The collision of the two forces stirred the heavens, winds surging and clouds roiling. Centered around the two combatants, all the clouds in the sky were blown aside, and even the flying vessel carrying Jian Mao and the others was pushed backward.
Jian Jing frowned and turned to Jian Mao. "Senior Brother, should we intervene?"
Jian Mao kept his attention on the duel, then shook his head slowly. "No rush. I see that Jian Lu is handling it without much strain. Let us observe a little longer."
"Alright."
The group refocused on the two figures standing proudly in midair.
That first exchange had been only a probe, neither side going all out. Yet even with just that test, both left a deep impression on the other.
Jian Dan's hands never stopped. The deep, far-reaching tones of her guqin rippled through the air. Perched on her shoulder, Yue Liang spoke through divine sense: "Zūnshàng, I can coordinate with you and strike at his sea of consciousness and Primordial Soul."
"Good. I will use my music to bind him first. Wait for my command before you strike."
"Yes, Zūnshàng."
With the order given, Yue Liang crouched on her shoulder, brimming with restrained power.
Qing Rui Zhēnzūn remained unmoving like a mountain, continuing to play his bamboo flute. From the verdant instrument came clear, piercing notes that cut through the guqin's heavy resonance.
Flute and strings pressed against one another, clashing head-on, their melodies intertwining in the void.
Jian Dan lifted her gaze to the man, then plucked her strings with deft fingers. The piece she began was the Battle Formation Song. This melody was crafted to entrap enemies, forging a labyrinth of sound. Once inside, the foe's divine sense would be lost within the maze, leaving them vulnerable to suppression and destruction.
With each string she strummed, the labyrinth of sound wove itself more tightly, closing from all sides toward Qing Rui.
As an accomplished cultivator of sound, Qing Rui immediately sensed the danger. He raised the pitch of his flute sharply, and the notes surged forth like an endless army, charging into the forming labyrinth in an attempt to shatter it.
Jian Dan felt the ferocity of his onslaught. His intent was clear—obliterate the labyrinth with sheer force before it solidified.
"Yue Liang!"
"Ji—Ji!" Yue Liang cried out twice, the shrill call shooting straight toward Qing Rui's sea of consciousness. At the same time, her tiny claws tensed, ready to strike his Primordial Soul.
For such a direct assault on his consciousness, Qing Rui immediately shifted his flute tones, raising a transparent wall of sound before him to block the attack. He then flickered away with an instant movement, his flute notes growing more urgent as he tried to dismantle the labyrinth of strings.
Yue Liang bristled, unwilling to accept the block, and raised her claws for another strike, only for Jian Dan to halt her. "Not yet. Your attack on his soul will be our killing stroke. We must catch him unprepared."
Yue Liang gave a sharp chirp, assisting with her cries to augment the guqin's assault, but retracted her claws.
Inside Jian Dan, spiritual power flowed rapidly. Her jade-like fingers danced across the guqin, plucking, pressing, flicking, strumming. Each note spilled forth, weaving into profound, resonant melodies. The sound rolled across the sky, pressing from every direction against Qing Rui, who kept dodging through the air.
Even ten li away, Jian Mao and the others could hear the rich, steady guqin against the bright, sharp flute. Their entanglement had reached a fever pitch.
Jian Dan's face remained calm as Cotton Candy carried her in rapid flickers across the sky. Wherever Qing Rui's flute shattered the labyrinth, her strings quickly repaired it, the walls closing tighter, shrinking the encirclement.
Qing Rui Zhēnzūn never expected his proudest art of sound to be suppressed. Not only suppressed, but he was even being forced deeper into her labyrinth of notes. It seemed this opponent truly had some skill, or she would never have dared face him alone.
With a change of intent, Qing Rui ceased breaking the maze. His flute turned sharp, the tones forming into a storm of jade-green blades, flying like countless knives toward Jian Dan and Yue Liang.
"Hmph!"
Jian Dan pulled a single guqin string taut and struck it with a loud twang. The resonant note transformed into flying swords of sound that shot forward to meet the incoming blades. One by one they collided, each clash bursting with force that threw the surrounding spiritual energy into chaos.
"Yue Liang, attack his soul!"
The command came as Jian Dan's melody clashed with the storm of blades. Yue Liang let out a sharp cry, feigning an assault as cover, while her tiny claws struck true at Qing Rui's Primordial Soul.
Qing Rui managed to block the guqin's sonic strike and deflect Yue Liang's attack on his sea of consciousness. But he was too late to shield his soul. Agony flared as if something tore deep within him.
That was the opening Jian Dan had awaited. She immediately strummed two final notes. The labyrinth born of the Battle Formation Song sealed completely.
As the last wall descended, Qing Rui, still reeling from the pain, lifted his gaze. His eyes locked with Jian Dan's across the void. In his eyes was frustration and unwillingness—how could a Mahayana Zhēnzūn be trapped by a Unity cultivator?
But in Jian Dan's starlit eyes, there was no emotion. Only cool indifference. Then she curved her lips in a faint smile, swept her sleeve to collect the guqin, and vanished with her spirit beast.
Qing Rui Zhēnzūn sat cross-legged where he hovered, thoughtful. His opponent had not pressed the fight to the death, but only confined him. That final look she gave him—what meaning had it carried?
Breaking free of such a labyrinth of sound was within his ability. But with his Primordial Soul wounded, he would have to recover before attempting it.
Elsewhere, Jian Dan, with Yue Liang at her side, was carried by Cotton Candy's instant flash back to the flying vessel.
"Zūnshàng, you could have slain him. Why did you only trap him?" Yue Liang asked, fuzzy face puzzled.
"He is Mahayana. There are few of such rank left in Lingyun Continent. Why waste human cultivation strength over a trifle?" Jian Dan smiled, tapping Yue Liang on her little head. "Do you really think killing a Zhēnzūn is so easy? Even if I had the ability, I would gain nothing worthwhile from it."
As Cotton Candy dispersed, Jian Dan landed on the vessel. Seeing her safe and uninjured, the others let out a breath of relief.
The Xiao Yin swarm confirmed their master's battle was over, then in unison poured back into the pendant on her chest. The mother insect, guarding her dantian, sent a message before diving back into the pendant as well.
"Junior Sister, were you hurt?" Jian Mao asked, eyes on her slightly unsteady aura.
Jian Dan smiled and cupped her hands in salute. "Thanks to all my Senior Brothers and Sisters guarding me, I am unharmed. I merely confined him for now."
"Good. But this place is no longer safe. The fluctuations just now surely alarmed high-level cultivators nearby. We must depart."
Jian Dan stepped forward, bowing once more, then grew solemn. "Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, we had barely left Cloud Sea Sect's territory when we were intercepted. There is no guarantee we will escape smoothly every time."
Jian Mao regarded her calmly. "Do you have a better plan?"
Jian Dan's lips curved. "Indeed. My Xiao Yin just relayed a message. Forty li ahead, above the sea, lies an independent pocket space. If we can reach it, we might use its teleportation array to return directly to the Heavenly Sword Sect."
She paused, blinking with a hint of mischief. "But… I will need you all to back me up."
Jian Jing arched her brow. "And where, exactly, are you planning to storm into?"
"The ancestral grounds of the hidden Jian Clan."