"Wh-what?" stuttered Chu Mingxi, her eyes widened with shock and disbelief. Seemingly finding her own words ridiculous, she continued, "El- Elder Sister's son?"

Her eyes glaze over in warmth and nostalgia before freezing over with utter insuppressible rage. Boundless killing intent gushed forth from her body as she gathered her hands and shrieked. "DON'T LIE TO ME!!"

Booom! A scream turned into a sonic blow that squarely impacted everybody and knocked the wind out of their lungs. Some of the weaker ones within the crowd even spat out blood! The isolated Decision Making Hall started to tremble from the accumulation of Chu Mingxi's murderous intent.

With her face turned pale, Third Sister hurriedly used her own energy to supplement the Decision Making Hall and reinforce the wards. Her voice then turned hurried as she anxiously said, "Chu Mingxi! Restrain your intent! Give us a chance to explain the events!!"

Fortunately, Chu Mingxi still seemed to retain a sliver of rationality. She slowly pulled back her murderous intent and restrained her aura.

Giving Third Sister a cool look that bellied the spark of warm hope that was hidden within its depths, she said, "Explain. Now!"

Unwilling to tarry and once again provoke the agitated female demon, Third Sister began to hurriedly narrate the events that took place in the Mu Household on the day of Wuzhi's arrival. Third Sister neither lied nor falsely embellished the story. She spoke of the truth as it had happened.

Chu Mingxi patiently listened; her face going through a variety of expressions. During some parts of the narration, great pride and joy filled her heart while at others, deep pity and melancholy. When the narration reached its climax, however, Chu Mingxi's face became frighteningly pale.

With unfocused eyes and parted lips, she softly asked, "Elder Sister is… dead?"

Third Sister knew that the most dangerous moment had arrived. Still, she could not lie here for the consequences of such a lie were not something that any member of the Mu Household –save for her husband— could handle.

With gritted teeth and strained tension, she tersely nodded her head. "The authenticity of remains was verified. They indeed were… the ashes of your Elder Sister."

"The ashes of my Elder Sister…" Chu Mingxi lifelessly repeated. "Ashes... ashes… ashes…"

"She is dead and only ashes remain…" Drip. Drip. Drip. Tears fell from her eyes and stained the stone floor underneath her feet. Her shoulders began to uncontrollably tremble as she began to wordlessly cry. "Dead, dead, dead, dead…"

"Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead," she continued to repeat akin to a broken record player. "Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, DEAD, DEAD!!!"

Her head suddenly snapped up and her tear-filled, bloodshot eyes accusingly stared at the frozen-stiff members of the Mu family. "She's dead," she said, voice as hoarse as a ghost, "and you people were the cause of her death!!"

Chilling murderous intent exploded from her body as she leaped towards the distant figure of Third Sister. The bloody red aura surrounding Chu Mingxi's figure, staining the air within the Decision Making Hall lent to her appearance as a blood-thirsty female Rakshasa!

Crossing the distance in less than an instant, the mourning woman clutched the Third Sister's throat and squeezed with all her might. And while Third Sister was also a Rank 8 cultivator of appalling might, she found it impossible to resist Chu Mingxi's strength and aura. Her opponent was simply too strong and too frightening!

"It was because of you! Because of all of you!!" Chu Mingxi continued to accuse, her choke growing tighter and tighter. "Elder Sister was fine! She was happy!! But you people! You came and you tricked her!! Seduced her away from her home! Away from her family! Away from ME!!!"

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Unable to neither breathe nor gather her energy, Third Sister's face grew red with exertion. With trembling hands she tried to free herself from Mingxi's hold but to no avail. "..ple..ase…re…lea…se…me…" she begged through strained breaths.

Chu Mingxi, however, seemed to have not heard her pleas. Her grip showed no signs of slacking. "I hate you! I hate all of you!! I hate you for taking away my sister! I hate you for putting her in mortal danger!! I hate you for LOSING HER!!!"

"TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS!!" Chu Mingxi roared, her grief surfacing in her enraged voice. "For twenty-eight years I have lived with a torn heart! Praying for her safety! Praying that I could find her and reunite with her!!"

"And now, you are telling me that she is dead?" Madness coursed through her eyes. "ARE YOU F*CKING WITH ME!?!"

