Cao Chenfeng showed no reaction to the woman's elegant face.
"The 'Crocodile's Tears' inside are yours to harvest," he said flatly.
Without another word, he turned and leapt away, disappearing from the swamp in a few light steps.
Hua Xi didn't take offense at his indifference. No wonder even the Mo Yue Zhūnzhǔ had her eyes on him. He truly stood out, bearing an innate grace.
Still, since she had helped, she wasn't about to walk away empty-handed. Hua Xi quickly entered the swamp's center, picked three stalks of Crocodile's Tears, then left immediately without lingering. She set off in the direction Cao Chenfeng had gone. Her instinct told her there would be rewards in following him.
Outside the swamp, Cao Chenfeng reoriented himself using the surroundings and headed toward the mountain range marked on the map Mo Yue had once given him.
"Daoyou shall we travel together?" Hua Xi suddenly appeared by his side. "It's always safer to explore a secret realm with a companion. I'm Xixi, may I ask your name?"
She acted like they were already familiar, completely ignoring the possibility that he might decline. Of course, the name she gave was fake.
"My surname is Cao," he replied.
Cao Chenfeng knew she wasn't being truthful about her name, but he didn't mind. He could sense that she bore no hostility. If anything, she was just… curious. Though curious about what, he couldn't say.
Meanwhile, things were much more relaxed on Hua Lei's side.
When Du Yanran realized he was still a virgin, her attitude shifted. She became noticeably warmer, feigning innocence while subtly trying to seduce him.
"Brother Lei, is this female cultivator trying to charm you?" his companion plant beast, the Thunder Vine, whispered. It had secretly peeked at her earlier and found her appearance repulsive.
"You don't understand what seduction is. Ignore her. She's just a butterfly, flitting about. Keep an eye on her in case she tries something underhanded."
"Oh. But she's ugly!" the Thunder Vine huffed.
Hua Lei raised an eyebrow in surprise. Since when did his companion beast care about appearances? In truth, Du Yanran's looks were above average. He couldn't understand why the Thunder Vine found her unattractive.
"What's so ugly about her? Isn't she considered a beauty?"
"It's her scent," the Thunder Vine replied flatly. "It's awful. A strange, foul stench. Can't you smell it?"
Hua Lei's eyes narrowed slightly. Just as his master had warned, Du Yanran was far from innocent. Her hands were likely stained with blood.
Plants were inherently pure, more sensitive to the stench of death than any beast. He'd need to stay on high alert around her.
On her end, Du Yanran was also calculating. If she could rope in this peak Nascent Soul cultivator, her own cultivation might finally recover. And so, both with schemes in mind, they set off together into the trials ahead.
Royal Lotus Lake
For the past ten years, while Jian Dan had slumbered beneath the lake, the magnolia space had remained unchanged. Mo Ran and Jade stayed quietly atop their favorite fruit tree, cultivating without interruption.
Cotton Candy had taken a liking to its new rainbow hue and now spent its time shifting through colors, occasionally attempting to take the shape of a Manjushahua for amusement.
When Jian Dan had advanced to the Void Refinement stage, another portion of the space had unsealed. But at the time, she had been too eager to get back at Ma Wen to explore it.
Soon after, she had taken people to the Heavenly Sword Sect. With all the Zhēnzhūn watching her, there had been no chance to enter the space again.
Now, even Jian Dan herself wasn't sure what the space looked like anymore.
As the years passed, the Yin-Yang Taiji diagram within her dantian slowly circulated, refining energy and slowly restoring color to her complexion.
Unfortunately, this place had neither spiritual qi nor demonic qi, making her recovery painfully slow.
When she had fallen into the lake, the demonic qi in her meridians had been completely depleted. She hadn't even been able to enter the space, forced instead to silently recover at the bottom of the lake.
Then, one full-moon night, Jian Dan finally opened her eyes.
She rose slowly from the lakebed, the moon above casting a cold silver glow. The moonlight flowed down, washing over her in a silken wave.
