Jian Dan felt a twinge of guilt. She had accepted a favor, then completely forgot about it after the upheaval at Fengyun Ridge.
Now, Abbot Hui Ming was here to collect the debt.
"Ahem, that was my oversight. I've kept you waiting."
"Amitabha. I understand that Senior is occupied. If you can offer some guidance, I will investigate accordingly."
"Has Abbot Hui Ming found any suitable candidates for the next Buddhist Son?"
"I've selected a few children with outstanding spiritual roots. Does Senior have any further insights?"
"The boy my spiritual beast rescued, where is he now?"
"That child is currently cultivating at Pujì Temple."
"Good. Add him to the list and nurture him well."
Hui Ming stepped forward, wanting to ask more, but Jian Dan had already vanished.
"Master, did I really rescue the next Buddhist Son?"
"Not necessarily."
"Then why did you tell him that?"
"You silly thing. I said not necessarily, which means he might become one, or he might not."
"Makes sense. Cotton Candy was right."
"To me, a true Buddhist Son must not only possess deep understanding of the Dharma, but also the heart to deliver all beings from suffering. Virtue always comes first. Such people can be cultivated."
Jian Dan spoke her thoughts aloud as she walked.
"Unless someone is the reincarnation of a Buddha, every Buddhist Son can be raised from a young age."
"Then why did you suggest that boy?"
"Because of his unique experience. His family and fellow villagers were all killed by beasts, but in the end, he was saved by another beast—the kind most people would fear. Enlightenment or destruction often depends on a single thought. His future is his own to shape."
Jian Dan boarded a small skiff at the harbor and left the Diling Kingdom.
After half a day on the sea, once they were far beyond the reach of any sea dwellers, Cotton Candy eagerly offered to carry her and speed up the journey.
Another full day passed. By dawn of the second day, the horizon glowed with morning light, and a layer of thick, white mist rolled over the waves.
"This should be the sea beneath that mist."
"Master, let Cotton Candy rest. I'll take you from here!"
Jade spoke up, hoping to help.
"Alright."
Happily, Jade leapt from Jian Dan's wrist into the sea. Moments later, a giant green serpent, a hundred zhang long and thick as a water vat, surfaced from the waves.
Jian Dan leapt onto Jade's head. Cotton Candy shifted into a blue hue and nestled obediently into her hair.
Jade lashed her tail and surged forward.
But as soon as they reached the fog's edge, Jade instinctively veered off course. After circling around, she approached again, only to turn once more. This time, Jian Dan stopped her.
"Jade, you're going in circles, do you realize that?"
"No. I've been swimming straight... it just feels really far. I can't seem to reach it."
Jian Dan nodded in understanding. A formation had been laid around this area—an illusion array preventing entry to the Storm Sea.
"Jade, when you went into the water, did you see anything unusual?"
"Nothing at all, Master."
"That makes sense. The entire area is warded. It keeps sea beasts from getting close. You're a fourth-rank spirit beast, so you reached the outer boundary, but you can't go any farther."
Jade lowered her head in disappointment.
"What should we do now, Master?"
"Come back."
Jade sprang from the sea and coiled herself once again around Jian Dan's wrist.
Jian Dan rose into the air and flew directly toward the thick white fog.
As she reached the boundary, a sharp wind struck her face like knives.
"We're going in."
Jian Dan stepped forward into the mist. It was like piercing through a membrane. On one side, the sea was calm, on the other, the wind howled like blades.
The farther she walked, the sharper the wind became, as if trying to shred her to pieces.
Fortunately, she had a tempered body. These wind blades couldn't harm her—for now. She treated it as a second round of body tempering. Without activating any defensive arts, she pressed cautiously forward.
The deeper she went, the more intense the wind blades became. One finally sliced her wrist, leaving a shallow mark.
A surge of spiritual energy swept over the wound, and the cut disappeared.
That piqued her interest. After so many years, the last time she was injured was in the Ming Valley. If this place could harm her, it was no ordinary wind.
Jian Dan began a strange training routine: letting the blades cut her, then healing the wounds with her spiritual energy, again and again.
Jade didn't escape either. As the blades tore into her scales, she let out shrill cries. When her limit was reached and her scales began to fall, Jian Dan sent her into her storage space for safety.
Jian Dan continued alone. A third of the way through, the blades began slicing not just her skin, but deeper, trying to carve flesh from bone.
As the storm tried to destroy her, she countered with constant healing.
Whenever exhaustion overwhelmed her, she sat cross-legged on the sea's surface, erecting a temporary barrier to rest. When the wind shattered it, she pushed forward again.
Inside this storm zone, her divine sense had been compressed entirely into her sea of consciousness. The density of the wind blades made spatial tearing impossible. Whether she could escape would depend solely on her own strength. No wonder only Mahayana cultivators could cross this sea.
A Mahayana cultivator, even without body refinement, would have had their body nourished by spiritual energy for a thousand years. That alone was enough to withstand this storm's devastation.
As Jian Dan advanced toward the heart of the sea, the wind blades eventually faded, replaced by countless small-scale tornadoes.
These twisters drilled into her bones, putting her through a second round of agony like marrow carving.
But this time felt different. Jian Dan could sense that she was nearing the very center of the Storm Sea.
Steadying her breath, she retrieved a white jade bottle from her storage bangle and drank a drop of blood from within.
This was phoenix blood, gifted to her by Yingge. She had already used one drop. This time, since the Storm Sea served as such an ideal training ground, she used a second.
The moment it passed through her throat and into her stomach, a fiery heat ignited from within. Inside and out, her body began another round of refinement.
This time, Jian Dan didn't just meditate. She began practicing the martial forms from the Ice-Skin Jade-Bone Demon Body Art, synchronizing with the power of the phoenix blood.
Through this brutal forging, her late-stage Void Refinement cultivation grew even more stable—equal to ten years of training in the Diling Kingdom.
A full month passed.
By the time she finally reached the eye of the storm, Jian Dan felt like her bones had been shattered and remade.
Yet at the eye, the sea was completely calm. Bits of debris floated gently atop the water, carried here from who-knows-where by the storm.
She summoned her Mobile Mountain and rested at the center of the storm for another month before feeling fully revived.
"Master, Master! Look what I found in the sea!"
Jade and Cotton Candy had long since explored the hundred-li radius surrounding the eye. They'd been everywhere Jian Dan hadn't restricted.
Jade emerged carrying a fragment of black, leathery material, possibly some kind of hide.
"Where did you get this? Did you check if it's poisonous?"
"Don't worry, Master. I checked it thoroughly. I don't know what it's made from, but it's incredibly tough—I couldn't bite through it."
Jian Dan pinched one corner, cast a Dust Cleansing Spell, and laid it flat on the table.
Once unfolded, it revealed half a painting.
The image depicted a series of palaces, layered from low to high, winding upward. The highest halls vanished into the clouds.
Unfortunately, the full image was missing. Still, Jian Dan's curiosity sparked. She wondered if there was a hidden layer. She examined it carefully, tried fire and water—nothing appeared.
Eventually, she decided she had been misled by Jade and tossed the painting fragment into her storage bangle.
The next day, Jian Dan stowed her mountain and left the storm's eye, preparing to continue forward.