Jian Dan walked steadily toward the cave dwelling of Tian Yun Zhēnzūn. She could feel a divine sense sweeping over her, circling once before fading.
"Heavenly Demon Palace's Mo Yue, here to greet Tian Yun Zhēnzūn."
"Rise."
A gentle force lifted Jian Dan to her feet. Only then did she see Tian Yun Zhēnzūn in full.
He stood at one meter ninety, tall and straight like a sword sheathed in calm. His features weren't conventionally handsome, but sharp and refined. Cultivation had softened the contours of his face, yet his eyes remained vast as the stars, dark enough to draw a soul in. A high-bridged nose, thin lips. He looked as if carved by time.
Jian Dan gave him only a cursory glance, but already had a rough measure of the man. In her dantian, the Mó Yuè Zhǎn pulsed faintly, seemingly aware of something. She calmed it with her divine sense and began to speak.
"Zhēnzūn, please pardon my rudeness. I should have visited when I first inherited my master's legacy. But you knew her—she never bowed to anyone and valued her pride above all. Back then, my cultivation was lacking. I dared not come."
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn's gaze faltered when he saw the robe Jian Dan wore. He closed his eyes briefly and nodded, saying nothing.
Seeing no objection, Jian Dan continued at her own pace.
"My master was born into a mundane family. Her youth was fortunate, but adulthood brought hardship. It was under the guidance of Mo Yan Zhenzūn that she stepped into the cultivation world, which led to her meeting you. Though your paths—Dao and demon—differed, she never thought that meant you were not the same in your pursuit of the Great Dao."
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn nodded again in silence.
Jian Dan's tone turned sharper.
"You knew my master held feelings for you. If you didn't return them, you could have simply refused. She wouldn't have clung to you. So why lure her out alone—why ambush her?"
Her words struck like a blade. Tian Yun was caught off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"Was I unclear?"
Her gaze turned cold, void of warmth. Her eyes met his, unflinching.
"I said, Mo Mei Zhūnzhǔ was in love with you. If you had no feelings in return, you could've just said so. With her pride, she would've let it go. So tell me, why did you lure her into a trap? Why did you have her surrounded and attacked?"
"I did not!" Tian Yun Zhēnzūn frowned, his voice low.
But Jian Dan pressed on, relentless.
"You didn't? Your clan didn't? Your sect didn't?"
"Enough!"
A Mahayana-level pressure erupted from Tian Yun Zhēnzūn. Jian Dan felt it immediately. Just as she prepared to circulate her qi to counter it, the Mó Yuè Zhǎn flew from her dantian on its own and blocked the pressure entirely.
It floated between them, and a moment later, the weapon spirit appeared.
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn's eyes widened when he saw the artifact manifest. But when the weapon spirit took form, his expression shifted completely.
The girl's face—it was identical to Mo Mei.
"Feng Yunyi," the weapon spirit said calmly, "why do you bully my disciple? Did she speak falsely? Were her questions unjust?"
Her gentle yet resolute voice left Tian Yun without words.
"You sent a message back then. You asked to meet privately and even sent your sword pendant as proof. That was something you never parted with, so I believed it.
But when I arrived at the meeting point, I found a trap. A formation meant to kill. The ones who ambushed me wore the robes of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Each strike aimed at my vitals. I fought for five days and five nights to escape.
Where were you during all that?
I was gravely wounded and could not recover. I had to abandon my body and anchor my soul in my life-bound weapon, clinging to existence. But I never saw you again."
Her voice softened at the end. She looked at Tian Yun Zhēnzūn one last time, then returned into the Mó Yuè Zhǎn, which slowly drifted back into Jian Dan's body. Silence settled once more.
A trace of black qi curled into the air as the artifact returned. The weapon spirit's face had become more serene now, no longer veiled in anger. Jian Dan understood. This was the last trace of Mo Mei's resentment.
She had asked the question she came for. Even if no answer came, she had done her duty.
Jian Dan bowed again, her voice calm.
"After inheriting my master's legacy, I returned to the Heavenly Demon Palace and secretly investigated what happened back then. Too much time has passed. Clues are sparse. But I did uncover that the Ma family of our palace and Miao Yanli were involved. They made their move at just the right moment. They wanted her weapon, the Mó Yuè Zhǎn."
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn said nothing.
Jian Dan went on.
"If my guess is right, the ones who orchestrated the ambush were your master and your clan."
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn finally looked her in the eye. From his reaction, Jian Dan knew she was likely right.
"Was it for the purity of bloodlines? To protect your sect's orthodoxy? Because they placed a sword genius like you on a pedestal where love was forbidden?"
She shook her head.
"With no news of her, you convinced yourself she lived a better life without you. You even visited the Heavenly Demon Palace to check her soul flame, didn't you?
My grandmaster didn't kill you because Mo Mei's fall wasn't by your hand. That was her tribulation, her fate.
But I pity her. You felt something, I know you did. But for your name, your family, for the title of sword genius, you abandoned her. What contradiction was there? Only those with emotion can sever emotion, only they can become truly emotionless.
I've already eliminated the Ma family members involved in the ambush. Miao Yanli is also dead. When I heard you were preparing for your ascension, I knew you must be seeking news of her. That's why I came."
Her message delivered, Jian Dan bowed once more, then turned to leave.
"Nian Yue. Feng Nianyue. Do you still remember my master's mortal name? Wang Yueying. So why play the pitiful act?"
As her words fell, the Mó Yuè Zhǎn transformed into its full form. Surging with demonic energy, it swept over Tian Yun Zhēnzūn's head and slashed through half his cave dwelling.
Booming cracks echoed through the forbidden grounds. Several divine senses immediately flew over, figures appearing midair to block Jian Dan's path.
"Who dares act so arrogantly?"
"Let her go."
Tian Yun Zhēnzūn finally spoke. It was the last thing he said to Jian Dan.
With calm grace, she walked toward the boundary of the forbidden land.
"This is what I return to you on behalf of my master, Mo Mei. Her resentment has faded. From now on, she and you have nothing to do with each other. May we meet again as strangers.
Zhēnzūn, as long as I, Mo Yue, still breathe, you will never ascend from this Lingyun Continent."
With that final sentence, Jian Dan stepped beyond the boundary.
The forbidden grounds fell into silence.
The disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect who knew of Tian Yun Zhēnzūn's entanglement with Mo Mei a thousand years ago had never expected her disciple to come knocking in such a direct, unyielding fashion.
But deep down, they all knew—Tian Yun had been waiting. And what he received today was the worst answer imaginable.
He turned and walked back into his half-collapsed cave. Blood spilled from his lips. In that moment, he seemed to age a hundred years.