"Speak," Mu Anxiao growled, her patience with the woman completely gone.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's furious expression, the woman recalled how Mu Anxiao had almost taken her away not long ago. Her eyes darkened, and she finally spoke, "I know."
"Since you know, then tell me," Mu Anxiao said, no longer bothering to be polite. "If I were to swing this sword at you, would you be utterly annihilated?"
"No." The woman was afraid.
Mu Anxiao snorted, "Now you know fear. When you lured me here, why didn't you have such foresight?" As she spoke, she pointed her sword at the woman.
The woman swallowed, "I didn't mean to."
"You didn't mean to," Mu Anxiao said. "Villains always claim they didn't mean to, but in reality, it's always intentional. Tell me, why did you set up this trap? And if this poison isn't yours, whose is it? Speak." She widened her eyes to let the woman know she wasn't to be trifled with.
"I cannot say."
"You can't say? Fine, I won't force you," Mu Anxiao said. She lowered her sword and continued, "Didn't you want me to go to the underworld to get medicine for Bing'er? Why don't you need it anymore?"
"I do need it."
"You need it, yet you played this trick on me. What, you don't trust me?" Mu Anxiao dropped all pretense of politeness, her attitude becoming direct.
The woman's gaze flickered. "I trust you, but time doesn't allow..." she muttered, "doesn't allow me to trust you."
"What?" Mu Anxiao hadn't heard what the woman was saying clearly.
The woman slightly lowered her eyelids, thought for a moment, deliberately ignored Mu Anxiao, and looked up at the woman in the green skirt.
The woman in the green skirt frowned slightly, "..."
"Fairy, please help me, won't you?" the woman said, taking a step forward.
The woman in the green skirt was injured, and coupled with the previous events, she had become wary of the woman. She took a step back, remained silent, and shifted her gaze to Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao glanced at the woman in the green skirt, then turned back to the woman whose attention had completely shifted to the woman in the green skirt, and said, "It seems you really are Bing'er's mother."
Upon hearing this, the woman immediately looked at Mu Anxiao and said with a firm attitude, "I am not."
"You are not?" Mu Anxiao scoffed. "Only a mother would go through fire and water for her child. Pray tell, what is your situation?"
"I..." The woman was speechless.
Mu Anxiao frowned, "See? You can't even explain yourself."
"..." The woman lowered her head and her hands began to move.
At the same moment, Mu Anxiao happened to notice the woman's moving hand and said softly, "Move aside." She slightly turned her head.
The woman in the green skirt startled and took two steps back.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back to the woman opposite her, who had now raised her head, and asked, "What are you doing?" As she asked, she glanced at the red sphere the woman held in her palm.
The woman said, "This is between me and her." She glanced at the woman in the green skirt standing behind Mu Anxiao. "You move aside." Her voice held a hint of anger.
Mu Anxiao was unfazed by the woman's attempt. She deliberately said, "It seems your plan has failed."
"This is my territory. Do you think you can beat me?" the woman retorted, her eyes flashing red. "If you don't want to die, then move aside."
"Move aside," Mu Anxiao repeated, chuckling softly. "Do you think I'm an idiot? If I move aside, you'll kill her. If I'm not mistaken, after she dies, you'll escape. And with only the three of us here, once you leave, I'll definitely be blamed for your actions. So, for that reason alone, I won't move aside." Having said that, she swung her long sword forcefully.
Immediately, beams of light attached to the sword shot towards the woman.
The woman's body stiffened. She threw the sphere to the ground, and as the sphere dissipated, she moved, quickly dodging the beams of light while simultaneously crouching down in haste.
The next second, as the beams of light approached the mist, they emitted a sizzling sound.
Mu Anxiao watched in astonishment as the beams of light spun relentlessly before the mist, emitting sizzling sounds. She yelled, "Crouch!"
The woman in the green skirt heard her and quickly crouched down.
Then, as Mu Anxiao raised her long sword, the beams of light converged, forming a blue sphere.
Mu Anxiao's heart sank as she observed the clearly mutated energy, and she assumed a fighting stance.
The woman remained crouched, a smile playing on her lips. She turned her head to look at the sphere that was now spinning before the mist and murmured, "Go."
Under the woman's command, the sphere stopped spinning, slowly turned towards Mu Anxiao, paused for a few seconds, and then suddenly lunged at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, raised her long sword swiftly, leaned forward, and with all her might, blocked the sphere with her blade.
The woman in the green skirt cried out, "Be careful," as she watched this scene unfold.
The sphere began to wriggle on the surface of the blade.
Mu Anxiao blocked out all other sounds, placing one foot forward and one foot back, continuing to contend with the energy.
The woman in the green skirt watched Mu Anxiao's retreating back with concern. Just as she was about to speak, the woman's voice reached her ears, "I learned from my previous failure. Mu Anxiao, I will never believe you." As she spoke, she pointed at the sphere, and the sphere began to spin faster.
Finally, Mu Anxiao could no longer hold on. Pulled by the sphere, she retreated rapidly and crashed heavily into the mist.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao lost the strength to hold her sword, letting it fall to the ground. The sphere spun rapidly in front of her face for over a dozen turns before suddenly dropping and striking her stomach.
The next second, blood flowed from the corners of her mouth. She let out a pained grunt and collapsed.
In that instant, the sphere vanished.
The woman in the green skirt was stunned.
The woman began to laugh, "This is the consequence of you restraining me." As she spoke, she shifted her gaze to the woman in the green skirt's face.
At the same time, the long sword disappeared.
Outside.
Feng Qishi caught the long sword as it fell, muttering, "Not good."
The woman in the red dress and the woman in the pink dress were startled and looked at Feng Qishi.
Just then, Jia, who had been attempting to enter to find Mu Anxiao, appeared before Feng Qishi. "..."
Feng Qishi looked down at Jia's dejected expression and asked, "You couldn't get in?"
"No, that demon soul learned its lesson. Not a single crack." Jia said, glancing at the mist that enveloped them.
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi clenched his fist, his gaze fixed on the long sword.