Jian Dan was already irritated by the looming crisis pressing on her mind. When someone launched a sudden sneak attack, she retaliated with a punch on reflex. The Obsidian Bracelet activated the instant it was infused with her spiritual power.
A white fist shadow collided with a sword light. The sword light shattered, but the punch didn't lose its momentum—it surged forward, crashing into the attacker.
"Junior Sister, look out!" A sharp cry pierced Jian Dan's ears.
A pink-clad figure was flung backwards by the blow. Blood sprayed from her mouth, and no matter how she tried, Xu Meixia couldn't get back on her feet.
Two disciples in Cloud Sea Sect robes rushed over to support her, drawing their swords as they glared at Jian Dan.
"Who are you? Why did you trap our Senior Brother Han and injure our Junior Sister Xu?"
Jian Dan only gave them a faint smile. Seeing Xu Meixia's seething expression, she casually withdrew the formation disk surrounding Han Pengfei. At that moment, Han had just finished stabilizing his late Foundation Establishment cultivation and retracted his own protective formation.
Still somewhat confused by the tense standoff, Han's brows furrowed slightly when he saw who was supporting Xu Meixia.
Jian Dan said coolly, "Han Daoyou, your sectmates attacked me without asking for an explanation. Was guarding your breakthrough a mistake?"
"Nonsense! You trapped Senior Brother Han! We asked politely, but you ignored us—"
"So you ambushed me instead. Clearly, you weren't that concerned about your senior brother."
"You—!"
"Enough!" Han Pengfei finally spoke. "Shan Daoyou was protecting me. She meant no harm. Since you don't know her, it's understandable that she didn't explain. But, Junior Sister Xu, it was wrong of you to act without knowing the full story. It's fortunate that you suffered a bit of a lesson—next time, be more cautious."
"Yes, Senior Brother Han…" Xu Meixia replied, aggrieved. Her eyes lowered, dark and unreadable.
"Xiao Zhuzi, that ugly woman wants to harm you!" Brother Parrot warned via mental transmission.
"I know. Let her try."
Han Pengfei clasped his hands toward Jian Dan. "Thank you for safeguarding my breakthrough. Now that I've stabilized—"
He paused, realizing Jian Dan's cultivation had also reached late Foundation Establishment. She was staring into the rainbow-hued glow ahead. Hearing his silence, she turned back with a smile.
"I couldn't suppress my breakthrough either," she said. "We advanced together. Fortunately, Brother Parrot guarded us both."
Brother Parrot proudly puffed out his tiny chest and flapped his wings in acknowledgment.
"What's the situation now?"
"I'm not sure," Han said. "I just stabilized my cultivation."
"Senior Brother Han, this multicolored glow has been covering the area for three days," a disciple said. "But the secret domain still hasn't opened."
"Understood. Thank you for letting me know."
Xu Meixia beamed at him, then cast a smug, challenging glance at Jian Dan.
Just then, the five-colored halo began to fade, then vanished altogether. The cultivators waiting outside the ancient gate hesitated for only a moment before a lone rogue cultivator stepped forward and pushed open the red-lacquered doors.
The door creaked open soundlessly. The instant the man stepped inside, he vanished. Yet through the doorway, pavilions and towers were clearly visible—but the man was nowhere to be seen.
The other cultivators exchanged wary looks, drew their weapons, and cautiously stepped through one after another. Soon, only a demon cultivator from the Heavenly Demon Sect, the Cloud Sea disciples, and Jian Dan remained.
"Xiao Zhuzi, are we going in?"
"Of course. But this time, don't leave my side."
Brother Parrot obediently nodded and nestled into her robes, his tiny head peeking out.
Jian Dan stepped calmly into the gate. A ripple shimmered through the air—then everything went dark.
~
A sharp, shrill voice pierced her ears:
"Brother Han, I'm your childhood betrothed! She's just a cursed star who brings death to husbands and kin—why must you insist on marrying her?!"
Jian Dan held her dizzy head, shaken by a sense that something very important had just slipped from her memory.
She looked up and realized she was seated in a lavishly decorated reception hall. A man stood before her with his back turned. To his right stood a girl dressed as a maid.
"Don't slander my lady!" the maid retorted. "Those were just childhood jokes between parents—no betrothal gifts were exchanged! Bandits killed her family, leaving her alone. How dare you blame her for their deaths?"
"You insolent servant! How dare you speak out of turn?" the woman shrieked, lunging at Jian Dan.
Jian Dan instinctively stepped back and pulled the maid behind her.
"Enough!" the man barked. "Miss Shan is the one I truly care for. I've already sent a matchmaker and our birth characters align perfectly. Whatever was agreed between our parents in childhood, I never gave consent."
"Then why didn't you say anything sooner?" the woman cried. "Why only now, after my father was demoted?"
She wore a pink robe, her face delicately shaped like a goose egg, brows like willow leaves, and a dainty nose. Her eyes burned with fury as she looked between Jian Dan and her beloved "Brother Han."
The man, dressed in an indigo brocade robe and wearing a blue coronet, had a jade pendant from Cloud Sea hanging at his waist. With bold eyebrows and sharp eyes, he had a righteous, proper air.
"What kind of farce is this?" the maid said coldly. "My lady never said she wished to marry Young Master Han!"