Above Yunyin Peak
The cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect were resting aboard their flying vessel. A patrol team circled in and out of the ship, keeping watch. The other sects had followed their lead. After getting caught in an evil formation once, no one wanted to risk a second time.
As for the cultivators from Cloud Sea Sect, they could only watch with helpless resignation. They couldn't force the others to return to the questionable floating peaks, and it was clearly too late to make separate arrangements elsewhere. In the end, they simply pretended not to notice and focused on cleaning up the aftermath on their own side.
After Jian Dan and Jian Xu returned to the main chamber and took their seats, Jian Dan gave an order to Cotton Candy.
"Cotton Candy, I need to speak privately with Senior Brother Jian Xu. Seal the main chamber and block any spiritual sense from probing."
"Yes, Master!"
Cotton Candy responded promptly and floated away. Seeing the opportunity, Yue Liang slipped into the chamber.
"Zūnzhǔ, are you both alright?"
"We're fine. The Zhēnzhūn simply had a few questions. I also told Han Pengfei about Yu Yaoyao. He'll handle it."
"Mhm! I was just worried you might be blamed, Zūnzhǔ."
Jian Dan rubbed Yue Liang's small body and cradled her in her arms. She pulled out two jugs of wine. One was her newly brewed Hundred Fruit Wine, which she shared with Yue Liang. The other was a jug of Ziyu Xin Wine, which she handed to Senior Brother Jian Xu.
Jian Dan poured herself a cup, downed half in a single gulp, and pushed the remaining half toward Yue Liang. Yue Liang didn't dare to drink like Zūnzhǔ and instead extended her tiny tongue for a lick, savoring the taste with delight.
Watching the two of them with their matching expressions, Jian Xu couldn't help but smile more deeply. He poured himself a cup, took a small sip, and let the fragrance flood his senses.
"This is excellent wine."
"As long as Senior Brother likes it."
Jian Dan didn't pour a second cup. Instead, she spun her white jade ring thoughtfully, trying to sort through the mess of tangled threads in her mind.
"Junior Sister, stop wearing yourself out trying to figure this out. Just watching you gives me a headache."
Jian Xu teased lightly. Jian Dan could only spread her hands in exasperation.
"Senior Brother, a Void Refinement Zūnzhǔ just vanished without a trace. How am I supposed to explain this when we get back? Of course I have to think about it."
"Then what have you figured out? Let's hear it."
Jian Xu took a second sip of wine, waiting for her insight.
"Where to begin…"
After organizing her thoughts, Jian Dan slowly began to speak.
"First, this attack on Cloud Sea Sect was clearly premeditated. The person behind it is most likely a traitor who defected from Cloud Sea Sect, and their cultivation is at the Mahayana stage."
"Mhm. That's easy enough to infer from what that unseen Mahayana Zhēnzhūn who helped us said."
"Second, the timing of the attack was calculated. With the grand competition underway, the sect was bustling and chaotic, providing the perfect opportunity. That's how the 'The Azure Blood Dragon Array' was able to be laid down on our temporary floating peaks."
"I agree."
"Then there's the matter of inside help. Someone in Cloud Sea Sect must be working with the attacker or aiding them."
"I don't know about the other sects, but for the Heavenly Sword Sect, it's definitely Jian Yu."
"Mhm. Now the third question: what is the attacker's goal? Revenge? Capturing elites from half the cultivation world in an evil formation to feed the Azure Dragon's resentful spirit?"
"That would make sense. Think about it: if over a hundred cultivators from the Heavenly Sword Sect were wiped out here, the sect's Zhēnzhūn would definitely retaliate."
Jian Dan nodded. With the Heavenly Sword Sect's temperament, that scenario wasn't far-fetched.
"Senior Brother, that's exactly what he wants. If that happens, the cultivation world will be thrown into chaos."
Jian Xu paused, his hand mid-pour. He set the wine jug down.
"You're saying… this person's goal is to stir up chaos in the entire cultivation world?"
"Yes. That would give him the opening he needs. As a evil cultivator, the blood, Yuányīng and Primordial Souls of other cultivators are all resources for him. The more chaos and death, the faster his cultivation will likely advance."
