Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

"ROAR—!"

"HISSS—!"

Su Ling’er listened to the undying roars of the two dried corpses around her and the occasional resentful whispers from the ghost bride. She forced herself to stop thinking about her... neighbors, and stared blankly at the demolition site outside the cave entrance.

The nanmu pillars, carved with dragons, phoenixes, and ghastly demon patterns, were heavy with yin energy, so they were uprooted whole and taken away.

The Luminous Pearls that had served as lighting, the carved jade on the door curtains, and the two sinister Grandmaster’s Chairs the old ghosts had sat on were all packed up and tossed into storage bags.

They didn’t even spare the Netherworld Currency on the offering table.

While mortal Netherworld Currency couldn’t be circulated in the Cultivation Realm, this was "three-energy Netherworld Currency," saturated with ghostly energy, death energy, and corpse energy.

It might have some special use later, so everyone collected it.

Lu Wu, the alchemy fanatic, made a huge find in the courtyard, discovering materials like "Resentful Flowers" and "Corpse Rot Moss"—Spirit Plants extremely heavy with yin and death energy.

Finally, even the bright red Ghost Flower Palanquin was cheerfully tucked away into Eldest Brother’s storage bag.

Su Ling’er was dumbfounded.

???

’Wait... Eldest Brother, who are you planning to marry?’

’Why are you taking this red palanquin?’

’Would anyone actually use a red palanquin that a dead person has sat in?!’

’Aren’t you afraid that whoever sits in it will die a violent death on the spot?!’

But Lin Qingfeng’s reasoning was simple.

’This red palanquin is the best-looking prop in this instance dungeon, so of course I have to take it!’

’I quite like its eerie aesthetic!’

’Even if I don’t use it, it belongs in my storage bag as a collector’s item!’

And so, Su Ling’er listened to the CLANGING and RUMBLING from outside, watching numbly as the ancient estate was completely divided up and stripped bare.

Especially when she saw they weren’t even leaving the plaster on the walls.

Some disciples even started arguing over who deserved a bigger piece of the wall, their reasoning being who had put in more effort carrying the coffin earlier!

She couldn’t help but be reminded of bandits who burn, kill, and pillage everything. She felt the group from the Guixi Sect was cast from the exact same mold!

At that same moment, a system notification sound echoed in the minds of all the Guixi Sect player-disciples:

[Ding! Special Event Instance Cleared: Yin Spirit Institute - Red and White Collision of Misfortune!]

[Instance Rating: A-Rank (Normal Clear)]

[Instance Evaluation: A brute-force clear by high-level cultivators. An A-Rank is already generous.]

[Calculating Rewards...]

[Each person receives Sect Contribution Points: 1000!]

[Received Cultivation EXP: 2000!]

[All items obtained in the instance may be taken.]

[Greatest Contributor: Lin Qingfeng]

[Received: Celestial Governor’s Profound Companion. [Type]: Exotic Treasure/Puppet]

The players’ minds were buzzing with excitement.

But inside the coffin, Su Ling’er was experiencing a completely different kind of fortuitous encounter.

As the Cultivation rewards were being distributed...

She felt streams of pure yin energy seeping from the three corpses pinned beside her, penetrating her skin and entering her meridians.

This energy was stripped of all resentment and impurities, leaving only the most fundamental Soul Power and yin energy to strengthen her soul and nourish her Spiritual Power.

As a result, her Spiritual Power was now tinged with a hint of ghostly energy, yin energy, and even corpse energy!

Under the "nourishment" of these three corpses, her Cultivation... had actually advanced a small step!

Although she was still far from the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, she could clearly sense her Cultivation growing stronger.

She had gotten stronger...

But she couldn’t feel happy about it at all!

’My heavens!’

’I don’t want this!’

’What kind of twisted Cultivation Technique is this?!’

’Am I... am I absorbing power from corpses?!’

’Why do I feel more and more like an Evil Cultivator?!’

’My human aura seems to be tainted with death energy now!’

