Jian Dan had been waiting for her to make a move. The moment Xu Meixia threw out the formation disk, Mò Xī had already appeared in Jian Dan's hand. With a single graceful stroke, she deflected Xu Meixia's attack. The clash of spiritual swords followed immediately, turning the second floor into a battlefield. Tables and chairs stood no chance, all shattered in moments.
Tao Chengfeng and Han Pengfei stood silently in a corner, making no attempt to intervene. Female cultivators going all out was a terrifying sight in itself.
Jian Dan had always had stronger spiritual sense than Xu Meixia, and her spiritual energy reserves were abundant. She fought effortlessly, even casually at times. Xu Meixia, seeing that her attacks were going nowhere, knew that the city patrol would be drawn by the disturbance. Her eyes flashed with malice, and she suddenly pressed a finger to the center of her brow.
Tao Chengfeng and Han Pengfei witnessed something they would never forget. From between Xu Meixia's brows, a tiny black insect the size of a fingernail crawled out, shooting toward Jian Dan's forehead like a bolt of lightning.
But Jian Dan had been on guard. A spiritual shield formed by her consciousness blocked the insect three inches from her brow. Yue Liang leapt from her shoulder, golden-yellow light gleaming in her eyes. Her late-stage Jīndān aura erupted. With a sharp cry that pierced through the spiritual sea, she attacked.
Tao Chengfeng drew his sword and struck at Xu Meixia without hesitation. Behind him, Han Pengfei turned pale and activated a protective treasure, but Tao Chengfeng's sword energy cut right through what he saw.
"It's an illusion! Shan Zhēnrén, be careful!"
Jian Dan extended her left hand, cloaked in the green flames of Verdant Flame, and caught the black insect in her palm. She could feel it squirming, so she poured in more spiritual energy. The yin-yang Taiji disk within her dantian spun rapidly, converting the demonic qi into spiritual energy, feeding the Verdant Flame with fuel, and refusing to allow the insect to break free.
At that moment, Xu Meixia's true self appeared behind Jian Dan, aiming her spirit sword directly at Jian Dan's dantian with a victorious smirk already forming.
With a resounding clang, the smile froze on Xu Meixia's face. Jian Dan hadn't even turned around. She simply reached behind her with Mò Xī and blocked the strike. The resulting sword clash pushed Jian Dan forward a few steps while Xu Meixia stumbled back to the stairway.
When her ambush failed, and seeing that Jian Dan still had control of the black insect, Xu Meixia realized her defeat was certain. She hastily withdrew the restrictive formation and turned to flee.
But Yue Liang was already perched on Jian Dan's opposite shoulder, and there was no way she would let the woman escape. This time, Yue Liang's dark, glossy eyes flared with light. She raised a paw and slashed at Xu Meixia from a distance. Five radiant streaks of light flew through the air.
"Aaaah!!!"
A blood-curdling scream rang through the second-floor hall. Xu Meixia collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably, completely incapacitated. Only Jian Dan knew the truth. Yue Liang had wounded her soul. Without some rare pill to stabilize it, Xu Meixia's spirit would soon scatter entirely.
Now wasn't the time to finish her off. Jian Dan formed a strand of spiritual energy to bind the paralyzed Xu Meixia, then turned to Tao Chengfeng.
"Take everything. We're returning to the City Lord's Manor. Now."
Tao Chengfeng didn't waste a word. He retrieved the undamaged recording stone from the window and pulled Han Pengfei along as they followed Jian Dan out of the Feast of Gluttony.
By now, the city patrol had arrived nearby. The sight of the four fleeing figures immediately drew attention from some watchful eyes.
Cotton Candy, now transformed into a puff of white cloud, enveloped the group and sped along the ground, carrying them swiftly toward the manor, even as the patrol chased them relentlessly.
Jian Dan paid them no mind. Every second counted. She could already feel the black insect in her hand beginning to struggle harder. Xu Meixia's damaged soul had weakened her control, allowing the insect's mother to send more strength from afar, forcing the larva to break through and attempt to take control of Jian Dan.
"Cotton Candy, faster!"
"Roger that!"
"Drop Han Pengfei and me. We'll handle the patrol. You'll move faster."
Tao Chengfeng spoke with a rare sternness, and Han Pengfei immediately agreed.
"No. If we split now, it'll only make things harder to explain later."
As they approached the City Lord's Manor, they spotted Fan Ji'an waiting.
Fan Ji'an had received word of their fight and was preparing to make a grand arrest to redeem himself for the humiliation he had suffered last time.
Jian Dan's eyes went cold. That old fool. But her pace didn't slow in the slightest. A thread of spiritual energy surged into the ink jade sword-shaped token inside her storage pouch.
A distress signal activated within the token. Two black crossed sword shadows rose above Jian Dan's head. It was the unique signal of the Heavenly Sword Sect's Enforcement Hall, one that only they could detect. Even members of the sect not part of the Enforcement Hall, let alone outsiders, would not be able to see it.
"Stop. The four of you fought within city limits. You've violated city regulations. Come with me to the Discipline Hall to receive your punishment."
Fan Ji'an raised a hand as he spoke, preparing to knock the so-called reckless Jīndān juniors off their flying artifact.
Tao Chengfeng and Han Pengfei both paled.