The more Su Ling'er thought about it, the more terrified she became. She staggered and nearly fell.
And in that moment, as her composure broke, a single phrase slipped from her taut nerves:
"Can I leave the sect...?"
Though her voice was nearly drowned out by the roar of the furnace, the profound expression on the face of her Eldest Brother, Lin Qingfeng, instantly froze.
'Wait!'
'Did I... just hear something I shouldn't have?'
'Leave the sect? She said "leave the sect," right?'
'No way. Wasn't she doing just fine earlier? She was even speaking so eloquently about "sacrificing oneself to forge Divine Soldiers." Why the sudden change of heart?'
'With that kind of attitude, what's the point of Cultivation? Shouldn't she just go home and be a farmer?!'
The boisterous Artifact Refining Pavilion seemed to fall into an eerie stillness.
The disciples who had just finished their forging stopped, slowly wiping the "bloodstains" from their giant hammers.
The onlooking players in the distance, and the other disciples busy with their tasks, all stopped what they were doing.
It was as if time had frozen.
Then, all eyes turned to Su Ling'er.
The first to react was the burly man, Shi Gandang, who had just been released from the Forging Platform. "I think I heard 'leave the sect'? Eldest Brother, I didn't mishear, did I?"
"What the hell? Leave the sect?!" another disciple exclaimed, smashing his giant hammer onto the ground with a BANG.
"We can't let her get away!"
"Why don't we just break her legs? If she runs off, what'll happen to the sect's future?"
"Exactly! It took us forever to get one. Let's break her legs and teach her a proper lesson! We can just reattach them afterward anyway!"
"Eldest Brother, just give the order. I'll do it!"
As they spoke, several players even hefted their giant hammers, which made dull THUD-THUD sounds.
More people swarmed in from all sides, sealing off every exit to the Artifact Refining Pavilion.
Their expressions varied, but in the flickering light of the furnaces, they all looked grotesque and menacing.
Su Ling'er stared at their menacing faces, hearing their words—"can't let her get away," "break her legs"—and her heart plummeted.
'It's over, it's over. I said the wrong thing!'
'This is a den of demons you can enter but never leave! They're not going to let me go!'
'What do I do? What do I do?'
She could even imagine them skinning her alive, then chaining her up within the sect, forced to watch those enormous, blood-red hammers swinging before her very eyes.
Her head spun, and her legs felt weak.
Lin Qingfeng, too, snapped out of his shock.
He looked at Su Ling'er's deathly pale face. He couldn't afford to worry about her feelings; he had to get a clear answer now.
'If this, their only NPC, really dares to leave the sect, then they'll have to use force!'
"Junior Sister," he said, his expression still gentle, even holding a faint smile, "what... were you saying just now?"
But looking at his narrowed eyes, Su Ling'er felt a chill run down her spine. The threat of death had never felt so immediate.
'She had no doubt that if she dared to utter a single word about leaving the sect, both her legs would be snapped in an instant.'
'In a place like this, where human life was treated as worthless, who knew what other kinds of torment she might suffer!'
'I can't admit it. I absolutely cannot admit it!'
'I have to come up with a reasonable explanation—one that they'll reluctantly accept!'
''To quit the sect'... what sounds like that?'
''Quit'... 'Quote'! That's it!'
A flash of inspiration struck her. Su Ling'er quickly waved her hands, forcing her voice to sound calm and composed. "Eldest Brother, all my brothers and sisters, you've all misheard me. I wasn't saying 'quit the sect,' but 'quote the sect'—as in, to quote its true meaning."
The disciples around her were confused. 'Huh? What is she on about?'
Seeing their suspicious expressions, Su Ling'er knew she had to sell it harder.
She took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the disciples who were eyeing her like predators. She buried all her fear and forced herself to be calm.
She cupped her fist to the crowd and announced in a clear, resonant voice, "Just now, seeing Mr. Shi use his body as the artifact and his agony as the flame—to be broken and then rebuilt, to achieve a nirvanic rebirth—I, Ling'er, was moved beyond words!"
"This supreme path of relying not on external objects but only on the self, this courage to cast oneself into the great furnace to be forged and tempered... that is the true path to the heavens!"
"Only now do I finally understand the true meaning behind the name of our Guixi Sect!"
