Time flew by.
Mu Anxiao, under the combined assault of the pink-skirted woman and the red-skirted woman, was forced to step back. Their beams of light also noticeably moved forward.
Yet, even so, Mu Anxiao gritted her teeth, refusing to yield, and exerted her full strength to keep the beams balanced in their original positions. She then glanced at the illusory light, which had finally cracked open with a large fissure, and continued her incantation.
The green-skirted woman stood behind Mu Anxiao, observing her struggling form as she performed the spell. Thinking of her own spiritual energy, the green-skirted woman called out, "I'll help you." She then rushed forward, took a deep breath, and began to cast the spell alongside Mu Anxiao.
With a helper now by her side, Mu Anxiao felt a moment of relief.
Outside.
The boy watched the scene of two against two and chuckled. He then looked down at Jia and said, "You still haven't seen the flaw." He shrugged as he spoke.
Jia looked up at the boy, then back at Mu Anxiao, who was still fighting with all her might, and said, "I know."
"If you know, then by all means, tell me," the boy said casually.
Jia crossed his arms in front of him, then tilted his head to stare at the boy, deliberately remaining silent.
Seeing Jia like this, the boy frowned slightly. "What do you mean by this?"
"You appear and disappear at random. Based on this alone, I cannot trust you."
"You don't trust me..." The boy smiled, seeing Jia's sudden vigilance. "Then you can just keep watching. Mu Anxiao is already at her limit like this."
"You..."
"Of course, it's good that she's like this. That way," the boy interrupted, a slight smile playing on his lips, "she can become a廢仙 (fei xian - discarded immortal) like me."
"You..."
"I have books on cultivating discarded spirits, after all. I believe Mu Anxiao has the comprehension for it." The boy deliberately ignored Jia.
"Can you stop interrupting me?" Jia said, unable to contain his annoyance.
Hearing this, the boy slowly lowered his head to look at Jia's indignant little face and chuckled ungenerously. "Don't you not trust me? If that's the case, then let things develop for the worse. That way," he said, "I can become friends with Mu Anxiao."
The boy's sole intention from the beginning was to befriend Mu Anxiao. Jia knew this very well. Therefore, upon hearing the boy calmly state this, Jia felt a sense of crisis. "I will never let you succeed."
"You won't let me succeed? You don't trust me, so could it be," the boy smiled, "that you're going to, right in front of me..."
"That's no secret." Jia interrupted, glancing at Mu Anxiao, who was struggling against her opponents. He took a step forward, placing his palm on the ground. At that moment, the great saber lying on the ground flew into his hand. He then gripped the hilt, turned his head to look at the boy, who wasn't surprised, and said, "Don't get in my way."
"What are you going to do?" the boy asked calmly.
Jia replied, "Mu Anxiao's goal is to shatter that illusory light, so I'll help her shatter it." With that, he raised the great saber and charged forward.
Seeing this, the boy once again crossed his arms and sighed. He then calmly turned his head to look at Feng Qishi, who had appeared beside him at some unknown point, and asked, "Who are you?"
Feng Qishi stated, "You are a 廢仙 (fei xian - discarded immortal)." He then turned his gaze to the boy.
The boy looked up at Feng Qishi, who was half a head taller than him, and said, "You are..." Mid-sentence, his eyes widened. After scrutinizing Feng Qishi from head to toe, he exclaimed in surprise, "You are a Great Immortal."
"..." Feng Qishi glared at the boy, then turned back to look at Mu Anxiao, who was fighting alongside the green-skirted woman against the pink-skirted and red-skirted women. He said, "You are their senior brother."
Upon hearing this, the boy's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"
Feng Qishi had only just arrived and was unaware of what had just transpired. He had merely guessed the relationship between the boy and the three women based on their similar celestial energies.
"A feeling," Feng Qishi said. He glanced at Jia, who had shattered the illusory light with a few strikes of his great saber, and muttered, "That kid actually has some skill." He then walked forward.
At that very moment, the boy suddenly found himself unable to move.
"Huh? What's going on?" He tried to move, but nothing happened.
In the next instant, Feng Qishi walked behind the pink-skirted and red-skirted women, who were now at a disadvantage, and said, "What's the point of fighting her?"
Hearing this, the pink-skirted and red-skirted women paused simultaneously. Then, they both withdrew their attacks and turned to look at Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi glanced at each of them, then waved his arm towards the illusory light. The illusory light vanished before it could explode.
Mu Anxiao and the green-skirted woman also ceased their attacks.
Immediately after, just as Mu Anxiao was about to speak, her second layer of spiritual energy returned to her body.
She paused for a moment, then quickly looked down at her palm, exclaiming in surprise, "No way." With that, she finally looked up at Feng Qishi and said with an embarrassed tone, "You followed me."
Feng Qishi ignored them and stepped in front of Mu Anxiao. He looked down at her unnatural expression and then at her injured hand, saying, "You're really quite the one for putting on a brave face."
"Didn't you say you wouldn't help me?"
"..." Feng Qishi did not want to answer Mu Anxiao's question. He lowered his head and stared at her injured hand.
Jia sheathed his great saber and watched the unfolding events.
Mu Anxiao followed Feng Qishi's gaze and looked down at her injured hand. "What, are you going to use a healing spell?" she said, holding her hand out towards Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi stared at Mu Anxiao's bloody and torn palm for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his hand and grabbed her wrist. "This wound isn't deep," he said. He then took out a bottle of wound medicine from his怀 (huai - bosom/pocket) and immediately pushed the stopper open with his thumb.
Seeing Feng Qishi's rough actions, Mu Anxiao's body stiffened. Before she could stop him, Feng Qishi poured the wound medicine inside onto her injury.
Immediately, she was in so much pain that she couldn't speak.
Following this, Feng Qishi roughly wrapped Mu Anxiao's wound with a handkerchief and then turned to look at the pink-skirted and red-skirted women, saying, "Alright, you can continue."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao, who had been lost in pain, snapped back to attention. She looked up at Feng Qishi and shouted, "Shen Moyun, are you crazy?"
"..." Feng Qishi remained silent and reached out to grab Mu Anxiao's arm.
Jia glanced at Mu Anxiao and Feng Qishi, then turned and returned to the boy's side.
The boy, still unable to move, watched them with a face full of confusion.
Jia, not noticing the boy's situation, crossed his arms and said, "Aren't you supposed to leave at a time like this?" He glanced at the boy.
The boy, unable to lower his head, said, "That person is called Shen Moyun."
"Mm." Jia nodded, finally noticing that something was wrong with the boy, and asked, "Hey, what's wrong with you?" He reached out and poked the boy's arm.
The boy ignored Jia and instead gazed at Feng Qishi's retreating back, repeating, "Shen Moyun."