Chapter 98: Chapter 90: Mr. Wa’s Temptation of Home

At the foot of the Asking Dao Ladder, clouds and mist swirled, and the mountain wind was crisp and cool.

Lin Qingfeng, Su Ling’er, and a few disciples from the Artifact Refining Pavilion who had just come down from the ladder all had their eyes fixed on one spot.

There, on the white jade steps, a young man had come to a standstill.

Wang Xiedi.

Just after barely setting foot on the fifteenth step, his body froze. He had clearly fallen into the Heart Demon Illusion Realm.

A silence fell over the mountaintop, leaving only the sound of the wind.

"Sigh..."

Watching this scene, Lin Qingfeng and Su Ling’er let out a sigh at the exact same time.

"Still too pathetic."

The two spoke in unison again. As the words left their mouths, they both froze.

Su Ling’er’s heart went cold, and she immediately shut her mouth.

She didn’t dare share any more "rapport" with this capricious demon lord.

A few disciples from the Artifact Refining Pavilion gathered nearby. They kept their voices low, but to Su Ling’er’s ears, they were crystal clear:

"Senior Brother, isn’t this junior a bit too useless?"

"This is only the fifteenth step. With a Dao heart this weak, I feel like him cultivating the Sword Refining Skill is a bit of a waste."

"Yeah, it just feels... like a waste of good material."

Su Ling’er’s heart was ice-cold.

’In the eyes of these demons, a living person’s only value is whether or not they’re ’good material’.’

Lin Qingfeng waved his hand dismissively. He was more curious about what kind of scene was playing out in the Heart Demon Illusion Realm of this junior brother, who seemed even more useless than Su Ling’er.

"As I thought, I’ll have to take a look myself and see just what kind of twisted thing this Mr. Wa’s Heart Demon is."

As he spoke, he pulled a purple crystal from his storage pouch—the [Wolf’s Gaze], obtained from the Heaven-Devouring Frost Flame Wolf.

Purple light swirled across the crystal’s surface before projecting onto Wang Xiedi.

A screen of light unfolded before the crowd.

Within the light screen, a scene began to play out.

It was a bedroom. The floor was covered in pure white fur, the walls were hung with a jaw-dropping collection of high-grade magical treasures, and the tables were piled high with top-grade Spirit Stones.

The decadent atmosphere of a "sugar-momma’s paradise" wafted from the scene. And there was Wang Xiedi, lying on a large bed with a faint smile on his face.

"Whoa! This kid’s got it made! Even his Heart Demon Illusion Realm is this luxurious!"

Next to him on the bed was a bulging lump under the covers.

A chill of disgust ran down Su Ling’er’s spine.

’Here it comes. What this demonic sect is best at is exposing the most private fears and desires of others for their own amusement!’

In the light screen, Wang Xiedi lifted the blanket.

However, lying in the bed was not a peerless beauty, but an old woman in her twilight years.

Wang Xiedi: "????"

At the foot of the Asking Dao Ladder, there was also a dead silence.

"Oh... my... god... Our junior brother’s taste is... a little too unique!"

"How is this a Heart Demon? This is clearly the sugar-momma jackpot! This is the kind of Heart Demon that only appears when someone wants to give up and stop trying, right?!"

"Wait! Why does this scene look so familiar? Open a private chat!"

[Shi Gandang: Mr. Wa will really stop at nothing to get kept by a sugar momma!]

[Disciple A: Terrifying!!!]

[Disciple B: No wonder he’s Wang Xiedi... Mr. Wa! I’m starting to understand everything!!! He’d do something like this just for Spirit Stones!!! I couldn’t even bring myself to... Ugh!!! So terrifying!!!]

In the illusion, the old woman slowly opened her eyes. Her eye sockets were sunken as she called out softly:

"My sweet..."

That single utterance made the onlookers outside shudder once again.

...

「Inside the Asking Dao Ladder’s illusion.」

Right after, another old woman, also decked out from head to toe in Spiritual Treasures, walked in on the scene as if catching a cheating lover.

"My sweet! Who is she?!"

"Could it be... you don’t love me anymore?"

"How could she be in my room, wearing my top-grade silk pajamas, lying in my bed, and hugging my sweet!"

