105: I can't let Feng down.

Tang Shuying sighed helplessly and could only nod in agreement.

Soon, night fell.

Following Emperor Xuan's instructions, Tang Shuying went to Cao Bu's residence alone.

"Steward Cao, please open the door."

Inside the room.

Cao Bu was closing his eyes to stabilize his cultivation. Hearing the familiar voice, a smile quietly played on his lips.

He stood up and opened the door, feigning surprise. "Empress, it's so late. Is there something else?"

Tang Shuying handed over the storage ring in her hand and said calmly, "His Majesty asked me to give this to you as a token of gratitude for your accommodation today, Steward Cao."

"You're being too polite, Empress," Cao Bu replied courteously. "I've said before, as long as they truly love each other, these three trials are just a formality."

While speaking, he discreetly put away the storage ring.

Tang Shuying looked deeply at Cao Bu, her gaze hiding an indescribable complexity.

"In that case, I shall take my leave," she said, turning to depart.

Cao Bu quickly spoke to stop her. "Wait, Empress."

"I have a treasure here that I'd like to ask you to appraise. Would you do me the honor?"

Tang Shuying paused and asked in confusion, "What treasure?"

Cao Bu stepped aside to let her in and smiled. "Why don't you come in and sit, Empress? We can talk in detail."

Tang Shuying didn't think much of it and nodded. "Very well, I will take some time to look at it for you, Steward Cao."

After entering the room, Cao Bu quietly closed the door.

Tang Shuying sat down on a chair, looked at Cao Bu, and asked, "Steward Cao, where is your treasure? Bring it out and let me see."

Cao Bu sat down opposite her, took out an ink-colored sphere from his storage ring, and placed it on the table.

"This is?" Tang Shuying frowned as she looked at the sphere.

Cao Bu explained with a smile, "Empress, as you can see, this is just an ordinary shadow-recording stone."

A strong sense of unease welled up in Tang Shuying's heart. She asked with a trembling voice, "What... what is inside this?"

Cao Bu's tone carried a hint of playfulness. "You should have guessed by now, Empress."

"Indeed, what's recorded inside is exactly the footage of our 'sparring' last night."

Hearing this definitive answer, Tang Shuying's body swayed. Subconsciously, she moved to use her Divine Sense to check its authenticity.

Cao Bu seemed to have already anticipated her move.

He put away the shadow-recording stone a step ahead of her.

"Wh... what do you want?"

Tang Shuying stared fixedly at Cao Bu. She had already guessed his intention; she felt a bit flustered, yet a faint sense of anticipation also arose within her.

After all, that was a feeling Emperor Xuan had never given her.

A wicked smile curved on Cao Bu's lips, and his tone carried an unquestionable pressure. "Empress, you wouldn't want this shadow-recording stone to fall into Emperor Xuan's hands, would you?"

Tang Shuying bit her lower lip, her voice filled with shame and anger. "You're despicable."

"Thank you for the compliment, Empress." Cao Bu didn't care at all. His gaze swept over Tang Shuying's voluptuous figure as he said slowly, "Empress, it's time for you to make a decision."

An unusual flush rose to Tang Shuying's cheeks, and her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "Just... just this once."

A flash of understanding crossed Cao Bu's eyes.

How could he not see the anticipation in Tang Shuying's eyes?

These lonely women of the inner palace could be easily manipulated just by showing a bit of strength; it didn't require much effort at all.

He immediately stood up, picked Tang Shuying up by the waist, and walked toward the bed.

The next morning, inside Tianyuan Hall.

Su Li looked at Gu Feng and the other three, saying, "Everyone, this second trial is the Temptation of Beauty."

After saying that, she raised her hand and struck out a torrent of Law. The four were instantly sucked into the thousand illusions exquisite pagoda.

Then, with a wave of her hand, four light screens appeared out of thin air, each reflecting the scenes of the four inside the pagoda.

Inside the light screens.

Driven by the illusionary Cultivator, the plot for all four led toward a great hall called the Hall of Hehuan.

In the halls where Gu Feng and Chu Hao were, a beautiful woman was conjured in each, and the two women looked exactly the same.

In the halls where Yun Shang and Gu Yin were, Cao Bu appeared.

Outside the pagoda.

Seeing this, Emperor Xuan immediately questioned, "Fellow Daoist Su, why is Steward Cao there?"

As he spoke, he subconsciously looked at the "Cao Bu" beside Su Li.

"Emperor Xuan, there is no need to worry. Except for the four of them being Immortal Masters, everyone else in the pagoda is an illusion," Su Li explained.

The Cao Bu beside her was Ye Longlong in disguise.

The real Cao Bu was already in the hall where Yun Shang was.

"Cao Bu, what should I do?" Su Li sent a secret transmission to Cao Bu inside the pagoda.

Cao Bu replied via transmission, "Increase the dosage of the Aphrodisiac for Yun Shang. Use less for Gu Yin first, let her resist with her willpower for a while."

"After I'm done with Yun Shang, I'll go to Gu Yin's side. You can increase the dosage then."

"As for Gu Feng and Chu Hao, increase the dosage bit by bit. Once I'm finished on both sides, increase it until they lose their reason, then end the trial."

Su Li sent a worried transmission: "It's Gu Yin's first time. Doing this could easily expose us."

"Don't worry, I have a way. Just do as I say," Cao Bu said with absolute certainty.

Seeing this, Su Li said no more and began to secretly control the dosage.

Inside the pagoda.

Yun Shang entered the hall and saw Cao Bu, exclaiming in surprise, "Big Brother, why are you here?"

"I've been trapped here for ten years. Yun Shang, why have you come here?" Cao Bu responded according to the pre-set plot.

"I don't know either; I ended up here in a daze," Yun Shang explained, looking around the hall before asking, "Big Brother, how do we get out of here?"

Cao Bu shook his head. "I don't know. I've been looking for ten years and haven't found an exit."

Just then.

Su Li quietly released a wisp of colorless and odorless gas, which contained a powerful Aphrodisiac effect.

At first, Yun Shang could barely maintain her clarity.

But as the gas gradually thickened, her face flushed, her breathing became rapid, and she finally could no longer control herself.

Her eyes rippled as she suddenly pressed close to Cao Bu, her voice soft and burning. "Big Brother, I..."

"Yun Shang, what's wrong? Quickly calm your mind; there seems to be something strange about this hall!" Cao Bu quickly supported her, his tone full of anxiety.

"Big Brother, I'm so hot, and my whole body has no strength." Yun Shang's eyes were blurred, her cheeks crimson, and her breathing became increasingly rapid as her body involuntarily pressed even closer to Cao Bu.

"Hold on, think of Gu Feng. He loves you so much; you can't do anything to betray him." Cao Bu continued to advise her while feigning help to steady her.

"Gu Feng..." Yun Shang murmured the name, a flash of struggle in her eyes, but her body's desire grew even stronger.

Her soft arms wrapped around Cao Bu's neck, her breath like orchids. "Help me, Big Brother, I beg you."

Cao Bu feigned refusal: "Yun Shang, we can't make a mistake. I especially cannot betray Brother Feng. Let go of me quickly; it's impossible between us!"