A cold, disdainful snort cut through the air. It reached Mao Dou and Wang Ping at the same time, and their reactions couldn't have been more different.
"Master's here!"
"Shit!"
A streak of sword light flashed past. It sliced the whip that was striking toward Mao Dou cleanly into several segments. Wang Ping coughed up a mouthful of blood. The destruction of her Life-bound Whip dealt her a heavy backlash, but she didn't dare worry about injuries now. Survival came first.
A heartbeat ago she was closing in for the kill, but Wang Ping instantly shifted away. She only got a few feet before slamming into an invisible barrier that bounced her back. Her expression twisted in shock, and she finally turned toward the one who opened a domain around them.
The newcomer's flowing sky-blue robe shimmered with elegant, ethereal light. Her appearance was blurred by a veil of spiritual energy, but the purple jade sword pendant at her waist was clear as day. Wang Ping's pupils shrank. This was a Mahayana Zhēnzūn of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
When Jian Dan appeared beside Mao Dou, Yue Liang shifted instantly and perched lightly on her shoulder.
"Master, this disciple wasn't strong enough. I have to trouble you to save us."
Mao Dou bowed with deep respect. The pressure rolling from Jian Dan was even stronger than before. Without her deliberately restraining it, he wouldn't even dare to stand close.
"Come here, did you get hurt?"
Facing her first apprentice, Jian Dan's voice softened.
A sweep of divine sense showed several whip marks carved into Mao Dou's skin. Some were split open and bleeding, but they were only superficial wounds. His meridians had light cracks from exhausting every trace of spiritual power, but other than that, he was stable.
She lifted her hand. A strand of wood-element energy flowed from her fingertips into his body, closing the wounds on his skin in an instant, then sinking deep to repair the hidden damage along his meridians.
"Thank you, Master, I'm fine now."
Mao Dou felt the energy travel through every inch of him. The pain faded, and his injuries healed by more than half. Only his empty meridians remained weak. He quickly pulled a mid-grade spirit stone from his storage ring and started absorbing energy. Earlier, he didn't dare take anything out while running for his life. Now, with Jian Dan here, he finally could.
"Zhēnzūn, that woman is vicious. She pretended to be friendly, then attacked Mao Dou without warning. If it wasn't for the life-saving talisman you gave us, we'd already be dead."
Yue Liang, seeing Mao Dou safe, immediately started complaining. Except for that time she teamed up with Jian Lu to eliminate the evil cultivators of the Fu family, she'd never been injured like this.
"Mao Dou, what did she want from you?"
In the Cultivation Realm, strangers rarely killed without reason. It was always either treasure or benefits. Jian Dan glanced at him. He dressed like a modest Nascent Soul cultivator, nothing flashy or wealthy. His features were bold and honest, not the handsome, fairy-like beauty that the Cultivation Realm idolized. Why did Wang Ping go after him?
"Master, she must've figured out that I was born with a Sword Bone."
One sentence was all Jian Dan needed. Murderous intent flickered in her eyes. Anyone daring to covet that would not be allowed to leave.
"Zhēnzūn, she already used up a substitute puppet. It got destroyed by the sword you sealed inside the jade talisman."
Yue Liang exposed every weakness she knew without hesitation.
Jian Dan narrowed her eyes. Last time in the Purple Sky Sect, Wang Ping escaped by relying on a substitute puppet. This time, she'd never get another chance.
Wang Ping knew she'd provoked something she couldn't handle. The moment she heard the snort, she'd already crushed her emergency jade to call for help. She wasn't a match for this Master. All she needed was to delay long enough for her own Zhēnzūn to arrive, so she kept silent, pretending she didn't notice the conversation, hoping they'd talk longer.
Only when Jian Dan looked straight at her did Wang Ping force an awkward smile and said weakly, "This is all a misunderstanding."
Jian Dan couldn't even be bothered to argue. Dare to lay fingers on her disciple, lose whichever hand reached out.
Her wrist flicked. The Mò Xī Jiàn vanished, replaced by a long black whip. It came from a corner of the Immortal Realm, cut off a Black Whip Thunder Eel. Against someone whose cultivation was unstable even at the late Unity stage, using the sword would be an insult to the Mò Xī Jiàn.
The crack of impact split the air.
The whip struck the hand Wang Ping had used to hold her own whip. It landed precisely, brutally, exposing white bone through shredded flesh. A jolt of agony racked her body. Lightning clung to the wound, destroying the tissue and stopping her from healing with spiritual power.
The whip cracked a second time.
Same hand, same spot, without a fraction of deviation.
Wang Ping screamed. She immediately began teleporting away, unwilling to stand still and be beaten like a dog.
But it was pointless. Wherever she appeared, the whip followed like a living creature. Same place, same brutal strike. Not even reinforced with spiritual power, only pure force, yet the pain was unbearable.
"A proper Dao cultivator refusing to cultivate properly and choosing to turn into an evil cultivator instead. And you even dare show your face before me."
Mao Dou and Yue Liang heard every word. So she was an evil cultivator. No wonder her eyes were so twisted. Their caution had saved their lives long enough for Master to arrive.
Wang Ping's eyes darkened, a cold glint flashing. She no longer bothered to hide. Pressing her back to the barrier, her eyes turned blood-red, veins like blood threads crawled across her face, and barbed crimson tentacles erupted from her spine.
"You actually fused with Blood Insects. Interesting."
It was the first time Jian Dan had seen anyone successfully merge with Blood Insects. She'd only heard reports that Bi Shu, under the protection of a Mahayana Zhēnzūn, had captured a few cases. Seeing one face-to-face was new.
Then Jian Dan's expression shifted slightly. The woman was trying to corrode her domain from the inside, exactly like the creature she'd captured from the Jin family.