Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Chapter 396: Chapter 377: Okay

After all, the mission came from above, but one’s life... was one’s own.

On the surface, Mr. Youquan remained expressionless as he and the other five formed an encirclement around Lin Qingfeng.

The elder from the Profound Talisman Sect, the old monk from the Golden Light Temple, and the old woman from the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons had been forcibly roped into this by Mr. Celestial Sword and the others. Though they cursed inwardly, they could only steel themselves and reveal their Nascent Soul Dharma Aspects.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

[Profound Talisman·Heaven-Reaching Talisman Dharma Aspect!]

A titanic figure made of yellow talisman paper blotted out the sky, constructed from countless profound runes, its power pressing down in all directions!

[Ten Thousand Poisons Thousand-legged Spider Queen Dharma Aspect!]

A five-colored venomous spider as massive as a mountain, every bristle dripping with venom that corroded space itself, its shriek shaking the heavens!

[Golden Light: Fallen Buddha Dharma Aspect!]

A colossal Buddha statue, holding prayer beads in one hand and a butcher’s knife in the other. Its face was solemn and dignified, yet it wept tears of blood!

Three new Dharma Aspects rose up, echoing the earlier Celestial Sword, Blood Demon, and Ghost God aspects, completely sealing off all of Lin Qingfeng’s escape routes.

Six towering Dharma Aspects, all surrounding a single man!

"Young friend, you see, the six sects have all gathered here for the sake of the grand plan. This is no longer a matter you can change by yourself."

"It is better to resolve grievances than to create them. How about you take a step back?"

"Kid, don’t get hot-headed and throw away your life and your sect for a few mortals. My precious little bugs haven’t tasted a Nascent Soul in a long, long time."

"Amitabha Buddha. Benefactor, if you continue to be obstinate and oppose the will of the world, you will be willingly falling into the demonic path."

"When that time comes, don’t blame the six of us for joining forces... to enact justice on behalf of the heavens!"

Six great Nascent Souls, six Dharma Aspects. They appeared to share a common enemy, but some wanted to negotiate, some wanted to threaten, some were ready to flee at a moment’s notice, and some were even calculating how to reap the greatest benefits from the ensuing chaos.

They were all waiting.

Waiting for Lin Qingfeng to make what they considered the "only correct" choice—compromise.

...

「On the ground below, in Anhe City.」

The surviving common folk and players could only gaze up through the faint golden barrier at the world-destroying scene in the sky—six colossal giants surrounding the lone, platinum deity.

The aftershock of every collision made the barrier hum, and the flash of every Divine Technique illuminated the ruins as if it were day.

"BOOM—"

As a gentle ray of spiritual light descended, Su Wenxuan, enveloped by the barrier, was slowly returned to Su Ling’er’s side in Anhe City.

And so, the conversation between the old Nascent Soul monsters in the sky—their threats and their temptations—passed through the barrier and reached the ears of those around Su Wenxuan, word for word.

"Miss Su... your First Senior Brother, Mr. Lin... will he abandon us?"

One person, driven by an intense will to survive, even grabbed the sleeve of Su Ling’er, who was helping to bandage wounds, and asked in a near-pleading tone:

"Miss Su! You’re in charge of Anhe City now! You have to give us a way to live! Please, convince your First Senior Brother! As long as we can live, anything is fine!"

"Yeah! That’s right! First Senior Brother won’t just stand by and do nothing, right?"

"SLAP!"

The crisp sound of a slap rang out. An enraged, burly man knocked the person’s hand away and roared, "Have you no conscience?! Miss Su and her First Senior Brother have already done more than enough for us! What more do you want?! For them to go die?!"

Although the burly man’s words were harsh, when he looked up at the hopeless six-against-one scene in the sky, his eyes filled with nothing but endless desolation and resignation.

’Forget it... We’re just mere mortals, nothing more than ants. To have lived this extra moment is already a blessing from the heavens...’

’If Immortals didn’t exist in this world... would things be better...?’

After digging all the survivors out from under the rubble, the city patrol guards and the regular players all stopped what they were doing, except for those with healing skills.

They had no energy left to intervene, nor was it possible for them to do so.

"It’s over, it’s over! We just got this base warmed up!"

"How the hell are we supposed to fight this? Six Nascent Soul bosses ganging up on one guy? Are the game developers even human?"

"Don’t even talk about it. The way the top players play is completely different from us. We don’t even qualify to trim their toenails. All we can do is watch the special effects in the distance with envy and wait to die."

...

In the crowd, Su Ling’er, who was using her Spiritual Power to sustain the lives of the wounded, felt her own thoughts fall into a tangled mess.

She looked at the figures busily rescuing people in the ruins, then looked up at her First Senior Brother in the distance, trapped by the six terrifying Dharma Aspects.

Reason told her that those were six great Nascent Soul cultivators.

If her First Senior Brother saw that the situation was dire and chose to tear open the void and flee, or to accept the enemy’s terms and temporarily compromise... Su Ling’er would find it completely normal, even a wise course of action.

But emotionally...

She still clung to a sliver of unrealistic hope.

’That’s First Senior Brother... my omnipotent First Senior Brother...’

How she wished that this time, a miracle would happen again.

...

The standoff in the sky seemed to have reached its final moment.

The pressure from the six great Nascent Soul cultivators had intensified to its peak, as if they were about to launch a thunderous strike at any second.

Mr. Celestial Sword’s voice was as cold as ice. "Mr. Lin, what is your decision? Will you die alongside a group of ants, or will you take a step back and find a wider world awaiting you?"

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats.

They were all awaiting the final decision of the figure in white.

The platinum Dharma Aspect was seen slowly dissipating the Sword Qi around it, as if giving up its resistance.

At the center of the Dharma Aspect’s brow, Lin Qingfeng looked at the six old Nascent Soul monsters in the distance, who were all sure of their victory.

He sighed softly.

Then, under everyone’s stunned or delighted gazes, he spoke.

"Alright."

In the sky, the figure in white nodded as if he had truly accepted the negotiation.

"HUMMM..."

With that light, airy reply, all the intense emotions between heaven and earth froze in that instant.

Su Ling’er was stunned.

She stared blankly at the figure in the sky who had dissipated his Sword Qi, her mind a complete blank.

’He agreed?’

’First Senior Brother... really just agreed like that?’

A sense of loss and bitterness instantly overwhelmed her.

A moment ago, she was still fantasizing that her First Senior Brother would never compromise, that he would smite all the demons with a single swing of his sword and restore peace and order to Anhe City.

But the reality was that in the face of the pressure from six great Nascent Soul cultivators, even her omnipotent First Senior Brother had chosen to compromise.

’Then again...’

She let her hands fall limply to her sides and gave a self-deprecating laugh in her heart.

’What was I even hoping for?’

’Those are six great Nascent Soul cultivators. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t even have the right to stand. First Senior Brother has already done everything he possibly could by holding on this long...’

Meanwhile, the Corpse-Driving Sect was still on its way...