Losing a fight and resorting to insults, and hurling them at a woman on top of it — this was exactly the kind of spineless behavior Ziqing despised most.

“A defeated enemy, and you still dare offer help? Mu Fusang, if you let him help, are you even still a man?” Ziqing said with a cold, taunting smile — however much she scorned him, she was also thinking clearly and shrewdly.

Even with Jiao Cha’s arm wounded, if the two of them joined forces now, she would undoubtedly be the one at a disadvantage.

“Whether I’m a man or not, you’ll find out soon enough!” Jiao Cha’s expression twisted with malice as he planted his feet wide and stood tall, letting out a fierce roar. Every single scale across his entire body suddenly stood on end, bristling straight up, like countless blades ready to launch at any moment!

Ziqing narrowed her eyes and put away her zither. Wind blades were among her most formidable skills — but since they’d proven useless for the moment, this time she’d fight with Jun Beiyue’s love token as her weapon instead.

Putting away Wuzheng, Ziqing still kept one hand tucked behind her back, gripping Flowing Light in the other — not adopting Jiao Cha’s intimidating stance at all, but simply letting the blade hang naturally at her side.

“Mu Fusang, what are you still standing there for? If you don’t act fast, once Jun Beiyue arrives, neither of us will escape! Forget about taking her life — you won’t even be able to protect Qinse Sea Valley or the sacred Fusang tree!”

Jiao Cha spoke coldly. Under the original rules of the ranking battle, their chances of victory would have been substantial. But even so, he still wasn’t satisfied — he was determined to kill Han Ziqing no matter what. Every guardian of the Lonely Island’s ruins carried a lifelong mission: to hunt down and eliminate every last person connected to the Lonely Island, without exception.

Jiao Cha’s words struck a chord with Mu Fusang. Jiao Cha had just revealed everything — their true identities laid bare. If Han Ziqing didn’t die here, this whole matter would become far too dangerous.

Thinking of this, Mu Fusang suddenly raised his hand, and in an instant, one black vine and one white vine shot out from his sleeves, striking at Ziqing in unison. At the very same moment, countless vines burst up from the ground beneath Ziqing’s feet as well, forcing her to leap into the air.

Jiao Cha’s face lit up with delight. He clenched his fists tight, holding his breath, watching Ziqing like a hunter eyeing its prey, waiting for the moment to strike!

The vines multiplied, growing denser and denser, like seaweed, like the tangled hair of some ancient demon. Ziqing hacked and dodged, one hand wielding wind blades, the other her dagger.

As the vines kept multiplying, Ziqing found herself dodging more and more, and Jiao Cha couldn’t help the triumphant curve deepening at the corner of his mouth.

“Han Ziqing, go ahead and be as arrogant as you like — I’ll show you soon enough exactly whose life is on the line here!” Jiao Cha said coldly, then turned to Mu Fusang. “Pin her down!”

Mu Fusang understood exactly what Jiao Cha meant — all he needed to do was find some way to hold Han Ziqing in place, even for just a moment, and that would be enough for Jiao Cha to strike, enough for his scales to fly loose and pierce straight through Han Ziqing’s body.

Given Jiao Cha’s temperament, Mu Fusang was certain that, given the chance, he’d gladly sacrifice a whole body’s worth of scales to leave Han Ziqing riddled with wounds.

Still — could they actually pin her down?

Watching Han Ziqing struggle and dodge so desperately, Mu Fusang couldn’t help but grow suspicious — she seemed to have more up her sleeve than just this.

Jiao Cha had already been fooled by her once — Mu Fusang couldn’t help but stay on guard.

“Hurry up and pin her down!” Jiao Cha shouted angrily.

But Mu Fusang didn’t act immediately. To kill Han Ziqing, pinning her down to give Jiao Cha his opening wasn’t the only option — he had another method of his own that could just as easily leave her riddled with wounds.

“Mu Fusang, do you hear me!”

“Mu Fusang, don’t miss this chance — pin her down, quickly!”

…

No matter how Jiao Cha urged him on, Mu Fusang remained unmoved, summoning more and more vines even as he did, the two vines shooting from his sleeves like a pair of blades locked in combat with Ziqing.

At first, Ziqing had remained just as silent as she always was in any fight — but by the end, she’d begun panting, and cried out angrily, “Ganging up on me like this — how despicable!”

