My junior sister sees everyone as a heretical cultivator.

Chapter 287 Junior Sister, what are you doing here?

She eventually returned to the main hall directly opposite the mountain gate, the Qingxu Hall, which symbolized the facade of Qingxu Temple.

Pushing open the heavy palace doors, a wave of cold air, mixed with dust and the lingering scent of sandalwood, rushed out.

This place was once the most sacred spot in Qingxu Temple. Whether they were newly initiated outer disciples or high-ranking inner disciples, they all paid their respects to the bronze statue and memorial tablet of the patriarch here.

Now, those majestic bronze and wooden statues are covered with a thick layer of dust, losing their former luster.

The wind howled and echoed in the empty palace, echoing her lonely footsteps, "thump, thump, thump," each step feeling like stepping on the bones of memories.

She recalled the scene when she first stood here.

At that time, like other newly initiated disciples, she listened to the sect leader's instructions with endless longing for the path of immortality. The sect leader said, "Righteous cultivators should devote themselves to cultivation, slay demons and monsters, and protect all living beings..."

It was here that she received that thin outer sect manual, and overjoyed, she thought that she had embarked on a bright and promising path.

In the center of the hall, the ash in the huge bronze incense burner had long since solidified into a cold, hard lump.

Su Ling'er's gaze slowly moved upwards.

According to memory, behind the incense burner should have been the altar where the founding patriarch of Qingxu Temple and the memorial tablets of deceased elders were enshrined. Every newly initiated disciple should offer their first incense stick here in the lineage of the sect.

But at this moment, the place is empty.

The memorial tablets are gone; only the bronze and wooden statues remain stubbornly, seemingly witnessing the end of a tradition.

However, their location seems a bit strange, it doesn't seem like it should be like this... Did I remember it wrong...?

Su Ling'er's gaze finally fell on the center of the main hall, the spot where the sect leader, Xuan Yuan Daoist, most often stood.

In a daze, she seemed to see that familiar figure again.

He was still wearing that faded, old Taoist robe, his face kind, his gentle gaze sweeping over each disciple, just as it had when she first entered the sect.

In my memory, the kind-hearted abbot was slowly recounting the history of Qingxu Temple to the countless bewildered or expectant faces below the stage.

He spoke of how the founding patriarch established this foundation on a barren mountain; he spoke of how Qingxu Temple overcame numerous difficulties amidst storms and turmoil, ensuring the continuation of its lineage to this day…

His gaze swept kindly over each disciple, but it always lingered longer on those exceptionally talented inner disciples and personal disciples.

As for outer disciples like her, they were merely figures in the background that he glanced at.

After all, given their qualifications, they really... couldn't shoulder the heavy responsibility of continuing the Qingxu Temple's lineage.

However, the next moment!
That kind face suddenly turned cold!

Memories shattered, replaced by the image of the ruthless sect leader in the canyon! It was he who severed Ye Longtao's head; it was he who relentlessly pursued Wang Xiedi and her, driving them into an abyss of no return!
If it weren't for the unpredictable skills I acquired at Guixi Sect, if it weren't for Wang Xiedi's profound escape techniques, if it weren't for all the experiences I had at Guixi Sect... I'm afraid I would have been turned into a pile of minced meat in the blink of an eye, and dying a thousand or ten thousand times wouldn't be enough.

The person who led her onto the path of immortality, and the person who wanted to kill her with their own hands, turned out to be the same person...

Should she be grateful to him? Grateful that he freed her from the fate of the mortal world and guided her into the path of immortality?

Should she hate him? Hate him for using them and then unhesitatingly raising the butcher's knife to wipe them out completely?
The wind seeped in through the cracks in the palace doors, stirring up the dust on the ground, which swirled in the cold moonlight like wisps of wandering souls with nowhere to go.

He was dead. Yes, dead. His death was so absurd and so wretched. Even with the help of the elders of the Heavenly Furnace Sect, he still couldn't survive. The sect leader once said that there is no absolute distinction between the righteous path and the demonic path. When interests align, the righteous and the evil can cooperate. For the sake of the so-called "greater good," sacrificing some innocent people is inevitable.

Su Ling'er slowly closed her eyes, suppressing all her surging emotions deep inside.

But the right path shouldn't be like this.

At least, the right path in her heart shouldn't be like this.

When righteous people cultivate immortality, isn't it also to gain the power to protect the weak and even safeguard all living beings, in addition to seeking longevity? If it is based on "sacrificing the innocent," then how is the so-called "righteous path" any different from those demons who regard human life as worthless?
The sword of righteousness should be drawn to protect the innocent in the mortal world, not to hang over their heads.

She didn't know how to judge her past; the years she struggled to survive at Qingxu Temple were an indelible mark on her.

After a long while, she took out a stick of incense from her storage bag, and with a slight release of spiritual energy from her fingertips, a wisp of flame quietly ignited at the tip of the incense.

She walked to the empty altar and bowed three times to the void.

This bow is to acknowledge your guidance on my path to immortality.

This bow is to repay your kindness in teaching and resolving my doubts.

This final bow... all grudges are settled, from now on we are strangers.

A wisp of smoke rose, and the incense stick was firmly placed in the cold ash.

Su Ling'er straightened up, her mind clear and empty. All the past events were like fleeting clouds, dissipating with the burning of this incense stick.

Just as she finished bidding farewell to the past and her heart had just found a moment of peace—a voice that made her tremble to the bone suddenly came from outside the Qingxu Temple gate without warning: "Junior Sister—!"

With a "boom," Su Ling'er felt all the blood rush to her head!

Senior Brother?! What's he doing here?!
When did he arrive? What did he see? Did he discover anything?
In an instant, countless terrifying thoughts exploded in her mind. Every hair on her body stood on end, her back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and she froze on the spot.

It’s over! It's all over!

He secretly came to this abandoned Taoist temple and even worshipped at the empty altar... This behavior looks exactly like that of an undercover agent who still harbors feelings for his former master!

What will my senior brother think?
I had previously speculated that perhaps he still had a conscience, or perhaps he was acting against his will. But regardless of his inner thoughts, on the surface, he was ultimately the demonic sect's senior disciple who would kill his own fellow disciples!
He saved his life and even gave his family life-saving items, but does this kindness also imply an unbreakable trust?

And is my current behavior a betrayal of his trust?
How would he deal with a traitor? Would he turn him to ashes in the blink of an eye, like that old Taoist priest who mistook him for someone else at the sect's gate?
Or perhaps he'd think killing me would be too lenient, and he'd want to capture me, take me back to his sect, throw me into the alchemy furnace, and refine me into a mindless and emotionless Human Essence Pill?
Just as Su Ling'er's mind was conjuring up a thousand cruel ways to die and she was on the verge of a breakdown, Lin Qingfeng's voice finally drifted in: "Wait, why did you get stuck again?... Your parents are calling you home for dinner, what are you doing here?"

"Also, next time you need to open a map, please find a decent place. Look at this Taoist temple, how dilapidated it is! There's hardly a single intact brick left on the walls. It's so poor that even mice would have to leave with tears in their eyes."

"So? You've searched the whole place, have you found any valuable treasures?"

Su Ling'er: "..."

Su Ling'er's stiff body slowly, little by little, relaxed.

Whew...Whew...I almost thought I was going to die...Thank goodness, there's still hope...

(End of this chapter)