With the blood insect's shriek, the thunder binding its spatial cage flickered on and off.
"Junior Sister," Jian Li said, brow furrowed, "I reinforced Master's thunder cage before you arrived. We share the same lineage, after all. But this blood insect's tolerance is rising. It has adapted to thunder strikes and is trying to dismantle the cage."
"Is it because my cultivation is lower than Master's?" Jian Li asked.
"Senior Brother, this has nothing to do with cultivation," she answered herself, voice cool. "You have a thunder spiritual root and your strength leans toward offense. This blood insect is full-fed. If it spends its reserves to break out, every cultivator nearby becomes food. If I were it, I would gamble too. At least there is a chance to escape."
She glanced at the blood insect that was posturing at her and smiled coldly, even as she soothed her Senior Brother.
Jin Ai and several Operations Hall cultivators stepped forward to salute.
Jian Dan waved off the formality and asked Jin Ai, "How is the first blood insect now?"
"Reporting, Zūnshàng," Jin Ai said, stepping up respectfully. "Based on known weaknesses of the black-armored insects and their blood sacs, I refined several counteragents and injected them into the cage. The first blood insect has shrunk to five centimeters. To preserve itself it entered a feigned-death state.
I feared it would die before we perfected a complete counter, so I stopped testing on it. Hall Master Meng informed me a second specimen had been captured."
"Sounds like you have made good progress. Why not try your new medicine on this one as well?" Jian Dan asked, pacing the array to observe the creature.
"I came with Hall Master Meng to do just that," Jin Ai replied. "But we found this blood insect has already begun damaging the thunder-forged cage."
"Good thing Hall Master Meng raised a high-grade trap formation at once and reported to Hall Master Jian Li," he added.
"I can see that," Jian Dan said with a wry smile. "To save spirit stones on a high-grade trap, Hall Master Meng must have sent the message first thing."
Meng Congjian's face wore the look of a man who felt seen. Jian Dan couldn't help laughing.
Her smile faded. "Hall Master Meng, shut down the high-grade trap for now. If the blood insect does break the spatial cage, that formation will not stop it."
"Yes, Zūnshàng."
With a bow to Jian Li, Meng Congjian deactivated the trap.
The violet thunder cage still floated in midair. Jian Dan walked closer, showing the creature a chilling smile.
"You see your little companion, don't you. I do not know how you two communicate, but he plays dead and your end will not be any better. What are you posturing at me for?"
Her tone could kill without drawing blood.
The next instant, everyone's vision blurred. Jin Ai and Jin Liuli, whose cultivation was lower, did not even catch what happened. The other Operations Hall cultivators already had swords in hand, their vigilance high.
This time Hall Master Meng lit up every array in the stone chamber and pushed them to full power. Now was not the time to be stingy with spirit stones.
Jian Dan was already standing in front of Jian Li. A cage of chaotic power had formed in her hands, trapping the basin-sized blood insect within.
"Bold," she clicked her tongue. "You dare set your sights on my Senior Brother."
Jian Li remained calm, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Junior Sister, stop toying with it. If nothing else works, kill it. I will not see the Operations Hall fall."
"Relax, Senior Brother. I will not let this thing have its way."
Everyone present exhaled in unison. Thank heaven they had called the two Zūnshàng in time.
From the moment she entered, Jian Dan had noticed the creature's interest in her. It showed no awareness of being caged and locked onto her like prey. Jian Li's remark hinted that even with thunder power reinforcing it, the cage might not hold. So Jian Dan had ordered the trap withdrawn, moved closer, and deliberately goaded the blood insect to make a move at her.
It guessed the opening and missed the ending.
The blood insect burned everything it had, seized the instant she drew near, and when all eyes were on her, it split the cage and darted not for Jian Dan but for Jian Li. It even knew how to feint.
Unfortunately for it, Jian Dan had been waiting for that exact ploy.
"How clever," she murmured, eyes flashing with a cold light. "You know tactics."
Within her chaotic cage, the power churned with strands of golden light of merit. The fusion gnawed at Blood Insect Two.
Sensing malice, the creature contracted its body, trying to avoid the erosion.
"Senior Brother, how many Kong Clan cultivators' essence did this one absorb?" Jian Dan asked.
"According to the report, thirty-five," Jian Li said, not sure why she wanted to know but answering anyway.
"No wonder. It is much smarter than the first. It knows how to lie low and try to seize your body."
Jian Li's brows rose. His expression soured. "If it comes to it, we end it. No sense letting it harm us."
Neither of them lowered their voice. They discussed the creature's life and death as if deciding tea or wine. Hall Master Meng, Jin Ai, and Jin Liuli exchanged frowns. They had not expected the thing to adapt this fast.
Inside the chaotic cage, the blood insect finally tasted Jian Dan's power. The mixed surge of chaotic power and golden light of merit corroded its surface. The entire body trembled. Its cry turned far more wretched than the earlier posturing. It shrank rapidly. The bloody sheath on its surface all but melted away.
Jin Ai stepped forward with a white jade bottle. "Zūnshàng, may we test this medicine directly?"
Jian Dan took the bottle and uncorked it. A cloud of golden smoke wafted out. She guided the smoke into the cage and drew back her own chaotic power.
Everyone watched the change, especially Jin Ai. This was the fruit of her sleepless labor.
As Jian Dan withdrew her power, the golden smoke flooded the cage. The blood insect stopped trembling and hastened to rebuild the bloody sheath. When the smoke wrapped around it, its recovery slowed at once.
The two forces tugged against each other. One repaired. One destroyed. The balance was delicate.
Jin Ai could tell her medicine's destructive power did not match Zūnshàng's mystical erosion.
"Not bad," Jian Dan said, meeting Jian Li's eyes. Both acknowledged Jin Ai's progress. Jin Ai let out a small breath. Jian Lu Zūnshàng had rescued her from the whirlpool of her clan for precisely this talent. Coming up empty would have been shameful.
"Your primary agent corrodes," Jian Dan continued, "but its efficacy scales with the blood insect's maturity. This specimen is clearly stronger than the first. Increase the dose of your main drug. Best case, contact means instant dissolution. If not, then make it cling like maggots on a bone, impossible to shake off."