The sound of Feng Qishi stirred them, causing Piao and Yue Ci to jump and turn their heads, frowning.
Yue Ci exclaimed, "Mu An Xiao is going to fight those monsters by herself? She's insane." He then strode to the door and slammed his hand against it.
Piao's eyes darkened. Thinking of the monsters' terrifying power, he joined in.
Seeing Piao and Yue Ci approach, Feng Qishi put more force into his banging.
Outside the reception hall, Mu An Xiao listened to the monsters' growls in front of her and the frantic knocking from Feng Qishi and the others. She tutted, lowering the axe she held, and turned towards the reception hall, shouting, "That's enough!"
Feng Qishi, unable to see outside, lowered his hands with the other two and shouted back, "Idiot Mu, why did you set up a barrier? You said you'd let me help."
Mu An Xiao had anticipated Feng Qishi's reaction when she set up the barrier, so she called back indifferently, "Are you an idiot? This is the only way I can protect you."
"I don't need your protection. Let me out," Feng Qishi said, raising his hand to knock again twice.
Piao pleaded, "Apprentice, you're crazy. Undo the barrier, let us out to help you, and then you can think of a plan, okay?"
Mu An Xiao recognized Piao's voice and called out, "Piao, I'm not your apprentice. My master said I could do it, and I definitely can. Don't worry about me. Take good care of the people inside and trust me." She then turned to the three monsters poking their heads out. Just as she was about to raise her axe, they retracted their heads.
In contrast, Yue Ci's heart sank upon hearing Mu An Xiao's words. "Stop talking. We already said we trust her. If we keep calling out, it will only damage her confidence, and then she'll truly be finished," he said.
Hearing this, Feng Qishi suppressed the words at his lips and turned to Yue Ci. "She's my partner. What are you? Do you even know her?" he asked, losing his composure.
Yue Ci frowned. "Since you know her so well, do you think," he gestured with his chin, "she will remove this barrier?"
Feng Qishi's eyes darkened. He knew she wouldn't.
Piao found it hard to accept what Mu An Xiao had said to him. However, he thought that Zhang Yan wouldn't let Mu An Xiao die so easily. Just as Yue Ci had said, they had all agreed to trust Mu An Xiao before entering. Yet now, they were causing a commotion. If Mu An Xiao truly failed because of their calls, wouldn't they be the ones who killed her?
Considering this, he sided with Yue Ci. "Feng Qishi, we have to believe in Mu An Xiao," he said, placing a hand on Feng Qishi's shoulder.
Hearing Piao's words, Feng Qishi's eyes darkened. "You're right. We have to believe in her."
"That's right," Piao said with relief.
Feng Qishi remained by the door, watching the red light reflecting inwards, his fists clenched.
Yue Ci and Piao, worried that Feng Qishi might act rashly, did not leave his side.
Behind them, Wan Sha and Mu Xiang, each holding a child, exchanged glances as they looked at the figures of Feng Qishi and the other two. They then turned to Mu Xi (the fake Mu Long) who was holding Mu Xiang's sister-in-law, remaining silent.
Ye Yu, no longer causing trouble, stood close behind Mu Xiang.
For decades, Hei Feng had witnessed Mu An Xiao face life-or-death situations. He understood Mu An Xiao's abilities better than anyone else and therefore believed she would be fine.
Outside.
Mu An Xiao watched the small monsters peeking out, considering the spiritual energy within them. She decided to try speaking to them. "Since you've come out, don't go back in."
The monsters growled.
Mu An Xiao continued, "I don't want to hurt you. If you don't want to die, listen to me and go back."
"..." None of the monsters responded. They continued to call out from behind the demon barrier.
Meanwhile, Ouyang Ye and Xi'er appeared outside the demon barrier, but... they were accompanied by A Long.
A Long's arms were tightly bound by Xi'er, and her mouth was sealed by Xi'er's demonic arts.
Xi'er commented, "She's trying to talk to the monsters. What a madwoman." She looked towards Mu An Xiao by the demon barrier and smiled.
Ouyang Ye curved his lips and glanced towards the reception hall, saying, "What a fearless, dead girl."
Just then, Xi'er glanced at A Long, whom she had immobilized, and asked, "Master, what should we do with this girl?"
A short while ago, A Long had dispelled her invisibility after Ouyang Ye and Xi'er had left and followed them. Unexpectedly, just as she thought she could eavesdrop on some effective solutions, she was discovered.
It was at that moment that Ouyang Ye changed his mind and returned.
