Chapter 60 - 53: The Golden Autumn Harvest Festival Begins

"Yes, Senior Brother. I’m ready. I await your arrangements."

Subsequently, the two walked one after another down the path leading to the sect plaza.

Lin Qingfeng seemed to be in a good mood. As he walked, he spoke with the grand air of a leader giving a speech:

"Junior Sister, today’s training will be different from what you’re used to."

’Here it comes!’

Su Ling’er scoffed inwardly but played along aloud:

"I don’t understand, Senior Brother. Please enlighten me."

"Your past labors were for tempering, for laying a foundation.

But today’s labor is a great opportunity—a chance to prove your Path!

So tonight, not only must you work hard, you must fight and scramble for every task!

And, there will be some ’special’ work waiting for you, too."

After all, if the red-named monsters his junior brothers had mentioned appeared in large numbers during the event, Little Junior Sister might be able to raise her NPC sect contribution points by a huge margin!

But Su Ling’er’s heart dropped.

’Special work?’

’What could that mean?’

Her mind raced.

’"Special" work...’

’In a sect like this, how could "special" possibly be a good thing?’

’Are they going to use me as a medicinal catalyst for a Human Essence Elixir?’

’Or are they going to let me experience the wonders of the Sword Refining Skill firsthand?’

’No, that’s not right. Judging by his expression, he doesn’t look like he’s planning to kill me. In fact, he seems almost... happy and expectant...’

’Special work...’

She suddenly thought of the pleasure quarters in mortal towns, the ones with red lanterns hanging outside—the places they called brothels.

’The work the women do there... that’s considered "special," isn’t it?’

Su Ling’er’s face instantly flushed beet-red.

’Beast!’

’That absolute beast!’

’A demonic fiend, through and through!’

’He tried to take liberties with me the moment I entered the sect, and now he actually wants me to do something like this?!’

’Is he planning to send me to one of *those* places in the sect to be the main attraction?’

’But I haven’t seen any such place during my observations these past few days. Did the sect hide it deliberately?’

’They must have!’

’That must be it!’

’With my looks and my Perfected Qi Refining cultivation, I would be an absolute prize in the eyes of some Evil Cultivator with special predilections!’

’Even if my innate talent is poor, I still have my cultivation...’

’How horrifying!’

’How absolutely horrifying!’

’That bloodsucker Lin Qingfeng, he plans to squeeze every last drop of value out of me!’

"Junior Sister?"

Lin Qingfeng asked, puzzled, when he saw her stop in her tracks.

"N-Nothing!"

Su Ling’er quickly lowered her head, hiding her face with her sleeve.

"I... I was just contemplating your words, Senior Brother. I’m quite overwhelmed."

"A promising student, indeed."

Lin Qingfeng nodded in satisfaction and continued on his way.

Following behind him, Su Ling’er gritted her teeth so hard she nearly shattered them.

’Overwhelmed?’

’Overwhelmed my ass!’

’You just wait!’

’Once I escape, I will expose the crimes of you monsters to the world! I will summon all the righteous sects and cultivators to besiege this demonic sect of yours together!’

’And I’ll smash this den of demons to dust!’

Her feet made a soft SHH-SHH sound on the gravel.

But gradually, Su Ling’er’s ears caught a discordant note.

A faint, almost imperceptible drumbeat seemed to be coming from the distance.

They rounded a formation of jagged, grotesque rocks.

In that instant, a faint red light flashed from behind the silhouette of the distant mountains, dyeing the clouds on the horizon a strange crimson.

The light vanished in a flash, like an illusion.

Su Ling’er found it strange.

’Did I just see a flash of blood-red light?’

’Or was it the prelude to some Forbidden Technique?’

As they drew closer to the sect plaza, a figure zipped past overhead on a flying sword.

The light from the sword left a long trail in the night sky.

Then came a second, and a third...

More and more disciples were converging on the sect plaza from all directions.

A quick glance revealed an excitement on their faces that she couldn’t comprehend.

A few of the disciples zipping by on their swords spotted the Senior Brother and Little Junior Sister below making their way to the plaza.

"Oh, Little Junior Sister’s finally awake?"

"She sure slept for a long time."

"Yeah, she was out all afternoon!"

"After all that rest, you’d better work hard tonight, Little Junior Sister!"

