Su Jiu has once again collapsed in a pool of blood.

Su Ji bent down, his fingertips just about to touch the still-warm body.

At that very moment.

Everything around him began to twist and peel away.

Like a fading scroll.

The cliff, the pool of blood, Su Jiu's corpse, and even the scattered copy of the Desire Fox Scripture—all dissolved into streams of light before his eyes.

By the time Su Ji regained his senses.

He found himself back in the familiar little wooden hut.

The very place where the story had begun.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The wooden door trembled from the impact.

A soft, delicate voice called from outside: "Senior Brother, haven’t you stabilized your chaotic spiritual roots yet? My time is limited..."

Su Ji sat expressionlessly on the edge of the bed.

This kind of scenario—he knew it all too well.

"Come in..."

With a creak—

The door swung open.

A slender, snow-white leg tinged with pink was the first thing to enter Su Ji’s line of sight.

Light-footed, bare, and out of place in this shabby little room.

The girl was clad in crimson robes.

A cunning fox mask dangled playfully from the side of her head, leaving her face uncovered.

When she saw Su Ji, her eyes instantly brightened, a faint smile curling at her lips, shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks.

"Senior Brother Su Ji, we only have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea left. We’ll have to hurry~"

Su Ji lifted his gaze, his tone indifferent.

"The illusion still refuses to end?"

Su Jiu’s smile vanished in an instant, replaced by a complicated expression. "You can still retain memories from before the reversal?"

"Is it because of the contract between us?"

She rushed up to Su Ji, her voice sharp.

"And what do you mean, illusion!? Su Ji, you’re far too full of yourself!"

"The second trial’s illusion ended long ago!"

"The real challenge of this secret realm lies in the third trial—how to escape with the treasure under the noses of all those cultivators!"

"You thought you were still in an illusion, so you took it upon yourself to strike me down?"

Her chest heaved with anger.

"Do you have any idea how much you’ve wasted one of my lives?"

"A Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox only has nine chances to reverse time in their lifetime. I’d already used eight before meeting you, and now the ninth is gone too!"

"I have no way back now!"

Su Ji listened, then simply sighed.

"You’ve left far too many holes in your act."

He shook his head.

"I don’t even know where to begin."

"Fine, let’s start with what you just said."

Su Ji stood up and leisurely paced a couple of steps.

"First of all, I’ve always had doubts about whether Su Jiu was truly a reincarnator."

"Was she really reborn, or was she implanted with false memories to make her believe she was reborn?"

"And you—what makes you think you can reverse time nine times?"

He stopped and turned to look at Su Jiu.

"Every Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox gets to reverse time nine times? And drags the entire world along with them? The world would’ve fallen into chaos long ago."

"Fate, destiny, the beings beyond the Great Xia who far surpass the Golden Core stage..."

"Even the Heavenly Dao itself."

"What gives you the power to shake their very existence, to make them play along with your nine ‘rebirths’?"

"Do you think you’re the protagonist of this world?"

Su Jiu’s face paled, her lips parting soundlessly.

Su Ji didn’t give her a chance to defend herself.

"At first, I only had some suspicions about you."

"What truly confirmed my guess were those two lines."

He mimicked Su Jiu’s tone from their earlier encounter in the Heavenly Dao Market.

"Junior Sister, that ‘Desire Fox Scripture’—is it really that powerful?"

"What makes it so special?"

Locking eyes with her, he repeated her exact response, word for word.

"If I obtained it, reaching the Ninth-Grade Golden Core would be as easy as stretching out my hand."

Su Ji’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

"In the first trial, Su Jiu answered my questions in great detail—Qi-Gathering Pills, Bone-Tempering Pills, Minor Divine Pills... she could identify them all effortlessly."

"And before entering the secret realm, she casually promised to give me a Seventh-Grade cultivation technique."

"Based on that behavior, it’s safe to assume that the technique she’s cultivating now is at least Eighth-Grade. And considering she could produce something as bizarre as the Fallen Dragon’s Desolation Scripture, I’d lean toward it being Ninth-Grade. She must have plenty of treasures on her."

