Jian Dan and Mo Qi came to a synchronized stop just as their divine sense swept outward. Not far away, a female cultivator had blocked Mo Su and Mo Yi's path.
She stood about 165 centimeters tall, with a round face and exotic features. Broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, she held a beast-whip in one hand and waved to the group behind her. Over ten Foundation Establishment cultivators quickly surrounded Mo Su and Mo Yi like a pack of wolves.
Whispers rippled through the street.
"That Bì family girl is snatching people again in broad daylight. What a pity, those two Foundation Establishment male cultivators…"
"No idea how many times this has happened already. No one's going to stop her?"
"Stop her? How? She has a Divine Soul realm cultivator backing her. You'd need real strength to intervene."
Jian Dan raised an eyebrow. Something about this domineering woman felt familiar. She stepped out of the pill shop just as the woman's gaze swept over her and Mo Qi.
The moment their eyes met, the woman's face twisted in shock. Without a second thought, she turned and bolted, as if she had forgotten she was a cultivator.
Jian Dan's lips curved slightly. A pale hand dropped onto the woman's shoulder before she could get far. Only then did Jian Dan speak.
"Didn't you just call my attendants 'runaway slaves'? Why not claim them now?"
The woman, Bì Shu, couldn't break free. That dainty-looking hand held her in place with crushing force, like it weighed a thousand catties.
"I... I didn't know who I was dealing with. Please forgive me, Senior." Her voice trembled as she spoke, her body shaking uncontrollably. The sheer pressure made it impossible to even steady her breathing.
"Alright, don't scare her too much," a voice echoed in Jian Dan's mind. It was Liu Chuan. "If she's savable, let's not frighten her to death. Who'd have guessed one managed to escape the purge?"
Then Jian Dan smiled.
"Bì Zhēnrén, you've frightened my attendants. Isn't it only fair to treat us to a cup of spirit tea?"
The bystanders were stunned by the sudden reversal.
They glanced at the so-called 'frightened attendants'—Mo Su and Mo Yi were standing tall and calm, their expressions unreadable. Clearly not the victims here. Instead, they were quietly watching Bì Shu, as if waiting for her answer.
Jian Dan waved to the rabbit-eared half-beast nearby.
"Take us to the best restaurant in the city."
"This way, Seniors!"
Jian Dan let go of Bì Shu's shoulder, her gaze cool and steady.
"After you."
That naked threat in her tone made resistance impossible. Bì Shu could only accept her fate and follow the group to Huancheng's famed "Welcoming Guest Pavilion." The owner noticed the Bì family member and quickly came out, forcing a smile.
"Bì Zhēnrén, are you here for tea or wine today?"
"Private room, finest spirit tea," Mo Qi answered casually.
The group moved to the largest room on the second floor. Once inside, Bì Shu's attendants began to realize something was wrong. One of them quietly slipped away to call for reinforcements, thinking no one noticed.
But how could such tricks escape the divine sense of four Divine Transformation cultivators?
None of them stopped him. As long as Bì Shu stayed here, that was enough.
"So," Jian Dan said, her tone casual as she slowly circled the woman, "how did you escape?"
Thanks to Liu Chuan's warning about the foreign black armored insect inside her, Jian Dan finally understood the familiar aura she'd sensed.
A moment later, Liu Chuan's voice reached her again.
"It's only half an insect."
Half? Jian Dan blinked.
The green leaf wrapped around her wrist glowed faintly, and Liu Chuan explained while trying not to laugh.
"It's underdeveloped. One of its membranous wings is destroyed, and it's missing two left forelegs. Only one good wing remains. Basically, a cripple."
As Jian Dan circled her, Bì Shu trembled like a leaf. Her eyes dropped, and she suppressed her breathing into an internal rhythm. She looked so pitiful that any local cultivator from Huancheng would be stunned to see her this docile.
"Didn't I ask you a question?" Mo Qi asked, genuinely curious.
"I escaped from the bottom of Devil Abyss."
"We activated the Annihilation Formation back then. How did you slip through?" Jian Dan asked.
Bì Shu trembled again, then slowly recounted her tale. She had been the one with the damaged wing, who barely escaped the trial space's overwhelming magic backlash. Clinging to life, she squeezed through collapsing stone crevices using her remaining wing and escaped from Devil Abyss.
"You're tougher than you look," Mo Qi remarked, clearly entertained. Among the four, she was the only one who hadn't fought one of these black armored insects directly. All her knowledge came from jade slips.
"So," Jian Dan said, conjuring a small cage of black magic in her palm, "are you going to come out willingly, or do I have to drag you out?"
"Please spare me, my Lord. I'll come out. But if I do, this girl will die."
"And that's my problem?"
"She offered herself willingly. She was born with a mental flaw. I filled the gap when I merged with her. We're symbiotic now."
"So she agreed. Still not my problem."
"I beg you! I'll do anything. The queen that controlled me is dead. I'm free now. Our lives are tied. I wouldn't harm her."
"Then why were you running around grabbing male cultivators off the street?" Mo Yi asked, voice cold.
"I... I was just curious about dual cultivation…"
The moment she said it, she bashfully tugged at her skirt. The four of them were so caught off guard they nearly choked on their tea.
Jian Dan shot her a look, then flicked a finger. A faint blue streak of light entered Bì Shu's sea of consciousness.
That blue thread was smooth like silk, twining silently around the neck of the insect fused with her soul. It slid along the carapace and drilled into a gap behind its head.
The moment it entered, the insect trembled violently.
Bì Shu collapsed, soaked with sweat, limbs jerking uncontrollably. Her face had gone bone-white.
A full fifteen minutes passed before her soul fully returned. She opened her eyes to see the four cultivators still calmly sipping tea.
A cold glint flickered in her gaze. She struggled to her feet and cleaned herself with a dust-cleansing technique.
Jian Dan's gaze sharpened slightly. A soft clink rang out as her white jade teacup met the table, making Bì Shu flinch.
A chill settled in the room as Jian Dan's voice echoed like frost.
"Did you really think I wouldn't kill you?"
Bì Shu's vision went dark as searing pain flared from her sea of consciousness.