With this thought, the first white-robed man reached out and directly grabbed Mu Anxiao's neck, saying, "You are all immortals, and we are just people with no strength to even bind a chicken. May I ask, do you dare to kill us?"
"You..." Mu Anxiao couldn't help but crane her neck back.
Seeing this, the villagers shouted one by one, "Let her go, let her go."
Listening to the shouts of the villagers, the first white-robed man tilted his head back and laughed, "Haha, I never expected, I never expected that you, Mu Anxiao, actually have this ability to win people's hearts."
"If you dare to touch them, I won't let you go even as a ghost."
"Show me what a ghost looks like. Shen Yan is no longer here, and Feng Qishi... is a good-for-nothing. I'll tell you the truth, even if you call him down, we will find our own way to kill him."
"You dare," Mu Anxiao roared, raising her hand and grabbing the first white-robed man's wrist.
"Why wouldn't I dare? Dawdling like this, it seems," the first white-robed man calmly glanced at Mu Anxiao's hand and said, "I'll have them make their move." xxs1
"You dare," Mu Anxiao said again.
Then, the disciples placed their swords and sabers on the villagers' necks once more.
The villagers, all terrified, closed their mouths.
In the Heavenly Realm, Feng Qishi watched the tense atmosphere below and then looked at Mu Anxiao's furious expression for his sake, slowly raising his hand.
"What are you doing?" Shi Yi exclaimed in shock.
Feng Qishi lowered his head, looking at his hand, and said, "In the past, everyone feared me upon seeing me. Now, I've become an immortal at the mercy of others. It's truly laughable to say this."
"You... you will get better later," Shi Yi didn't know how to comfort him and could only say this.
Feng Qishi glanced at Shi Yi, then looked at the lake again, his eyes widening.
Seeing Feng Qishi's alarm, Shi Yi quickly turned his gaze downward as well, and then... his eyes widened in the same way.
Below, Mu Anxiao had already snatched the long sword from the first white-robed man's hand and placed it against her own neck.
The first white-robed man, seeing this, was not surprised but rather calm. "I understand. You want to use your own blood to help us, don't you?"
"Madman," Mu Anxiao glared at the first white-robed man.
For decades, it had been rumored in the cultivation sects that Mu Anxiao was someone who cherished her life immensely. Seeing Mu Anxiao's posture, the first white-robed man naturally paid it no mind and instead deliberately provoked her, "Hurry, hurry, I know you don't dare."
"What dare I not do, being a good-for-nothing like me," she said, pressing the blade tightly against her flesh.
"If you die, your blood will belong to us," the first white-robed man continued to provoke.
"My blood is useless. Also, Feng Qishi... is always more powerful than me. Lastly, remember this: you will never see him in this life, because he will never come to find a nobody like you, nor will he help cultivators with malicious intentions become immortals. Everything you do in this life will be in vain. Remember my words."
The moment Mu Anxiao uttered this lengthy speech, the first white-robed man realized she was serious. But just as he was about to stop her, Mu Anxiao had already taken her own life.
Simultaneously, the lake water in the Heavenly Realm suddenly became turbid, and Mu Anxiao disappeared from Feng Qishi's sight.
"What's happening?" Feng Qishi asked with wide eyes.
Shi Yi stared at the lake water, which had regained its clarity, with despair in his eyes and said, "She's dead."
"Impossible."
"She's really dead," Shi Yi choked out.
Feng Qishi slowly stepped back, tears welling up in his eyes. The scene of Mu Anxiao's suicide replayed vividly in his mind, unadulterated. Clenching his fists, he threw his head back and let out a loud cry.
The moment Feng Qishi cried out, Shi Yi fell to his knees and began to sob.
Below, Mu Anxiao lay quietly on the ground, gazing up at the night sky, a slight smile curling her lips.
At this moment, she felt so relieved. Although... the wound hurt terribly, her heart felt incomparably comfortable. Closing her eyes, she waited for her soul to leave her body, waited... to be reborn, waited... to experience a new life, an ordinary life!
However, how could everything go as she wished?
"Get up, Mu Anxiao."
Hearing Hei Feng's voice, Mu Anxiao secretly rejoiced, "I'm leaving, that's great. I've finally repaid what I owed them, so..." Halfway through her thought, she suddenly felt something was wrong and reopened her eyes. Hei Feng's face entered her vision.
"Get up!" Hei Feng nudged her arm.
Mu Anxiao touched her neck and said, "Didn't I die?" As she spoke, she could still feel the pain.
"You only cut through the skin. You want to die? Where is the carotid artery, did you find it accurately?"
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao looked closely and saw a young Zhang Yan, dressed in ancient costume, looking at her with contempt, his eyes filled with mockery.
"Why are you here?" Mu Anxiao asked.
The next second, Hei Feng helped Mu Anxiao up.
Zhang Yan looked down at Mu Anxiao and smiled, "If you weren't willing to be my disciple over there, then I could only come here to take you."
"I'm not going over there, I want to be reborn," Mu Anxiao said, turning to look at Hei Feng.
Hei Feng smiled, "Your body is different from others. Moreover, you have already cultivated the first layer. If you commit suicide, you will receive great sin. In severe cases, you will be like her." He pointed to the woman bound by the soul-locking rope.
The soul-locking rope, abbreviated as the silver rope, was a magical artifact used by Yin Messengers to collect demon souls. Mu Anxiao also possessed one, but... due to the loss of her magical powers, she could no longer use it.
Mu Anxiao followed Hei Feng's finger to look at the woman and said excitedly, "If it weren't for me forcing her, she would never have killed her husband. So... can her sin be reassessed?"
The woman smiled the moment Mu Anxiao pleaded on her behalf, "My sin was never light to begin with. To be honest, I have indeed committed many evils. Before that, I killed three innocent villagers who provoked trouble, and additionally, marrying a mortal. These few charges are enough for me to bear. You don't owe me anything; it was I who was wrong."
Mu Anxiao had never inquired about these things. If the woman hadn't said it, she would have truly believed it was all her fault. But, for some reason, she didn't feel happy; instead, she felt pity for the woman.
"Are you truly willing to go down?"
The woman nodded.
"Then do you still want to see Yan?" Mu Anxiao asked again.
The woman shook her head, "I saw all the good you did for Yan. Before coming here, I also saw Yan getting along quite well with other rat demons. If I were to see her, I fear I would be even sadder, and it would also affect her life."
"I will tell Yan that you did that for her."
"You don't need to lie, I..."
— — Author's Notes— —
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