Chapter 432 - 413: This Witch is Saving People?

Chapter 432: Chapter 413: This Witch is Saving People?

Atop the sword, the group of newcomers swept up by Su Ling’er were huddled together, shivering uncontrollably.

Beneath their feet was a surging sea of clouds, and howling gales roared in their ears. A single misstep meant a fall into an abyss of no return.

「A moment later.」

「At the foot of the Guixi Sect’s mountain.」

The giant Wooden Sword landed smoothly, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Su Ling’er recalled the sword and stood tall. With a wave of her wide sleeve, a gentle pulse of Spiritual Power pushed the two-hundred-plus newcomers off the blade.

The moment their feet touched solid ground, their legs gave out. Many of them collapsed, gasping for breath.

Su Ling’er surveyed the flock of terrified "lambs," preparing for the final step of her plan.

’I have to see this act through to the end. It’s also the truth, for that matter. At the very least, I need to crush any thought they have of turning back and force them to recognize their own limitations!’

"What? Still lingering? Your journey on the path of Cultivation ends here."

"The path of Cultivation is treacherous, a dance with death at every step. None of you could even see through a mere twenty or thirty steps of the Heart Demon Illusion Realm. With such fragile hearts for the Dao, seeking immortality again would only mean adding another body to a forgotten grave."

"The Guixi Sect does not accept those without affinity, nor do we keep those who are already walking to their deaths."

"To let you go today is a blessing. It is an act of mercy."

Her voice drifted down from above, carrying an undeniable authority:

"Leave the mountain at once. Go and enjoy your few decades of mortal riches. Do not turn back. Do not look again."

"To enter this gate is to become an immortal; to retreat is to remain a mortal. You are out of the running. If you dare set foot past the gate again..."

"You will face the consequences!"

Having said her piece, she spoke no more. She simply stood there, waiting for the crowd to flee in a panic.

An eerie silence fell over the scene.

The two-hundred-plus people looked at each other, no one daring to make the first move.

’Why aren’t you getting lost? What are you standing around for?’

Su Ling’er was internally fuming with impatience.

’Was my acting too convincing? Did I scare them witless?’

"Get lost!" she roared. A flicker of her spiritual pressure sent a chill washing over everyone present.

WHOOSH—

That did it. It was as if a switch had been flipped.

The crowd scrambled to their feet, practically tripping over each other as they sprinted wildly away from the Guixi Sect.

A few of them, however, couldn’t resist glancing back after running a short distance.

’Did that demoness... really just let them go?’

’This isn’t some cat-and-mouse game, is it? Is she waiting for us to run until we’re exhausted, thinking we’re safe, only to reappear and savor the sadistic pleasure of the kill?’

’It’s not impossible. After all, this is a demonic sect that kills people and refines their souls! Something like that would be perfectly normal for them!’

What’s the saying? Better to make the wrong move than no move at all. At least their opponent had given them a chance to escape. The thought of this slim possibility made them run even faster.

...

They sprinted several hundred meters in one go, not stopping until the white-robed figure was long out of sight. When everyone finally collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, the anticipated pursuit had not come.

Only the sound of heavy, ragged breathing filled the forest.

"We... we survived?" one of them gasped, sprawled on the ground. His face was filled with the pure relief of someone who had escaped death.

"She... she really let us go?"

"Why?"

The question echoed in everyone’s hearts.

Just then, a man who had managed to last for over a dozen steps on the Asking Dao Ladder pushed himself to his feet, hands on his knees.

He looked back, gazing into the distance at the cloud-shrouded mountain gate, his expression a mixture of complex emotions.

"I... I think I understand."

All eyes turned to him.

The man took a deep breath. "Think about it. If she really wanted to kill us, why go to all this trouble? On the mountain, on the way here... she had countless opportunities."

"But she didn’t."

"Instead, she had us climb the Asking Dao Ladder... Don’t you find that strange?"

"That Asking Dao Ladder reflects our deepest attachments, showing us what it is we truly, desperately want!"

His words sent the crowd into deep thought.

Everything in the Heart Demon Illusion Realm had been so real, so alluring.

"Could it be! Could she have... wanted us to see ourselves clearly? Maybe she was trying to tell us that the path of Cultivation is fraught with peril and not meant for us! That it’s better to return to the mortal world and pursue the things we truly desire than to live a precarious existence in a demonic sect, only to end up as dust!"

"Then why did she say all those nasty things?" someone asked, confused.

"You idiot!" The man slapped his thigh. "She’s in a den of monsters! Do you think she can speak and act freely? She probably said those harsh things for the other murderous fiends in the sect to hear! It was to give them a plausible reason to expel us!"

"So... she was protecting us in her own way!"

The moment he said it, everyone was stunned.

They all stood frozen, a buzzing in their ears as their minds went blank.

’It... actually made sense...’

That celestial fairy had never once truly harmed them, from beginning to end.

’Could it be that her cold demeanor and sharp words... were all a facade!’

’Could she be a celestial fairy, trapped in darkness but with a heart that yearns for the light?! Was she using her own methods to guide those of us unworthy of the path of Cultivation away from a sea of suffering?!’

Once they reached this conclusion, all their previous fear and suspicion melted away, replaced by boundless gratitude and guilt.

