The System's First Three Doors
Seeing that neo-Harun and she floated in the middle of a vast space world, Jiyan got the gist of what occurred. After she suffered the rebound of the First Emperor's broken condition, assisted by an unknown force, her father's Suppression Mandate clashed with and prevailed over the Chained Sword—allowing her to preserve her life. Harun then hid her in the space world, and after completing his reincarnation, worked on pulling her out of her coma. As for the unknown force's owner, considering her circumstances, Harun was the most likely candidate.
Closing her eyes, Jiyan sensed the pinky-sized butterfly fluttering in her Sea of Consciousness and filling it with sparkling red dots.
The Necromantic Essence released by that butterfly was something she'd never come into contact with. If not for the obvious healing and invigorating effects, she'd remain utterly oblivious to its purpose. Despite her young age, as the daughter of a God-Emperor and the inheritor of another, Jiyan carried profound knowledge of the cultivation world. That Harun could already create a form of essence even God-Emperors seemed oblivious to showed how dreadful his talent and comprehension of the dark arts were. Perhaps even he didn't have a full grasp of the implications.
She was correct. As far as Harun was concerned, coming up with new poisons didn't take much effort. Beyond that, his affinity with the disreputable arts had always transcended his peers and elders. Unfortunately, the negligible Qi refinement speed of his early years blinded all to his true value. Had she realized this sooner, his mother wouldn't be feeding the worms.
Stretching out her right hand, Jiyan unleashed dark-purple filaments that snaked around her arm. Her cultivation base and Chained-Sword-level had returned to zero. However, this dark-purple essence alone gave her enough strength to crush any sub-celestial—a disturbing concept, considering she had no idea about its origins. Again, she hoped Harun was to blame, but saw in his narrowing eyes that this had nothing to do with him.
"You don't have to be worried. This is Devil Essence. All I know is that it comes from a force beyond our world known as the Myriad Devil Palace, and is only harmful to those with shallow willpower," Harun told Jiyan what he learned from the system. Of course, he didn't trust it entirely. However, on the one hand, the system had no reason to mislead him. If it didn't want to answer, it wouldn't, just like how it refused to explain the origin of Jiyan's unique scent, and Harun couldn't do anything about it. At the same time, Harun recalled the confrontation with Nakula and, at that time, saw through him like an open book. The Devil Essence gave him mighty boons and no drawbacks.
The words stretched Jiyan's eyes. Her Ancestor's memories didn't teach her anything about a world beyond this one. But the circumstances of the 10,000 Sect War and her father's mysterious death showed that forces beyond this world did exist. And when her newfound strength came from a place named "Myriad Devil Palace," Jiyan couldn't help but feel restless.
Questions poured forth. However, as she disliked blind conjectures and excessive thinking, she didn't bother probing further, and flashed Harun a half-mischievous, half-apologetic smile.
"I'm afraid that from now on, I can't be your sect elder anymore." Jiyan knew her condition better than anyone. The Chained Sword didn't forgive transgressions. She might have evaded death, but in this life, she could never cultivate that overpowering art again. At best, she could transmit the mnemonics to help Harun's sect grow. But despite the collapse of her cultivation base, Jiyan remained serene.
How many could go against the Chained Sword's condition and survive? If she wasn't Jiyan, if she neither had an Agiri nor a Harun to watch over her, would she still be breathing? Aware of her good fortune, Jiyan wouldn't insult the blessings of fate by shedding tears for her lost strength.
"Ten of Willpower is indeed formidable. If all my future inner disciples could have this level of mental fortitude, what can I not accomplish?" Harun inwardly sighed. Rare paths aside, cultivation talent was never a synonym of wisdom. God-level spoiled brats and Heavenly-God-level imbeciles weren't in short supply. That Jiyan could keep such composure at 17 was worth praising.
A radiant smile replaced his sigh, and he met Jiyan's words with a jovial tone:
"With me here, disasters become blessings and sufferings make way. Severing emotions and desires, suffering from restricting conditions, sacrificing your freedom all for a bit of power is no worthy cultivation path. Since you became my first sect elder, I will naturally ensure that my disciples look at you in awe—and will never give you up," Harun replied, and before Jiyan probed the source of his confidence, he snapped his fingers—transporting the two to his Inner Cultivation Room.
Assaulted by chilling waves of potent Yin Essence, Jiyan instinctively released her Devil Essence, countering the room's coldness.
"First, let me take you on a brief tour. This is the first of the three 'rooms' I currently have access to. It's tailored to suit my main cultivation method and needs, so an abundance of Yin Essence permeates the air. Unfortunately, it's just of the Greater Yin level," Harun explained as Jiyan's upturned eyes swept the blue dark-blue valley that acted as Harun's cultivation abode.
Besides the Greater Yin Essence, Jiyan couldn't feel any force or Qi. Neither Spiritual nor Heavenly Qi existed here, an incomprehensible state for ordinary cultivation places, but natural for Harun who no longer relied on either. With a gallant knight's stance, Harun half-bowed, put one hand behind his back, and extended the other toward Jiyan. But his five-year-old's appearance betrayed him, giving the move a comical tone, and Jiyan had to bite her lower lip to restrain a burst of laughter.
The scene changed, and the two landed in a district of gray stone walls split into eight sectors.
"The second room. Here we have the Pill Furnace, the Refinement Platform, the Melting Furnace, Smithy, Smelter, Kitchen, Brewery, and last but not the least, the Puppet Crafting Hall," Harun explained as he took Jiyan through each sector. With the first two rooms alone, Jiyan had turned speechless. Every item belonged to the top grade, ensuring that whoever held the Golden Token could quickly produce top resources. Of course, Jiyan didn't know that those rooms cost Harun over 2,500 scourge points.
Again, the scene changed, and they landed at the edge of a white-pine forest, facing a translucent pond.
"Third, the Truth-Shaping Chamber. Unlike the first two, this room doesn't offer any equipment, but can adopt any shape I imagine, and, barring a few exceptions, guarantees a 99% success rate to any task attempted here. I created this pond myself with loads of toxic booze. Hope you enjoy it," Harun said, throwing Jiyan into confusion.
"Wait, wait, wait...what?" Both alarmed and fearful, she backpedaled. Alas, Harun held on her hand—preventing any escape.
"This is your bridge to the new world. Get ready to cross it," Harun tilted his head to the right, and said with a fiendish grin.