"Senior Brother, we brought the thing you asked the Artifact Refining Pavilion to prepare! With this, it’s guaranteed no one will die!"

"We’re not going to wait for you, we’re gonna go on ahead and see what fun events are starting!"

After Lin Qingfeng gave his junior brothers a few more instructions, their sword-lights streaked across the night sky, carrying an iron chest as they swiftly flew away.

Listening to their conversation, Su Ling’er was filled with grief and indignation.

’What do they mean, "work hard"?!’

’Easy for them to say!’

’So in your eyes, I, Su Ling’er, am nothing but an animal, a workhorse, is that it?!’

’What are you all doing out here in the middle of the night instead of resting?!’

’And what was that mysterious thing Senior Brother had you prepare?!’

’"Guaranteed no one will die"?’

’Are you plotting to harm someone again?!’

Su Ling’er continued her silent, furious tirade as they passed through areas she had been to before... the Transmission Hall, the Elixir Furnace Pavilion, and the Artifact Refining Pavilion.

But now... strings of large, red lanterns hung from the eaves of all these buildings.

The red light wasn’t particularly bright, but the lanterns formed a continuous chain, enveloping the entire sect in a warm, orange-red glow.

The same lanterns also hung from the treetops and along the mountain paths.

When the wind blew, the lanterns swayed gently, casting dancing shadows that made the scene feel like a dream.

Su Ling’er stared, stunned.

’Is it... New Year’s?’

’But it’s not the right time of year. What’s going on?’

’Does this sect have a screwed-up sense of time?’

’Or perhaps... this is a festival unique to Evil Cultivators?’

Not only that, but the sect was now an absolute sea of people.

The plaza, where one could barely find a soul in the middle of the night, was now crammed with disciples. They stood in groups of three to five, their faces beaming with irrepressible excitement.

Every so often, a disciple would zip past on a sword, leaving a streak of light in their wake.

The entire Guixi Sect had lost its usual eerie and frenzied atmosphere. It was as if it had transformed into a bustling mortal metropolis celebrating a grand festival.

’What... What in the world is going on?’

’What are all these people planning to do?’

’It’s so late. Why are there so, so many more people than during the day...?’

’With this many people... can my hundred-odd insects really get out?’

’But they can only survive for twenty-eight hours after being fed my essence blood.’

’But the arrow was already on the bowstring; it had to be released.’

"Surprised?"

Lin Qingfeng’s voice sounded from beside her.

Su Ling’er nodded numbly.

"This is the Cultivation Realm’s annual Golden Autumn Harvest Festival."

He began to spout utter nonsense with a perfectly straight face.

"Our sect, in accordance with the will of the heavens and in sympathy with the common people, celebrates the fruitful results of a year’s cultivation and prays for a clear path to the Great Dao in the year to come."

Su Ling’er didn’t believe a single word of it.

’Golden Autumn Harvest Festival?’

’An annual event in the Cultivation Realm, no less?’

’How have I never heard of it?’

’I cultivated at Qingxu Temple for three years and never heard a single thing about it. Who does he think he’s kidding?!’

’You monsters plunder the life force of heaven and earth, use living people for your alchemy, and treat human lives like dirt, yet you celebrate a harvest festival?’

’Look at this scale, this number of people... this is clearly a massive Evil Cultivator ceremony!’

Just then, the sound of a bell—DONG—rang out, echoing over the Guixi Sect.

Midnight had arrived!

The next moment.

WHOOSH—!

WHOOSH—! WHOOSH—! WHOOSH—!

Countless streaks of light shot up from all over the sect, exploding with a thunderous BOOM in the night sky and scattering sparks everywhere.

Immediately after, countless fireworks launched simultaneously from all directions, illuminating the night as if it were day.

The Golden Autumn Harvest Festival had begun—!!!

...

「The Real World」

「News Archives」

The world of *Ashen Heaven* hosted its first large-scale virtual holiday event, the seven-day "Golden Autumn Harvest Festival."

With its unprecedented scale and user participation, the event once again broke multiple records for immersive virtual worlds.

According to reports, *Ashen Heaven*’s concurrent player count reached an all-time high during the event. The opening ceremony’s "Digital Fireworks Gala" even caused temporary congestion on some regional networks.

Social media platforms worldwide were flooded with screenshots from the festival, turning it into a global digital culture phenomenon.