After a moment, there was a loud crash. Hong'er fell backward onto the ground, while Mu Anxiao landed steadily. She wiped a smear of blood from the corner of her mouth and looked indifferently at Hong'er, who was completely defeated at her feet. "You cannot live," she said coldly. Ignoring the wind that stirred through the light mist, she walked towards Hong'er.
Seeing this, Hong'er struggled to support herself, her fear palpable. "Don't come any closer, don't come," she pleaded, trying to scramble backward.
Mu Anxiao, however, paid no mind to Hong'er's state. She stopped at Hong'er's feet and continued coldly, "Weren't you trying to kill me?" As she spoke, she stepped on the hem of Hong'er's skirt.
Hong'er had never imagined she would be so completely subdued by Mu Anxiao. Looking up at her, she felt a surge of resentment, tears welling in her eyes. "You ruined my hundred years of cultivation before, and now you..."
"Last time, you provoked me. I was merely defending myself. This time," Mu Anxiao said, crouching down, "you were asking for trouble. You gambled and lost, so your life is mine." With that, she raised two fingers and pointed them at Hong'er's forehead from a distance.
Hong'er's eyes widened.
Feng Qishi watched through the mist as Mu Anxiao's actions unfolded, recalling all the moments she had used sorcery against Hong'er in mid-air. He narrowed his eyes and was about to step forward when Jia reached her first, running breathlessly to Hong'er's side. "You won," he said, looking down at Mu Anxiao.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao clicked her tongue and looked up at Jia, who had interrupted her. "How did you break through my barrier, pregnant woman..."
"You were truly lost in the fight. The pregnant woman has already been sent back," Jia said, looking down at the bruised and weak Hong'er with a smile. "Feng Qishi helped you, didn't he?"
"What are you talking about?" Mu Anxiao still hadn't noticed Feng Qishi's presence.
Jia said earnestly, "Feng Qishi asked me to send the pregnant woman back. He probably broke the barrier too. You..." Knowing it was difficult to explain everything at once, he turned to Feng Qishi, who was walking towards them. "You didn't help her," he said, noticing Feng Qishi's clean attire.
Feng Qishi let out a soft "Mm," stopping behind Jia and looking down at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao looked at him with a blank expression. "When did you arrive?"
"From the moment you started using sorcery," Feng Qishi replied simply, looking down at Hong'er, who was gazing at him. "Are you really going to kill her?"
Hong'er remained silent, one hand pressed to her chest, the other supporting her on the ground, glaring furiously at Mu Anxiao.
"Oh, this matter probably has nothing to do with you."
"No," Feng Qishi said, glancing again at Mu Anxiao's hand, which was faintly glowing blue. He scoffed lightly, "As expected of someone about to marry Ouyang Ye. Your moves have become much more ruthless. If Ouyang Ye knew, he would be delighted."
Mu Anxiao detested Jia's current demeanor and immediately stood up. "What do you mean by that?"
"Aren't you quite smart? You should know what I mean," Feng Qishi said, reflecting on his own actions towards Mu Anxiao and Ouyang Ye's actions towards her, he began to feel a sense of inferiority.
"If you dare to go to Ouyang Ye and talk nonsense, I'll beat you," Mu Anxiao said angrily, pointing a finger at Feng Qishi's face.
"I don't want any connection with such a fiend," Feng Qishi said sarcastically, stepping back.
Mu Anxiao ignored the inexplicably vexed Feng Qishi and looked down at the still unwilling Hong'er again. "What, still want to exchange a few more rounds with me?"
"You are an immortal, yet you use sorcery. You..."
"Have you ever heard of something?" Mu Anxiao interrupted Hong'er.
Hong'er's expression froze. "What exactly do you want to say? Just say it clearly, don't beat around the bush, it's tiresome."
"One naturally uses different methods for different people," Mu Anxiao said, looking coldly at Hong'er, and scoffed, "For you, I will use sorcery."
"As an immortal, misusing sorcery is a grave offense," Hong'er said, narrowing her eyes. "You are truly finished."
The moment Feng Qishi saw Mu Anxiao use sorcery, he realized the seriousness of the situation. However, thinking about his own actions towards Mu Anxiao, he temporarily swallowed his words. Now, hearing Hong'er speak and recalling Mu Anxiao's actions toward Hong'er earlier, he couldn't help but feel... uneasy.
However, there were some things he still didn't want to say directly, so he could only watch them with a grave expression.
Just then, Mu Anxiao inadvertently noticed the expression on Feng Qishi's face and asked, "Do you have something you want to say?"
Startled, Feng Qishi snapped back to attention and shook his head.
Mu Anxiao let out a cold snort. "You better have nothing to say," she said, then turned to Hong'er, who was waiting for her reply. "At this time, you should worry more about yourself."
"You..."
"Don't 'you' me. At first, I didn't think much of it, but now, for an ordinary demon to cultivate sorcery so quickly and hide it so well, it shows," Mu Anxiao said, staring intently at Hong'er's face, "that you are no ordinary figure in the demon realm."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Hong'er asked, standing up.
Mu Anxiao: "Tell me, how many evil deeds have you committed?"
"None."
"None," Mu Anxiao repeated, recalling how Hong'er had relentlessly pursued her half a year ago. "If I remember correctly, that day, you intended to kill me."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand," Hong'er said, suddenly glancing at Feng Qishi.
Mu Anxiao caught this glance. "It looks like you're seriously injured."
"What are you talking about, I don't understand," Hong'er said, her eyes darting away.
"Back at the Mu Manor, you completely ignored him. Now you're looking at him so cautiously," Mu Anxiao observed, her gaze falling on Feng Qishi with a hint of disdain. "It's clear you're afraid."
"Don't... flatter yourself."
"Say whatever you want," Mu Anxiao said, glancing sideways at Hong'er, then at Jia. "Use your silver rope to test how many innocent... lives she has on her hands."
"Don't talk nonsense, I..."
"The fact that you could even think of becoming a demon to escape everything shows you've been hiding from the underworld's pursuit. Oh, right, you're the first demon to willingly walk into my trap, so I'll give you a chance to prove your guilt," Mu Anxiao interrupted, giving Jia a look.
Seeing this, Jia nodded. Just as he was about to step forward to test, Hong'er suddenly lowered her head and glared at Jia. Jia flinched, his hand trembling, and looked back at Mu Anxiao.