"Woman... seems there are even larger black armored insects beneath Heifeng Ravine."
As the earth quivered, Liu Chuan transmitted a message to Jian Dan.
"Why didn't you sense them earlier?"
"They were in a state of feigned death. The mother insect must've awakened them just now."
"Chuan, it's rare to see you miss your mark."
Jian Dan teased him as she wrapped her fingers around Mò Xī Jiàn No. 2. She didn't swing it right away. Instead, she infused it with spiritual energy, allowing Verdant Flame to engulf the blade entirely.
Her divine sense locked onto the mother insect's weak spot. Without hesitation, she fired a concentrated thrust straight for its head.
The mother insect sensed the attack. Its fleshy body squirmed abruptly and evaded the sword strike.
"You missed too," Liu Chuan shot back as his branches stretched out, turning up the soil with even greater precision this time.
"Right back at you."
With a flick of her wrist, Jian Dan flipped Mò Xī Jiàn and lunged again toward the mother insect.
Yue Liang perched on Jian Dan's shoulder, unshaken by the chaos, let out a fierce roar. The sound burst like thunder, instantly shattering the skulls of several black armored insects that were swarming in.
Some insects still flapped their wings even as their heads disintegrated mid-flight. Before they could reach Jian Dan, their twitching bodies dropped to the ground, where Verdant Flame consumed them to ash.
Mò Xī Jiàn had become a streak of light, continuing its assault. The mother insect, owing to its soft and pliant body, narrowly dodged again and again.
Jian Dan wasn't in a rush. Her goal was to keep the insect preoccupied, to prevent it from rousing more of its kin.
Finally, one sharp beam of sword light pierced the mother insect's skull and exited clean through the other side, skewering it entirely. It shrieked in agony, thrashing and rolling on the ground. Since Mò Xī Jiàn had been sheathed in Verdant Flame, the fire now seeped into the wound, burning the insect from the inside out.
Jian Dan retrieved a storage vial from her bracelet and pressed it to the wound, collecting the golden blood spilling out.
Back in the Demon Abyss, after she and Mo Su slew a ten-meter-long mother insect, Mo Su had gathered this same golden blood. At the time, Jian Dan didn't know its purpose, but she collected some too.
Later, when she asked, Mo Su explained that mother insects possess remarkable vitality. Their blood could be used for body tempering, greatly enhancing physical strength. It also had another effect—rapid healing. Among cultivators, it was known as "undying fluid."
What she and Mo Su collected back then hadn't even been enough for one person to use on its own, so they had mixed it into body-forging elixirs instead.
Now that Jian Dan had reached the Bone Refinement phase of the Ice-Skin Jade-Bone Demon Body Art, she needed spiritual beast blood as a catalyst for further tempering. Before, she'd used phoenix blood gifted by Yingge. But now, with a mother insect twice as large as the previous one, she wasn't about to let this opportunity slip.
As the golden liquid poured steadily into the vial, the mother insect's struggles grew weaker. Eventually, it stopped moving entirely.
Still cautious, Jian Dan swung Mò Xī Jiàn down in a vertical arc, slicing the creature clean in half. The Verdant Flame ignited with a roar, enveloping the corpse and reducing it to ash in seconds.
The black armored insects that remained nearby went berserk, launching a frenzied attack toward Jian Dan. Her fire barrier held firm, keeping them at bay.
At that moment, ten squads of Divine Soul stage cultivators arrived at the cave where the mother insect had fallen—just in time to see Jian Lu Zhūnzhǔ reduce it to dust.
"Are they all dead?"
"Reporting, Zhūnzhǔ! The larvae have been mostly eliminated, but the cultivators who were originally host to them are not fully dealt with yet."
Wu Siyuan stepped forward to report. The entire nest trembled more violently now. The underground river began to overflow, its waters slowly flooding the hive.
"Withdraw. Before you go, destroy every tunnel. Don't leave a single one standing."
"Yes, Zhūnzhǔ."
"In a moment, something big is going to show up. Sharpen your swords."
