Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

She finally returned to the building directly opposite the main gate, Qingxu Hall—the main hall that symbolized the public face of Qingxu Temple.

Pushing open the heavy doors, a blast of cold air, a mixture of dust and the lingering scent of sandalwood, rushed over her.

This had once been the most sacred place in Qingxu Temple. Everyone, from the newly initiated outer sect disciples to the lofty Inner Sect and Direct Disciples, had once paid their respects to the founders’ bronze statues and memorial tablets here.

But now, those majestic bronze and wooden statues were covered in a thick layer of dust, having long lost their former luster.

The wind howled through the empty hall, echoing her solitary footsteps. THUD, THUD, THUD. Each step felt like she was treading on the bones of her memories.

She remembered the first time she had stood in this very spot.

Back then, just like the other new disciples, she was filled with endless yearning for the path of Cultivation. She had listened to the Sect Leader’s teachings. "A righteous Cultivator," the Sect Leader had said, "must focus on their Cultivation, slay demons and devils, and protect the common people..."

It was also here that she received her thin copy of the outer sect Heart Method, overjoyed, thinking she had finally embarked on a grand path to a brilliant future.

In the center of the hall, the ash in the giant bronze censer had long ago solidified into a cold, hard block.

Su Ling’er’s gaze slowly drifted upward.

According to her memory, behind the censer should have been the altar holding the memorial tablets of Qingxu Temple’s founding patriarch and deceased elders. Every new disciple had to offer their first stick of incense here, paying respect to the sect’s lineage.

But now, the space was completely empty.

The memorial tablets were gone. Only the bronze and wooden statues stubbornly remained, silent witnesses to the end of a lineage.

’But something about their positions seems strange. I don’t think they were arranged like this... Did I remember it wrong?’

Su Ling’er’s gaze finally settled on the center of the hall, the spot where Sect Leader Xuanyuan the Daoist had most often stood.

In a daze, she thought she could see that familiar figure once again.

He was still wearing that same old, faded Daoist robe, his face kind, his gentle gaze sweeping over every disciple below the dais, just as it had when she first joined the sect.

In her memory, the benevolent Sect Leader was facing the countless naive and hopeful faces below, slowly recounting the history of Qingxu Temple.

He spoke of how the founding patriarch established this sect on a barren mountain. He spoke of how Qingxu Temple had weathered storm after storm, surviving one crisis after another to carry on its lineage to this day...

His kind gaze brushed past every disciple, yet it always lingered a little longer on the exceptionally talented Inner Sect Disciples and Direct Disciples.

As for outer sect disciples like her, they were merely part of the background his eyes swept over.

After all, with their limited aptitude, they truly... couldn’t bear the heavy burden of continuing Qingxu Temple’s legacy.

But in the next instant, that benevolent face turned abruptly cold!

The memory shattered, replaced by the image of the ruthless Sect Leader in the canyon! The man who had cut off Ye Longtao’s head! The man who had relentlessly cornered her and Wang Xiedi, trying to push them into an abyss of no return!

If not for the nigh-supernatural abilities she’d acquired in the Guixi Sect, if not for Wang Xiedi’s profound Escape Technique, if not for everything she’d experienced in the Guixi Sect... she would have been reduced to a pile of gore in the blink of an eye. Dying a thousand, no, ten thousand times over wouldn’t have been enough.

The person who had led her onto the path of Cultivation and the person who had tried to personally strangle the life out of her... were one and the same.

Should she be grateful to him? Grateful that he helped her escape a mortal fate and guided her first steps into the world of Cultivation?

Should she hate him? Hate him for raising the butcher’s knife without hesitation after he was done using them, trying to wipe his pawns off the board for good?

Wind seeped in through the cracks in the doors, stirring up dust from the floor. The motes danced in the cold moonlight like wisps of lost souls with nowhere to rest.

He was dead. Yes, dead. He died so absurdly, so disgracefully. Even with an elder from the Celestial Furnace Sect helping him, he still couldn’t survive.

The Sect Leader once said that there was no absolute line between the righteous and demonic paths. When their interests aligned, good and evil could cooperate. For the so-called "greater good," sacrificing a few innocent people was unavoidable.

Su Ling’er slowly closed her eyes, forcefully suppressing all the turbulent emotions churning within her.

’But the righteous path shouldn’t be like this.’

’At least, the righteous path I believe in shouldn’t be like this.’

Don’t righteous cultivators seek the Dao not only for longevity, but also for the power to protect the weak and even shelter the common people? If "sacrificing the innocent" is a prerequisite, then how is this so-called "righteous path" any different from those demonic fiends who treat human life as worthless?

The sword of righteousness should be drawn to defend the innocent in the mortal world, not to hang over their heads like a threat.

She didn’t know how to judge her past. Those years of struggle and survival in Qingxu Temple were an indelible mark upon her soul.

After a long moment, she took out a stick of incense from her storage pouch. With a faint pulse of Spiritual Power from her fingertip, a small flame silently kindled at its tip.

She walked to the empty altar and bowed three times to the void.

The first bow, for leading me onto the path of Cultivation.

The second bow, to repay the grace of your tutelage.

This final bow... our debts are cleared. From now on, we walk separate paths.

A wisp of blue smoke curled upward as the incense was planted firmly in the cold, hard ash.

Su Ling’er straightened up, her mind a clear, empty space. Everything from her past was like mist and smoke, dispersing along with the incense.

Just as she completed this farewell to her past, in the very instant her heart had found a moment of peace—a voice that made her bones tremble rang out without warning from outside Qingxu Temple’s gates: "Junior Sister—!"

WHOOSH! Su Ling’er felt all the blood in her body rush instantly to her head.

’Senior Brother?! What is he doing here?!’

’When did he get here?! What did he see?! Did he find anything out?’

In an instant, a thousand terrifying thoughts exploded in her mind. The hair on her body stood on end, her back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and she froze on the spot.

’It’s over! It’s all over!’

’I secretly ran to this abandoned temple and even paid respects to an empty altar... No matter how you look at it, this makes me look like an undercover agent still loyal to my old master!’

’What will... Senior Brother think?’

’I’d guessed before that maybe he hadn’t lost his conscience, that maybe his hands were tied. But regardless of what’s in his heart, on the surface, he’s still the demonic sect’s Senior Brother who would kill his own sect-mates!’

’He saved me, he even gave me a life-saving item for my family. But doesn’t that kindness also imply a trust that cannot be betrayed?’

’And isn’t what I’m doing right now a betrayal of that trust?’

’How will he deal with a traitor? Will he turn me to dust in the blink of an eye, just like that old Daoist who mistook someone at the sect gate?’

’Or maybe he’ll think killing me is too merciful? He’ll drag me back to the sect, throw me into a Pill Furnace, and refine me into a mindless Human Essence Elixir?!’

Just as Su Ling’er’s mind was running through ten thousand methods of brutal execution and her Dao Heart was on the verge of shattering, Lin Qingfeng’s voice drifted in again: "Hey, why’d you freeze up again...? Your parents are calling you home for dinner, what are you doing out here?"

"Also, next time you go exploring a new area, could you please pick a decent place? Look at this temple. What a wreck. You can barely find a whole brick on the walls. This place is so poor, even the rats would leave in tears."

"So? Did a thorough search. Find any valuable treasures?"

Su Ling’er: "..."

Su Ling’er’s rigid body slowly, bit by bit, began to relax.

’*Phew... phew... I really thought I was going to die... It’s okay, I’m safe...*’