Hearing this, the old woman on the bed wasn’t flustered at all. Instead, in a deceptively innocent tone, she smoothed her already sparse silver hair and toyed with a storage ring in her hand as she cooed:

"Oh, my apologies, Mrs. Rong. I came over on such short notice today and didn’t bring any pajamas, so I had to borrow yours."

As she spoke, her calloused fingers gently lifted Wang Xiedi’s chin.

She turned his head toward her and, with a pitiful expression, said, "Sweetheart... after taking my ten thousand top-grade Spirit Stones, are you saying you won’t take responsibility for me?"

"It’s true what they say... men stop cherishing things once they get wealth too easily..."

’Another one?!’

’Wait, what is going on?! When did I take her Spirit Stones?! And what’s with this strong "rich family drama" vibe?!’

’Is this the Heart Demon’s trial for me?!’

’As expected of a Heart Demon, it has indeed reflected my greatest fears.’

’But!’

’Grandfather always said that a man must have a backbone!’

’These two old women... they don’t seem to be in their right minds. They’ve clearly mistaken me for their dead Dao companions or grandsons.’

’If this is a trial from the Heart Demon, then it must be testing my respect for the elderly!’

’If I rudely push them away now, what if the shock causes them to have a stroke and die on the spot?’

’As a person of the righteous path, how can I just stand by and watch two lonely old women come to harm right in front of me?!’

’In that case, my only choice is to... play along! I will reform this Heart Demon with love!’

He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. A dark light flashed from inside his Heart-Protecting Mirror.

Through the lens of Wang Xiedi’s self-hypnosis, a thick "benevolence filter" was instantly applied to the two old women, transforming them into two sect elders in desperate need of care.

(Wang Xiedi’s Perspective)

"You’re so hot... ah, no, that’s not right. Ma’am, please don’t get excited, watch your blood pressure..."

"PFFT—!"

One of the disciples spat out the tea he had just sipped, choking and coughing uncontrollably.

[Shi Gandang: HOLY SHIT!!! Isn’t this fucking Temptation of Home!!!!]

[Disciple A: And how the hell did he pivot to ’watch your blood pressure’?! Is he doing community outreach for the elderly in his Heart Demon Illusion Realm?!]

[Disciple B: Is this Wang Xiedi’s Dao?! As long as it’s alive, whether it’s a bug or an old lady, he can embrace it with his universal love?!]

One quick-thinking disciple actually summoned an array!

With a flick of his fingertips, a melody Su Ling’er had never heard before instantly echoed across the mountaintop!

"For all the pain of holding fast to love, for all the scars of holding fast to hate, I can’t tell love from hate anymore, is this just the way it is?"

"Blood and tears slide down together, my heart shatters and weathers away, my trembling hands just can’t stop, can’t forgive~~~"

’Wh-what is this?!’

Su Ling’er stared at them in terror.

’They’re actually providing a soundtrack... for the Heart Demon Illusion Realm that’s devouring Wang Xiedi’s Dao heart?!’

’This must be some kind of evil art! A vicious method that uses music to enhance the illusion’s power and completely destroy the victim’s mind!’

In the illusion, the two old women had already started wrestling, shouting insults at each other about "sect seniority" and "ownership of the top-grade immortal cave."

Seeing this, Wang Xiedi rushed forward to break up the fight.

"BANG!" The old woman called Mrs. Rong was pushed to the ground by the other. She immediately clutched her lower back and began to groan in pain. "Ah! My old back! My disc, it hurts so much!"

The other old woman, however, looked on with disdain.

"Didn’t you fall on your butt? You should be rubbing your butt! What’s with the act!"

Outside the illusion, Su Ling’er watched this scene, her eyelid twitching. It was truly unbearable to watch!

’I have to stay far away from this junior brother in the future! His ability to attract trouble is too strong!’

Meanwhile, in the illusion, although Wang Xiedi was thinking about taking responsibility, he was already in a fluster and could only help the woman who had fallen.

"Ma’am, are you alright?"

The old woman looked at him with tear-filled eyes, her hand gripping his sleeve like a lifeline. "My sweet... our child... we might not be able to save it..."

Wang Xiedi: "???"

’What the hell is this now?!’