"Bi Xiaoyou, have you been well lately? Your cultivation seems to have progressed. You've reached peak Golden Core, haven't you? Looks like you're close to forming your Yuányīng."
"Th-thank you for the praise, Senior…"
Bi Shu reacted like a mouse seeing a cat. This time, the killing intent surrounding the other person was even stronger. Just being near her made Bi Shu feel as though she could hear the dying screams of her kin from the past.
Jian Dan didn't bother with pleasantries. Her divine sense swept forcefully across Bi Shu, scanning from head to toe, not even sparing a strand of hair.
The black beetle had fully fused with Bi Shu's divine soul. She was now something in between a human and an insect. Her defense was commendable, but her offensive capability would only be proven in actual combat.
"Been enjoying yourself here?"
Jian Dan sat at the head seat. Bi Shu stood properly in the main hall, hands at her sides.
"I wouldn't dare."
"Hmm. Has your clan contacted you?"
"They... they did, but they looked down on me for being unable to advance. They didn't tell me anything important…"
"How could that be? Precisely because you've already fused with a human cultivator, you're the perfect cover. How could they not have told you anything?"
Jian Dan's spiritual pressure gradually increased. Bi Shu dropped to her knees, palms pressed against the ground, her limbs trembling.
"Come now, Xiao Bi. Think carefully. Did you forget anything?"
Jian Dan wasn't in a rush. She asked again with a calm tone, but the pressure lingered.
"Zhūnzhǔ, why waste time? A soul search would be quicker," Mo Yi said blandly.
"True. If she refuses to cooperate, go ahead."
"No, wait! Zhūnzhǔ, please spare me! I've truly been cast out by them. They think I'm a disgrace, relying on a human cultivator to survive…"
"Get to the point."
"I overheard something. They found a weak spot in the spatial barrier around the Lingyun Continent. But since it's too difficult to break through directly, they're focusing their attacks on the attached subspace instead. They plan to enter through there and catch you off guard."
"And?"
"They'll pretend to attack the weak spot as well, just to distract some of your high-level combatants. That way, the assault on the subspace goes more smoothly."
"Mhm."
Jian Dan gave a noncommittal sound, then asked again, "Anything else?"
"No, that's all, really!"
With a snap of her fingers, a thin blue thread tightened around the neck of the half-beetle nestled in Bi Shu's sea of consciousness.
Bi Shu immediately collapsed, writhing on the floor, clutching her neck and reaching toward Jian Dan in panic.
"This was my oversight," Jian Dan said coldly. "I didn't expect that even half-dead, you'd still have so much energy."
"Mo Yi, give her a jade token for the black-robed guards. She's to report once a month. Leave nothing out."
"Yes, Zhūnzhǔ. While you were away at war, we've kept her under surveillance."
"She's had twenty years. The fusion is complete. If she causes trouble again, kill her. Don't waste time monitoring her any longer."
"Understood."
Bi Shu now resembled a dead fish, gasping for breath and soaked in sweat. Upon hearing Jian Dan's words, she jumped up in a panic.
"Thank you for sparing my life, Zhūnzhǔ! I'll remember your grace and carry out my duties diligently."
"You'd better. Now that this matter is settled, we return to the sect."
Bi Shu didn't dare utter a word of protest. She bowed respectfully as Jian Dan's group departed.
Only then did the Divine Soul ancestor of the Bi clan appear, asking Bi Shu a few questions. She answered vaguely and returned to her courtyard, staying unusually quiet for several days.
"Mo Yue Zhūnzhǔ, can we trust that spy?" someone asked as they rode through the sky.
"So long as she fears death and wants to live, she's still useful."
"I just checked as well. Her inner residence is clean. No parasites. Otherwise, I would've killed her on the spot."
"Good."
"You heard her. This summons from the sect may lead to the final battle. We know nothing about the second half of the Gourd Mouth region. That puts us at a disadvantage."
"What is Zhūnzhǔ planning?"
"We may need the Zhēnzūns' help to break through head-on."
"We understand. We'll accompany you."
"Return to the Heavenly Demon Palace."
At Jian Dan's command, Mo Yi tore open a rift, and the golden chariot entered the void.
But just as the unicorn flying horse stepped out of the void, a wind blade slashed at its flank. The startled beast reared, nearly tossing the carriage.
Jian Dan opened her eyes immediately, a cold light flickering in them.
A massive scroll unfurled above the sky, pressing down upon them. Its suction force threatened to draw the entire group into its depths.
Sweeping the scroll with her divine sense, Jian Dan saw a barren landscape inside, dotted with volcanoes and swirling yellow sand. If they were pulled inside, survival time was uncertain.
She quickly located the controller hidden nearby—a Unity stage cultivator.
Jian Dan frowned. She hadn't offended any Unity cultivators recently.
While she pondered, Mo Jiu was already being pulled toward the scroll. He slammed his long blade into the earth, anchoring himself and inching his way back.
With a flick of her finger, Jian Dan sent out a nearly invisible thread that wrapped around Mo Jiu's waist and hauled him back.
"Thank you, Zhūnzhǔ!"
"Hold steady. I'll locate the attacker."
The "Mo" squad acted in perfect sync. At Jian Dan's command, they formed a defensive array and anchored themselves with a Thousand-Jin Weight formation, resisting the scroll's pull.
Meanwhile, Jian Dan silently released the newly refined Mò Xī Jiàn No. 2.
Nearly invisible, the sword glided straight toward the hidden attacker and struck with precision, piercing the target's arm. A shout of pain echoed, and the scroll's suction weakened.
The "Mo" squad seized the two-breath window to retreat from the scroll's range.
Mò Xī Jiàn returned immediately to Jian Dan's dantian and went still once more.
But Jian Dan frowned. Was this an ambush or merely a distraction? Why would the attacker be so careless, revealing his location and failing to retreat?
"Tch. You've got some skill, little witch, but don't think you'll be getting away that easily today."
The Unity cultivator no longer hid, stepping into view as he began hurling high-grade talismans, some of which were formation seals.
Jian Dan ground her teeth in frustration. She hated this type of cultivator, the kind who thought tossing spirit stones around made them invincible.
The "Mo" squad instinctively closed ranks around Jian Dan. She cast a defense array—not the strongest, but enough to hold for a few breaths.
Brushing her fingers past the tear-shaped beauty mark beneath her eye, Jian Dan crushed a directional teleportation talisman. Her divine sense as a Unity cultivator expanded outward, covering the group. In an instant, they vanished.
"Tch. So that's all she's got. Ran pretty fast, though."
The Unity cultivator from the Tang clan retrieved the massive scroll.
He failed to notice a silver beetle, no larger than an ant, now silently clinging to the edge of the scroll.
Jian Dan and her team reappeared just outside the gates of the Heavenly Demon Palace. Their sudden arrival startled the cultivators on guard.