"Senior Sister, don't be angry!"
Jian Dan smiled as she soothed her, then began explaining.
"If the Tan Song family kept Senior Sister Jian Jun before to protect her, then after the Yu Tao clan fell from power, still keeping Senior Sister and not sincerely healing her injuries feels a bit like burning the bridge after crossing the river.
From what I know of Senior Sister, if Fairy Tan Song had treated her wounds directly and shown her proper respect before making her request, she wouldn't necessarily have refused.
But she relied on her identity as an immortal, playing both sides, and wanted Senior Sister to bow her head and willingly submit to her. Doesn't she realize she's a proud sword cultivator? How could she ever hope to make her yield like that?"
With just a few words, Jian Dan laid everything out clearly. A faint smile appeared on Jian Jun's refined face, and she nodded, continuing the thread.
"Jian Lu's analysis is correct. That Tan Songjia used my recovery as an excuse to keep me here, hoping I'd agree to her proposal, become her personal guard, and follow her. Once they reconnected with the Immortal Realm, she intended to take me back to the Tan Song family."
Jian Jing, though usually carefree, had already cultivated to half-step Mahayana. She wasn't some naive white lotus, so she immediately realized the problem.
"They can't contact the Immortal Realm for now. Yet this Tan Song family joined hands with cultivators from foreign continents, overthrew the Yu Tao family, and gathered people for themselves. That means their clan isn't among the top-tier immortal families."
"That's right. Our group didn't head straight into the inner region either. We spent years circling the outskirts, gathering information, collecting resources, and training our team before slowly venturing deeper.
Since we came here, we had to take a look around anyway. Besides, none of us brought spirit beasts, so we figured we'd see if there's another way out."
"Senior Sister, the reason you chose to get involved in the struggle between two immortal clans was for the star map. You hoped to use it to locate Lingyun Continent and find a way home."
"Yes. It looks like you've gathered plenty of intel since you arrived."
"We were lucky. We ran into several groups along the way and even attended a trade gathering. After piecing together scattered news, we figured it out."
Jian Jing then explained what had happened to the Heavenly Sword Sect's group after they entered the spatial rift.
Jian Jun listened carefully, nodding from time to time. She approved of their cautious actions, praised their decisiveness in taking in the Bai sisters, and cutting ties with unfamiliar people like Lady Di. She was especially satisfied that they could analyze his situation so accurately from just a few clues.
"Your understanding of me matches reality well. I did join the operation, heavily injured the Yu Tao family, and obtained the star map. But that led to a new problem."
"It's that the Tan Song family refuses to use the star map to locate our continent and teleport you back."
That was the only reason Jian Dan and Jian Jing could think of. Tan Song Jia could use this to threaten Jian Jun.
"No. It's because our Lingyun Continent doesn't appear on the star map."
"That's impossible! Lingyun Continent is huge, there's no way it wouldn't be listed."
Jian Jing was the first to object, and Jian Dan agreed.
"That's what I couldn't figure out either. You two, come see for yourselves." She stood and walked over to the screen where he kept the star map.
With a light tap of her folding fan, the still image of the star map began to move. The three thousand domains each rotated along their predetermined paths in the vast starry sky.
"I've combed through this star map again and again, but I couldn't find any coordinates for Lingyun Continent." Jian Jun spoke gravely, then tapped on one coordinate to show them another continent.
Jian Dan felt like something was missing. She studied the map for a while, then started clicking different coordinates herself. Finally, she couldn't help but ask,
"Senior Sister, can this star map show the Immortal Realm?"
"No. It only covers the coordinates of all cultivation continents."
"Then what about the fragment of the Immortal Realm we're in right now? Is it displayed on the map?"
"That… I'm not sure."
She immediately understood her meaning and began searching through the star map.
Jian Dan, meanwhile, habitually pulled out her round fan, fanning herself as she paced. She started connecting the dots in her mind, the clues slowly linking together. Jian Jun also seemed to catch on.
Jian Jing, seeing their matching thoughtful expressions, didn't interrupt. She simply cleared the pale-blue tea set from the table, replaced it with her usual white jade set, and began brewing tea.
Once Jian Dan had a clearer idea, she sat down beside Jian Jing, sipped the tea, and her eyes lit up.
"Senior Sister, this tea is amazing!"
"Of course. If it weren't, I wouldn't have made it for you."
At that moment, Jian Jun stepped away from the screen and returned to her seat. She took a long drink of her continent's spirit tea, the fragrance easing her mood, before speaking.
"Jian Lu reminded me. It's not that Lingyun Continent is missing from the star map. It's that this fragment of the Immortal Realm fell here and blocked it. Since the star map isn't of high enough grade, it can't display this fragment.
That's the only explanation I can think of. As for why it's only our continent that's hidden, I believe Jian Lu already has an idea."
"Most likely because of the insect swarm. They've already gathered outside Lingyun's domain, trying to break through the barrier to invade.
As for this fragment of the Immortal Realm, since it's already here, I'll make a bold guess. The Immortal Realm probably couldn't spare the effort to deal with the invasion. They dropped this fragment here to slow the swarm down."
"But from what I've observed, the immortals left behind here aren't united at all. That gave me the chance to seize the star map."
"So you're saying there could be another reason why this fragment was knocked down."
"Jian Lu, your guess isn't impossible, but this involves Immortal Realm matters. We don't have the grounds to judge. Let's set it aside for now. Tell me about the swarm's movements since I left."
Jian Jun's voice was calm. With limited information, she couldn't draw firmer conclusions.
"Yes. The Zhēnzūn guarding the forbidden space nodes have already warned us. Lingyun's barrier is under attack. The weak points will collapse within two hundred years, and that's when the full invasion will come."
Jian Jing's expression darkened, but she still reported truthfully.
"The reason we entered the rift this time was because Jian Lu kept urging it. We wanted to find you, and maybe pick up some resources. Luckily, though there were bumps along the way, things went relatively smoothly."
Jian Jun cupped her hands. "Thank you all for taking the risk to come find me."
"Senior Sister, don't mention it. Now let me tell you about the swarm's movements after you left…"
And with that, the discussion lasted for another full hour.