Again and Again!

Time trickled by, but no disciples knocked on her door, nor did any Evil Cultivators come to capture her.

Only then did she confirm that her identity should... not have been exposed.

With the communication jade slip malfunctioning, the Spirit Contract Insect was her only means of contacting Qing Xu Temple, and her only hope for the Sect Master to provide backup once she escaped.

No one came. Perhaps... that was just a coincidence?

Were those disciples bored and casually conjured a wave of fire, burning a swarm of small flying insects in the sky?

The thought had barely formed before she extinguished it herself.

Those countless attacks came from all over the sect; they were definitely not a coincidence!

She shivered and decided to try again. She had to be more careful!

This time, she waited even longer, a full hour, before acting again.

She used a drop of her vital blood to awaken the second Spirit Contract Insect.

Su Ling'er's consciousness sank into the faint connection, guiding the flying insect through the night and the shadows of the buildings.

"Fly higher... faster..."

It flew higher, soaring over the medicinal fields she had tilled countless times before.

The next moment, an even more dazzling and dense barrage of attacks descended upon the small flying insect, just like last time!

Sword light like a rainbow, firelight like a waterfall, lightning like a prison!

They relentlessly attacked the insect's position in the air!

In Su Ling'er's mind, the connection was severed once more. She let out a muffled groan, her vision darkening.

In less than an hour, she had already lost two precious Spirit Contract Insects.

The death of each was accompanied by a spiritual agony.

Why?!

Why was this happening?!

How did they find it?

Was it the sect's protective array's search function?

What kind of terrifying Spiritual Power consumption, what kind of precise control would it take to lock onto a single insect?

Was their array not meant to defend against external enemies, but against internal traitors?

Were there other moles in the sect besides her?!

That's why they laid out a net so tight that not even a single insect could escape?!

No, that's not right.

If that were the case, why did she see excited expressions of "finding a treasure" on the faces of the nearby disciples?

Defiantly, she took out a third Spirit Contract Insect from her Gu盅.

She refused to believe that these fiends, who flew around on their swords every day, even if their eyes were glued to the sky, wouldn't notice a mere ant crawling on the ground?!

This time, she didn't let the insect fly. Instead, she had it crawl, using every shadow and obstacle for cover.

She even planned an escape route for it:

Through the wilderness, into the underground drainage channels, then along the shadows of the cultivation caves, following the waterways...

In her vision, the small insect began to crawl forward, its progress smooth.

It passed by weeds, and the strong wind stirred up by passing disciples sent fallen leaves scattering, yet no one looked down at it.

There was hope!

As long as it could get into that drainage channel, it would be halfway to success!

However, just as the Spirit Contract Insect was about to crawl into the channel...

The door of a cultivation cave in the sect creaked open.

A disciple, bleary-eyed, walked out, yawning.

He seemed to want to check on his Spiritual Grass in Hundred Herbs Valley.

Then, as if sensing something, he let out a confused "Huh?" and looked down at his feet.

He first glanced at the dynamic map, then at the small insect crawling on the ground.

It was only three inches from his foot.

"Holy crap! Is it right in my face?!"

Without a word, almost instinctively, he lifted his foot, imbued it with Spiritual Power, and stomped down hard on the ground!

BANG--!!!

The last image Su Ling'er "saw" was an endless expanse of dirt and rubble pressing in from all sides.

The poor little insect, along with the bluestone slabs and three feet of ground around it, was crushed to pieces by that single stomp!

"Pfft…"

Another connection broke.

Although it was only a weak link, the successive impacts left Su Ling'er's soul injured, and she almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

The sky was no good, and the ground was no good either.

She couldn't even step out of the Gui Xi Sect's mountain gate!

Su Ling'er lay on the straw, gazing at the interwoven thatch on the roof, her eyes vacant.

Why was this happening?!

Could it be that every disciple in this sect had cultivated the Spiritual Power of "Heavenly Eye," or that the heavens and earth were inscribed with some kind of magic array, capable of monitoring from all angles without blind spots?

Was there any way to live?!

She was unwilling!

This must be an accident!

Her gaze fell on the Gu盅 again. Inside, there were still many insects.

There was still a chance!

There had to be some method she hadn't thought of yet!

She tried again. This time, she no longer let the insects act alone but had them attach themselves to toads, cicadas, spirit beasts, and various other creatures.

As they moved naturally, they continuously shifted targets, infiltrating step by step.

However, after advancing a certain distance, she "saw" again that countless attacks, even more terrifying than before, lit up from all directions!

They didn't even care about the life or death of this low-level toad!

Fire walls appeared around it;

Ice-blue blizzards descended from the sky, with countless ice cones mixed within, engulfing it;

Dozens of sword cultivators simultaneously controlled their swords, forming a sword array that transformed into a net of heaven and earth, sweeping towards the toad's location!

"Boom—!!!"

The connection in Su Ling'er's mind didn't even have time to feel pain before it, along with the insect and the toad, turned into ashes in the torrent of spells.

She didn't believe it.

She still had insects.

She tried again...

A new Spirit Contract Insect was carefully sent by her into the roof beam of a palace hall.

It silently infiltrated near a roof beam, where there was a huge hornet's nest.

"Buzz..."

The hornet's nest vibrated slightly, seemingly signaling a successful hiding place.

But the next instant!

Dozens of talismans of various colors appeared out of thin air and were pasted all over the roof beam.

A deathly silent white light flashed.

When the light dissipated, the entire hornet's nest, along with a corner of the roof beam, had turned into powder and quietly drifted down.

The connection broke again.

Su Ling'er bit the tip of her tongue to stay conscious.

She placed her hope on the giant trees again.

Driven by her, the Spirit Contract Insect leaped back and forth among the giant trees.

Each leap, it burrowed into a new giant tree, attempting to slip through unnoticed.

However.

Scorching dan fire swept through the giant tree, and the tree instantly turned into charcoal.

The connection to her soul was annihilated once more.

The Sect Channel was buzzing with excitement.

Whenever a disciple shared a screenshot of killing a "Red Name Monster," everyone watching would chime in, with some exclaiming:

"Yo, [Ji], how did that toad provoke you again?"

He then posted a screenshot and said to the channel, "Look carefully, it's a red name! Killing it gives 200 Contribution Points!"

They deliberately shouted loudly, "You must have sacrificed something to get it again!"

[Ji]'s face turned red, and his ID seemed to glow a bit brighter as he argued, "Luck doesn't count as a sacrifice... Luck! Can our good fortune be called a sacrifice?"

This statement immediately drew more "evidence":

[Shi Gandang] also threw out a screenshot:

"It's not just toads! I saw that even the hornet's nest on the roof beam here is a Red Name Monster!"

[Lu Wu] sent a picture of a giant tree blasted to smithereens:

"Mine is even more outrageous, even a tree can become a Red Name Monster!"

This was followed by comments like "This is Heaven rewards the diligent" and "Golden Autumn Harvest Festival event warm-up," which made everyone burst into laughter.

Finally, [Shen Nong] delivered the final verdict:

"It seems like various types of Red Name Monsters will randomly spawn before the event. Anyway, as long as it's a Red Name, kill everything within range."

[Spirit Offering Sword is the most handsome...

And so, the channel, both inside and out, was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

On one end of the sect, there were cups of victory, filled with the nectar called "Contribution."

But on the other end of the sect, in the shadow of the thatched cottage, lay bitter poison.

Drip by drip, it plunged Su Ling'er into the abyss called despair