Proving one's path through killing—this kind of merit is poisonous!

Chapter 8 Adding fuel to the fire
Congratulations, host, on unlocking the mission: thwart the evil cultivator's conspiracy.

This task consists of several smaller tasks, and you can get generous rewards for completing them!
Task Two: Inform the disciples of the immortal sect about what happened in the village.

Rewards: One Invisibility Talisman, Two Explosive Talismans

Her original plan was to wait until the two people left before continuing her journey out of the village.

However, the new task assigned by the system forced her to revise her plan.

If the "Qingyun Sect" mentioned by the man is a so-called immortal sect.

The man and woman were the mission targets identified by the system as "disciples of the immortal sect"...

So now she has two problems to deal with.

Should she stick to the original plan, or go and complete the system task?

Thinking of this, Gu Jinhe hid the knife in her hand behind the tree and then reached out to grab the branch next to her.

As she made up her mind, she broke off the branch...

The sound from the branches immediately caught their attention.

"who!"

The man shouted at Gu Jinhe's location and was about to draw his sword.

The girl stopped him in time, saying, "Senior brother, ask after the others come out. Don't hurt innocent people."

The man looked helpless. His junior sister was incredibly talented, gentle, and completely unguarded.

That's why her master sent him to protect her.

Although he listened to her and did not draw his sword, his guard remained high.

This village is eerie; who can guarantee that the person hiding behind the tree is a good person?

Seeing that the person behind the tree didn't move, the man urged again, "Come out! Don't make me say it a second time."

Gu Jinhe peeked out from behind the tree and then carefully took several steps forward.

She couldn't discern their cultivation levels, but based on their conversation, she was certain their strength far surpassed her own.

After finding a spot that wasn't too far away, she stared at them warily and feigning fear, as if waiting for them to speak first.

The two men looked Gu Jinhe up and down, their gazes finally settling on the bloodstains on her body, their brows furrowing slightly.

The man first asked in a cold voice, "Are you from the village?"

Upon hearing this, the girl standing nearby felt helpless and reminded him, "Senior brother, she looks like an ordinary person, and she's injured. Be gentle with her."

As she spoke, her gaze towards Gu Jinhe was filled with pity, and she added, "Never mind, I'll ask her!"

"……also."

Although the man agreed, his eyes were fixed on Gu Jinhe, as if he would take her life if he found anything wrong with her.

Gu Jinhe overheard their conversation and then saw the girl walk up to her and wipe the long-dried bloodstains from her face with a handkerchief. Suspicion immediately arose in her heart.

It seems that these two have already treated her as an ordinary person.

Couldn't they see her level of attainment?
Even if she had many doubts, no one could answer her at that moment.

The girl put away her handkerchief and said softly, "My name is Cui Qingyuan."

She then pointed to the man behind her.

“He is my senior brother, named Pei Qing. We are both disciples of the Qingyun Sect.”

After saying that, she looked into Gu Jinhe's eyes and asked, "What's your name?"

The girl's eyes were clear and bright, so beautiful that one couldn't bear to tarnish them.

After their eyes met, Gu Jinhe looked away first and whispered her name.

"Gu Jinhe".

"Then I'll call you Ahe."

The girl smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Then, as if just remembering her main task, she got straight to the point. "Ahe, are you from this village? Have you noticed anything strange happening or people in the village lately?"

This question is exactly what Gu Jinhe wanted to know!

Without thinking, he replied, "A month ago, a hermit came to the village. He was incredibly powerful, and he said he wanted to take on disciples for the sect, but unfortunately..."

"What's a pity?"

"Unfortunately, the immortal only accepted male disciples, and each family had to offer up their daughter. After those women were offered up, they all met a tragic end, their bodies torn apart."

After embellishing the story, Gu Jinhe raised her hands to cover her face and couldn't help but sob a couple of times.

After she finally managed to make her eyes red and brimming with tears, she lowered her hand and looked at the two of them.

"My parents wanted to hand me over to the immortals for my brother's sake, but I refused and tried my best to escape, but I never expected to meet you two."

Upon hearing this, Cui Qingyuan exclaimed "Damn it!" She looked at Pei Qing and said, "Senior brother, I knew there was an evil cultivator in this village. It's not too late for us to get rid of him before returning to the sect."

“But Master…” Pei Qing hesitated.

Cui Qingyuan patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, senior brother, I'll explain to Master myself. It won't implicate you."

Seeing that Pei Qing still did not respond, Gu Jinhe's eyes shifted slightly, as if she had thought of something, and she suddenly became frightened and took two steps back.

"You just said you're from the Qingyun Sect?"

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

Finally, Cui Qingyuan nodded: "That's what they said..."

Before she could finish speaking, Gu Jinhe collapsed to the ground in despair, muttering to herself, "That immortal also claimed to be a disciple of the Qingyun Sect... Are you the immortal's subordinates? Have you come to take me back?"

Although the sound was soft, the two of them had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so they naturally heard it all.

"absurd!"

Pei Qing shouted sternly, his voice righteous and imposing: "How dare he, a mere heretical cultivator, act in the name of our Qingyun Sect?"

This time, before Cui Qingyuan could speak, he took the initiative and said, "Junior sister, let's go and meet him."

"We'll do as you say, Senior Brother!"

After reaching a consensus with Pei Qing, Cui Qingyuan turned his attention back to Gu Jinhe.

She took out a jade pendant from her spatial storage, which was a deep green color and of excellent quality. Then she squatted down and pinned it to her waist.

"Ahe, the mountain road is difficult to walk, you have to be careful when you are alone."

Cui Qingyuan gently instructed, "Although this jade pendant isn't exactly a powerful magical artifact, it can save your life in a critical moment. Consider it a small gift for our chance encounter!"

After saying that, she didn't expect Gu Jinhe, who was "frightened," to answer her. She simply left the jade pendant behind and got up to walk to Pei Qing's side.

"Let's go!"

"Ah."

The two exchanged greetings, then drew their swords, and using their inner energy to control them, they rode away on their swords...

After they left, Gu Jinhe changed her weak and delicate appearance.

But looking in the direction they left, she couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.

One day, she too will learn to fly on a sword...

She didn't come to her senses until the system's voice sounded.

[Host has completed the task "Inform the disciples of the immortal sect about what happened in the village," and the reward has been issued.]

As the words fell, Gu Jinhe held three talismans in her hand, one of which was written with the word "Hidden" and the other two with the word "Explode".

The style of this talisman is as straightforward as ever!
Now that she had the mission reward, there was no need for her to stay here any longer.

Thinking of this, she got up, patted the mud off her body, and prepared to continue walking up the mountain.

Once you cross this mountain, you'll truly be free from the cage of Ox Horn Village!

But just as she took her left foot out, the system's voice sounded again...

(End of this chapter)