Chapter 103: Mu You, I Beg You

An Ruoxiang staggered to her feet, only to stumble and fall again. She gazed around in a daze, her expression lost and suffused with an unspeakable pain.

“You still won’t forgive me…”

Emerald tears of blood streamed down relentlessly, pooling on her hands, yet she seemed unaware.

“You won’t forgive me…”

With anguish, An Ruoxiang stared at the scattered images of half-flower, half-woman figures strewn across the ground. She buried her hands deep in her disheveled hair, unable to believe what had transpired.

“How could this happen? I am your sister… Even if you hate me, you have to hear me out. Give your sister a chance, please, Ruohuan. It’s not what you think—no, it’s not!”

It was as if she had lost her entire world. Seeing the very family she cherished treat her so cruelly, years of suppressed emotions shattered in an instant.

Outside the towering spire, from afar, the structure was entwined with countless strange, luxuriant vines of varying sizes. Hanging from them were not fruits, but innumerable crystal sarcophagi. Occasionally, flashes of electricity coursed along the vines into these coffins. Approaching closer revealed that inside lay dense, minuscule vine tendrils submerged in a pale yellow liquid. These tendrils formed eerily lifelike humanoid shapes—motionless and unsettling.

Not only the tower but the entire underground space in which it stood was enveloped by this peculiar vegetation. The crystal coffins, arranged neatly like eggs, evoked no beauty—only an overwhelming sense of dread.

The coffins appeared arranged in a deliberate pattern. Observed carefully, they formed the shape of the red spider lily. At the center where countless coffins converged lay the main vine trunk, its emerald green tendrils bare and leafless. Gradually, the color shifted to a demonic red. At the apex, a pure young girl was fused into the vine itself—half human, half flower. Her blood-red form bore no trace of humanity, yet retained a haunting beauty. Motionless, she was held aloft by the vine, standing at the very center of this subterranean domain, dwarfing even the hundred-meter tower.

Suddenly, the entire mass of vines trembled. A crimson glow ignited at the center. The girl’s form shimmered with a shifting, spectral light before her eyes snapped open. Beneath her fairy-like makeup now radiated a boundless, malevolent fury.

“You wretch! My dear sister, I, Ruohuan, have waited for you so long! This day, I have suffered terribly—and it’s all because of you!”

Her chilling voice, laced with murderous intent, echoed through the chamber. At the same moment, all the crystal coffins emitted a milky light. One by one, humanoid figures emerged silently, turning their gazes toward the tower’s summit—the apex of the red spider lily tower.

“Long time no see. Sister, you should prepare a proper farewell gift. After all… this is the last time we shall meet. Ha ha… ha ha ha!”

Ruohuan laughed wildly, the entire space ablaze with demonic radiance.

Inside the tower—

Despite her breakdown, An Ruoxiang instinctively wiped the tears from her face. She looked around helplessly. Seeing Mu You awake was like finding a savior. Disregarding the numerous injuries from her fall, she crawled over, grabbed his sleeve, and forced a twisted smile—worse than crying—to plead:

“Brother Mu You, my strength lies in the spiritual realm; I can’t break through the red spider lily above. I beg you, please help me. I have to save my sister—she’s been… she’s been… transformed… sob, sob…”

Her voice faltered into uncontrollable sobs, the elegance and composure of before gone, replaced by utter despair and fragility. This was perhaps the true reflection of her soul beneath the calm facade.

“Let go of me!”

Mu You’s sudden sharp command stunned everyone present.

Jing Fei, witnessing this resolute side of Mu You for the first time, furrowed his brow. Even Master Dian frowned. To reject such a fragile, distraught woman was unusual, and even naïve as he was, he sensed something amiss.

“Brother Mu You… you…”

An Ruoxiang was utterly shocked. Mu You, who had always been protective—sometimes unreasonably so—was now treating her this way. Disbelief and despair etched deeply across her face.

Yet Mu You pulled the shattered An Ruoxiang into a firm embrace, steadying her trembling frame. His eyes burned with an unprecedented clarity as he gazed at her.

With the force of his grasp coursing through her, An Ruoxiang shivered involuntarily and stared blankly, her mind momentarily blank.

Mu You, bloodstained but resolute, clung tightly to her delicate form. His eyes seemed to blaze with unyielding fire.

“I, Mu You, will not help you redeem your sister.”

An Ruoxiang’s knees nearly gave way. But what Mu You said next froze her utterly.

“However, I will clear every obstacle in your path until you save her.”

A mischievous, confident smile spread slowly across Mu You’s bloodied face. He gently brushed her nose, still dazed, as his left eye was overtaken by a dark ink-like hue. Looking toward the fully awakened red spider lily above, he clasped his hands, and blood flowed deftly into his palms, blooming instantly into a dark lotus of blood ink.

“Brother Lang, lend me your strength!”

Before Mu You finished, Master Dian’s lethal wolf strike had already formed. The two exchanged a knowing glance, and a pair of attacks—one dark ink, one shadowy green—blasted toward the crimson red spider lily high above.

“Silent Annihilation Prodigy!”

“Death Wail: Thunder Wolf’s Fury!”

Boom!

Cracks finally appeared on the red spider lily. It shattered with a deafening roar as massive clouds of dust and debris cascaded down, threatening those below. Jing Fei hurried forward, summoning a soil-colored energy shield that surged upward, causing rubble to slide aside. The once sealed tower now allowed airflow, a cool breeze brushing against their faces.

“All right, let’s ascend.”

Mu You patted An Ruoxiang and beckoned the group upward. Upon exiting the tower, they faced a vast expanse filled with the humanoid creatures they had seen before. Now, their features were sharp and distinct, no longer blurred. From countless crystal sarcophagi, these beings emerged, eyes fixed intently on Mu You and the others. Their gazes ultimately settled on An Ruoxiang, yet they parted respectfully, revealing the half-flower, half-woman figure behind them—An Ruohuan.

“Sister, you’ve finally come,” An Ruohuan said sweetly, now fully transformed into the demonic red spider lily, her boundless murderous hatred laid bare.

“Sister, I have come at last!”

Seeing An Ruohuan’s twisted form, An Ruoxiang burst into tears.