Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Although Xuanyuan had only received a small fragment, the path it revealed was so clearly different from the world’s mainstream cultivation techniques that it was enough to tempt even those from a higher-ranking sect!

He glanced at Mr. Huohua beside him and saw a sharp glint flash in the elder’s eyes.

’It worked!’

’With this, I can at least tempt this elder from the Celestial Furnace Sect.’

’What a pity I can’t keep it for myself.’

’From the looks of it, I’ll probably have to accompany him on a "visit" to this sect.’

...

「Inside the Guixi Sect.」

When Dong Changsheng saw the Qiankun One Line Tie in Ye Longtao’s hand finally light up and connect to Xuanyuan, his heart swelled with excitement.

’Finally!’

’I can finally repay the Sect Leader for his kindness in taking me in!’

He began to fantasize about how the Sect Leader would praise him after obtaining this earth-shattering cultivation technique, and how Qingxu Temple would grow powerful as a result.

In that moment, the gratitude he felt for his Sect Leader was simply overwhelming.

And just as his heart swelled with gratitude, a crack suddenly appeared on the ancient Qiankun One Line Tie in Ye Longtao’s hand.

The sound became choppy and intermittent.

Ye Longtao anxiously reported into the light screen:

"Sect Leader! This demon sect’s strength... is not... weak!

Right now... their secret realm is open... The sect... is currently empty!

But... I estimate... with their power and speed, they will return soon..."

However, as the words passed through the unstable magical artifact, they arrived at Xuanyuan’s end completely distorted.

He only heard a few intermittent keywords:

"Sect Leader! This demon sect... demon sect’s strength... is weak..."

"Right now... the demon sect... is... empty..."

"...Come quickly..."

Anxious, Ye Longtao rushed to get the most critical information out:

"Sect Leader! We will head southeast! I hope you can send someone to rendezvous with us!"

This sentence, however, came through perfectly.

Both Xuanyuan and Mr. Huohua heard it loud and clear.

Xuanyuan nodded. "Good, I’ll personally..."

Just as Xuanyuan was about to ask another question, Dong Changsheng, back in the Guixi Sect, heard the Sect Leader’s faint reply.

’Is the Sect Leader coming to meet us personally?’

’The Sect Leader is taking such a risk for our sake!’

The overwhelming urge to repay his Sect Leader’s kindness reached its absolute peak!

"CRACK—!"

The Qiankun One Line Tie in Ye Longtao’s hand could hold out no longer. It shattered completely, turning into a pile of fine dust.

The connection was severed.

...

「The back mountain of Qingxu Temple.」

Xuanyuan stared at the extinguished light screen, annoyed.

’I still had more to ask, and Ye Longtao dared to cut off the connection on his own?’

’He’s gotten far too arrogant.’

’Still... a cultivation technique fragment, a weak demon sect, an empty headquarters, and a rendezvous point...’

’The rendezvous is to silence them, of course. And if this new sect is so weak...’

’And with Mr. Huohua, who is just a hair’s breadth from the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm, on my side...’

’Perhaps we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop.’

’Then maybe there’s no need for a "visit" after all.’

’But I should scope things out first when we get there.’

Meanwhile, Mr. Huohua glanced at the image of the cultivation technique fragment, a flash of greed in his eyes. He put away the jade bottle containing the blood pills and looked at Xuanyuan.

He then took out a Crystal Ball and tossed it to Xuanyuan.

"Afterward, collect the souls of those disciples of yours who were killed by the demonic fiends into this. You are not to look inside without permission."

"After this is over, if the spoils are great, I might consider rewarding you with a portion of them."

...

After a great deal of teamwork and kiting, Twin Shadows: Mirror and Destruction finally fell at the feet of Lin Qingfeng and his party.

With the dissipation of the two Guardians, the giant Xihe Divine Statue in the center of the temple lit up completely.

Light shot from the statue’s eyes, coalescing before the crowd into a staircase of light that led upward.

At the same time, several nearby teams from the outer areas finally solved the puzzles in their respective zones and began to enter the temple, joining up with Lin Qingfeng’s group.

"Eldest Brother is a beast! He already took down the guardian boss!"

"Quick, look! What’s that?"

Everyone looked up at the staircase of light, which led straight to some unknown point in the temple’s dome.

"Come on, let’s go check it out."

Lin Qingfeng took the lead, guiding everyone onto the staircase of light.

[Stage Three: Summit of the Divine Tree (Final Battle)]

After ascending the staircase of light, the group arrived on a vast platform.

This was the very top of the Sunrise Divine Tree’s canopy.

Below them was a churning, endless sea of clouds.

In the distance, the setting sun was like blood, dyeing the sky a magnificent orange-red.

The entire platform was formed from enormous branches.

However, in the center of this sacred place, a huge, formless shadow was slowly writhing.

It devoured the surrounding light.

The moment the players stepped onto the platform, a chaotic, hoarse voice echoed from within the shadow:

"Light... will eventually... be extinguished..."

"And you... shall also return... to nothingness..."

[Final Boss: Shadow of the Light Devourer: Throat of Emptiness]

[Realm: Great Perfection of Core Formation]

"Holy shit! Great Perfection of Core Formation!"

"Look at that health bar!!!"

a player exclaimed.

Above the boss’s head was an enormous health bar so long it almost spanned their entire field of vision. And right after it was a horrifying number.

x100!

One hundred health bars!

Everyone gasped.

’How are we supposed to fight this?!’

Although the Guixi Sect had quite a few players who had reached the Great Perfection of Core Formation, there weren’t *that* many, and the power difference between minor realms wasn’t an insurmountable chasm.

But for the players who were still in the Fake Core Realm, or even the Foundation Establishment Stage, this boss could probably kill them with a single touch.

Just then, the system prompt rang out again:

[You have entered the final battle area. Respawn point updated to the foot of the "Staircase of Light."]

"Okay, good. The respawn point is close."

"The corpse run will be quick if we die. We can just zerg it down!"

The players breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Alright, everyone fall back to the staircase of light. We’ll wait for everyone else to arrive, and then we’ll tackle this together."

Lin Qingfeng led everyone back to the top of the stairs. He rubbed his chin, then turned to Su Ling’er beside him.

"Junior Sister,"

"How about you... go up and hit it a couple of times?"

Su Ling’er shook her head so hard it looked like a rattle drum.

’Hit it a couple of times?!’

She was already flipping tables in her mind.

’I have a hard enough time fighting an Early-stage Core Formation cultivator—I get slapped around like a rubber ball! And now you want me to go fight one at the Great Perfection of Core Formation?!’

’Are you trying to get me knocked around a few times for entertainment?!’

’You jerk! You definitely just want to see me get beaten so badly I can’t even fight back!’

’I’m sure of it!’

’Besides, didn’t that monster see you guys?’

’Why did it ignore you when you fell back?’

’It stopped talking, too.’

’Doesn’t this demon beast press its advantage when people show up?’

’Why is it so reasonable?’