My junior sister sees everyone as a heretical cultivator.

Chapter 10 Dan Ding Pavilion, where living people refine elixirs.

The next morning.

After Lin Qingfeng logged in, he opened the task panel, but the progress of the sect guidance task had only reached 10%.

Today is another day of diligently completing tasks online.

diligence!

After thinking for a moment, he decided to take Su Ling'er to visit the Dan Ding Pavilion.

In front of the thatched hut, Su Ling'er watched Lin Qingfeng arrive as promised, knowing that her undercover career was about to officially begin.

A new test has begun, and she will not stand still.

"Junior sister, did you sleep well last night?"

What a ghost!
How good can it be to live in a thatched hut and sleep on moldy straw?
But she said, "It's acceptable."

"Then today I will take you to the Dan Ding Pavilion."

"The Pill Refining Pavilion? Is that where pills are made?"

The image of the alchemy room of Qingxu Temple appeared in Su Ling'er's mind.

Although outer disciples are forbidden from entering, they know that the place is well-ordered, and even inner disciples dare not make a loud noise there.

And what would the alchemy workshop be like in this demonic sect?
On the way, Lin Qingfeng pretended to be profound and explained the mysteries of the sect's alchemy to her.

"Junior sister, do you know what 'Dan' is?"

As an outer disciple of Qingxu Temple, Su Ling'er had only heard of alchemy, and she wanted to hear what this demonic sect had to say about it.

"Junior sister is dull-witted, please give her guidance, senior brother."

"The inner path is the Golden Elixir; the outer path is a panacea for saving the world."

A furnace of alchemical fire can refine the mind, refine the nature, and refine all things in heaven and earth; its profound mystery is also a path to heaven.

However, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.

The path of alchemy is fraught with unpredictability. A single misstep can lead to anything from ruined elixirs and personal injury to the destruction of the furnace and death. It might even result in the creation of something completely unexpected.

Soon, an ancient-style pavilion came into view, and even before getting close, a strange smell wafted out.

The scene inside was noisy and chaotic, with dozens of alchemy furnaces haphazardly placed, smoky and fiery, bearing no resemblance to the "No Noise" sign near the alchemy room of Qingxu Temple.

Wouldn't pills refined in this kind of environment explode?
Lin Qingfeng seemed to see through her thoughts, coughed twice, and explained:
"Ahem, this is just a place where sect disciples practice on a daily basis. By spending some spirit stones and making a small contribution to the sect, they can go to the inner pavilion to refine pills."

That's the real place for alchemy; it wouldn't be so noisy there.

As you cross an invisible threshold, the noise behind you is instantly cut off.

Before me lies an elegant courtyard, brimming with spiritual energy.

Su Ling'er almost thought this was a normal place for alchemy.

Finally, Lin Qingfeng stopped in front of a pill-making room, where the doors and windows were made of crystal.

"Hahaha! I'm almost there! Just one more step!"

But a maniacal laugh came from inside:

Su Ling'er's gaze fell inside through the semi-transparent crystal window.

In the center of the alchemy room stood a purple-gold alchemy furnace taller than a person. In front of the furnace was a disheveled man with bloodshot eyes and a crazed expression.

"My Human Essence Elixir will definitely succeed this time!"

Su Ling'er's gaze followed the words of this alchemy fanatic and moved upwards.

Through the crystal embedded in the top of the alchemy furnace, she saw... in the center of the flickering flames, a naked figure was curled up inside!
Flames licked at his skin, and his whole body convulsed, his mouth wide open, but he couldn't make a sound!

Inside, there was a living person!

They... were actually using living people to refine elixirs!
I was almost fooled by the tranquil surroundings outside!
Is this what was unexpected?
So you're using living people to make elixirs?
At that moment, Su Ling'er understood.

The fact that his senior brother brought him here to witness this horrific scene must be a warning to him that in the Guixi Sect, human life is nothing more than material for alchemy.

Lin Qingfeng never expected to run into Lu Wu doing research today.

However, it's understandable; players all want to find alternative paths and overtake others.

Moreover, since they couldn't get out of the mountain, and everyone was just idling around anyway, they naturally started looking for bugs to exploit.

After all, many gameplay elements are discovered through exploration.

Lu Wu also spent a lot of spirit stones to hire someone to go into the alchemy furnace and study how to refine high-quality pills more efficiently.

And the one in the furnace is equally heavyweight!
Moreover, it was the same disciple who had died at Elder Qian's hands before.

He was a "sacrifice" who was a regular customer in the weapon-refining and alchemy area, specifically responsible for being sacrificed.

They take the money and do the job, then strip naked and jump in.

To fit the occasion, or perhaps to satisfy the particular fetishes of some bosses, he even proactively created a paid pain module – “Miserable Death and Convulsions”.

