Jian Dan withdrew the wisp of Verdant Flame, her voice cold and imperious as it echoed directly into Du Yanran's consciousness like a divine decree:
"Consider this a minor punishment. But if there's a next time—I will scatter your soul to the winds. Remember this: when you lack strength, you'd best hide like a mouse. And keep that arrogant face out of my sight! NOW GET OUT!"
The final word—"OUT!"—was infused with the full force of her peak mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, crashing mercilessly into Du Yanran's sea of consciousness.
This time, Du Yanran couldn't endure it.
Blood sprayed from her lips as she was sent flying, hurled beyond the forest's inner reaches. Her body slammed through a tree as thick as a man's waist, tumbling several times before finally collapsing, pale and unconscious.
Jian Dan exhaled slowly, the long-held frustration within her beginning to disperse. Much of the resentment and suffocating grief she'd carried since her rebirth faded with that single confrontation.
She knew she'd needed to vent. And fate had so kindly delivered the perfect outlet.
Had Du Yanran been the same as in Jian Dan's previous life, perhaps she wouldn't have acted so harshly—at most, she would've severed ties and stopped sharing her good fortune. They'd simply have gone their separate ways.
But this Du Yanran had returned with greed in her heart, seeking to steal Jian Dan's destiny and sever her path to immortality.
That, Jian Dan could never tolerate. This confrontation had been catharsis—a final severance from the past.
For a fleeting moment, Jian Dan had considered ending Du Yanran's life. But the instant she raised her hand, a warning tremor shot through her heart.
She couldn't kill Du Yanran in this world.
Not yet.
So Jian Dan shifted her aim—crippling her cultivation instead. At the very least, Du Yanran would no longer stand as an obstacle on her road to ascension. Two different choices had completely rewritten the course of their fates. The future now lay in flux—uncertain, yes, but full of new possibilities.
Realizing this, Jian Dan smiled freely. The last trace of gloom at the center of her brow vanished. Her features softened; her gaze brightened. Even the smile tugging at her lips now seemed clearer—unburdened.
She knew she could already attempt the next breakthrough into the late stage of Foundation Establishment. But she also knew rushing would only harm her in the long run. For now, she would temper herself further—polishing her spiritual power and honing her techniques.
Meanwhile, Zheng Da had long since run out of words to describe the shock he'd experienced today.
Just as he was aimlessly circling the outskirts of the area, uncertain what to do, a figure suddenly flew out from the forest's core—crashing through a tree and tumbling straight toward him.
The next moment, a scorched, disheveled body rolled to a stop right at his feet. He shrieked, scrambling backward and landing hard on his rear. Instinctively, he continued scooting away across the ground.
But the figure remained motionless—still as death.
Finally mustering the courage, Zheng Da stood, clutching his trekking pole like a weapon. He inched forward, ready to flee at any sign of movement.
A few steps closer—still no motion.
He poked the figure with the end of his pole. No response. He poked again. Still nothing.
Only then did he dare approach properly.
When he brushed aside the mess of singed hair covering her face, Zheng Da finally understood what it meant to be awestruck.
If there were ever such a thing as a celestial maiden—this was she.
Silky black hair, graceful willow-leaf brows, long lashes fanning closed eyes, a petite nose, lips like red cherries, and skin smooth as polished porcelain. Even with her brow creased in pain and her state utterly wretched, her beauty could not be hidden.
Without hesitation, Zheng Da lifted the unconscious Du Yanran onto his back and raced toward the outskirts of Shennongjia. He had to save her—this mysterious, beautiful girl who'd literally fallen from the sky.
Before leaving, Jian Dan had carefully laid out her arrangements.
She understood Du Yanran's character well. If she suffered a loss here, she'd surely return to seek revenge.
So this time, Jian Dan didn't hold back. She pulled out a mid-grade formation disc—a pre-engraved array activated with spiritual power—and embedded it directly beneath the roots of the ancient banyan tree at the forest's heart.
She drove in five-colored spiritual power to activate the array, then inserted a mid-grade spirit stone into the convergence point of the formation. With the banyan's own natural energy cycling through it, the barrier would hold strong for at least a century. No one beneath the Nascent Soul stage would be able to break in.
Jian Dan knew Du Yanran far too well.
Indeed, Du Yanran's fate had shifted overnight. Crippled by Jian Dan's overwhelming power, her cultivation had been blasted back to the very first level of Qi Refining. Her sea consciousness was injured, her internal organs in disarray—and now she'd also attracted the lingering presence of Zheng Da.
Since then, Du Yanran tucked her tail between her legs, training in silence and keeping a low profile. After struggling her way back to the late Foundation Establishment stage, she returned to that fateful place—determined to reclaim her pride.
But the formation stood unyielding. Her strength could not so much as scratch its surface.
Gritting her teeth, she retreated again. When she reached the Golden Core stage, she tried once more—barely managing to glimpse its true structure.
A Heaven-Earth Fortress Array. One of the ten ancient arrays.
Perhaps once she reached the Divine Transformation stage, she could break through—but that would be far, far off.
From that point on, Du Yanran never dared step foot in the depths of Shennongjia again.
She understood: if even a "back garden" could hold such a legendary array, then whatever sect or power lay beyond it was not one she could afford to provoke.
And so, much turbulence was avoided.
Du Yanran resolved that once her cultivation allowed her to safely use teleportation arrays, she would leave this barren, declining world and return to the cultivation realms where her true ambitions lay.
What she didn't know was—
Jian Dan had already left this planet a full century ahead of her.