This is a poetic adjective for "related to spring." It carries a more elegant and literary feel than the simple word "spring."
I think it beautifully captures the essence. It means "the wood of spring," perfectly aligning with the rejuvenated, alive state that "木逢春" implies. It suggests a plant embodies the vitality and hope of spring, which is the core meaning of the original name.