"Fairy..."

"We... we misunderstood the fairy!"

He bent at the waist, performing the most solemn of ancient rites—a deep bow, his clasped hands reaching toward the ground.

"The fairy is merciful."

This bow was for their "guide," the one who stood at the edge of a monster’s den and, instead of pushing them into the pit of fire, had waved her sleeve and sent them back to the mortal realm.

He was followed by a second person, then a third...

All two-hundred-plus of the eliminated candidates faced the immortal mountain and bowed deeply.

The wind howled, and their robes fluttered.

"Let’s go."

The first man straightened, cast one final glance at the mountain gate disappearing into the clouds, and turned away. Though his gait was still unsteady, his back was a little straighter than it had been on his way up.

"Thank you, fairy, for saving our lives! We’re giving up on Cultivation! We’ll go back and live good lives, so as not to betray the fairy’s... bitter efforts."

"When I get back, I will record the fairy’s kindness today in my family’s records! I’ll have every generation of the Zhang Family remember that within the Guixi Sect, there is a white-robed fairy with the heart of a Bodhisattva!"

The crowd slowly dispersed, the mountain wind sweeping past and rustling their clothes.

...

A streak of light from her sword tore through the sea of clouds.

Su Ling’er stood atop her Wooden Sword, the mountain wind whipping her skirts about her, yet her spirits were higher than ever.

’I finally lived up to Senior Brother’s expectations!’

’I managed to save more than two hundred lives from this den of monsters!’

’Even though it cost me a huge bag of Spirit Stones, and my heart still aches just thinking about it, when I remember it was for Senior Brother’s righteous cause—to save people from torment and help them escape their suffering—what’s a little loss like that in comparison!’

A moment later, the peak where the Asking Dao Ladder was located came into view.

Su Ling’er guided her sword down, landing gracefully on the white jade platform.

She contentedly put away her Wooden Sword, her gaze sweeping over the fewer than one hundred people left on the platform.

Unlike the useless trash who had just fled down the mountain in terror, this group before her had unconcealed ambition and greed burning in their eyes.

Their gazes drifted, deliberately or not, toward Lu Ping, who sat cross-legged to one side, stabilizing his cultivation base. Their jealousy and resentment were so thick they were almost palpable.

Seeing this, the flicker of accomplishment Su Ling’er had just felt was instantly snuffed out by a flash of irritation.

’These people are nothing but desperados, blinded by the chance at immortality!’

’Sigh. Haven’t you people seen what you truly want in the Heart Demon illusion? Wasn’t that rolling head on the training ground enough of a wake-up call?’

’Sigh. You can’t talk sense into someone hell-bent on their own destruction.’

Su Ling’er sighed to herself.

’If I just leave them be, it won’t be long before they’re used as test subjects for elixirs or thrown into the Sword Sacrifice Pool. That would be true damnation, without even the chance of reincarnation.’

’No!’

’Since Senior Brother gave me the task of being their "guide," I can’t just stand by and watch them stray further down the wrong path!’

’Threats? The severed head on the training ground didn’t scare them. A few more harsh words would be useless against these gamblers.’

’Bribes? I don’t have that many Spirit Stones to just throw away!’

’I need to resort to drastic measures!’

’I have to send them somewhere terrifying and hopeless enough—but not instantly fatal—to let them experience the cruelty of the Cultivation Realm firsthand. I need to completely shatter their fantasies about being in a demonic sect!’

An idea flashed through Su Ling’er’s mind, and her gaze shifted in a specific direction.

’I’ve got it!’

’I’ll take them to that place!’

As this thought occurred to her, the corners of Su Ling’er’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

The Demon-Locking Tower!

That’s the place!

’The place is crawling with demons. It’s grim and terrifying—the perfect place to scare these rookies.’

’Only by making them enter the Demon-locking Tower, forcing them to fight for their lives killing demons and clearing the trials, can they earn enough Spirit Stones with their own blood and sweat. Then I can offer it to the sect on their behalf. Maybe that’s the only way to save the miserable lives of these lost souls!’

’I have to do this to save them!’

’Fine, I’ll be the villain. Even if you hate me to your very bones, even if you think I’m exploiting you, it’s better than letting you die for nothing!’

’Senior Brother, Ling’er has failed. I can’t get them to see the error of their ways with simple words. I can only use this cruel method to force them to save themselves!’

Su Ling’er took a deep breath. All the anxiety vanished from her face, replaced by an expression of extreme indifference, a frosty mask tinged with mockery.

’I have to act like a true villain to force them to fight for their own survival.’

’I’ll make you understand that there’s no future for you in the Guixi Sect! I, your Senior Sister, will personally crush any hope you have!’

She lifted her head, surveying the group before her—all of them eager to become prospective Evil Cultivators.

"It seems that despite the temptations of the Heart Demon, you are all still dead set on staying in our Guixi Sect."

"I am pleased to see your sincerity."

Su Ling’er’s face was unreadable as she spoke coolly, "Since you all wish to stay, you must also understand that you are here to work for the sect. Don’t think that just because you’ve passed the trial, you can get a free ride. Remember this: from now on, everything you have is a gift from the Guixi Sect!"

"Follow me, new disciples!"

"I’m taking you to a fine place, where you can earn your first merits for the sect."