Yue Liang tried to mediate softly.
"Zhēnzūn breaking through is great news. As your Master, she wants to see all of you grow stronger. Even if you rush back now, you won't see her anyway. It's better to keep training."
"Senior Yue Liang makes sense. But since Master returned, I still want to head back early. I'm sure Junior Brother and Junior Sister already got the message. We'll continue the training, but we need to adjust the plan we made before."
"Alright, do what you think is best."
Yue Liang was only Mao Dou's temporary guardian, so she wouldn't interfere with his decisions.
Because of that choice, he changed his route and unintentionally avoided the insect tribe underlings waiting in ambush. One cultivator and one beast set off together toward the Heavenly Sword Sect.
When the ambushers waited too long and realized he wasn't coming, they immediately chased after him.
But Mao Dou was the eldest disciple, steady and meticulous by nature. He never let his guard down just because he was inside a major city. Even the rented cave residence was lined with warning and defense formations. That allowed him to dodge two assassination attempts.
Their cultivation levels were at Nascent Soul, equal to his. But he'd endured endless brutal training under his Master. His combat strength was already above ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators. With his technique advantages and his natural sword bones, he wielded his sword like an extension of himself. They couldn't gain a single advantage and instead paid with their lives.
Mao Dou kept advancing toward home. The ones attempting to capture him alive hesitated, afraid to go too far. Their leader wanted him alive, but Mao Dou didn't have any restraints. Every battle was him alone against multiple enemies. He fought ferociously, and when forced to the brink, Yue Liang stepped in once or twice to save him.
They never succeeded in capturing him, even when he stepped into Heavenly Sword Sect territory.
Wang Ping raged at those useless subordinates and decided to act personally. She suppressed her cultivation and pretended she'd been separated from her team, wandering the Chonglin Mountain Range searching for fellow disciples. After chatting with Mao Dou for a moment, she closed in and struck with a killing move, trying to restrain him instantly. But she didn't expect the life-saving talisman Jian Dan gave him to block it.
The second she made her move, Yue Liang knew something was wrong. That woman wasn't at Nascent Soul. Yue Liang warned Mao Dou immediately. Thankfully, he was already alert, opened his defenses, and bought Yue Liang a precious second.
Since she was exposed, Wang Ping stopped hiding. She chased him through the mountain range, swearing she'd take him down. But Yue Liang was mid-stage seventh rank, and instant-flash movement was her innate skill. She barely carried Mao Dou and escaped right under Wang Ping's nose.
Mao Dou knew the enemy's cultivation was far above his. He had no ability to fight back directly. When she caught up again, he released a sealed sword from his Master.
Wang Ping never expected he had another life-saving talisman. She was unlucky enough to be struck. The move, Chaos Heaven and Earth, held terrifying power. Jian Dan sealed that attack when she was late-stage Unity, equal to Wang Ping. Combined with the sheer force of a sword cultivator, it was overwhelming. Without a substitution doll, Wang Ping would've died on the spot.
That humiliation for someone like her was unbearable. She chased him relentlessly, swearing she'd capture him alive, only to personally meet his Master.
After Yue Liang finished describing what happened, Jian Dan looked toward Mao Dou, whose spiritual energy had already recovered.
"Disciple, how did you figure out something was off?"
"Master, from the moment she approached me on her own, I got suspicious. When she got close without any hesitation, I knew something was wrong.
Any female cultivator training in Chonglin Mountain Range, separated from her teammates, should be alert the instant she sees someone. Even if she doesn't attack first, she should at least stay cautious. She shouldn't act like seeing me was salvation. That's not the mentality someone at Nascent Soul should have."
"Good. My disciple observes carefully and stays vigilant. Seems those years of training weren't wasted."
Jian Dan praised him first, then turned her attention to Wang Ping.
"So, where's your backup? Did your distress talisman work? Don't tell me they already gave up on you."
"Don't try to sow discord."
Wang Ping's voice wavered. So much time had passed. Logically, her reinforcements should've already arrived.
"You know perfectly well if I'm right or not."
Jian Dan shook her head. She knew the backing behind this woman must've already abandoned her. With a flick of her wrist, she stopped holding back. The whip cracked through the air with crisp snapping sounds, blooming like a storm of deadly flowers.
Wang Ping was miserable. Her consumption outpaced her regeneration. The blood insect in her dantian refused to spend its own power repairing tentacles and began devouring her instead.
Within three breaths, Wang Ping transformed from a young woman into a pile of dry bones. She didn't even have time to scream before she died. The blood insect burst from her corpse and shot straight at Mao Dou, acting purely on instinct.
Mao Dou was always on guard. Even near his Master, he didn't relax. The instant he saw the blood insect, his sword was already in hand.
Jian Dan's eyes held only disdain. With a small twist of her wrist, the black whip swept the blood insect back. A heartbeat later, a Chaos Cage wrapped in brilliant karmic-gold light formed around it. After grinding away its blood aura, it crushed it to pulp. Finally, a burst of Verdant Flame burned away the remains until nothing was left.
The moment the blood insect died, Jian Dan sensed spatial fluctuations outside the barrier. Her brows lifted. She sent a message with divine sense to Yue Liang and Mao Dou.
"Don't leave the barrier. I'll go greet the demon cultivator backing her."
They understood instantly. That being was a Mahayana Zhēnzūn, same level as their Master. They couldn't help. They just needed to stay out of the way.
Jian Dan stepped out of her domain. The instant she stabilized her stance, she waved her hand and unleashed a blazing crimson sword light.