"Yes!"
This time, the chorus of voices rang even louder.
High above, Cotton Candy had a good vantage point of the scene below. He noticed several cultivators crawling out from unknown hiding places and attacking the space domain Jian Dan had established.
Cotton Candy quickly contacted his master, asking if she needed help.
"Hmph. A bunch of clowns. As long as I'm alive, they'll never break through my domain. Don't worry."
Jian Dan told Cotton Candy to stay and guard the ship, keeping watch for anyone entering Heifeng Ravine. Things were a chaotic mess inside now. Anyone unlucky enough to venture in at this moment would have to fend for themselves.
Understanding her intent, Cotton Candy went into stealth mode. The white cloud he formed drifted among the layers of sky, perfectly concealing both himself and the ship.
Far away, about a hundred miles off, a flying boat belonging to the Loose Cultivator Alliance was making its way toward Cloud Sea Sect. Leading the team was Qian Wanguan, a cultivator in the early stage of Void Refinement.
From the name alone, one could tell his parents were obsessed with wealth. His name was about as grounded as they come.
True to his name, Qian Wanguan loved money in the mortal world, and in the cultivation world he loved spirit stones—and anything that could be traded for them.
His passion had paid off. He'd turned countless valuables into spirit stones and used them to reach Void Refinement stage. He was rather proud of that.
The moment Qian Wanguan spread his divine sense, he caught sight of a ship floating motionless in the air. His heart skipped two beats. Just imagine how many spirit stones he could get for a vessel like that.
Unable to restrain himself, he took one step and appeared beside the Heavenly Sword Sect's flying ship.
Although Cotton Candy had cloaked the vessel, Qian Wanguan still sniffed it out—following the scent of spirit stones.
Sensing a cultivator approaching, Cotton Candy immediately alerted Jian Dan. Then, he transformed into mist, enveloping the intruder and muddling his senses, preventing him from getting any closer.
Despite being disoriented at first, Qian Wanguan was still a Void Refinement cultivator. It took him a bit of effort, but he eventually got within reach of the ship.
His divine sense swept through it. Not a soul aboard. Only a basic defensive shield was active. He was puzzled, but also inwardly delighted.
"Planning to take off with my sect's ship?"
Qian Wanguan jolted at the female voice echoing in his mind. He spun around and locked eyes with the speaker.
Jian Dan stood there, dressed in white, smiling as she regarded the slightly plump cultivator clad in golden robes with faint patterns.
Qian Wanguan was already assessing his odds. Could he win?
"Don't bother. You're no match for me."
Yue Liang, perched on Jian Dan's shoulder, bared his teeth at Qian Wanguan.
At that, Qian Wanguan gave up the idea. He cupped his fists and laughed.
"This Daoist was too forward. I'm Qian Wanguan of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. I noticed a stalled ship here and came to investigate."
"My fault for letting the junior disciples go out to train without leaving anyone behind to guard the place."
Cotton Candy dispersed his cloud cover and returned to rest on Jian Dan's hair, revealing the ship in full.
The Heavenly Sword Sect's insignia gleamed from the hull, directly facing Qian Wanguan, making it impossible for him to feign ignorance.
His round face bloomed into an apologetic smile.
"So, you're from the Heavenly Sword Sect. Forgive my rudeness. We're all family, after all. I hope you won't take offense."
"Of course not. You had good intentions, Qian Daoyou. But it seems my sect isn't the only one trying to take a shortcut."
"Heh. Naturally. Shaving off a few days of travel and saving some spirit stones? These ships burn through them like crazy."
As he chatted, Qian Wanguan couldn't help but glance at the cloud-like hairpiece atop Jian Dan's head.
"Flying over Heifeng Ravine isn't an option due to the wind currents. Ships can't pass and have to detour. And once cultivators enter, few ever make it back."
He was still explaining when the ground of Heifeng Ravine suddenly gave way, collapsing inward. Three enormous black armored insects burst out of the earth and rose into the sky.