"Disgusting."
Perched on Jian Dan's shoulder, Yue Liang spoke with open disdain, silver-blue fur bristling as dark light flickered rapidly in her eyes.
"Zhēnzūn, I only thought she was acting shady. I didn't know she was actually possessed by a blood insect. That's my mistake."
Even Yue Liang had been fooled. Normally, if a black beetle from the insect tribe possessed a cultivator, she could sniff it out instantly. This time, she missed it completely.
"It's not your fault. This new breed of blood insect is a hybrid between a black beetle and a blood sac. It has plant attributes, so it masks the insect stench. That's why you didn't catch it in time."
Jian Dan explained patiently.
Not far away, Mao Dou had finished absorbing a mid-grade spirit stone. His major meridians no longer felt dry or hollow, so he took out another stone and continued replenishing his spiritual energy.
That female cultivator had actually been successfully possessed by the insect tribe and still maintained such a high cultivation level. If it weren't for the life-saving talisman from his Master, and Yue Liang calling for help at the critical moment, he would've died here today. His path of immortality would've ended before it even began.
After revealing her tentacles, Wang Ping clung to the barrier and started corroding it. Desperate to escape, she released a massive cloud of blood mist in an instant. As long as she could open a tiny gap, she could flee.
But reality crushed her hope. The blood mist couldn't shake the thin-looking barrier at all.
"What's going on?"
Every time she'd done this before, it worked without fail.
Jian Dan let her try. After all, the magnolia barrier formed from her Chaos Spiritual Power was far from easy to break. But now it was her turn to strike.
The black whip in her hand was suddenly wrapped in Verdant Flame. Paired with the violet thunder crackling across its surface, it lashed out with three crisp snaps. Three blood-red tentacles shattered into pieces and fell to the ground, twitching frantically, trying to shake off the Verdant Flame but failing miserably.
Wang Ping knew she'd fallen hard this time. She hadn't wanted to reveal her trump cards, but Jian Dan was terrifying. Even with everything she had, she couldn't resist her.
After suffering heavily, she grew cautious and began teleporting around, avoiding the whip. With her tentacles taking the hits for her, she managed to dodge once every three attacks.
Of course, that was only because Jian Dan went easy on her. She was waiting for the person backing Wang Ping to show themselves. Killing her too early would ruin the bait.
With every strike, each time a tentacle was severed, Wang Ping's face paled another shade. Though the tentacles regrew, the speed slowed drastically.
Jian Dan paused, having already figured out the reason. If she kept attacking, Wang Ping would die before reinforcements appeared.
Now pale as death, Wang Ping kept a great distance from her, hate burning in her eyes, yet paralyzed with fear. She didn't dare move, terrified that whip would lash out again.
"Tell me why you approached my disciple."
"I wanted to extract his sword bones."
Wang Ping blurted the answer immediately.
Crack.
The whip landed hard across her mouth. Flesh burst open, but strips of flesh-colored threads wriggled out instantly, stitching the wound back together. In seconds, her lips returned to normal.
"I'm not a patient person. If you speak honestly, I might let you breathe a little longer."
Jian Dan twirled her wrist. Wang Ping teleported again, but this time Jian Dan didn't follow through. Hatred flashed in Wang Ping's eyes, but she didn't dare play tricks anymore.
"I wanted to plant a blood insect in Mao Daoyou."
Mao Dou's expression changed drastically. This woman was vicious, wanting to turn him into the same monster she was.
"Tsk, such wishful thinking. Too bad you underestimated my disciple. The ones you sent before all failed, didn't they? So you came personally."
Jian Dan smiled, but that smile was chilling.
Wang Ping stayed silent. She couldn't argue at all.
"If you planned to strike, you should've at least figured out whose disciple he is. And you still dared to reach for him?"
"W-we received information that you weren't in the Sect. You've been missing for a hundred years."
So that was why they moved. Mao Dou was a core disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. If he were parasitized successfully, he'd become their insider, and the resources on him alone were enormous.
Jian Dan frowned. She'd already advanced to Mahayana, yet they hadn't heard? Her tribulation was massive, she'd even taken an extra strike of thunder.
She forgot that the repeated purges inside the Heavenly Sword Sect had eradicated almost every spy from other Sects. Inside the Sect, news could circulate freely, but externally the Sect was sealed tight. And especially anything concerning Jian Lu.
After her tribulation, she stayed outside only two days before entering secluded cultivation. She never announced her breakthrough, and she didn't even upgrade her Dao title. With the insect tribe forces shrinking drastically, there was no chance they'd obtain frontline intelligence.
Even if others saw the tribulation signs, they didn't know who from the Heavenly Sword Sect had ascended. And since she didn't hold a Zhēnzūn ascension ceremony, it gave Wang Ping the courage to act.
"No wonder. I thought it was strange how chaotic Mao Dou's journey home was. Turns out this ugly woman was stirring trouble."
Yue Liang flicked her glossy tail and launched into a long rant about everything that happened on their way back.
After receiving news from Lü Se, Mao Dou learned his Master had returned and rushed back to the Heavenly Sword Sect. But Steward Lü warned him that Zhēnzūn was stabilizing her cultivation in seclusion, so they shouldn't disrupt their training route.