When Hua Chunshan saw the expressionless smile on his opponent's face, a chill ran down his spine. He abruptly changed his attack from a grab to a palm strike, trying to pull away from the woman beside him. But a vine as silent as a ghost wrapped around his arm, yanking him with force into a formation.
Inside the array, Jian Dan finally relaxed. This time, she would wear him down if she had to. There would be no repeat of last time.
Liu Chuan, having fulfilled his task, slipped back into Jian Dan's wrist. With a gentle palm strike, she pushed herself several zhang away from Hua Chunshan, landing lightly in midair.
Hua Chunshan now saw the full picture. Along with the female demon cultivator who had lured him in, there were fourteen more Divine Transformation-level demon cultivators within the array. Behind them stood teams of nine Nascent Soul cultivators stationed at the array's nodes, casting seals to maintain a miniature Ninefold Demon Matrix.
Suspended in the air above them all was a Divine Soul cultivator. From his robes alone, Hua Chunshan could tell he belonged to the Heavenly Demon Palace—and held a high position.
Something major must be happening. For so many high-level cultivators to gather, it was almost equivalent to mobilizing the entire core strength of a major clan.
He was just about to speak when three more Divine Transformation-level demon cultivators arrived. The same ones he had seen in the Demon Capital. His brow furrowed. Too much of a coincidence.
Hundreds of eyes turned toward Hua Chunshan's disguised form. Jian Dan's graceful voice broke the silence:
"Many thanks to Mo Zhang Zunzhē, for lending your aid."
"Mó Yuè, what is going on here?"
The voice was deep and commanding. Mo Zhang's towering form alone was enough to suppress the atmosphere. Though his words demanded an explanation, his gaze held no warmth as it settled on Hua Chunshan.
Jian Dan opened her mouth to respond, but Hua Chunshan beat her to it.
"Fellow cultivator of the Heavenly Demon Palace, I think there has been some misunderstanding. This young friend Mó Yuè forcibly took a shopkeeper from my hands. That man was dishonest in business, and I was merely holding him accountable."
"Oh? Is that so? Because what I saw was you attempting to kill him."
"Yes, I was. And so what? He was just a lowly Nascent Soul cultivator. Killing him means nothing. Unless... are you friends with that Dao cultivator?"
Hua Chunshan was deliberately steering the conversation toward a personal grudge.
Jian Dan replied, "Now that's strange. I've seen you twice, and both times you were trying to kill someone—and both times, it was a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect."
Mo Zhang's eyes narrowed with interest.
"You must be mistaken, young lady. This is the first time we've met."
Hua Chunshan was confident in his disguise. No Divine Transformation cultivator should be able to see through it.
"No mistake," Jian Dan said sweetly. "Liu Chuan told me—last time, in the Tian Mo, you tried to kill a Heavenly Sword Sect cultivator."
As she spoke, Liu Chuan extended itself briefly from her wrist like a coiled vine, then slipped back in.
Jian Dan continued, "After you fled, I did some research. The person you tried to kill was named Qi Hua, an inner disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect's Tian Du Peak—and the beloved great-granddaughter of Zhenzūn of the Qi family."
She tilted her head playfully, then added, "You waited until the end to make your move. I bet if I hadn't intervened, you would have staged the whole thing to make it seem like a demon cultivator killed her."
"Frame the Heavenly Demon Palace, stir conflict between us and the Heavenly Sword Sect. After all, it happened right under our noses—we'd have no choice but to give an explanation. Isn't that right, Hua Chunshan, elder of the Hua clan?"
Now exposed, Hua Chunshan dropped the act. With a swipe of his hand, his disguise dissolved. The pressure of a Divine Soul cultivator burst forth.
"Yes, I have a personal grudge with the Heavenly Sword Sect. Killing their people is my right. As for framing you—that's unnecessary. We've been enemies since they destroyed my clan."
"Spare us the noble speech," Jian Dan said coldly. "Someone like you—opportunistic and cruel—would rather let others do the dirty work. Kill two birds with one stone, isn't that your way?"
Hua Chunshan turned from her and bowed toward Mo Zhang.
"Mo Zhang Daoyou, I hold no grudge against your sect. Everything said just now was Mó Yuè's one-sided accusation. Let's not escalate this unnecessarily. The man is already gone. If I want revenge, I'll seek the Heavenly Sword Sect directly. Kindly allow me to leave."
The unspoken message was clear: "I'm not your enemy. No need for trouble."
Mo Zhang glanced at Jian Dan, as if to say: "You brought this one in, now you deal with it."
Jian Dan chuckled. With a leap, her figure split into countless copies in midair. All of them raised fists, launching a storm of attacks at Hua Chunshan. The force of their strikes shook even the Nascent Soul cultivators anchoring the formation.
Other Divine Transformation cultivators acted quickly to stabilize the array. Among them was Tang Jian, whose face had darkened.
Anyone could see that Jian Dan was now fighting at full strength. And her opponent was a mid-stage Divine Soul cultivator. Just for daring to challenge across such a wide gap in cultivation, she deserved respect.
It made their earlier sparring session on the platform feel ridiculous. She hadn't even gone all out, yet she had won. In skill and strength, he was clearly outmatched. No matter how he tried to suppress it, jealousy twisted in his chest.
In the midst of the fight, Jian Dan suddenly smiled in his direction, as if reading his thoughts. That knowing smirk made his heart jolt. He quickly focused his mind.
Hua Chunshan didn't underestimate her either. He countered with full force. He couldn't believe he'd lose to a cultivator in the early Divine Transformation stage.
If he wanted to leave today, he had to defeat her. He couldn't kill her—not with Mo Zhang watching—but he could beat her down.
White and black fists clashed midair. Explosive force rippled outward. Shards of energy burst through the formation's space like shrapnel.
Jian Dan didn't want the destruction to spread. She opened her left palm. A Manjushahua bloomed slowly, its petals expanding until it enclosed them both.
"A spatial boundary," Tang Jian murmured, eyes wide. Only Divine Soul cultivators could master such a technique—yet here she was, doing it at Divine Transformation.
Inside the barrier, Hua Chunshan's attitude changed. This woman was far more formidable than he had expected.
Through two exchanges, Jian Dan had already discerned his fighting style. Hua Chunshan, a water-element cultivator, had advanced far enough to manipulate water into ice, greatly boosting his offensive power.
In response, Jian Dan summoned her fire-element root and activated the Ice Jade Demon Body Technique. During her Bone Tempering phase, she had refined a drop of Yingge's blood. Now, ignited by her fire element, the remaining essence began to burn.
A phoenix shadow formed around her fists. Her rhythm steadied as she clashed with Hua Chunshan.
"Crescent Bloom!"
As her crimson lips parted, Mó Yuè Zhǎn exploded forth like a storm. Within the Manjushahua domain, it became a whirling vortex of deadly wind.