Even Nascent Soul Stage Experts Suffer Such Humiliation?

The next day, the light of dawn tore through the paper window.

Su Ling'er opened her eyes and stretched. A warm current flowed from her dantian, nourishing her entire body.

Her Spiritual Power was more abundant than ever before.

She had finally reached the realm of Qi Refining Great Perfection...!

This was a realm she hadn't even dared to imagine back at Qing Xu Temple.

Normally, even with diligent cultivation, she would have been well past seventy by the time she reached Qi Refining Great Perfection.

Yet now, she had gone from Qi Refining Level 3 to Qi Refining Great Perfection in just one day!

The foundations of this Demonic Sect were truly unfathomable!

But the sticky, warm fresh blood from yesterday seemed to splash back onto her face.

The disciple's unwilling cry before his death, and his so-called "admiration," still echoed in her mind.

Three days...

She sat up and clenched her fists. Five days at most!

She had to gather enough information within these five days, before being thrown onto that forging platform and enduring thousands of hammer blows, transmit some of it back, and then... escape!

"Knock, knock, knock."

A knock on the door came unexpectedly.

"Little Junior Sister, are you awake?"

"There's still something to do today! Wake up, the sun is already high!"

Lin Qingfeng's voice seeped through the crack in the door.

Here he comes!

Su Ling'er took a deep breath, her face instantly shifting to one of grief, as if she hadn't recovered from yesterday's sorrow over "Senior Brother dying for her admiration."

Her eyes held a hint of weariness and confusion, evoking pity.

She composed her expression and adjusted her clothes before walking to the door and opening the worn wooden door.

She looked out at her Senior Disciple Brother...

This was the second time she had walked the path to the Transmission Hall.

Lin Qingfeng walked ahead, his black robes fluttering, his back exuding an otherworldly aura.

"Little Junior Sister, are you still bothered by what happened to Junior Brother yesterday?"

Su Ling'er lowered her head, her voice filled with a sense of loss, and did not reply.

Lin Qingfeng sighed, his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky, and slowly said:

"Alas... the cultivation world is inherently cruel. Life and death are often decided in an instant.

My actions yesterday were merely a normal counterattack after being ambushed, and also to make you understand that relying on external things is ultimately a wrong path.

As you heard from that Junior Brother, he wouldn't have died if he had cultivated the Sword Refining Art!

It was precisely because he was too fragile, unable to withstand even a single magic treasure, that he met his demise!

And the Sword Refining Art tempers oneself to be indestructible, so one can be independent of external aids and fearless of powerful enemies!

Your Dao heart is one in ten thousand, truly an excellent candidate for cultivating this method!"

Su Ling'er's footsteps faltered slightly.

What a skillful way to guide and teach!

What a "good Senior Brother" who planned so far ahead for his junior sister's future!

If I hadn't seen you take a life with a smile, treating human lives as a means of performance with my own eyes;

If I hadn't heard your loud plotting to tie me up and cultivate...

I would have almost believed you!

Inside the Transmission Hall, it was still the same grand hall.

A figure was pacing out from the depths of the hall, it was Elder Qian.

His steps were still stiff, and his eyes were still vacant.

Every time Su Ling'er saw Elder Qian in this state, her conviction to "eradicate the Demonic Dao" grew even stronger.

It was truly tragic and lamentable that a senior of the Righteous Path, after death, could only end up being refined into a flesh and blood puppet, constantly serving the Demonic Sect!

But thinking of the Myriad Transformations Return to Origin True Manual that had been poured into her through a direct impartation from Elder Qian earlier, she still held a sliver of hope.

She quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply to Elder Qian:

"Su Ling'er greets Elder Qian."

My disciple is now at Qi Refining Great Perfection, and I feel an advancement is imminent. However, I am worried because I have no self-defense techniques.

I wonder if the sect has any suitable cultivation methods for me, so I can better serve the sect!"

Her intention was not only to gather intelligence and uncover cultivation methods for Qing Xu Temple, but also a genuine desire to obtain another divine technique.

Elder Qian's dull eyes finally fell upon her.

After a moment, he spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion:

"You, Su Ling'er, have made no contributions to the sect."

"No contribution, no reward."