"It signifies 'shedding the mortal coil and washing away all impurities.' Like a golden cicada casting off its shell, only by abandoning the old self can one welcome a new life and bathe in the dawning light of the Great Dao!"
"That is why I was so moved and felt compelled to speak! I wanted to 'quote the sect,' to speak of our sect's supreme tenet, which is founded on 'transformation'!"
She grew more and more impassioned as she spoke, and tears even welled in the corners of her eyes.
They were tears of terror, but she forced her expression into a look of pure adoration.
"Such a realm, such courage... other sects couldn't hope to compare! All I can say is, the Guixi Immortal Sect will last for ten thousand generations and will one day unite the entire Cultivation World!"
"Thank you, Eldest Brother, for enlightening me! Thank you to all my senior brothers for demonstrating this for me. Ling'er is eternally grateful!"
Her speech was so stirring that the entire Artifact Refining Pavilion once again fell into a dead silence.
Everyone looked at each other, exchanging rapid glances.
'Holy shit, this NPC is one hell of a bootlicker!'
'So the Guixi Sect is about shedding your mortal coil to bathe in the dawn light? That sounds so badass!'
'And Junior Sister says our Guixi Sect is gonna unite the whole Cultivation Realm!'
'Alright, fine. As long as she's not trying to run, I'll accept this explanation.'
And Lin Qingfeng, looking at Su Ling'er's face, which was filled with adoration and gratitude, was quite pleased himself.
''Quote the sect'? How come I never thought of that?'
'Even I, the guild leader, didn't know our sect's name had such a profound meaning! But... you know what? It does now! Our sect really is that badass!'
'This girl, I like her style!'
As the atmosphere remained tense, the player named "Ji"—the one who had just revived after jumping into the medicinal broth—chimed in to smooth things over.
"Ohhh, so you meant 'quote the sect'! That scared me to death! I knew it. Our Guixi Sect is so wonderful, a model of the righteous path that everyone aspires to. Why would our Junior Sister ever want to leave!"
The person beside him picked up the giant hammer he had slammed on the ground and chuckled.
"Looks like our Junior Sister knows the score now. You're gonna be a good girl from now on, right?"
"It's all Eldest Brother's fault. His hearing is bad, so he misheard and made a big fuss, nearly wronging our Junior Sister!"
"Yeah, yeah, it's Eldest Brother's fault!"
Everyone chimed in, and the hostile, tense atmosphere finally dissipated a bit.
Lin Qingfeng took the opportunity to de-escalate, smiling while secretly issuing an order in the sect's private channel.
[Lin Qingfeng]: @everyone Keep a close eye on our Junior Sister's coordinates on the minimap!
[Lin Qingfeng]: The moment she gets near the sect's border, report immediately and intercept her! Don't let her take a single step outside the sect's boundaries!
[Shi Gandang]: Roger!
[Ji]: Don't worry, Guild Leader!
[Yan Buliu]: Got it. If she tries to run, I'll steal her shoes!
Seeing the replies in the channel, Lin Qingfeng finally felt reassured.
He reverted to his sagely demeanor and gave Su Ling'er a gentle smile. "It was I who was mistaken. However, that you could have such an epiphany, Junior Sister, is a great fortune for your path to immortality."
"You're too kind, you're too kind..." Su Ling'er quickly lowered her head.
"Alright, everyone disperse! Get back to what you were doing!"
Laughing and joking, the crowd gradually dispersed, returning to the grand enterprise of Artifact Refining.
Su Ling'er remained frozen in place. Only when the last onlooker had turned away did she dare to let out a long, slow breath.
At some point, her back had become completely soaked in a cold sweat.
'A moment ago,' she thought, 'I had no doubt that if I'd said a single word wrong, I would have either lost my legs or my life right then and there.'
'A narrow escape from death... This was a narrow escape from death.'
'It seems the undercover mission the Sect Leader gave me is infinitely more difficult than I ever imagined.'
'And to think, someone actually called the Guixi Sect a model of the righteous path?!'
'They've got some nerve! Breaking legs, live sacrifices... How is any of that 'righteous'?'
'Speaking of which, was that another brainwashed disciple who jumped into the medicinal broth earlier? Why can't I remember it clearly?'
Su Ling'er shook her head. 'Maybe the stress was so intense I just forgot for a moment?'
'But regardless, at least she... had survived.'