The villain, caught in a chaotic situation, only wants to boost his popularity.

"The second contract is that Mu Jing and Ye Yue enter into a life-and-death demonic pact! And neither of them may use their authority to interfere with these two contracts!"

The so-called life-and-death pact means that two people will live and die together!

If Mu Jing dies, then Ye Yue will die as well; if Ye Yue dies, then Mu Jing will die as well.

Mu Jing was not worried about Ye Yue's death. She possessed immense power, and in the numerous endings of the original work, Ye Yue was the only one of the four female protagonists who did not die.

"Contractor, you didn't fall in love with me at first sight, did you?!" Night Moon covered her face, her golden eyes peeking out from between her fingers, but her tone carried a deliberate shyness: "Otherwise, why would you suddenly say something like 'live and die together'? It's so embarrassing."

"Stop pretending, Ye Yue, do you agree?" Mu Jing's voice was as cold as ice.

However, his heart was not at peace at this moment—just as he had predicted, the excessive power only brought her arrogance.

"I don't believe you can win. So what if you lose?"

"It doesn't matter! I've never lost!"

"What a confident man!" Ye Yue suddenly pointed at him, a playful smile playing on her lips. "Could it be that you guessed I'd 'save the day' when you were in the most danger?"

"I'm not coming to save you, you arrogant man!"

—This is a lie.

Mu Jing knows Ye Yue too well.

If he were in the most dangerous situation, she would most likely save Mu Jing and then take the opportunity to force him to sign a slave contract, thus keeping him completely by her side.

"A gamble with a ninety-nine chance of death and a one-in-a-lifetime chance, I have no reason not to take it!" Ye Yue chuckled. "Then I, Ye Yue, hereby swear an oath..."

Then, a dense black light suddenly rose from her palm.

"Mu Jing hereby makes this vow!"

The two pressed their palms together and recited the contract in unison:

"Contract One: If Mu Jing defeats the final demon of the Tower of Echoes without relying on Ye Yue himself and rescues Xue Li, we will enter into an Equal Magic Contract and agree to Contract Two."

The second clause of the contract: Mu Jing and Ye Yue enter into a life-and-death demonic pact! Neither may use their own authority to interfere with this pact!!

The third clause of the contract: If Mu Jing fails to fulfill the bet, he will become Ye Yue's slave for all eternity!

—This is a lie.

Mu Jing knew that Ye Yue had never intended to abide by the bet, or rather, she had never kept her promise.

She possesses one of the world's most terrifying powers—[falsehood].

In the original work, Takari fell because of this power.

Even after taking the most perfect route and establishing an equal magical pact with her, he was ultimately distorted step by step by [False Words], until finally, when Hawk discovered it, the world was met with a grand explosion!

This is the truth behind the so-called "Fallen Night Moon Line": pure darkness, an innate darkness that can never be resolved.

From beginning to end, Takari was nothing more than a toy played with by Yotsuki.

When Yoru got tired of her one day, she was abandoned, and Takari was constantly bewitched by her, ultimately destroying the world.

This is the most hated route by countless players, and countless players want to send knives to the development team because of it.

The real-world comment section has already exploded:

"Brother Jing, don't be fooled by this wicked woman! Even if you win, you can't outsmart her 'fallacies'!"

"No way, can the Prison Mirror really break the Tower of Echoes? Xue Li even failed to break through to the peak of her second breakthrough!"

"Could it be that Prison Mirror is trying to indirectly become Night Moon's lackey?!"

"To be fair, Miss Yotsuki's fangs are quite cute! It's not impossible!"

But Ye Yue interrupted his thoughts and suddenly walked behind Mu Jing.

"Now that we've made a contract, let's go in quickly!" She pushed his back and led him towards the oval-shaped circle of light.

She couldn't wait to see him create a miracle to defeat the Tower of Echoes, and then be gradually twisted, altered, and tamed by her, until finally, in front of Xue Li, he helplessly bowed down to her.

She never intended to abide by the bet; from the very beginning, it was a bet she was guaranteed to win.

"Hehehehehe! My contractor, go for it!" She waved her fist and shouted encouragement like a jubilant little girl.

Mu Jing didn't turn around, but simply raised his hand and waved, his voice carried on the wind: "Trust me."

He stepped into the circle of light, and his figure instantly disappeared into the light.

In the darkness, Ye Yue's laughter gradually faded. She twirled a wisp of lingering light between her fingertips and murmured, "What a show-off..."

She didn't see that the moment Mu Jing stepped out of the light circle, a strange dark red light was emanating from his heart beneath his clothes.

…………

The Tower of Echoes, First Floor.

Xue Li was cautiously observing the hall when suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her.

She whirled around, a pale blue light instantly gathering in her hand. Upon seeing the newcomer, she frowned. "Mu Jing? What are you doing here!"

"Of course I'm here to save you!" Mu Jing walked slowly closer, his tone matter-of-fact, as if this were not the perilous Echo Tower, but an afternoon café.

"Nonsense!" Her brows furrowed further. "This is not a place for you! Even I might not be able to protect you here!"

Just then, the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling suddenly began to flash—three scarlet words were engraved on the crystal: "The Layer of No Thoughts".

The light flickered, like the breath of a dying person.

Immediately afterwards, the glass doors on both sides of the entrance slowly opened, making a piercing "creak" sound.

A group of people walked in from the left: the men in suits had dried blood on their collars, and the women in dresses had their skirts torn.

On the right was a row of waiters, their white uniforms stained with black, carrying trays, their steps stiff as marionettes.

They walked past Mu Jing and Xue Li without exchanging a single word, not even blinking—their pupils were a lifeless gray, like dolls whose souls had been ripped out.

Xue Li's face instantly darkened.

She could clearly sense that these "people" all retained the aura of a broken psychic—but not the aura of a living person.

Even she couldn't easily kill so many first-tier psychic users in an instant.

"It's the Tower of Echoes! Let's follow it." Mu Jing gently patted the back of her hand and pointed to the long table in front of them.

"Hmm..." Xue Li had a vague impression after hearing this.

The Tower of Echoes, one of the twelve demonic artifacts, is constructed entirely of the power of "Echoes" and is a living trap.

There were rumors in the past that many powerful cultivators who had reached the second level of breakthrough entered this tower, but all of them disappeared without a trace, supposedly because they were trapped inside.

She was no longer taking it lightly; even if she went on a killing spree here, it might still attract even more dangerous demons.

Xue Li hesitated for a moment, but still followed him to a two-person table and sat down.

The "people" around him mechanically took their seats.

The air was thick with the smell of rust and decay.

Just then, music suddenly began to play—a mournful and sorrowful violin piece.

Then the waiters around placed their plates on the table.

The sound of ceramics clattering echoed in the hall.

"This is?"

Mu Jing lifted the ceramic lid.

Inside were various shapes of black meat, emitting a nauseating stench, as if it were chopped up from a rotting corpse.

When Xue Li saw what was on the plate, she couldn't help but clutch her thigh and let out a very soft gasp: "Eh..."

That one sound was like a pebble thrown into stagnant water.

The sounds of knives and forks and the clinking of ceramics that had been constantly coming from the space disappeared instantly.

So silent they could hear each other's heartbeats.

And with that one sound, the sounds of knives and forks, and the clinking of ceramics that had been constantly coming from the space all disappeared.

Xue Li glanced around sharply and noticed—

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

They all turned their heads in unison!

All eyes were on her!

Stunned, lifeless, staring intently!