Ouyang Ye said, "Be gentle with her."
Xi'er protested, "Master, she was eavesdropping on us, and we..."
"She's your fellow disciple," Ouyang Ye interrupted.
A Long's eyes widened.
Xi'er exclaimed, "How is that possible? She's a demon soul, I..."
"Aren't you also a demon? Be polite to her," Ouyang Ye said, reaching out and undoing the seal on A Long's mouth, then smiling lightly. "Alright, you can speak now."
Hearing Ouyang Ye's words, A Long moved her lips and quickly called out, "Mu An Xiao, do not act rashly!" After shouting, she found that Mu An Xiao had no reaction, which puzzled her.
Ouyang Ye smiled. "You can use invisibility, and so can we." Saying this, he looked at Mu An Xiao, who had started swinging her axe after failing to communicate with the monsters, and shook his head.
A Long demanded, "What exactly do you want?" She looked up at Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye looked down and smiled, then looked at A Long. "Help me, and I'll tell you."
"Help you?"
"Yes, help me deliver a message, and I'll tell you what I want to do."
"You..." A Long clearly saw the monsters hidden within the demon barrier and considered Mu An Xiao's abilities. She compromised. "Tell me what you want me to convey."
Ouyang Ye began, "Convey..." He paused intentionally, then continued, "It's not exactly conveying a message. Just persuade her to marry me."
"What?"
"That's not difficult, is it?" Ouyang Ye smiled.
A Long's... Her eyes lowered.
"Is it very difficult?" Ouyang Ye asked.
A Long took a deep breath and nodded.
Ouyang Ye explained, "To be honest, only if she agrees to marry me can the spiritual energy within this demon barrier be returned to her. However," he smiled, "if she refuses, the monsters will grow uncontrollably, and in the end, it won't be something those foolish immortals can control. To put it realistically, your husband, who once harmed you, might also lose his life because of this. Think carefully."
"..." A Long hadn't expected things to be so serious. Her eyes widened. "Since it's so serious, why did you leave?"
"I didn't want to say this, but forget it. In other words," Ouyang Ye smiled, "I was waiting for Mu An Xiao to beg me. Unexpectedly, you followed. Since that's the case, please help me deliver the message."
"You are truly despicable," A Long stated.
"Whether I'm despicable or not is not for you to say," Ouyang Ye replied. "I'll wait for you here." Saying this, he grabbed A Long's arm.
A Long's body stiffened. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sending you in. Do you think you can get in by yourself?" Ouyang Ye said. Just as he was about to push A Long in, she grabbed his hand, and he froze. "Are you changing your mind?"
A Long countered, "If I tell her directly, she'll definitely be resistant to me. Tell me if there's another way to let her absorb her spiritual energy back." She tried to trick him into revealing information.
"A way?" Ouyang Ye chuckled. "This is the only way."
"I don't believe you," A Long said, her eyes firm.
"You..." Ouyang Ye looked down and smiled. "Fine. It seems you're not that foolish. Then I'll tell you plainly. As long as Mu An Xiao casts a spell, the spiritual energy will return to her body, but it will consume her stamina."
"..." Hearing Ouyang Ye's words, A Long let go.
Seeing A Long release him, Ouyang Ye smiled and then pushed her directly into the demon barrier.
Immediately, A Long found herself at the very edge of the demon barrier.
Ouyang Ye clapped his hands and turned to Xi'er, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"
"You told her the second method. What if she doesn't deliver your message?" Xi'er asked.
Ouyang Ye smiled. "The second method can only be used by immortals with very strong magic. Mu An Xiao," he shook his head, "do you think she can do it?"
"What if she can?" Xi'er frowned.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye's expression turned serious. "There are no 'what ifs.' I trust my judgment, and I trust even more that A Long, in a desperate situation, will definitely pass on my message to Mu An Xiao, and Mu An Xiao, after hearing it, will definitely agree. Just wait."
Xi'er, intimidated by Ouyang Ye's sudden change in demeanor, dared not speak.
Ouyang Ye snorted coldly and looked back at Mu An Xiao, who was still blindly using her demonic arts. A smile played on his lips. "Mu An Xiao, in the end, you are still mine."
Inside the demon barrier.
A Long watched Mu An Xiao stop her actions, her eyes darkening. She turned to look at the no-longer-transparent demon barrier, thinking, *Ouyang Ye, I will never deliver your message.*
With that thought, she turned and, while Mu An Xiao was deep in thought, quietly ran to Mu An Xiao's side and looked at the situation with a serious expression. "Are you alright?" she asked.