Standing atop the lake's surface, Jian Dan began drawing in the moonlight. It entered her body, circulating through her meridians before flowing back into the Taiji diagram in her dantian, where it was refined into spiritual qi and stored on the yang side.
By the time the moon set, she finally stretched her limbs. A glance inward showed that her meridians were functioning normally, but the qi flowing through them was pitifully scarce.
"F-Fairy... are you awake?"
A trembling voice came from behind her.
Jian Dan turned to see a round-eyed, bald-headed boy monk, about thirteen years old, staring wide-eyed at her as she stood atop the water.
"Little one. Did you know I was here?"
"The abbot said you were resting here, and no one was to disturb you. I only came to clean the lake's surface today."
"I see. I still need more rest. Let the abbot know that I'll come see him myself soon."
With a blink, Jian Dan vanished into her space.
The young monk's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Forgetting about cleaning the lake, he spun around and ran.
"Abbot! Abbot!"
Another wave of commotion followed shortly after.
Back inside the space, the first to greet Jian Dan was Cotton Candy.
"Master, you're back! But I still haven't perfected my transformation skills!"
Jian Dan actually smiled for once and gathered the fluffy spirit in her arms.
"It's fine. Even if you can't change your form properly, it doesn't matter. I've completed my mission. We'll return to the Heavenly Sword Sect soon, and this time, you'll come out with me."
"Really? That's great! Cotton Candy can finally help Master outside!"
Overjoyed, Cotton Candy cycled through all its colors at once.
"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you? But first, I need to rest here for a few days."
"Alright! I won't bother you. I'll go tell those two lazy snakes."
With a pop, Cotton Candy turned into a cloud and zipped off to find Mo Ran and Jade.
Only Jade came back — Mo Ran was still undergoing advancement.
"Master, welcome back! Congratulations on reaching another stage in cultivation."
Jade curled up like a coiled incense stick on the table and began updating Jian Dan on the space's changes.
"Master, when you broke through, more of the sealed space was released. A desert appeared, and beyond that, a vast sea. Our cultivation isn't strong enough, so we haven't explored the sea yet."
As Jade described things, Jian Dan extended her divine sense across the space. It had now become a fully functioning miniature world. Mountains, oceans, deserts, grasslands... and all kinds of spirit beasts living in balance, creating a self-sustaining cycle.
"As for the high-grade fruit forest we live in, when the fruits ripened, we followed your recipes. Some were stored, others turned into wine. We buried the jars under your favorite thousand-year-old peach tree."
"Good. Well done. I'll open one of the jars later to taste it."
"Yes!" Jade flicked her tail, the green scales shimmering.
"Jade, now that Mo Ran has reached the fifth rank, you should focus on cultivation as well. Go to the spirit herb fields and pick what you need, but don't fall too far behind."
"Understood, Master. I'll work hard. Since you're back, I'd like to pick a thousand-year-old Dragon Fruit. If I refine it, I should reach the fifth rank and unlock more of my bloodline inheritance."
Jian Dan stroked her head, cool to the touch like the finest jade.
"Alright. I'll allow it. But remember, outer supplements can raise your cultivation, but they don't increase your true combat strength. You and Mo Ran should discuss this. When I return to the Heavenly Sword Sect, I'll place both of you on the Medicine Peak to train on your own."
"Yes, I'll follow Master's instructions."
"Good. After a while, I'll head to the beast clans to fulfill a promise. While I'm gone, I'll ask Bai Jue Zhūnzhǔ to let you train in the beast territory."
"Understood."
After inspecting the space and confirming all was well, Jian Dan gave a few instructions to Cotton Candy. She changed out of her black robes, wiped off the teardrop mole by her eye, and stored her silver-armored guards back into her pendant box.
Then she made her way to the spring's source, sat beneath the waterfall, and released all restraints. As she began absorbing spiritual qi, the mist from the spring enveloped her. In mere moments, waves of pure spiritual energy surged through her limbs and meridians, slowly replenishing the power she had lost.