A chill of foreboding surged up Jian Dan's spine. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled, and even Yue Liang, now perched on her shoulder, had all her fur standing on end.
From the gaping spatial rift, a massive, pitch-black insect crawled out. Its body, encased in a thick carapace, stretched nearly fifty meters long. The creature struggled to pull its hind legs through the crack while its remaining five limbs slid across the ground, snatching up the red-glowing orbs expelled by the rift. Each orb held an unconscious cultivator, and the insect chewed them slowly, savoring the flavor, before swallowing and moving on to the next.
Every Golden Core stage cultivator present realized how dire the situation had become. They quickened their pace, scrambling to pull their disciples from the creature's path. One Golden Core cultivator from the rogue cultivator alliance didn't hesitate—he turned and fled without a word.
Inside Jian Dan's pendant, her silver-armored insect companion grew restless, flowing out like liquid to fully coat her white robes in glinting protection.
For the first time, Jian Dan summoned Mò Xī. A flash of cold steel gleamed along the sword's edge as she imbued it with chaotic qi from her core. With a single swing, she unleashed a gray sword aura that shot toward the beast's hind leg, still stuck in the rift.
Tao Chengfeng followed immediately with a full execution of the Nine Styles of the Heavenly Sword. Hua Zhēnrén of the Buddhist sect unleashed a palm-shaped spiritual strike, while Yan Su of the Heavenly Demon Palace flung a slash dense with rolling demon qi. Dan Sect's Yun Rong sent his alchemy furnace hurtling like a cannonball, and Su Chui Zhēnrén from the Tool Sect, ever the extravagant one, hurled a mid-grade treasure—the Cloudbreaker Halberd—and detonated it midair to magnify its impact.
The combined strikes hit the same joint in rapid succession. With a deafening crack, the creature's trapped hind leg snapped off and was swallowed by the collapsing rift. In the same breath, the spatial tear sealed shut, and the violent ripples stilled.
The black insect shrieked in fury, now fully freed from spatial restraints, and lunged at the cultivators.
Explosions of spells flared around it, splashing harmlessly off its armored body in bursts of dazzling sparks. The attacks seemed to do nothing more than tickle the creature. It floated effortlessly on five limbs, barreling toward the Golden Core cultivators who had wounded it.
Jian Dan continued striking without pause, her sword falling again and again. At the same time, she sent a message to Yue Liang via divine sense.
"Wake the rescued cultivators. Get them out of here now."
In a flash, Yue Liang leapt into the protective formation and let out a sharp chirp. The disciples of the Tianjian Sect stirred as their minds cleared from unconsciousness. One by one, they awakened and grabbed their weapons. The yellow blur of Yue Liang then zipped from one faction's camp to the next, rousing those who had been saved.
"Tianjian Sect disciples, hear me. Fall back to Yunling City and report what has occurred here. Dou Zhiyuan, Shui Linglong, Zhang Zhang, you will lead them."
"We obey." The lower-stage cultivators, seeing their Golden Core leaders locked in fierce battle against a monstrous foe, knew they would only drag them down if they stayed. They quickly grouped up and began retreating. Each Foundation Establishment disciple took with them a Qi Refining disciple who could not fly, speeding toward the edges of the Lingyun Mountains.
The other sects followed suit, issuing immediate evacuation orders. Only the scattered cultivators fled in chaos, leaderless and panicked.
"Stop standing around. Help us! This thing's armor is tougher than spirit iron. Fire and water won't harm it."
"We can't let it get away," said Xi Li Zhēnrén of the Beast Taming Sect. "It's regenerating. The more cultivators it devours, the faster it grows."
Their divine senses confirmed it—red light pulsed at the severed stump of the leg, as flesh began to regrow visibly.
A vacuum formed around the beast. No one dared remain in its range. Deprived of prey, the black insect opened its maw toward the remaining Golden Core cultivators and let out a piercing screech. A wave of suction burst forth, dragging Tao Chengfeng directly toward its mouth.
Jian Dan's face was cold and still. The yin-yang array in her dantian spun furiously as she channeled more chaotic qi into Mò Xī. She slashed, aiming for the monster's gaping maw.
It clearly hadn't expected this "insignificant bug" to strike back so fiercely. Mò Xī cut deep across its mouth, and the pain made its antennae thrash wildly.
Tao Chengfeng broke free from the suction, launching nine sword strikes in a row, all aimed at the base of one of its antennae. The beast hadn't yet recovered and failed to guard the spot. A golden arc of swordlight sliced through, severing a three-meter segment.
"Don't waste it. Bag it. We'll study it later."
Grimacing at the mental message, Tao Chengfeng stuffed the wriggling antenna into a storage pouch.
Another shriek rang out. This time it was unmistakably enraged.
With a violent twist, it whipped its remaining antenna in a wide arc. Yun Rong, Pan Fenglei, and Yan Su were all struck and flung aside. A Golden Core cultivator from the Demon Sound Sect pulled out a black jade flute and began to play. Waves of demonic energy laced with eerie tones twined around the insect's legs, binding it momentarily.
Staggered by successive blows, the black armored insect began to unfurl the transparent wings folded across its back. It clearly meant to fly away.
Xi Li Zhēnrén quickly activated a mirror-like treasure, casting a beam of silver light onto the wings. The glow outlined their shape for all to see but failed to stop them from opening.
Then, in a flash, a silver sword howled through the sky.
It was Jian Sheng Zhēnjūn, who had been following the group in secret. He raised his Windblade Sword, conjuring a massive silver blade surrounded by whirling wind scythes. With a single strike, he cleaved off nearly one-third of one wing.
Furious, the insect buzzed its wings at high speed and twisted in the air. Its forelegs and abdominal limbs scrambled midair. With its rear facing Jian Sheng Zhēnjūn, it contracted its belly and fired a beam of light nearly ten meters wide straight at him.
"Zhēnjūn!"