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It had that vibe.

"Thank you, Master."

Ning Ning smiled in reply and looked up, noticing two other people in the hall.

Lin Xun wore blue robes, his dark hair tied back. When he saw her, his bright, rounded puppy eyes curved into a smile, and he called, "Elder Sister."

It was high noon, and molten-gold sunlight streamed in through the windows. He stood beneath the rippling light and shadow, even his eyelashes veiled in a thin, golden sheen. He looked warm and bright.

Pei Ji, standing on the other side, was entirely shrouded in shadow.

His expression was as indifferent as ever, the corners of his eyes carrying a hint of mockery. His black robes seemed all the gloomier in the darkness, and against them, his bloodless face looked even paler.

"This is your new junior brother, Pei Ji. You two should already know each other."

Tian Xianzi probably truly had no idea that people could feel an emotion called "jealousy." His heart was as wide as the sea, which made it no wonder the original Ning Ning had dared to act so brazenly. "He used to be an Outer Sect Disciple, but he's already reached the Golden Core Second Layer Realm. More remarkable still, he has a rare Sword Heart. You should spar with each other from now on. I'm sure you'll both gain a great deal."

Ning Ning gave him a faint smile. "Junior Brother."

"Oh, oh, oh, she has such a pretty smile! Hurry and answer her, Pei Ji! This girl is your senior sister—must be fate!"

Chengying's Sword Qi twisted and squirmed inside him. The boy frowned and used his spiritual energy to pin it down, his face still expressionless. "Senior Sister."

Did he really hate her so much that he had to frown whenever he saw her?

Ning Ning said no more and turned her gaze to Tian Xianzi.

"I called you here today for two reasons."

The young man smiled lazily and held up a finger. "First, you're fellow disciples, so you ought to meet and get to know one another. Second, I want to see how much you've improved."

Lin Xun's face went pale for a moment. "Master, surely you don't mean for the three of us to... draw our swords and fight?"

Tian Xianzi declared righteously, "Do I look like the kind of person who'd make my precious disciples fight and get hurt?"

Master cared about them so much!

The Little White Dragon sucked in a breath, overwhelmed by the attention. Before he could manage a grateful smile, Tian Xianzi continued, "If you get hurt, wouldn't I have to pay your medical bills? Absolutely not!"

Lin Xun fell completely silent.

"So, your master came up with an even better idea."

Tian Xianzi chuckled. "How about you go through the Futu Tower?"

The Futu Tower was where disciples of the Xuanxu Sword Sect went to train.

It had a hundred floors, each containing an illusion. Only after breaking through an illusion could one advance to the next floor. The difficulty rose with every level, and the tower was filled with the lingering shades and phantom images of countless demons and asuras. Its intricate plots and lifelike illusions were hardly any different from the experience of going down the mountain to train in person.

"I've already chosen a floor and can make an exception to open it directly for you."

Tian Xianzi said, "The fortieth floor: a night visit to Zhaixing Pavilion. It's just right for Golden Core Realm cultivators. Would you all be interested in giving it a try?"

At the words "Zhaixing Pavilion," Ning Ning's brow suddenly twitched.

In the original novel, it was in that godforsaken place that the original Ning Ning...

She had been beaten until her head was a bloody mess, thrown out of the illusion on the spot, and left bedridden for half a month.

The illusion: Zhaixing Pavilion.

Moonlight and starlight sparkled like scattered gold across the river. Flower boats drifted along the banks, while the songstresses' languid melodies scattered on the breeze, softening the bones of all who heard them.

The riverside buildings rose up through countless stories. Between carved eaves and embroidered railings, glazed tiles reflected the bright moon, illuminating the high, upturned corners of the roofs. Dim lamplight slowly spilled through the latticed windows, cloaking the entire tower in a gentle halo—like a veil of mist, a realm between heaven and earth.

They said one could pluck stars and gather the moon from the top of Zhaixing Pavilion. Its entrance was crowded with visitors, carriages and horses coming and going.

Ning Ning stood alone at the entrance. Beside her, a woman laughed sweetly. "Has someone caught your eye, miss?"

A faint scent of powder hung in the air. Women's alluring figures crowded around the lanterns' flickering flames, their dark fragrance drifting through the shadows.

Zhaixing Pavilion was a brothel.

Tian Xianzi really knew how to pick a place.

Though all three of them had entered the illusion at the same time, they had wound up in different places. Before Ning Ning could answer, a commotion broke out nearby.

"You bitch! I only touched you once. Why are you pretending to be so virtuous?"

"Forgive him, sir. She's new here and doesn't know the rules. You! Hurry up and apologize!"

Ah, what a tired old plot, like a renaissance of romance novels from twenty years ago.

She knew exactly where the story was going. Turning around at her leisure, she met a pair of tear-filled eyes.

A young man in yellow robes glared and cursed without pause. A girl in a white dress hid her face as she wept, stubbornly turning her head away. When she caught Ning Ning's gaze, her eyes flickered.

Ning Ning expressionlessly turned away.

A brothel, a hero saving a beauty—what an old, worn-out trope. And those demons were still serving it up like a grand feast.

It was a trap laid by the hidden boss.

The bullied girl was fake, and so was the arrogant man. Anyone who stepped in to right a wrong would be led to a room by the girl under the pretense of "repaying her kindness."

Then they would watch as she peeled away her human skin, layer by layer, revealing the twisted, grotesque monster beneath.

Zhaixing Pavilion seemed like an ordinary pleasure house, but the women there were all demons, bound by the White Bone Lady behind the scenes. In their eyes, their patrons were nothing more than steaming-hot meals.

The main plot of the illusion wasn't actually difficult. The White Bone Lady was tricky to deal with, but the three of them were more than strong enough to handle her. The one thing no one could have expected was that the illusion held a once-in-a-century encounter.

Or rather, a high-difficulty bonus challenge.

Everyone fought with all their might to defeat the White Bone Lady, but the illusion didn't collapse. Only then did they gradually discover that an even more terrifying monster was hiding in the tower.

The original Ning Ning had been utterly exhausted when that monster nearly beat her to death.

Ning Ning absolutely couldn't let history repeat itself!