Then, he raised a hand and patted Su Lingâerâs shoulder.
His palm was broad and warm, but when it landed on her shoulder, a bone-deep chill spread through her.
"It was my oversight. I was careless and stood in a backlit spot."
He quickly picked a spot with particularly good lighting, clasped his hands behind his back once more, and gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. His face was full of melancholy, as if the endless vicissitudes of the world were drifting past his eyes.
After adjusting his position and angle, he even cast a subtle lighting effect upon himself before finally speaking:
"You canât go wrong following me.
Junior Sister, being able to join our Guixi Sect is the greatest fortune of your life!
You must understand: the Great Dao returns to one, all techniques share a single origin. As long as your heart is set on a goal, nothing can stand in your way!"
"Our Guixi Sect will one day be renowned throughout the entire Cultivation Realm, so you can rest easy.
There will be many more happy occasions like today in the future."
"Y-yes! Thank you, Senior Brother!"
âHappy?â
âHappy my ass!â
âIâm not happy at all! I want to cry!â
Although Su Lingâer had to maintain her look of adoration, the little person inside her was on the verge of sobbing.
She gritted her teeth, desperately suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, and even had to force herself to applaud cooperatively.
"S-Senior Brother is right!
The Guixi Sect will definitely become famous throughout the whole Cultivation Realm!
The Guixi Sect is number one in the world!
Senior Brother is mighty! Senior Brother is..."
She recalled how the disciples greeted their senior brother when she first joined.
And how that bizarre group of disciples in the plaza had praised the Sect Elders.
So, she mimicked them, raising her hands above her head and jumping up and down nonstop.
"Senior Brother is mighty! Senior Brother is our sun! Loyalty! Loyalty!"
Seeing this, a few nearby disciples joined in the commotion, raising their hands and jumping as well.
"Loyalty! Loyalty! Senior Brother is our sun!"
A bizarre song even started playing in the background: "You came from Dandong~ bringing me a coat of white~ now Iâm thinking of Guangdong food tonight~~~"
Seeing his junior sister starting to blend into the sectâs culture, Lin Qingfengâs heart swelled with a sense of accomplishment.
âSure enough, a few little glitches and bugs are nothing to worry about. My methods of instruction are just too good!â
âSheâs getting better and better at understanding how we of the Guixi Sect should act!â
...
After this little interlude, Su Lingâer forced herself to pull her mind back from its state of terror.
Numbly, she "maimed" one disciple after another as they creatively mutilated themselves in front of her.
Watching them being tortured to within an inch of their lives by her waste pills and poison pills before being dragged away, she found herself actually getting used to it.
The gory scenes of mangled flesh and blood, the sounds of wailing and screamingâit all seemed to be gradually receding into the distance.
However, while "treating" her thirtieth patient, she seemed to notice... that the pill she had refined this time... was of acceptable quality?
It seemed... just a tiny, tiny bit better?
At least it didnât make the personâs condition even worse, nor was it a poison pill that would kill them outright.
She looked at her own hands, then at the Pill Furnace.
And the disciple, who had improved slightly but not by much, was also a little surprised.
"Whoa, impressive, Junior Sister! The pill you refined this time seems a bit better than the previous ones!"
Hearing him say so, Su Lingâer looked at the Pill Furnace again.
An uncontrollable thought popped into her head:
âAfter only thirty refinements...â
âNo, after "maiming" nearly thirty people, my Alchemy skills have improved this much?â
âCould it be... that Iâm actually a genius in the Alchemy Dao?!â
The junior sister couldnât help but let her imagination run wild.
However, when her senior brother saw that she could no longer farm any more contribution points here,
he appeared behind her and spoke again.
"Junior Sister."
Su Lingâer didnât even need to turn around to know that her senior brother had snuck up behind her again!
Without turning her head, she said numbly, "Senior Brother, is something the matter?"
"There are no more good deeds for you to do here. Come with me."
"Huh?"
"But arenât there still so many patients?"
Su Lingâer felt a little unwilling to stop.
"I feel like my Alchemy skills have just started to improve. I think I can try again!
Canât I really treat just one more?"
Her senior brother knew this was just a fixed proficiency boost in Alchemy forced by the event, but she didnât know that. Besides, was her improvement more important, or was farming contribution points more important?
Obviously, the contribution points were more important!
So he said, "Junior Sister, donât harbor any unnecessary delusions about yourself.
You really... are not suited for Alchemy.
Letâs go, letâs go, we have another place to be!"
Su Lingâer looked reluctantly at the sickbeds, then at the Pill Furnace.
Her senior brother couldnât stand it any longer.
"Look at how many people youâve killed with your âtreatmentsâ!
Look at how many people youâve âmaimedâ!
Can you please stop treating their lives so cheaply?
I really think... youâre acting like an Evil Cultivator right now!
And youâre actually addicted to it!
Junior Sister, you must not walk the path of a demonic Evil Cultivator!"
"Sigh!"
Lin Qingfeng let out another sigh of bitter disappointment.
"Huh?"
The junior sister stared at her senior brother in astonishment.
????
âWait, what?â
âYou were the one who told me to treat them, and now youâre the one telling me to stop!â
âI told you I didnât know how, but you still forced me!â
âNow that I feel like my skills are getting a little better and I actually want to do it, you wonât let me!â
âSenior Brother, what the hell are you trying to do?!â
âHow dare you demonic Evil Cultivators have the nerve to call *me* an Evil Cultivator?!â
âIâm on the righteous path! Iâm righteous!â
âIâll beat you, Iâll beat you, Iâll beat you, Iâll beat you, Iâll beat you...â
The little person in her heart had already jumped up and punched her senior brother over eight hundred times.
But on the surface, she could only offer a wronged defense:
"Th-thatâs not... They were the ones who insisted I treat them. Itâs not my fault..."
"Whoâs letting you treat them now?
Your senior brother has taken care of it for you!
Just come with me, and everything will be fine!
Do you intend to fall into the demonic path right here in our sect, a prestigious and righteous sect, the leader of the orthodox path of Cultivation?
Junior Sister, if so, I would be truly disappointed in you!"
âHuh?â
âSince when were you the leader of the orthodox path of Cultivation?â
âHow come I have no idea about that?â
âYou people are constantly exploding and mutilating yourselves right in front of me. What part of that looks like the orthodox path?â
âCould you please stop glorifying yourselves like this?!â
"Sigh, are you going to continue to treat their lives so cheaply?
They all died horribly because of you. Listen to me, stop bringing disaster upon others, and come with me!"
Su Lingâer could only follow closely behind her senior brother, while the little person in her heart was roaring in fury, continuously shaking its tiny fists in his direction.
âTreating lives cheaply?!â
âYou were the ones who forced me to do all this!â
âTake back what you said!â
âTake it back!!!â
âHow dare you, a demonic overlord, accuse *me* of treating lives cheaply?!â
âI canât take this anymore, AHHHHH!â
...
And so, the two of them passed through the noisy crowd.
After crossing a small bridge decorated with red lanterns, a waterside pavilion came into view.
The pavilion was built by the water, with upturned eaves, carved beams, painted rafters, and glazed tiles that shimmered softly under the moonlight.
Countless glowing stones within illuminated the waterâs surface, making it sparkle.
The junior sister looked at the building curiously. In all her observations over the past few days, she didnât seem to recall seeing this place.
âWhen was this built?â
âHow did I not notice it before?â
And on the pavilionâs plaque were four large words:
[Inquiry Golden Autumn Spirit Gathering]