Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Down by the Asking Dao Ladder, the few people gathered around the purple crystal were practically dying of laughter.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Holy shit!"

"I don’t care who his master is, but this whole repaying-a-debt-of-gratitude act is killing me! Hahahaha!"

Lin Qingfeng was laughing so hard he was pounding his chest and stamping his feet, slapping the table as he roared with laughter.

The others, like Shi Gandang and Lu Wu, were also doubled over with laughter.

"My god! This is so much better than Wang Xiedi’s Heart Demon! This is hilarious!"

"By the way,"

Ji, holding back a laugh, asked Lin Qingfeng a crucial question,

"Eldest Brother, if this guy decides to ’repay our kindness’ later, are we... going to be in trouble too?"

Lin Qingfeng waved his hand dismissively and declared, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"What’s there to be afraid of? Who would dare provoke our Guixi Immortal Sect? We’re the ones who do the provoking! Hahaha!"

"Besides,"

Shi Gandang added,

"Doesn’t he have to repay his master first? Until he finds his master and repays that debt, it’ll never be our turn."

"And even if he did try to show us some gratitude, we could just slap him around until he forgets all about it!"

"If we ever run into a powerful enemy we can’t beat, especially one outside our usual territory, we could just launch Dong Changsheng at them and let him show his ’gratitude’. That’s one solution!"

Lin Qingfeng nodded, thinking that made sense.

Su Ling’er and the undercover agents stood on the periphery, watching Lin Qingfeng’s group roar with undignified laughter, their hearts filled with confusion.

Su Ling’er, in particular, was practically bursting with curiosity.

’What in the world did they see?’

’Why was it so funny?’

’I want to see it so badly!’

That burgeoning anticipation and curiosity felt like a thousand tiny kitten claws scratching at her heart—an unbearable itch, as if ants were crawling all over her.

But the Eldest Brother had earlier set up a barrier between them, making it impossible for her to get any closer.

She couldn’t hear much, only catching a few words here and there.

Something about "repaying a debt"... something about "success"... something about "hilarious"...

And something else about "kill him"... "don’t kill him, save him for the holidays"...

Su Ling’er was utterly baffled, screaming internally: ’What in the world are you people watching?!’

’And what do they mean by "kill"?’

’Are they mocking Mr. Dong’s Heart Demon Illusion Realm?’

’How could they!’

’They’re horrible!’

Of course, part of their "horribleness" was the fact that they hadn’t included her!

’So despicable! It’s infuriating!’

Su Ling’er stomped her foot in frustration.

’First "keep," then "kill"...’

’I can’t imagine what the Eldest Brother and his friends saw to spark such a huge debate over whether Mr. Dong should live or die.’

’Just because his Dao Heart is interesting, they get to decide whether to "kill" or "keep" him?!’

’Such utter disregard for human life! Treating a Dao Heart like a mere plaything!’

’When Mr. Dong comes down from the Asking Dao Ladder, I have to warn him right away. He needs to watch what he says so he doesn’t anger the Eldest Brother’s group. It would be a terrible injustice if he could have stayed but ends up being killed on the spot instead.’

Su Ling’er subconsciously looked to her fellow disciples for validation, only to find them looking at her... evasively?

One of them even took an imperceptible half-step backward, putting more distance between them.

’What... are they afraid of? Are they worried that group of fiends will notice them?’

A sliver of doubt crossed Su Ling’er’s mind.

But as the undercover agents watched Su Ling’er fidgeting anxiously, even trying to get closer to the group of fiends to see what was happening, they became more certain than ever: Su Ling’er had completely fallen and become one of the demonic Evil Cultivators.

’Why else would she try to get in on the action?’

’That’s a group of demonic Evil Cultivators who treat human life as if it’s worthless!’

’The only reason they were still alive was that she still clung to some shred of their old camaraderie, her conscience not yet entirely snuffed out.’

Meanwhile, on the Asking Dao Ladder, Dong Changsheng finally awoke from the endless illusion.

The moment he awoke, ethereal music drifted from the Asking Dao Ladder. The fiftieth step erupted in a brilliant golden light, enveloping him completely!

A torrent of Spiritual Qi—far purer and more immense than what any of the previous disciples had received—descended from the sky and poured into his body!

