The others watched as Mó Yuè narrowed her eyes, her face devoid of emotion. Everyone knew Tang Jian had committed the greatest taboo during combat. No one stepped forward to defend him.
Even Mo Jiu remained silent this time.
"All of you take a rest. Let Mo Jiu recover from his injuries. I won't be long," Jian Dan said calmly.
Now that she understood the situation, there was no need to rush. She used Shrinking the Earth and vanished within a few breaths.
"Alright. Mo Jiu, start healing. We'll wait for Mó Yuè to return before we discuss what comes next."
While retracing her path, Jian Dan intentionally gathered carapaces from the black beetles and collected a few skeletons from the Ming Valley.
When she reappeared, this was the scene before her:
Thirteen Divine Soul cultivators and their teams were surrounded by towering three-meter-tall raptor-type Nether Beasts. Tang Jian and his small squad were encircled separately.
Her sudden arrival startled all three groups. When they sensed the pressure emanating from her, they realized Mó Yuè had advanced to the Divine Soul stage.
Tang Jian paled when he saw her. Bad luck. Still, he put on a hopeful face, as though salvation had arrived.
"Mó Yuè Zūnzhě, please, save me! I didn't mean to. My strike was just... poorly timed."
Jian Dan didn't even glance at him. She walked straight to the raptor beast leader and showed the scale on her wrist.
The beast leader, who had been snorting and stamping the ground, froze. Its golden eyes locked onto the scale, then sniffed the air. After a moment, it shifted its massive frame and stepped aside.
Jian Dan gave a slight bow and stepped into the main encirclement.
Everyone inside stood and bowed, but she waved them off.
"Spare me the formalities. Explain what happened. Do not waste time."
The group exchanged glances and nudged Mo Hang forward. He had already reached the peak of the Divine Transformation stage and was only one step away from advancing.
"Mó Yuè Zūnzhě, it all happened so fast. We had no time to react. By the time we noticed, one of the Ming Beasts was already down. Tang Jian was nearby. Whether he struck the blow or not... no one saw."
"Oh, how convenient. So no one saw anything. Could it be that you chose not to see?"
"We wouldn't dare!"
"Wouldn't dare? From where I'm standing, it looks like you dared quite a bit. We clear the path at the front lines, and you get too comfortable in the rear?"
"We wouldn't dare!"
This time, a hundred voices answered at once.
Jian Dan turned away from them and approached Tang Jian's group.
"Tell me what happened."
She pointed at a male Nascent Soul cultivator and gestured for him to speak.
The man looked up at her, then down, stealing a glance at Tang Jian.
Jian Dan clearly saw Tang Jian tense.
"Zūnzhě, we encountered a group of stragglers and were organizing an encirclement. A large number of Ming Beasts followed behind them. The battlefield was chaotic. Our team surrounded a giant black beetle and began attacking. We didn't notice anything unusual."
"And what were you doing, Tang Jian?"
"I was... attacking the beetle too."
Jian Dan idly turned her storage ring. Her voice came lazily.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Her expression darkened, and the entire area grew tense.
"Since no one wants to speak the truth, I'll look for myself."
With a flick of her hand, she summoned Tang Jian's peak master token.
She tapped the token, formed a hand seal, and flicked her fingers. A surge of demonic energy entered the token. It vibrated violently for three breaths, as though resisting.
But her energy soon overwhelmed it. The token calmed, then projected the recorded events.
In the memory, the squads were scattered by the beetles, but they quickly regrouped and launched a counterattack.
Tang Jian, at first, did assist. But later, he distanced himself, fixating on an injured Ming Beast.
A deep gash split the beast's neck. Black fluid poured out, crystallizing into demon crystals.
Tang Jian showed no shame as he pocketed them all.
Another beast noticed him and let out a warning roar. The two clashed, and Tang Jian eventually decapitated the beast with his heavy sword.
Silence fell.
The beast leader stared at Tang Jian, awaiting judgment.
Jian Dan narrowed her eyes. In one swift motion, she drew Mó Yuè Zhǎn.
The blade flashed.
Tang Jian's head rolled before his hands could even raise the sword. His soul fled, only to be pulverized by the spinning blade.
The leader of the Ming Beasts let out a shriek, then turned and led its pack away, releasing the trapped Heavenly Demon Palace cultivators.
Jian Dan hovered atop Mó Yuè Zhǎn, glaring down at the cultivators.
"I don't know whether to call you united or just stupid. This is Ming Valley. This land belongs to them. And you have the audacity to harvest their remains and murder an ally?
If this had happened to you, would you have tolerated it? You should be grateful we have a common enemy right now. Otherwise, the beasts would have torn you to pieces, whether you struck the blow or not."
No one dared speak. The Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators below remained silent. Mó Yuè was not someone to be trifled with.
"Since you're too relaxed, let's increase your workload. Get up here. All of you."
As she spoke, Mó Yuè Zhǎn expanded beneath her feet, growing large enough to carry a hundred people.
"Master, let's not make this a habit. I really don't want to carry this group of idiots again."
"Alright. Just this once. I'll compensate you later."
Seeing Jian Dan's stormy face, no one dared complain. They silently boarded the blade.
"Move out."
Mó Yuè Zhǎn turned into a streak of black light and shot back the way they came.
Its speed was abnormally high. Jian Dan clearly meant to punish them.
Three days later, they reunited with Mo Su, Mo Yi, and Mo Qi. By then, over ten Nascent Soul cultivators had nearly ruptured their meridians. The rest looked green in the face.
Jian Dan used a wood-element healing spell to stabilize them, then dismissed her blade.
"Regulate your breath on your own."
Mo Qi approached first.
"What happened? You look furious."
"Don't ask. Tang Jian was the rotten seed."
She explained everything plainly, hiding nothing.
With a wave of her hand, she tossed the peak master token and Tang Jian's storage ring to Mo Qi.
Mo Qi accepted them without hesitation. She immediately sent a voice transmission to the hundred cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Palace.
"Peak Master Tang fought valiantly in the Ming Valley, sacrificing himself in battle. He is a model for us all."
"Yes!" came the thunderous reply.
Jian Dan smiled faintly. Mo Qi really was clever. She smoothed over the incident with a single line.
"Mó Yuè, this wasn't a big deal. Why go through the trouble of dragging them all here? Planning to..."
Mo Yi made a cutting motion across his neck, grinning mischievously.
Nearby, the cultivators trying to regulate their breathing nearly choked on their own spiritual energy.