Mu Fusang, by contrast, remained silent, his attacks never particularly fierce or extreme. Jiao Cha, off to the side, had already caught on — Mu Fusang was deliberately stalling for time, meaning to wear Han Ziqing down until she was utterly exhausted!

This was, without question, the most conservative approach possible. Jiao Cha had originally wanted to jump in and lend a hand himself, but on second thought, he held back — he knew perfectly well that vine techniques could be every bit as ruthless as scale techniques, if not more so.

Off in the underbrush, Xuanyuan Lige still kept his brows knit tight. Whether this woman was good or bad, whenever he watched her from a distance, his brow would tighten unconsciously every time, and no one could ever guess what lay hidden behind those complicated eyes of his.

Meanwhile, Baili Weisheng rubbed his chin, a sly grin spreading across his face, as though he’d seen through something.

Time slipped away bit by bit, and Ziqing kept fighting the vines the whole while — they were cut down only to regrow, endless and unrelenting. At last, she drew a deep breath, and her movements began to slow!

And in that very instant of slowing, Mu Fusang no longer held back — one black vine, one white, suddenly coiled tight around both her arms!

Now the real spectacle was about to begin.

Both magnificent and merciless!

A cold, wicked edge crept into the curve of Mu Fusang’s icy smile. Ziqing was still struggling, but he made no move to bind her more tightly — simply held her in place. Meanwhile, countless seeds were already traveling through those two vines, about to be planted deep within her body!

However great Bai Feiyao’s natural talent, however formidable her vine techniques, neither could hold a candle to Mu Fusang’s.

Once Bai Feiyao’s seeds took root, they stayed fixed in place. But Mu Fusang’s seeds, once planted, would travel steadily through the bloodstream, pressing relentlessly onward toward the heart.

Blood-red vines would burst forth from the very center of the chest, spreading wildly, every barb driving deep into Han Ziqing’s body!

Rooted straight into the heart — no matter how she hacked, no matter how she dodged, there would be no escaping it.

Suddenly, Ziqing stopped struggling entirely!

Mu Fusang gave a soft, satisfied laugh. He knew — it was working.

He wasn’t a reckless, arrogant fool like Jiao Cha — without complete certainty, he never would have made his move in the first place!

“Retreat!” Mu Fusang called out sharply, and in an instant the tangle of vines covering the ground vanished all at once, leaving only the single black and white vine suspending Ziqing in midair!

Jiao Cha laughed with delight. “Mu Fusang, impressive, heh heh!”

Mu Fusang ignored him, staring at Ziqing instead, and said, word by word, “Descendant of the Lonely Island… die.”

But the moment he finished speaking, no flower bloomed from Ziqing’s chest. Instead, drawing on some unknown reserve of strength, she suddenly yanked hard on both the black and white vines binding her!

Caught completely off guard, Mu Fusang found himself abruptly hauled forward, and Ziqing seized him by the throat, her claw-like grip sinking three fingers deep into flesh. Without a word of threat needed, Mu Fusang instinctively didn’t dare move an inch.

“You! How could you—!” Mu Fusang couldn’t understand it — he’d been so careful, how could this woman have still managed to deceive him?

“You came after me because I’m immune to every poison — but did it never occur to you that someone immune to all poisons must also carry every poison within them?” Ziqing snorted coldly. The moment she finished speaking, the very vine that had bound her suddenly withered away and dropped to the ground.

And the seeds Mu Fusang had so carefully hidden — they were already clutched in Ziqing’s hand, scorched black by poison!

Having neutralized the poison within her didn’t mean she couldn’t wield poison against others — Mu Fusang’s own caution had, ironically, given her exactly the time she needed to strike back.

“You! Hmph — I truly underestimated you!” Mu Fusang snarled furiously, never expecting such a careful plan could still have this one fatal oversight.

Ziqing arched a brow, answering with disdain, “No — you overestimated yourself.”

“No. I underestimated you,” Mu Fusang said, a flash of malice crossing his eyes as he suddenly, viciously threw both arms around Ziqing in a crushing embrace.

A single instant was all it took for an opportunity — and a single opportunity was all it took for a life. Whoever grew careless would be the one to lose theirs!

Jiao Cha had finally gotten his chance!