Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

Sometimes, you’re just at a complete loss for words.

You despise someone, hoping to never see them again for the rest of your life, to live and die without ever crossing paths.

But you never expect that fate just loves to play these kinds of cruel jokes.

Thrusting that person right back in front of you.

’And the worst part? I might have to discuss the Dao with him every single day?’

’Discuss my ass!’

Shangguan Luoxue’s first instinct was to immediately dispel the Purple Mansion Divine Realm, sever the connection, and get as far away as she possibly could.

But as her fingertips twitched, just as the Dharma Seal was about to dissipate, she hesitated.

’Well, I’ve come this far.’

’It’s already come to this. What else can I do?’

’Am I really going to throw away this opportunity I’ve sought for so long—one that could determine the life or death of my cultivation path—just because of a moment of pique?’

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the absurd, stifling feeling in her chest.

After a moment of deliberation, she gently waved her hand.

The purple snowflakes swirling around her dissipated, replaced by countless peach blossom petals that danced and circled at her side.

They formed a hazy, sacred barrier around her.

Her previous cold and aloof aura shifted, replaced by a dignified grace and a hint of gentle charm.

She was like a completely different person.

...

Jiang Mu’s head was buzzing. He slapped his temples, trying to shake off the intense dizziness.

Once his vision cleared, he looked around, bewildered.

All around him was a lake as smooth and clear as a mirror, without a single ripple, perfectly reflecting the galaxy-strewn sky.

On a lone island in the heart of the lake, a massive peach tree bloomed in wild profusion.

Its blossoms blazed with color as petals rained down, creating a scene like an otherworldly, immortal paradise.

"Am I... dreaming?"

Jiang Mu was thoroughly confused.

He remembered saying goodbye to Ling Ye and returning home. He’d spoken with Bai Xiang for a bit before going to his room to rest.

’How did I end up here in my sleep?’

Just as he was puzzling over it, a graceful, hazy figure emerged from the rain of petals, walking toward him.

He couldn’t make out her face.

He could only perceive her graceful figure, wreathed in peach blossoms, as if she were a Flower Deity descended to the mortal realm.

Jiang Mu frowned, asking warily, "Who are you?"

Shangguan Luoxue’s lips parted. Her voice, deliberately soft and melodious, was a stark contrast to her usual icy tone.

"My name is Peach. And you are, sir...?"

She asked, knowing full well the answer.

’Peach?’

Jiang Mu paused for a moment, then cupped his hands. "My name is Monkey."

"..."

Shangguan Luoxue’s fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.

’See? I told you this guy was obnoxious!’

’Monkey?’

’As in, a monkey picking a peach?!’

She took a deep breath, then another, barely maintaining her dignified facade as she said coolly:

"You can call me Lady Peach Blossom."

"Alright, Lady."

Jiang Mu was quick to comply.

’Why did he leave out the "Peach Blossom"?’

’Huh?’

Shangguan Luoxue felt a tightness in her chest. She really wanted to hit him.

’My Dao heart is supposed to be as unshakable as ice, clear and resilient. I wouldn’t bat an eye if a mountain collapsed in front of me.’

’But whenever I face this brat, this fire just wells up inside me.’

’I’m constantly on the verge of losing my composure.’

Furthermore, a sweep of her divine sense revealed, to her surprise, that the brat had already reached the Fourth Realm.

The *Purple Mansion Agreement* was a unique cultivation technique; only a male cultivator at the Third Realm could even begin to practice it.

As long as the "joint cultivation" step wasn’t performed, they could continue to break through to higher realms normally.

But once they performed the joint cultivation...

This brat’s Cultivation Level would be permanently stuck where it was.

Jiang Mu paid no mind to her silence and asked, "What is this place?"

"This is the Peach Blossom Dreamscape."

Shangguan Luoxue steadied herself, her voice ethereal. "I do not know why you have entered this place, sir. Perhaps... it was fate."

"So, I’m dreaming?"

Jiang Mu’s eyes lit up.

"Does that mean I can do whatever I want here? Anything at all?"

"..."

Shangguan Luoxue was struck speechless, taken aback by his blunt and dangerous question.

She explained coolly:

"This place exists between the real and the illusory, neither dream nor wakefulness.

When truth is seen as illusion, illusion becomes truth. When illusion is seen as truth, truth becomes illusion. A single thought can create karma, and its cessation can bring emptiness."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

Jiang Mu scoffed, clearly not buying her act. "Can I leave?"

"When you wake up, you will naturally have left."

Shangguan Luoxue said, "This is a blessed land of opportunity. Some search their entire lives for it in vain, while others stumble upon it in a single dream. Your presence here is a matter of fate."

She was trying to brainwash Jiang Mu.

Within this Divine Realm, she was the absolute master.

As long as she could trick this brat, everything would be within her grasp.

Jiang Mu grew even more suspicious.

Given the fantastical nature of this world, he figured he had probably stumbled into some kind of strange, dream-like dimension where a fortunate encounter was possible.

’Could this be a gift package from my patron?’

"So, what do I get out of this? A Cultivation Technique? A Magical Treasure? Or some Divine Abilities?"

Jiang Mu asked bluntly, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Shangguan Luoxue, however, fell silent.

Now that the moment was here, she was still torn.

’This was her opportunity, an unexpected blessing she hadn’t dared to hope for.’

’After all, the requirements to practice the *Purple Mansion Agreement* were incredibly strict. It was doubtful another suitable male cultivator could be found in the entire Great Qing.’

’Her master, Ling Ye, had even asserted that she would never succeed, precisely for this reason.’

’She never imagined someone would actually manage it.’

’And of all people, it had to be this insufferable guy.’

’Thinking of the storm Jiang Mu had recently stirred up in Hu State, and the astonishing talent and luck he’d displayed... perhaps it wasn’t so strange that he’d managed to master this technique.’

’Another point of hesitation was whether or not she should "ruin" this genius.’

’As much as she disliked him, there was no denying the astonishing potential he’d shown.’

’If he continued on his current path, his future would be limitless.’

’But if she went through with the joint cultivation, this prodigy would be knocked from his pedestal, forever stuck at the Fourth Realm, with no hope of ever advancing again.’