Chen An had just finished dealing with Little Stone when he ran into two girls waiting for him.
"Master..."
After hearing Zhu Zhuqing's report, he confirmed the situation with Ning Rongrong.
He immediately grew suspicious. He looked at Ning Rongrong, then at Zhu Zhuqing. How had the world changed so much in so little time that he no longer recognized it?
Ning Rongrong was asking to enter the illusion. That was like a teacher not assigning you homework, and you still going to ask, "Teacher, do we have homework?"
What was this?
"I thought Zhuqing wouldn't lead anyone on. How'd she learn to gaslight people?"
Chen An wondered what was wrong with kids these days, looking for hardship when they didn't have any.
He did know a little illusion magic, something on the level of Izanami. It was a trump card, meant to be kept up his sleeve.
"Rongrong, are you sure you want to try?"
Chen An asked once more. He really didn't want to use it.
His plan was to start with ordinary instruction and use this spell only as a last resort.
"I'm sure."
The more Chen An said that, the more rebellious Ning Rongrong felt, and the more curious she became.
She'd been a little doubtful at first, but now she wanted to see what the illusion was really like.
"Fine. Let's go to the Cultivation Room."
Seeing that Ning Rongrong was set on it, he stopped trying to talk her out of it. A little hardship would teach the child not to be so stubborn.
He led the two girls to the Cultivation Room. Since Chen An hadn't had time to make any distinctions between them, all the rooms were the same. They picked one at the very end without much thought.
"Sit inside. Just use the posture you usually meditate in."
Chen An set up the protective array and explained what it was for.
Ning Rongrong nodded and sat down. Her heart began to pound.
The whole thing was so formal that even though she hadn't been nervous before, she started to feel tense—and even regretted her decision a little.
But she was a young lady from a good family. Once spoken, words were like water poured out; she still settled down and kept quiet.
"Oh, not bad."
Chen An muttered to himself.
He'd expected Ning Rongrong to back out. In his memory, she should still have been a pretty vase at this point.
It was a little surprising, but not much.
Chen An reminded her, "Clear your mind and steady your spirit. We're starting."
The spell had no incantation and didn't require calling out a name. He simply activated his ability and called upon its source.
The array shimmered with color, then lit up. The Dream Realm had fully activated.
"Master, is it done?"
Zhu Zhuqing edged closer to Chen An and asked quietly, afraid of disturbing Ning Rongrong.
"It's fine. You can speak normally. The array blocks sound."
Chen An made sure there were no problems, then stepped out before answering.
After that, Zhu Zhuqing began looking around like a curious little kitten, glancing this way and that. She was practically itching to touch something.
"Don't go in there. Otherwise, you might get dragged into the Dream Realm too."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing lean forward again, Chen An hurriedly pulled her back.
The spell summoned its source, so the Dream Realm wouldn't repeat itself, but anyone inside would experience a real cycle of reincarnation.
"Oh, okay, okay."
Zhu Zhuqing always listened when someone warned her. She quickly took a few steps back.
Once she was back where she'd been, she asked,
"Master, what's junior sister going through?"
She was genuinely curious. Chen An looked at her, tempted to tease her like a cat.
"Well, want to try it? You can go into the room next door right now."
Chen An grinned mischievously at Zhu Zhuqing. Unfortunately, she didn't fall for it and shook her head firmly.
"No. No, I don't. I don't want to. I'm not trying it."
With so many refusals, he had nothing to say. His urge to tempt the little cat faded at once.
"Actually, if you want to know, there is a way."
Chen An raised his hand. Now that he had more control over the Library's source, he could bring someone into the cycle.
"Master, where are we?"
In the blink of an eye, she found herself in what looked like a theater. The curtain and the images displayed on it were completely unfamiliar to Zhu Zhuqing.
The strange contraption and the pitch-black, bottomless darkness all around her startled her.
Thankfully, she saw her master beside her. Otherwise, she might really have panicked.
"Don't worry. We can't go in; we can only watch from here. Oh, I left a little of my awareness outside. If anything happens, I'll take care of it."
Chen An spoke calmly and gently.
But seeing Zhu Zhuqing startled like that was rather amusing.
"Oh, okay."
Hearing Chen An say that, Zhu Zhuqing calmed down. The panic on her face ebbed away like the tide.
Once she got used to the place, it was rather interesting. Chen An had thrown it together on the spot, modeled after a cinema and theater.
Most importantly, he'd made the immersion as convincing as possible.
On the screen, Ning Rongrong was looking lost.
"Why is everyone ignoring me? Why are they all afraid of me?"
Time flowed differently in the Dream Realm than it did outside. In the blink of an eye, countless hours could pass.
At first, Ning Rongrong had been quite cautious and followed the sect's rules. But as time went on, she let herself go more and more.
She began ordering the students around, calling them this and that. As she grew more and more haughty, she looked down on everyone here. She showed little respect even to her senior disciples or Chen An.
As a result, those below her kept their distance, while those above her didn't want to get close.
"Master, isn't this too harsh on junior sister?"
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't bear to keep watching. If things went on like this, she feared Ning Rongrong would be left with psychological scars.
It also reminded her of some unpleasant things in the Star Luo Empire, but Chen An remained as composed as an angler waiting for a fish to bite.
"Let's watch a little longer. Don't rush."
By one analogy, Zhu Zhuqing was a spectator, Chen An was both a spectator and a security guard who could stop things at any moment, and Ning Rongrong was the unpredictable element in the Dream Realm.
Several more years passed on the screen. Ning Rongrong had changed a little, and had managed to heal some of the wounds she'd inflicted on her peers.
But misfortune always ran through a person's life. The Spirit Hall led its forces to attack the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. When Ning Rongrong heard the news, she hurried back to the sect with her people, without even informing Chen An.
In the Dream Realm Ning Rongrong was experiencing, Tang San never rose to power, and Hidden Weapons never became widespread.
So the Spirit Hall destroyed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and the Heaven Dou Empire swallowed up what remained of its assets.
"Do I even have the face to see Master? Or senior sister?"
She was in a wretched state now, and couldn't bring herself to return to Phantom Star. She had gotten the students she'd brought along killed at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
She was afraid to go back. So she wandered, hiding from one place to another, in a miserable state.
In the theater, Zhu Zhuqing felt heartbroken for Ning Rongrong's plight and asked Chen An,
"Master, was all this really necessary?"
Chen An smiled and comforted her.
"That's how this cycle works. Otherwise, why do you think I confirmed it with her again and again?"
Zhu Zhuqing felt helpless and guilty, thinking that she was the reason junior sister had to suffer through this.
"All right, don't blame yourself yet. It's your turn to step in."
Zhu Zhuqing's expression immediately shifted from guilt to confusion.
It felt as if someone had given her a push, and she found herself inside the scene, taking her place.
Following Chen An's instructions, she quickly found the destitute Ning Rongrong.
"Senior sister?!"
She instinctively tried to shy away, still weighed down by shame and guilt.
"Don't be afraid. Let's go home. Master is waiting for us."
Zhu Zhuqing reached out and took Ning Rongrong's hand.
To Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing was like someone who had walked toward her against the light in the darkness and reached out to pull her back.
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