’And which of the tasks gave me this Blood Coagulation Grass?’

’Could it be from the task to till the fields in the Hundred Herbs Valley?’

After all, the other two tasks seemed to have nothing to do with Spirit Plants or Spirit Grass.

’...No, that’s not quite right. Chopping firewood and cutting bamboo seem to be slightly related.’

But they weren’t as closely connected to precious Spirit Plants and herbs as tilling the medicine fields.

’It’s highly likely... this is the reward for tending to the medicine fields!’

Su Ling’er quickly put the cloth bag away.

Suddenly, the sect tasks—which had felt so arduous, like an endless, torturous cycle—didn’t seem so bad anymore.

She knew these demons were inhumanely exploiting her labor, then giving her a small treat to keep her pulling the grindstone like a willing donkey.

Of course she knew that.

But...

Compared to her time at Qingxu Temple, this "small treat" was just a little too sweet.

At Qingxu Temple, it would have taken her, Su Ling’er, a year and a half, maybe more, to save up enough Spirit Stones to buy a single stalk of Blood Coagulation Grass.

But here?

She got this Spirit Grass just by tending to the medicine fields.

For a low-level Cultivator, once you got past the initial "taming" phase of repeating the same task five hundred times, this demonic sect was practically generous!

’I’ll have to escape, of course.’

’And I’ll have to bring back intelligence.’

Whether for the sake of the world or to prevent the righteous path from being caught off guard by these demonic Evil Cultivators, she would eventually have to leave.

’But not now.’

’Before I escape, I’m going to fleece this demonic sect for everything it’s worth!’

’I will use the resources of this demonic path to pave my own immortal road to longevity!’

’These demonic Evil Cultivators are always making disciples redo completed tasks as a form of mind control.’

She couldn’t understand this wasteful, self-sabotaging behavior. Surely there were better methods of mind control, yet they chose this one.

’There must be some purpose behind it that I haven’t figured out yet!’

’But this is a place of demonic Evil Cultivators. It’s possible they’re just insane.’

’Is this just the "we’re so rich we don’t care" attitude of a major Evil Cultivator sect?’

Otherwise, she couldn’t explain it at all.

’This repetitive labor must just be one part of their mind control. I will never become a tool in their hands!’

’I’ll grind here for two or three days, send back some of the intel I’ve gathered before the deadline, and secure my future path to immortality!’

Once this idea took root, the numbness and exhaustion in Su Ling’er’s eyes were replaced by a glimmer of determination.

Without further hesitation, she sat down cross-legged and carefully tucked the stalk of Blood Coagulation Grass into her robes.

Then she closed her eyes and began to circulate the True Understanding of Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to the Origin.

Spiritual Power began to flow through her parched meridians once more.

Her physical stamina was also recovering rapidly.

The moon was high in the sky; it was the middle of the night.

She finally returned to her peak state and opened her eyes. The feeling of being completely drained was washed away by the fullness in her Dantian.

It was a time when all should have been quiet. She had thought herself exceptionally diligent.

Still doing sect tasks in the middle of the night.

She just hadn’t expected that, at an hour when most people should be resting or cultivating in their residences, the area was still brightly lit.

It was understandable that the Mr. Qians, driven by the sect’s upper echelon, were still active.

’After all, they’re flesh-and-blood puppets made from righteous seniors, designed to serve the demonic sect without rest.’

At this thought, Su Ling’er couldn’t help but clench her fists.

But those other disciples...

Although there were far fewer of them than during the day, they were still active.

’Don’t any of you go home?’

’Even if you don’t sleep, you don’t have to do tasks constantly, do you?’

’Are they really this diligent?’

They weren’t even willing to return to their residences to meditate, cultivate, and rest for a bit.

’These demons are so diligent! The righteous path is truly in danger!’

Some were gathered around a Mr. Qian from the Transmission Hall, spitting everywhere as they argued about something.

