The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

When the bells and chimes rang, Lin Du was practicing the divine sense technique with his master.

Winter in the Supreme Sect is exceptionally long, but for the master and disciple, it is an excellent season for cultivation.

The bell rang only once, but Lin Du had already stood up quickly.

"The sect has summoned me, Master. I must go now."

Yan Ye nodded perfunctorily, "Go quickly and come back soon. I'll really look down on you if you come back injured because of this kind of low-level mission."

That is the bell used by the Supreme Sect to summon all current disciples within the sect. One ring is for low-level cultivators, three rings are for cultivators of the third stage or above, and so on.

Lin Du was located within the forbidden area, some distance from the main peak, and was the last to arrive.

He Gui's expression was not as kind as when they first met during the Central Plains Grand Election. Instead, he looked solemn and was talking to his disciples. When he saw Lin Du arrive, his eyes softened slightly.

"Actually, it's okay if Junior Sister doesn't come."

Lin Du waved his hand. "Don't give me that. I'm not some fragile porcelain doll. What's the matter?"

He Gui continued speaking, since the danger wasn't too high; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked a disciple of a lower cultivation level to handle it.

"The nearby Heding Village sent a distress signal to the sect, saying that a demonic beast has come down from the mountain and is injuring people. You should go and investigate first, protect the village and their spiritual fields. If you catch it, bring it back to the beast garden for you to practice fighting."

In winter, wild beasts are often hungry and come down from the mountains to attack people. Generally, there are no powerful demons in this area; they are mostly demons that have not yet taken human form and are still in the stage of awakening intelligence.

As a major sect, we enjoy the nourishment of the spiritual veins of heaven and earth and have concentrated cultivation resources. This is not just to cultivate a group of powerful cultivators to compete with each other, but to protect the spirit realm, the sect's territory, and ordinary people with poor spiritual roots.

The righteous path is forever littered with corpses, and saving people and helping the world is a tradition passed down from generation to generation.

They have a responsibility to protect people and the world.

"What if we can't tie them up?" Yuan Ye asked.

Man-eating monsters are not the kind of good beasts that can be obediently tied up and brought back. Even the pigs they raised and Shu Yan would take at least half an hour to catch and kill.

"Then let's just kill them and add them to the kitchen as a side dish," Lin Du replied with a smile, as she was very familiar with this task.

He Gui smiled and glanced at Lin Du, "Junior Sister is right."

Ni Jinxuan chimed in, "Junior Uncle is right!"

Heding Village wasn't far away. The group of six didn't even need a flying boat. The four who hadn't yet reached the third stage of the Cloud Soaring Realm used their flying magic artifacts and sped along with Mo Lin and Tian Wu, their robes fluttering in the wind.

A heavy snowfall had just occurred, leaving the ground covered in a thick layer of frost. The sky was still grayish-white, with a hazy halo around the sun.

Flying in such weather wouldn't be too dazzling, and Tianwu, worried that the children's laughter and play would choke them in the wind, forced them to wrap themselves in scarves to cover their mouths and noses.

"This is the first time we've ever received a mission from the sect." Yuan Ye was inexplicably excited, and even with his face covered by a veil, he didn't forget to speak.

Yan Qing calmly replied, "Whether it's a bear or a golden tiger, we can finally have a proper fight."

Lin Du turned his head and glanced at the eldest of the four newly initiated disciples. "I remember you said you were a scholar."

"Junior Uncle, you don't understand. In the northern part of Zhongzhou, every cultivator who has practiced physical techniques wants to kill a tiger to prove themselves." Yan Qing spoke somewhat sullenly through the gauze.

Scholars persuade people with reason, but that requires people to be human.

Mo Lin nodded in strong agreement.

Lin Du really doesn't understand these two straight men.

She turned to look at Yuan Ye, who wasn't a local a year ago. His phoenix eyes were particularly bright now. "Yay! Fighting tigers! I'm going to ride a tiger to fight them!"

Lin Du: ...Never mind, they're just a bunch of brats.

"However, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed when you get there. After all, ferocious beasts are rare. When I came here last time, I found out that the village was only because the neighbor's dog liked to steal spirit chickens and ate them rather rudely, leaving chicken feathers and blood all over the place. As a result, the villagers thought that wild beasts from the mountains had come down to hurt people."

Mo Lin sighed, and a hint of weariness and vicissitude suddenly appeared on his face.

Yuan Ye was somewhat disappointed. "And then?"

"Then after we investigated for a day, we caught the dog and got into a fight. The two families started arguing and almost came to blows. The eldest brother stepped between the two families to mediate, and in the end, he was hit on the head with eggs and rotten cabbage leaves."

Summer did not add anything.

Lin Du glanced at the handsome and upright young man at the front, hesitated for a moment, then, thinking of the veil, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Thank you, Second Nephew; otherwise, it would have been rather impolite.

Heding Village was indeed not far away, only a dozen miles from Dingjiucheng. The group of people arrived quickly while laughing and joking.

But their smiles soon faded.

The thick smell of blood in the air indicated that an attack had just taken place.

The six people simultaneously pulled out their respective magical treasures, their expressions turning cold and aloof.

A long wind swept across the snow-covered path, blowing up a swirling cloud of snow dust. From high above, the scattered low-rise courtyards of the countryside should have been peaceful and serene, but at this moment, the snow piled up in front of the houses was left unattended, and the cold light reflected from the snow was somewhat dazzling.

A short, empty, and helpless scream rang out.

"Ah...ah ah..."

The sound was like the sound squeezed out of the throat of a person who was in a daze, having lost the ability to speak and only having the most basic instinct left.

Lin Du, who had lived in Luoze for many years, was unaffected by the cold light. He simply squinted and locked onto a spot.

"There it is."

She took the lead in using her mind to move the magical artifact towards the chaotic area. The tips of the dark green bamboo leaves curved in the air, leaving a trail of white spiritual light in the sky.

"I am Lin Du, a disciple of the Supreme Clan."

Lin Du landed in the courtyard, paused for a moment, and simply stated his identity without saying anything more.

The door was wide open, and a middle-aged woman was kneeling on the ground, desperately trying to piece together any trace of her loved ones from the pieces of flesh on the ground.

Lin Du didn't move, standing quietly at the door. After a long while, he finally spoke, "I'm sorry, please accept my condolences. We will catch that demon."

Because it was just after the Lunar New Year, red "Fu" characters and couplets were still hanging at the entrance of the house. This is a custom in the village, which is rarely seen in the city anymore.

At this moment, those joyous blessings have turned into an ironic and glaring red, with a corner torn in the cold wind.

The person inside turned around suddenly, their face, frozen purple by the wind and snow, showing a blank and desperate sorrow. The woman murmured softly, "My child, my child!"

She suddenly came to her senses, and then finally burst into tears.

"Why are you all so late?! My child!!!"

Lin Du silently turned his head away, arriving a step too late.

Life is always full of things that come too late.

But she quickly noticed the words in those words: what did "also" mean?

Yuan Ye stood in the courtyard, glanced inside, and then frowned.

He has always disliked gore, and even after seeing it countless times, he still can't get used to it.