"But then, in the third trial, all you could come up with was, ‘Ninth-Grade Golden Core, as easy as stretching out my hand’?"

Su Ji tapped his temple lightly with a finger.

"Because this is my illusion."

"The ‘Su Jiu’ in this illusion is fundamentally constructed from my memories of her."

"I don’t have the faintest clue what makes that Desire Fox Scripture special."

"So naturally, neither could you."

"Of course, these were just things that made me suspicious of you."

Su Ji’s voice was soft, yet each word struck like a hammer against Su Jiu’s heart.

"Then there’s that Heavenly Dao Market."

Su Ji gave her no time to recover or regroup as he continued.

"The fragment of the God-Slaying Sword. The Dao Fruit of Longevity. And that Scripture of the Primordial Beginning I bought."

With each name he listed, Su Jiu’s face lost another shade of color.

"Don’t you think these names sound a little too... familiar?"

"Or rather, these are all things I know, or at least things I could imagine."

The mockery in Su Ji’s expression deepened.

"Even the name ‘Desire Fox Scripture’—"

"Because she’s a fox demon, the ultimate cultivation technique has to be called something like that?"

"Because I never put any real thought into it, so all I could conjure up was this laughably stereotypical nonsense."

Su Ji let out a light chuckle.

"Because what shaped you was my perception."

"And my imagination only goes so far."

For the first time, Su Jiu’s figure wavered slightly, like an unstable image.

Su Ji watched her calmly.

"End this. Don’t waste my time."

His expression remained utterly unmoved.

Truthfully, none of this alone would have been enough reason for him to kill ‘Su Jiu.’

The real key was...

After noticing all these inconsistencies, Su Ji had been considering how to break free.

One of his ideas was to stall for time—wait until the cooldown of [Glimpse of Fate] ended, then see what crisis the future held.

As for the spiritual root re-examination three days later... he’d figure out a new excuse after escaping.

But then...

That was when Su Ji realized his black destiny, [Glimpse of Fate], was gone.

The moment Su Ji’s words fell, the entire wooden hut began to violently collapse.

Su Jiu’s delicate face twisted into something indistinct as she let out an inhuman shriek, lunging at Su Ji with desperate fury.

Yet her fingertips, mere inches from touching him, dissolved—along with the rest of this false world—into a flurry of scattered light.

The scene receded like a tide.

When Su Ji came to, he found himself standing at the end of the Path of Heart’s Trial.

The other cultivators who had passed the test stood around him, their expressions varied.

Not far away, Su Jiu was frowning at him, her clear eyes filled with confusion.

"Senior Brother... your trial of the heart?"

[Engage in dialogue with Su Jiu. Aesthetic alignment achieved. Romance option triggered.]

[Option 1: "It’s nothing. I just figured a few things out." (Reward: Su Jiu’s Favorability +1)]

【Option Two: Junior Sister, I think I just entered an illusion within an illusion—inside, I killed you. (Reward: Su Jiu's Favorability -20.)】

【Option Three: Junior Sister, what color is your inner armor? (Triggers a special event.)】

【Permanent Option: With your measly life, I shall offer it to my supreme sword path! (Current kill count: 1)】

Su Ji chose none of the options and instead flicked the selection card onto Su Jiu’s head.

Su Jiu eyed him suspiciously for a moment but ultimately didn’t press further.

Just then, that ethereal voice echoed once more, announcing the end of the second trial and teleporting them to the third stage—the Heavenly Dao Market.

The process was identical to the illusion.

The same pawnshop, the same stalls, the same ten Heavenly Dao coins.

Su Ji’s gaze immediately darted to that corner.

Sure enough, the tattered thread-bound book still lay there quietly.

Only its name had changed.

【Flowing Fire Art】

Meanwhile, Su Jiu’s breath hitched for an instant.

Her eyes locked onto a floating jade pedestal at the center of the market.

There, an ancient jade tome radiated a soft, multicolored glow.

【Nine Luminaries Nine Revolutions Moon Devouring Scripture: Price—1,000 Heavenly Dao coins.】

Su Ji sighed. "So you admit your mistake and patch it up on the spot? Think I’m an idiot?"

