She blinked, suspecting that what she was seeing was just an illusion.

She looked at the jade slip again. No, it was real.

She closed her eyes and opened them again. Still real. Not a single word was different!

Why?!

She lifted her head and looked at the task elder, wanting to ask, but she didn’t know where to begin.

"Junior Sister, why are you just standing there in a daze?"

Lin Qingfeng’s voice suddenly sounded from behind her again.

’You can’t go bugging out on me now!’

’You’re the only proper NPC in our sect. This is a critical moment for the sect’s upgrade; you can’t slack off on your contributions!’

Su Ling’er’s heart skipped a beat.

’Eldest Brother, can you please stop suddenly appearing behind me every time?’

’It’s really damn creepy!’

She was ranting wildly in her head, but she clutched the jade slip tightly and asked hesitantly,

"Eldest Brother... this quest... why is it still these two?"

"Didn’t I just finish cleaning?"

Lin Qingfeng raised an eyebrow.

’Can’t be helped. The other daily sect quests only unlock when the NPC’s total contribution score reaches 500.’

’Right now, Junior Sister is the only NPC in the sect.’

’So until she grinds her contribution score up to 500, she’ll just have to make do with these quests.’

He calculated in his mind how to make his junior sister continue working willingly. After rummaging through his mental collection of profound-sounding quotes, he looked at her again.

"Naturally."

"Junior Sister, do you know why Sword Cultivators practice the sword by repeating the same drawing and swinging motions day after day?"

Su Ling’er froze.

"Because the path of cultivation is not about how many sights you see, but about whether your foundation is solid.

Only after swinging a sword ten thousand times can one grasp its spirit.

Sweeping leaves and carrying water follow the same principle."

"The sect has you repeat these two tasks not to make you perform useless labor, but to test your perseverance and patience.

When you can perform these most tedious and mundane tasks with a tranquil heart, seeing them as cultivation itself, only then can your Dao Foundation be considered truly stable."

"It is the same for all new disciples.

This is the ’Foundation Establishment Method’ of our Guixi Sect."

He looked at Su Ling’er and gave her a gentle smile.

"Go on, Junior Sister."

"Don’t overthink it. Use your heart to experience the ’true meaning’ within."

"I will be watching you at all times!!!!!"

Su Ling’er stared at him blankly, at his face that screamed "enlightened master."

’Foundation Establishment Method? Yeah, right.’

’Testing my perseverance?’

’Believe you? My ass! You rotten old demon, you’re the worst!’

’Can you stop emphasizing that you’ll be watching me all the time?!’

’You just want to see what happens! The moment I show the slightest dissatisfaction, some even more horrifying punishment will fall upon me!’

’And you’ll just be standing there, enjoying the sight of your poor junior sister being forced to submit!’

’Vile!’

’Malicious!’

’Pah!’

Su Ling’er didn’t dare ask any more questions, nor did she dare to hesitate any longer.

"Eldest Brother, I nearly misunderstood the sect’s good intentions. I’ll go right away!"

With that, she didn’t linger, turning to walk back down the path she had just come from.

But she could always feel that gaze fixed on her back, as if an endless abyss was watching her.

...

The third time, the quest was the same.

The fifth time, it was still the same quest.

The tenth time...

The fifteenth time...

When she accepted the quest for the twenty-seventh time and set foot on the stone path leading to her destination, her steps couldn’t help but slow.

’This path...’

’The ancient trees on both sides, the patterns of moss on the stone slabs, even that strangely shaped rock at the corner...’

’Why does it all look so strangely familiar?’

She frowned, a strange feeling rising in her heart.

’Is it an illusion?’

’Or is it that the scenery of the many secluded paths within the sect is just all more or less the same?’

She suppressed her doubts and continued forward.

However, when the familiar silhouette of the courtyard finally came into full view at the end of the path, she stopped dead in her tracks.

’This is it!’

’This... this is the very courtyard I went to for my fourth cleaning quest!’

’I can’t be mistaken!’

’That pagoda tree by the gate, and those clumps of weeds in the corner, are exactly as I remember them!’

’But that’s impossible!’

’I just cleaned this place spotless!’

’Why am I being sent here again?’

Despite her confusion, she hurried into the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, fallen leaves still covered the stone path, just as they had when she first arrived.

The wind blew past, rolling a few leaves to her feet.

The smile that had formed from the ease of completing her tasks stiffened on her face.

She walked quickly to the corner, but the pile of leaves was long gone.

She then turned and ran to the back of the hill, where the nine bronze vats stood silently.

Under the sun, the sides of the vats were dry and gleamed with a coppery luster. Inside... they were completely empty!

All of them were empty!

’How is this possible?!’

’The nine vats of water I filled with my own hands... not a single drop is left!’

The wind blew her hair, but she felt no chill at all.

’Something’s wrong. Something is definitely wrong!’

’What in the world happened?’

’Why, after so little time has passed, is this place once again covered in leaves, with the vats completely empty?’

...

Su Ling’er investigated for a long time but couldn’t find any clues.

Eldest Brother didn’t appear to explain, so she had no choice but to continue sweeping the leaves and filling the vats.

Whenever she thought about stopping to rest, Eldest Brother’s figure would inexplicably appear behind her.

Just as he had said, he was always watching her.

The moment she showed the slightest sign of slacking, he would suddenly appear, urging her to continue contributing to the sect and saying, "Just work a little longer, and it won’t be this quest anymore."

She had already heard that line dozens of times.

By the seventy-second time, Su Ling’er’s movements had become somewhat rigid.

She continued to wave her hand, and a whirlwind swept up the leaves; she continued to form a hand seal, and a water dragon filled the bronze vats.

Then, she accepted the quest again and arrived at another quest location.

This was a courtyard she had visited for her forty-third quest.

She didn’t understand how this sect, which clearly only occupied a single mountain peak, could have so many empty courtyards.

It was as if their very existence was just to be swept and filled with water.

And here, as expected, it was once again covered in leaves, with the vats completely empty.

She kept repeating this tedious labor. Although she had Spiritual Power and wasn’t physically tired, the endless repetition was still mentally exhausting.

’You’re an Evil Cultivator sect that kills people, performs Alchemy, and forges things out of living humans! Don’t you have anything better to do?!’

’To have such a perverted obsession with the sect’s cleanliness!’

’Besides, if you’re going to make me clean, at least have me clean courtyards that people actually live in!’

’These courtyards are deserted, there’s no one on the back hill—who are you cleaning for?’

’For ghosts?!’

’Did these fallen leaves grow legs?’

’I sweep up one batch, and another one appears!’

’Is this tree an eight-hundred-year-old demon?’

’It drops eight hundred years’ worth of leaves in a single day!’

’And these water vats! Is anyone drinking from them?’

’Or are you using the water to feed spiritual beasts?’

’What in the world is going on here?’

...

「Real World」

「News Archive」

The Ashen Heaven Group announced it has completed the acquisition of Riesel Precision Medical Data company, "Helvetic."

Facing widespread confusion from the market, the Ashen Heaven Group did not provide any related explanation.

The group’s stock price experienced minor irrational fluctuations.