I must say, it's quite fitting for the occasion.

Right now, he's probably idling and browsing the forums at the same time.

If I had known he was up to this today, I wouldn't have brought my junior sister along.

Now it's time for me to spout nonsense with a straight face again.

Lin Qingfeng was even a little excited, after all, the way he pointed out the world to his ignorant junior sister was quite addictive.

So he cleared his throat and looked at Su Ling'er:

"Junior sister, there is no need to panic. What you are facing is nothing more than a quest for the Dao."

Seeking the Way?

You call this seeking the Tao?
"There are countless methods, each with its own unique characteristics."

Some cultivators fed their bodies to their swords, eventually achieving a state of oneness with the sword.

There is a story of the Buddha cutting off his own flesh to feed an eagle, thereby attaining enlightenment on the spot.

In the Daoist alchemy of my Guixi Sect, there is also the saying of "sacrificing oneself to prove the Dao".

Look at the person in the furnace; he is both the soul of the elixir and the foundation of this elixir.

He transformed his physical body into a furnace and his soul into firewood, and in that extreme pain and annihilation, he saw through life and death and was reborn from the ashes.

The day the elixir is completed will be the day he emerges from his cocoon. At that time, man and elixir will become one, and the elixir will be man.

Such great perseverance and determination are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Let me tell you a secret: the same applies to the heart of weapon forging.

Lin Qingfeng casually mentioned the Weapon Refining Pavilion, hoping to prepare her mentally for the future "Sword Refining Technique".

Su Ling'er looked at her senior brother strangely.

How did we end up talking about weapon crafting again?

Could it be that the weapon forging here... also uses living people to forge weapons?!
Lin Qingfeng continued, "As for your senior brother Lu Wu, he is burning his own mind to help his fellow disciples."

This is called 'protecting the way'.

The bond between fellow disciples and the shared desire to pursue the Way both lie in this.

Junior sister, do you understand?

Looking at the miserable state of the person in the furnace, Su Ling'er always felt that it might be her future self.

Cold sweat broke out involuntarily.

The person in the furnace had skin charred like charcoal, yet was still convulsing, proving they were not yet dead.

To survive being burned by such evil fire must mean that one has cultivated some kind of body-refining technique.

This demon actually claimed that this was just cultivation, and even described such evil deeds as "sacrificing oneself to prove the Dao".
The crimes committed by the Demonic Sect are truly countless!

But she knew that her undercover identity could not be exposed, and she had to agree with this view.

Otherwise, I might be the next one to go into the alchemy furnace.

So she looked up and forced a smile:
"is it?
What an amazing cultivation method!
Junior Sister understands completely, thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother!

As he spoke, he didn't forget to imitate Lin Qingfeng's grandiloquent manner and began his own "ramblings":
"Using the body as a furnace and the soul as fire, I will refine all emotions, desires, love, hate, and passions, along with the flesh and bones of this body."

What will ultimately remain is the pure Tao, free from all impurities.

Only today did my junior sister understand what true ruthlessness of the Great Dao means, and what it truly means to live in the face of death.

Many thanks for your guidance, senior brother!

Lin Qingfeng's brows relaxed as he looked at her.

Thankfully, this NPC isn't very bright. But he's starting to speak in a coherent way?
That must be because of my senior brother's excellent teaching!

As long as she doesn't cause trouble, that's fine. Maybe with my guidance, she can really become a mentor for the sect in the future.

Then, he adopted a compassionate expression, looking every bit like a wise and enlightened sage:
“It’s good that you have such insight, Junior Sister.”

The path of spiritual practice is inherently filled with hardships and sacrifices that ordinary people cannot comprehend.

Your senior brother Lu Wu may seem eccentric, but the elixirs he concocts are unparalleled in the entire sect.

On the day the pill was completed, all the other disciples were scrambling to get it.

"Who knows, you might need him to refine elixirs for you someday."

"Ok!"

The junior sister quickly adopted a flattered and surprised expression.
"If I could receive a pill from Senior Brother Lu, it would be my honor!"

I'm honored, my foot!

I would rather die than eat something made with human lives!

Sect Leader, this disciple really can't hold on much longer...

Lin Qingfeng nodded in satisfaction as he watched her "accept" everything.

"Alright, now that you have a basic understanding of my sect's alchemy, I will take you somewhere."

Our alchemists often exchange their refined elixirs at a market called 'Bai Dan Fang'.

"If you want to buy elixirs in the future, perhaps you can go there and take a look."

As the two left the alchemy room, the surrounding noise returned to normal.

Su Ling'er followed behind Lin Qingfeng, her expression somewhat numb.

She didn't want to stay in that alchemy room where they used living people to refine pills, anywhere else.