"Offer her to the sword."

Su Jiu unleashed all nine of her tails.

And once again, Su Jiu collapsed in a pool of blood...

...

The scene before Su Ji’s eyes shifted once more.

He couldn’t be bothered with words.

Instead, he glanced at his own destiny status.

Why bother thinking?

This illusion was cheating.

So he’d cheat right back.

The illusion had no shame.

Three consecutive exposures weren’t enough?

Didn’t they know the rule of three?

Since 【Peek into Destiny】 hadn’t appeared yet—

"Offer her!"

‘Su Jiu’ immediately began cursing.

And then, yet again, she fell into a pool of blood.

...

"Offer her!"

Down she went.

...

"Offer!"

Down.

...

‘Su Jiu’ was cleaved apart by Su Ji a full ten times.

Finally, the illusion seemed to give up.

‘Su Jiu’s’ figure dissipated as the entire world crumbled.

The scene before Su Ji receded like a tide.

He found himself still standing at the end of the Path of Heart’s Trial.

Around him, the cultivators who had passed the test wore varied expressions, many staring at him with odd looks.

Not far away, Su Jiu approached with a frown, her clear eyes filled with confusion.

"Senior Brother... your heart’s trial...?"

Her voice was cool.

But Su Ji’s body reacted before his mind could.

As Su Jiu walked toward him, the words spilled out almost instinctively.

"Off—"

He barely managed to stop himself after the first word.

Not only had the romance options failed to trigger, but the black destiny 【Peek into Destiny】, which had been "missing," had now reappeared in his destiny list.

"Offer what?"

Su Jiu stood right in front of him, her bewilderment deepening at his abrupt utterance.

Su Ji lifted his head, flashing a bright smile.

Gazing at Su Jiu’s flawless face, he smoothly finished his sentence.

"Offer— you’re too beautiful."

Su Jiu: "?"

Her delicate brows knitted together, utterly baffled by these four words.

【Dialogue with Su Jiu, aesthetically pleasing—romance options triggered.】

【Option One: It’s nothing, I just figured some things out. (Reward: Su Jiu’s Favorability +1)】

【Option Two: Junior Sister, I entered an illusion within an illusion within an illusion—inside, I killed you ten times. (Reward: Su Jiu’s Favorability +1.)】

【Option Three: Junior Sister, what color is your inner armor? (Triggers a special event.)】

【Permanent Option: With your measly life, I shall offer it to my supreme sword path! (Current kill count: 0)】

Even the kill count had reset—no chance to farm numbers.

Then, he shrugged at Su Jiu, feigning innocence.

"It’s nothing. I just figured some things out and suddenly realized how steadfast your dao heart is. Truly, you’d make an excellent companion on the path of cultivation. I couldn’t help but praise you."

His words sounded utterly sincere.

Su Jiu scrutinized him for a moment. Though she still found him strange, she didn’t press further. "Well, I won’t be your companion, so save your praise."

Just then, the ethereal voice resounded again, declaring the end of the second trial.

【The Heart’s Trial is concluded.】

【Only those with a clear conscience may proceed.】

Su Ji glanced around.

Odd.

The cultivators who had failed—those standing on the opposite side of the Path of Heart’s Trial—numbered only a handful.

That shouldn’t be...

With such a difficult illusion, only a few passing would make sense...

Honestly, without 【Peek into Destiny】 as an "anchor," by the later illusions—truth within lies, lies within truth—Su Ji would’ve surely been trapped and killed inside.

Then, his mind would’ve shattered, leaving him babbling madly: ‘I can’t tell—I can’t tell them apart!’

"Junior Sister, was the illusion difficult for you?"

Though puzzled, Su Jiu answered, "Normally, it’s not that hard. Otherwise, so many people wouldn’t have made it through."

"Perhaps your inner demons are too heavy."

Su Ji retorted, "My inner demons are too heavy?"

Something felt off.

It was as if he’d been targeted.

As if the Heavenly Dao itself had tried to crush him within that illusion.