Chapter 58 Meeting the Mysterious Assassin Again

As for the replica of the Three-Heart Mirage, Mo Xuan was practically finished with it, needing only a tiny bit of polishing.

Over the next dozen or so days, Mo Xuan dedicated the majority of his focus to this endeavor.

Naturally, he also kept a watchful eye on the battle raging in Luochuan City from time to time.

It was impossible to declare a definitive winner or loser; one could only say that both sides traded victories and defeats!

Did things really have to be this way to achieve stability? Mo Xuan sometimes found it incomprehensible why these people, having already accumulated so many resources, still insisted on starting massive conflicts.

Sigh...

It was not just among humans; disputes over interests occurred among the demon race as well. Mo Xuan thought of the Colorful Shui-tang Flower from last time, and that scene had been no less bloody than the present situation.

As for Lin Mengyao and Xue Yue, they were demons too—what kind of beings were they, really?

The final day of detoxification!

On the very last day of curing the poison of the White-Charmer Datura flower, Mo Xuan's replica of the Three-Heart Mirage was also more or less completed.

Therefore, the first thing he did upon waking up early in the morning was to hand the scroll over to Lan Bing. Although they had not known each other for long, Mo Xuan regarded the person before him as family, and thus he would spare no effort to accomplish whatever she desired.

"Truly wonderful, this is indeed a fine treasure," Lan Bing said with exceptional delight upon receiving it, seemingly unable to contain her eagerness.

So, the moment it reached her hands, she began practicing with it without the slightest delay, finally parting with a reminder to Mo Xuan: "Tonight, Mengyao mentioned there seems to be a banquet. Remember to call for me, okay?"

"A banquet? Another banquet!" Mo Xuan lowered his head, pressing his right hand to his forehead as a wave of feverish exhaustion washed over him.

After the morning had passed!

When Mengyao brought Bai Mei out, the latter's complexion was practically indistinguishable from that of a healthy person, and the poison within her body had been completely eradicated.

Yet, her cultivation base had not diminished; instead, it had actually increased, which came as quite a surprise.

Mo Xuan investigated this abnormal situation, asking Mengyao several questions regarding the detoxification process.

Through various inspections and searches, he roughly figured it out: due to Mengyao's flames, while the poison of the deadly flower was being purged, it had imperceptibly tempered Bai Mei's constitution, rendering her physical body much more resilient.

Of course, there was also the blessing of the half-stalk of the Colorful Shui-tang Flower—though, come to think of it, that half-stalk of the flower had miraculously come back to life in the end.

The most crucial factor, however, was Mengyao's reckless handling, which by a lucky stroke of coincidence had forced Bai Mei to endure greater suffering and pain, ultimately trading it for a relatively better outcome.

Originally intended to be refined into medicine, the flower would now simply have to be left to grow for the time being; he would address it later.

In other words, not only had Bai Mei's cultivation advanced a step further, but the resilience of her entire physical body had also strengthened.

It was as if she had undergone a complete rebirth.

This result truly exceeded Mo Xuan's expectations. He openly admitted that had he handled the procedure himself, he would never have achieved such remarkable results.

The white-robed protector who usually stayed by Bai Mei's side saw that treatment was no longer needed and suggested that Bai Mei leave this place in accordance with the head of the family's instructions.

However, Bai Mei felt it was no big deal; since nothing had happened for so long, a little more time wouldn't matter. She wished to host an evening banquet to express her gratitude to Mo Xuan, and of course to Mengyao as well—it wouldn't be very large.

Just the three of them, and since curing her illness must have consumed a tremendous amount of Mo Xuan's energy, Bai Mei naturally wanted to reciprocate.

Only afterward did Mo Xuan realize that this was the banquet Lan Bing had mentioned.

Mo Xuan felt this arrangement was inappropriate; surely a minor gathering like this didn't warrant Lan Bing's dedicated personal protection?

Yet Lan Bing insisted that for the sake of safety, she had to tag along.