Jian Dan's voice lowered. She had the nagging sense that she was still missing something.
"Flying up through the heavens would be suicide for a evil cultivator, especially one who's advanced through such bloody, cruel means. The heavenly tribulation would destroy him before he ever succeeded."
Jian Xu added. Jian Dan's eyes lit up.
"Exactly. He can't ascend. The only way to leave the Lingyun Continent would be through spatial rifts or brute-forcing his way through the spatial barrier."
"Even if he's at the peak of Mahayana, he still couldn't break through the spatial barrier."
Jian Xu ruled out that possibility. He was starting to understand where Jian Dan was going.
"Senior Brother, his true target is Yunhai."
"What makes you say that?"
"Didn't Zhēnzhūn Yun Yun just mention that Yunhai is strange? That it contains spatial storms?"
"Then he's failed this time."
But Jian Dan shook her head. Based on all the information she had, she believed Yunhai was something akin to the Ming Valley guarded by the demonic path — a place of special importance.
One was an independent space, disconnected from the Lingyun Continent. The other, Yunhai, was a weak point in the continent's spatial structure — a prime target for insect clan invasions in the future.
If that were true, could it be that every major sect had such a place? Maybe that's what the insect clan had been searching for, and now this demon cultivator had set his sights on it too.
Jian Yu's disappearance weighed heavily on her. If she had perished, that would be the end of it. But if she had survived and passed through the spatial storm…
Jian Dan massaged her temples. She didn't want to assume the worst, but her thoughts kept circling back to the same unsettling point. Irritated, she poured herself another cup of wine.
"Something unpleasant just came to mind?"
Jian Xu could read her expression. The situation looked serious.
"Senior Brother… sometimes, I really hope I'm wrong."
This time, Jian Dan downed the entire cup in one go, bold and unrestrained. Yue Liang could only stare longingly.
"You sound just like Senior Sister Jian Jun."
Jian Xu shifted the topic, hoping to pull Jian Dan away from that line of thought.
Sure enough, Jian Dan turned toward him, intrigued.
"Really? Jian Jun Zūnzhǔ said the same thing? Why?"
"That was back when he was still in the Nascent Soul stage. It had something to do with Jian Wan."
"Oh! Let me guess. Jian Wan was in love with Jian Jun Zūnzhǔ?"
"Yes. She even hinted at wanting him as her Dao companion. Jian Jun was one of the most outstanding cultivators of our generation, wholly devoted to the Dao, so naturally, she ignored her hints."
"She tried twice to get her sent to the Reflection Cliff, and she even had the nerve to plead with her own Ancestor, trying to force Jian Jun into a union."
"I'm guessing Jian Jun refused."
"She did. Realizing that just brushing off Jian Wan wouldn't resolve things, she turned her attention to investigating the Fu family."
"There was something wrong with the Fu family?"
"I don't know the details. But the Bian family, who were closely associated with them, were caught privately claiming ownership of a mid-grade spirit stone mine. The entire clan was arrested by the Law Enforcement Hall, had their spiritual power sealed, and were sent to mine spirit stones for three hundred years."
"Looks like the Fu family really was involved. Jian Jun Zūnzhǔ was shaking the mountain to scare the tiger — warning them to back off."
"Maybe. I'm not sure. But after that, Jian Wan steered clear of Jian Jun, and the Fu family went quiet. They even returned the sect properties they had been managing for the Heavenly Sword Sect."
"Then Jian Jun Zūnzhǔ won that round. But she wasn't happy about it, was she?"
"No. she vented by sparring with me. Tch."
"Haha! I bet Senior Brother Jian Xu didn't lose."
"Don't flatter me. We both got injured. Took a year to recover. Then Master Tian Hong punished us by sending us to the Cliff of Reflection for fifty years."
"Tian Hong Zhēnzhūn was just trying to protect Jian Jun Zūnzhǔ. After all, he crushed the Bian family and wounded the Fu family. Their people might have retaliated."
"Exactly. Jian Jun told me the same thing. Since he dragged me into it, he promised me plenty of benefits. Not long after leaving the Reflection Cliff, she advanced to late Divine Soul and officially took over as head of the Law Enforcement Hall."