"Not bad. Your breakthrough was quick this time." Jian Dan buried her fingers in Yue Liang's soft fur for a couple of affectionate strokes before asking, "You should've had a shot at seventh rank. Why stop at late sixth?"
"Yue Liang wants to go to Purple Sky Sect with Zūnshàng," the little beast replied. "So I didn't push for seventh rank. I wasn't fully confident this time either, so I thought it'd be better to build up a bit more first."
"If you've done the math for yourself, that's enough. The cultivation of the beast clans isn't the same as for human cultivators. I can't offer much guidance there."
"Yue Liang understands."
Off to the side, Xue Ru kept casting hopeful looks at Yue Liang. Jian Dan chuckled, tapped Yue Liang lightly on the head, and said, "This is my junior disciple, Xue Ru, also my last disciple. You already know each other."
"Mm. I only nudged up a small realm, yet Zūnshàng has already taken three disciples."
Yue Liang's mock-old tone made both Jian Dan and Xue Ru laugh.
"All right, take Xue Ru to the East Peak. She set up a cave abode for herself there. See what she still needs. As the elder, you can gift her a few useful things."
"Okay."
Yue Liang hopped from Jian Dan's arms, landed lightly, and transformed into a yellow-clad girl about Xue Ru's age. A brown belt circled her waist, a sect sword pendant hanging from it.
Hands clasped behind her back, Yue Liang told Xue Ru, "Let's go visit your new cave. I'll add a few things for you."
"Thank you, Senior Yue Liang."
Obedient as ever, Xue Ru cupped her fists and trotted after Yue Liang toward the East Peak.
Watching the two little figures depart, Jian Dan's lips curved. Then she closed her eyes and replayed the fight against the two mid-Unity cultivators. She was confident that if a Mahayana expert hadn't stepped in, she could've kept both men.
Liu Chuan hadn't warned her of possession. If they weren't taken over by the insect race, why were they so set on dragging Bi Shu back? Was it just because she'd revealed information about the insects?
But earlier, from Mo Su's account, she hadn't been trusted by her own kind since entering the Heavenly Demon Palace. If so, there was no way she'd keep feeding information to human cultivators. So why had they set an ambush the moment she left Heavenly Demon Palace territory?
A hundred threads wound through Jian Dan's mind as she dissected the details, when Lü Se's voice sounded at her side.
"Zūnshàng, Sect Master Jian Chong has sent for you. Please come to the main hall."
Jian Dan opened star-bright eyes. "Got it," she said to Lü Se, then rose on a streak of light toward Heavenly Sword Peak.
Heavenly Sword Peak, Sect Main Hall
Jian Dan entered the hall and, unsurprisingly, found the Heavenly Demon Palace group already present. She saluted Sect Master Jian Chong on the dais, then took a seat to the left.
"Thank you for coming, Zūnshàng. I've already notified Hall Master Jian Li of the Law Enforcement Hall to discuss the matter of the new blood insects together."
Jian Chong increasingly carried himself like a true Sect Master. The moon-white robe with gold-trimmed dark patterns made him even more imposing, yet he treated Jian Dan with marked respect and explained why he had invited her.
"No trouble. I wanted to meet this little one too." Jian Dan glanced toward Mo Su with a smile.
Mo Su understood and flicked his sleeve. Bi Shu appeared in the center of the hall. Back when those two Unity cultivators attacked, Mo Su had already decided on the surrogate puppet plan. He would never allow Bi Shu to be taken.
In the past, even if they couldn't win, escaping wasn't an issue. But if the enemy kept tailing them and, next time, a Mahayana Zhēnzūn acted personally, they might not even get the chance to run. So they'd shamelessly asked Jian Feng for help, which was really an indirect request for the Heavenly Sword Sect to step in.
Sure enough, in the end, a Mahayana Zhēnzūn had intervened. Their hearts had leapt into their throats. If Jian Lu Zūnshàng couldn't withstand that strike, they'd be in trouble, and the Heavenly Sword Sect might blame them to boot. That would have been disastrous.
Fortunately, Jian Lu Zūnshàng's strength wasn't just talk. She had taken the Mahayana blow head-on. The three of them had to admit the ferocity of a sword cultivator.
Seeing the sky again, Bi Shu was still dazed. After a moment, she registered where she was. The hall was grand, spare, and solemn. Every gaze fixed on her belonged to a high-level cultivator.
Her eyes darted about. The Heavenly Demon Palace cultivators who had brought her were already seated. Across from them sat a smiling female cultivator, elegant as an orchid and clear as moonlight. But the aura rolling off her made Bi Shu's knees wobble. She was even stronger than the three from the Heavenly Demon Palace.
"Bi… Bi Shu greets the Seniors."
Stammering, Bi Shu bowed and lowered her head, not daring to make a sound.
Watching the chronically timid girl, Jian Dan couldn't help teasing. "Bi Xiaoyou has a fine name. 'Bi Shu,' which sounds like 'certain to lose.' An auspicious omen that the insect race will surely lose this war. On that alone, we should give Xiaoyou a seat."
As everyone turned the pun over, the meaning clicked. Smiles tugged at several mouths, and the heavy air in the hall lightened at once.
Jian Chong recognized that Jian Lu Zūnshàng was warming the room for the difficult conversation to come, so he signaled a guard, who promptly brought over a seat for Bi Shu.
"Junior Sister, you stretched your muscles and bones quite well today. Why didn't you inform me?" Jian Li's deep, resonant voice arrived with him as he strode into the hall.
Jian Dan stood and saluted with a bright smile. "My oversight this time. If Senior Brother had been there, we might have kept those two and learned a few things."
Behind Jian Li came Jian Feng, Wei Zhengrong, and Meng Congjian, the Hall Master of the Operations Hall. After mutual greetings, everyone sat, and they got straight to the point.
Jian Li listened to Mo Su's account and agreed with his deductions. His spiritual sense swept over Bi Shu, making the girl shiver again.
What could she do? The hall was full of giants, and she was the only small fry. Best to keep her head down and survive.
At last, Jian Li said, "Hall Master Meng has already brought the blood insect."
He turned to Meng Congjian.
Meng Congjian flicked his sleeve. A spatial cage woven from chaotic spiritual energy appeared in the center of the hall.
It was Sect Master Jian Chong's first time seeing it, to say nothing of the Heavenly Demon Palace cultivators. Spiritual senses probed from every direction, eager to examine even a single hair on the thing.
Inside the cage, the blood insect played dead. Even when swept by spiritual sense, it refused to move.
Suddenly, it slowly turned within the prison, facing Bi Shu's position.
Bi Shu panicked. Why was this grotesque thing aiming at her? She shifted awkwardly in her seat, then, seeing the blood insect still angled at her, simply stood up and sidled a few steps away.
The creature inside the cage shifted with her, following her movement.
Bi Shu's face turned a little green. In the end, she gritted her teeth and minced over to stand three steps from Jian Dan.
This time, the blood insect seemed to hesitate, but it still pointed itself toward Bi Shu.
Jian Dan glanced at the girl at her side and smiled. "Isn't that your kin? It's saying hello. Where are your manners?"
Bi Shu lifted her head and shot Jian Dan a wounded look. Reluctant as she was, one cool glance from Jian Dan sent her edging toward the caged creature.
Sensing her approach, the blood-red tendril-veins on its surface extended, as if to touch Bi Shu.
Its two red antennae quivered rapidly, as though sending some message.
Bi Shu's expression shifted from discomfort to blankness. Slowly, her eyes began to turn red.
"Not good!"