However, Mu An Xiao thought A Long was still inside and was startled. "Why are you here?" she asked, turning to A Long.
A Long did not wish to tell Mu An Xiao that she had followed Ouyang Ye, as she knew that even if she couldn't see Ouyang Ye and the others, Ouyang Ye could see her.
Therefore, she blurted out without thinking, "I came out while they were going in." She pointed to the demon barrier. "Do you really have a way to solve this?"
Hearing A Long's words, Mu An Xiao looked down at the axe in her hand and said unconfidently, "Actually, I don't know. I'll just kill them one by one, I guess."
"You're just wasting your energy doing that," A Long said.
Mu An Xiao replied, "Then what should I do? All this is my spiritual energy, I..."
"I have a way," the dagger interrupted. It broke free from its belt and transformed into a human form in mid-air.
The dagger had wanted to reveal itself earlier, but Mu An Xiao had been moving around, giving it no opportunity. To prevent Mu An Xiao from stumbling after breaking free, it spoke up first, saving itself from a fall.
"What way do you have?" Mu An Xiao was already accustomed to the dagger's appearances, so she wasn't particularly surprised.
The dagger stated, "Absorb the spiritual energy first."
"Absorb..." Mu An Xiao was stunned. "How do I absorb it?"
"Step forward, place your hand directly on the demon barrier, and use your magic to absorb it," the dagger said lightly.
Facing this unknown situation, the dagger believed that it was better to try anything than Mu An Xiao blindly hacking away with her demonic arts.
Mu An Xiao then imagined the dagger's words and twitched her lips. "Absorb... placing my hand on the demon barrier and absorbing it directly with magic? I haven't learned that spell." She became serious.
Seeing Mu An Xiao's troubled expression, the dagger thought for a moment and was about to speak when A Long interrupted, "Can you stop talking nonsense?"
"I'm not talking nonsense," the dagger replied, looking at A Long.
A Long frowned. "You're not talking nonsense? That demon barrier is like an eggshell, and those monsters are trying to break through that shell. In reality," she pointed at the demon barrier, "they've already come out. You're telling Mu An Xiao to touch the demon barrier? Are you crazy?"
The dagger conceded, "What you're saying makes sense."
"I really don't know why you've come to join the fun," A Long said with disdain, preparing to tell Mu An Xiao the second method Ouyang Ye had mentioned.
The dagger glared at A Long and fell silent.
Mu An Xiao looked at A Long. "Do you have a way?"
A Long glared back at the dagger and said, "Yes, I think... after those monsters come out completely, you should fly up into the air. Then, the dagger and I will fight the monsters. During this time, you can try to use your magic to swing the axe. I think perhaps that spiritual energy will automatically return to your body." She thought that by saying this, she wouldn't be suspected.
A Long had been a demon in her past life and was now a demon soul. Based on her interactions with A Long, Mu An Xiao knew that although A Long was from a cultivation sect, she didn't know everything. Now, A Long was so casually stating things Mu An Xiao didn't know, which made Mu An Xiao suddenly find A Long very strange.
"..." She stared intently at A Long.
Startled by Mu An Xiao's sudden gaze, A Long realized she might have been "showing off" a bit. She nervously averted her gaze. "I... I just thought of it temporarily."
Outside the demon barrier.
Ouyang Ye looked at Mu An Xiao's eyes and then at A Long's guilty expression, smiling slightly.
"She's been suspected," Xi'er stated.
Ouyang Ye raised an eyebrow. "Mu An Xiao, after all, has experienced hardships and captured demon souls as a minor immortal. A Long is too naive."
"I didn't expect Mu Xi's sister, Mu An Xiao, to be such a cunning person."
"She's much more capable than you," Ouyang Ye said, glancing at Xi'er.
Xi'er averted her gaze. "If my cultivation hadn't been absorbed, I would definitely be more capable than her." She lacked confidence.
Ouyang Ye sneered, "Not necessarily." He then looked at Mu An Xiao again and let out a laugh.
Xi'er cautiously glanced at Ouyang Ye and lowered her head.
Meanwhile, the dagger looked at both Mu An Xiao and A Long. "Why don't you ask me how I thought of that method?"
Hearing this, Mu An Xiao finally shifted her gaze from A Long's face and turned to the dagger. "Because your method is completely impractical."
"..." The dagger was embarrassed.