"Mo Su, watch out!"
Just as Mo Yi shouted the warning, Mo Su had already flashed away from the black carapace bug's membrane wings.
The injured insect flipped midair with surprising agility. Despite its shredded wings, it gathered power in its abdomen and launched a shockwave straight toward Jian Dan.
Liu Chuan, ever slippery, had already withdrawn his willow branch after failing to pierce the shell. He sent a mental warning to Jian Dan.
"Mo Yue!"
Jian Dan reacted instantly. She cast a defensive shield around herself as Mó Yuè Zhǎn expanded to match the black carapace bug's height.
This time, Mó Yuè Zhǎn's weapon spirit wore a cold, tight expression. The insect dared to strike her master—there would be no mercy.
Drawing in surrounding demonic energy, Mó Yuè Zhǎn ballooned to the size of the bug. With its inner blade edge forward, it slashed horizontally through the shockwave, splitting it in two.
"Get out of the blast zone!"
As Jian Dan sent out the mental alert, she darted through the narrow path between the divided shockwave, landing behind Mó Yuè Zhǎn just as it shifted to an external blade stance.
The split shockwave was redirected by Jian Dan's precision. It crashed directly into a cluster of insects, instantly reducing them to ash.
Meanwhile, Mó Yuè Zhǎn cleaved through a third of the black carapace bug's abdomen. Thick, black blood rained down through the air.
Severely wounded, the bug made a final desperate move. Its failed shockwave attack behind it, it pushed its torn wings to lift off again.
Jian Dan immediately ascended higher than the creature, clenched her right fist, and poured her Divine Soul-stage strength into it. Her Void Refinement divine sense locked onto the target, suppressing it.
As her punch flew forward, she shouted,
"Clear out!"
The quicker cultivators had already evacuated the battlefield zone where Jian Dan and the others were engaging the black carapace leader.
The risk was far too great. Just look at the scorched corpses of possessed cultivators and beasts scattered in a ring around the clash—the destructive aura of a Divine Soul cultivator was not something to linger near.
Jian Dan's strike drove the black carapace bug straight into the ground, embedding it deep into the terrain. But even that wasn't the end. Mo Su and Mo Yi followed up in unison. One cast Thousand Li Freeze, the other brought down Heaven-Sundering Slash. The bug's head was obliterated into pulp.
As the dust settled and the demonic energy grew still again, the battle drew to a close.
Mo Su led the way forward, with Mo Yi and Mo Yue walking at his flanks, emerging from the shattered insect remains.
"All glory to the Zūnzhě!"
The cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Palace welcomed them back with genuine awe and reverence.
Even Shengsi Kuangjun had to admit, he had witnessed something remarkable today.
Sharing the same battlefield, these three worked in seamless coordination. Any one of them alone could have held the line. But with Mo Yue dominating the field and directing the flow of combat, Shengsi Kuangjun knew better than ever—he had no right to challenge her.
The Heavenly Demon Palace's hundred-man unit had reversed the tide the moment they arrived. The trio had cut straight to the heart of the swarm, targeting the commander-level insect.
A perfect live reenactment of "strike the general to scatter the bandits." Their movement, synergy, and angles of attack were flawless.
"Thank you, friends of the Heavenly Demon Palace. We are truly grateful for your assistance."
The leaders from Demonic Sound Sect, Nine Fiends Hall, and the Life and Death Pavilion stepped forward to block Mo Su's group and cupped their hands in gratitude.
"You're all too polite," Jian Dan replied with an easy smile. "We're all demon cultivators from the same origin. Of course, we look out for each other."
Her eyes flicked toward Mo Yi. He caught her meaning instantly and added,
"You all joined the battlefield more recently, so it's normal that coordination hasn't caught up yet. Stay here for ten or twenty years like our Heavenly Demon Palace cultivators have, and I'm sure you'll be stronger than us."
The three cultivators across from them looked more than a little awkward.
After all, the Heavenly Demon Palace had entered the Ming Valley before any of the other sects. They were also the first to report accurate intelligence back.
They were the first to commit elite personnel to the battlefield. Mo Su, Mo Yi, Mo Qi, and Mo Yue had held the line the longest and improved the fastest.
But all four had been seriously injured at some point. Not long ago, Mo Qi had even led a team out of the valley for rest.
They had entrusted the follow-up missions to the current sect teams. Yet in less than a month, the others nearly lost control of the territory and had to beg for reinforcements from a resting squad.
It was a bit humiliating.
Every cultivator who steps on the path of cultivation sees themselves as a Heaven-chosen genius. Bowing their head to ask for help, admitting they couldn't handle things—that was a hard pill to swallow.
"Daoyou no need to stress yourselves. It takes time to adjust. We're actually planning to return to the valley entrance within the next two days."
"So soon?" Shengsi Kuangjun asked.
"Of course. We know everyone cares about us. So we'll recover quickly and stabilize our cultivation before returning to see you all again."
Jian Dan's casual words politely snuffed out any desire they had to keep the Heavenly Demon Palace cultivators around longer to help out.
When they returned to their station, both Mo Su and Mo Yi stood outside the formation instead of entering.
"Notify the second squad of the Heavenly Demon Palace to prepare to return with us," Mo Su said plainly.
"No complaints here," Mo Yi chimed in. "We should've gone back already. If Mo Qi hadn't worried the others would lose the territory we fought so hard to reclaim, no way would I have stayed to babysit them."
"Senior Brother, we've already stepped in, set the example, and done the work. If they lose the place again, that's their failure."
"Exactly. I just hope we don't have to clean up their mess again when we return."
Mo Yi shrugged helplessly.
"Then you can mock them to your heart's content."
"Not worth wasting my breath."
"Alright, let's go now."
Now it was Mo Su and Mo Yi's turn to look at Jian Dan.
"Isn't this a bit fast?"
"Not at all. The sooner we leave, the less they rely on us for emergency support."
Jian Dan smiled knowingly and added,
"Trust me, they're busy cleaning up the battlefield. Once they've sorted themselves out, they'll come find us to talk about coordination."
"Not interested. If we don't get credit, no need to care so much."
"Exactly. Let's head out now. Hopefully, they manage on their own and we don't return to another disaster."
The three came to a unanimous decision, gathered their squad, and left the base, heading straight for the valley entrance.
A day later, when the other demon sect leaders arrived in a group, the Heavenly Demon Palace station was already quiet.
Empty. Not a soul left behind.
At the entrance of the Underworld Valley, ever since Mo Qi passed her Divine Soul tribulation, she had remained by Mo Xuan Zhēnzūn's side, handling daily affairs while watching over others attempting to cross their tribulations.
Mo Xuan Zhēnzūn had specially set aside an open space and arranged defensive formations for Nascent Soul demon cultivators undergoing their Divine Transformation tribulation.
Mo Qi helped supervise to ensure no one damaged the valley's entry formations.
For three whole months, the tribulation clouds and lightning never ceased over the Underworld Valley entrance.
When Jian Dan and the others finally returned with the remaining cultivators, not a single person dared step past the water curtain barrier.