The leader of the group was none other than You Xinwu, whom Jian Dan had beaten to a pulp days earlier. Six men encircled them, weapons drawn.
Brother Parrot had spotted them while playing nearby. He immediately sent a sound transmission to Jian Dan, then darted away to hide.
"Daoyou" You Xinwu said, addressing Han Pengfei with feigned courtesy, "you seem to be a sect disciple as well. Don't be fooled by this woman's deceit."
"I am You Xinwu of the Purple Sky Sect. I implore you to join me in eliminating this demon cultivator. She tricked me out of my storage pouch and threw my sister into the Spirit-Devouring Rat swarm, leaving her comatose!"
He bowed deeply, clearly trying to win Han Pengfei over.
"Hmph! Spineless coward," Jian Dan sneered "If you'd come openly to challenge me for the shed, we could've fought fair and square. Lose, and I'd have surrendered it. Instead, you cooked up a whole performance just to slander me. You want to act like a saint after behaving like a whore? Disgusting."
"You—" You Xinwu's face turned purple. He clearly hadn't expected Jian Dan to so bluntly expose his schemes and strip away his self-righteous facade in front of everyone.
Beside her, Han Pengfei felt like a flock of crows had just flown over his head. "This Shan Yunzhu looks every bit the elegant immortal in her white robes... Yet every word out of her mouth hit like a slap.."
"Ah, this fairy is very angry today," Jian Dan sighed. "You're all staying."
The rest of the attackers drew their swords, preparing to strike all at once.
But Jian Dan lifted a single hand, and suddenly, all six were surrounded by exploding talismans.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of thunderous blasts echoed across the mountainside.
She had already pulled Han Pengfei behind the nearby stone ridge as the attacks erupted. Only after the dust settled did they step out from hiding. When the dust settled, six bodies littered the ground.
You Xinwu, her primary target, was barely recognizable, his breath shallow. The others fared no better—except one, who'd dodged in time and was now desperately crawling away.
"Tsk tsk. My temper, my temper..." Jian Dan tutted. "Brother Parrot, collect their storage pouches."
"Aye aye!" The parrot flapped off to loot.
Jian Dan casually finished off the remaining five, then turned to the lone survivor who was still trying to escape.
The crawling man froze as a white boot appeared before him. Looking up, he saw Jian Dan standing silently, sword in hand.
Knowing there would be no mercy, he quickly begged for his life.
"S-spare me! You Xinwu tricked us! He said your shed was unguarded—that killing you would grant us safety from the rat swarms!"
Jian Dan's voice was flat. "And?"
"He—he also said you must have food or pills since you looked so healthy! We thought—"
"Ah, observant. Pity you weren't smart enough to see through him."
A swift sword stroke ended his plea.
Han Pengfei, who hadn't intervened, watched silently. "The cultivation world is cruel. Had they not schemed against her, they wouldn't have become cannon fodder."
"Let's move to a new spot. We've still got work to do."
The next two days passed in eerie silence. The utter annihilation of You Xinwu's group had clearly shaken the others. No one dared try anything. No one knew what trump cards Jian Dan still had—how many more talismans she could throw. No one was willing to test their luck.
The stone ridge returned to stillness.
On the third day, Jian Dan returned to the grass hut zone. She sent Han Pengfei to rest at the "C3" hut and carried her full basket of black stones to the open ground, waiting for the old woman to arrive.
"Hand over the stones you collected," the old woman said when she appeared.
"Yes, Senior." Jian Dan respectfully placed the overflowing basket before her.
The old woman tapped the pile with her cane and nodded.
"Starting tomorrow, bring three baskets every three days."
"Understood."
A porcelain vial landed in Jian Dan's palm—"Your rations."
She didn't inspect it, only cupped her fists in thanks and returned to her hut.
Meanwhile, Han Pengfei was awkwardly pacing outside the "C3" hut—because no matter how he tried, he couldn't get in.
Jian Dan soon arrived and, seeing the scene, couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. She walked past him, casually stepped into the hut, then turned back.
"Han, come on in. Don't be shy."
"Oh—alright!"
Han Pengfei tentatively placed one foot past the threshold. To his surprise, there was no resistance this time. He entered smoothly.
The two sat cross-legged and began sharing the information they had gathered over the last two days, analyzing their situation.
"This realm tests endurance and strength," Jian Dan mused. "Everyone here mines stone. The rat swarms come every thirty days."
"With this shed, we'll survive. But our quota's tripled—three baskets in three days."
"We'd better start early. Maybe we should leave now—"
"Relax. We've time." She eyed him. "Tell me—have you noticed anything strange about your body these last two days?"
Prompted by her words, Han Pengfei recalled something. While alternating mining shifts with Jian Dan, he had also continued practicing Thousand Cloud Palm. Oddly enough, his movements felt smoother, more powerful. And within him, a strange internal flow of energy had gradually grown stronger. It wasn't spiritual Qi, but it felt… similar.
"I think this energy—whatever it is—might be related to the black stones," he said seriously.