Observing her expression and tone, Mo Xuan detected a hint of underlying worry, as if there was something more to it, but he still chose to interpret it as a gesture of care.

Coupled with the fact that Mengyao chimed in right beside her, the two of them out-arguing him relentlessly—and most importantly, acting completely unreasonably—Mo Xuan's reason proved entirely useless. Since they simply refused to listen, he had no choice but to agree.

The originally planned three-person banquet ultimately expanded to four.

The venue was set in a Qiong Hua pavilion located in the backyard of Bai Mei's residence.

Speaking of flowers, the pathways in the front yard were lined with vibrant flora of all colors, neatly arranged.

Bai Mei must have had a deep fondness for these spiritual flowers!

She tended to them with great care as well. The very first time he came here and met her, he had seen Bai Mei barefoot in a simple white robe, tending to the flower clusters.

The Qiong Hua flowers in this backyard were even more dazzling. Although it was night, the flowerbeds emitted a soft glow, with red, blue, and purple hues unfolding in turn, creating a remarkably brilliant spectacle.

A breeze swept past, and the radiance fluttered with the wind, twinkling like stars.

Accompanied by the moonlight and starlight, it resembled a dreamlike palace.

Gazing at this night of Qiong Hua blossoms, Mo Xuan drifted away into a memory!

"How is it, do you like it? Remember... sigh, with such a wonderful mood today, I've prepared plenty of things. Aside from the delicacies, there will be performances!" Bai Mei did not bring up past events, perhaps feeling the occasion was inappropriate.

Upon seeing the scene before her, Mengyao was utterly captivated. Moving with light steps like a child, she ventured into the clusters of Qiong Hua flowers, looking left and right: "They're actually glowing flowers! This is simply too gorgeous!"

In contrast, Lan Bing appeared much more composed.

"Pleased to meet you for the first time. You must be the young and beautiful older sister Mo Xuan mentioned!" Upon seeing Lan Bing for the first time, Bai Mei guessed her identity and proactively stepped forward to greet her.

"I suppose so," Lan Bing replied with a brief response.

Bai Mei was exceedingly warm, inviting Lan Bing to take the seat of honor!

On this point, there was no dispute.

What Bai Mei had prepared was Qiong Hua wine; its fragrance was intoxicating, seemingly a fine vintage cherished and preserved for a long time.

Yet Mo Xuan found himself unable to stomach the wine and quietly excused himself from the scene first.

He had not expected Bai Mei to cultivate such a vast garden of Qiong Hua here, which stirred up old emotions and touched upon memories.

Plunged momentarily into the past, he remembered that night when Bai Mei was at the eleventh level of the Spirit Realm, stuck there for nearly five years, while Mo Xuan was at an even lower level—merely the second tier, practically no different from an ordinary mortal...

Besides, it was not entirely appropriate for him to linger in this setting.

Shortly after, Lan Bing also found an excuse to step away for a moment!

Bai Mei was well aware of Mo Xuan's departure and gave it no further thought. However, it seemed that having been through the recent ordeal, the relationship between these two had grown significantly closer; drinking together here now, they looked just like old friends.

"Do you have something on your mind?" Lan Bing suddenly appeared behind Mo Xuan, giving him a start and scaring him.

"It's nothing, nothing at all!" Mo Xuan intended to keep the matter buried in his heart, treating it as a cherished memory!

Lan Bing could naturally perceive the truth; it was obvious that both women were exceptional—one was a kindred spirit, while the other was also quite remarkable. With a shy smile, she turned and returned to her seat.

Before the banquet concluded, a blood-red crescent moon rose into the sky, followed closely by wisps of ethereal mist that slowly enveloped the surroundings.

Gradually surrounding the entire Bai estate, the mist was colorless and formless, radiating a scorching heat.

Mo Xuan sensed that something was amiss; a sudden wave of restlessness surged within his heart, and right afterward, the flowers and plants right in front of him vanished into thin air: "How can this be!"

