This cultivation world was never serious from the start.

"Flesh and blood are weak, while machinery ascends?" These eight words suddenly popped into Su Zhe's mind.

Where are you going?

Holy Terra?

"No wonder they're called the Demonic Sect!" Chen Feng couldn't help but exclaim. "Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents, yet these people actually attempt to replace our bodies with machines... what's the difference between them and puppets?!"

Even Zhang Haizhu kept shaking his head.

Su Zhe didn't seem to have any particular feelings about this.

There were people in their past lives who called paper dolls "husband" and "wife," isn't that even more heretical?

The beggar came out quickly, walking with his head held high. Although he had a bright red handprint on his face, his smile was exceptionally radiant.

"Senior brother, what did the powerful figure from the Demon... Holy Sect say?" Su Zhe quickly leaned over and asked with a smile.

"Hehe, with your senior brother here, do you still need to think about it? The powerful figures of the Holy Sect have already given their approval!" the beggar said smugly.

"However," he changed the subject, "as you all know, the higher-ups are cracking down on the Demonic Sect very strictly now, so if you want to join, you must pass the test!"

"An assessment?" Su Zhe was taken aback, then burst into surprise.

Wow, this is pretty professional?

"Yes! Anyone who can join our Demonic Cult is an utterly wicked person! So, your test is to do bad things!" the beggar said with a serious expression.

Su Zhe and the other two were taken aback. "Doing something bad?"

  

The beggar nodded emphatically, "That's right! Do bad things! The worse your deeds, the more despair people feel! The faster you can join the evil cult!"

"I see!" Su Zhe exclaimed in sudden realization. "No wonder it's the Demonic Sect! Even their assessments are so ingenious!"

"Does it have to be bad?" Chen Feng frowned slightly and asked.

He was a traditional swordsman who believed that one should draw one's sword to help those in need, so how could he possibly be willing to do bad things?

"Of course, how can people feel despair if they don't do bad things?" the beggar rolled his eyes and said seriously.

Seeing Chen Feng's still unconvinced expression, the beggar's eyes suddenly lit up. "You wouldn't happen to be an undercover agent sent by the righteous sects, would you?"

Su Zhe quickly covered Chen Feng's mouth, his face beaming with smiles, "Hahaha, Senior Brother, you've misjudged! How could we possibly be spies sent by the righteous path?"

Upon hearing this, the beggar's gaze swept across the three faces, and then he nodded solemnly. "Indeed, I've heard that every disciple of the righteous path is handsome and refined. The three of you certainly don't seem like righteous undercover agents."

Upon hearing this, Su Zhe released his grip, leaned close to Chen Feng's ear, and said, "Go, give him a sword strike."

The beggar ran away as soon as he finished speaking, giving Chen Feng no chance to draw his sword.

In a small alley in the eastern part of Linshui City, Su Zhe, Chen Feng, and Zhang Haizhu sat on the ground.

"I'm not very good at doing bad things. The worst thing I've ever done in my life is stealing a piece of peach wood from my neighbor to make a wooden sword..."

Chen Feng shook his head, his face full of reluctance.

Su Zhe calmly hummed in agreement.

"Me too, I'm too upright to do anything bad," Zhang Haizhu chimed in.

Su Zhe raised his eyebrows, and his tone of voice rose accordingly, "Hmm?"

"I believe Chen Feng when he says that, but aren't you afraid of getting struck by lightning for spouting such nonsense?" Su Zhe rolled his eyes.

"Hehe, although I occasionally rob the rich to help the poor, I'm still a good person at heart." Zhang Haizhu chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"You've seen the robbing of the rich, but what about helping the poor?" Su Zhe asked.

Zhang Haizhu pointed to himself, "Am I not poor enough? I've been forced to rob the rich."

Su Zhe was stunned when he heard this, and then he couldn't think of a way to refute it.

"Alright, just keep robbing the rich to help the poor. What you're doing is really quite disheartening," Su Zhe said, rolling his eyes.

"As for Brother Chen..." Su Zhe looked at Chen Feng, his face showing hesitation.

"It's okay, I'll figure it out myself." Chen Feng shook his head, deciding to find a solution on his own.

The three briefly separated and decided to each do something bad.

Su Zhe pondered for a long time and realized that he might be a completely good person. He had been gone for a long time and never thought he could do anything bad.

On the contrary, when passing by a lonely old lady selling itching powder, Su Zhe bought all the itching powder and told her to go home and rest early.

"It's too much to ask a good person like me to do bad things and join the evil cult," Su Zhe sighed.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Su Zhe saw a mourning hall set up ahead.

Upon inquiring, I learned that a highly respected schoolteacher in the city had passed away.

This teacher had many students during his lifetime, so after his death, his disciples spent a great deal of money to invite a wandering Buddhist monk to perform a ritual to help him pass on to the afterlife.

Su Zhe finally managed to squeeze to the front of the crowd and saw an armless old monk sitting cross-legged next to the coffin, his lips moving slightly as he muttered incantations.

Beside the old monk, a young novice monk was tapping a wooden fish while stuffing paper into the brazier.

Beside the coffin, a dozen or so well-dressed people were kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly.

Seeing this, Su Zhe couldn't help but sigh, "In this world, who can truly see through the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death?"

Su Zhe was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see such a sad atmosphere, so he shook his head and prepared to turn around and leave.

Before turning around, he glanced casually and saw the novice monk accidentally knock over the brazier, and flames shot up, creating a fiery serpent behind the armless old monk.

Su Zhe's helpful nature erupted instantly, and without thinking of anything else, he rushed forward, feeling as if he had something in his sleeve that could put out the fire.

Wow!

A whole dozen kilograms of itching powder were sprinkled on the old monk's back, with most of it landing on the back of the armless monk.

The flames were extinguished instantly, but several kilograms of itching powder were scattered around the coffin.

For a moment, there was silence all around.

Then a dozen or so well-off middle-aged men, who were crying their eyes out, suddenly felt something was wrong; they felt very itchy.

"Hahaha! It's so itchy!"

Someone couldn't hold back any longer, laughing through tears as they reached for the itching powder on their back.

Once there's a first, there's bound to be a second.

"Hahaha! Teacher... I don't mean it... it's so itchy..."

"It's so itchy! Hahaha, teacher! I'm so itchy..."

A dozen or so people were rolling around on the ground, laughing and crying at the same time.

The armless old monk in front of the coffin had a livid face. At first, he could hold on, but there was just too much itching powder on his back.

"Hahaha! Holy crap, where's my hand?! It's so itchy! I'm dying of itchiness!"

The armless old monk broke his vows on the spot, his two severed limbs flailing like fans, but he still couldn't reach his back and could only desperately rub against the coffin.

As it rubbed against the ground, the coffin collapsed with a crash, and a corpse rolled several times before landing beside the armless old monk.

The surrounding crowd erupted in a roar.

A dozen or so well-off middle-aged men laughed wildly and confessed to the corpse. Finally, someone realized who was behind it all.

"Someone come quick! Go and grab that guy!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"