The moment Jian Dan established a link with the green flame, she had already recognized its true origin.
This was Verdant Flame, ranked twentieth on the Heavenly Flame List. Born from the element of wood giving rise to fire, it was a gentle flame by nature—particularly suited for cultivators with wood spiritual roots. Moreover, its alchemical properties were extraordinary, significantly increasing pill formation success.
Heavenly Flames were divided into Outer Flame, Inner Flame, and the Flame Core. Earlier, Jian Dan's spiritual consciousness had tried to brand itself directly onto the flame core. However, this Verdant Flame had already developed a sliver of self-awareness. Unwilling to be bound by contract, it disguised its inner flame as the core to deceive Jian Dan, then burrowed deep into her fire sprit root, hoping to devour it and strengthen itself.
But Jian Dan was no ordinary mid-Foundation building cultivator. Though her current cultivation was modest, her spiritual sense was far more formidable. She had seen through the illusion from the start. Rather than confronting it directly, she played along, waiting for the right moment.
Then, with decisive clarity, she imprinted her spiritual mark on the true flame core and swiftly formed a contract array with a series of hand seals. The moment the pact was sealed, a thunderclap split the sky—followed by an expansive blue stretching endlessly above.
At that moment, on an airplane, Du Yanran suddenly felt an inexplicable emptiness in her chest, as though something had been taken from her. The sensation was fleeting, but she knew it wasn't an illusion—something unfavorable had happened to her.
Once the contract was complete, a surge of spiritual energy flooded Jian Dan's meridians. The Verdant Flame danced joyously, circulating through her body. Wherever it passed, her meridians were tempered and repaired. A layer of black impurities seeped from her skin, as if she had undergone another marrow-cleansing.
After a full cycle, her cultivation advanced further, reaching the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment—just one step away from late-stage.
She cast a simple cleansing spell, removing all impurities. Her skin now glowed with a crystalline sheen, firmer than before. She could sense that ordinary weapons could no longer harm her.
When she turned to look at the great banyan tree behind her, she noticed that its outer protective glow had faded. Without the support of the Verdant Flame, its vitality had declined. Through her divine sense, she could now clearly perceive the tree's age. Its leaves had yellowed and begun to shrivel; a faint aura of decay clung to its once-mighty form.
Jian Dan understood—this was the cost of claiming the Verdant Flame.
She stepped toward the tree's roots and gently placed her palm on the bark. Slowly, she began channeling her spiritual energy, converting it into wood-aligned qi, and feeding it directly into the tree.
The banyan stirred at the influx of life force, greedily absorbing the gift. As her own spiritual power struggled to keep pace, Jian Dan retrieved a mid-grade spirit stone from her magnolia space and held it in her palm. Drawing power from the stone, she continued the transfer, acting as a conduit to infuse the tree with pure wood qi.
She had few of these stones. They sat tucked away in an unremarkable box on a high shelf—just a handful of mid-grade stones, and a scattering of lower ones. Jian Dan had never used them before.
She had always believed that with every gain, there must be sacrifice. So she restrained herself from tapping into her space's resources lightly. Some items were beyond her current level, and others… best left untouched. Cultivation, she believed, should be grounded and steady—not indulgent.
But today, she had claimed the Verdant Flame—a rare and potent inheritance the banyan had guarded for centuries. She couldn't walk away without offering something in return. Otherwise, fate might demand payment in a form far less kind.
Better to give now, while the price was hers to name.
The spirit stone in her hand crumbled to dust. All of its energy had been fed into the banyan. Jian Dan's own meridians, flushed with the pure wood qi, grew even clearer and more refined. It was a double gain.
The banyan tree, meanwhile, had been completely revitalized. Its trunk swelled thicker; its canopy flourished. The leaves shimmered like emeralds under moonlight, and the branches danced gently in the breeze—as if bowing in gratitude.
Suddenly, one branch detached from the trunk and drifted down like a feather, twirling toward Jian Dan.
She reached out and caught it.
The twig glimmered softly from stem to leaf, then dulled back into an ordinary brown.
Jian Dan stared at the unremarkable stick in her hand, a wry smile curling on her lips.
"This is your thank-you gift?"
Of course, the banyan gave no verbal reply. But its branches swayed again, the leaves rustling together in the wind:
Shhhh... shhhh...
Yes. Yes.
"…Fine then."
Jian Dan smiled faintly. With a flick of her hand, the branch vanished into her magnolia space and was planted beside the spiritual spring. Whatever it would become, that would be up to its own destiny.
Her work here was done—more than done, in fact. She had come for one thing and gained far more than expected. But just as she was about to depart, her divine sense detected a familiar figure at the edge of the Shennongjia forest.