Page 16

The screen displayed the main entrance of Zhaixing Pavilion, where carriages flowed like a river and horses moved like a dragon. The flamboyant and radiant young girl laughed unrestrainedly, the very image of a dissolute, hedonistic playboy.

Zhen Xiao said indifferently, "I recall the evildoer at the gate was a man. When did Futu Tower change him into the likeness of a young girl? And to be surrounded by beauties like this—the people who designed this illusion truly have a perverse sense of humor."

Tian Xianzi chuckled, feeling no shame but rather pride, "That's my disciple. Didn't expect that, did you!"

A crack finally appeared on the Sword Venerable's perpetually calm and detached face.

How is your disciple even more excessive than the original villain? And she is definitely forcing herself on them, right? Even that man in the yellow robe can't bear to watch, hey!

Do young people these days really play this wildly?

"Zhaixing Pavilion prefers the flesh and blood of righteous cultivators. This way, those demonesses will likely be so disgusted by her that they won't pay her much mind. Interesting, interesting! Truly worthy of being my disciple!"

Tian Xianzi grinned and took a sip of tea. "Perhaps Ning Ning has already discovered that something is amiss. What do you think she will do next?"

Sword Venerable Zhen Xiao: Not interested, don't want to watch, has nothing to do with him.

Zhen Xiao: "I will watch this through with you. Once they come out, we go to the peak to spar."

Tian Xianzi's eyes flickered. "Senior Brother, I feel exceptionally fatigued today, I'm afraid—"

"Ten thousand spirit stones."

"Done! I fear not being crushed to powder, as long as I can be there for my Senior Brother in the mortal world!"

"Please take a seat, Miss."

Following the woman in yellow upstairs, Ning Ning arrived at a private room inside Zhaixing Pavilion.

After she finished her display of being surrounded by beauties, the manager reminded her that each guest could only choose one girl per night, under the pretext of "avoiding jealousy and preserving the harmony between the girls."

Ning Ning gave a vague response, thinking to herself that the "preserving harmony" part was likely true, but the "avoiding jealousy" part was a lie.

--If two monsters are fighting over a piece of human meat, how could they not have a conflict?

The woman who brought her upstairs was named Chaoyan. She wore a light goose-yellow gauze dress and possessed the charm of a beauty from the water towns, with soft, melodious speech, a slender waist, and delicate, willow-leaf eyebrows. As she walked, her flowing silk robes swayed, outlining a waist so thin it could be held in one hand.

Ning Ning thought, quite inappropriately, that if she were a man, she would definitely spend every day soaking in this illusion. So many stunning beauties to choose from, and it didn't even cost money—wow, it was practically a paradise on earth.

It was just a pity that once the masks on their faces were removed, it would turn into a ghost story.

The mastermind behind the scenes, White Bone Lady, was the mistress of Zhaixing Pavilion and resided on the top floor.

She and the demonesses under her command fed on the flesh and blood of living people to advance their cultivation. Because their appearances were vastly different from humans, they all wore human-skin masks, only revealing their true, hideous forms when they opened their blood-stained maws to feed.

But White Bone Lady would never have guessed that the demonesses she believed were firmly under her control had actually long since changed masters—

Their true master is known as Yinshan Ghost Mother, who hides in a secret passage beneath the pavilion, possessing peerless power. Having been severely wounded by an elder of the Sword Sect, she was forced to come here to absorb primordial yang and recuperate.

The monster requires a constant stream of flesh, blood, and power from Zhaixing Pavilion, yet she knows that if she were to clash with White Bone Lady while severely injured, it would result in mutual destruction. After much deliberation, she devised a clever plan.

As a Ghost Mother, she naturally possesses the power to control living beings, capable of turning humans and demons with mediocre cultivation into puppets to do her bidding.

She cannot go head-to-head with White Bone Lady, but dealing with the lesser demons is more than enough. Within half a month, more than half of the demonesses in Zhaixing Pavilion had become puppets, and the majority of the primordial yang they absorbed was taken by her.

White Bone Lady simply assumed that humans had low spiritual power; she never imagined that she had been working for someone else's benefit all along.

According to the narrative in the original text, after the group defeated White Bone Lady, they suddenly heard a wild roar from beneath the ground, and Zhaixing Pavilion collapsed accordingly.

Awakening from her slumber, Yinshan Ghost Mother burst from the earth, having fully restored her strength after absorbing primordial yang for many days.

Her power was ferocious. The group fought desperately but ended up at a disadvantage; the original host was even severely wounded and sent out of the illusion. In the end, it was Pei Ji who unleashed the surging sword qi hidden within his body, exhausting all his strength in a life-or-death struggle to finally defeat her.

She cannot act righteous and awe-inspiring, or the demonesses will treat her like a delicious piece of monk meat.

She cannot kill the demonesses directly; if she happens to kill one of the puppets, Yinshan Ghost Mother will notice.

She certainly cannot go head-to-head with those two monsters. Pei Ji and Little White Dragon have the protection of the protagonist halo; if something goes wrong, she will definitely be the first one to kick the bucket.

Life is not easy, Ning Ning sighed. She just wants to be a safe and sound villainous supporting character; why is it so difficult?

Yinshan Ghost Mother, what should I do with a naughty little demon like you?

"What is the young lady thinking about?"

Chaoyan poured her a cup of tea, her laughter soft: "Could it be that you find Chaoyan boring?"

Ning Ning's gaze was vacant: "Yes."

The girl in the yellow dress beside her twitched the corner of her mouth, but quickly put on a smile: "Chaoyan is devoted to you, yet you are only thinking of those sisters who haven't arrived. It is truly heartbreaking."

"Since I chose to bring Miss Chaoyan into the room, I must be fond of you."

Ning Ning was still thinking about how to deal with the Ghost Mother, speaking nonsense to brush her off. The girl in the yellow dress beside her smiled upon hearing this, but in the next instant, her smile suddenly froze.

Only to hear that shameless, dissolute youth say with an unchanging expression: "But my liking for you does not conflict with my liking for those sisters! I am a practitioner of the Dao, pursuing great love in my heart. You and the sisters are all part of the myriad things in this world. Isn't it only natural that I like all of you?"

Tian Xianzi, beside the mysterious mirror, nearly spat out his tea as he heard her continue: "My liking for you is selfless; it is the Great Dao. Since that is the case, why can't you sisters, in turn, love me selflessly?"

The girl in the yellow dress's face twisted, and she forced a smile: "My affection for you is indeed without selfish motives."

"Liar."

Ning Ning glanced at her and said without a pause, in one breath: "Since you like me, you should find a way to make me happy. If I can't be with the other sisters, I won't be happy—doesn't that contradict what you just said? Sister, it seems you still don't understand the great love of us Sword Cultivators."