"I never expected that not only would you flirt with other women behind my back, but upon returning after a thousand years, you'd simply start calling me 'Senior'..."

Wang Mu's scalp tingled. What's going on? How does Mu Lanxue seem to know so much? Wait a second, she's here now... Could she have been just outside a moment ago? Did she witness that scene?

In an instant, Wang Mu felt as if he had plunged into an abyss.

"What's wrong? A thousand years ago, you disdained me for being older than you, and you still disdain me now, after a thousand years?" the Mu Lanxue puppet mocked again.

"That..." Wang Mu said, "I don't know what Senior is talking about..."

He did know, however, that the Demon Palace Banquet was a plotline related to Mu Hongyuan.

Speaking of Mu Hongyuan, her recruitment difficulty was anything but low. The reason was simple: she wasn't originally a character from the Righteous Sect. Initially, making contact with her was extremely difficult, and she appeared as a character of formidable strength from the outset. At that time, the protagonist had less than two years of development, and his Martial Arts abilities were third-rate at best. Facing such a powerful figure from the Evil Sect meant trouble if they encountered each other.

And the Demon Palace Banquet was a later plot point.

In the original storyline, the protagonist, leading a group of Righteous allies, would destroy a major enemy stronghold—the Shura Demon Palace. The Palace Master of this Shura Demon Palace was Mu Hongyuan, also known in the Jianghu as the Thousand-faced Witch—infamous, ruthless, and cruel. After infiltrating the Demon Palace and engaging in an intense battle, one had to defeat Mu Hongyuan.

In fact, this battle was key to successfully recruiting Mu Hongyuan. Because if she was defeated, Mu Hongyuan would be finished. However, if she wasn't defeated, the protagonist would turn to the villainous path, and subsequent routes with other heroines would be cut off. Alternatively, not defeating her would earn Mu Hongyuan's favor, allowing the protagonist to pursue a villain route to recruit her, though this wouldn't trigger an ending CG.

Wang Mu had a vivid memory of this plotline.

The Thousand-faced Witch of the Shura Demon Palace was capricious and internally complex. Having witnessed the vicissitudes of the world, she had grown indifferent to hatred and conflict...

To achieve the 'Love Saint' ending, one needed to master numerous Divine Skills for the great battle in the Demon Palace. Furthermore, during the battle, the player had to control the fight's tempo. This involved allowing Mu Hongyuan to nearly defeat the other Righteous companions. Simultaneously, the protagonist needed to heal these companions and engage Mu Hongyuan, all while holding back about thirty percent of his strength until all other companions were unconscious. Only then would a special dialogue trigger.

At that point, Mu Hongyuan would ask the protagonist why he never used his full strength when fighting her, warning that if he continued to hold back, his companions might die. This would trigger the next phase of the plot.

Afterward, the two would temporarily call a truce and move to the upper area of the Demon Palace's main hall. The protagonist would then try to persuade Mu Hongyuan to join his side. At this point, Mu Hongyuan would bring out two cups of fine wine, stating that one contained the deadly Soul-breaking Powder, which would cause death within ten breaths of consumption.

'You choose one cup. If you drink it and don't die, I will join you.'

It seemed like a fifty-percent chance. But therein lay a trap.

The Thousand-faced Witch's mind was incredibly complex, far beyond an ordinary person's comprehension. Those two cups of wine supposedly changed with every playthrough; you couldn't save-scum to make the choice. In other words, regardless of the choice, there was only a fifty-percent chance of avoiding poison. It all came down to luck.

If you were lucky and chose correctly, Mu Hongyuan would indeed join, but there would be no final ending CG. She would only join wearing a mask, under a special identity, and would invariably depart, no matter the ending. If you were unlucky and chose poorly, it was game over.

The correct move at this juncture was to break Mu Hongyuan's rule and drink both cups. That way, no mishaps would occur. Such a choice would astonish Mu Hongyuan, and she would ask the protagonist why he did so... At that moment, there were no dialogue options, which was quite interesting. The player had to type in their own dialogue. This was also a key point in successfully recruiting Mu Hongyuan...

The entered dialogue, like some mysterious key, could potentially trigger the final 'Love Saint' ending CG, along with Mu Hongyuan's branch CG: 'Demon Palace Banquet.' That CG would depict Mu Hongyuan tilting her head back slightly, revealing her beautiful profile and pale neck. She would lift the wine flask, drinking directly from it. The wine would trickle from the corners of her crimson lips, flowing like a gentle stream down her neck, into her delicate collarbone, and staining her rouge-like red dress. This symbolized that the Witch had truly joined the protagonist...

This CG was considered the ultimate hidden gem. Back then, Wang Mu had heard that many elite gamers, desperate to obtain this CG, resorted to cheating or even decompiling the game to search its code, all to no avail... It could only be obtained through legitimate gameplay... Many players even cursed the developers, calling them crazy. 'It's just a single-player game, is all this really necessary?' they'd ask. In the end, the developers vanished after the game's release, just as they always did...

It was all very mysterious.

Thinking of this, Wang Mu was filled with a myriad of emotions.

"You don't know?" The Mu Lanxue puppet laughed. "Alright then, how was your Green Frost Sword restored? You're truly remarkable, capable of repairing such a Supreme Treasure..."

Wang Mu opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"No need to speak," Mu Lanxue said in a haunting tone. "Let me guess. You were about to say that a senior named Dongfang Mu taught you, weren't you? Oh, and that the final drop of blood used to repair the Green Frost Sword was also his gift. You claim to know nothing, and you're just very curious, is that it?"

Wang Mu was speechless. "..."

Damn it! Cold sweat trickled down Wang Mu's back. The Thousand-faced Witch had an incredibly strong grasp of human nature and a keen ability for calculation. Having experienced so much, she could see through most ploys in an instant.

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