True Heir of Chaos: From Villainess to Empress

The Hua Clan's guest hall was silent. Only the soft rustle of Jian Dan's folding fan stirred the air.

"Because that single lingering soul exists," she said calmly, "your clan's ancestor has never been able to break through the final threshold to ascend. Over the past ten thousand years, he must have sensed something was wrong. That's why he secluded himself—to communicate with the missing soul."

"Then our ancestor is in danger?" Hua Qian asked sharply.

"Of course he is. He left only his primary soul within the body. The remaining two souls and seven spirits merged with that fragmented soul and reincarnated into the world."

"What?" The two siblings stared at Jian Dan in disbelief. They didn't want to believe her words, but deep down, they knew most of it had to be true.

"There's no need to panic," Jian Dan continued, still smiling faintly. "Your ancestor said it himself—one hundred years. That's the lifespan of a mortal. When that soul's life ends naturally, and its wishes are fulfilled, it will return. Once it does, your ancestor's soul will be complete again. To him, this was always just a long dream."

"So that's why you sent the message to the Hua Clan—'A dream of a hundred years, awakening to the soul's return.'"

"Yes."

"We are grateful for the lesson, Peak Lord of Mo Yue," Hua Qian said solemnly. "I only wish to know, once our ancestor's soul returns, will there still be danger?"

Jian Dan nodded. Hua Qian had struck at the heart of the matter.

"First," she said, "the main soul that slumbers within his body has grown weak from a hundred years of isolation. Its connection to the returning soul will be fragile. You must nourish it properly."

"Second, if the reincarnated soul is unwilling to disperse upon death and attempts to seize control during the merging, then the one who awakens may no longer be your clan's ancestor."

With that, Jian Dan had said all that needed saying. The rest was up to them.

"Peak Lord of Mo Yue, I won't ask how you know all this. We just want to know—how can we help our ancestor through this?"

"This…"

"I speak for the Hua Clan," Hua Kun said, cutting in decisively. He pushed a wooden box toward her. "We offer you three promises."

Jian Dan opened the box. Inside was a double lotus, carved from a five-thousand-year-old piece of aloeswood. It was so lifelike it seemed to breathe.

"Peak Lord of Mo Yue," Hua Kun said, "so long as you bring this lotus back to the Hua Clan, no matter what you request, we will fulfill it. If your request is beyond our power, we will grant you an additional promise. These promises will remain valid until you ascend to the immortal realm."

Jian Dan chuckled. "You certainly know how to speak, Hua Clan Head. I'll take you at your word."

With a wave of her sleeve, she stored the box in her spatial ring. Inside her bamboo dwelling, Cotton Candy immediately noticed the box appear. The little spirit beast whisked it onto a shelf and promptly went back to experimenting with transformation spells.

"You people treat flowers as kin. Finding a soul-nourishing flower shouldn't be difficult for the Hua Clan."

"You mean, one of our cultivators' companion plant spirits?" Hua Qian asked.

"Yes."

"That…" She hesitated. Using a companion spirit in medicine meant that cultivator would never again progress. Their cultivation path would be severed, leaving only minor techniques for longevity. It was, essentially, the end of one's journey as a cultivator.

Jian Dan smiled. There was a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"What if it's a child born out of wedlock?"

Hua Gen, standing silently off to the side, suddenly felt as if he were being roasted alive. He had a sinking feeling she was referring to him.

Hua Kun's face darkened.

"The members of the Hua Clan may only take one Dao companion. We do not keep concubines or bear illegitimate children. Any cultivator who has not reached the Nascent Soul stage is not formally named—only ranked. Upon reaching Nascent Soul, they are entered into the genealogy and granted a name."

"In that case, it's a family matter," Jian Dan said with a shrug. "It has nothing to do with me. But you could ask Steward Hua. I believe he'll give you a satisfactory answer."

She stretched lazily. "Enough talk. I came here to admire flowers, didn't I? Have someone take me on a stroll. Hua Shisan will do. He should be back by now."

Every word she said was casual, yet it struck precisely at the hearts of the three Hua Clan members present. For a moment, none of them responded.

Hua Kun was the first to recover. He lifted the restrictions with a sweep of his sleeve and sent out a message talisman. Hua Thirteen, who had just reunited with his family, was summoned once more.

Thirteen was stunned when he received the summons, but his parents were overjoyed. For an unnamed Foundation Establishment cultivator to be summoned by the clan head was an enormous honor.

Soon, Hua Shisan arrived at the estate and only snapped out of his daze when he stood before Jian Dan once again.

"Shisan greets the Peak Lord Mo Yue."

"I wanted someone familiar to accompany me on my stroll, so I picked you. Do you mind?"

"It's my honor, Peak Lord. I'm more than grateful that you remember me."

"Of course I remember. That face you made when I bought from your auction house as if I'd swindled you. I still remember that look of pain."

Shisan's face flushed bright red. He had failed to conceal his expression that day, and now the Peak Lord herself was teasing him for it.

"Please forgive me, Peak Lord. I…"

"Relax. I'm just teasing you. Now show me the finest flowers your Hua Estate has to offer."

"Yes, this way, Peak Lord."

Jian Dan and her six black-cloaked guards followed behind as Thirteen led them toward the rear gardens.

Back in the main hall, Hua Gen knelt down and spoke the truth. Thirty years ago, he had been seduced by a female cultivator, spent one night with her, and by morning, she was gone. Now, she had returned with a child.

The moment that child revealed their companion plant spirit, Hua Gen had known he couldn't deny it. Only the direct line of the Hua Clan possessed such a trait.

That child's companion plant was a soul-nourishing flower. He had already reached late Foundation Establishment and was on the verge of forming a Golden Core. But without access to Hua Clan cultivation methods, his plant spirit hadn't matured, slowing his progress and even hindering his cultivation.

Hua Gen had been considering acknowledging the child. He had no children of his own and had already begun thinking about formally introducing the boy into the family. Then Jian Dan had arrived and pushed everything to the surface.

But Jian Dan cared little for the drama within the Hua Clan. She had said what needed to be said, dug the pit, and now waited for her prey to fall into it.

Feeling rather pleased, she sat in an octagonal pavilion beneath the blooming peach trees, sipping golden spirit wine from a white jade cup, swaying gently in her rocking chair while chatting idly with Hua Thirteen.

"Do you have any siblings, Shisan?"

"No, I'm an only child."

"You're from a collateral branch of the Hua Clan?"

"Yes. My family pooled all their cultivation resources to support my training. That's why my cultivation is the highest among us. I work at the clan's auction house to give back."

"What's your biggest wish?"

"I… I want to keep working at the auction house and earn more spirit stones. That way I can help my parents raise their cultivation, and then… and then…"

"And then you want to be entered into the clan genealogy, maybe even join the main line one day?"

Hua Shisan's eyes widened. The Peak Lord even knew his hidden ambitions. She was incredible.

Jian Dan found his expression amusing. With a faint smile, she asked, "If you were granted a clan name, what would you want it to be?"

"Clan names are bestowed."

"Still, you must have a name in mind. Something strong. What is it?"

"I'd like to be called Hua Man. My father told me, 'When water is full, it overflows. When the moon is full, it wanes. When flowers are full, they fall.' He said a person must understand when to advance and when to retreat. So I chose the name to remind myself."

"Good name," Jian Dan said, smiling.

It turned out that this seemingly ordinary young man would one day become the next head of the Hua Clan—the only head in their history not born into the main bloodline.