They seemed to be saying they had drawn the wrong Cultivation Technique and were asking if they could try again, sometimes beating their chests and stamping their feet, sometimes howling at the sky, looking completely crazed.

’A bunch of lunatics, truly.’

But right now, Su Ling’er couldn’t be bothered to think about it any further.

In her heart and in her eyes, there was only the stalk of Blood Coagulation Grass she had just obtained.

There was only the hope contained within that rough cloth bag.

All she knew was that for the Spirit Grass she could never obtain before, and for more rewards and opportunities, she had to start grinding sect tasks!

This demonic sect’s night belonged to her, Su Ling’er!

...

Outside the hall, under a tree.

Lin Qingfeng watched Su Ling’er’s small face, now clear of exhaustion, and knew he had done the right thing.

’If it weren’t for the cheer squad of disciples I called over, Little Junior Sister probably wouldn’t have made it this far.’

Seeing that his Little Junior Sister had finally seen the light, he felt quite gratified.

’"Opportunities" are truly what move people’s hearts!’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

’After all, the few measly copper coins from the basic tasks are barely enough to shoo away a beggar!’

’If it weren’t for the fact that these were the only tasks available when the sect was founded—and you could go AFK while doing them—we players wouldn’t have given these crappy tasks a second glance.’

He looked at the hope rekindled in Su Ling’er’s eyes and nodded in satisfaction.

’Finally got Su Ling’er intrinsically motivated to contribute to the sect.’

’Little Junior Sister!’

’Keep it up!’

’You only need to do four hundred ninety-nine thousand, four hundred and ninety-something more tasks, and the Guixi Secret Realm will open for you!’

’All your senior brothers are waiting for you, too!’

He then started calculating. A peak Qi Refining cultivator could only do about 500 tasks a day. Although that was much faster than a normal person, how long would it take to do over four hundred and ninety thousand tasks?

It was nothing compared to Foundation Establishment. Even the weakest Foundation Establishment cultivator could finish a chore in no more than five breaths.

’Maybe during the Golden Autumn Harvest Festival in a few days... there will be a double contribution event then. That could probably speed up Little Junior Sister’s progress.’

Meanwhile, Su Ling’er had already walked up to the task elder, her gaze fixed straight ahead, and immediately accepted a new task jade slip.

This time, she didn’t hesitate at all. As she injected Spiritual Power into it, five lines of text lit up.

[Sweep the fallen leaves in the sect]

[Carry water to fill the nine cisterns on the back mountain]

[Chop one hundred loads of dry firewood on the back mountain]

[Till the three acres of medicine fields in the Hundred Herbs Valley]

[Cut down one hundred green bamboo stalks in the Cyan Bamboo Forest]

Without a shred of hesitation, she made her selection. She would only do this one!

[Till the three acres of medicine fields in the Hundred Herbs Valley]

Then she turned to leave.

Seeing the "fighting spirit" reignited in Su Ling’er’s eyes, Lin Qingfeng shot a look at the cheer squad beside him.

The next moment.

The group of disciples following their Little Junior Sister once again erupted into a tsunami-like roar.

"Little Junior Sister! I knew you could do it!"

"You truly are the future hope of the Guixi Sect! Never stop striving, never stop fighting, Little Junior Sister!"

"What do we do when faced with hardship? We smile and overcome it! Come on, let’s go!"

"Little Junior Sister is full of spirit!"

This time, as Su Ling’er walked along the path to the Hundred Herbs Valley, she listened to the familiar clamor behind her.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, seemingly of its own accord.

It was still noisy, and it was still absurd.

But for some reason...

Faced with this bright future, these sounds seemed...

Not so unbearable anymore.

There was even a tiny hint of...

’Pleasant?’

’Pah!’

’I must be going crazy!’

’This must be another trick from the demonic sect and that First Senior Brother!’

Still...

Su Ling’er shook her head, casting the terrible thought from her mind, and quickened her pace.

’Medicine fields!’

’Spirit Grass!’

’Here I come again!!!’