"no…t…our…fa…ult…"

"IF SHE IS DEAD, THEN WHY THE F*CK ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!? KILL!! I SHALL EXTERMINATE THIS VERMIN FAMILY!! YOU CAN ALL DEPART TO THE AFTERLIFE AND ATONE FOR YOUR SINS IN FRONT OF MY SISTER THERE!!"

Chu Mingxi funnelled even greater strength into her hands. Third Sister her long since lost consciousness and was on the verge of losing her life. Just as her soul was about to leave her body, a sudden strike struck Chu Mingxi from the side and caused her to go flying through the air.

Her body smashed against the reinforced stone walls of the Decision Making Hall, making an indent and causing the wards to perilously shake.

Second Sister, Fourth Sister, and Sixth Sister, the culprits behind this sudden strike stood distantly with pale faces. That strike, which caused Chu Mingxi to go flying, was a rare and secret technique that exhausted their combined energies and even sacrificed a portion of their lifespan!

"That should've knocked her out at least," said Second Sister, panting with exhaustion. "Fourth Sister, use this opportunity to heal and awaken Third Sister! Only with her strength will we be able to keep our lives now!"

Fourth Sister hurriedly nodded her head and rushed to rouse the unconscious woman. Second Sister, meanwhile, kept a cautious eye on the direction of the incapacitated Chu Mingxi whilst also surveying the situation of the other family members.

"Fortunately, all of them are still alive," the azure-haired fairy inwardly sighed in relief. Although everyone had been rendered unconscious as a result of Mingxi's stifling and bloody aura, they were still breathing. This could be counted as a blessing.

Time tensely ticked by and soon Third Sister was roused. She took only an instant to understand the situation around her and quickly made her choice. "Rouse Chu Mingxi," she ordered Fourth Sister.

"Are you crazy!?" Second Sister immediately objected. "Do you know what price we paid to knock her out!?"

"I understand," Third Sister curtly replied.

"No, you don't!" Second Sister bellowed, agitation appearing on her face. "She almost killed you! And if you wake her up now, not only will she finish what she started but will also massacre the rest of us!!"

"Then what else will you have me do!?!" shrieked Third Sister. The mystifying grey clouds on her face parted to reveal a stunning face marred with distress and tears. "Husband's life hangs in a precarious balance and only the heavens know how long this stalemate will last!"

"The Mu Household is one of the world's strongest forces solely due to husband's strength! Without him, the rest of us are nothing! NOTHING!!"

"You speak of Chu Mingxi as if she's the only threat to our lives. However, have you considered the situation if word about husband's condition is leaked?" Third Sister snorted. "We would be besieged from all sides! Hell, even our new allies, the Heavenly Spirit Empire, would turn on us faster than a bolt of lightning!"

"Aren't you a [Wisdom Path] cultivator? Now tell me, are my words without basis?" Third Sister finished.

A cold expression appeared on Second Sister's face. "A distant fire does not surpass a nearby dagger, sister. Your words are not without basis, this I agree. However, none of that will matter if we all die right here."

"You experienced it yourself. Do you honestly believe that any of us here can overpower her?" asked Second Sister, gesturing towards the unconscious Chu Mingxi. "Actually, I wonder; why the hell did you even invite that madwoman!? You should've known that you were digging your own grave and that of ours!"

Biting her lips, Third Sister confessed, "I had no choice. We need her if we are to cure husband of his ailment."

"We need Chu Mingxi to cure our husband's Heart Demon? How? Why? Explain," demanded Second Sister.

Casting a glance towards the distance and confirming that Chu Mingxi continued to be out of commission; Third Sister inhaled a deep breath and concisely explained. "Husband's Heart Demon has but one name – Yuechen, Mingxi's Elder Sister."

"Yuechen," Second Sister repeated, the name sounding familiar. Indeed, she had heard of his name before. And every time, it was with uncomfortable implications.

"I will not delve deeply into her history right now. Just know that she was our husband's first woman and the one that he loved the most." When she said that line, bitter envy, and jealousy appeared in the depths of Third Sister's eyes. However, being the experienced schemer that she was, she quickly hid it. "She is also the person to whom our husband feels most deeply indebted to."

"So deeply, in fact," Third Sister took a short breath before continuing, "that he owes his very life to her."