He was far too familiar with this oppressive aura. He had originally thought the mysterious person's target was solely himself, but he never anticipated such ruthless measures.

Sensing the danger as well, Lan Bing instructed Mengyao to take Bai Mei and leave first, while she hurried off with an anxious expression to find Mo Xuan.

The perimeter of the Bai estate was shrouded in a strange spiritual energy; those inside were unable to escape, and even the teleportation arrays had been rendered useless.

Moments later, dozens of assassins clad in black emerged slowly from their hiding spots, completely surrounding the Bai residence.

Every single one of these individuals possessed strength at or above the Earth Profound Realm.

In an instant, endless cries of agony echoed through the place.

The Bai family did not possess this many Earth Profound Realm experts combined. If not for the fact that a large portion of the Bai family's high-tier combat strength had been secretly relocated beforehand, their current situation would have been infinitely more perilous.

Suspended mid-air stood a mysterious powerhouse whose cultivation realm was impossible to discern. His gaze was stern and piercing as he scanned the area, seemingly searching for something.

His heart was filled with abnormal anxiety.

Not far away, he witnessed with his own eyes how low-level cultivators of the Bai family—and even some servants—were subjected to brutal slaughter, blood splashing everywhere and corpses littering the ground.

To a certain extent, these people had been abandoned by the Bai family.

As long as nothing happened, everything was fine; but once trouble struck, they were left entirely at the mercy of fate.

Were their lives truly so worthless?

This was the first time Mo Xuan had witnessed such a tragic and desolate scene. Back in the Aurora Forest when crowds fought bitterly over a single flower, the scene had been bloody as well, yet he had not felt this piercing sorrow dwelling deep within his heart.

Perhaps it was because many of these people were low-ranking cultivators, and some were not even cultivators at all.

He could not question the decision of the Bai family; had they not done so, the situation would have only turned out worse.

All he could do was hold back as many of the attackers as possible.

"Ah! Help me!"

Not far away, in the courtyard outside a dwelling, a masked assassin at around the third tier of the Earth Profound Realm was advancing with a sword in hand, closing in on two individuals—a boy and a girl who appeared to be siblings. The one screaming was a boy of about eight years old, his face frozen in absolute terror.

His older sister, slightly braver, knelt on the ground and shielded the young boy in her arms. Tears welled up in her eyes as she continuously offered comfort: "Don't be afraid, sister is here! Nothing bad is going to happen."

Seeing this scene, Mo Xuan could not help but recall fragments of the past. A burst of furious anger suddenly surged within his heart; for reasons unknown, his eyes turned crimson, and wisps of a bizarre purplish-red aura began to swirl around him. Unfolding his Zero Domain, he slashed forward with a single blade.

It was a strange energy, a bizarre strike that actually obliterated the Earth Profound Realm tier-three assassin right on the spot.

Falling into a semi-conscious state, he spun around with a fierce glare, nearly killing the two siblings before him. Just in time, Lan Bing intercepted the attack with her twin swords, yet the unexpectedly potent and erratic aura actually managed to lock her in a stalemate.

"You two, go find a safe place to hide!" Lan Bing called out to the siblings behind her.

The brother and sister had originally intended to thank Mo Xuan, never expecting that he would lose control and attempt to slaughter them.

Lan Bing's eyes narrowed as she projected her consciousness directly into Mo Xuan's mind: "Snap out of it! It's me, Lan Bing! Your older sister!"

Inside his spiritual world, Mo Xuan was surrounded by a sea of red. Image after image flashed incessantly before his eyes—all of them scenes of tragedy and desolation that drifted endlessly around him, preventing him from finding any peace!

He was on the verge of succumbing to a demonic trance. At that exact moment, Lan Bing's voice rang through, pulling him back: "Lan Bing... it sounds so familiar!"

Ah, ah, ah!

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over Mo Xuan. He sensed a gentle, soothing stream of pale blue spiritual energy, which finally managed to calm his turbulent and chaotic heart.