Jian Dan weighed the obsidian jade slip in her hand, absorbing the revelations within.
She'd found it in Mei Ji's storage ring—buried beneath mountains of spirit stones and rare herbs, the standard hoard of a high-ranking demonic cultivator. The ring also contained sealed jade boxes preserving precious medicinal plants, along with assorted ores and materials she recognized as invaluable for future use.
But this black jade slip had been hidden among the clutter.
She hadn't dared imprint it directly into her consciousness—who knew if another Mei Ji lurked within? Instead, she probed it cautiously with her spiritual sense.
What she discovered was a demonic cultivation manual—"Heavenly Demon Art"—a tyrannical art that could propel a practitioner straight to the Mahayana stage.
Mei Ji had never cultivated it herself. The technique demanded two things:
—Virginity (to preserve Yuan Yin essence).
—A complete Five-Element Spiritual Root system—ideally paired with the "Ice-Skin Jade-Bone Demon Body Art" for exponential growth.
"No wonder," Jian Dan mused.
In her past life, she'd encountered this very art when a Heavenly Demon Palace cultivator hunted her relentlessly. At the time, she hadn't understood why—but now, the pieces clicked.
That demonic cultivator had been after her "Ice-Skin Jade-Bone Devil Body Art".
And who had known she possessed it?
Du Yanran.
Her so-called "friend" had urged her to abandon the technique, claiming it conflicted with orthodox Daoist cultivation.
What had Jian Dan said back then?
"This is my fate. I've studied this manual thoroughly—it can be use on spiritual energy, not jsut demonic energy. Besides it's not some wicked path."
That had been the first crack in their bond.
Now, the truth was clear: Du Yanran had hidden "Heavenly Demon Art" from her—likely passing it to that demon cultivator, who then sought to claim its complementary counterpart from Jian Dan's hands.
In hindsight, it was clear—by the time they reached the cultivation realm, Du Yanran had already begun holding back from her. The concealment of this technique proved it. Somehow, it ended up in that demon cultivator's hands. When she realized her physique complemented the manual, she had tried to trick her into giving it up. Such is the treachery of the human heart.
"How predictable," she thought coldly.
Pressing the black jade slip to her forehead, Jian Dan imprinted the manual into her mind. As the knowledge transferred, the slip crumbled to dust, dispersing into the cave's stale air.
The sections she could access—Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment—mirrored her "Primordial Chaos Art" in structure. Both were ancient arts, their essence rooted in tempering the body through energy compression, layer by layer, each breakthrough granting new spells and sword techniques. It was a complete, self-contained system.
The only reason Jian Dan could see this much of the Heavenly Demon Art was because she had absorbed the residual demonic energy from Mei Ji's demonic Nascent Soul. That energy had fused into her body. Combined with the fact that she'd already reached the Refined Vein Stage in the Ice-Skin Jade-Bone Demon Body Art it enabled her to partially unlock the manual. Her golden core had been tainted by demonic energy during the possession attempt—it wasn't fully converted, which is why she couldn't yet access the manual's Golden Core-level content.
Using spirit stones was an option, but she'd need every last one for survival in the cultivation world.
With no alternative, Jian Dan experimented.
Channeling demonic energy, she guided it through "Heavenly Demon Art"'s pathways—refining and interlinking minuscule meridians the "Ice-Skin Jade-Bone" technique had overlooked.
After completing a full circulation cycle, the demonic energy flowed back into her dantian, settling in the yin aspect of her inner Taiji diagram. Once the yin side was full, the diagram began its slow spin—the yang aspect turning upward.
Due to the soul invasion, her Primordial Chaos Art cultivation had regressed to the peak of Qi Refining. Without hesitation, she began reactivating the familiar technique, preparing to rebuild her foundation. But after a single cycle, Jian Dan stopped.
It wasn't a problem with the method—it was the environment. The ambient spiritual energy was far too thin. There simply wasn't enough for her to reestablish her foundation.
Compared to the desolate planets of the Dharma Ending Era, this place was rich in spiritual essence—perhaps comparable to the depths of Shennongjia—but it still wasn't enough for her.
With a wave of her hand, she unleashed a blast of white spiritual energy. It easily shattered the cave's entrance. Now that Mei Ji's demonic Nascent Soul had dissipated, the final layer of magical defense had crumbled on its own.
Outside, the breeze stirred her hair. The sunlight pierced through the opening, bright and warm.
For the first time in weeks, she breathed fresh air. It reminded her—she was still alive.