Jian Li lifted his gaze and glanced at Jian Dan. He knew the real discussion was about to start, so he quietly stayed off to the side like part of the background.
"I've sorted all the information from the hundred years after I left the Sect and found something pretty interesting."
Jian Dan played along and asked,
"What'd you find?"
"For every major event in the Sect, even things that happened inside the Heavenly Demon Palace, and a few big incidents on Lingyun Continent, we can always see a trace of you."
"You're saying I was secretly pulling strings behind the scenes."
Jian Dan raised an eyebrow. She definitely wasn't going to admit to that.
"No, Martial Uncle didn't manipulate anything. You just happened to appear every single time, at exactly the right moment, and you pushed the situation forward."
"Oh? For example?"
Jian Dan continued asking.
The two of them went back and forth. They weren't arguing, and their tone was even overly polite, but Tian Yun Zhēnzūn, Tian Hong Zhēnzūn, and the background-board Jian Li all felt the atmosphere tightening with danger.
"We won't mention Tian Yun Zhēnzūn's situation. The Kong and Hua families were indirectly destroyed because of you. The Fu family was taken out by you directly. There was the battle at the Heavenly Demon Palace's Underworld Valley, the incident at Blackwind Ravine, the evil cultivators in Cloud Sea Sect, the battle ship replacement, the appearance of the blood insects, and now this latest trip into the spatial rift."
Jian Dan froze for a moment. She really had done quite a lot, then she laughed.
"So what are you implying? That everything got worse because of me?"
"No. That's exactly what's bothering me. It feels like you know something we don't."
When Jian Jun finished speaking, she stared straight at Jian Dan, as if trying to read something from her expression.
Jian Dan murmured inwardly. She had to admit, Jian Jun lived up to her reputation. She was frighteningly perceptive. If Jian Jun hadn't learned her Mo Yue identity before, she might not have noticed these patterns, but once she connected what Jian Lu and Mo Yue had done, the clues lined up naturally.
"After cultivating both Dao and Demon together, I shattered my core and rebuilt my Yuányīng. When I survived the Nascent Soul lightning tribulation, the Heavenly Dao granted me a dream that transformed my Nascent Soul. Only after that did I switch cultivation arts and go to the Heavenly Demon Palace."
"The Nascent Soul Dream."
Jian Jun seized the key point instantly. She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone knew what she meant.
"Yes."
Jian Dan gave a firm answer. At this point, it was the best explanation she had. She couldn't possibly tell them she was from the lower realm and reborn.
"I am indeed from the hidden Jian family. Shan Yunzu is me, and Jian Dan is the name I took from my foster father's surname."
None of the others seemed surprised. They had already guessed as much.
Jian Jun thought quietly for a moment before she asked,
"Did Tian Yun Zhēnzūn fall?"
"Yes."
"And when I went to explore the spatial rift, I never made it back?"
"Yes."
"What about Jian Li?"
"He disappeared from the Heavenly Sword Sect."
"The insect race?"
"They successfully parasitized cultivators. Lingyun Continent was thrown into chaos. Dao and Demon fought fiercely, the beast race got caught in the crossfire, and all three sides battled. The flames of war even spread to the mortal world. There wasn't a single place untouched."
"And the Heavenly Sword Sect?"
"It suffered heavy losses. After Tian Yun Zhēnzūn's fall, it declined rapidly, dropped from the ranks of top sects, and was eventually devoured."
"And you?"
"I died."
With every question and answer, the faces of the remaining three people grew heavier. That short exchange already laid out the fate of Lingyun Continent's complete destruction.
Silence followed. A full half-stick of incense passed before Jian Jun finally spoke, her voice tight,
"I asked Jian Li. You insisted on going to the Purple Sky Sect's spatial rift because you wanted to find me?"
"Yes."
"You were confident you could bring me back, so you went?"
"At first, no. But when we entered that spatial rift, it closed right behind us. It made me think…"
Jian Dan pointed upward, then continued,
"Someone left that opening behind for you, a single chance to survive. If you were there, I don't believe the Heavenly Sword Sect would've ended that way."
"So that's why you always appear at the turning point of every major event?"
"I'm doing everything I can. Otherwise, I'd be wasting that Nascent Soul Dream."
Jian Dan smiled.
Jian Jun and Jian Li had complicated expressions. Admiration, relief, happiness, and even a bit of sadness, all mixed together.
"Jian Lu, you've done very well."
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn spoke calmly.
Jian Dan only smiled and said, "There's a limit to what I can do alone. The rest depends on everyone else."
She cupped her fists toward the two Zhēnzūn.
"We divided the resources we found among the cultivators who returned alive. I kept the remainder. Since everyone's here, I'll take everything out so we can discuss how to handle it."
With one sweep of her sleeve, Jian Dan placed a small mountain of resources in front of Tian Yun Zhēnzūn's cave entrance. Another wave of her sleeve produced ten storage rings on the jade table.
"These are the Immortal Realm storage rings we found. The space inside is infinite, and they can store living beings. Each of these ten rings contains different special resources, like three kinds of Immortal Realm armor, weapons, ores, formation plates, thunderburst bombs, and so on."
Jian Dan continued,
"Jian Jun knows these resources and their uses very well, so I won't go into detail. Jian Li, you'll handle the rest. I'm sure Meng Congjian will be thrilled."
After Tian Yun Zhēnzūn, Tian Hong Zhēnzūn, and Jian Li each picked up a ring, Jian Dan immediately excused herself. She needed to go back and stabilize her cultivation.
Jian Jun's mouth twitched. She was certain Jian Lu just didn't want to deal with troublesome affairs and was running away on purpose.
"I know you hate this stuff, so I won't stop you. But you earned merit for bringing all these resources back. When you go to the Operations Hall to update your sword token, I'll have people credit Sect points to your account. Exchange whatever you need."
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn was as straightforward as always, arranging everything cleanly.
"Thanks."