Chapter 60 – Tower of Illusory Heavens: Third Layer

The words “take as a disciple” left everyone stunned.

Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, Teacher.

It must be understood that in this world, the relationship between master and disciple is extremely close, comparable to that of father and son.

For Dongfang Ya to say this undoubtedly meant she intended to protect Mu Lin, to act as his backer.

This also caused Ma Daoren’s lips to twitch, but in the end, he said nothing.

…

Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo’s rapid progress through the trials not only caught the attention of the teachers.

Yan Yunyu also witnessed this scene.

Like the other disciples of the Dao Palace, she surmised that Mu Lin must have played a significant role in their swift advancement.

This, for the first time, stirred a feeling of regret within her.

“Was I wrong back then? Would pulling Mu Lin into my team have been more advantageous for my bid for first place?”

“No, perhaps they were just lucky. They definitely won’t pass the third trial so easily!”

Arrogance made Yan Yunyu somewhat unwilling to admit her mistake, and thus, like the others, she began to pray for Mu Lin’s failure.

Besides Yan Yunyu, there was another person in the arena whose expression turned ugly—that person was naturally Jing Yeming.

Originally, he had been sitting comfortably, confident that even if Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo could pass the second trial, it would be fraught with danger.

At that time, his own superior performance would surely win Chu Lingluo’s favor. But now, their rapid progress left him feeling uncertain.

“No, I won’t fail!”

“Let’s go, we’re heading to the third trial!”

In his anxiety, Jing Yeming led his team into the Tower of Illusory Heavens first.

Mu Lin was completely unaware of this and didn’t care.

After emerging and angrily berating the crowd, he began regulating his breathing.

As for Chu Lingluo, initially, her eyes shone with admiration as she looked at Mu Lin.

“You could mimic me so perfectly with a Paper Figure, Young Master Mu. With you alone, you could probably conquer the Tower of Illusory Heavens. I feel like I didn’t contribute much.”

“No, you could have conquered the Tower of Illusory Heavens by yourself too. You had already discovered that pangolin underground, hadn’t you?”

But after Mu Lin’s furious tirade against the others, her expression turned somewhat peculiar.

Clearly, she hadn’t expected Mu Lin’s sarcasm to be so potent.

If anyone else had looked at him like that, Mu Lin wouldn’t have bothered to explain.

But for Chu Lingluo, whom he regarded as a teammate, Mu Lin used Mana to transmit a whisper, quietly explaining the reason behind his actions.

‘Huh? This is Teacher Dongfang Ya’s task…’

This was something Chu Lingluo hadn’t anticipated. After understanding everything, her gaze toward Mu Lin grew even more worshipful.

Simultaneously, she felt a surge of annoyance toward their classmates.

‘Young Master Mu, they mocked you so harshly, yet you still think of helping them. You… are too kind. You’ll end up getting taken advantage of.’

“…”

Being handed a “good person card” by the saintly Chu Lingluo left Mu Lin utterly speechless.

Especially since, during his earlier “motivation” of their classmates, Mu Lin had vented his frustrations with great satisfaction.

Thus, this “good person card” felt somewhat awkward for him to accept.

Unwilling to dwell on it, he quickly coughed to divert Chu Lingluo’s attention.

“Ahem, let’s go. It’s time for us to tackle the third trial.”

“Mhm, mhm.”

“Hmm…”

Just as before, in a flash of white light, Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo both fainted.

When they regained consciousness, both found themselves in an Illusion Realm.

To Mu Lin’s surprise, this time, their surroundings were no longer a mountain village or a small path, but a town.

Ahead, two individuals dressed as waiters were respectfully leading Mu Lin and the others forward.

As they walked, one of them explained to Mu Lin and his companion: “Sir, the pig-headed man appears at night. When you arrive at our tavern, you can rest for a while…”

Before the waiter could finish, Mu Lin interrupted him.

“Wait, I need to relieve myself.”

Chu Lingluo: “Me too.”

This statement left the two guides momentarily stunned, but soon, one of them reacted and said, “Sir, this way, please.”

After finding a clean spot to take care of their needs, the ‘two’ followed the waiter and continued toward the tavern.

They arrived smoothly at the tavern named Fu Ji, where the proprietor warmly welcomed them.

“Sir, please come inside. We have prepared the food and drinks, and the tribute for you is also ready.”

As he spoke, a variety of fine wines and delicacies were brought to the table by the waiters. Dancers twirled gracefully in the hall, and on the tray before Mu Lin lay dozens of Spirit Stones.

Everything before them showed that the proprietor of Fu Ji had spared no effort in entertaining Mu Lin and his companion.

The food on the table was even tasted first by the hosts.

All of this dispelled Mu Lin’s suspicions, and he began to eat as well.

While dining, Mu Lin inquired about the monster. From the proprietor of Fu Ji, he indeed gained some information.

“That monster hides during the day and emerges at night. It particularly enjoys killing those who get up in the middle of the night to find food. Several people from our tavern have already been killed. Sir, you must uphold justice for us…”

Thus, while eating, drinking, and conversing, the lively banquet lasted for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Just as Mu Lin had eaten and drunk his fill and was preparing to inspect the scene, a dancer who had approached him suddenly stabbed a knife through his chest.

This scene left Mu Lin stunned. Blood trickling from his mouth, he roared in shock and anger at the proprietor: “What are you doing? We came to help you, to vanquish the demons for you… cough… Attacking us, are you insane?”

Seeing Mu Lin collapse weakly to the ground, the proprietor of Fu Ji Tavern no longer maintained his amiable expression but revealed a cruel smile.

“Vanquishing demons and monsters, hehe, what if we are the monsters ourselves?”

As he spoke, the proprietor and waiters of Fu Ji Tavern all let out sinister, cackling laughs.

While laughing, their bodies began to mutate. Pig heads, sheep heads, and cow heads grew from their skulls.

Some of these pig and cow heads replaced the heads of the proprietor and waiters, while others grew a second head, creating a terrifying sight.

This scene seemed to frighten Mu Lin, intensifying his shock and anger.

“You’ve actually betrayed humanity? Why?”

“Why? Hahaha, for power, of course. See this? This immense strength of mine will grow even stronger after we sacrifice you!”

With those words, the injured Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo were dragged by the Fuji Proprietor into a concealed underground chamber.

And here, Mu Lin finally saw the true target of this mission—a pig-headed man operating a food stall.

What made Mu Lin narrow his eyes was that the pig-headed man’s stall was filled entirely with human hearts, livers, lungs, and even some brains, all stewing in a large pot.

At the sight of this horrifying scene, Mu Lin felt a wave of nausea.

However, the feeling soon vanished.

After pulling Mu Lin into the underground chamber, the proprietor of Fu Ji Tavern raised his blade and swiftly severed Mu Lin’s head.

(End of Chapter)