The moment the massive boulder sealed off the cave entrance, the two Nascent Soul cultivators launched into action—one attacked the boulder, while the other targeted Wei Datong. Yet both of their strikes landed on empty air.
The boulder had indeed closed off the only exit, but Wei Datong had already vanished from the mountain cavern using the formation's power. Realizing they had been tricked, the two Nascent Soul cultivators erupted in fury and unleashed large-scale attacks in an attempt to break the formation as quickly as possible.
Yan Su Zhēnjūn merely watched them coldly. With a flick of his hand, the silver Obsidian Bracelet binding him was crushed into dust. In the next moment, the chilling blade Hanyue appeared in his grip. One sweeping strike slashed toward the two cultivators who were blasting at the cave entrance.
Both were caught off guard. One tried to turn and defend, but was too slow—his dantian was pierced through. The other managed to look back in shock and shouted, "Mo Su Zhēnjūn!"
That was all he managed to say before Hanyue sliced cleanly through his neck. His Nascent Soul escaped the collapsing body, fleeing in desperation, but was sucked underground by the formation, leaving only a fading, agonized wail.
"How truly honored I am to receive the renowned Mo Su Zhēnjūn in person," a cold and eerie woman's voice echoed from the shadows.
Yan Su Zhēnjūn gave no reply. His expression remained as cold as frost. With another swing of his blade, he shattered the silver bracelets binding the other cultivators. Spiritual power surged back into their bodies, and weapons were immediately summoned as they formed a loose defensive ring around him.
Jian Dan gave a faint, unimpressed smile. So it turned out she was the outsider who had stumbled into an undercover mission. Clearly, these people had infiltrated the enemy's lair in a calculated move, while the enemy had responded with a countertrap, hoping to capture them all in one go.
As for which side to stand with, Jian Dan chose to wait and see. She swiftly retrieved her storage ring from one of the corpses, then casually summoned a flying sword and took up a defensive stance like the others.
"Hahaha! You came at the perfect time! My darlings have just been born, and they need you!"
As the voice faded, waves of dense black mist began to surge from beneath the floor. Yan Su Zhēnjūn's group responded immediately. A barrage of spell arts and talismans detonated midair, trying to keep the black mist at bay.
Jian Dan swept the area with her divine sense, eyes flashing with cold light. Her Mó Yuè Zhǎn shot forth from her dantian at once. Wreathed in sinister demonic qi, the blade spun and carved into the swarm of black-armored insect larvae, shattering any that dared to touch its sharp aura.
She formed hand seals rapidly. Dozens of fire-shaped Manjushahua, disguised through Verdant Flame techniques, bloomed from her palm and drifted into the swarm, reducing the crushed larvae to fine ash.
Upon seeing the Mó Yuè Zhǎn, a sharp gleam flashed through Yan Su Zhēnjūn's eyes. He turned to glance at Jian Dan, then resumed slashing toward the formation's core. At this point, the larvae were being systematically destroyed by the twenty cultivators. Among them, Jian Dan's methods were the most decisive—her sea of flame swept out in a wide arc, burning every shattered corpse into floating dust.
The formation began to tremble and spin. Jian Dan recalled her Mó Yuè Zhǎn and struck toward the same core point Yan Su Zhēnjūn was targeting.
"She's converting the trap formation into a killing array. We have to break it quickly."
The remaining Golden Core cultivators realized there was no time for hesitation. They pooled their strength and bombarded the formation's heart.
Jian Dan's blade spun one final time, cleaving down with a sharp whistle. A thunderous crack rang out as the core shattered. The formation shuddered once more, then collapsed entirely. The array shrank into the floor, the embedded formation disk splintering apart.
Now that the formation's barrier was gone, everyone could finally see the true state of the cave—and the sight filled them with shock and fury.
The cave stretched nearly sixty meters high. The ground was layered in thick ash, its depth impossible to estimate. Above, cages of all shapes and sizes hung from the cavern ceiling. Inside were cultivators, mortals, and—most heart-wrenching of all—children. Each one was unconscious, their eyes tightly shut, their spirits unresponsive.
Yan Su Zhēnjūn took one look and knew he had made the right bet. This was indeed a black-armored insect breeding ground. Judging by the sheer amount of ash, the mother insect had devoured the physical essence of who knows how many cultivators and mortals.
"Mo Su Zhēnjūn, aside from the people in these cages, we haven't found anyone else. Should we pursue?"
"No need. We laid ambushes all along our route here. Going deeper would take us into the heart of Devil Abyss. Let's see if they even dare to try."
"And these people?"
"Search the cave thoroughly. If they were breeding larvae here, there must be something they needed hidden within."
"Yes, understood."
The conversation wasn't conducted in secret. Everyone present heard it clearly. Heads shook with regret. Though these people were technically still alive, the moment they awoke, they would be no more than puppets.
Jian Dan had already scanned the entire cave with her divine sense. Suddenly, she smiled with a teasing charm and raised a hand to gently stroke the beauty mark at the corner of her right eye. A moment later, that tear-shaped mole stirred and came alive, separating into a tiny silver-armored female insect that burrowed into the ground beneath her robes.
During the period when Jian Dan had advanced to Nascent Soul, her silver-armored insect had devoured black-armored flesh and reached a breakthrough of its own.
With this evolution, its body became as tough as the black-armored insects. It also grew slightly in size—just a bit larger than an ant. The males shone with a metallic silver luster, while the female gained the ability to shift between black and gray depending on her surroundings, thanks to the nutrients absorbed from the black insects.
Since Jian Dan could no longer wear her pendant without risking her identity, she had hidden the silver insects among the flowers on her Manjushahua robes, blending them seamlessly with the enchanted patterns.
Meanwhile, the lone beast cultivator among the group raised a hand and slashed through a chain. The moment the cage dropped, it was surrounded by flame.