"There are no suitable cultivation methods for you here."

"If you wish to seek immortal destiny, first contribute to the sect."

Elder Qian's head turned to the left side of the Hall of Bestowing Techniques.

"In the inner hall, at the Mission Elder's post, lies your path."

The Mission Elder's post was bustling with noise.

Hundreds of disciples crowded in front of a huge stone wall, spitting and shouting.

"Teaming up to challenge the seventy-fifth level of the Monster Locking Tower! Anyone interested? We still need a tank, any senior brothers or sisters want to join?"

"Yesterday, I escorted Qian Buyu to the pavilion to find the ancient book he forgot, and that guy got stuck in the rocks again!

My mission failed. Everyone be careful taking this scam of a mission. If you get stuck, you can only give up!"

On the stone wall, hundreds of jade slips emanated light, some bright, some dim.

Su Ling'er's gaze swept over these jade slips.

[Hunt Yao Beasts on the twenty-fifth level of the Monster Locking Tower fifteen times]

[Escort the designated Elder Qian to the pavilion to find an ancient book]

[Assist Elder Qian in managing the Spirit Beast Garden]

[Go to the Cliff of Contemplation to guard disciples who have violated precepts]

Except for Elder Qian's matter, these missions were all quite proper.

Moreover, these people didn't seem to be coerced; on the contrary, they appeared to be enjoying themselves.

"Junior Sister, it's your turn.

Because you just took on missions here, they are all relatively simple.

But the more you complete, the better the rewards will become later on."

Rewards...

Su Ling'er thought of the spirit stones in the Monster Locking Tower, and the direct boost to her cultivation from the Dao Seeking Ladder, and a faint anticipation arose in her heart.

What kind of mission would it be?

And what rewards would she receive?

She reached the front of the Mission Elder. He had the exact same face as Elder Qian, looking at her coldly.

He extended his hand and gave her a jade slip, the dimmest one among all the jade slips.

Su Ling'er took the jade slip and saw two lines of ancient, simple characters slowly appear on its surface.

[Sweep fallen leaves in the sect]

[Fetch water to fill the nine water vats in the back mountain]

Su Ling'er: "..."

The world fell silent.

She stared at the two lines of text, her mind somewhat dazed.

Had she misread?

Sweep fallen leaves?

Fetch water to fill vats?

She looked up at the missions on the stone wall, such as "Hunt Yao Beasts" and "Escort Elder," then looked down again, feeling the ceaseless flow of Spiritual Power in her dantian.

That power clearly told her that she, Su Ling'er, was a cultivator at Qi Refining Great Perfection!

She was a being only one step away from Foundation Establishment!

In Qing Xu Temple, at her age, reaching Qi Refining Great Perfection meant she was undoubtedly a top disciple among the inner disciples!

And now that she had reached Qi Refining Great Perfection, they were still making her do such menial tasks?!

Were these not the chores for outer disciples at Qi Refining levels one, two, or three?!

Could it be that Gui Xi Sect intended to humiliate her with this?!

They wanted to inflict a complete mental torture on her!

This was precisely how they intended to break her spirit, destroy her dignity, and pave the way for the next stage of torture!

But... it was fine.

If she were just a young girl who had recently entered an Immortal Sect, her Dao heart would likely have been shattered by this.

But who was she?

She was Su Ling'er, who had toiled through countless menial tasks at Qing Xu Temple, relying on sheer hard work and determination to gain the Sect Master's attention and be assigned this Undercover Mission!

This still wouldn't crush her.

Just then, a fierce wind swept in from outside the hall.

A figure descended on a sword, their aura astonishing.

A Foundation Establishment Realm expert!

Su Ling'er's heart tightened.

She watched as the Foundation Establishment senior brother, without even glancing at anyone else, walked straight to the Elder in charge of missions. He skillfully took a similarly dull jade slip and then turned to leave.

Su Ling'er saw it clearly.

On that jade slip, it was also [Sweep Sect Fallen Leaves] and [Fetch Water to Fill Nine Cisterns]!

What was going on?!

She couldn't quite comprehend it.

Even an expert at the Foundation Establishment Realm was only fit to do these menial chores and suffer such humiliation?!