Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Noon.

Su Ling’er dragged her exhausted body to turn in another one of the day’s tasks.

Her face was pale, her eyes were bloodshot, and her body swayed slightly even as she walked.

And more than half of her Spiritual Power was spent.

"F-First Senior Brother..."

"I... I really can’t... go on today. I really... can’t take it anymore."

Lin Qingfeng stood not far away, watching her. She looked like she’d rather die right then and there than continue working.

He glanced at the sect panel. Her contribution points were more or less in line with the day’s expectations, so he nodded.

’How can you look like this after working just until noon?!’

’You’ve only been on the job for a few days, and you already look like someone who’s been working for a year?’

Sigh...

’Lazy!’

’Absolutely, utterly lazy!’

’Unfortunately, having only one usable NPC in the sect is such a disadvantage!’

’But I can’t let her mess up tomorrow’s Golden Autumn Harvest Festival. That’s when we can earn double contribution points!’

’I should get some rest, too. I need to recharge for tomorrow’s event!’

He walked over, the same gentle smile on his face.

"You’ve worked hard, Junior Sister. Let’s call it a day. Go back and get some rest."

"The path of cultivation requires a balance between exertion and rest. Don’t exhaust yourself and damage your foundation."

"Th-Thank you for your consideration, First Senior Brother."

As if she had been granted a pardon, Su Ling’er immediately turned and walked toward her thatched hut.

As she passed by the other disciples, she deliberately played up her state of exhaustion.

After watching his junior sister leave, the First Senior Brother also returned to his immortal’s cave to log off and recuperate.

...

「The Thatched Hut.」

The door was gently closed.

’Now, it’s time.’

’Time to take stock of my gains, select the intelligence I’ll use to request aid, and apply for extraction and support.’

She walked over to the pile of moldy straw and waved her hand.

CLATTER. A pile of items scattered onto the floor, emitting a faint, enchanting glow in the dim hut.

Four hundred and seventy-two low-grade Spirit Stones.

Over six hundred assorted low-grade Spirit Grasses.

There were also a few low-grade Magical Artifacts purchased from the market, as well as the basic Techniques that had been poured into her mind.

This was everything she had obtained over the past few days by constantly doing sect tasks and trading her existing resources.

This was her capital to escape this place, her hope for returning to Qingxu Temple and achieving Foundation Establishment.

Everything was ready.

From deep within her robes, she took out a mysterious jade slip.

This was a specially made communication slip, given to her personally by the Sect Leader before she departed.

’This demonic sect is bizarre beyond belief, and its resources far exceed imagination.’

’And I absolutely cannot reveal all my intelligence. Otherwise, the moment I lose all my value, I’ll surely be cast aside!’

Su Ling’er gathered Spiritual Power at her fingertips and channeled it into the jade slip.

Following the Secret Technique taught by her Sect Leader, she guided her Spiritual Power in a specific pattern across the slip’s runes, attempting to unlock and trigger the communication Array within.

As long as the Spiritual Power followed the correct path and flowed over specific points, it would activate the array’s patterns.

The jade slip began to glow faintly with a soft light. An extremely subtle strand of Divine Sense was activated, attempting to extend beyond the sect, toward Qingxu Temple...

And then, it snapped.

It was as if it had hit an invisible wall; the Divine Sense was forcefully repelled.

Nothing. No response, no connection.

This entire region felt as if it had been completely sealed off.

’What’s going on?’

’I’ll try again!’

Unwilling to give up, Su Ling’er channeled her Spiritual Power again. The jade slip lit up, and her Divine Sense once more slammed into the formless barrier.

Once, twice, three times... ten times...

The result was always the same.

’The one the Sect Leader gave me is such junk!’

Su Ling’er felt discouraged, complaining inwardly,

’It must be blocked by this demonic sect’s Mountain Protection Array!’

’Sect Leader, oh, Sect Leader...’

’You gave me something of such poor quality. How am I supposed to send a message back...?’

The communication slip was cut off from the outside world.

At this moment, she too was like an isolated island, trapped in this den of demons.

’It seems my only choice is...’

Her hand brushed over her storage pouch before finally stopping at a hidden compartment on the inside of her belt.

Something was hidden there.

It was the last resort the Sect Leader had told her she could use if the communication slip failed.

The Gu vessel, which required an offering of blood essence to activate and had to be sent out within fourteen hours to successfully deliver its message.

The Contracted Spirit Insect...

...

She sat cross-legged, the small, bronze bell-like Gu vessel placed before her.

She opened the vessel. A black insect, no bigger than a sesame seed, lay quietly at the bottom.

This was the Contracted Spirit Insect.

It was also her only remaining hope of sending out intelligence.

Her fingertip brushed against the cool edge of a newly acquired short blade, a Magical Artifact.

Without hesitation, she pricked her finger. A single, plump droplet of crimson blood welled up.

She brought this drop of blood essence to the insect’s mouth.

The small insect’s antennae twitched slightly, and then it rapidly devoured the drop of blood essence.

A subtle yet unmistakably clear connection formed in Su Ling’er’s sea of consciousness.

It was a strange sensation. She could "see" through the insect’s eyes and feel its survival instincts.

’I can’t hear any sounds from its surroundings, but this should be enough.’

The Sect Leader had said that if the communication slip didn’t work, she should use this Contracted Spirit Insect to send her message. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She closed her eyes, sinking her mind into that connection, and began to imprint a portion of her intelligence about the Guixi Sect onto the insect.

The information was neither too long nor too short, but it was enough to whet the Qingxu Temple Sect Leader’s appetite and convince him to help her return to the righteous path.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the Contracted Spirit Insect, which had grown somewhat restless.

’Go. Carry the hopes of Qingxu Temple, and carry my hope as well.’

The small black insect crawled out onto the windowsill of the thatched hut.

It squeezed through a crack in the window, then with a beat of its wings, it leaped and plunged into the vast night sky.

"BUZZ..."

Its tiny form was instantly swallowed by the sound of the wind and the rustling of the grass and trees.

Through their blood connection, Su Ling’er could clearly "see" the insect’s flight path.

It flew low, weaving inconspicuously through the waist-high grass and shrubs.

It flew past the barren fields, out of the sect’s central territory.

No one looked up. No one noticed.

It was so small, so insignificant.

’As long as it flies beyond the mountain gate and breaks free of this peak’s Array... it will be able to find its own way to Qingxu Temple.’

’So what if you’re a demonic sect?’

’You wouldn’t pay any mind to a perfectly ordinary insect, would you?’

...

「Hundred Herbs Valley.」

Shen Nong was squatting on the ground, bored out of his mind, poking a new Spirit Plant he had named the "Weirdo-Strange Flower" with a twig.

"Yo, Mood Resilience +1, Growth Speed +1. You’re pretty easy to please, aren’t ya?"

He muttered to himself, just about to try a different way of "communicating his feelings" to the Spirit Plant.

"Hm?"

He glanced at the sect’s mini-map.

’What’s going on?!’

’A bright red dot just appeared on the sect map, and it’s moving fast!’

’How did a red-named mob suddenly spawn inside the sect?!’