It seemed he had triggered a special reward from the Asking Dao Ladder!

Everyone was stunned!

BOOM—!

His Cultivation soared under the infusion of Spiritual Qi, breaking through one bottleneck after another until it finally settled at the eighth level of Qi Refining!

However, the infusion of Spiritual Qi was not the end of it.

An even more profound golden radiance rose from the steps, transforming into a series of complex runes that merged directly into his forehead!

He had... even received a direct impartation of a Cultivation Technique!

...

"Holy hell, is this what ’Great Fortune’ looks like?"

Shi Gandang exclaimed from beside Lin Qingfeng,

"If I remember correctly, only you, Eldest Brother, me, and Ji—just a handful of us—ever got a special reward from the Asking Dao Ladder, right?"

"I can’t believe he got one too!"

"And he got it just for reaching the fiftieth step?"

Lu Wu also clicked his tongue in amazement,

"It seems that ’Great Fortune’ trait is pretty interesting. No wonder he always managed to turn disaster into fortune when he was with that master of his."

"I wonder what kind of good stuff the Asking Dao Ladder gave him."

...

Meanwhile, within his sea of consciousness, Dong Changsheng was ecstatically exploring the profundities of the Cultivation Technique that had been poured into him.

[Name]: True Words of Universal Salvation Heart Sutra

[Type]: Heart Method

[Heart Gift: Universal Salvation]

An eloquent tongue births a lotus flower;

False words can hold the Dao’s own power.

Believers walk the road to the clouds;

Doubters fall and vanish in the dust.

Legend tells of a wandering orator of peerless eloquence, whose words held the power to bewitch the hearts of men and turn black into white.

He believed that there was no absolute truth in the world; the only "truth" was whatever words could make the listener "believe."

This Heart Method is the culmination of the Dao he cultivated over a lifetime.

By cultivating this method, one’s words gain an innate power of "persuasion," giving listeners a chance to unconsciously accept your views and follow your path. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Dong Changsheng was ecstatic. He felt he had taken another giant leap toward "success"!

’Otherwise, why would the Asking Dao Ladder have granted me such a fortuitous opportunity?!’

’Although the increase in my Cultivation from fifty steps pales in comparison to Miss Su climbing a hundred, I received a unique and special Heart Method!’

’This Heart Method will make me far more persuasive when I teach others the great Dao of achieving success!’

He saw himself as a good person: brave and fearless, loyal and righteous, discerning of right and wrong, law-abiding and public-spirited, eager to help others, quick to correct his mistakes, and always repaying his debts of gratitude!

’Truly, men may bully the good, but Heaven will not; men may fear the wicked, but Heaven does not!’

’I, Dong Changsheng, am destined by the heavens! I am an existence bound for success!’

His heart was filled with gratitude!

He was immensely grateful to the Sect Leader of Qingxu Temple; it was because the Sect Leader sent him to be an undercover agent that he was able to encounter such a grand opportunity on the path of the Dao!

He was also immensely grateful to the benefactor who had long since vanished but had taught him the great Dao of success!

And he was equally grateful to Miss Su, the one who had led him to the Asking Dao Ladder!

’In the future, I must repay all three of them handsomely!’

...

The light faded, and Dong Changsheng was teleported by a gentle force back to the base of the steps.

Lin Qingfeng and the others rose to their feet, satisfied. The day’s "good show" was over.

He walked up to Dong Changsheng and clapped him on the shoulder in a gesture of approval.

"Not bad. Out of everyone who came this time, you’re the one with the best aptitude!"

Overjoyed at receiving such recognition, Dong Changsheng immediately bowed to Lin Qingfeng.

"Thank you for your generous praise, Eldest Brother! I was merely following my heart!"

"If not for the opportunity you gave me, Eldest Brother, how could I have climbed the Asking Dao Ladder and received such a blessing?"

"Eldest Brother, your grace is like a second birth to me!"

The smile on Lin Qingfeng’s face stiffened slightly.

’What the hell... I was just being polite, you actually took it seriously?’

’And a second birth? My god, are you really this quick to feel indebted to people?’

Beside him, the smiles on the faces of Shi Gandang, Lu Wu, and the others vanished instantly as they stared at each other in dismay.