’I don’t want something like this to happen!’

’I don’t want to become some fiend who gets stronger by relying on the dead!’

She was tightly enveloped by the three dried corpses and the skeleton of the ghost bride, her heart filled with anguish and despair.

’Is... is this a good thing or a bad thing?’

’Wait, I’m a righteous cultivator. Why do I feel like I’m straying further and further down the path of a demonic Evil Cultivator?’

’I’m clearly a member of a righteous, profound sect!’

’I came here to achieve immortality and for the sake of all living beings!’

’Why... why does it seem like I’m heading down a path of no return?!’

’Even though I only absorbed a little yin energy, ghostly energy, and death energy, those are still three different kinds of auras!’

’No matter how faint, the combination of all three is bound to be noticeable!’

Outside, the ancient mansion had been razed to the ground.

Even the old locust tree in the courtyard had been dug up by the roots. It was as if no ancient estate had ever existed here, leaving behind only a desolate wilderness.

It was just like the scene outside the sect she had witnessed when she first arrived at Luohai Peak.

With that, the team began their journey home.

...

Meanwhile, as Wang Xiedi ventured deeper, he finally reached the backyard of the Beast Taming House.

This area seemed to be for processing waste and cultivating special plants.

His gaze swept across the surroundings.

While he kept in mind the Heart-Connected Fruit his Senior Sister had tasked him with finding, he also subconsciously searched for the emerald figure that had haunted his dreams.

’Where would they be keeping the Jade-faced Mantis?’

Suddenly!

His eyes were drawn to a bizarrely shaped potted plant in the corner.

Its leaves were somewhat withered and yellow.

But it wasn’t the plant that caught his attention; it was the dull, emerald-green fragments mixed into the soil at its roots.

’What’s this?’

Wang Xiedi’s heart sank, and a dreadful premonition washed over him.

Holding his breath, he moved closer, one step at a time.

As he drew near, he could see more clearly.

Those weren’t just fragments. They were clearly parts of an insect’s carapace.

His blood seemed to freeze in that instant.

He saw it, between the roots of the strange plant: an emerald-green carapace that had completely lost its vital sheen, and shattered, segmented limbs.

And there, too, were the large mouthparts that, etched in his memory, had once kissed him!

Judging by the cracks covering those mouthparts, it was his Jade-faced Mantis maiden!!!

This was the corpse of the Jade-faced Mantis!

These were her mortal remains!

BOOM—!!!!

Something inside Wang Xiedi seemed to shatter in that instant.

His responsibility, his promise—all could no longer be fulfilled with her passing.

He wanted to scream, to question the heavens, to tear this den of demons to shreds.

But he couldn’t.

He bit his lip so hard it nearly bled, not daring to make a sound. He was afraid his cries would attract others, causing all his previous efforts to be in vain.

Tears streamed silently down his face.

’Jade-faced Mantis!’

’I was too late!’

’I’ve failed you!’

’Why... why did you have to meet such a fate?!’

’If only I had been a little faster, if only I had come a little sooner, perhaps you wouldn’t have met such a cruel end!’

’Once again, I’ve failed to shoulder my responsibility. I’m truly useless!’

Just then, the little tune playing at the Beast Taming House coincidentally fit the scene.

"Snowflakes fall~ the north wind blows~

The heavens~ and the earth~ are a vast~ expanse~

A sprig of winter plum~ stands proud in the snow~ its fragrance~ wafting only~ for her~"

To the accompaniment from the Beast Taming House, tears blurred Wang Xiedi’s vision. He reached out and began to pick up the shattered remains of the Jade-faced Mantis from the soil, piece by piece.

He placed the fragments gently inside his robes, close to his heart.

Even though he hadn’t saved her, as a man of his word, he was determined to take her away from this den of demons, find a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters, and lay her to rest.

Just as he was immersed in immense grief and rage, a flash of vermilion from a Spirit Fruit caught the corner of his eye.

???