Senior Disciple Brother Is Our Sun! Loyalty!!!

Th-this old Daoist... what was wrong with him?

Had he gone mad?

Why was he calling everyone he saw "Mom"?

And besides, did I... did I really look that old?

Even now, I was still an unmarried maiden of spotless purity!

She stared blankly at the tearful old Daoist, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

The old Daoist suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, repeatedly crying out, "Mom," as he raised both hands and crawled toward Su Ling'er.

Su Ling'er, meanwhile, kept backing away, desperate to avoid him.

What was going on?

Couldn't this old Daoist tell that I was younger than him?

No, cultivators' ages couldn't be judged simply by appearances.

...But that wasn't right either. I haven't established my foundation, and I've never taken any pills that preserve one's appearance. My lifespan is no different from that of an ordinary mortal.

His hair was fluffy and disheveled, his eyes swollen like fish bladders, and his beard thick and unkempt.

How could I possibly have given birth to someone like you?!

What were they doing?

Were all the people in this sect this terrifying?

Did they claim anyone they saw as family?

This was too terrifying!

Beside her, Lin Qingfeng's face darkened.

The sense of accomplishment he had felt after finally tricking someone into joining had been utterly ruined by this old Daoist who had appeared out of nowhere!

This guy was definitely here to wreck the place!

That was right, he had to be an undercover spy sent by Da Wa Sect.

How could Gui Xi Sect possibly have someone so dazzlingly depressing!

Before Su Ling'er could recover, he kicked the old Daoist away with a slap-like smack, then instantly raised his right hand and continuously traced through the air with his fingers.

"Don't worry, Junior Sister. I could tell at a glance that this is an undercover spy sent by Da Wa Sect. I'll deal with him right away!"

He reassured her loudly, but his hands never paused. Then he pointed at the air.

Yet in Su Ling'er's eyes, Senior Disciple Brother hadn't formed a single spell gesture, made a single hand seal, or even released the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Power!

He had merely kicked that deranged old Daoist, then casually drawn a few lines in the air from several yards away.

After just those few motions, the old Daoist transformed into specks of light before everyone's eyes and vanished into thin air, leaving not even ash behind!

Su Ling'er's breathing stopped.

That old Daoist... was dead?

Just because he might have mistaken her for someone else, he died like that?

He had only called the wrong person!

What if... what if he really had known some elder relative of mine whom I had never met, and lost control after seeing that I resembled them?

Killing him just like that was far too rash, wasn't it?!

Just because... he might have mistaken her for someone else and called her Mom, he was to be executed on the spot?

Her heart turned cold. Slowly, she turned around and looked at Lin Qingfeng with a pale face.

The anger on his face had not yet faded, but beneath it was an even stronger, matter-of-fact indifference.

Remembering that he had casually killed fellow disciples before, Su Ling'er's heart shuddered.

This truly was a hellish place where human lives were treated as worthless!

Lin Qingfeng noticed Su Ling'er's deathly pale face and eyes filled with terror, and his heart skipped a beat.

Did this NPC get scared?

He hurriedly coughed twice, trying to salvage the situation, and forced that gentle smile back onto his face.

"Don't be afraid, Junior Sister. Like I said, this man was an undercover spy sent by another sect to cause trouble. His intentions were malicious."

"Gui Xi Sect has upright traditions and is a righteous, prestigious sect. We would never slaughter innocents!"

"I merely..."

"Mm, merely drove him out of the sect. Don't take it to heart."

To Su Ling'er, every word of that explanation became a vicious mockery.

The man was dead, yet he claimed they didn't slaughter innocents?

He had already killed two fellow disciples earlier, and he still claimed they didn't kill indiscriminately?

And that talk about an "undercover spy"...

How was that an explanation? It was clearly a naked threat!

Was he warning her that she had better not be a spy?!

He was using that old Daoist's fate to tell her:

If you're a spy, that old Daoist will be your fate!

A tide of fear swallowed her whole.

Just then, the hushed discussions of the other players around her traveled clearly into her ears along the Spiritual Power that had yet to disperse.

"How did someone from 'Da Wa' sneak in?"

"I'd say it was probably an idea from that sect of 'Gou Xue Chang.' Gou Xue Chang's move was way too underhanded."

Da Wa?

Gou Xue Chang?

What were those?

Some kind of code words, or... the names of those Evil Cultivator sects?

So Gui Xi Sect had more than one enemy.

In this dark Cultivation World, more than one vicious beast lay in wait, eyeing and infiltrating one another.

An Evil Sect named "Da Wa," and a "Gou Xue Chang" that sounded ominous from the very name...

A terrifying blueprint of Demonic Sects slowly unfolded in her mind.

Seeing Su Ling'er's expression grow worse and worse, Lin Qingfeng could only grit his teeth and keep reassuring her.

"Anyway, Junior Sister, don't overthink it."

"Our sect is perfectly normal. There's none of that messy nonsense."

"You just need to remember to be loyal to our sect. We won't treat you badly!"

The moment his words fell, something unexpected happened.

Among the crowd, one player suddenly grew solemn, thrust both hands above his head, and shouted loudly:

"Senior Disciple Brother is our sun!!!"

That gesture, that slogan, seemed to be a signal.

In an instant, every Gui Xi Sect disciple in the square made the same gesture.

"Senior Disciple Brother is our sun!!!"

"Senior Disciple Brother is our sun!!!"

"Loyalty!!!"

"Loyalty!!!"

"Loyalty!!!"

Su Ling'er trembled all over at the sudden spectacle.

What... kind of bizarre ritual was this?

She looked at the fanatical faces around her, at their hands raised toward the sky.

She was now absolutely certain that she had fallen into a place a hundred times more terrifying than any demonic sect described in storybooks.

Here, even the slightest hint of individuality could bring about one's death.

But on the surface, she could only pretend to be innocent and ignorant, copying their movements.

She raised both hands as well and pretended to cheer continuously, squeezing out those two words in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.

"Lo... loyalty..."

Seeing how quickly Su Ling'er caught on, Lin Qingfeng let out a long breath of relief.

Done!

Looks like idiot NPCs have their advantages too. Single-track minds, and pretty easy to fool!

Secretly delighted, he ignored the group of foolish members behind him who were still giving thanks and continued leading Su Ling'er toward the registration hall deeper within the sect.

They were about to complete their sect's first official quest.

The two walked one behind the other, crossing the square and entering a quiet forest path.

A quaint hall could be seen in the distance ahead. Just as Su Ling'er's tightly wound heart began to relax a little, her steps stopped once more.

Under a large tree not far ahead, she saw several disciples dressed in Gui Xi Sect robes standing perfectly still.

They simply stood there in various poses. Some looked up at the sky, while others stared down at the ground.

Their eyes were hollow, their expressions dull, and their faces held none of the vitality of the living.

But that was not the most frightening part.

Most frightening of all, several venomous demon insects with dark green spots on their backs crawled from the grass onto their ankles.

Then they opened their tiny mouthparts and continuously gnawed at their flesh.

Yet those disciples showed no reaction at all.

They could not feel pain. They did not know danger. They might not even...

Know that they were still alive?

A chill shot from the soles of Su Ling'er's feet straight to the top of her head.

A word that made her soul tremble surfaced in her mind.

These people...

Had their souls been drained and their consciousness refined away, leaving only their bodies standing here blankly...

Were they... living dead?!