What if that senior brother inside suddenly gets the urge and grabs her outside to refine pills too?
As for what other tricks were hidden inside this "Hundred Pill Workshop," she was too lazy to think about it anymore.

Now, there is only one thought that keeps her going.

That is to keep looking, to see all the evidence of this evil den clearly, and then report it all to Qingxu Temple!
Arriving at "Bai Dan Fang," though called a "fang," it was actually just a long street spontaneously formed by the disciples of the sect.

Stalls lined both sides of the street, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares and bargaining filled the air.

This place truly has the warmth of everyday life. If Su Ling'er hadn't witnessed the terrifying aspects of the sect firsthand, she would have thought it was just an ordinary cultivation market.

But she knew it was impossible.

She quickly realized something was wrong.

One stall was surrounded by layers of people.

Various kinds of pills were haphazardly displayed on the stall, and a wooden sign next to it prominently displayed several large characters:

"Surprise Blind Box Pill! One pill costs ten spirit stones; what you get is entirely up to luck!"

The stall owner was still shouting loudly:

"Take a chance, and your bicycle might turn into a motorcycle!"
The lucky one got it on the first try!
If you manage to draw a good pill, you might be able to transform into someone else and play pranks on them at the 'Golden Autumn Harvest Celebration' in a few days!
If you manage to gamble on a top-quality elixir, you might even get a spot in the future 'Demon Suppression Ceremony'!
Isn't life just a high-stakes gamble?

Countless disciples happily slapped spirit stones on the table and stuffed pills into their mouths.

After a burly disciple swallowed a dark pill, his eyes immediately went unfocused, and he began muttering incomprehensible syllables.

! ）#@%@~！ @￥·

Instead of panicking, the companions around him burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, this guy's done for! He won't be able to speak normally for at least an hour!"

"Quickly record it with the photo stone!"

"Later, you can say to him: You don't want others to know you look like this, do you?"

"My God, what kind of indecent words are those!"

Su Ling'er watched all of this quietly.

What is the Golden Autumn Harvest Celebration?
What is the Demon Suppression Ceremony?
Even demon suppression?
You yourselves are the greatest demons!

Moreover, everyone in this sect is an absolute madman. They not only research and develop poison pills, but they also sell the failed pills after they fail to refine them, and even treat it as a form of entertainment!
Those who buy elixirs test the poison on themselves, taking pleasure in the poisoning and enduring all sorts of unimaginable torment in exchange for a moment of joy.

At that moment, Su Ling'er's mind conjured up the image of the figure twitching in the flames in the alchemy room.

The senior disciple said he did it voluntarily, that he was "sacrificing himself to prove the Way," but she hadn't believed a word of it before.

But now, looking at this group of crazy people, she suddenly felt that what her senior brother said might actually be true.

A group of madmen who willingly become "material" for others, who willingly endure boundless suffering, and who take pride in it...

What kind of demonic sect is this?
How did they manage to brainwash their disciples to this extent?

How can we make them willingly sacrifice their lives for the sect?
At this moment, Lin Qingfeng's voice came: "Junior sister, this is actually a kind of cultivation for them as well."

What do practitioners seek? Nothing more than to see through illusions and attain their true selves.

In this seemingly absurd farce, what they are tempering is nothing more than their own Dao heart.

The physical constraints and the ridicule from those around them were all fleeting clouds to them.

You could even consider these experiences a form of 'refining your heart in the mortal world.'

Su Ling'er was speechless.

Is this how you supposed to temper your heart in the mortal world?
What a test of the heart in the mortal world!
Is this how one "cultivates the mind" by taking poison for pleasure in the mortal world and inviting suffering upon oneself?

She could no longer tell whether the world had gone mad, or she herself had gone mad.

But she had gradually figured out how to win the favor of this senior brother.

"Junior sister... has understood."

"All phenomena are illusions, only my true self remains."

"So... true cultivation is not about sitting in seclusion at the mountain gate, nor is it about fighting against fate."

"Instead, they dare to throw themselves into this great dyeing vat, to experience all kinds of changes, to endure all kinds of suffering, and in the end... they can still hold on to that little bit of true spirit."

"Thank you, senior brother, for passing on your teachings to me."

Lin Qingfeng nodded as he looked at her "enlightened" expression.

Even though I didn't understand anything myself, it's good that she did!

At least they have sufficient ideological awareness!

He's a promising talent.

This is exactly the kind of talent our sect's guides need!

"Junior Sister, it's excellent that you have this insight."

Su Ling'er straightened up and turned her gaze back to the noisy crowd.

In her heart, there was fear, disgust, and contempt...

All these emotions eventually settled into a kind of almost numb curiosity.

This sect completely overturned her understanding of the past three years, and even overturned the common sense of the entire cultivation world...

What terrifying truth is hidden behind this?